(43-145) Popo's Fiesta Del Sol

Over the summer my friend Kailene had mentioned Popo's restaurant to me.  It's not on our side of town; but something that she thought was worth going out of your way for.  I heard of the restaurant a second time, from my friend Brooke; who was of the same opinion; and thought that it was well worth the drive.  Well although I never acted on the recommendation; I never forgot it.  So imagine my surprise when I was driving down 59th avenue last week and there I saw Popo's Fiesta Del Sol, where Garcia's used to be.  I excitedly told Luis that I'd heard good things about Popo's and that we had to make plans to go there, SOON.
The kids got out of school at 11 this past Friday, and since Luis and I had a number of errands to run and a house to clean, I told him that I didn't want to cook dinner that night; and I suggested that we go to Popo's.  I texted Kailene and asked what she usually ate at Popo's and what their prices were like; but when I didn't hear back from her after awhile, I looked them up online.  I found a menu (which you can check out through the link I provided; now that I'm Queen of PROVIDING LINKS,) but the menu didn't include prices.  We decided to take our chances, since the food was supposed to be so good; and we headed out to Popo's.

The parking lot was packed when we arrived, so the kids and I went in while Luis parked.  We were told that there would be a 20-25 minute wait; and we sat down and perused the menu.  I had read some reviews online, and in additon to the advisement that on Tuesdays and Saturdays they offer .99 Margaritas; they raved about everything from the queso dips, to the tamales,  the carne asada, the fajitas; and even the rice; so I had a feeling that I couldn't go wrong with anything that I'd choose.  As we were waiting for our table, in walked my friend Kailene.  I told her that I'd texted her about Popo's earlier and she explained that she'd been having a lot of problems with her phone.  She told me that they'd come out for her husband's birthday, and I asked what she usually orders.  Kailene recommended the Machaca (shredded beef) enchiladas with rice and beans; and said that no one in her family had ever had anything that they didn't enjoy.

I had to excuse myself from Kailene as our table was ready.  We were immediately brought warm chips and salsa.  Lyndzi ordered a quesadilla from the kid's menu, because she also wanted rice and beans.  Nicky had the appetizer size Quesadilla, which was enough for a dinner for one person.  Kelsie had the kid's chicken strips with rice instead of french fries and the portion was very generous.  Not so much so on Lyndzi's quesadilla, ironically enough.  Luis had a steak fajita burrito with a side of beans; and I had the VERY dietetic, chimichanga with guacamole and jalapeno cream cheese.  I DIDN'T eat the whole thing though; so there's that; AND, it was well worth EVERY calorie that I didn't need.

Before we got up from the table, we all agreed that we would definitely go back to Popo's again; and Luis and I added it to our list of lunch date restaurants.  And then tonight when we were trying to decide what to do for dinner (in between, YES, more errands;) Luis asked if we could go back to Popo's.  YUP; it was just THAT YUMMY!!! 

What more need I say?  I would highly recommend Popo's and I would love to hear from you if you give it a try.  If you're not in the Phoenix area, but plan to visit; I would definitely add it to your list of restaurants to check out.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-74) Ladies Night

Tonight was bittersweet. I went to a ladies night dinner, to celebrate the birthdays of my friends, Kara and Tiffany; and also to say goodbye to Tiffany; since she and her family are moving to Alabama next Saturday.

I met Kara and a number of other ladies in 2000 when I started taking a 10 month old, Nicky to Gymboree. Kara then introduced me to her old friend, Tiffany; and we've all been friends ever since. Well, a few weeks ago Tiffany called to tell me that she and her family were relocating to Alabama.  Although I'll miss her a lot, I told her that I was VERY excited for her and that I thought this was going to be a great opportunity for them.

Tiff told me that Kara had suggested having a girl's night to celebrate both of their birthdays and say goodbye and I told her that I wouldn't miss it. Kara called a few days later and told me that she thought that we should go to a Mexican restaurant since Tiff really likes Mexican and she didn't think she'd be getting much Mex in Alabama. Kara thought that our celebration should occur at someplace a little nicer than an ass burrito, so she chose Abuelos.  I'd only been to Abuelos once before, many years ago; but I remembered that I didn't like it; which is why I hadn't been back. I must admit, that as much as I wanted to see Tiffany, Kara and the other ladies; was as much as I didn't want to go to Abuelos; but I'm still working on making some of those subtle changes to my personality; so I kept my displeasure to myself.

Lyndzi had a soccer scrimmage today, and I saw my friend Jenny. I told her that I was going to Abuelos, because I knew that she had been there fairly, recently and that she enjoyed it.  I asked her for a recommendation, and Jenny told me about the Mahi Mahi dish that she usually gets. She said it had a delicious, white wine sauce that had some shrimp and spinach in it, and she described it so well that my mouth was watering.

I went to Abuelos, looking forward to seeing my friends and trying their food again. The menu was vast and enticing; and I had a difficult time deciding what to order; shocker I'm sure.  I was torn between the fish that Jenny had mentioned and a shredded beef burrito with chile con queso. The waitress came back several times before we were all ready to order and Queen of INDECISION that I am; I asked her to come back to me last. Kara ordered the Haddock, and I asked Tiff what she was going to order. Tiffany ordered the burrito that I had been contemplating and ultimately, I decided that I had to order the same because if I ordered Jenny's fish, but Tiffany's burrito looked good; I would regret my choice, (stop laughing;) so I went with the burrito.  Apparently I didn't pay close enough attention to the menu because after Tiffany ordered, I heard her say something about an enchilada and when I asked her about it, she said "well I don't like tamales so I'm getting an enchilada." I had no idea what she was talking about; until I looked at the menu and noticed that my burrito was actually part of a combo that came with a tamale. I asked the waitress what kind of tamale it was; and she said ground beef, and even though I enjoy tamales; this didn't sound like something that I needed to wast my time with; so I asked if I could have a chile relleno instead; since they allowed substitutions and teh chile relleno was one of the choices that I had been contemplating. The waitress gave me a choice of a cheese chile relleno or shredded beef; so I asked which she preferred; she said shredded beef and that's what I ordered. There was a choice for a side dish as well, rice, beans or Papas con chile; which was described as whipped red potatoes with four cheeses, red and green peppers, sour cream and the perfect touch of jalapeno and garlic.  YUM!

Our food arrived and it was far better than I had remembered.  Kara had to send her Haddock back because it was extremely salty, and her rice was ice cold; so she opted for Jenny's Mahi Mahi instead.  I tasted Kara's dish; and Jenny was right; the sauce was exquisite.

Dinner was delightful!  It had been a very, long time since I'd gone out with these ladies and I was reminded of how nice it was to spend time together; even though ,sadly, we were getting ready to say goodbye to one of pals.  During dinner we planned to get all of our kids together on Monday so that we can all see Tiffany and her kids one last time; so I chose not to dwell on Tiff's departure, tonight.

It was an easy going, enjoyable evening; and I'm so glad that I went; and gave Abuelos another try.  I was proud of myself for keeping my mouth shut when Kara proposed Abuelos for dinner, because the old me would have offered up an alternative for sure.  And my change in behavior paid off, because I had a good dinner and a lovely night.  I guess sometimes old dogs can really learn new tricks.

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING