Summer Menu Tasting at Z'Tejas

Last night I was at Z'Tejas sampling their new summer menu. I caught wind of this event from Heather who was also there last night with her friend Snork. We exchanged some pleasantries and then found our seats. The general manager came out to greet everyone shortly after and gave a little speech on the event and announced that the food would be coming out shortly. So I did what any normal food blogger would do and whipped out my camera. Apparently, this is where things got "weird" since Snork did not know that I was a totally ridiculous foodie blogger that took photos of all the food before eating it. According to Snork, this behavior is not normal. Then, get this, she started taking photos of the food and blamed me for being a bad influence. After a couple of drinks, everyone was taking photos of the food. Okay, that's not true, it was still mainly just me...and Snork.

Okay, enough of that. I'm here to talk about the summer menu that Z'Tejas will be serving up to their customers this summer. In fact, I think the general manager said that it was already in rotation at some of their other out-of-state locations.

We started the tasting with some warm freshly baked skillet cornbread and sweet honey butter. I wish the cornbread was a little bit sweeter but it was good. There was also some freshly made chips and salsa. The chips were really greasy so I only had two pieces.

Moving on to the main courses. We were served four dishes family-style so we got to taste a little bit of everything. This worked out nice because I was really full at the end of the tasting. They were very generous with some of their portion sizes. 

BBQ Smoke Duck Tacos - the duck was tender and rich which was made even better by the addition of sweet BBQ sauce and avocados. Everyone pretty much loved these tacos and you get three for $13.95 with a side of drunken beans. It's a must try!

Lobster Ravioli - personally I really liked this dish. But then again I love raviolis and I love lobsters, so putting the two together is like a no-brainer. However, my date did not like these very much. He said they were fishy. But then again he thinks most shellfish smells fishy, so take that as you will. I loved that the raviolis were made with squid ink. Don't be afraid, squid ink doesn't really have a taste, it is mostly for visual appeal. I found it very appealing! The roasted green chile sauce is very delicious! You get five raviolis to an order but they are a pretty good size, plus this dish is rich so five is enough for the average person. 

Citrus Glazed Barramundi - I didn't really like this dish very much. The Barramundi is a white fish that they seared and topped with a mango salsa and served over a bed of succotash. The fish was kind of dry to me but on the plus side it was a very healthy dish so if that is important to you then this dish fits the bill. This dish was on the large portion side.

Apricot Mustard Glazed Pork Tenderloin - the pork was cooked perfectly and the apricot mustard glazed really enhanced the sweetness of the pork. So good! I would order this dish again.

White Grape Cilantro Margarita - very strong! I hear all their margaritas are served very strong here so if you like your margaritas strong, this is the place to get them.

Skinny Pineapple Honey Faux-Jito - I don't have a photo of this drink but it was refreshing. I tasted a hint of coconut in there but there was no coconut anything in it. This drink is one of those that tends to creep up on you if you are not careful. Just sayin'. Plus it is a "skinny" drink so all you lushes out there can get your drink on while maintaining your figure.

21 Berry Trifle - they call it the "21" berry trifle because it has uncooked tequila in it so you have to be 21 and over to order one. And why wouldn't you order one? It's got strawberries, blueberries, sponge cake, pudding, whipped cream and yes even tequila. I didn't really taste the tequila but then again I was feelin' pretty good by this point if you know what I mean. This was a darn good end to a good meal and that's just not the tequila talking!

Special shout-out to our super cute and upbeat waitress who took such good care of us and described all the dishes so well that we were drooling well before the food came out. Thanks Z'Tejas! This was the first time visiting your restaurant but it won't be the last.