Jennifer and Ian and the Spinach Queso

Yesterday I had a client in town from London. They run a digital music and video store that sells content via mobile phones (as they are from the UK, please honor them by pronouncing it mow-bile, not mow-bull).

Between meetings I took them to a favorite lunch spot in Nashville- J. Alexander’s. I know there are now J Alexander’s in other cities around the country- but they started here in 1991 and we think of them as ours and no one else’s. The food is outrageously good. Not that the dishes are particularly unique or one of a kind, its just that it is just plain great tasting. Sort of like how I picture heaven. We see through a glass darkly here in earth, and everything will be clearer, more beautiful, more awesome in heaven. At J. Alexander’s, the food just tastes better than anywhere else. I just can’t explain it any better.

Jennifer and Ian, my clients, seemed to agree. When we got started, the waiter asked the requisite question at J. Alexander’s- “Would you like to start of with some spinach queso?”

I asked Jennifer and Ian if they would like to try it. They agreed to give it a shot, but they had never heard of queso and didn’t know what to expect. When it was brought to the table (giant bowl of melted cheese with spinach, tomatoes and various spices) along with tortilla chips, Jennifer asked what to do with it. I explained that using the large spoon provided, one heaps a blob of the queso on a small plate, grabs a few tortilla chips, and then dips and chomps away.

It was a big hit with the Brits.

When our entrees were delivered, Jennifer looked at her Salmon Caesar Salad (with a gorgeous and sizeable hunk of grilled salmon on top), and then up at the waiter and asked if she could get seconds on the queso. The waiter said he could bring more of the queso and chips, but he would have to charge us for another order. She agreed, but told him to hold the chips.

Shortly afterwards the Salmon Caesar Salad turned into a new creation- The Salmon Spinach Queso Caesar Salad. They really liked the queso. Jennifer asked if we could return for dinner or lunch the next day.






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