What Teray Says...
This week I was really in the mood for tapas and I have heard fabulous things about Barcelona, I used some of my restaurant.com credit to buy a certificate there. Barcelona Tapas is located on Southern Highlands Pkwy in Southern Highlands. The location has many great restaurants that we have frequented, but there are still some we want to try. It is my goal to go to all of them. :)
Barcelona Tapas is a small place, but big enough that you could have a great gathering! There is a bar area, a lounge area, booths and tables. Brett and I sat at a booth in the back. We always like to have a romantic vibe when we go, plus we don't like to be right in the middle of things while we take pictures of the food.
We started by ordering a pitcher of mojitos. Normally when we get tapas we go with sangria, but being we were told the mojitos were fabulous and didn't want sangria again like last week, we went with original mojitos. The size of the pitcher you get is big! It serves 5 glasses= 3.5 for Brett and 1.5 for me! HAHA.
In addition to getting our mojitos right away, we also got some bread with garlic butter and some sort of dip, don't know what it was, but it was great! The bread was fresh right out of the oven. 
The next one Brett chose was the Escargot. I didn't remember having this before now, but according to Brett I have tried that already. You amount that you got was pretty good for sharing it with two people. They were very fresh and again, the sauce that they were in wasn't too rich, which made it great for dipping the bread in. 
Brett and I then decided to order the meatballs (his choice) and the mac and cheese (my choice). The meatballs, which you got 5 of were covered in mozzarella cheese and sauce. It may be because I am partial to Italian cooked meatballs, but they weren't my favorite; I would have preferred something else, just because to me they were a little plain. 
The mac and cheese on the other hand was delicious! I am a huge fan of mac and cheese that is like a little bit crispy on the side when it's baked, but perfectly cheesy in the middle, and that is exactly what this was. I think I could have eaten a huge size portion all alone. 
Now, onto my favorite part of the meal besides the company and the mac and cheese...dessert. For dessert we chose cinnamon apple crepes with ice cream. Wow, was this beyond good! There was so much of it and I felt bad because I think I ate most of the ice cream not leaving much for Brett. I haven't had a crepe in years, so I think that made it even better. Overall, I really loved Barcelona. I heard from a little birdy that they may be opening one in the southwest, so I am pretty stoked. The service and atmosphere was fun, perfect for a Saturday night. I would love to go there for happy hour too with my girls which is supposedly everyday from 4-7. I rate Barcelona 4.5 out of 5 and will absolutely be back!
What Brett Says...
This week we went to "Barcelona Tapas and Bar," which is down in Southern Highlands. I think it is the last of the restaurants in the strip mall we keep going to. I wasn't sure going in how biased I would be considering Firefly was my first tapas experience and quickly became my favorite restaurant. But I was able to put my bias aside and give Barcelona a go. For those of you unfamiliar with "tapas" and no unfortunately it is not topless women (everytime I say we are going to a tapas place one person asks how Teray feels about being around topless girls). Tapas are a hispanicTeray is not a fan of being around topless women...if she was the steakhouse at Treasures would have already been reviewed. But back to the topic at hand; Teray and I are both pretty big fans of tapas. We had our rehearsal dinner at Firefly, 18ppl and all you can eat tapas with pitchers of sangrias is never a bad time.
Pulling up there was no reason to believe we were in for anything special...just another strip mall restaurant. Once you walk through the door you are immediately convinced you are in for something special. Barcelona was poppin', they had a fun crowd at the bar and the restaurant looked steady. We were immediately sat at a booth towards the back of the restaurant. The environment was fun, the decor was modern hispanic chic, and it wasn't overwhelming in any way. Just based on how it was presenting so far it seemed like a place we could go for a night out and have a pretty good time. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a good place to meet single Las Vegas locals, but I wouldn't know anything about that.
Next it is time to cover service. I would have to sum it up as good but definitely not anything to remember. I don't remember our servers name, a middle aged hispanic man. He was very to the point, not social, and abrupt. While he was those things he also met all our needs, had suggestions, and made sure we were never waiting on anything. We always had waters and our mojito glasses were never empty, he also seemed to do a good job of spacing out our tapas so they didn't all come at once. Just don't go in expecting a social experience with your server, but you will be taken care of.
The most important part of any meal is of course the food. The nice thing about tapas is the selection and variety you get to experience; since we are doing all this for you, the reader, we obviously had to order a nice selection. Teray listed all the tapas...and took pictures, so I am not going to do all that. I was absolutely impressed by the tapas we ordered; my Firefly bias was quickly wiped away. These tapas were on par with the great, the stuffed dates were amazing. Food alone this place is worth going. We opted to get a pitcher of mojito, we had sangria the day before. They were legit original mojitos; not premixed from the bottle. There were crushed mint leaves and limes in the pitcher. They were awesome, next time I am going to trick Teray into being the DD and I will have a pitcher to myself.
I think it is obvious that I enjoyed Barcelona Tapas...I'm pretty sure Teray did too. I would go for the bar scene and I would absolutely go for the food. I recommend this place for all gatherings except business meetings...unless you work for a casual company that lets alcohol flow.
I am giving them a 4 out of 5, the service was a little shaky for a 5 out of 5.
Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week
Of course, thanks to Patty and Juan of Patty's Closet for providing me with my outfit of the week this week. They are so supportive of this blog and I cannot thank them enough. xo.
Take a look at my outfit of the week provided by Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique. This green blazer is such a statement piece (it was love at first sight for me). It is meant to be a more fitted blazer, which is more flattering anyway. The sleeves are quarter sleeved length and ruched on the inside to add some flair. It is an extremely flattering length. Green is such a bold, fun color that it amps up any outfit. I chose to pair this with a Patty's Closet mini (from the Blue Diamond store last season- or as I like to say vintage Patty's :) and a basic white flowy tee! I threw on some necklaces, of course from Patty's and I had the perfect dressy, casual outfit! You can find this awesome blazer at the Rainbow location
If you haven't already you need to check out one of the Patty's Closets in Vegas (Rainbow & Town Square), Summerlin, the Northwest, or Henderson. I personally love something different about all of them! Plus the people that own and work at all of them are beyond fabulous! It is such an experience when you go into a Patty's, it is really an outing. You can find what location is closest to you by visiting their website: http://ilovepattyscloset.com/
Also, if you haven't already, you need to obviously like them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PattysClosetLV They put up pictures of their new shipments which arrive every Tuesday and Friday. Plus, with spring around the corner, you know you are going to want a new wardrobe.
Sparkle
So if you haven't heard already (where have you been?!--just kidding). Patty just opened Sparkle by Patty's Closet! It is an all accessories store and like heaven on earth for ladies (and for guys who need a fabulous gift for their gals). This week-end they opened there doors to this beautiful jewelry boutique. Sparkle is just like Patty's where they have a few of each piece, but everything is so unique, you are not going to find it at other stores.
The choices of necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, bag, iPhone cases, etc. was taking my breath away. Anything you could ever want in an accessory is within Sparkle. The decor is a beautiful white so that the bling of everything is the centerpiece. The opening was packed and I know everyone I know that went and have talked to is raving on and on. I have already worn all of the pieces I bought and cannot wait to go back and get more.
Sparkle is where the Blue Diamond Patty's used to be; they just transitioned it into a Sparkle. Like I said, Sparkle is every girls dream. It is BEYOND amazing. As Rachel Zoe says..."I die. I die. " Check out pictures from the opening and get the exact address here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sparkle-by-Pattys-Closet/160713480701946
Until next time, cheers to making wishes, and them coming true.
I am a fan of Firefly, so I think I will try here too! Thanks for the review. Outfit of the week is a chic updated classic look with a modern edge...great!!!!!!!!!!!!
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