Getting in a rut just sucks.....and finding a way out sometimes is tough.  Ruts can come in many forms....clothes, friends, food you cook, places you go eat, weather, where you live.  Routine....though good and a necessary evil is also dangerous.  It can make us complacent, apathetic and therefore not in the present.  Just going through the motions.   Doing something new, going somewhere new opens new paths in our lives and in our minds.  I have been hankering for some changes....changes that I control though.  I think that is all part of it.  Change is fine, but usually best when you choose it and it doesn't choose you.

We just came back from a work trip to Arizona.  What a drastic change from around the Chicago area!  And I loved it!  Breathing in the warm air, the cacti (plural of cactus I believe), the food.  It was SO different and I loved it all!

We ate an amazing restaurant called The Mission.  It is in Scottsdale, AZ.  They bill themselves as "modern latin" and I got that vibe.  We had a great server, Johnathon.  He offered to order our dinners for us if we were willing to answer some questions.  Sure!!  We are always up for surprise good food!  Here were his questions - all on a scale from 1 to 10.  How hungry are you?  How spicy do you like your food? Which kind of meat....shellfish, pork, steak or chicken?  He asked those of both my husband and myself and off he went.  And he nailed it!  Impressive!

We ate outside.  Having come from -20 windchill weather into a air temp of 65 degrees, it was the only way to go.  And it was a lot quieter than eating inside.  In fact, the inside was so loud, it would have bothered me and got in the way of dinner.  There were heaters outside also....to take the chill out of the air.

 This was our first dish.  They use the mexican cola as a syrup, boiling is down until it gets thick.  The pork belly was nice and crispy.  The sweet of the cola, the tang of the lime, the cold of the lettuce, the hot of the crispy pork.  Great way to start this meal.  We had no peanuts since my husband can't have them.  They were not missed.

Crispy Cola Pork

pork belly + cola + lime + chiltepin + peanut + pickled red onion + gem lettuce

Here was what I had as my main course.  It was delicious.  The ham was crispy bits of salt, the octopus was more dense of a bite versus the scallop, so they worked well together.  The brown drizzle on the plate tasted similar, just not as sweet, to the cola used above, which was fine with me.

Diver Scallops*

citrus white bean puree+ sherried queso azul+ serrano ham + grilled octopus

 I asked specifically for these since I love grits.  They were very course, which is fine (no pun intended!) with me.  Not too spicy.  Just right.  I had left overs and ate them cold the next day.  Just as good which is the sign of a good dish.

Poblano Grits

grits + roasted poblano + horseradish + butter

 This was my husband's dish.  The strak melted in your mouth.  And I love tomatillos.  They are tangy and a nice firm texture playing against the steak that was so tender.  Very tasty dish!!
Chimmichurri Marinated Hanger Steak

pan de bono + charred leek & scallion soubise + tomatillo salad

 Ok...this may be my favorite dessert EVER....yes, I said EVERY!!  The bananas were wrapped in some kind of this dough and fried....I could just stop there, but no......the middle glob is peanut butter mousse and the final piece to this perfect dish was the cinnamon gelato.  Just take a hot, crisp banana, dip into the smooth peanut butter mousse, dip into the cold cinnamon gelato.  And if you want to even go further, do a swipe into the dulche de leche that is drizzled on the plate.  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fried Bananas

butter + nutmeg + peanuts + dulche de leche

This was a wall inside the restaurant.  It is some kind of salt rock, illuminated from behind. Beautiful!