Desta Ethiopian Kitchen

Justin has been trying to get me to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant for a while. I put him off for months, but finally gave in Saturday night. We headed to Desta Ethiopian Kitchen, which is about a mile or so from our house. This is apparently a very popular restaurant because the parking lot was full and we waited for about thirty minutes for a table. They do take reservations, so I would highly recommend making one if you plan to dine here. We waited in this little covered porch area, so the wait wasn't unbearable.


After we were seated, we ordered and began looking around the small restaurant. I noticed the woman at the table beside me was eating with her fingers. I was kind of surprised until I realized everyone in the restaurant was eating with their fingers. I looked at Justin and said, "I don't think they have silverware." He said, "Yeah, I kind of expected that they wouldn't." I kept looking around and got more and more bothered by the idea that I would have to eat my food with my fingers. I was so relieved when my food arrived with a fork and spoon. It's like they knew!

I ordered the veggie pasta, which was spaghetti. The sauce was spicier than usual and had a lot of garlic. It was good, just not my favorite food ever. Justin ordered the fish tibs with shiro. It was like a thick soup that was served with rolls of spongy bread. His entree came with a spoon, too. He really enjoyed his food and wants to eat there again. I'm glad because he's been wanting to eat there for a while.

We opted to skip the desserts, but they all looked really delicious. I'm sure we'll dine here again since I know Justin really enjoyed it and wants to try more entrees.

(Photo source)

Si Senor

I'm not gonna lie. This week was brutal at work. I did the happy dance as I walked out of the building Friday evening. This one project started as a pretty easy task that took about fifteen minutes of my time each day. I spent about twenty-five or so hours on it this week. Lucky for me, it technically ended on Friday, but I'm sure there will be a little clean-up work next week.

When I got home, Justin and I decided to grab supper from Moe's. We eat Moe's about three or four times each week. We love it! As we were driving there, Justin asked if I wanted anything other than Moe's. I said I was willing to eat just about anything. I mentioned Mexican food and Justin said he could eat that. I suggested a new restaurant that had recently opened along my commute to and from work. We agreed to try Si Senor Mexican Restaurant.

They weren't too busy when we arrived, but they quickly got fairly busy before we left. They brought the usual chips and salsa, but they also included a small plate of refried beans topped with jalapenos. The salsa was really good! It was different than what we typically get from Mexican restaurants. The service was also very attentive, but not intrusive. Justin ordered the huevos rancheros and I ordered the fajitas quesadilla with shrimp.

The food arrived in about ten or so minutes and I was shocked at the serving size. The plates were huge and hot! We both dug in and pretty much devoured our entrees. Both were served with rice and beans. I ordered refried beans and Justin got the ranchero beans. The ranchero beans were advertised as cholesterol free. They weren't as good as refried beans, but they were tasty. I did discover last night that refried beans typically are made with lard. That ends my short love affair with refried beans. I've only started eating them in the last year or so. They always looked repulsive to me. I think it's the color and texture, but I finally tried them and fell in love.

After gorging ourselves, we paid and headed home. I was miserable for an hour or so. I ate too much. We definitely need to eat at Si Senor again because there were lots of options on the fairly extensive menu. They had a lot of vegetarian options. The prices were also really good. The two of us ate for about $22. We drank water, but they do have a bar. Those margaritas on the other tables looked very refreshing!

Happy Birthday Darren and Francine!

Last weekend, Justin and I (and Pete and Annabelle) visited our families in South Georgia. Justin's brother, Darren, and their grandmother, Francine (Nanny) were celebrating their birthdays. Darren wanted to eat at Mori's in Valdosta (I noticed that Darren posted a comment at the website in the Mori's link.). We had a great time and yummy food.

Sunday, everyone gathered at Justin's parents' house for birthday parties. Since I was spending some time with my family, I didn't make it over there, but it sounds and looks like everyone had a great time. Here are some photos from the day:

Isn't Miss Olivia adorable?

Justin's cousins, Courtney and Alisa, and their grandmother, Nanny

Miss Olivia looks like she was having a good time.

Brad and Olivia

Nanny is opening her presents.

Nanny opening another present.

Darren and Olivia

Apparently, Olivia snatched the cash right out of Darren's hand. She's so smart!

Brad, Darren, Justin, and Janice. They're a good looking bunch.

Olivia likes to ride facing backward. I'll have to try this in my car.

Darren and Justin (and The Honda in the background)

So happy!

Pricci (and a "stolen" briefcase)

Thursday, Justin and I headed to Pricci to enjoy dinner during Buckhead Resturant Week. Participating restaurants offer some of their best food for a $25 or $35 prix-fixe menu. We've wanted to eat at Pricci for a while, so we decided to get a reservation there.

Once again, parking was by valet only, so we obliged and headed inside to claim our table. I guess it's paying someone to do a simple task that I am perfectly capable of doing myself that bothers me. I do not like valet parking, especially when a set fee is required. Valet parking at Pricci costs $2 with expected gratuity. I'll tip the valets at restaurants that offer free valet parking, but I don't at restaurants that charge you a fee for valet parking. Call me cheap, but I don't like being required to pay someone to park my car when I'm paying you over $100 for a meal plus a tip for the server and then being expected to tip the valet for parking my car.

Before I step off the soap box, I'd like to mention the dress code. When Justin made the reservation at Pricci, he said the website reminded him that the dress code for the restaurant is business casual. I don't have a problem with business casual since that's what I wear to work and we would be heading to dinner after work. There was also a sign posted on the door that reminded you of the dress code and that certain articles of clothing were inappropriate (I can't remember exactly what the sign said, but something like shorts and tank tops weren't appropriate). I understand restaurants wanting to create a certain "feel" for their restaurant, but once again, the customer is paying you for a meal. Shouldn't they be allowed to wear what is comfortable? Justin and I both wore business casual clothes, but some people in there weren't. I was glad to see they weren't turned away since their clothes didn't affect my enjoyment of the experience.

Ok, I'm off the soap box for now. We were seated immediately and our waitress greeted us. She did mention that they offer the prix-fixe menu about eight months out of the year, so we could expect it outside of Buckhead Restaurant Week. They were also offering half off bottles of wine on Thursdays so we tried a slightly more expensive bottle of wine than we normally would have. Due to a change in Georgia law, we would be able to take home any of the wine we didn't consume. Even better!

We both ordered from the prix-fixe menu. I selected the roasted pumpkin soup, risotto, and galani con salsa al cioccolato. Justin ordered the roasted pumpkin soup, pasta with duck, and crostata di costagne. The menu in the restaurant was slightly different than the one on the BRW website. The soup was really good. I could have eaten a gallon of it. They also brought a selection of breads with a whipped goat cheese with cream cheese and marinara dipping sauce. It was very yummy!

My risotto was good. It wasn't absolutely amazing, but it was definitely good. I would order it again. Justin said his pasta was just ok. He really enjoys duck, but didn't think this duck was all that special. The desserts were also slightly disappointing. Neither was outstanding to us, but Justin's chestnut tart was better than mine. The service was very good, though. The waitress seemed to enjoy what she does. They had an army of servers who made sure water glasses remained full and wine glasses were never empty. The pace of the meal was also good since we were able to finish one course before the next arrived. After paying, we corked our wine bottle and headed out to claim our car.

While waiting in the line to claim our car, a woman pulls into the line and loudly announces that she wants to speak with the person in charge since something was stolen from her car. One of the valets says he can help her. She says a briefcase was stolen from her car while in their care, her light switch was moved, and her steering wheel was adjusted. The valet began researching who parked her car while she was saying, "I'm going to make sure I tell everyone about this!" She was obviously very unhappy. Justin suggested (to me privately) that she seemed like she may have had a little too much wine or was a very excitable person. I agreed. I don't see why someone would steal a briefcase from someone's car, but she insisted her's was missing. It was dark so I don't see how the valets were supposed to operate her car without moving the light switch. The steering wheel complaint also seemed a little petty. She was barely five feet tall. Nearly all of the valets appeared to be over six feet tall. I'm short so I keep my steering wheel as low as it will go so I can see over it, but someone taller than me would have trouble driving my car without adjusting the wheel since the wheel would dig into their legs. She was still ranting when our car arrived, which saddened us because we wanted to see the outcome. She pulled out behind us and left right after we did so I'm guessing her briefcase was found. I hope they got her light switch and steering whell adjusted, too.

(Photo source)