Clovis Pulse » Food and Drink

Vanilla Expressions: Clovis Cake Couturier

Crysti Couture — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:01:52 +0000

Recently, Clovis has seen a large influx of new bakeries and sweet shops, which we might have to *review* soon, but in the midst of researching local businesses for my son’s 5th birthday party, I ran into Jessica Marie Barriere via Craigslist.

I checked out her online portfolio / blog over at Vanilla Expressions and was immediately impressed with her work. Her cakes are like miniature works of edible art and it was very apparent that Jessica had an eye for detail.

After emailing her back and forth a couple of times, we finally met at the Java Loft, a local bookstore and coffee shop. I had showed her a couple pictures of what I liked and what the cake needed to have. I certainly wanted a 2 tiered cake with a yellow and black theme. I gave her a lot of creative license as I wanted to see what sort of creative ideas she had and how they would translate on the cake itself.

I had asked Jess to bring the cake to our home the day before the party. The expression on my son’s face was priceless! The cake was completely covered in fondant and the decorative details were lovingly carved with expert precision. Every detail of the cake was completely hand made; from the chocolate ganache filling, to the chocolate lettering.As an Independent Cake Decorator, Jessica’s work is phenomenally done and had such flair and fine details as if the cake was crafted by a veteran artisan. You can contact Jessica with the below details for a quote:

Mrs. Jessica Marie Barriere
Confectionery Artist
Vanilla Expressions
575-904-9500
http://vanillaexpressions.blogspot.com

Learn The Wilton Cake Decorating Method at Hobby Lobby

Crysti Couture — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:27:23 +0000

If you’ve lived in Clovis, NM for any amount of time and are a female, surely Hobby Lobby has or will become one of your favorite haunts. Even if you don’t happen to be the crafty type, there is something at this store for everyone. And now, Hobby Lobby is offering affordable cake decorating classes!

Tuition is normally $35 but with a coupon you can find at the front of the store, you can receive 1/2 off the tuition and a $15.00 Thank You gift certificate from Wilton.

You have the choice of signing up for classes on Mondays or Wednesdays for the entire month of February. So class dates for Mondays are the 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd. Dates for Wednesday classes would be the 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th. Classes will always be held from 6 PM to 8 PM.

If you decide to sign up for classes (and I hope you do!) make sure to bring your Class Registration Fee Receipt, something to write with and a notepad.

After you have finished your first course, there are other courses you can take:

So if you’re looking for something to do, and want to learn something along the way, we suggest you look into this course; it’s well worth the small investment to learn such a useful and creative skill!

An Evening With John Pritchett

Crysti Couture — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:37:21 +0000

This past Friday evening was a hastily planned one. A very good friend of mine sent me a text message:

Yo! There is going to be an art party down main tomorrow at 8. Proceeds goes toward Chris Montoya’s headstone. Live band, art, food, wine and beer.

I had nothing planned, and it sounded like a very nice thing to do for a friend so I made plans with my boyfriend and a friend to go and check it out.

Upon entering this art gallery, I was immediately greeted with loud rock music and a slew of reveling onlookers. The name of the band that was playing was ‘Chase the Moment’ and here’s a video of them playing ‘Grandfathered In’:

Something else stood out as well: the amazing art adorning the walls. I made my way to the back of the long room to find Scott who then introduced me to John Pritchett.

John explained that he had always been a photographer but became interested in painting over the last years. He explained his method:

‘I don’t paint ideas or even thoughts. I just paint, and allow the person viewing my art to interpret it however they please. That is the art of it. I also don’t mount or frame my paintings. It’s form as it is now is also a part of the art. I like it when the canvas gets torn or the edges of the paper furl. This is all a part of the experience and the experience itself is art.’

We spoke for a few more minutes as my guests and I admired his work. Beer, wine and cheese was also served so naturally I had a New Castle Brown Ale and a Negra Modelo.

Keep your ears open, Clovisites! There’s plenty of awesome things going on, you’ve just got to keep open to the opportunities out there! You can follow us @clovispulse on Twitter to stay in the loop!

Gallery Fifteen – Fine Art & Antiques & Bistro

David Burch — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:42:41 +0000

I’ve been hearing the radio ads about Gallery Fifteen, so last Saturday I decided to check it out. Gallery Fifteen is on US Highway 60/70/84. To get there from Clovis, head East towards Texico. Gallery Fifteen will be on the North side of the highway (on the left). If you reach the New Mexico Visitor’s Center, you’ve gone too far.

Gallery Fifteen looks like a new lime-green stucco building with a metal roof. Long-time area residents will recognize it as the old Stuckey’s building. The building was gutted to down to the original structure and completely renovated.

Inside you’ll find one large room with a few side rooms. Gallery Fifteen sells fine art, furniture, and antiques. They also operate a small Bistro. The Bistro menu changes daily with reuben and steak sandwiches and a soup of the day making regular appearances. Gallery Fifteen also hosts small parties.

Click on image thumbnails to view an image gallery.

Gallery Fifteen is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., six days a week, Monday through Saturday.

To contact Gallery Fifteen:
Call 575-482-9090 or e-mail galleryfifteen [at] yucca [dot] net.

Restaurant Review: Vines Italian Restaurant, Portales, New Mexico

David Burch — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:21:13 +0000

Vines Italian Restaurant, 107 W 2nd St, Portales NM – (575) 356-4525

“What this town needs is an Italian restaurant.” I’ve heard this repeatedly from my wife in the years that we moved back to Clovis. Sure you can get some Italian dishes at the various chain restaurants in town, but It really isn’t the same thing as having a real Italian food restaurant in town. Now the Vines Italian Restaurant is located in Portales not Clovis, but it was close enough for us to drive the whole family over to check it out on a recent Saturday evening. I took photos of our meal. We ordered a variety of entrees and appetizers so that you could get a good idea of their menu.

We arrived at 5 p.m. on a Saturday night. The manager was our host. We were seated promptly, perhaps because we called ahead or maybe because we beat the rush. Our waitress was knowledgable and courteous.

I love this building. The owners have maintained its architecture character and kept what appears to be the original tin ceiling, wood bar, and period chandeliers. The walls, seats and tables have been recently updated.

Salad

The adult meals came with a salad. We had a choice of a garden salad or a chef salad. I had the garden salad with ranch dressing, as seen here. This was one of the smallest salads I’ve had in my life. For comparison purposes, if my hand were in the picture it would cover the plate and the salad was definitely not piled high. The salad–what there was of it–was good. I had a problem with the portion size and my wife didn’t like that it used only iceberg lettuce.

Appetizer: Stuffed Zucchetto

Stuffed Zucchetto: Fresh sliced zucchini stems stuffed with ricotta spinach and topped with a basil pesto sauce and drizzled with a balsamic reduction. I thought it looked great but my current diet restricts dairy so I had to watch my wife eat it. She reports that it was good.

Appetizer: Fried Cheese Ravioli

Fried Cheese Ravioli: Crispy fried cheese ravioli with a bold arrabiata sauce for dipping.

Again, no luck for the visiting vegan. The kids weren’t impressed with the “white” cheese, but my wife found them tasty.

Bambino’s Corner: Cheese Pizza

The kids both picked the cheese pizza. The other choices were Macaroni & Cheese, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Pig In A Blanket, and Grilled Cheese. Both kids are picky eaters and can be skeptical of different sauces, etc. but both gave the pizza their highest grade. I used two scales in my poll and it scored both an “A” and a “5″ on a scale of 1-5. They chose milk for their drinks. The waitress was thoughtful enough to ask if we wanted plastic cups with lids and a straw.

My Entree: Spaghetti & Basil Marinara Sauce

I had the Spaghetti & Basil Marinara Sauce, one of the few vegan-friendly menu items. I’m also trying to avoid gluten from wheat, but no luck there. It was delicious, but there was one problem: if you look closely you can see that it floats on a bed of water. The spaghetti wasn’t drained well enough.

My wife’s entree: Manicotti Florentine

My wife had the Manicotti Florentine: Baked manicotti stuffed with spinach, ricotta and parmesan cheeses topped with a basil marinara sauce. Her verdict: “Mmm.”

Desserts: Italian Love Cake, Tiramisu, Cheesecake

The dessert tray. From left to right:

Italian Love Cake, a two-layer chocolate cake separated by mousse and covered with white frosting. We didn’t get the chance to try this, but I’d like to.

Homemade Tiramisu. Tthe description says “a special blend of Coffee and Sponge Cake, but it was served like a sorbet in a cup with a ladyfinger-like sponge cake. My wife thought that was clever, and that it is important to try to try things that are different, but she would have preferred a more traditional version.

Homemade Cheescake. New York style topped with cherry or strawberry and whipped cream topping. I had it with the strawberry and dripped with chocolate and conveniently ignored any ingredients in it that I should have avoided. It was outstanding. Cheesecake is usually too rich for me to eat it all, but this dessert was perfect. I thought the serving size was a bit small: it is two fingers wide at the thick end.

Fountain

Throwing coins in the fountain on the way out. I would give it a 3 out of 5 if the Vines had any competition. I’d give it a 4 for the Clovis / Portales area. The remaining three members of my family each gave it a 5, so I guess I am clearly the picky eater.

The appetizers range from $6-8. The salads cost $4-6. Pizza’s $8-9 (individual). Kid’s meals $6. Entrees $10-22. Desserts $4-6. A bit pricey for a family of four to handle too often, but a nice occasional break from the norm.

Have you eaten at the Vines? If so, please share your experience in the comments section below.

Clovis Main Street Downtown Gala 2009

Crysti Couture — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:22:15 +0000

This past Saturday was a very busy one for me. In addition to attending the Women’s Health and Wellness day during the daytime, I also attended the Clovis Main Street Downtown Gala that was held at The Underground Embassy on 321 E. 1st Street.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect since I had never been to one of these types of events before. I knew this was a wine and beer tasting event, but when I read the invitation and saw that there was going to be a chocolate fountain, I was sold.

The most pressing question for me was ‘What do I wear?!’

Luckily, I got a lot of feed back on that question. One representative from Dillard’s told me:

Don’t worry about what you wear; people usually dress up for the event, but you really can wear anything from a nice pair of jeans with heels to a nice evening dress!

So, I went with the evening dress and heels despite the reconstructed ACL.

Finding the Underground Embassy was not difficult at all. Although the building itself does blend in with the other vintage warehouses in the area, the giant billboard labeled ‘Underground Embassy’ is hard to miss.

Upon walking into the converted warehouse, I was completely taken aback of how beautiful the interior was. The walls are completely covered in beautiful, giant canvases showcasing the resident artist, Andrew Merritt’s work. The ceiling was adorned with chandeliers of various sizes and styles. The furniture ranged from sofas and settees to stools and vintage wooden chairs. The ambiance was enchanting, to say the least.

There were several stations around the building that offered drinks, food and dessert. The Wine Tasting table featured wines from the D.H. Lescombes Winery, the St. Clair Winery and Blue Teal Vineyards. Me and my date personally drank the Pecan Blush, the Blue Teal Muscat Canelli, the Chocolate Vine and a Mimosa.

The beer table featured beer from the Santa Fe Brewery. The company had a variety of beers that this novice beer drinker has never even heard of! Some of the delicious beers available for tasting were the Nut Brown, Pale Ale, Hefeweizen and Pen Porter. Other drinks at the table were the Imperial India Pale Ale, the Chicken Killer and the Barley Wine Ale.

I am a Corona with Lime drinker, so the lineup was admittedly a bit intimidating but I tried them all! I highly recommend the Santa Fe Brewery Pen Porter. Although it was an extremely dark beer, it went down easy and tasted like heaven!

Personally, my highlight of the night was meeting and speaking to Andrew Merritt, the artistic genius behind every art piece in the establishment. He was very candid and down to earth. We discussed his art, where he went to school (Dallas, TX) and how he came to obtain such a gorgeous place to call his own. Andrew’s inviting attitude and casual demeanor definitely put my date and I at ease.

His artwork is right up my alley as well. His art can be best described as urban, ranging in topics like politics, style and homelessness.

The Underground Embassy can be rented out for events and get togethers. Fees vary by event and time reserved. For pricing or questions, call Debbie Merritt at 575-760-1550.

This Clovis Main Street Downtown Gala is intended to raise awareness and funds for the downtown revitalization. You can become a Friend of Main Street by calling 575-309-8370 or going to the Clovis Downtown site.

Confessions of a Clovis Sushi Addict

Scott Knauer — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:34:17 +0000

Hi, my name is Scott and I’m an addict…of raw fish.

Yes, I love sushi SO MUCH that I photograph it before I eat it.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to go all Jeremy Piven on you all and report a daily habit of sushi resulting in mercury poisoning, but I have gone all the way to Amarillo and back just to indulge in a rainbow roll, a spider roll, and the sweet sinus-burn of wassabi and soy sauce. Is this necessary, you’re probably wondering? And the answer of course is a solid YES ! We live in Clovis and you must travel to get good, real sushi.

Some people tell me just to make due with what is available. Anyone who enjoys sushi knows you don’t find good sushi at your local all you can eat Chinese buffet, which there are no short supply of here. And still, other establishments that specialize in Japanese cuisine just don’t cut it. Just the other night, my family and I decided to eat at Shogun Japanese Steakhouse on Pile Street. While I love a good teppan grill, I am depressed to find no sushi bar to go with it. On the flip side, try a bite of their seared tuna, served sashimi style, that you can yummy down on the next International Sushi Day (June 18th), but you’ll find it only scratches the itch.

This post is not here for a pity party, but more so a call to action. Like sushi? Live in Clovis? If we stick together, we can make it through these tough times sans sashimi. First Wednesday of the month good for you guys?