Meet The Team / Wendy Buckley

I have to admit, I discovered Gruet at the omnipotent chain restaurant, well small chain restaurant, Harry's Taproom. Harry's is less than a block from my home base, so several Buckley meals are consumed there per month. They pride themselves on their unique wine list, which I have discovered is not as unique as I'd thought, since I can usually purchase most of their wines at Total Wine.

It was New Years Eve 2007, and we were looking to have a pre-dinner cocktail before heading to another restaurant and then out on the town for some never disappointing D.C. nightlife. I wanted to start the evening off light, so I asked for a glass of bubbly. There were only 2 choices by the glass and one was a prosecco, which is always too sweet for me, so I asked about the other option at $7.50 a glass. I paid little attention to the name, but the state was quite intriguing; New Mexico! I had a feeling I was in for something nasty paired with a nasty headache, so I did what all revelers do on New Year's Eve, I said, Bring it on!

I was amazed by this lovely dry stunner and its tickling aroma of grapefruit and rustic copper. Sip by sip, I became more intoxicated with the joy that you can only experience by finding a great bargain wine under $15.00. Along with this odd pairing of state and champagne is the corresponding story about the European wine makers and their discovery of the rustic but fertile New Mexican terroire which I will link out to. The family also owns a steak house, which I am dying to visit.

I think perhaps I have been living under a rock for the last 30 years of my life. Because until last Sunday, I had never heard of the awe inspiring Carl's and I had never tasted frozen custard. First, some history on how I discovered this delicious gem. My husband and I decided to take a road trip to Fredericksburg, Virginia. The hour long drive was inspired by the opening of a Sonic Drive-In. I know this may sound silly to some, but I am originally from Texas, and Sonic is my lifeblood. Since moving to D.C. in 2000 I have desperately longed for a Sonic within driving distance.

After stuffing ourselves with Sonic's cheeseburgers, cherry cokes, tater tots, and a coconut cream pie shake, we thought it might be prudent to do some walking. We made our way to charming historic downtown Fredericksburg, which is filled with a multitude of antique and junk shops. After perusing the shops and walking off our calorie fest we decided it was time to head back to D.C. On our way out of town we saw Carl's, or should I say, the line to Carl's. We slowed down to see what could be causing this group of about sixty people to stand in the hot sun. One look at the top of the building and we knew this place was special. I slowed down and my husband grabbed a place in line as I found parking.

Our pug, Lola, has been getting rather portly these days. Last week my husband and I had "the chat" about treat reduction, since we both have a bad habit of giving her a nibble of whatever we might be eating, be it toast, cheese, etc.

Obviously we want her to be healthy and that is our reasoning behind our new routine; but while wondering if there were any healthy substitutions this was brought to my attention. I had read many times that chocolate was bad for dogs, but after seeing this Today show episode I learned of some new items to look out for. Along with this list is a grouping of allowed items.

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My husband and visited our favorite local Rio Grande Tex-Mex restaurant on Monday evening. It had been a very long day of traveling back from Park City, Utah and a very long weekend of being surrounded by families enjoying the slopes. Now, I'm not one of those kid haters; they were all very cute with their mini skis and fuzzy hats while they zoomed past me on the beginner's slope.

As we scoured the bar for an adult place to unwind, we quickly realized all the seats were taken and we'd have to actually get a table. Well, no sooner do we get seated and order our margaritas than the hostess sat two women and two children next to us. Wait, I need to rephrase, the women sat and the kids ran all over the place yelling and jumping like wild monkeys. I wish I were exaggerating, but as we sat there the kids, who were between the ages of 8-11, made about ten squealing trips from their table to the tortilla machine, the bathroom, other tables with kids and more. Their moms just sat there sipping margaritas and acting oblivious to the behavior. My jaw dropped, as my chair was bumped into repeatedly, and other patrons stared in disbelief.

This wasn't a one time occurrence for us. I'm starting to witness this more and more in restaurants lately. Is this just something you're numb to once you have kids? Or are kids in charge at restaurants these days? Whatever the case may be, I needed a couple of rounds of Cuervo to get through that meal!

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Before ya'll start in, yes I know you can have carbs, but they aren't the "fun" carbs!

This is my 2nd annual New Year's cleansing using the South Beach diet as my guide of choice. After having gone through many diets throughout the years, I find that the South Beach is the easiest for me personally to follow. Through 2007 I stuck to it as closely as I could on the edible side, with the random slip up involving chili cheese fries or Frito pie. But on the beverage side I tend to backslide quite a bit with a nightly wine habit that I enjoy with much fervor! Let's not forget margaritas, can anyone really have just one?

I realize I will never have the body of a Victoria's Secret model, but I do what I can to stay healthy and fitting into my jeans. So here is one of my favorite recipes from phase one. Do you have any to share?

P.S. I am going to the movies tonight and I am sneaking in nuts. So sad!

See Mexican Chicken Soup after the jump.