Save Me A Seat for the Weekend

Toes, Tapas & Tacos..

Some weekends are packed with plans from Friday morning through Sunday night. Others are about balance and creating time for a little bit of everything: relaxing, eating really good food, spending time with friends, and getting ready to start a busy Monday.

We had a perfect balance this weekend. Happy hour, takeout, Arizona Restaurant Week and homemade tacos! It all made for the perfect mix of going out and staying in.

Friday: Pedicures, Happy Hour & Thai Takeout

After a week of work travel, my husband finally made it home on Friday, so we decided to keep the evening easy and spend some time together. Our first stop? Our favorite nail salon for pedicures. A fresh pedicure on a Friday just hits differently. Suddenly, it feels like the weekend has officially begun, even when you know Monday is only a few days away.

Afterward, we headed to Postino for happy hour. One of the things I appreciate most about Postino is how accommodating they are when it comes to gluten-free dining. Their kitchen is very familiar with gluten sensitivities, with thoughtful substitutions that make ordering feel like you have plenty of options rather than simply picking the one gluten-free item on the menu. 

For the bruschetta, they offer gluten-free bread, which means you don’t have to sit there watching everyone else enjoy the good stuff. They also offer gluten-free options for building a charcuterie-style spread, along with sandwiches and salads, so there are plenty of ways to build a table full of things to snack on. We of course timed everything with their amazing happy hour. After a few $6 glasses of happy hour wine, we called it a night and headed home for snuggles with the dogs and a movie.

Of course, that wasn’t quite the end of our Friday. Later that evening, we ordered Thai food from Yupha’s. If you’re looking for a gluten-free-friendly takeout option, or dining in with Yupha's this is my favoite spot for authentic Thai food. I highly recommend the Pad Thai or Pad Woon Sen. Both are perfect levels of spicy. Save Me a Seat tip: order medium spicy, perfectly satisfying and great for a night when you want something delicious without leaving the couch.

Saturday: Kicking Off Arizona Restaurant Week

Saturday meant one thing: it was time to officially kick off Arizona Restaurant Week, which runs September 18–27. We headed to Scottsdale for the Restaurant Week menu at Telefèric Barcelona, and it was the perfect choice for a Saturday night. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted with welcome drinks while our table was getting ready. Free drinks are always a good start to dinner.

Telefèric is a Barcelona-inspired tapas restaurant, so the whole experience is meant to be shared. Take your time here. Telefèric Barcelona is the kind of place where you want to slow down and enjoy the whole experience. The Barcelona-inspired atmosphere, the food, the conversation and, especially the service. Our waitress, Taylor, was fantastic. She was attentive without hovering, incredibly knowledgeable about the menu and made sure we had everything we needed throughout the meal. Her service really added to an already great experience.

The Restaurant Week menu did not disappoint. We worked our way through the $55 option of five tapas, followed by a paella big enough to serve 3–4 people, and finished with a gluten-free dessert: orange mochi. And because choosing a cocktail is always part of the experience, we had a few different drinks across the table: a dry vodka martini, a dirty martini and the Fancy a Carrot.

The Fancy a Carrot was probably the most interesting of the three. Think of it as an unexpected take on a margarita, definitely worth ordering if you’re in the mood to try something different.

Between the tapas, paella, cocktails and dessert, Saturday night definitely delivered.

Sunday: Taco Night at Home

By Sunday, it was time to slow things down and get ready for the work week. So naturally, we made tacos. For those who don’t know my husband this is his favorite. Now, tacos may sound like the easiest dinner in the world, but in our house, we don’t  just make tacos. We like to give everything a little extra flavor. That means homemade guacamole— famous in our house and with our friends. And no boring lettuce here, we make coleslaw to pile on top of the tacos because, honestly, tacos deserve better than plain shredded lettuce.

The combination of crunchy, tangy, spicy and fresh ingredients make such a difference. I’ll be sharing recipes soon, so be sure to subscribe for access to our famous (well, famous to us!) guacamole and taco-night coleslaw.

Not a bad way to spend our weekend, and definitely one I’d happily do again. Save me a seat for next weekend!

Save Me a Seat Weekend Ranking

After three days of eating, drinking and relaxing, here’s how we rank the weekend:

Telefèric Barcelona — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tapas, paella, cocktails! This one had the full weekend package. Definitely Worth a Seat.

Postino — ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pedicures, happy hour, wine and a gluten-free charcuterie board, basically the perfect Friday night.

Taco Night at Home — ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Homemade guac, elevated tacos and a cozy night in made this a pretty great way to end the weekend.

And if you’re looking for me next weekend, I’ll save you a seat…