LIME Fresh Mexican Grill (next to the Cheesecake Factory)  2900 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 104 Arlington, VA 22201

 I was lucky to be invited to try the Menu at the Lime Fresh Mexican Grill along with other food bloggers and guests.  I appreciate vegetarian friendly places and this certainly is!

Let’s get it straight, I’ve never been to Mexico but yes I’ve had Mexican meals cooked by natives and at Mexican-Panamanian places which are different than the ones in the US.  If you have been to Chipotle, Baja Fresh or Qdoba Mexican joints the menu goes in some similar way but Lime has the advantage of offering a great ambiance, I was really surprised to find a restaurant-comfty set up, waiters bringing your food, yet it is fast paced (there are dishes I was told might take more time like the Grilled fish).

About the food, the most important detail, I tried 4 types of guacamole and my fave was the Abuela’s Guac, tasty, great portion and pure avocado flavor with spices and garlic.  The Nachos, tacos, salads, burritos, quesadillas, and fajitas all had fresh veggies, guacamole, sour cream, organic black beans, and for vegetarians like me instead of having any kind of meat you can request grilled peppers and onions.

For the drinks I had a Corona Light, I’m not a big fan of beers but this one got the job done though they have other options, soft drinks, jarritos and frozen tequila or sangria.

Sopapillas, oh how I miss those right now, they sell it in this paper bag covered with sugar and cinnamon, they are addictive, come to your table warm and with sides of agave nectar or you can always ask for whipped cream, this was simply delicious! NEVERMIND the cupcakes! It’s the time for fried dough to have some space and I don’t want to hear how easy it is to eat a cupcake while you are walking because the Sopapillas are even better, warm and you can share them, try them because I say so, trust me no regrets!

Lime also offers Cinnamon Chips & Key Lime Pie and friendly options for children, the place itself is very kids-friendly.

The Staff is menu-savvy and super friendly.

The Hot Sauces, I would really appreciate a birthday gift with those sauces, I enjoyed each one of them I was happy to be able to tolerate all the heat (after so much Laotian food I’m proud to say I can handle other kinds of heat haha!).  My big favorite was the Chipotle hot sauce, I regret not buying a bottle that day but I live nearby so I shall go back pay them a visit, enjoy a quesadilla, a beer and of course my new affair: those sweet & warm Sopapillas.

¡a comer!

Abuela’s Guac Classic kicked up with tomatillos, garlic and onions.

Beer & Jarritos selection

 Nach-Yo-Mooma’s Nachos 

Sopapilla

Key Lime Pie

Usually when I work on these dinners I donâ€t have a station I just come to support the Chef cooking the garnishes or prepping and when the moment arrives I work on plating, and taking pictures at the same time.

Details that one would think are just meaningless become so important at the moment of the action, and by that I mean from heating up the plates hot enough the food goes to the guests deliciously hot, but not hot enough to burn anyone, sauces on the temperature, steady hands when you’re plating, follow the rhythm, don’t stop (most of the times for these dinners 6 cooks are working on each dish, one slices the meat, the other one spreads a sauce, etc), and then we put the plate on the window, and the Runner takes it to the waiter/waitress.

The process starts from the moment Chef decides whatâ€s going to the be Farmerâ€s dinner about.  This time I asked, “Chef whatâ€s the theme?”, Chef responds “Game”, I say “Yay” (then think, what do I even know about game).

I go home and google the word “GAME”, run the library to check out tons of books and people think Iâ€m some sort of crazy hunter who has lots of wild rabbits, squabs & buffalo meats at home.

For this particular dinner I didnâ€t suggested anything to Chef, I had my mind in other things and it makes me sad, but itâ€s ok I did ask for the Menu and he shared the draft with me, (in my little head I usually plan a Farm dinner and what I would serve to people).

At the end Chef always amazes me and I realize, yes Iâ€m creative and I think I have good taste, and I have read so much and cooked for so many people, but the life of a Chef, takes you where my boss is, developing ideas where it knocks your head off and you think, this is the work of a genius.  You know the person whoâ€s called Chef among the rest of the cooks has earned that name, not because of school or because he/she yells louder than the rest of the kitchen staff, but because that person, the Chef, knows his shit, and knows it well.

I used to think my best Sundays were the ones when I wake up early to make bread, or go and hang out with Family and cook for them and fool around, or even the ones I would play volleyball for hours, now my favorite Sundays are the ones where I go, watch, help and learn from Chef on these Farm dinners.

Thanks Chef.

Now back to work.
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Venison Carpaccio, herbs, Pickled Ramps & Black Pepper Vinaigrette (1st course)

This month Iâ€ve picked Bon Appetit mostly because I was taking a look at Barbara Fairchildâ€s book on the Cookbook section of the Books-a-Million Bookstore and well thatâ€s the magazine I bought and it was 4.99 plus whatever the tax is in Old Town Alexandria.

I think Iâ€m one of the few people obsessed with Food Magazines, theyt have everything I think about most of the time, Food, Photograhy, Design & stories, there is usually people behind each project working their butts off to bring new things, ideas and concepts, reinventing oldies, cooking I hope.

This is going to be a naked truth because I will be very honest. I think not even once I have tried a recipe from a Food magazine, maybe once a sweet potato brownie because I was starting a diet, and it was good, but I ended up serving it with whipped cream and ice cream so I broke the whole recipe goal. Shame on me.

This time Bon Appetit is showing several interesting recipes, and I will refuse to try a recipe thats calling for fancy stuff, at this point of my life I have almost NO money so I will do as much as I can afford, I apologize for this, to whoever reads my humble and unknown Blog.

So this it how it starts.

Wild Mushroom Risotto
Chicken, Vegetable and Dumpling Soup
Maple-Apple Pie with Walnut Streusel or
Maple-GingerBread Layer Cake with Salted Maple-Caramel Sauce
Beet and Carrot Salad with Coriander and Sesame Salt
Quick Coq Au Vin (very worried about this one)

Once I am done with this magazine I will count the recipes and hopefully make these or more or less before the end of October.

If you want to propose which magazine I should test recipes and read completely for November shoot an email to littleladycook@gmail.com and I will check it out.

Iâ€ll say goodbye for now, gotta run to work, 3 days more of work and then 2 lovely days off, hopefully it will be me, the kitchen and some volleyball if possible, they boy is going to NYC, long story.

¡a comer!

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The Seville Orange Marmalade was inedible; the taste was as you were eating pure orange peel with the worst sourness you could imagine.  I checked the expiration date and it seemed fine, I must admit I bought it for half the original price at a Marshall’s, but in the past I have bought other marmalades that were just fine.  For now I will keep on my quest of the best orange Marmalade anyone can buy.

La Mermelada de Naranja de Sevilla fue casi imposible de comer; sabía a cáscara rancia con un amargor espantoso.  Revisé la fecha de expiración y estaba bien, debo admitir que compré esta mermelada por mitad del precio original en un Marshalls, pero en el pasado ya había comprado mermeladas en esta tienda que han salido bien.  Por ahora seguiré en mi búsqueda por la mejor Mermelada de Naranja que se pueda comprar.

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OK, I am not a Burrata expert, I have just probably tasted 3 types in my life, and I really want to try the one Pizzeria Orso offers on their pizza but I will find out first which burrata they get before I add a $5 topping to my over $10 pizza.

I feel I’m entitled to judge a product if I pay for it and this was by far the worst of the 3 burratas I’ve tasted, remember industrial Belgioso (reference click), or the one the Italian Store have sold in the past.

I drove so excited to Screwtop Wine Bar to buy it and even saved a piece of this burrata (Caseificio Maldera) to share with Chef, he confirmed to me it was awful and that’s not how it’s supposed to taste so my guess is that it didn’t do well while route from Italy, I really hope that was the reason because after this experience I’m not sure if I would dare to take another $14 risk for a piece of cheese that would make the infamous Yellow American cheese tastier on your toast.

Lo acepto, no soy una experta en Burrata, y solo he probado tres clases de este queso, (además me muero por probar la que ofrecen en Pizzeria Orso, primero quiero saber quién hace esta burrata antes de pagar $5 extra por este ingrediente en mi pizza que desde ya tiene un precio de $10).

Siento que tengo todo el derecho de juzgar un producto si he pagado por el mismo, y esta es la peor burrata que he probado de las tres que he comprado anteriormente, recuerdan la industrial de Belgioso (enlace de referencia), o la de la Italian Store.

Yo conduje hasta el Screwtop Wine Bar para comprarla e incluso salvé un pedazo de esta burrata (Caseuficio Maldera) para compartir con el Chef, él me confirmó que sabía muy mal, y que así no se supone debe saber este queso.

Puede ser que este sabor tan malo fue resultado del viaje de importación desde Italia, y en verdad espero sea esa la explicación porque luego de esta experiencia no me veo gastando $14 por otro queso que te haría ver al inpopular Queso Amarillo (americano) como una mejor opción para tu tostada.