Keeping it random...

Long time no post about food! Sorry, it's been tough dealing with a cranky computer and closing stuff out before vacation.

Last night we dropped my sick computer off at Jamie's mom's house before heading out to grab some dinner. Jamie's monthly Mexican craving kicked in and we found ourselves checking out Los Tios Grill in Alexandria. From the website:

Los Tios Grill describes their dishes as ‘’Fine Tex-Mex & Salvadorean Food.” Los Tios could also be described as the newest smash hit restaurant in the trendy Del Ray shopping and dining area of Alexandria.

Los Tios Grill was FANTASTIC. I might say it's the best Tex-Mex food I've had in a long time! It looks pretty small from the outside but when you walk in it's massive. One downside is that it is really loud and echoey - we could barely hear each other talk.

I forgot my camera, but while I was Googling for images, I found a post Olga from Mango & Tomato wrote back in May! You should check it out :) She's got pictures of the two desserts we got - the Ice Cream Sopapillas (well, imagine there being a scoop of vanilla ice cream) and Tres Leches Cake. I do have a soft spot for Sopapillas (fried dough drizzled with honey), but combine it with vanilla ice cream? Amazing. I love how the honey gets a little thicker with the cold ice cream and the texture and flavor of the sopapillas changes when you mix it in your mouth with the cold vanilla...MMMM. Love it! Don't worry, we didn't just eat dessert ;p

For dinner, I decided on Mexican Combination #2 - Tamal and Beef Soft Taco served with rice, refried beans, lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole. Best. Tamale. Ever. I've had my fair share of really dry and dense tamales so imagine my surprise when I dove into a super moist and flavorful tamale! The rice and beans were equally delicious. Great flavor, not too salty. Not going to lie - it was a pretty large plate and I DEVOURED it all (I'm convinced I hadn't consumed enough calories from the day before or yesterday morning) and didn't feel uncomfortably full. I also started thinking 'hm, this would be perfect post marathon' haha.

Both Jamie and his mom went with Salvadorian platters -Carne Asada Salvadorena (grilled beef steak with mexican rice, refried beans, salad and 2 tortillas) and Pollo Guisado (stewed chicken served with mexican rice, salad and 2 tortillas). Jamie's steak was quite flavorful, but a little too chewy for me. It came with this spicy sauce on the side that tasted like the green sauce they serve at El Pollo Rico (translation: deliciously spicy).

I'd definitely recommend a trip to Los Tios Grill if you're in the DC area. The service was really fast and the food was excellent. The drinks looked pretty good too...everyone had a massive margarita on their table. MMM Margaritaaaa. It's probably a 30 minute drive or so from DC into Alexandria...unfortunately, I can't think of any public transport :\

We're having 'clean out the fridge' dinners this week which really means large salads with whatever veggies and toppings are in the fridge. I figure we'll be eating tons of heavy Hungarian cuisine, so salad seemed like an appropriate last meal ;p

While we ate tonight's bowl of veggies, we decided to check out What Would Brian Boitano Make? on the Food Network. I had heard about this show from a few friends and mentioned how every time I hear Brian Boitano's name, the song from the South Park movie always pops into my head. Um, hello. Didn't realize that it was the theme song! Genius.
Of course the episode we DVR'd (wow, no more Tivo) was the one where he makes a ton of bacon dishes for the roller derby girls! I must admit - dude is not bad in the kitchen. I mean, some of the dishes were a little too bacon-y (even for me!), but overall pretty delicious looking! Have you checked this show out?

I'm off. Time to begin the packing process! Hooray!!! If anyone out there has any fun Hungarian food recommendations or must sees/eats in Budapest, let me know!