DINNER: Bandera

Bandera's Web site

Some how our initially planned dinner date to La Boheme miraculously morphed into dinner at Bandera's. My husband wasn't feeling in the mood to try something that was seemingly stuffy so we hit the fav around the corner. Since we are parents to a 2 year old -- we had no shame at starting our date at the ripe old hour of 5:30 pm. We started the night off with freshly made margaritas and I now recall how great a real one is rather than that green stuff that comes out of a screw cap bottle. Next came the to-die-for tuna poke with mango and shrimp. This is one of the reasons we go to this place --- I think my husband might just dream about this dish at night, it's that good. We then vowed to try new dishes: I very much enjoyed their signature cornbread (this didn't come out of a box, folks) and their smoked Salmon plate. The fish was light and tasty --- not at all oily and wet looking, which is what I've experienced at other places and usually steer clear of anything "smoked." By now I was on to a glass of pinot noir: a generous pouring with a $8 price tag. We snuck in what was called a "nice little house salad" --- and it was just that, topped with bits of goat cheese and wonderfully flavorful cherry tomatoes (amazing that they found such tasty ones this time of year). At this point in the evening we were probably pushing 6:45 (I know!) and there was not an empty seat in the house. The staff was excellent. At no point did we feel rushed even though we were only munching on apps. After adjusting our belt buckles, we dove into their main dishes: I got their grilled veggie platter that never disappoints: full of seasonal delights such as grilled red cabbage and purple cauliflower. The hub got the signature rotisserie chicken that he said was delish. With 6 cocktails and all this food, our bill was just a hair over $100. Even though I wanted to try a new place, Bandera's gets a thumbs up, and once again doesn't disappoint.