Growing up, I loved cheese enchiladas. When I went to Casa Bonita at the corner of Asher and University in Little Rock and got the Deluxe Dinner, the cheese enchilada would always be the first thing I would devour. Yesterday I had the adult version of cheese enchiladas.
With a birthday dinner in Midtown at 7, I knew I needed to eat something. I led off at Bardog, and before long “Paul let me get you a shot for your birthday” started happening. About 1:30 I walked down Center Lane (Scratchy’s Alley) to Agave Maria. I didn’t want anything big. The short rib items sounded delicious, but I was worried I wouldn’t be hungry again by the evening. The last item on the menu – the mushroom and poblano enchiladas – caught my fancy. They come with poblano cream, Jack and Oaxaca cheeses, pico, and crema. That sounded perfect. I am a big fan of spicy (which would be my undoing at dinner) and the poblano cream did not disappoint. Definitely do not shy away from this dish because it is meatless! I posted a photo to Facebook and my friend Aaron “Liked” it. Aaron is my BBQ teammate and the only vegetarian from West Virginia in the shoulder division at BBQ Fest, so that’s quite an endorsement.
Random thing I learned yesterday: I share a birthday with Nikki, creator of Hot Ass Chips, Hot Ass Seasoning, Hot Ass Bloody Mary Mix and more. Her stuff is the best, so if you like spicy check out her website for sure.
I didn’t get any Nikki’s Hot Ass products for my birthday yesterday, but I did get this:
Rachelle’s Hot Ass Satan’s Ass Three Pepper Spice Mix! DAMN! This girl’s got talent! We may have to put her on the BBQ team! On a related note: If you go to Golden India in Overton Square, telling them to “turn up the spice a little” on the Lamb Saag may not be exactly the best idea. On a better note, I discovered Lucky Buddha beer last night. It tastes a lot like PBR, so I liked it!
After dinner, we went to the Blind Bear, where I was the password.
Raiford’s!
Actually, the first places I went after I escaped were the Farmers Market and Earnestine & Hazel’s, but I did spend a good amount of time at the Bear in that costume…
Kisses from Hot Vegetarian Katie from D.C. and another girl
So anyway, at the Bear I got a special birthday gift.
Back in August, a friend of mine brought me a present from a trip to Colorado: A koozie, which looks like a brown paper bag, with the PBR logo on it. Koozie had a long life, lasting two months, not bad for a paper bag. Around that time I was given Son of Koozie, who lasted a mere 22 days, and Grandson of Koozie, recently drafted into service. Last night I received Koozie IV, Koozie V, Koozie Vi, and Koozie VII. I’ll be in koozieland through BBQ Fest! (Hey team, has anyone worked on getting PBR donated for 2017? We need to get on that.)
The Pirtles posted this on my Timeline yesterday:
Best. Cake. Ever.
All right, got several news items but they’re not time-sensitive and I need to get to the Farmers Market so I’ll hold them until tomorrow. Fall has finally arrived, but a jacket and a PBR will keep me warm.