Last Christmas, I baked us a ham
But the very next day, we threw the leftovers away
This year, to save my family from my cooking
I'll take them to Alegria!
I hope you all like my remix of George Michael's song "Last Christmas", I worked hard on it.
This year, my girlfriend and I were nominated by her father to host Christmas Eve dinner. Since it was only going to be four of us, my girl, her dad, her grandma, and myself, and since my girl and I are both novices in the kitchen, we figured we would just take her family out to dinner. Well, my girl and I were both extremely busy the week leading into Christmas, so at the last minute we were frantically searching to find a restaurant close by that would be open on Christmas Eve and also take last minute reservations. After searching on Yelp, I found Alegria, which is only about 30 yards from our place and was able to give us a last minute reservation for Christmas Eve.
The four of us arrived at Alegria about ten minutes before our designated time, and to our surprise they already had our table set, so we were immediately seated. Right after we were seated they took our drink orders and brought us some of their delicious complimentary parmesan cheese bread.
After we polished off the bread, we order some chicken empanadas to share. These amazing empanadas were huge and packed full of juicy, marinated chicken and vegetables. The spicy tomato sauce that accompanied the empanadas was also great.
That night, besides their regular menu, they also offered a three course dinner menu. My girl and I ordered off the special menu, and her family ordered off the regular menu. Here is what we all ordered:
ME- My dinner started off with a fruit and walnut salad, with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. The entrée I got was a Latin version of meat lasagna. It contained homemade four tortillas, beans, three types of cheeses, and seasoned ground beef in a delicious orange chipotle tomato sauce.
GF- She also started with a fruit and walnut salad. Her entrée contained a huge piece of marinated chicken that was covered with cheese and drenched in a bell pepper cream sauce. Jalapeño mashed potatoes, carrots, and sautéed spinach accompanied the chicken.
GF'S Dad- Her dad ordered the Fideos Con Chipotle, which is sautéed spaghetti with chicken, sun dried tomatoes, field mushrooms, and green onions in a chipotle cream sauce topped with feta cheese.
GF'S Grandma- Her granny ordered a dish called El Gaucho, which was grilled marinated tender beef that was covered in chimichury sauce. This dish was also came with sautéed spinach and roasted potatoes.
Every single entrée that night was phenomenal, I know because we all passed around our plates so we could all try everything.
Since my girl and I both ordered off the special three course menu, we also got two pieces of chocolate tres leches cake for dessert. This cake was amazing and was the perfect was to end a perfect Christmas Eve dinner.
The service at Alegria was amazing. The whole time we were there we were treated like royalty. I was very impressed with our waiter because he was very upbeat, friendly, and funny, even though he had to work until 10pm on Christmas Eve.
If you're ever in Downtown Long Beach, and you looking to try some delicious Latin food, then check out Alegria, I know you will love it. read more