Tonight, I had a most amazing meal. Our bus driver, Marty, got a tip on a restaurant in Phoenix called Richardson's. This place was AWESOME. It's a Mexican/ Southwestern type place, very dark and cozy. Every time the door opens, the room is flooded with light, like a bar out of a Humphrey Bogart noir film. The food was fantastic. We started with chips and salsa. Now, I know what you're thinking, that you get that at any Mexican restaurant. Well, not like this. The green chili was fresh and spicy, but not hot. The red chili was hot and tasty. The guacamole was fresh and creamy, and I don't generally like guacamole. We (4 of us) went through 2 rounds of salsa and chips.

Next up was the roasted garlic appetizer. If you like garlic, this will make your life. If you don't like garlic, this will make you like it. The garlic was huge, each clove easily the size of a chicken egg. The whole head was about the size of both of my fists together. It came with toasted french bread, roasted peppers, and three kinds of cheese. When I tell you that all of these things put together was like a symphony on my tongue, I'm not exaggerating. And it was a huge plate of this stuff. We barely finished it.

Then came the entrees. I had Ahi tuna with blueberry salsa. Amazing. The tuna and blueberry combo was fantastic. And the chili mashed potatoes that came with it? Excellent. Just enough kick to make it the second greatest mashed potatoes I've ever had. (The first? Well, I'll leave that to speculation.) Anyway, I barely had enough room to squeeze half of this into my belly before I had to give up. And I was very disappointed to do so.

So, if you're every in Phoenix, I highly recommend you find Richardson's and get the roasted garlic. It's worth the cab ride.

Some of you may be wondering what happened in Vegas this weekend. Well, what happens in Vegas... you know the rest. Suffice it to say that I left a few weeks per diem at the craps table, and leave it at that.

"Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good."

Alice May Brock