I can't even make a salad at home as good at the one the Texan Cafe used to serve!
There’s a show on the Food Network called “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” I’ll be honest, I’ve never been able to get into the show. Chefs talking about foods they’ve eaten at various restaurants just never has quite done it for me.
However, last night, I found myself talking my head off to my husband about two dishes I’ve never found anyone able to beat. I was holding my own little “Best Thing I Ever Ate” for my captive audience. (He had no where else to go, so he was captive…)
First is my favorite Chef Salad. The place that had my favorite doesn’t even exist any more…
The best Chef Salad ever was served at a cafe in my hometown. The Texan had the best Chef Salad… but you had to have it with Thousand Island. It wasn’t as good with any other dressing. Chef Salad with Thousand Island dressing. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! (They also had great hamburgers!)
It had all the perfect toppings, served in just the right amounts and manner. And there was truly something special about their dressing…
Today, a gas station stands where that restaurant once stood. It makes me sad every time I pass by there. I miss the Texan something terrible!!
The other thing, very ironically, also is in my hometown. The best Nachos I’ve ever had can be found at Los Comales, a small Mexican restaurant in my hometown. But you have to get it with queso instead of shredded cheese.
I’ve had nachos at almost every restaurant I’ve gone to at some point. It’s just a go-to thing for me when I can’t decide what else to have. But no one makes them like Los Comales. I think the thing is the chili they use… and they don’t hold back!! Most places seem to serve nachos very dry. That’s not right, to me. I want nachos that make me need multiple napkins to eat. I was lots of chili and cheese. Sour Cream and guacamole. Jalapenos. All of it. Make them messy!!
I’m sure I have other dishes at various restaurants that outshine other establishments, but these are the two that pop to mind first.
Anyone have a “best thing I ever ate” dish and restaurant? Do tell! If I am ever there, I’ll check it out!!
Growing up, I loved horses. They were my favorite animal, and I dreamed of some day owning one of my own.
We lived on over an acre of land, and my young self couldn’t understand why I couldn’t feasibly have one. That was, until my parents very logically explained to me about the cost of having a horse, and I realized it wouldn’t happen. I was “okay” with that, but I never stopped loving horses.
I read books about horses. I had bookmarks with horses on them. I had figurines of horses. I had shirts with horses.
I loved horses.
One Christmas, I received as a gift a “statue” (it was plastic and probably meant to be more of a toy than a statue) of Secretariat, a famous race horse. I heard the horse’s story, but it really went in one ear and out the other. I just thought it was a pretty horse to put on my shelf.
Oh okay, I played with it. I still have that plastic statue, one ear broken, some of the red/blown coloring faded off its back. However, I won’t let my husband toss it (along with other horses statues) no matter how much he looks at me like I am crazy for still having them.
I still love horses.
Now, I’m not the most observant person at times. Especially when it comes to movies coming out in theater. Movie tickets are just too expensive (in my opinion) and I’ve never been a huge movie fanatic. If I go to the movies once a year, I’m doing good. Twice in a year, someone call CNN, this is news.
All that being said, I not once noticed any movie trailers for the new Disney movie “Secretariat” until an offer came in my Inbox from BlogHer for an early screening of the movie from Disney. I didn’t hesitate. I didn’t ask my husband. I didn’t think twice. When I saw a movie screen on a date we were both free in Nashville, I requested two passes. I think I squealed out loud with the confirmation email came to my Inbox. Not only were we going to the movies, we were going to see a horse movie!!
So, last night, my husband and I got dressed and headed out for movie night/date night. We arrived and I really had no idea how it would all go. The theater was mostly dead, save for a long line waiting to go into one of the theaters. I needed to use the restroom, so my husband took my email and went in search of the Disney representative as we’d been instructed to do.
When I came out, my husband pointed to the line and said, “We’re to get in that line.” I have no idea why I was surprised to see so many people there for the movie, but I was. I jumped in line while my husband went to get us something to drink. The line started to proceed into the theater, and I noticed everyone around me had special Disney passes. When I got to the front of the line, I handed the lady my email I’d received and a young man beside her asked for my name. I gave it to him, he glanced at his iPhone and went, “Okay! You’re good!”
Waiting for the movie to start...
So, we went in and found ourselves a pair of seats and settled in to people watch. I found myself wondering if anyone else was there via BlogHer. One young man came in carrying a spiral notebook, and I guessed he was there from a local newspaper or something. There were kids and elderly alike there, but I’d guess the median age to be around 30-35.
Finally, 7:00 rolled around and the movie started. I didn’t know what to expect of the movie other than the story of this famous race horse… what I got, though, was a movie I want on DVD right NOW. I found a movie that will most definitely be in my top 10 for a long time.
The movie, for me, is one every woman in this world needs to see. Every woman who has dreams. Every woman who has ever been told they can’t do something. Every woman who says, “It can be done.”
The movie is billed at the story of Secretariat, but for me is was more the story of Penny Chenery (played by Diane Lane). Penny Chenery is the owner of Secretariat, trying to garner respect for herself and her horse in what was in the 1970s very much a men’s club.
At one point I whispered to my husband, “Back then, she didn’t have much of a voice.” Women were still too new to business in general to be taken seriously — much less horse racing — but she fought every nay-sayer that came her way. Everyone from her husband to the press to other horse owners.
This movie made me laugh countless times. John Malkovich as trainer Lucien Laurin adds a wonderful comedic quality to the movie while also bringing a touching dramatic story of his own. This movie most definitely made me cry. It made me hold my breath. It made the audience applaud — during the movie and as the credits rolled. I’ve never gone to a movie in which the whole crowd applauded at the end.
As my husband said as we left, this movie is going to be huge… Coming from someone who literally goes to the movies once a year, THIS movie is one to go see. Heck, I might even sneak off sometime and go see it again myself!
I’ve now brought my Secretariat statue in from storage to put on my desk. After this movie, that statue no longer only means, “I love horses.” It means, “I can beat the odds. I can do anything I set my heart on doing. I can do the impossible.”
*Thank you Disney and BlogHer for this wonderful opportunity and movie!
