Last night, Rigo, Kim, and I got all dressed up, and went to Downtown Austin to look for a nice restaurant to try. So, we took a bus and got off at 2nd and Congress and walked around until we found a restaurant that suited our fancy.
2nd Street in Downtown Austin is truly magical. Every time I visit, I feel as if I'm already a working, thriving adult, living and enjoying life in a beautifully wonderful city. The street is lined with lit up trees, cute boutiques, and nice restaurants and bars. It's absolutely amazing.
We walked until we stumbled across a restaurant called Malaga Tapas & Bar.The menu showed that it wasn't too expensive, so we decided to try it.
We were immediately greeted by the manager, with a Bienvenidos. And, because he spoke to me in Spanish, I decided to return the greeting with a Buenas Noches. I can tell I surprised him with the fact that I could speak Spanish, and we exchanged a few sentences before we were seated.
The restaurant itself was absolutely gorgeous. The color scheme consisted of beautiful, deep red colors, yellows, and browns. The atmosphere was relaxed and classy.
It was a Spanish European restaurant where everyone shares their plates, which are placed in the middle of the table. The plates are like mini appetizers.
We ordered:
Plato De Carnes y Quesos - Serrano ham, Spanish chorizo, idiazabal, mahon and manchego cheeses, house marmalade.Pollo Ahumeado - smoked chicken drumettes lightly fried, cabrales sauce, arugula salad.Viuras Con Pesto - seared scallops wrapped in basil and pancetta, argula-basil pesto, mixed green salad.Patatas Brava - roasted and fried potatoes, Spanish paprika, oregano house aioli, salsa brava.Gambas Al Ajillo - Sauteed shrimp, Spanish paprika, plantain chips, cilantro aioli.
All of the food was delicious. It was an overall interesting experience. None of us had ever gone to a restaurant quite like this one. We fell in love.
To continue our meal, we ordered two desserts to share.
Right as we got our dessert, the manager approached us. He asked us how the food was and if we enjoyed the restaurant, then gave us some wonderful words of wisdom. He began by applauding the fact that although we are young, we allow ourselves the opportunity to dress up and go to nice restaurants to experience fine dining. He asked us about our majors, and our future career plans, told us about his daughter who is a year younger than us, then told us the story of how he got to where he was today. Don Pepe, as people call him, didn't graduate high school and got married at the age of 15. He said that although he never received a formal education, life taught him all he needed to know. He began working in a boarding school for students with drug and alcohol dependency. He started off as the person who brought in the food for the students, and worked his way up to a supervisor position. He worked alongside professionals with degrees, and learned how to reach out to people and help them change their ways. He said people would constantly ask him how he got these students to change from alcohol and drug addicts, to overall successful people. He would always reply saying the trick was to love them, just as they are. To accept them, and genuinely care for them.
His words were beautiful, genuine, kind, and encouraging.They were just what we all needed at that exact moment, and they made us all really happy.
I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.We were meant to stumble upon this restaurant, at the moment we did.We were meant to meet this amazing man, and hear his wise words.
It's nights like these that make me really happy, that give me the encouragement to want to become a better person, and to reach all of my goals.
I encourage everyone to take a night off from partying, studying, or staying cooped up in your room with a pint of ice cream and Netflix, and dress yourself up. Go out and experience a new restaurant you've never been to with your friends, and truly enjoy it (as in get off your cell phones and have real conversations). It will be well worth it.
Like Ziad K. Abdelnour put it, "Don't spend money on things...spend money on experiences. You'll enjoy life a lot more!"
-TBCG
2nd Street in Downtown Austin is truly magical. Every time I visit, I feel as if I'm already a working, thriving adult, living and enjoying life in a beautifully wonderful city. The street is lined with lit up trees, cute boutiques, and nice restaurants and bars. It's absolutely amazing.
We walked until we stumbled across a restaurant called Malaga Tapas & Bar.The menu showed that it wasn't too expensive, so we decided to try it.
We were immediately greeted by the manager, with a Bienvenidos. And, because he spoke to me in Spanish, I decided to return the greeting with a Buenas Noches. I can tell I surprised him with the fact that I could speak Spanish, and we exchanged a few sentences before we were seated.
The restaurant itself was absolutely gorgeous. The color scheme consisted of beautiful, deep red colors, yellows, and browns. The atmosphere was relaxed and classy.
It was a Spanish European restaurant where everyone shares their plates, which are placed in the middle of the table. The plates are like mini appetizers.
We ordered:
Plato De Carnes y Quesos - Serrano ham, Spanish chorizo, idiazabal, mahon and manchego cheeses, house marmalade.Pollo Ahumeado - smoked chicken drumettes lightly fried, cabrales sauce, arugula salad.Viuras Con Pesto - seared scallops wrapped in basil and pancetta, argula-basil pesto, mixed green salad.Patatas Brava - roasted and fried potatoes, Spanish paprika, oregano house aioli, salsa brava.Gambas Al Ajillo - Sauteed shrimp, Spanish paprika, plantain chips, cilantro aioli.
All of the food was delicious. It was an overall interesting experience. None of us had ever gone to a restaurant quite like this one. We fell in love.
To continue our meal, we ordered two desserts to share.
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| Mantecadas and Pastel De Tres Leches |
His words were beautiful, genuine, kind, and encouraging.They were just what we all needed at that exact moment, and they made us all really happy.
I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.We were meant to stumble upon this restaurant, at the moment we did.We were meant to meet this amazing man, and hear his wise words.
It's nights like these that make me really happy, that give me the encouragement to want to become a better person, and to reach all of my goals.
I encourage everyone to take a night off from partying, studying, or staying cooped up in your room with a pint of ice cream and Netflix, and dress yourself up. Go out and experience a new restaurant you've never been to with your friends, and truly enjoy it (as in get off your cell phones and have real conversations). It will be well worth it.
Like Ziad K. Abdelnour put it, "Don't spend money on things...spend money on experiences. You'll enjoy life a lot more!"
-TBCG
I'm truly amazed!
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