Yesterday, right around 5pm I had an email encounter with a client that left me with spiked blood pressure and a strong hankering for a cocktail. On the drive home all I could think about was how I just wanted to get home and see my husband. His arms were the ones I wanted wrapped around me. His smile is the one I wanted to see. I knew that just going home to him would be what I needed.

And there he was with a cure for what ailed me. He listened to me vent and then he put on She’s Out Of My League. We laughed and laughed and I allowed myself to calm down and forget about my workplace woes.

Then we went downtown for the Joebot’s/Yokozuna Grand Opening event. I was given a sample of delicious iced espresso and listened to live music while we waited for a table. Once seated we were given some sake to try. It was my first experience with sake. I wasn’t much of a fan, but I hear there are many kinds and I shouldn’t write it off completely.

Then came my cocktail. My deliciously girly Hello Sumo Hello Kitty cocktail. I’m pretty sure that drinking it out of the ceramic sumo was half the fun.

Now it must be said that I do not like sushi. I never have. People always tell me it’s because I haven’t tried the right kind. Those close to me know that I have tried it on several occasions and am always left gagging and/or choking it down. (Rodger, do you remember that time we tried sushi at Tsunami? And how horrible it was? Yeah.)

Thom loves him some sushi though. He hardly ever gets to indulge because of me. In the same manner that I hardly ever get to enjoy things like lasagna or macaroni and cheese because of his utter disdain for all things cheesy and noodley. Yokozuna provides not only a full entree menu, but a full sushi menu as well. It’s a win win.

Dinner came and Thom had ordered two kinds of rolls.

-The Golden Driller Roll: Tempura shrimp, jalapeno, and cream cheese with spicy mayo.
-The Rising Sun Roll: Coconut shrimp, crab, cream cheese, and avocado rolled in soy paper and served with pineapple rum sauce.

He ate one piece of the Rising Sun Roll and this smile spread across his face. The same kind of smile that spreads across mine when I’ve just taken a bite of the most delicious and decadent dessert. He looked and me and pushed the plate my way.

“You are going to want to try this.”

I dipped my finger in the pineapple rum sauce and knew he was right. I wanted more of that sauce. And that meant I was going to need a vessel to get the sauce from the dish and into my mouth.

The lighting was not so great so I didn’t get a photo of it, but here’s what it looked like.

Image taken from Yokozuna’s flickr stream.

You guys… I didn’t gag! I ate the entire bite and enjoyed it the way it was meant to be enjoyed. It was such a triumphant moment for me. I don’t know if I’ll ever find another kind of sushi that agrees with me, but at least I’ll always have the Rising Sun Roll.

At the end of the meal my fortune cookie said to me: You have a secret admirer. Lock your doors. (gotta love humorous fortune cookies)

We saw lots of friends and familiar faces last night and the entire drive home I was just happy. Happy that Thom and I managed to turn what could have been a crappy night into a really enjoyable evening.

Happy that I have a husband who knows me. Who knows how to make me forget about the little things in life that bring me down.

There’s a song out there on the radio slowly climbing the (Christian radio) charts.

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say it’s true
God gave me you

On my own I’m only, half of what I could be
I can’t do without you
We are stitched together, and what love has tethered
I could baby never undo

(watch the entire video here)

I may get angry at you for not cleaning out the garage. Or for never putting the toilet paper roll on the holder. These are those small things that people tell you not to sweat. And those people are right. Because at the end of the day you are my husband. You are the man whom I have chosen to spend my life with. And you are the one whose arms I run to. Thank you for being my lobster.

I’ve had heard great things about Compadres Mexican Grill, but since there wasn’t one right in Tulsa, I hadn’t eaten there. Well we have one now! Located at 71st & Sheridan where the Mexicali Border Cafe used to be. This works out perfect for me because I work just shy of a mile away. And in the short time they’ve been open I’ve already been four times. Yes four times. What can I say? I like to find something new and go full force until I wear myself out on it. Although it’s hard to imagine wearing myself out when the fajitas taste this good.

The menu is huge and full of things that look absolutely amazing.

What caught my eye was the Monterrey Jack Fajitas. Squash, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, beef or chicken, bacon, and Monterrey Jack cheese. I ordered mine sans mushrooms because I hate mushrooms.

And here’s where I have a confession to make. Something I though I would never ever say. Next time I would leave off the bacon. For whatever reason the bacon sort of got in the way of the awesome flavor of the carne asada. It’s like they were competing to be top dog. And well, the beef won. Sorry bacon, I still love you. Just not on my fajitas apparently. However, the bacon in no way ruined the dish. And there is just something completely sublime about prying a piece of well done zucchini off of the cast iron skillet and popping it into your mouth. It’s the kind of stuff dreams are made of. If you thought a fajita onion was to die for, just wait until you put that piece of squash in your mouth.

Here is the after picture. You can see all the little pieces of bacon I left behind.

You can also see I didn’t touch my beans or eat much of my spicy papas. The papas were great of course, but who has room for all of that food? I will say that I love the variety of side options they have. Instead of just offering beans and rice you also have the choice of papas (mashed or fried), grilled veggies, or okra.

I sampled the fajitas with both corn and flour tortillas. I prefer corn tortillas, but they just weren’t sturdy enough to support all of the things I wanted to put inside them. So I ended up using the flour tortillas.

I also tried out their drink of the month; the Acapulco Sunrise. I forgot to ask what was in it, but it was mighty tasty.

Our server Michael was very friendly and did a great job. The restaurant was very busy and full of happy people. We didn’t have to wait long for our food and the price was pretty average. We didn’t order any dessert although I’m sure they have some delicious ones. As much as I love dessert, it’s darn near impossible to find room for it at the end of most meals.

Here are a few other dishes they feature:

Combination fajitas

Chimichanga

Pretty sure there’s a burrito underneath all of that.

Oh and the chips and salsa are great, in case you were wondering.

The lunch specials are cheap and your beverage is included in the price. It’s little things like that that really make a place stand out in my opinion.

They also make a mean strawberry margarita.

Thank you Compadres for opening up a Tulsa location. Now I know what Broken Arrow is always fussing about.

Oh and they have daily specials too. You can go in today (Thursday) and get fajitas, queso, and margaritas for two for only $19.99. If I hadn’t already gone there for lunch, I’d be going back for dinner.

http://www.compadresgrill.com/

A few months ago the company I work for moved from Jenks into Tulsa. After six years of eating mostly at the same few places, I now have a much bigger selection of dining establishments for lunch. And one thing that Jenks was really lacking was a place to eat good Chinese fast food. The first week in our new location I discovered Great Wall. It’s practically across the street and the food is so good.

Whether I’m calling in a to go order or dining in, the staff is always very friendly. And when I say staff I really just mean the woman who runs the whole darn place. She’s the hostess, the waitress, and the cashier. She’s a busy lady. I feel bad that I don’t actually know her name. Especially since she already knows what I’m going to order before I order it.

I may be a little bit of a creature of habit when it comes to Chinese food.

What you see there in that photo? That is $6 worth of food. I know right? That’s a good deal. You can order straight off the menu, or you can opt for their Mongolian grill. They will bring you the meat of your choice and you can take a stroll through the veggie and sauce buffet and put together your dish. Then you can stand there and watch the guy cook it for you. So yummy.

I’m particularly fond of the egg rolls as they use spring roll wrappers so they are light and crispy.

I recently went and picked up Chinese food for dinner at another establishment that in the past I would have referred to as my favorite. I was sorely disappointed. Great Wall seems to have set the bar pretty high. I think it has something to do with their fried rice. It’s full of veggies and tiny bits of bbq pork. Most other places just give you plain fried rice with your meal, which is now just disappointing to me.

My co-workers seem to really enjoy the garlic chicken and the general tso’s chicken.
So if you’re in the mood for above average casual dining Chinese food, march on over to Great Wall. They will hook you up.

Great Wall
7105 S Yale
918-494-8652

If you’re looking for a good slice of pizza, I’ve got the place for you. If you’re looking for an unusual slice of pizza, guess what? It can be found at the same place!

Joe Momma’s Pizza is located downtown at 112 South Elgin, right in the heart of the Blue Dome district. All of their pizzas are made to order in this fantastically gorgeous brick oven.

Joe Momma’s is known for their creative and unusual pizzas such as The Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza (my personal favorite). Can you imagine how amazing a pizza tastes with mustard, pickles, and onions alongside bacon, beef, and cheddar? It’s pretty darn amazing.

Sometimes I go for a more simplistic pizza. Afredo sauce and black olives. This is the one pizza I can be sure my husband won’t try and sneak a piece of. Silly olive hater. Doesn’t it look divine?

While you’re there, make sure to order you some Marshall to help wash it all down. The Sundown Wheat is our brew of choice.

Joe Momma’s has live music on the weekends, open mic night on Monday, and trivia on Thursdays. Also, Tuesdays are $5 pizza night and Mondays they have 50 cent wings.

And if pizza isn’t your thing, they have a variety of sandwiches, pastas, and salads to choose from.

So get yourself downtown!