Gastronomical Exploration: Frida Bistro

Oh my goodness...has it been two weeks since I last updated??  Time just flew by!  My sister's family (her hubby and her baby) was in town so they could attend my graduation ceremony on the 22nd of June.  Yep, I was pretty stoked to go to the ceremony....
Until a few days before the graduation, when the counselor suddenly emails me, asking me to come speak with the Dean.

Puzzled, I went down to school to meet with him.  Was I in trouble for something that I'm totally not aware of?  Did I forget to pay for something??  Did they suddenly change the graduation requirements so I can't graduate this quarter???

I was a bit nervous when I went into his office--but was immediately relieved and, as a matter of fact, overjoyed when he smiled at me and said, "Congratulations!  You've been chosen as the valedictorian!"  Turned out that I had the highest GPA of the entire graduating class, and the only student with a 4.0 GPA at that!
Then he asked me, "As the valedictorian and the representative of this class, would you be willing to give a graduation speech?"
....A graduation.....speech....???  As in, public speaking?  As in, standing up at the front of the auditorium full of people and talk??  As in, the greatest fear of average Americans, even more feared than the death itself???
....Bring it on.  This is a rare and very honorable opportunity!
So I spent the next two days writing the 5-minute speech, practicing saying it, and timing myself.
When the time came, I executed it without a problem.  Pretty sure there were a few people nodding off, but quite a few people came up to me telling me it was a good speech.
That was my graduation.  It was too bad dad missed it--but my sister recorded the speech, so he can check it out later when he gets back home.
In the meantime, my mom and I went out for our usual gastronomical exploration with my sister's fam.
This time, we went to Frida Bistro, a Latin American cuisine restaurant.  We've dined here before, and mom, who normally doesn't care for Latin American food, really liked it.
For an appetizer, we got the Ceviche.

Tuna tartar, radishes, mango, cilantro, with lime and chili dressing, in a cucumber slice cup.  Very nice presentation, pretty spicy, yet flavorful.
Mom got a calamari appetizer for her lunch, since she figured she won't be able to eat a whole lot.

Calamari, breaded with seasoned blue corn crust, deep fried to crispy morsels, served with spicy lime mayo-based sauce (maybe it's lime aioli?)  The breading had good blue corn flavor, and although quite spicy, paired very well with the creamy sauce.  It was an appetizer, but mom still couldn't finish it and had to take some home.
My brother-in-law, who loves Latin American foods, ordered the tamale.

Veggie tamale, black beans, radish-cucumber slaw, and pepper sauce.  Very flavorful, the tamale had nice corn flavor.
My sister ordered fish tacos.

Gotta love that cute rice 'pyramid'.  Maybe to pay respect to the Aztecs and the Mayans?  I also like how they had three small slider-sized tacos instead of a single gigantic taco sitting on the plate.  Breaking down the portions like this makes the presentation more refined/sophisticated, and also helps in the actual eating of it (i.e. no knives required to cut food into smaller pieces)
And this is what I ordered...

Ensalada Otono.  Basically a Caesar salad with Latin American twist.  Crisp romaine, hard-boiled egg, bacon bits, marinated red & orange bell pepper slices, Mexican cheese, and house dressing.  Very good, just the right amount of dressing.

Everyone enjoyed their meal!  With presentation and food quality like this, who can resist?  Frida is the only Mexican restaurant we'll ever go to.  Granted, mom still haven't tried the Red Iguana, which is another highly reputable Mexican restaurant.  Oh so much to taste, so little time...