See Ya Terry

Rolondo's 

223 Garrison Ave 

Fort Smith, AR 

479-573-0404

Guacamole

I have a friend Terry Vo.  She is totally awesome! She has lived and done a lot of stuff already, and has a lot more to stuff to do in the future.  She has studied abroad, was Ms Cherry Blossom from Arkansas representing her state for the National Cherry Blossom festival, was voted Ms Congeniality Cherry Blossom, worked at the Japanese Consulate in Nashville, volunteered and organized MADD for Tea events, volunteered and made it happen for adorable children with Make-a-Wish Foundation,  always had an ear to the ground when it came to events and parties for a charitable cause, recently she became first Youth Trekker Ambassador to Taiwan, and she is now heading down under to study abroad again.  Terry is living large, and really have a great time doing it, and I can't wait to read her blog through the next years of her life adventure.

So, with the most recent activity on the list of things Terry has done and is doing, she is going down under away from Nashville -  that is as far away from Nashville as you can get in the world.  Believe me and all her friends here in Nashville, we will miss her.  Before she went down under, I went out to Fort Smith Arkansas, Terry's home town, to see her one last time before she got on the jumbo jet.

Shrimp Salad

This is my 1st trip to Fort Smith, Arkansas.  Do I admit this, I never knew there was a Fort Smith, AR until I met Terry.  I mean, Fort Smith is the 2nd most populated city in Arkansas, and Trout Fishing in America, one of my favorite kid's music band is from that area, some of the best trout fish happens in Fort Smith, you would think I would have heard about this fine city before meeting Terry.

I think I know where Terry gets her congeniality, it is born and breed in her home town of Fort Smith.  Everyone in Fort Smith I came into contact with were nice and friendly like I was a guest in Mayberry.  Seriously, everyone I came into contact with were people who "never met a stranger" and treated me so very well.   Fort Smith is like Mayberry in so many ways, there is a really cute downtown (maybe a few blocks long), a lovely central park downtown where lots of community events happen, the streets are clean and safe to walk at night, there is a local bank where towns folk actually have a friendly personal relationship with their banker, there is one local coffee shop where the locals are known by their 1st names and their standard morning order, and I know there is at least one Aunt Bee who is proud of her home town.  Fort Smith is just a nice place to visit.

Black bean salsa

So, before Terry went down under, I got to have dinner with her in Fort Smith at one of her favorite places to eat:  Rolando's.  Rolando's is Ecuadorian inspired food by Sherry Cuzco who was from Ecuador.  I have never had Ecuadorian food before, and I guess it is because I have never been to Fort Smith before and I had to travel 500 miles to to Rolando's to try Ecuadorian food.  The tilapia dish is Terry's favorite at Rolando's.  The fish has is dry rubbed with earthy spices like cumin and maybe annato and paprika, then either broiled or grilled, and  then topped with a caper chimichurri sauce.  I ate a bunch of Terry's dish as well as my dish. Just to be different, I got the shrimp salad which was very tasty too.  The shrimp was seasoned and grilled and topped with a chimichurri sauce also.   To start, we got the guacamole because we both love guac.  The presentation was outstanding.  The chef makes homemade tortilla chips, and she stands up circle of 1/2 tortillas in the guac and it is a really beautiful presentation.  We also like the complimentary black bean and corn salsa.  It is a complex combination of flavors that is completely different from regular tomato salsa, and I really like the sweet bits of corn with the tomato and black bean base.

Rolando's was a nice way to cap off 2012 with Terry state-side.  Now with Terry in Australia, I await to read her blog about some of the great food, cultural and events she finds while in the country and vicinity.  Maybe, if I save enough pennies, I may even try to go to Australia and see my pal sometime and find some new yummies I haven't tasted before.