My friends Roxanne, Mary Lee and I used to go to Maggiano’s for lunch religiously for a few years (not everyday but about once every two weeks), partly because it was a walking distance from the office and mostly because we were addicted to its fried zucchini.  But one day, realizing that we’ve probably had enough share of the family-style Italian fare for the next 100 years, we decided to seek a new place to satisfy our hungry bellies.  Even we habit creatures need to change things up sometime!

So we bid farewell to our local Italian place and welcomed Gaucho Grill as our new home.  I’ve been a fan of this place for years and frequented the Woodland Hills location when I lived nearby because the food here is just right.  It’s nothing fancy but I really like the atmosphere and meat-heavy Argentinian selections.  My favorite is Pollo Deshuesado, grilled chicken breast with Dijon mustard sauce, with side of salad, rice, and extra pico de gallo (pictured above)!

We met up for lunch this afternoon for our year-end celebration.  It would have been nice to celebrate this special day with a glass of wine, but we toasted to a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2013 with a glass of passion fruit ice tea and diet coke instead!

Cheers to many more lunches to be had with my special friends.  I love you girls!