47 posts tagged “restaurants”
SBC is an old favorite of ours here in Springfield, Missouri. It was great to have lunch there, yesterday. I had the jambalaya linguini, which was to die for, and a locally brewed stout beer. Very, very tasty. It will have to hold me over until the next time we visit.
We ate at a pan-asian restaurant called Tasia a couple of days ago for lunch. I had szechuan chicken, and Strix had some tofu stir fry, and we both enjoyed our meals. The atmosphere was nice for a quick lunch, and the service was prompt and polite.
Big thanks to Queen of Fractal Beauty for being our gracious host in Oklahoma City tonight and introducing Strix and I to Queen of Sheba, a terrific Ethiopian restaurant. Ethiopian is a type of cuisine that you can't get just anywhere, and Strix and I hadn't had any of it since our last visit to the D.C. area seven years ago. For those of you who haven't had it, it's a lot like Indian food in the preparation and seasoning, and it's served with a spongy bread that's used to eat the food in lieu of utensils. The bread is really good, and is a big part of what makes it special, as is the honey wine called tej.
The service was a little spotty, but the food was great, and of course so was the company!
For lunch today, Strix and I ate at Riverside Pizza. We had both heard that it was good, so we decided to try it out. We had the Greek-style pizza, which had pepperoni, gyro meat, feta cheese, olives, onions, and mozzerella. It was very tasty, and I'm sure we'll go back there again today.
After pizza, we went geocaching for the afternoon, and found every cache went looking for, so overall it was a good day.
So... tired... must... blog...
Strix saw the Golden Compass earlier this week with her little sister (BBBS), but I hadn't seen it yet, and she said I would definitely want to see it on the big screen. At any rate, I had to see it to exercise my First Amendment rights, as I know a few people who would just as soon ban the thing because of it's supposed anti-religious themes.
That's not to say it was a chore to watch. I found it highly enjoyable, and am looking forward to the adaptation of the rest of the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman. There was far too much storyline packed into the feature run-time of the movie, but I felt that it flowed well enough considering the richness of the story.
And, although I know what Pullman's comments are regarding religion and how his books relate to them, I can't help but think that religious leaders are being stupid for becoming defensive and offended by these stories. The books could only be offensive to people of the religious persuasion if you feel the description of the religious authority in the fantasy world of the book, The Magisterium, accurately describes your religion. If it does, then you have a problem; if it doesn't, smile at the talking bear and shut up.
And, at any rate, if your faith can be shaken by a movie with a talking bear in it, it probably wasn't that strong to begin with.
And, besides, replace the Magisterium with the Catholic Church and Dust with Scientific Advancement, and you have a pretty accurate portrayal of the relationship between the two in our world. So there.
On a down note, Strix and I ate at Fuddruckers before the movie, since it was right across the corridor from the theater in the mall. The food was good, once we finally got it, but I waited half an hour for my little restaurant pager/coaster to vibrate before going up to the counter to see what the hold-up was. It turns out they lost my order. Strix's salad was sitting there under the heat lamp, wilting, but they never got my sandwich. The manager made a point of getting it prepared immediately and bringing it to my table, but didn't offer any refund, coupons, a swift kick in the pants, nothing. It was my first time eating there, and I probably won't eat there again.
This is a casual little restaurant in Pagosa Springs where we had lunch today. I had the fish and chips, and Strix had a mandarin salad with salmon.
I've found that most restaurants around here can't do fish and chips very well. They over-batter the fish so that it seems more like fried chicken. This was good, though, coming with only one large piece of pollock that was quite tasty. The service was good, too.
Last night, Strix and I ate at Azuma Sushi & Teppan in Albuquerque. The teppan chef didn't have the flare that chefs I've seen at similar restaurants had, but the food was delicious, and they have an interesting drink menu. I had an unfiltered sake that looked like chalky water and tasted like coconut, bananas, and pineapple. I don't think I'd get it every time, but it was tasty enough to get again sometime.
Noodles being expertly cooked on the table in front of us. What I was really taking a picture of was the onion "volcano" on the top left. This is a common trick at these restaurants, so I knew what was coming.
The volcano made of onion rings is filled with alcohol, then let ablaze.
Then he pours teriyaki sauce into it, which boils out looking like lava. No, you're right, it's even more fun than when your mother made a little happy face out of pancakes.
Management gave us a free ice cream sunday to share around the table. The ice cream itself was plum wine ice cream, and was very tasty.
Overall, I'd say it was a positive experience, the slightly grumpy chef notwithstanding.
We had lunch at Pars Mediterranean today, one of our favorite places to eat in Albuquerque. I've reviewed it previously.
I stubbed my toe last night, walking across my hotel room in the dark, and today it's swollen, black and blue. I think it might fall off.
Here's a pic I took of myself while bored and waiting for a meeting to start:
I went to Albuquerque yesterday to pick Strix up from the airport, and she hadn't had dinner yet so before heading back we ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Chama River Brewing Company. Relaxed but sophisticated atmosphere, excellent service, great microbrews, terrific wine selection, and outstanding food. I can't recommend this place enough.
I had honey-glazed salmon served on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes with french beans. Yes, it's just as good as it sounds, only more so. I had a lovely glass of pinot noir with it. Strix had farfalle stossed in pesto with shrimp. She had a wine of a varietal we had never heard of - albariño - a Spanish wine. We both finished our dinners, and I asked Strix if it would be bad manners to lick my plate.
Originally posted on my old blog on April 6th, 2006:
One thing this county is lacking, and that's a variety of good Asian restaurants. In Springfield, Missouri, there are approximately three Asian restaurants per capita. Here, there are a few local favorites that, I'm sorry to say, haven't impressed me much, yet. Boon's Family Thai is an exception to that, but you can't eat there every night.
Tonight, we tried a small Chinese restaurant on the east end of Farmington called the Long Dragon Inn. It was voted best Chinese food in Farmington at some point in the past, and I had heard that it was good, so I figured it was worth a shot. The food actually was good, and the service was attentive, but the restaurant itself was fairly run down. I thought the prices were a little high for the kind of place it was, too. Despite this, we'd probably go there again if we wanted Chinese food.
