TRAVEL: La Velvet Margarita Cantina - Hollywood, CA

Over the weekend I went down to California with my best friend to visit our friend Jill. She took us to this excellent restaurant called La Velvet Margarita Cantina. The decor alone is awesome in this place. They have cool skull painting on the wall, sombreros on the ceiling, and cool metallic wallpaper throughout. I started my meal with the VMC House Salad. It was a nice mixed greens salad with mama Carmelita's special vinaigrette orange dressing. This was a very tasty and refreshing salad. For my entree, I had the Chicken Asada Taco Platter. This consisted of grilled chicken served open faced on corn tortillas topped with salsa, guacamole, onions and sour cream. The tacos were served with rice and beans. All of the food was delicious.

One of the drinks I had with dinner was their Pina Colada which was served in a shaved coconut. This was honestly one of the best Pina Coladas I have ever tasted. It was so smooth and creamy.

The second drink I had was their Velvet Margarita. This was served in a fresh pineapple. This too was one of the best margaritas I have tasted. I highly recommend it!

REVIEW: Blue Star Cafe & Pub

The Blue Star Cafe & Pub is a place I have been going to for many years. I usually go there for breakfast or lunch, which are both very good. Recently I went there for dinner for a couple of friend's birthday dinner. I love the fact that Blue Star has outdoor sidewalk seating in the summer. The night we went was perfect for sitting out in the nice weather and enjoying a great meal with great friends.

One of my friends ordered the nachos for his meal, and believe me, this nachos platter is definitely a full meal. The plate was huge! They serve it up with the perfect amount of toppings. I like nachos, but I can't stand it when they coming completely covered in cheese and the tortilla chips get all soggy. That wasn't the case for Blue Star's nachos. The chips were crisp and they were perfectly covered with tomatoes, olives, peppers, cheese, sour cream, onions, and season chicken. They were delicious!

For my dinner, I ordered one of my all-time favorite dishes, Chicken Marsala. I have never had it at Blue Star, and I was quite surprised that they even had it on their menu. I always like to try it out whenever I see it on the menu. I must say I was quite impressed with Blue Star's Chicken Marsala. The two generous chicken breast portions were sitting upon a bed of fettucini noodles with mushrooms and Marsala sauce. The sauce was perfect. It wasn't too watery and there was just enough sauce to be able to enjoy all of the noodles. The dish was topped off with some fresh grated parmesan cheese. The dish was accompanied with a little watermelon wedge garnish. At first I thought it was odd to have watermelon garnish for a Chicken Marsala dish, but on a warm, summer night it was the perfect little treat at the end of the meal. Now I have another reason to come back to Blue Star.