Uncle Julio's 9.16.09

We headed back to Uncle Julio's with the crew for a neighborhood selection evening. We expected a big turnout as all the excuses we could think of (boards, distance, girlfriend, working) were not applicable on this rainy Wednesday evening. I'll have to say that at the end of the evening, I was very proud of the turnout and performance of the QR crew.

We started out in the bar with the "use." Small bowl of queso for the early birds and a few margaritas. UJ's has a nice HH that is basically a few bucks off most of their drinks, so we went straight for the custom blended section. You see..... after doing this for almost a year not just any regular house margarita will do. We've turned into margarita connoisseurs/snobs. I went straight for the Patron Silver custom blended margarita and K-So had the Herradura custom blend. Each time I decide to be a "big baller" for the evening, I remember just how ugly the ol' Cuervo can be. Don't worry, I didn't pull a Kanye on anybody. Appealing to my upscale side, my margarita even came with a lightning bolt swizzle stick!

And now for the lowdown. The queso was great- rich, full of onions and peppers, and just the right consistency. We also sampled the queso with chorizo which was just average. Most of the guys loved it, but it was pretty heavy on the meat for the girls.

The margaritas were AWESOME- they've made the list in fact. They were the perfect combination of liquor and lime. Refreshing, clear, but not deadly.

To point out a few solid food choices: two thumbs up to the shrimp quesadillas, 4 thumbs up (Hi Reneesme!) to the veggie tamales, and a shout out to the chicken nachos.

Finally, if you haven't caught the show Three Sheets you should know that while it's not the ultimate goal for the QR project, a girl can dream. Check it out.

Avila's on Maple

We were all very excited to reunite over steamy bowls of queso and frosty margaritas today!!!

We headed to Avila's on Maple Avenue to do some investigative reporting. Someone heard a rumor that they added LIQUOR to their menu. After all, what would Quesorita be with out tequila? Answer: just queso.

Speaking of queso...we ordered the straight up queso and although it arrived hot, with a sprinkle of paprika on top, it wasn't very flavorful. There were no chunks of peppers or onions and it looked like the "cheese food" we have all grown to dread. The texture was okay, not gloopy like most "cheese food" products, but not good. We even ordered the "layered" queso with beef, guacamole and sour cream (a poor imitation of the Bob Armstrong) but there is only so much one can do when your base is "cheese food".
The drinks, on the other hand, were delicious! The Partido Margarita with agave nectar and fresh lime juice was the favorite at the table. A Paloma was also accidentally ordered and intentionally consumed. Grapefruit juice, silver tequila, lime and soda = refreshing goodness.
What stole the show, however, were the absolutely divine brisket tacos. They come with a choice of three different kinds of tortillas, pinto beans, guacamole, pico de gallo and a lime wedge. 

Beware!!! The salsa is HOT!!! We cooled it down with some chive-infused sour cream...DELICIOUS!
We will definitely go back to Avila's for the drinks and brisket tacos but will pass on the queso!

QR Update

After a summer hiatus for swimsuit season, we will be returning in a few short weeks.  Get ready!

Sol's Nieto Mexican Grill 7/1/09

Hola pinches! After a long hiatus and many many hours of studying, the phoenix rises from the ashes. Although, maybe I should slept another week. Let's just say Sol did not write Creeping Death. Maybe he was busy writing the Season 4 debut episode of Psych?

I'm sensing he wasn't spending too much time perfecting the queso. It was que-so-so, at best. As per usual, I was scared of the mid-week liquid treats, so I report from my follow partners in lime Court Dog and Angelar (in my best Long Island accent). We all knew this, but it final came out in words... The fluorescence of the margarita is inversely proportional to the deliciousness. These were like John Frederick at Club Banana.

In sum:

Queso-1 out of 5 tastebuds.

Margs-(frozen, rocks, and swirl): solid 2 Glow sticks each

Glad to see we've got some dedicated followers who actually signed up to hang out with us (virtually). This one's a shout out for you!! YEAHHH! Any other random bad-asses reading this, welcome and we're glad to have you. Sign up!

Not sure where the next round of riting (rEE-ting) will be. But rest assured, there will be blog.

Peace in barbacoa grease.

Sherbs

Bandito's 5/6/09

The Quesorita Movement had been yearning for inspiration as of late... enter Senor Slap. Chris ran the LA Burger Tour and a few years ago on a LA study trip we followed his supreme burger guidance and had the best burger EVER, shout out to Father's Office! We were all geared up for a good time, and a good time was had INDEED.

From the outside, Bandito's looks like an old country western dance hall- inviting, humble, faux rustic (I even had a quick nostalgic A&M moment- whoop!). On the inside, it's a long narrow bar with tables down one side that seems to have a little something for everybody. There were at least two study groups, two couples, and then I found Court at the bar eating lunch. She had had a long day and was very ready for Quesorita so we moved to the big front table and began. House margs for the table and a large queso. They have a build your own section (nice!) so we had queso with sour cream, guac, and green chiles and immediately began to discuss if this could be queso #3??? After three bowls, an appetizer plate, and a dozen margaritas, we decided that it wasn't queso #3, but for the life of me I can't remember why. Did I mention this was a "wheels off" quesorita?

Highlight of the evening: somehow The DJ managed to have a cosmetic procedure done after marg #2, and came back for #3!

There were quite a few first timers around the table this time and thanks for coming out. Special shout out to Mary, Stacy, Jeremy, and Chris. We sincerely hope it was everything you imagined and so much more.

Casita Dominguez/Nueva Casita 4/15/09

There were many things hazy about this evening starting with the actual name of the restaurant. It was recommended by my awesome hairdresser, Jason (shout out!), so the quesorita crew headed out. This place is tiny and right behind the huge Half Price Books on NW Hwy if you ever go looking for it. Of note, I'm pretty sure Kelly's pre-mission was unsuccessful.

The second hazy event of the evening involved my discovery that NW Hwy does not hit Greenville, hence a twenty minute detour as I forgot my Gizmo.

The one thing not hazy about the evening was the queso, and was rated pretty highly by the quesorita crew. It won't make the leaderboard, but it's certainly above average and worth the journey of finding the place.

The ritas were also rated above average and were sucked down in the haze.

A quick confession... the haze was not what you are thinking.... and it was not swine flu.... I was sick with some awful kid fever/respiratory virus and proceeded to spike a fever at the table and left promptly thereafter- hence the haze. You'll have to ask the quesorita crew how it ended.

House Queso 3/4*
House Rita 3/4*

*Both of these ratings should be considered approximate ratings as I had to leave in a hurry (please see paragraph 5).

Cuba Libre 3/25/09

We started to break down barriers this week, much like President Obama, and lifted sanctions against “other Latin American” queso and headed towards Cuba Libre. LE had googled best queso in Dallas (genius!) and discovered with our Tex-Mex only eyes we had been missing out. Who knew that across from our favorite bar (shout out Old Monk!) on Henderson, they were cooking up some delicious queso??

The queso con chorizo seemed a little daunting at first look. The quesorita movement tends to run away from queso heavy on the meat, but as soon as it hit the table we dove in. There were not big chunks of meat floating around, but rather hints of chorizo melding into the queso. It was one of the biggest surprises of the current Quesorita season. It was near perfection! A vote was taken and Quesorita, The Movement voted it #2 in town!

The DJ and I tackled the mango margarita (I really like this flavor combination), and it was "very good to excellent." House margaritas definitely "above average", and the micheladas had a big kick.

Queso con Chorizo- 3.9/4
House Margarita- 3.2/4
Mango Margarita- 3.4/4

PS- Don't miss the black bean dip and the salsa. Every dip we had there was spot on!