Tapas at Firefly Bistro February 9, 2007

(photo from the Firefly Bistro website)
I had my first blog encounter last night. My friend Jill invited me to meet up with her and her friend Erin (of Erin’s Kitchen, one of my favorite blogs) for a stroll through the South Pasadena farmer’s market followed by a trip to Firefly Bistro. Being fairly new to this whole blogging thing, I had yet to actually meet someone who I’ve know solely through her blog. With apologies to Erin for the silly analogy, it’s sort of like meeting a celebrity in that you feel like you know them and something about their lives, but in reality, you are only familiar with the small windows that they choose to share publicly. That said, it was lovely to meet Erin and learn a little more about the woman outside of her kitchen.

After a quick stroll through the farmer’s market (where I exhibited commendable restraint by emerging with nothing more than a bunch of green onions), we headed to Firefly for their Thursday night tapas and sangria. The setting is beautiful, a large white tent over candlelit tables. I imagine that it would be a lovely, romantic setting for a Valentine’s Day dinner, were I someone who wanted to fight the crowds that night. The restaurant is fairly pricey, so sangria and tapas were a perfect way to enjoy the atmosphere without breaking the bank. From pear fritters to garlic shrimp to tempura asparagus, the tapas menu was full of interesting and appealing little bites and everything we ordered was well-prepared. All in all, a delightful evening and I plan to return for a full dinner as soon as I have something big to celebrate (like a new job!)

Firefly Bistro: 1009 El Centro Street, South Pasadena, CA 91030 (626)441-2443