Food Review: Thai Spice (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

Every now and again I will do a food review on here, 

reserved for the best of the best and the down right terrible.

One of my dream jobs (and I have many) would to be a food critic.

I am a sucker for locally grown, organic, sustainable ingredients.

And no I'm not some only eat organic, vegetarian, or vegan, quite frankly I don't believe in that kind of eating, unless of course for dietary needs.  

I just love the idea of supporting local business and pesticide free ingredients! 

(Outdoor Russian Produce Market)

THAI SPICE (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

The Bear and I went on the most dreamy honeymoon to Phuket, Thailand back in May and while there

we fell in LOVE with the cuisine.  It is Asian influenced but with a real focus on 

seafood, my all time favorite food.

We went to the most charming little restaurant almost everyday nestled away in a village on the river

thanks to a recommendation from a friend. It was called Kin-Dee if you are ever in the neighborhood.

I immediately fell in love because the food for the restaurant was completely supplied

by local fishermen who fished the very river we ate on.  The tide would come in 

and out everyday adding an array of fresh seafood to the river. 

Well, upon returning to the states and moving to Florida we were CRAVING

some Thai.  Now don't get me wrong I can get down with some

sub-par pad thai because its still good, and it is real comfort food.

But that being said, I was craving REAL Thai.

So I took to my trusty app Urbanspoon to look up a place near us.  And the

Urbanspoon community did not lead me astray.  

My sweet husband actually ended up planning a date night to Thai Spice

and purchasing a Groupon for it.  Now usually I am Skeptical of food

Groupons but this restaurant had received so much acclaim (including every culinary award possible)

that we were willing to try it out.

Here is my Review:

5 stars

Now I don't just hand out that 5 stars to any place we go.  This place was just as good

if not better than what we had on our honeymoon.

Of course the price point was much higher because, well, this is America.

The menu consisted of mostly seafood dishes and every single thing was fresh.  

The Calamari was flown in fresh from Rhode Island.  Much of the fish

was local.  Fresh/Live Maine Lobster. You name it.

The entrees range from $18-$40 but they are well worth the price. 

They are served family style so you are getting a lot of food.

They ask you your how spicy you want your dishes and they can get really spicy, so be cautious of that.

We went with the crispy calamari in garlic sauce (my personal favorite), shrimp pad thai (The Bear's favorite), and spring rolls.  Everything was just beyond what I guarantee anyone has experienced in the United States when it comes to Thai Food, 

the service was superb, and there was even a 

live band rockin' out some killer tunes. 

SO if you are ever in the area this is the place to go! 

Wedding Reminiscing

Okay so I know every bride is completely biased in thinking that their wedding was the best wedding ever but I REALLY think it is true when it comes to mine.  I apologize in advance for the overload of pictures! I feel like I need to publicly thank my father Greg Tunney because he is the most hard-working person I know.  He has worked hard his entire life and because of that hard work he was able to give me my dream day!

When I got engaged I immediately knew I wanted a wedding planner.  My parents live in Ohio, and i was a full-time student who was unfamiliar with the Utah wedding market, so a planner was the most logical way to go.  I didn't have to research long before coming across Michelle Leo Events!  Michelle has won "The Best of State" award three years running for "Utah's Best Event Planner" and she did not disappoint.  I wanted a "rustic chic" theme for the wedding and the entire design/planning was completely taken care of by Michelle and her team. I got to enjoy all of the fun parts of wedding planning like shopping for the dress, doing tastings, and picking out flowers, but got to skip over all of the tedious and stressful parts!  All of my family came in from out of state so it was important for me that they didn't have to lift a finger on the big day.

              

These photos are from the "Groomal" shoot and honestly I could do a whole post just on these but I tried to narrow it down to a few.  Alixann Loosle did all of our fabulous photos and I couldn't be more happy.  Photography was probably what I spent the most time on when it came to wedding planning and the moment I came across Alix's work my search was over! We loved her!

         

I have to say I had the most GORGEOUS bridesmaids!! I was so grateful to have them by my side on my day, it meant so much to me!  The bridesmaids dresses, grooms suit(s), and groomsman suits were custom made in China with the help of my mother-in-law who lives there!  Everyone looked amazing. 

                                             

                                                                                   

Above: The Bridemaid's gifts, custom pearl and crystal bracelet, earring, and necklace sets!

Below: All of our family looked so beautiful too!!

My beautiful nieces! Loved their flower halos.

Here are some of the shots of Logan and I at the temple. 

RECEPTION TIME: Our Reception was held at "This is the Place" Heritage Park in Salt Lake City. 

Food was a MAJOR factor in this wedding.  I am a complete foodie and long hours were spent contemplating the menu! Finally my mom suggested the menu of all menu's that would perfectly incorporate all of our favorites! We decided on a "Places We've Lived" theme for the food as Logan and I have both lived in many places.  We went with Chef Action stations and it turned out smashing!  Brown Brothers Catering  made all of our dreams come to life!  It was all delicious and beautiful to look at.

Here is a rundown of the menu:

Station #1: St. Louis pulled-pork sliders, mini-cheeseburger sliders, fries, Utah fry-sauce

Station #2: Maine lobster mashed-potatoes, shrimp cocktail in a ice sculpture

Station #3: mini California burritos 

Station #4: Shanghai orange chicken in to-go boxes

Station #5: Salad/fruit station with Russian black bread

Station #6: Beef Oscar station with asparagus, and crab

Station #7: Desserts! Individual Ohio Graeter's ice cream.  NewYork Cheesecake. Grilled Brazilian Pineapple, Chocolate-Chip cookies with milk shooters

I have to say we out did ourselves with the menu but it was perfect! 

Here are some pics of the amazing food! 

The entertainment for the evening was a real highlight!  Logan's brother and sister-in-law performed an amazing rap, the daddy-daughter dance was full-on choreographed, the photobooth by Smile Now Photobooths was a fun touch, and the band was hopping!  A live band was on the list of musts for me, and The Joe Muscolino Band kept the good vibes coming all night long and played all of our favorite jams.  

The gift for all of our guests were custom "Bird" themed slippers! They were such a hit!

A rose-petal exit topped off the most perfect day with the most perfect man! It truly was the happiest day of my life. Another custom touch with a custom lace get-away dress also from China. 

Other Vendors: 

Floral: Mayflowers Utah, Caroline May executed exactly what I envisioned with the flowers, she blew me away!

Rentals/Ceiling treatment: Diamond Rentals, the ceiling treatment definitely made the whole room come together

Bride's/Mother of the Bride's Hair/Makeup: Kristen Packard

Bridesmaids Hair: Angeleah Bertoldo 

Bride's Shoes: Valentino