THE ONE WITH THE s***POTLE KETCHUP
Today was a day of exploring and discovering great food stores. Our first stop was to Whole Foods, which as Amanda described it was an adventure for us and a routine trip to the store for everyone else. The aroma of the produce, the selection of cheeses, the freshness of the breads, and the beautifully decorated desserts were in one word... AWESOME. Chris couldn't live near one of these stores for he would have to live in a tent behind he store. Some of our finds included a beautiful tuile basket of fresh berries and cream, cornish hens (inside joke, ask Amanda), freshly made tortilla chips, crisp walnut and currant bread, and some sharp blue cheese. Our next stop of the day was to a little village of shops which had Chris' favorite stop of the trip so far. Even better than Whole Foods! It was a Spice store with exotic and unique ingredients from around the world. Quite a bit of time and money were spent at that store, with the most unique find being the pomegranate molasses that Chris has been searching for for 3 years now!!!
Our day of shopping continued with a quick stop at Suzie's hospital for a photo of the beautiful new building, which Amanda described as "frikkin huge!!!". As we left the hospital we were entertained by a smoking car driving by that had clearly been in an accident and the wheel had been bend so much that it looked like a training wheel on the side of the car. Crazy people down here.
La Sandia (the watermelon), a authentic Mexican restaurant, was where we stopped for lunch and was Chris' favorite meal so far. Not only did we have complimentary tortillas and salsa to start, but we ordered guacamole to be made table side which was by far the best guac I have ever had! The girls enjoyed a steak sandwich and fries, which was served with the "s***potle" dip that needless to say did not get eaten. Chris ordered sangria and chicken mole, inspired by the iron chef competition we watched last night, which was delicious. Who ever thought of chocolate, chili, nuts, and chicken together in one dish was a genius!
We made a few more shopping stops, including the Bass Pro Shop - aka Hickville according to the girls. It was like walking into an amusement park dedicated to taxidermy, guns, fishing, and camo gear. Needless to saw Chris found a pair of boots and received a, get this, Military discount. Got to love the haircut!
For the evening we met up with Jason at Dave & Busters restaurant and arcade (aka mini casino), where we played games until 10:30. It was awesome and Amanda felt like she was a kid again with her chicken fingers and fries and arcade games. It was no Crystal Palace that's for sure!
Back to the apt for Skyping with Andrea who was already getting her drink on for the DR, all the while Chris was in his element in the kitchen with his spiced RC.