Monday Preview of My Reviews of Our Weekend Spent

For most, Mondays aren’t the best start of a week. But, whatcha going to do? It’s here. At least, Mondays are only once a week and with that in mind, let’s count the days off together until the weekend rolls back around. Deal? Good!

How was your weekend? Oh mine, you asked? It was fabulous! I was able to spend the entire weekend with my best friend – my husband. It was just the two of us. *wink* This may not seem like much to you but to us, it is everything! Our alone time is limited to once or twice a year and that’s it.  DS is spending time with his grandparents. What are parents to do without any kids, you might say? This is a time for good ole mom to play dress up with dad and hit the town for some fun. Allow me to indulge you with some highlights from our weekend.

Our weekend fun actually started on Thursday night. My husband took me to The Spice Rack on Kingston Pike across from West Town Mall.  Our waitress was Danielle.  Despite the young ladies’ skimpy uniforms, the two waitresses we dealt with were sweethearts.  The Spice Rack offers Mexican cuisine, my favorite.  The establishment was too noisy to suit my preference. Perhaps, if the floors were carpeted, then this would help to dampen the cumbersome racket. I’m glad we didn’t go on a Friday or Saturday as I’m certain the volume would have been more than I could have comfortably handled.  The Spice Rack was new to us, so we ordered separate entrees.  My husband had the Picadillo Ground Beef Enchiladas and I got the Chicken Fajitas. Both plates came with Mexican rice and refried beans. On a scale of 1 to 10,  I’d have to give the food 5 for average. There was nothing bad about it and there was nothing to make me go, “WOW”, either.  If you’re looking for a new Mexican restaurant to try for a fiesta style environment, then you’re sure to enjoy yourself at The Spice Rack with your friends.  After dinner, we went to the Seattle’s Best Coffee Bar inside Border’s. I got the Pumpkin Creme Latte and my husband had a cup of Autumn Reserve. The two coffee choices enhanced our lovely autumn night and a fun way to end our evening.

Friday, my husband and I did some light shopping. There’s nothing like running around town to all of your favorite shops looking for miscellaneous things you don’t normally have time to squeeze into your errands. My husband treated me like a queen. As the day slipped into night, we went to dinner at Carrabba’s Italian Grill on Parkside Drive in Knoxville, TN.  This is one of our favorite Italian restaurants.  The low-lit atmosphere is seductive and relaxing.  The over-sized booths are a comfortable fit for four, but nicely spacious for two people. We shared the Classic Lasagna, a house salad with Creamy Parmesan dressing, and a cup of Lentil & Sausage soup.  The meal preceded with their complimentary fresh-baked bread and olive oil and special blends of herbs for dipping. This alone is reason enough to go to Carrabba’s.  For dessert, we wanted Italian Cream Cake, one of our favorite’s, but Carrabba’s has yet to put this back on their menu. Instead, we tried Sogno Di Cioccolata “Chocolate Dream” a  rich fudge brownie brushed with Kahlua, with velvety chocolate mousse, fresh whipped cream, and homemade chocolate sauce. It was good, but couldn’t compete in our hearts for the Italian Cream Cake.

Saturday afternoon, we went to the mall. We walked around browsing some of the clothing shops.  There’s nothing more disappointing than to go with something in mind to yield nothing. However, one bright spot, we did visit Godiva’s and bought a truffle assortment, my sinful indulgence! After the mall, we went to Outback Steakhouse on Parkside Drive.  We phoned ahead to reserve our favorite booth, but when we arrived it wasn’t ready.  The four young hostesses were so polite and sweet. They did their best to take care of as we waited. Once seated, we were served two fresh loaves of pumpernickel bread and butter. We knew what we wanted within minutes.  We decided to share Grilled Chicken on the Barbie with a side of Aussie Fries and a house salad with Honey Vinaigrette dressing. The meal was fabulous. The chicken was tender and the accompanying barbecue sauce was exceptional. The fries tasted potatoey and not greasy. The salad was well suited with the Honey Vinaigrette dressing. The bread…well, let’s just say, my husband, ate nearly the entire two loaves by himself. Sure,  he loves bread but it has to be good for him to put it away like this. To close off our meal, we had plans to order their Tower of Chocolate cake, but our hopes were dashed to find it removed from their menu. That was a bad decision on Outback’s part. They now have another chocolate dessert called, Chocolate Thunder from Down-under. It was good, but I don’t think we’ll reorder it in the future because there is nothing unique about it. We can find this sort of dessert at most any other restaurant.

The weekend was coming to end on Sunday. My sweet husband took me to my favorite craft store, AC Moore. He bought me some fabric paint for a wintry sweatshirt project, I plan to make for Christmas. Oops, did I say Christmas? Yep, it’s not just a “holiday” to us, it’s Christmas. We walked to the nearby Border’s to buy a 16oz bag of the Autumn Reserve blend(full-bodied, slightly spicy aroma) that we had a few nights ago. It was whole bean coffee and we had to have them grind it. It smelled lovely and we’re looking forward to enjoying many cups of this as the week progresses. We capped our evening off with dinner at PF Chang’s. This is our favorite Chinese restaurant and is one of the best we’ve eaten at over the years in town.  The one thing we like about PF Chang’s is their seating. They have plenty of booths along the wall, giving the establishment a cozy, romantic sense.  We were taken to a nice booth immediately. We nestled into our little nook, as we looked over the menu. We normally share an entree because it’s more than enough food for the two of us, but we couldn’t decide what to pick and ordered two entrees. We got the Shrimp Fried Rice, an old favorite, and Sesame Chicken, a new dish, for us to share. We got a cup of Hot & Sour soup and two spring rolls for the appetizers. To drink, I had the Dragon Eye Oolong Tea and my husband had the Bistro Blend coffee. When the meal arrived, we knew we’d have enough to take home for dinner another night.  Everything smelled divine and tasted exquisite.  After satisfying our hunger. We ordered dessert, how could we pass this up? After all, we were thrilled to see it on the menu – The Great Wall of Chocolate.  We are choco-alcoholics! This chocolaty dessert wins a blue ribbon in our book.  But, be warned its a huge slice of cake. It’s plenty for two people. Trust me! We savored each tasty bite to the last crumb. Being satisfied, we packaged our leftovers, paid the check, and headed home for the night.

The weekend was well spent in the company of my best friend…my husband.  I will be looking forward to some more fun with him this week as our time together continues. Stay tuned for more!

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