Our normal Tuesday night spot has been on the down slide since the previous managers returned to Mexico.  The new manager is a really nice guy, but the food, service, and especially the margaritas are just not the same.  So we have been looking around for some options for our Mandatory Tuesday Margarita Night.  That hunt lead us to a new Mexican style restaurant, Cozumel Restaurante Cantina.  They recently opened in what was 32 Degrees on General Booth Blvd. 
We may have found a place with some hope!  We were given a warm welcome as soon as we entered and were promptly seated at a table large enough to hold all six of us.  The restaurant is decorated in a neat island/mexican theme and has a nice family friendly feel to it.  The first thing we noticed was how much quieter it was than our previous spot.  We didn’t have to yell to converse.
The menu was the only slight disappointment of the evening.  It contained pretty much the normal selection of mexican dishes that can be found anywhere in town.  Missing was the variety of “different” dishes that our other place has such as the Alambres, Cochinita Pibil, and Pollo con Arroz.  After searching of the menu for something different than the normal burritos and chimichangas I went for the Pollo Special.  It was chicken breast topped with Chorizo and chesse.  On the side were tortillas, rice, and salad.  The food was awesome and plentiful.  Other people at our table ordered fajitas and were also very happy with the quantity and quality of food.  The cactus appetizer was also good.  Even better than the food were the margaritas.  They werent’ half price like our normal Tuesday night margaritas, but they were awesome and worth the price!  The service was awesome too!

Check this place out it’s well worth a try!

Now tonight I have to work twice as hard on the trainer to work off the food and margarita!… grrrrr.

My favorite beer store here in Virginia Beach is Grape and Gourmet!  Once a week one of the owners sends out a e-newsletter letting everyone know what they are offering up at their tastings.  These emails are always entertaining and full of Debbie’s wit and wisdom…. some of this wisdom is being shared here with Debbie’s holiday eating tips from this weeks email.  The store does also sell wine and an awesome selection of gifts and glassware, They even have Amber’s favorite glasses made by Eisch.  Who wants to go there for that stuff. Beer is where it’s at!    I have “printed” and saved the full newsletter here for anyone that’s interested, otherwise read on for the holiday eating tips.

I came across this somewhere on the net: http://texasamstaff.com/secret/  It’s an open directory listing of 100’s of recipes that mimic many of the chain restaurant foods.  Check it out!   Another similar listing can be found here: Top Secret Recipes on the Web