Our [Company] Holiday Get-Together

I was chosen by Jamie, our General Manager, to host this year's holiday party at Gonazalez Y Gonzalez (chosen--not by me--for its "thriftiness"; my natural choice would have been Lure or B&B). I had no intention of eating at Gonzalez Y Gonzalez and spent the better part of the afternoon deciding where I'd have my pre-holiday-party dinner.

I didn't really want to go to Lure or B&B because I knew I'd simply order the same things I'd always ordered; and it was already too late to head down to East of Eighth for their "Quick & Easy Lunch" menu, which I believe ends at four. By the time I finished warming in the oven: a blue cheese sandwich with homemade cranberry-blackberry sauce and crushed spiced walnuts, and dressing for the party (I couldn't decide upon hipster, casual, business, or costume-y--I finally settled upon 'sophisticated') there was no time for a pre-party dinner after all.

Being at Gonzalez Y Gonzalez, I started with a margarita on the rocks before eventually moving onto Jalapeño Kisses, filled with shrimp and three cheeses, and wrapped in bacon ($8.25) and Plátanos Maduros, sweet plantains topped with queso fundido ($6.50). The stuffed jalapeños were delicious (how can you go wrong with jalapeños?) and the plátanos served as a nice dessert alternative (although the fried plantains were nothing special and the texture of the queso fundido was a touch chalky/oily). At the end, I was completely satisfied with my meal--although I would have preferred some sparkling to go along with it!