Saturday, April 16, 2011

The Grotto

Things didn't look so good when I woke up Friday morning!


Saturday morning was even worse.


We were planning on visiting my mom a couple hours away today, but the highways are too slippery according to the road report.  This is pretty ridiculous for April 16th!

Although I don't like waking up to snow, I do like waking up to notes from the hubby :-)


It is no wonder that I knew he was a keeper when I was only 16.  

Last night we had a great night out with friends.  We started the evening at Freddy and Frosso's beautiful home, where we enjoyed a beverage before heading out to a village in Saskatchewan called Vibank.

 

Freddy and Frosso have the coolest collection of beer mugs/glasses (and knives, and chopping blocks, and pretty much everything a foodie could ever want) that I have ever seen!

Each person chose a different beer, and they were all served in their own special glass. 

Our friend Emma.  Pretty much the cutest thing ever.
We headed out on the snowy roads around 6:30 for a 40 minute road trip the "The Grotto" in Vibank. Vibank is a village that is home to 381 people, with a land area of .72km².  "The Grotto" is a coffee house and eatery in an old convent.  It is owned and operated by a lady from Mexico and her husband, and each Friday night they have a fixe prix Mexican menu prepared, complete with soup, a huge entree, and dessert.


We decided to get a little crazy and start our meal off with Chapulines con Queso.


For those who need to brush up on their Spanish ... that would be Grasshoppers with cheese :-)

I ate one.  I kept thinking "mind over matter", "mind over matter" ... sort of the same way I did when I tried bone marrow.  The grasshoppers were alright, but I am not too good at the mind over matter thinking, so I doubt I would order these again.

The soup was Sopa Ranchera.  It tasted like something momma would have made ... you know ... if momma were Mexican.  I gobbled the whole bowl and wished for more.


The main course included: ancho chile BBQ chicken, cheese filled poblano pepper, meat filled corn dough pastry with guacamole and re-fried beans, Mexican style corn and Mexican rice.


It was enough to feed a small army, so most people left with doggy bags.

The cheese filled poblano was incredible, as was everything else.  
The hubby raved about the corn!

Dessert was Pastel de Tres Leches (three cream cake).  
I had a few bites, but I was stuffed, so Emma and Dalton happily polished my cake off. 

Friends Emma and Dalton
Overall I was extremely impressed with both the service and the food at "The Grotto" and I cannot wait to go back again.  The menu changes each week!

We won't be able to go next week because we will be busy packing and getting ready for our vacation to NEW YORK!!!  Exactly one week from today the hubby and I will be arriving in New York for a week long vacation.  We had such an amazing time last year, that we had to return this year.

Check out our re-caps from our last years trip to New York:


Is there anything that we missed that we simply must do this time?
What is the furthest you have traveled just to try a restaurant?

It's normal to want to drive 28 hours to go to The French Laundry in California ... right?


16 comments:

Simply Life said...

wow! That weather does not look fun! I have the same coffee pot! :)

Anonymous said...

Grasshoppers?! You're crazy!! One of the places I'm excited for on our trip to SF next week is California Pizza Kitchen!! Love that place...

Losing in the City said...

you must come to Brooklyn... the tourist thing to do is to take the water taxi to dumbo.. when you get there you can have pizza at Grimaldi's and ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice cream factory... enjoy...hopefully the weather will be better when you come..

Anonymous said...

I didn't know you've been to NY before!!! I have to check those posts...I recently got my passport updated...and I am so tempted one day to just up and go there and screw it...

My Visa won't thank me for it :(...but my sanity might ;)

I've always been "scared off" of going anywhere alone though. Where to go - for a hotel, the sights, how to get there, who to trust...too much! So many places I want to travel to in my lifetime...just waiting for my mega-million (sigh).

The Bird Cage said...

Hello,

Just found your blog and I really like it! I look forward to continuing to browse through it and to your upcoming posts!

It was gross in Toronto as well today... hang on for spring!

Katie@Real Food Katie's Way said...

Isn't the snow disgusting? It's the middle of April already...I want to be outside with the growing grass and blooming flowers...

I just stumbled on your blog! Glad I did too!!

I've heard AMAZING things about The Grotto but have never taken the trip for some reason...Perhaps I will have to drag my hubby out for a road trip one of these weekends ;)

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

Yum! Mexican is probably my favorite cuisine so I'd love to try a place like that. So cool that they switch up their menu weekly!

So exciting that you leave for NYC soon! I just love that city and would love to return. Depending on how much work travel I do this fall, I might try to get there for a long weekend...

Jessica @ Dairy Free Betty said...

Yuck to the weather, it's been trying to snow here too... which isn't cool one little bit!

Grasshoppers! Wow, you go girl! haha

Looking forward to the New York updates! It was so cool the last time you were there, I just lived through you! :)

Kacy said...

What a nice hubby!!
Sorry about the snow though :(

Lauri (RedHeadRecipes.com) said...

Yikes! That weather looks AWful! But your night out looks FUN! FUN!

One Healthy Apple said...

Oh my gosh, please come to French Laundry and hubby and I will meet you there. In this fantasy world we will also be able to get a reservation, but details, details.

I can't believe you ate a grasshopper- major foodie points there girl!

Anonymous said...

levain bakery!! And btw G and I drive an hour or TWO to get food sometimes since we live in a small town!! Normal to us!! Can't wait for your nyc trip!!

Olivia said...

You two met when you were only 16!?! Ahhh toooooo cute!! And that is super sweet that he packed you a lunch + left a sweet note too:) I absolutely adore cheesefilled tamales so I'll bet yours was amazing. And that cake sounds SOO good! Too bad you were too full to enjoy it:( love your blog btw!

Anonymous said...

I haven't been to NYC too often to give recomendations! What a nice hubby you have!

Emily said...

What a meal! Everything looks incredible. I want that tres leches cake. I need to make that, don't I?

Hannah said...

Oh no, I can't believe you still have snow- That is brutal. Hope spring comes for you soon!

Enjoy New York, by the way!