Hello all! This week I want to story about a great find in Texas. Also, I figured before Christmas happens, I should post some photos from Thanksgiving.
Boyd and I drove down to Arlington, TX for Boyd's younger sister's wedding the weekend before Thanksgiving. The drive was cheaper than flights there, even with two nights in a hotel. Plus, we enjoyed seeing the countryside, talking about life, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, and watching Law & Order in the hotel rooms! If you need a good driving song, check this one out:
Oklahoma countryside
We arrived on Friday night pretty exhausted from the 1,000 mile drive and we went searching online for a good restaurant. So many places around were national chain restaurants, which were guaranteed not to have the good green salad we craved. By some act of miracle we wound up at Potager, based solely on the Yelp Reviews and the fact that Boyd's aunt had recommended a place near the hotel "whose name started with P."
The minute we walked in the small restaurant I knew we were in the right place. The food smelled good, people were laughing and drinking wine out of mismatched wine glasses. The man behind the counter had dreads in his hair and was smiling warmly. Potager just has one menu on a chalkboard and it changes daily. You step up to the counter and order from the list such delicacies as green beans and tomatoes, sauteed brocholi, quiche, and (yay!) green salad. You let them know how much you want of each item and they put all the orders on your plate - of course you can always come back for seconds!
Boyd enjoying a bite of quiche at Potager.
Probably the coolest part is their pay system. Seeing that there were no listed prices I quietly asked the man in line with us how it worked. He explained that the list on the wall had suggested prices for generic items like "entree", "side vegetable", and "salad'. You then consider whether your quantity was small, medium, or large and pay accordingly. You add up your costs, add sales tax, and drop the money in a watering can next to the list. I liked that the pay was casual, yet it still listed their costs and gave you the option to give what you thought the meal was worth. Believe me - it was a good deal for farm fresh food!
After two days of car food the broccoli never tasted so good, the salad had real greens, and the green beans crunched satisfyingly. It was absolutely 100% better than I ever could have imagined. At one point I gushed that if this place was in St Paul I'd eat here all the time. But truth be told, it's exactly how we cook at home so I wouldn't actually go if I lived nearby. However, after the wedding the next day we did pop over for another meal at Potager for our daily dose of real greens and tasty veggies. Yum!
Speaking of yum, here are some photos from our lovely Thanksgiving in Minnesota with our friends the Mitchells and two other couples.
Boyd and Jason prep the "happy" free-range turkey.
We also did a tandoori-flavored rotisserie turkey. It worked pretty well and the tandoori flavor was great!
The lovely table with Jason and Gena's fancy china.
My plate full of food! The green blob is saag paneer, which our friend from India brought and which went surprisingly well with mashed potatoes!
PIES!!
P.S. We picked up one more stamp for our National Parks Passport! Chickasaw National Recreation Area in southern Oklahoma, where we stopped for lunch.
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