Happy Birthday Rachel!

My very good friend, Rachel, is turning 30 on Tuesday...April Fools! Saturday we joined her, some friends and family for dinner, drinks and a great time. I'll admit that I ate entirely too much and Jason probably drank too much, but it was completely worth it! When we hang out with Rachel and her family, things can get a little crazy. Especially when Jason and and Sid (her cousin) are in rare form. Sid is a shot guy. He loves to start the night with a shot of tequila and manages to somehow talk Jason into joining him. Though now that I think about it, I actually think Saturday was the first night in a long time where they didn't take tequila shots. Instead they stuck with drinking Dewar's & Water.

For dinner we went to Taste of Texas. In my opinion, this is one of the best places in Houston for a steak. If you live in Houston and haven't been, make a point to try it for a special occasion. If you don't live in Houston, just file this away in case you ever visit. It's a little strange to go to a really nice steakhouse and venture to a salad bar, a la Steak Kountry Buffet, but who can complain about a full array of salad choices and huge blocks of cheese?!? We started with Texas Quail Bites and Jalapeno Stuffed Shrimp. This was my first taste of quail, but I really liked it. I can't personally comment on the shrimp, though, because I don't eat it but the rest of the table seemed to love it.

I ordered the 6 ounce Center Cut Fillet wrapped in Bacon and Jason ordered the New York Strip Sirloin. We shared Asparagus in Hollandaise sauce and Texas Au Gratin Potatoes. My steak was perfect - part of the reason I love Taste of Texas, but Jason said next time he'll order the Rib Eye. I can't blame him - my two favorite steak options are Rib Eye and Fillet...New York Strip just isn't the best cut of meat. It was cooked well and had a good flavor, but you can't beat the marbling on a Rib Eye. Paired with the Cambria Bench Break Vinyard Pinot Noir...it was a great meal. Especially when we finished with Key Lime Pie and Snickers Pie...which is more like a rich cheesecake and not so much a pie.

After dinner, the we had drinks a The Capital Grille. Before we knew Sid, he was a server at Capital Grille, so he knew a few people working there. This can be a good thing and a bad thing! The good thing...your drinks will be mixed with a heavy hand. The bad thing...your drinks will be mixed with a heavy hand! Though I tend to stay away from vodka, we ordered a round of Stoli Doli (a 21 day pineapple infused vodka) and also ended up with some fruity shots...I have no idea what those were! The waitress (a friend of Sid's) gave us an order of Creme Brulee topped with fresh berries that was fantastic!

To finish the night, we went to the Tasting Room in Uptown Park Plaza. I have been to another Tasting Room location, but I think I like this one best. They have a huge outdoor seating area and we lucked into a table on the end of the patio. Three bottles of wine later...and it was time to go home! Actually, we realized that before we finished the wine. Probably a good thing. We ordered a white wine (I have no clue what), the Trinchero Family Pinot Noir (a Napa Valley Pinot) and the EVIL Cabernet Sauvignon bottled by R Winery (the "EVIL" is upside down and backwards, bottled in Australia).