Birdie's

At the beginning of this month, I travelled to Los Angeles with a few of my friends to celebrate my dear friend Tony's birthday. Although there are plenty of things that I enjoyed from this trip and will blog about in the upcoming month, one of the first things I wanted to highlight was our trip to Birdie's  in downtown LA. We heard about this restaurant when we arrived at our airbnb and asked our host about good places to go eat because who knows the city better than a local! I'm so happy Tony asked her because this place was so good.

The restaurant is pretty small, but easy to find. When we arrived, we noticed that there was limited seating space. The menu is displayed on the wall and as soon as you walk in your attention is immediately captured by all the donuts on display. The best thing about this restaurant is that you get to sample the donuts before you purchase! How freaking awesome is that?! I can't tell you how many times I've bought something just because I thought it looked cool and once the initial hype died down I thought to myself "Yeah I wouldn't buy that again". I've learned that the best thing about traveling with your friends is that you can all buy different food and share, giving you the opportunity to try everything without having to buy everything. Jessica had the maple bacon donut and I bought the cookies and cream one. I sampled the dark chocolate donut, but I guess the bitterness wasn't doing it for me that morning so I went with the sweeter donut. The maple bacon donut was the perfect amount of sweet and savory. The small chunks of bacon and the maple glaze/frosting wasn't too sweet so you get the perfect balance of sweet and salty. I really liked my cookies and cream donut because it wasn't too sweet either! I love sweets, but if I'm left feeling like I need a gallon of water after eating dessert, I'm not a huge fan.

Joe T. Garcia's

Today I had the opportunity to go to one of my favorite Tex-mex restaurants, Joe T Garcia's,  to celebrate my dear friend Sandra's birthday. I was excited to go for two reasons, the first being, I hadn't been to Joe T's since my friend Aimee's wedding rehearsal dinner about a year and a half ago. I typically don't drive all the way out to Fort Worth very often so it's always a pleasure to be able to stop here and enjoy a margarita and some fajitas. The second, I just love this restaurant! The patio/outside event area is so pretty and perfect for all the pictures you'd want to take. I actually had my very own birthday dinner here when I turned 20 and celebrated with so many close friends. One could say this place has a soft spot in my heart.

Joe T Garcia's is very unique and interesting. For dinner, they only serve two entrees: enchiladas or fajitas. On the enchiladas you get two cheese enchiladas, a plate of crispy tacos, and fried tortillas with cheese and jalepenos on top (their spin on cheese nachos). With the fajitas you get a choice of beef, chicken or a combination of both. In the past, I've always just split the combination plate and always felt full. The fajitas come with sour cream, cheese, rice, beans, and flour tortillas. With a limited menu this really makes Joe T's the perfect place for larger parties to come and celebrate since ordering food is so easy. Another reason this restaurant is unique is because they only accept cash and there are not splitting checks. I'm not sure the reasoning behind this, but again it makes things a breeze for larger parties which seems to be the standard for Joe T's. They also have a mariachi band that goes from table to table singing love ballads and the typical happy birthday song for a little cash. Their margaritas are strong and can even be ordered by the pitcher! On this specific occasion, I didn't have the opportunity to enjoy one because I forgot my ID in my other purse. (boo 😣) The service is always quick and efficient. Their staff really knows how to handle the large parties and get the food out quickly and drinks are always refilled. If you're looking for a place to celebrate an occasion, I'd definitely recommend Joe T Garcia's. They have good food, great drinks, and the best patio with perfect photo ops. If you decide on heading out to Fort Worth to give this place a try with a larger party, make sure you call and make a reservation in advance. Since this place is wildly popular, you can always expect the line to be out the door. When I came here to celebrate my 20th birthday, I called in May to reserve seating in August and they were already booked the day of so I had to settle for a few days before!! Leave a comment letting me know what your favorite Tex-Mex restaurant is so I can go check it out. Thanks for reading, Quynhthy.