DN: European Mix

Posted by Jalisa on Feb 23, 2014 under Night Out

Hey Beauties!

Before I get into the details of last night's date, I want to mention how I sometimes select the restaurants we go to and receive great savings as well. I know that eating out can be quite expensive and believe it or not, us Americans spend about $220 billion a year at full service restaurants, according to a study mentioned in The New York Times (Norris, 2012) and that was nearly two years ago! Eddie and I tend to eat out once a week for our date night and have worked it into our budget, which of course changes from time to time. That being said, we turn to sources like Groupon and Living-social (info below) for super savings and discounts on our meals. I also suggest booking your reservations at opentable.com because each restaurant offers "points" that could add up to money off your next restaurant bill. Another suggestion I want to give you, is if both you and your boyfriend/spouse's availability permit, try having a date night during later lunch hours at that shi shi restaurant you guys like going to; chances are the same meal that'll be served for dinner will be much cheaper, since it's not during the hottest hours ;) Unfortunately, my husband tends to work later hours, which don't allow us to do that ourselves.

APPETIZER: Avocado Frittas

MY SALAD: Arugula salad with pears

EDDIE'S SALAD: Caesar

MY ENTRÉE: "Ginger" chicken

EDDIE'S ENTRÉE: King Salmon

DESSERT: Apple Pie A' La Mode

Anyway, so the restaurant we ate at was a Groupon restaurant and to be quite honest, I don't think we'll be going back again. The appetizer and salad was absolutely delicious and we liked the fact that it was family owned, but when it came to the dinner portion, I began to feel differently. First, my entrée was supposed to come wit a potato croquette on the side, which was of course written on the menu, when I received my plate, I saw a baked potato. I told my waiter about the mix up and he said that sometimes when the kitchen runs out of sides, they just replace it with something else. That's where I had the problem. You don't just randomly replace a side without giving the customer the option of choosing their replacement or at least inform them that the kitchen is no longer serving ____ for the night, so I didn't eat it because I didn't want a baked potato, which I felt didn't go well as I side to my ginger chicken. Which brings me to my next issue, the menu described the chicken as being a flavorful ginger chicken dish, there was no hint of ginger at all on that chicken! I felt that my dish was something similar to what I make at home sometimes on a weeknight, since it's fast, chicken and some bell peppers and onions sautéed and boom your done! Ugh, I hate when I have an expectation about a meal because of the description in the menu and then receive something that I know I could've walked into the kitchen and made myself, it defeats the purpose of eating out! Thankfully this doesn't happened to me often, but still, when it does, it's surely a nuisance. Oh and of course Eddie's dish was extra yummy! LOL, has that ever happen to you? Whenever i'm not happy with my meal, he always has such a delicious dinner, but he's such a sweetheart because he shares.

As for my outfit, this would be a great look for all my pear shapes, for obvious reasons. I'm mainly wearing black and color/print where it matters most for this shape. The black leggings have dots all over, which have a velvet texture, which I like. The black slims the hips and paired with the pointed-toe black shoes, it further enhances the slimming effect. The floral blazer hits right at my hip bones, which cause the eye to focus on my smaller waist and up. I always suggest cropped blazers or ones that hit at the hip bone for this shape, since it creates a focal point to one of this shapes' greatest attributes.