The weather was hot. The kids were at home. After a three hour hair appointment, I was quite hungry. I decided to go somewhere I couldn't take the kids that had shaded outdoor seating. Crazy Horse.
I quickly ordered a glass of wine to cool down. When it was served, I decided to order Mushroom Pasta -- tender cracked pepper fettucine in a light garlic wine sauce, tossed with sliced and sauteed portabello mushrooms.
Well, the garlic was heavy, the mushrooms not portabello, and I couldn't figure out where the pepper was. But I liked it anyway. And I enjoyed sitting outdoors so much that I opted for another glass of wine. The service was rather slow, but when you're sitting outside on a lovely day with a glass of wine in your hand, who really cares (until it runs out... LOL) ?
Monday, June 18, 2012
My Thai
Can you believe this place has a name like that and doesn't serve mixed drinks? LOL.
When I arrived, I was told to sit wherever I wanted. It was a hot day, but with a bit of a breeze. I chose to sit right on the front porch. How cool.
When I spied Drunken Man Fried Rice (aka Khao Pad Kee Mao) on the menu, I knew I had to try it. They started me off with some veggie soup that was wonderful, then brought the entree before the soup was gone. It was decent -- spicy fried rice with green pepper, onion, green onion, basil and egg. I don't think the basil really went with the rest of it, but whatever. And when they said Spicy in the menu, they meant it. I ordered Medium and went through two glasses of water and three sodas :-o But of course I'm a lightweight.
All in all, it was an enjoyable meal.
When I arrived, I was told to sit wherever I wanted. It was a hot day, but with a bit of a breeze. I chose to sit right on the front porch. How cool.
When I spied Drunken Man Fried Rice (aka Khao Pad Kee Mao) on the menu, I knew I had to try it. They started me off with some veggie soup that was wonderful, then brought the entree before the soup was gone. It was decent -- spicy fried rice with green pepper, onion, green onion, basil and egg. I don't think the basil really went with the rest of it, but whatever. And when they said Spicy in the menu, they meant it. I ordered Medium and went through two glasses of water and three sodas :-o But of course I'm a lightweight.
All in all, it was an enjoyable meal.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Mandalay
Just what I needed -- Mandalay. LOL.
Noah was kind enough to come down to help me prepare my new house. He was shocked to find Leo, his friend, and Lena all over the vacant house (NOTE: so was I). After Noah helped me do a few things, I decided to treat him and Lena (Leo had disappeared once the work commenced) to dinner. We went looking for outdoor seating and ended up at Mandalay. It's so nice of the restaurant to have a picture menu in addition to the one with explanations :)
We ordered the Mandalay Special Appetizer which came at the same time as the food. I hate it when that happens! It had samosa, egg rolls, and fritters. My favorite was the fritters -- some type of bean inside? The others were ok.
I had Fried Mixed Vegetables with chicken. It was good enough, not great. Noah had the Fried Thick Noodles with beef, chicken, and shrimp - egg noodles, mixed vegetable and spices. He said it was ok. Lena tried the Mandalay Nan Gyi Salad (a warm salad of thick noodles, chicken, peanuts, and Burmese dressing) then complained about all the peanuts. Duh, child. RTFM.
Noah was kind enough to come down to help me prepare my new house. He was shocked to find Leo, his friend, and Lena all over the vacant house (NOTE: so was I). After Noah helped me do a few things, I decided to treat him and Lena (Leo had disappeared once the work commenced) to dinner. We went looking for outdoor seating and ended up at Mandalay. It's so nice of the restaurant to have a picture menu in addition to the one with explanations :)
We ordered the Mandalay Special Appetizer which came at the same time as the food. I hate it when that happens! It had samosa, egg rolls, and fritters. My favorite was the fritters -- some type of bean inside? The others were ok.
I had Fried Mixed Vegetables with chicken. It was good enough, not great. Noah had the Fried Thick Noodles with beef, chicken, and shrimp - egg noodles, mixed vegetable and spices. He said it was ok. Lena tried the Mandalay Nan Gyi Salad (a warm salad of thick noodles, chicken, peanuts, and Burmese dressing) then complained about all the peanuts. Duh, child. RTFM.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Cozy Table
I happened to be driving past Cozy Table when I was very hungry. Strolled in, asked the waitress what she recommended, and went with it -- a turkey club & fries. I also chose the chicken bowtie soup.
After I was seated, I started looking around. It definitely had a Diner feel. The clientele looked a bit rough (note: I was in a sundress and sandals and WAY overdressed). I saw signs of the Mediteranean -- the Greek Key, Venus de Milo, Michelangelo's David (hey! I've seen the original statue and there is no fig leaf!!!).
The chicken noodle soup (not bowtie, but who really cares?) was quite good. The club sandwich arrived and it was HUGE -- each wedge about 5" tall. There wasn't deli turkey like I usually find on a club sandwich. They had actual chunks of turkey. Due to size, I had to disassemble the sandwich to eat it. It was really good. The fries were seasoned similar to Rally's (going from memory here -- I haven't eaten at Rally's in 20 years). I really liked them.
It was a good meal. Sometimes my kids miss the diners that sprung up in the last place we lived. I'll have to bring them here.
After I was seated, I started looking around. It definitely had a Diner feel. The clientele looked a bit rough (note: I was in a sundress and sandals and WAY overdressed). I saw signs of the Mediteranean -- the Greek Key, Venus de Milo, Michelangelo's David (hey! I've seen the original statue and there is no fig leaf!!!).
The chicken noodle soup (not bowtie, but who really cares?) was quite good. The club sandwich arrived and it was HUGE -- each wedge about 5" tall. There wasn't deli turkey like I usually find on a club sandwich. They had actual chunks of turkey. Due to size, I had to disassemble the sandwich to eat it. It was really good. The fries were seasoned similar to Rally's (going from memory here -- I haven't eaten at Rally's in 20 years). I really liked them.
It was a good meal. Sometimes my kids miss the diners that sprung up in the last place we lived. I'll have to bring them here.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Sunny Palace
I'm always a bit leery of restaurants in strip malls. But Lena and I had 30 minutes to kill while Plato's Closet looked at some of her clothes and Sunny Palace was next door. So we thought we'd give it a shot.
Entering the place at 2:30 in the afternoon, I was surprised to see people at two other tables. I noticed they were all Asian. It made me think that perhaps the place is authentic? Lena ordered some type of seafood meal and I had curry chicken. When our food arrived, I realized was completely different from the other two tables (even the serving dishes were different). Aha, we got the Americanized version. No problem.
I really liked my curry chicken. Lena liked all of hers but the shrimp. I reminded her we now live in Indiana :)
Entering the place at 2:30 in the afternoon, I was surprised to see people at two other tables. I noticed they were all Asian. It made me think that perhaps the place is authentic? Lena ordered some type of seafood meal and I had curry chicken. When our food arrived, I realized was completely different from the other two tables (even the serving dishes were different). Aha, we got the Americanized version. No problem.
I really liked my curry chicken. Lena liked all of hers but the shrimp. I reminded her we now live in Indiana :)
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
O'Charley's
When I lived in Florida, this was one of the restaurants we frequented. It had something to do with free kid night... This was my first trip to the one in Bloomington.
We ordered our drinks right away -- sodas for the boys and sangria for me. It tasted good, but I didn't notice any alcohol in it. The rolls were delivered shortly thereafter, and was as wonderful as I'd remembered.
Leo opted for the Top Shelf Appetizer combo as his entree. I ordered a 6 oz sirloin with a Caesar salad and baked potato. Art chose the Steak and Chicken Tenders combo. We both requested our steaks be medium.
The Caesar salads were delivered and much to my liking. I hate a boring Caesar dressing.
Leo liked his chicken tenders and potato skins. He really disliked the deep-fried spicy Jack cheese wedges. I didn't try one so don't know if it's just because he doesn't like that type of cheese.
Art and I were both given well-done steaks -- completely brown throughout. The waitress asked us to cut into them while she waited, and I immediately sent mine back (I've only done that one other time in my life). Art said his was ok, then referred to it as Beef Jerky and gave it to Leo. Leo also took a bite or so and left it on his plate. I wonder how much that uneaten steak added to the bill? Anyway, mine was eventually returned. There was blood on the plate, so I thought it would be medium (or perhaps closer to rare). The very center had some pink. Outside of that one-inch center, it was all brown. Did they just pour blood on the plate to make me think it wasn't medium-well? That's pretty sad. At least the potato was good.
It was a definite miss for us. The waitress was extremely attentive. She even convinced the manager to not charge for my meal since I had to wait an extra 10 minutes for the second steak. I might return, but definitely no steak.
We ordered our drinks right away -- sodas for the boys and sangria for me. It tasted good, but I didn't notice any alcohol in it. The rolls were delivered shortly thereafter, and was as wonderful as I'd remembered.
Leo opted for the Top Shelf Appetizer combo as his entree. I ordered a 6 oz sirloin with a Caesar salad and baked potato. Art chose the Steak and Chicken Tenders combo. We both requested our steaks be medium.
The Caesar salads were delivered and much to my liking. I hate a boring Caesar dressing.
Leo liked his chicken tenders and potato skins. He really disliked the deep-fried spicy Jack cheese wedges. I didn't try one so don't know if it's just because he doesn't like that type of cheese.
Art and I were both given well-done steaks -- completely brown throughout. The waitress asked us to cut into them while she waited, and I immediately sent mine back (I've only done that one other time in my life). Art said his was ok, then referred to it as Beef Jerky and gave it to Leo. Leo also took a bite or so and left it on his plate. I wonder how much that uneaten steak added to the bill? Anyway, mine was eventually returned. There was blood on the plate, so I thought it would be medium (or perhaps closer to rare). The very center had some pink. Outside of that one-inch center, it was all brown. Did they just pour blood on the plate to make me think it wasn't medium-well? That's pretty sad. At least the potato was good.
It was a definite miss for us. The waitress was extremely attentive. She even convinced the manager to not charge for my meal since I had to wait an extra 10 minutes for the second steak. I might return, but definitely no steak.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Puccini's La Dolce Vita
It was Lena's 20th birthday! Yay! I sent an email during the day, asking where she wanted to go. She responded that she wanted to try the Italian place next to the Indian places. LOL. I knew where she meant, though. I cringed a little thinking about how much it was going to cost to take my three kids to such a nice place.
Naturally, when we got home, Lena's friend was over. As I get my three wedged into my tiny car, Lena calls out to her friend, "Come eat with us!" Yikes. Now I get to pay for another kid.
Luckily, we were early and the only ones there. This was lucky because the kids were all dressed like kids -- Leo in his baseball uniform (game right after dinner), Art in athletic shorts and sandals, etc. After listening to the kids butcher all the Italian words on the menu, we ordered. Leo asked the waitress what it meant when mozzarella was carmelized. She said it was burnt on top. LOL.
I ordered a glass of chianti and most of the kids opted for water. There was a lot of wine in that glass. And the next one :)
About ten minutes after we ordered, we were brought some bread and butter. What took so long? It wasn't like it was fresh from the oven -- it was room temperature. The kids dove on it and had quite the debate about how best to get real butter onto bread.
Dinner eventually arrived. I had tortellini con zafferano (with saffron), two kids had meat lasagna, one had pollo alla parmigiana (chicken parmesan), and another had penne alla vodka. Mine was ok. I had a bite of the penne alla vodka, which was much better. The two loved the lasagna. Leo declared D'Angelo's to be better for chicken parmesan.
We had a few desserts for the birthday -- creme brulee, tiramisu, and cheesecake. All were fine, but the tiramisu wasn't even close to the one from Feast. I think the favorite part was the caramel poured all over the plate the creme brulee was served upon. Lena nearly picked it up and licked it.
When I received my bill, I saw there was an automatic 20% gratuity added. Really? For a table of 5? and 20%? I usually tip at 20%, but this waitress didn't deserve that much. We were the only patrons and she only checked on us once when she wasn't delivering food. The bread took awhile to be delivered. Kids ran out of water and had to wait until the food arrived to request a refill. It's hard to flag down a waitress when she's always in a different room.
Naturally, when we got home, Lena's friend was over. As I get my three wedged into my tiny car, Lena calls out to her friend, "Come eat with us!" Yikes. Now I get to pay for another kid.
Luckily, we were early and the only ones there. This was lucky because the kids were all dressed like kids -- Leo in his baseball uniform (game right after dinner), Art in athletic shorts and sandals, etc. After listening to the kids butcher all the Italian words on the menu, we ordered. Leo asked the waitress what it meant when mozzarella was carmelized. She said it was burnt on top. LOL.
I ordered a glass of chianti and most of the kids opted for water. There was a lot of wine in that glass. And the next one :)
About ten minutes after we ordered, we were brought some bread and butter. What took so long? It wasn't like it was fresh from the oven -- it was room temperature. The kids dove on it and had quite the debate about how best to get real butter onto bread.
Dinner eventually arrived. I had tortellini con zafferano (with saffron), two kids had meat lasagna, one had pollo alla parmigiana (chicken parmesan), and another had penne alla vodka. Mine was ok. I had a bite of the penne alla vodka, which was much better. The two loved the lasagna. Leo declared D'Angelo's to be better for chicken parmesan.
We had a few desserts for the birthday -- creme brulee, tiramisu, and cheesecake. All were fine, but the tiramisu wasn't even close to the one from Feast. I think the favorite part was the caramel poured all over the plate the creme brulee was served upon. Lena nearly picked it up and licked it.
When I received my bill, I saw there was an automatic 20% gratuity added. Really? For a table of 5? and 20%? I usually tip at 20%, but this waitress didn't deserve that much. We were the only patrons and she only checked on us once when she wasn't delivering food. The bread took awhile to be delivered. Kids ran out of water and had to wait until the food arrived to request a refill. It's hard to flag down a waitress when she's always in a different room.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Mancino's Pizza & Grinders
Leo's baseball game was over, and he was begging for food. I gave him the list of places we've yet to go, and he picked one with "pizza" in the name. Cool! I lived in Bloomington for years before, have drove past Mancino's countless times, but never stopped in. If it's still there since I first saw it 10-15 year ago, it must be good. Right?
After waiting nearly ten minutes for the drunk (hopefully -- I'd hate to think she's always this stupid) chick to order her food, it was our turn. Leo convinced me to get breadsticks to go with our food. In addition, I had a stromboli and Leo had the Italian sandwich. We both opted for half sandwiches and fries. While waiting, we saw someone walk past with their whole sandwich -- about 18" long. Wow, I sure am glad I ordered the half!
I took a quick trip to the ladies room while awaiting our food. Apparently locks were beyond the capabilites of drunk chick, so I walked in on her. Oops. Waited until she was done and returned to the ladies room. Obviously peeing in the bowl was too difficult for her -- potty-training my sons required less clean-up. Not only was there pee all over the toilet seat, but for about a foot around the toilet in all directions. I must admit I'm a little impressed -- perhaps I could hire her to water my lawn...
When the food arrived, it was great. The breadsticks are just like Noble Romans (my favorite). The sandwiches were both awesome. And thankfully drunk chick got her food to go so the place was quiet.
After waiting nearly ten minutes for the drunk (hopefully -- I'd hate to think she's always this stupid) chick to order her food, it was our turn. Leo convinced me to get breadsticks to go with our food. In addition, I had a stromboli and Leo had the Italian sandwich. We both opted for half sandwiches and fries. While waiting, we saw someone walk past with their whole sandwich -- about 18" long. Wow, I sure am glad I ordered the half!
I took a quick trip to the ladies room while awaiting our food. Apparently locks were beyond the capabilites of drunk chick, so I walked in on her. Oops. Waited until she was done and returned to the ladies room. Obviously peeing in the bowl was too difficult for her -- potty-training my sons required less clean-up. Not only was there pee all over the toilet seat, but for about a foot around the toilet in all directions. I must admit I'm a little impressed -- perhaps I could hire her to water my lawn...
When the food arrived, it was great. The breadsticks are just like Noble Romans (my favorite). The sandwiches were both awesome. And thankfully drunk chick got her food to go so the place was quiet.
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