My evening out - Part One

I’ve been Jonesing to blog all day. It’s like an addiction once you get started. Gotta hit that crack pipe. But between the blogging, and the kid, and the job, and all the other things I deal with everyday, I am embarrassed to report I have been neglecting my house cleaning. Big time. Ew. I was about to start going to a gas station to use their restroom because it HAD to be cleaner than my own. Talking with a friend today, I told him it looks like a crack whore lives here. Actually, her place would probably be cleaner.

So, I finally buckled down and made it happen today. This place is spotless and I keep wandering from room to room to bask in the glorious cleanliness I have created. I’m thinking about sleeping in my car tonight so I don’t mess anything up.

It wasn’t easy to stick to the plan today. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm with a lovely breeze, and my garden is also in need of some serious attention. (Tomorrow – I swear! I’ll do it tomorrow.) In addition to the glorious weather, I’ve been dying to tell y’all about last night.

I heard recently that Xander’s Bar and Grill had relocated from the Rosedale area to downtown. (Yeah! It looks as though downtown is really starting to take off.) A friend of mine, Babs, told me she drove by the place and that I should go check it out. So last night I convinced my friend, Kady, to go there for dinner. Kady is the same friend I took the Wine Seller recently, and in spite of my rather poor review, she said she enjoyed it. Nonetheless, it was great when we were both thrilled after we walking into Xander’s last night.

Kady immediately told me it reminded her of a restaurant in Santa Cruz, where she went to school and worked as a waitress. It definitely has a different feel. One of the walls is painted with thick, colored stripes, another is solid lime green, and a third is painted grey. Very cool abstract art is hung throughout (we wondered if they’re from local artists) and semi-loud techno music thumped heavily through the loud speakers. The kitchen is located in the back, but still in the middle of things enough so that the chefs could be seen working their magic. We were so excited we completely forgot about checking out the bar. I found out later it is located downstairs.

We got to the restaurant early and we were seated right away. Our waiter, Ryan, appeared quickly and we decided to order a bottle of the house Chardonnay. I can’t remember what it was now (shoot!) but it was really good and it only cost $19.00. The menus are printed on paper, folded into thirds, but it was tastefully done and indicated that the dinner specials change daily. The wine menu, however, was clearly homemade from what appeared to be gold, foil-wrapped paper and looked, I’m sorry to say, very cheesy.

Kady and I both commented on how affordable the food prices were. In addition to the entrees, there were appetizers, pizzas, sandwiches, soups & salads, and side dishes. The most expensive item on the menu was the ‘Xander’s Ribs’ for $19.00. Nearly all of the items on the menu sounded wonderful. Wanting to make the most of our experience, we decided to order two appetizers, a salad, and a side dish. When we go back next time (and we will) we plan to sample the entrees.

There were twelve appetizers to choose from and all of them were very appealing. It was difficult to make a decision, but we finally settled on the lobster and avocado rolls and (as suggested by our waiter) the garlic shrimp. For the salad we chose ‘Xander’s salad’ described as “fresh greens topped with apples, candied pecans, tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese, rotisserie chicken and topped with a walnut vinaigrette.” Yum. And for the side dish we agreed upon the Mushroom Risotto – “Creamy saffron risotto mixed with seasonal mushrooms and parmesan cheese.” Double yum.

Everything was wonderful. Kady and I kept ooing and ahhing the whole time. I can’t really say which dish was my favorite because they were all so good, but the risotto was amazing! For dessert, we were offered the Crème Brule, but sadly had to decline. We were both too full. I'm sure it is wonderful. Our waiter told us that they frequently serve a chocolate torte which he described as “amazing.” The price for the entire meal? Fifty dollars. Now that’s Bakersfield for ya. I can’t wait to go back.

The only complaint I had (and this is SO minor) was that were there no paper seat covers in the ladies restroom. And you know, after polishing off a bottle of wine and a delectable meal, a girl’s gotta have a paper seat cover.

Part two of my evening out will follow soon. I’m going to kick some butt at the poker table now.