#I went to a restaurant while I was in Philly that came with a salad

[desperatecheesecubes]

I love the ‘if life gives you lemons’ saying because it’s supposed to mean finding a positive in an unfortunate situation but i happen to be very allergic to lemons so it becomes a phrase about how ‘some things that are only a mild inconvenience for you are catastrophic for others’

[jessiewre]

Day 54

Thurs 27th Feb

🏖Watamu to Mombasa 🕌

The day had finally arrived and we were leaving Watamu. We'd been totally sucked in and it was easy to see why - beautiful beaches, cheap but decent hotel with AC, tasty Italian food, super nice and helpful hotel staff that greeted us like old friends, and lets not forget the absolute jewel in the crown, Barry. 

We'd planned on 4 days, which had somehow turned into 10, and although the draw of more time with Barry was overwhelming (maybe for Phil), we couldn't delay it any longer. Phil's marathon was looming.

So we went down for breakfast, hiding the mustard from view incase Wendy was around, and chatted to Edwin our waiter while watching the Man City vs Real Madrid highlights. The food selection that morning was a little different - what I thought was a chickpea curry turned out to be a maize stew. Phil was not keen. But we got our Spanish omelettes to order so PANIC OVER. 

Check out was mildly emotional as the staff waved goodbye to their favourite ever guests (probably) with tears in their eyes (maybe) and pain in their hearts (definitely). They told us to keep in touch and to make sure we came back - yeah, it was intense. They must have some really dull guests normally...that reminds me, Barry rocked up to say bye and made sure he got Phil's number no doubt so he could share his hilarious memes and top lad BANTER.

Our tuc tuc driver took us to Gede and helped us find a bus going to Mombasa. Phil's height got him the Vip front seat and I squashed in the back like the peasant that I am. The ticket man was a full on hustler, getting the bus to collect people on the street who didn't even seem to want to go to Mombasa. But despite this, the journey was quick and the best bit was I realised we were going to drive past our hostel area 20 minutes before we got to Mombasa centre - so we got off the bus at Bob's bar corner and only had a 5 minute walk to get there. 

And what did we pass on the way? A JAVA CAFE. A symbol of reliability and AC. Once we'd got through the super high tech security of a plastic table in a car park, Phil ordered his favourite tomato soup with masala fries and I ordered a Greek salad, safe in the knowledge that I would be tucking into Phil's masala fries whether he liked it or not. 

The hostel Tuliahouse showed us two rooms - one large room near the pool, with high ceilings and an amazing mosquito net, plus an ensuite, for $35 and then one small room tucked awkwardly upstairs with NO bathroom and a pathetic mozi net for $31. Umm let me think, which one to have...

Ok so some people might think we went for the cheap one to save ourselves 4 whole dollars and it does sound like something we might do. But not this time guys. We splashed out. Not that this big room was perfect by any means. The shower head flew off as soon as the water was turned on and then I realised there was no bath mat or toilet roll. Sweet. God knows what would have been wrong in the other room.

We went straight to the pool for a chill out (it had been a tough day already) and Phil read some blog. He's just reached the night bus journey where he ate old Mexican food and it made us laugh a lot. Hope you're enjoying this moment reading a blog about reading a blog that you’ve already read. 

Phil suggested we go to explore the Old Town of Mombasa before sunset, so we jumped into an Uber with a slightly depressed driver and got out at Fort Jesus, a big old fort by the coast. There was a load of young teens playing a game of football right near it and in the evening light with the fort in the background, it looked pretty epic.

The Old Town was mildly interesting to walk round but had a weird vibe. One person told Phil to be careful with his phone then another told us to walk a different way as it was dodgy. The best bit was coming across a small tea shop by the waters edge where a man had three pots going with different hot drinks and loads of cups, plus a large group of customers sat around enjoying the view. I was about to go into the order area when I suddenly noticed there were only men there. As it was a Muslim area, I checked with the guy if I could come in. He looked at me like I was mental and said Yes of course. Phil also looked at me like I was mental. I was just trying to make sure I didn't offend anyone! And by doing so, I may have offended someone. FFS.

A small cup of ginger coffee was handed to me while Phil walked off to watch the kids who were fishing off the rocks. The tea was extremely sweet and extremely gingery, stinging the throat with ginger spice, but not actually bad. I had some small talk with the men sat around and then called over to Phil to get change to pay

15ksh for my tea. I looked back at the men and said 'He carries the wallet, but the money inside is mine'.

Oh my God these men HOWLED with laughter like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard. Maybe it actually was poor things.  

The rest of the walk was pretty forgettable and we got in another Uber (with another extremely depressed driver) to get to a restaurant. It was still early but I'd found a place called Bollywood Bites (thats right people) that said it opened ‪at 6pm. We definitely didn’t expect to be eating so much Indian food on this trip but we are certainly not unhappy about it‬. Got dropped off to a mall complex and found this bizarre Bollywood themed place with no one in it and blasting cold AC. Perfect! Cool air and fast service is a Philly Tours Thursday special.

The cheapest rice on the menu was $4.90 - which is mental of course - so we decided to go rogue and try to have our first ever curry with no rice (!). It's funny the things we refuse to pay for - but it worked out great. Paneer Tikka masala, aloo tiki Chaat and garlic naan with some potato ball starters was yummmmmy. Phil was like 'Ya know what, I'm not gonna have a beer I'm just gonna have a coke and take it easy'.

At which point I let me know that I was fully aware that the restaurant didn't even sell beer and he wasn't fooling anyone.

We got a small doggy bag and got another Uber, crossing our fingers for someone a little more joyful. Francis was a young guy who actually let us have the AC on and stopped off for us to buy water too (I bought him a lemon drink to say thanks). So we booked him for our morning pick up and went straight to watch the Crown in our boiling hot room.  

[atypical60]

Far be it to not take advantage of Oona’s pre-wedding events to not make it about me. OK?

Remember.  It’s all about MOI!!!!

Anyway, last weekend I flew to Cincinnati for Oona’s Bridal Shower.  You saw a sneak peak at my last blog post but I’m gonna elaborate more on the weekend.

And boy was this a fantastic Bridal Brunch!!

As the Mother-of-the-Bride naturally.

Number 4 is the only one Oona has stressed.  I did that at her shower when we all introduced ourselves.  My sense of humor got the best of me as I introduced myself as “…..as Oona exited my Origin of the World…”  immediately, I was pulled aside and warned in a kind way to NOT say anything like that at the wedding.  (shhhh–don’t tell but I don’t follow rules!)

I took Friday off from work because I wanted a true three-day weekend.  That’s the thing about working in a low-level clerical position—you need permission to get a day off.  In my other places of employment, it was much easier to finagle time off as a freebie—trust me.   I also worked my schedule out to accommodate leaving early on Thursday afternoon so I could fly from Philly to Cincy and enjoy a few extra hours of fun time.

I also took Friday casual to Thursday!  I travel in comfort, but not like a slob! J. Crew and Gabor wigs assisted me!  Mother-of-the Bride travel attire!

It’s not how it started out though.

For some reason, either I hit horrific weather or I have a displeasure of a delayed flight whenever I travel.  I kid you not.  And about 45 minutes before we were to board the plane, an announcement was made that the flight to Cincinnati would be delayed.

Welcome to my jet-sit world.  I spend more time waiting than flying!  I have to say though, that Delta made every effort and boarded us very quickly when the plane arrived!

Besides having an inner hissy-fit, I dealt with this issue by stress eating not one pretzel, but an additional bucket of pretzel nuggets.  Fresh and hot off the press.  The carbs were murder on my gut but felt so good going down.  I also ate a giant bag of peanut M & M’s.  And read trashy magazines.

And an added surprise was that these nuggets of carbs were also drenched in greasy melted butter.  I wonder why the scale isn’t giving me nicer numbers!!

The plane finally arrived and this Mother-of-the-Bride landed after ten in the evening to rain!  I was two for two.  A delay and rain.  It was shocking that a snow storm hadn’t hit!

Cincinnati here I come…

To rain and a delayed flight….

Now…upon departing the flight, one would think I ran to the airport exit to see Oona and Sam.  No.  CVG is a GREAT airport.  It’s so clean and spacious so I couldn’t resist dawdling (now we know where my son, Roman, acquired the gift of dawdle…).  I came across a cosmetics vending machine!  But I didn’t buy anything!

Why couldn’t I find this at Philly airport during the delay?

Then I came across my favorite part of the airport!  Them bones!

Some stop to smell the roses.  I stop to take photos at airports of skeletal treasure!

But it was great to be back at Oona and Sam’s and playing around with my grand puppy, Gracie.

My boo, Gracie.  OMG. She’s so well-behaved..

Oona and Sam are such great doggie parents…I KNOW they will be fantastic human parents!

Friday brought sun and clouds and brisk weather but it didn’t matter.  There’s something comforting in knowing that your daughter and her future husband can brew a great cuppa coffee.  They make it strong—just the way I love it.  And we sat around gabbing before getting ready and heading out to run errands.

The Mr. Coffee is far better than the grandpa Mr. Coffee we have at home.

Even little Gracie was beggin’ for some!

Ahhhhhhhhh…cawfee!!!

Oona had a nail appointment, and since my nails were looking fine, I passed but kept her company while we discussed family and the wedding preparations.

This freakin’ nail salon!  It went on for days!  I was jealous–but then Oona told me the price of a mani-pedi and I was glad to be living in the Northeast where nail salons are plentiful….and far less expensive!

Next stop was Marshalls –Oona picked some workout clothing (I didn’t –I’m lazy).  And I headed for the cosmetics.  Glory be to Gawd—I found two great eyeshadow palettes!

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More on these palettes for my next blog post but boy….at $7.99 each, these palettes were a steal!

We did some food shopping—Sam’s birthday was Friday and his family was coming over for dinner.  Oona looked pensive as she realized time was of the essence—she had to head back to the airport to pick up her best friend and maid-of-honor, Lauren.

Did I say food shopping? I sent this pic to Bonaparte to validate that Pennsylvania is the worst state in the USA because of the State-run, Mob-type Liquor stores!  You can by this at Trader Joes in Cincy!

And that’s where mom comes in—I assured her I could take care of the cake and she could head to the airport for alone time with her bestie!

BTW, this cake is gluten-free, chemical and preservative-free, sugar free, and lower-fat!  Oona added Sam’s favorite candy–Reeses Pieces which are NOT lower fat nor sugar free!  But it was a tasty Birthday cake!

Friday evening, Sam’s family came over for a birthday celebration. Being with Sam’s family is like being with……………. family!!  We all had a great time and I was introduced to a spectacular aperitif/cocktail:  The Aperol Spritz!  This concoction of Aperol, Prosecco, and Seltzer with a slice of orange is the most refreshing drink I’ve ever downed!

You read it first.  Moving forward, the Aperol Spritz will now be called “Mother-of-the-Bride”.   There will be an open bar at the wedding but I may smuggle my private makings!  There’s only 148 calories in one of these!

I drank a lot of them during the weekend.  In fact, as I write this now, I informed the Frenchman that I’ll be stopping at the store for Aperol, Prosecco and seltzer!  He is a bit upset that I am forgoing the beloved Kir Royal but the Aperol Spritz has less calories and with the wedding countdown, every calorie counts!

Saturday was a full day!

Let me tell you something.  Oona and Lauren spent a long time getting their hair perfectly coifed.  Lauren is great with styling and she styled Oona’s hair in perfect beach waves.

I plopped my Jamison wig on—and had extra time to loll around in bed! Oh, the beauty of wigs!

Jamison and Lilly Pulitzer.  You can’t go wrong!

The shower/bruncheon was at LouVino, a Southern-inspired restaurant and wine bar downtown Cincinnati.  What a great place!  The celebration was downstairs in a private room and Oona’s friends, coworkers, future sisters-in-law, mother-in-law and relatives were in attendance.

The upstairs wine bar at LouVino’s. I’m recommending this place to out-of-town guests for Oona’s wedding!

The downstairs room where the brunch was held…

Thanks to Sam’s sisters, the table settings were beautiful..

  Mimosas kept us refreshed and hydrated!

Oh yeah, and water (in the background) also kept us hydrated.  The food was so great that I never took a pic–I was too busy shoveling the Warm Brussels Salad into my mouth!

We played girlie games.  I won Scattergories.  But the best game was where Oona had to guess answers to questions that Sam answered in advance.  For ever wrong answer, a wad of bubble gum was placed in Oona’s mouth!  It was a riot!

It was only natural that I took myself out of the “Guess the Age” game.  I’m no cheater!

Miss Oona getting ready for more bubble gum!  She actually did a great job.  Out of 30 questions, she got 2/3’s correct!

The prize for the Scattergories win..a cute mug and a Starbucks card!!!!!!!!!!! 

Some of the gifts.  Crate & Barrel is very popular–eh???

Happy little wine glasses…

Happy little Oona!

The baking girl was thrilled to receive mixing bowls.  Did I mention I gifted her with a Stainless Kitchen Aid Mixer…just like mine?  I swear the baking is genetic!

This.  This was on Oona’s wish list and she was so happy to receive this!  (Hmmmm maybe she’ll give me her Mr. Coffee machine…)

BFF’s.  They’ve been friends since middle-school.  Two beauties!

This photo of us was taken after I was crying…

..and this is why.  Lauren, Oona’s BFF and Maid of Honor, gifted Sam’s mom and me with embroidered hankies.  Both moms were crying because it was just a touching and generous gift!   I’m crying again!

I was very happy to be in attendance.  Oona didn’t want a shower in Philly simply because she felt that asking my side of the family and her Northeast friends, was asking them to spend too much money—what with the travel to Ohio and the hotel, she wanted to keep expenses down for everyone.  You know—I was very proud of her decision.  I think I raised a very conscientious young woman!

  And the fact Sam’s family has welcomed Oona really made me feel warm and fuzzy inside!

May I present the future Mrs. Butts.  Coming from a very competitive family, it pleases me to have my daughter’s future last name be greatness such as this.  When/if they have children and their children are in competitive activities, they can hashtag:  #MyButtsgonnakickyours  or… #Buttsbekickin’

Some after-brunch fun.  Isn’t that dress adorable?  It’s a Lilly Pulitzer..and those shoes!  The daughter has great taste..and she’s gorgeous!

By the time we got back to the house, the rain came and it was time to head to Sam’s mom’s home for a casual, laid back and fun dinner!

And more Aperol Spritzes!

The recipe?  Three parts Prosecco, Two parts Aperol, One part (a splash) Seltzer and an orange slice to make it nice!

Sunday morning brought forth a bit of a hangover and the flight back to Philly.  Isn’t it funny how when you wish for a delay, the flight is on time?

Gracie was sad to see me go.  I was sad to see me go!

  Minimal dawdling on the return.  There was no delay.  WAIT!  Does that say Air France?  Yeah…but it’s the plane back to Philly…

And despite the timeliness of the flight home, I did manage to get this sweatshirt as a reminder of a great weekend!

I arrived back home Sunday afternoon.  When Bonaparte picked me up, I’m not too sure he was happy to see me because he kept mentioning how tired I looked.  He was right. I had a bad hangover    FOODover, because of all the food I ate.

Yeah. I pretty-much crashed when I arrived home.  Funny how I still think I’m in my twenties sometimes!

Do you ever get sad when you leave someplace and someone?  I was incredibly sad to leave but after I arrived home and unpacked and got to telling the Frenchman about the weekend, the sadness lifted and I felt really happy.  Happy that I was able to enjoy the weekend with my daughter and her future family! And happy to be back sitting next to my husband on the sofa!

And she’s the reason the weekend was a stellar one!  My baby is getting married!

More Mother-of-the-Bride Fun! Far be it to not take advantage of Oona’s pre-wedding events to not make it about me.

[tenorcolt8-blog]

Pizza Maestro Joe Beddia on the One Thing You Should Never Order on Your Pie

City

One year after closing his legendary Girard Avenue shop, Beddia is back with a new eponymous Fishtown restaurant.

Joe Beddia is the owner of Pizzeria Beddia. Illustration by Andy Friedman

My last name is pronounced … BED-ee-ah, but everybody says beh-DEE-ah. It’s Sicilian. My dad was born in Sicily.

I live in … Fishtown, where I’ve been for the last 17 years. It’s amazing how much it’s changed, though there’s still nowhere to eat. But it’s getting better. In 10 years, you won’t recognize the neighborhood.

My relationship with pizza these days is … that I’ve gone from a maker to a teacher. At my last place, I made every pizza. That’s not happening at the new place. What I did was sustainable for five years, and then it wasn’t. It was either have a partnership or no pizza at all — forever. Those were the two options.

The hardest thing about making pizza is … getting the pizza off the peel and onto the stone in the oven. That’s what takes the most finesse and practice. It’s a precise wrist-flip thing.

The first big concert that I went to was … Beck, at the Trocadero in 1994. I was 17, and we drove down from Lancaster, where I grew up. I remember that during the set break, he came into the audience and handed out sandwiches.

My very first job was … as a grounds-keeper at a hotel/resort in Lancaster. Eventually I went to work at the restaurant there, because that’s where all the girls were working, but it was terrible.

I moved to Philly … to brew beer at Yards. I was there for three and a half years. And I was a bartender at Tria, and while I was there, I would go to New York a lot and try all the pizza places while I was also having pizza parties at my house. Pizza was a hobby that turned into a vocation.

The menu at the new restaurant … consists of small plates — including Cantabrian anchovies, which are the best anchovies in the world — and salads, roasted vegetables, and basically the same pizza menu as at my old place. Oh, and soft-serve.

In next month’s primary election … I don’t know who I’ll vote for. I don’t know who’s running. I don’t know anything about it.

I like to play … poker with my friends. And Yahtzee. I don’t play games like Scrabble. I have a bad vocabulary.

One thing you should never put on pizza is … chicken. It gets so dry, because the chicken is already cooked when you put it on there. It’s not like you’re putting raw chicken on pizza.

My favorite spot to take a walk in Philly is … Old City. You can walk four continuous blocks on cobblestone without touching a paved street. I go from the noisy craziness of Fishtown to a part of town that’s hundreds of years old, quiet and serene. Especially at three in the morning.

My last trip out of the country was to … Mexico City, last year — a tasting trip for something I can’t talk about. Well, the Suraya guys are opening a Mexican restaurant. But that’s all I’ll say. And before that, a whirlwind four-week trip to Europe. It was one week too long.

The most overrated pizza in Philly is … Lorenzo’s. It’s the worst.

If I could open another pizzeria anywhere in the world, I would open it in … Tokyo. People are like, “Do it in D.C.,” and I think, “Fuck you.” And New York doesn’t need another pizzeria. Actually, Los Angeles could use a good pizzeria. I’d be open to that idea.

When somebody says they want to open a restaurant, I tell them … work at the best place that does what you want to do for as long as you can.

But I secretly think … why?

Published as “One of Us: Joe Beddia” in the April 2019 issue of Philadelphia magazine.

Source: https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/03/23/joe-beddia-pizza/

[uterusclub]

Hot, Chicago summers are generally, not very fun but somehow, we manage. This past month was nothing short of spectacular – even despite the sweltering, blistering, hell heat. We kicked the month off with a visit to the very critically acclaimed Par-King miniature golf course out in Lincolnshire. Solely based off of the reviews on this place, expectations were HIGH. To ensue extra, satisfaction, I purchased a Groupon for an Indian Restaurant by the name of Marigold Maison through whom we purchased some bag-insulated yummers for dinner. I’ll save you the suspense and tell you the food was not good. Although I’m fairly certain we’ve become tikka masala snobs at this point. Service was super awkward as well as the restaurant has a grocery attached to it with shelved goods that look as though they’d been there for god knows how long. In any case, I wouldn’t venture there ever again. But back to the golfing. We arrived mid-day on a Wednesday in hopes of beating any summer-time crowds. And much to our delight, the place was not busy at all. I will say we were gravely disappointed in the different themed courses that felt very lacking – especially after reading of the reputation of this joint. The literal best thing about the entire course was the ‘roller coaster’ hole which well, Sharon grabbed some awesome video of so be sure to check that out in the montage (shameless plug). I would consider trying it again – maybe with the other course since the ‘cooler’ holes were all on the other game option. Let’s also take into account that Sharon was dealing with some mental and emotional bullshit right before we started playing so she wasn’t exactly in the right mind-set to even attempt enjoying the golf of minisculeness.

And then there was the Fourth of July. Which well, we usually don’t do much for – simply based on the elements of too many people being out and about in the world doing dumb and annoying things. But for some reason or rather, the lure of a Paranormal Circus presenting itself to us, did we become much bolder this year. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The day started off with a bit of work-from-home since I’m commission-based and don’t get PAID on days off. Following that, I believe the boozing commenced which involved a lovely rendition of Berry Vodka reminiscent of snow cone syrup. Following that, we baked some pre-bought chips and ate some previously purchased pasta and potato salads while we vegged on the couch to enjoy the down time.

Once it became a decent hour to leave, we headed out to the Paranormal Cirque located out in Orland Park. I had read that there was a pre-show to the event so of course, we arrived hella early (pun intended). Gates weren’t even open as we reached the mall parking lot where dark tents had been resurrected. Twas quite a strange sight, really. But we enjoyed taking pictures and videos of the tented darkness awaiting us. Once we were finally allowed in, we entered the main tent area where a table was set up selling masks. There was also a face painter in the corner adjacent which I considered partaking in but the artist was taking far way too long for my liking. As we stood around in the main area awaiting this ‘pre-show,’ we noticed a Mad-Max, steam-punk looking little person riding around on an electric wheelchair. She’d speed up close to unsuspecting victims, point her gun and scare creepily at them before slowly backing away. It was cool for the first couple minutes but eventually, we came to the conclusion that there really WAS no pre-show.

After we were finally allowed into the show arena, we met several, random performers who were entertaining, yes, but nothing extravagant. Once seated in our front-row elitist-ship, we watched a little person clown walk around and harass random people. He quite enjoyed throwing popcorn at me. As the time dwindled on, we become more and more annoyed with the fact that yet again, another show was NOT going to start on time. Sadly, the venue wasn’t very packed either. Once the show resumed, we were mildly entertained. The man ‘comedic’ character was hilarious but the crassness of the show was a bit too much for our liking. As such, we darted out at intermission to enjoy a colorful, sky extravaganza on our way home.

Next on the party-bus roster for July was Garden a Go Go – a burlesque show that sounded most intriguing. Situated in a warehouse-looking building in Humboldt Park (a clear indication nothing good could possibly come of us), we again, arrived very early in anticipation of much awesomeness. Unfortunately, our $20 donation didn’t seem worthwhile for the non-air-conditioned frenzy of annoyance we were met with. Granted, there was a very awesome hoop aerialist doing some ‘pre-show’ performance while we yet again, waited the untimely nature of the production. We sat and sweated and listened to DJ-ed music accompanied very ineloquently by a saxophone player. Not even the sax could save our spirits. Let me also point out that drink tickets were mandatory and that no bottled water was available. After staying to watch the show until, literally, we finished watching the Abraham Lincoln performance, we left immediately and pondered actually picking up and dropping off a case of water for the poor souls continuing to suffer without quench.

As remedy to our disappointment for the Garden a No No, I suggested we stop off at my most beloved Sidekicks for a drink and song. Sharon was most agreeable and we headed over. This night was COMPLETELY turned around by this decision. Not only did we become cool with the karaoke guru, Joe, but we made friends with my waitress’s friends, Bart and Maria who were the coolest people ever. Bart was literally creating self-echoes over the mic and ended up buying us buttery-nipple shots at one point. I even discovered one of my dance student’s moms also waitresses there! Talk about your small world! Had a blast. We would end up at Sidekicks two more times that month. The second was just as fun. The last was well, not as anticipated but all in all, it’s a great default place to scout out any time. Ah concerts. How I do loathe thee – unless you are outdoors and I have plenty of personal space which is precisely what we achieved this month! We grabbed some super cheap tickets for Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in Tinley Park for 311 even though we were actually going for the opening bands. After having our sunscreen and bug spray discarded my security (doh) and having to walk the perimeter of the joint to get the correct ‘will call’ window, I paid way too much for plastic mason jars of vodka. Lawn seat were spectacular and we came prepared with Skip-Bo which, due to wind complication, involved putting every item we owned on every card pile to prevent throw-aways. The opening bands were good up until the last one before 311 at which point, we could not muster the will for it was quite horrendous. It was strange to pack up before the main band but quite satisfactory.

Ravinia. Can’t go wrong. Every year I try to make it a point to find SOMEONE to see here. Again, lawn seats are the absolute best for comfort. We again arrived with Skip-BO after venturing to Viaggio in Highland Park for some take-away dinner goods. The place was PACKED for arriving at 5 o’clock on a Sunday! I’d never seen it so full so early on in the day. But we valiantly made our way around the venue until we found a sufficient spot to lay our wares. The music performance was The Music of Queen with a vocalist named Brody Dolyniuk who, was an awesome singer but horrendous speaker. Guy sounded like an infomercial. Several songs into the performance and after battling a swat of flies whom invaded one suspicious corner of our blanket, we headed out.

I never claim to be of Irish descent, although, my brother allegedly found out our family is a small percentage Irish, but that has never been necessary for partaking in the Irish Fest held every year at The Irish Heritage Center. We grabbed some food at a local spot conveniently across the street from Sidekicks, Old Irving Brewing Co. before making our way to the Irish Fest. After arriving we observed the place to be very much dead – which is always in our favor. We immediately grabbed drinks and headed to the outdoor tent area to take a gander at the vendors and musical performances. Sharon entered us in a Trip to Ireland drawing which we clearly didn’t win. We popped upstairs to take a look at the indoor exhibits and watched some Irish dancing for a hot second before heading out an inevitably ending up at Sidekicks (which we’ve previously discussed).

What better way to spend a Tuesday evening than drinking and BINGO’ing? It’s not often I have Tuesday evenings available due to dance scheduling so we took advantage of an opportunity to visit Eris Brewery and Cider House for their special BINGO event. We’d previously been here for their cider and were a bit underwhelmed. The same was true this most recent go. But I will say, their sweet potato waffle fries with bacon and a bunch of other awesome stuff were off the CHAIN! SO good! BINGO involved maybe three tables including ours, there were about 11 of us total? And it STILL took several people leaving before Sharon’s ‘luck’ kicked in during the last three games. Brian, a brewer, was the caller who was most entertaining. His gibberish between games was hilarious – until he went on tangents about making cider at which point, I was buzz, tired, and pissed I hadn’t won and therefore, was no longer amused. Sharon came away with a t-shirt and a bunch of other, random, useless items. I came away with much embitterment, per usual.

If you’re ever looking for a delish, Philly’s cheesesteak, look no further than Monti’s near Albany Park. I loved this place since the first time I tried it. It’s cute, carefree and I’ve never experienced bad service. After parking a bit away and trekking endlessly in the blistering sun, we arrived, grab some $5 martinis and consumed some delicious goods! Martinis take #2 underwent and buzzed, we headed off to the second event for the night: K. Karaoke and Paint. Because what could POSSIBLY be better than drinking, painting AND singing? Oh yeah, yes, it’s also BYOB so we grabbed our insulated Moscow mule cans from the car and walked a short way to the storefront. Once inside, we grabbed our seats, iced some cups and awaited the rest of the attendees. Eventually, we began our painting project of a sunflower in between which, I sang a song or two. The more we boozed, the more ‘creative’ our paintings became. At one point, Sharon was beckoned to the make-shift dance-floor at which time, everyone forgot what they were doing. At the very end of the event, you guessed it, we headed to Sidekicks (again, already covered this) and ultimately, took our paintings back home where I drunkenly decided to leave our art work outside the doorstep of our old-lady neighbor, as a gift. The following morning I barely remember this act of generosity and to this day wonder just what she was thinking when she noticed them.

We were very much looking forward to attending the Bristol Renaissance Faire this month, however, due to the heat severity, we determined it would not be the greatest idea to do so in July. As a replacement, however, we decided to get some tattoos. Sharon acquired a bridge and I, a sheep. Not a bad time for a lazy, hot Saturday.

The month of July was wrapped up with a few cat themes. Poor monkey-bear was taken to the vet due to violent, butt-licking tendencies which resulted in some prescribed laxative and pain medication. He’s doing much better now. I believe the demons haunting his butthole have vacated. Aside from that, we took in a performance of Cats downtown at the Nederlander Theatre. So here’s the thing on that. I don’t get it. I’ve never gotten it. Every time I try to understand that show, it fails. I couldn’t understand a damn thing the actors were sing/saying other than ‘Jellicle Cats’ which til this day, I still don’t know what the hell they are! Does anyone? Someone respond to this blog with an explanation please. Again, we left at intermission, very glad to have at LEAST experienced ‘Memories’ which is always a good, inner cry.

All in all, not a bad month – despite my obvious, aforementioned bitching. Complications and let-downs aside, nothing was going to stop these queens from enjoying this sexy, hot summer.

First-Act Queens Hot, Chicago summers are generally, not very fun but somehow, we manage. This past month was nothing short of spectacular – even despite the sweltering, blistering, hell heat.

[k8eatsphl]

anastasi seafood, ray’s happy bday bar, manakeesh cafe

TRIPLE WHAMMY! altho i did not eat at these three locales all in one day.

on friday julianne, goda, n i went to karaoke at ray’s happy birthday bar to hang out with DJ LARS! our favorite dj from karaoke at mccloskey’s in ardmore!!!!

pre-karaoke we went to anastasi, cuz i told them it was on my list. i buy seafood at anastasi’s on a pretty regular basis. this winter i ended up buyin more at reading, but i’m back to anastasi now. their prices are always good n the fish n skrimps are always fresh! but i’ve never eaten at the restaurant, n am usually in the mood for fried seafood and white wine. i think that would prbly be my final meal. if i ever get executed or kno i will die imminently.

side note, and sorry for morbidity, but grandmere, the classiest woman i know and a great lover of fried seafood with white wine, died this sunday. i am very happy that on my visit to anasasi seafood and ray’s happy birthday bar i was wearing her texas sweatshirt. i will miss her very much but she lives on in my heart forever. luv u grandmere <3 <3 <3

we arrived at anastasi at i’m guessin 7pm on a friday night. we wanted to sit outside, but when we arrived those tables were booked. we decided to wait for an outdoor table to open up, so we told the women at the server station and walked around italian market. we went to la guerrerense for ice cream. i have been to el pueblo refresqueria across the street for a mangonada before, but had always been overwhelmed by the flavor options at la guerrerense! but goda said it’s her go-to. i got rompope with rasas, like an eggnog with raisins. a very out of character flavor, but it was so good!

we walked back to anastasi and by 8ish they had a table for us. we all got seafood sammiches. i got an oyster/shrimp poboy, goda got a crab cake sammich, and julianne got a whiting sammich. goda and julianne split their order, n i ate my poboy all by myself lol. we got an order of fries to share at the table.

i thought the poboy was a’ight. the oysters and shrimp were great, but there wasn’t enough remoulade. i will definitely go back to anastasi for happy hour (m-f, 4-7) and just get some straight up fried seafood and maybe oysters. the bread was just unnecessary. but as i was about to go in for a night of karaoke i thought it was important to carb up.

following dinner we walked to ray’s happy birthday bar. this is where dj lars reigns on friday nights at 9pm. the bar was packed with ppl havin bdays! we got drinks (i got a red wine, $5, the bar tender didn’t even make a face!) and we chose some songs. had a great time, sang some classics (flagpole sitta, ode to my family) and watched some great performances. loved hangin with goda and julianne!!!  it was a mini najukago reunion, minus the na. 

and then today, tuesday, i went to manakeesh cafe for lunch. i was in west philly giving a presentation on CARES, the data warehouse that my work team maintains, and was like DAMN i’m never in west philly. so walked from drexel to 46th and walnut. when i arrived at manakeesh cafe they were havin some difficulties with their ipad ordering stations, but eventually they got it sorted. i got a laham baijin (flatbread with spiced beef) and a side order of fattoush (pita salad). only $9! then i walked to the other half of the cafe, which focuses on drinks/sweet stuff, and got a smoothie. i originally wanted a beirut sunshine fruit cocktail, which comes with ashta, honey, and walnuts, but they were out of avocado. so i got a mango/cardamom/turmeric smoothie for $5. 

the smoothie was soooooo good! so thick. i really wish i had a blender to make high quality smoothies at home. i drank of of the smoothie while i waited for my food. i was prbly just gettin hangry but felt like the order was taking a while. but eventually order came. the laham baijin was huge, as was the fattoush order! i made myself eat half of the fattoush before even starting on the salad. the dressing (lemon juice, olive oil, sumac, salt) was really good...think it’s cuz they put salt in it, which i do not put in mine. wish there had been some more pita, but it’s okay!

the laham baijin tasted soooooo similarly to teta’s. the bell pepper/tomato/onion combo is so distinctive. also there was SO much beef, and the flatbread was huge to begin with! i ate half of it before deciding to save the rest for dinner (which i just ate). attempted to finish the fattoush but it was just too much! ate all but like 1/4. 

i think i would return to manakeesh cafe, hopefully to get a lebanese fruit cocktail...and maybe to try some of their lebanese dishes like fatteh and fool. it’s a hike out there, but there’s a train and a trolley so rly no excuse.

ratings:

anastasi: 6/10

ray’s happy birthday bar (not on my map and didn’t eat but w/e): 8/10

manakeesh cafe: 7/10

[rainhorn6-blog]

Knead To Know: Kneading Ruby, Wollongong

The recent long weekend seemed like the perfect time to take a little road trip down to Wollongong with friends. Pizza was the lure we set off just before noon and arrived at Kneading Ruby for an Sunday afternoon lunch of cocktails, pizza and salads.

A message from Ivy came through the night before our little trip to Wollongong. She was happy to drive her convertible if the weather was good and I went to sleep hoping that it would be a sunny day. The next day it was not just sunny, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sky rained blue all day.

It's an easy drive to Wollongong, scenic if you want it to be or you can also go the faster route down the highway. Louise and Viggo and baby Henry were there waiting for us as they'd left much earlier in the day as they wanted to make a day out of it.

Kneading Ruby is on Crown Lane, just a little bit behind the main CBD area of Wollongong. They have their own car park and we park there and open the enormous wooden doors. The restaurant is large and airy with big windows, a raised booth underneath a drawing of a woman (Ruby we learn is not the proprietor but the name of the builder's daughter). Pizzas are being tossed and the vibe is friendly.

Clockwise from left: Hendrick's Lamar $18, Pineapple Express $17, Mary J's Smoked Sour $17 and Red Apple $8

It's a round of drinks for everyone. Louise orders a Mary J's Smoked Sour with gin mare, lemon, grapefruit and smoked rosemary syrup while Ivy goes for a Hendricks Lamar with Hendricks gin, lime, sugar, cucumber, coriander and pepper. I order the Pineapple Express with vodka, yellow chartreuse, pineapple, lemon and peanut butter (the last ingredient is quite mild). Mr NQN goes for a mocktail called the Fresh Red with fresh apple juice, pineapple, mint and grenadine which we all covet and Viggo has a beer (he also notes all the weed references in the menu).

Gnocco Fritto, Nduja chilli philly $8.50

We start with something that I remember having in the north of Italy a lot - gnocco fritto or fried dough. Usually it was draped or served with prosciutto but here you get it with some nduja topped cream cheese and finely chopped preserved lemon. It's tasty and best eaten while hot although we could have used a couple more pieces of the fried bread.

Mushroom, stracciatella, black garlic, crostini $18

My favourite dish probably of the whole day are the mushrooms with stracciatella cheese and black garlic with a chunk of house made bread. I could have eaten the whole thing and then dipped in more bread to soak up the juices afterwards.

Polenta Chips with gorgonzola and cauliflower sauce $16

There are literally four polenta chips in this serve (and five of us) and they're quite soft, thick numbers. I prefer them to be crispier, more like chips but Ivy likes them this way. They're served on a cauliflower puree with gorgonzola.

Pearl Barley, Cashew nut, celeriac and laver salad $16

There's quite a bit of a gap between receiving our pizzas and all the courses so you definitely want to share when you eat here. This is a delicious pearl barley salad with cashews, roasted celeriac and laver chips on top. It has a lovely texture and the sweet roasted celeriac gives it a nice sweetness.

Prosciutto e rucola pizza $23

We accidentally get this extra pizza due to a miscommunication. I really prefer the oozy, gooeyness of melted cheese on pizza but if you like prosciutto de Parma, torn buffalo mozzarella and fresh cherry tomatoes then this might be for you. I ask for some chilli oil to spice it up but it tastes more like EVOO with a touch of capsicum and not that addictive fiery chilli oil you can get.

Nduja pizza $23

We all love nduja and this pizza is topped with San Marzano, hot salami, leek and capers. The pizza is fine although the slice I get is mostly leek whereas I was hoping for more nduja.

Truffle Salami pizza $23

The truffle salami pizza has San Marzano, gsorgonzola, truffle salami and fresh uncooked onion on top. It's probably my favourite pizza of the three although the truffle aroma competes with the gorgonzola and the fresh onion and the rich cheese dominates so that I forget that there is truffle in the salami.

Pear and mulberry cake $16

There are two desserts on offer and we decide to share one of each. The pear and mulberry cake is a square of cake served warm with vanilla custard. It's a mild tasting cake, perhaps more about texture and warmth with an eggy rich custard sauce.

Tiramisu $16

We all prefer the tiramisu with a good balance of coffee, mascarpone and soft biscuit. It's wonderfully light and topped with dark chocolate and nuts for a bit of change. Before we know it, it's almost 4pm and we aren't even the last table to leave. Don't you just love a long weekend?

So tell me Dear Reader, what do you like to do on long weekends? Do you go for road trips or do you prefer to stay at home? And do you like polenta chips thinner and crispy or thicker and softer?

This meal was independently paid for.

5 Crown Lane, Wollongong NSW 2500 Phone: (02) 4229 7829 Tuesday & Wednesday 5–10pm Thursday 5–11pm Friday-Sunday 12–3pm, 5pm–12am Monday Closed kneadingruby.com.au

Source: http://www.notquitenigella.com/2018/10/07/kneading-ruby-wollongong/

[redqueenmusings]

Following last week which wasn’t one of our best, we decided to do something different, visit the resorts and eat like a tourist.

We chose Dedos Global Kitchen, the backstreet spin-off belonging to Venture, whose restaurants are along the Golden Mile and La Caleta. Reviews show these to be the darlings of tourists as for the most part they are fine dining (as it seems to be called nowadays) due to the crisp tablecloths, service, locations and high prices. I wasn’t excited about it as we have had mixed experiences with the chain but our last lunch in Dedos was good so I went with a fairly open mind.

On arriving we were surprised to find the place was chocka. The staff, however, with a bit of shuffling made up a table giving us a comfortable space indoors.

Dedos isn’t fine dining, more a deluxe American bar/diner with a relaxed often noisy setting. Darkly-furnished, there’s something edgy and smart about it and although similar to a steakhouse or burger joint it hints at being just a bit more. The tables and chairs are plastic and the cutlery, china and glass are chunky and simple but we were impressed with the way it all sparkled, not a dishwasher stain or mark in sight.

So far everything seemed good. Funny how you are reminded that it’s a small world. Our waitress was Erin and it was her first night. She immediately recognised us from our days at the Treehouse. We left three weeks after the new owners took over from Simon and she joined the new people so either she has a very good memory or we are hard to forget. Hopefully, it is the former.

Once settled and drinks ordered (Andrew was shocked to find a pint was €4) we looked at the menu. The food isn’t supposed to be ambitious, salads, wraps, burgers etc. but there are a few surprises. One is that the menu includes quite a lot for non-carnivores. The other is very good bread.

Andrew and I ordered the Philly rib-eye sub which had onions, mushrooms and oozed with cheese, this was when I realised how good the bread was. Christine went for a burger and while Jim ordered half a southern fried chicken last time, this time around he changed the seasoning to lemon and herb. Both the burger and chicken were enormous. Chips came separately as did coleslaw. The whole lot slipped down happily.

It came to puddings, Christine had a vodka and coke as she doesn’t have a sweet tooth, the boys shared 3 puds, two cheesecakes and a chocolate brownie and I was struck by a serious case of eyes bigger than belly syndrome. I really couldn’t finish the milkshake despite its exceptional fresh fruit flavour. I gave the guys the pink sticky doughnut but managed most of the drink – thought I had died and gone to heaven.

So despite not particularly looking forward to our meal in the resorts I was proved completely wrong, Dedos is good across the board. The food is delicious, the service is cheery, courteous and professional. In fact, everything is done incredibly smoothly and to an impressive standard.

By this point, I was confident that the bill would knock us for six. We were right in the heart of tourist land after all. But no: under €100 for a good meal for four and that, in this neck of the woods, is really quite a bargain.

By now it was 10.00pm so we thought we would round off the night with another tourist favourite, the quiz at Bad Bobs. Having never been before we were not sure what to expect but it was a great quiz, with some lovely holidaymakers to chat to. We came close but didn’t win and swore we would be back. The problem we now have to solve is finding somewhere as good as Dedos for a meal beforehand.

We like all food so any ideas folks?

Check Queenie’s Daily Snippets for Tenerife news & events

For many the norm. For us a bit different Following last week which wasn’t one of our best, we decided to do something different, visit the resorts and eat like a tourist.

[remembermemorablememories]

Saturday, February 16, 2019

post #404

ha ha 404

main points:

- wake up early to go to philly with mom and sheena

- visit grandparents

- walk around center city with mom

- honeygrow lunch takeout with sheena

- drive back home and eat honeygrow / got my diploma (sort of)

- catch up on thursday/friday blog posts

- call with dimitri, cae, simon and sam

- visit alyssa in philly! dinner and hanging out/talking

- chilling at home / health update

today i:

- woke up at 8:30am to my alarm. dad came in to wake me up and also asked about the lease since it was coming today. we got to the topic of how much i withdrew for checks and he said the broker fee was insanely high... :/ and he was right cause 15% of annual rent is a lot. but i had no other option cause it seems like most landlords work exclusively through brokers now. he lectured to me about spending money and how i should be careful. i felt bad, i hadn’t been lectured like that in a while like since high school. i know he was just trying to watch out/express concern for me though

- sheena mom and i hopped into the car so sheena could go to orchestra rehearsal. i ate half a bagel and a banana. sheena drove us to philly, mom talked to me a lot about her personal experiences searching for real estate / housing early on in her life. once we got there, sheena got dropped off to rehearsal, mom and i found parking and went to visit wai po and wai gong. i hadn’t seen them since christmas!! we got a parking spot that someone gave us with their remaining ticket time (like 30 minutes from 10:20am-10:52am)

we went up and i saw wai po and wai gong, it was really nice. i talked to wai po a bit about my asia trip plans. then wai gong sat me down and talked to me about health and taking care of myself :p and also wanted me to learn chinese (which i’ve sort of been doing trying to watch the chinese tv show). we brought them the poster sized version of the photo we took with our whole family in california which was very nice, they were both excited to put it up on the wall

- mom and i left around 10:50am to go back to our car, and we said good bye :( i’ll see them in a few months though hopefully in NYC. we parked it somewhere else close to sheena’s rehearsal place and then walked around center city. we walked by city hall and the surrounding block while mom took some pictures. while we walked around i was trying to figure out what to do for the day. in the morning i brought my laptop in case i decided to stay in philly for the day to hang out with alyssa later

cause either i could stay in philly for the day, have a call with friends about greece at 3pm then meet up with alyssa or

go home, have call with friends about greece, then drive back down to visit alyssa

- mom and i went to starbucks and she got a latte, then walked back to pick up sheena as she finished rehearsal at 12pm. then mom waited in the car while sheena and i went to get honeygrow takeout

just as we were walking over, marsha told me she got a notification from USPS that the lease wasn’t signed at delivery and needed to be picked up. dad also got the notification but was out at set building for sheena’s musical (i believe) so he may have missed it. but he rushed back and flagged down the USPS driver and got the lease from him, so we fortunately got that sorted all out :D

- i decided to go home so after we got the honeygrow salads, sheena ate hers on the car while mom drove us back home. once we got back around 1pm, i ate the salad. mom made some spicy noodle thing that she said was too spicy. the salad was pretty solid and felt really healthy. when i got back, dad got my diploma for my bachelor’s in the mail. he was unsure where my master’s was so i logged in online to check my student report. it said they were both ordered at the same time so maybe the master’s will come in later in the week

- chilled for a bit on my computer and also finished up thursday and started on friday’s blog posts. sheena went to therapy at 2pm with mom. dad was out at set building. but sheena got back around 2:45pm so she came to my room to play smash

dimitri cae simon sam and i hopped on a snapchat call to discuss tentative dates for greece. dimitri gave us the high level plan and also timeline (early september) depending on what cae and sam find out about grad school. it was nice hanging out with all of them on call again after a long long time :D sheena was playing smash in the background in my room LOL

- wrapped up around 4pm, then talked to mom and dad a bit about logistics. i decided i would just drive to alyssa’s cause it’s a bit far from the train. then talked to mom a bit about what she talked about with the therapist. she’s still concerned for sheena and hopefully we can help her get better soon

- drove down around 4:30pm, getting there around 5:30pm. i parked near her apt and she showed me around her apt. it was MAAAASSIVE. for 3 people 3BR for a very low priced rent. the first thing we did was get tacos at loco pez. it was a nice restaurant

at first it was a bit awkward cause we hadn’t talked in like over a year. but then after catching up briefly on what we’ve been up to (my chicago+seattle trip, her job, my upcoming job/moving to NYC, how our siblings were doing), the awkwardness cleared up. also cause our food came LOL. we both got 3 tacos each, they were pretty solid. walked back to her apt and just hung out in her room

she showed me some music she’s been making in logic pro x, the music had really chill vibes, like what you’d hear in a cafe (it was guitar + synth + bass + other beats). we talked about spotify and music (she saw some of my playlists from the spotify sharing feature which was cool), woman pockets, hinge, family friend food truck endeavor, smash, “now what?” feeling of after graduating

then we went to the living room to hang out / get some water. she turned on the TV and the wedding ringer was on TV. we watched that while talking about a bunch of TV shows (west world, game of thrones, bob’s burgers, legion, a few others, avengers movie). we also looked at some people who had graduated from our high school who now had children, and other friends from high school and where they’re at. it was a pretty fun time. i think i felt happy cause hanging out just felt familiar and nice to talk. lately i’ve realized how hard it is to keep in touch with people and this was another example of that. we meet like once a year but it was cool that we could jump back to where we left off. i think she’s one of the few people i keep in touch with from high school

i left her place around 9:30pm, getting back around 10:30pm. once i got home, dad talked to me again a bit about spending money and needing to be careful, ohio’s story with manufacturing with a company and not being able to find enough workers, GM and the reason they went bankrupt (tried to be too greedy after tariffs on foreign cars)

- came upstairs and took a shower and finished up friday’s blog post

it’s now 12:40am i’m ready to go to sleep. my eyes are barely open as i’m typing this, i’ve been waking up early ish the past few days. overall, a pretty fun day

also health update

i didn’t get a chance to pay too much attention to this while traveling but in seattle around february 7 (like 9 days ago) -- or maybe february 9...? anywho i think i noticed a dull ache in my right abdomen, just below my rib cage. it was kind of on and off for multiple days. and it was totally fine while i was walking around NYC with marsha all day / sprinting all morning so i wonder if the aching pain is just all in my head cause i’ve had that with bluetooth headphones. i’ve been feeling some random chest pains since i got back on tuesday but it’s very infrequent, like once a few days (each just being a few seconds and in different locations). but the dull ache in my right abdomen has been more frequent on and off, so i guess we’ll see where that goes

i looked it up online and all of the results are like severe stuff like appendicitis or something else... idk. i’m kind of concerned but if it still doesn’t go away after a few more days, i’ll try to go to the doc maybe

okay the end i am super tired

[jessiewre]

Day 38

Tues 11th Feb

From Masia Mara to Lake Naivasha

Got up and ready for the ‪7am‬ pick up. But by 7:30am there was still no sign of it, so we made ourselves breakfast while we waited and then played darts with the family.

The vehicle arrived ‪at 9:10am‬. OVER 2 HOURS LATE HOW DO PEOPLE LIVE LIKE THIS.

But yeah, its fine, we didn’t actually need to rush as we don’t have jobs or ought LOL.

Despite the rather funky music playing, and the fact they’d crammed two people in the front passenger seat, it was a comfortable vehicle to travel in as we sat in the back seat with just one other person (a luxury in East Africa). Within 5 minutes of leaving, we stopped off for a load of deliveries which always makes me laugh (cry). It’s either that or petrol, but there’s ALWAYS a stop to be made as soon as you think you’re on your way.  

Got to Narok town 1.5 hours later to look for our bus to Naivasha and managed to find it really easily! Wow we were becoming PROS at this (its only taken 5 years) but for once, they were fairly honest about things and told us it wouldn’t leave for about half an hour. I sat in the shade and educated some people about the fact that you don’t have to get married just cos everyone else is and it definitely blew their minds.

I decided to have a wander to look for veggie snacks and a baseball cap as the sun was really quite hot in Africa, but when I returned (empty handed) the bus was not there! My attempt at independence may have backfired. Oh god. A bloke ran up to me like ‘Your friend is looking for you!’ and I spotted the bus a few metres away with Phil walking around nearby clearly looking around for me. Oops.

We got on the bus and Phil managed to pretend he wasn’t annoyed with me (him doing a similar thing multiple times worked to my favour phew). The drama of it had made us both sweat so we decided to sit separately to both have our own window (and have a moment space init) and it was a smart move as they crammed the bus with people as usual.

The journey took about 3 hours and we decided to get off at a junction before the bus went into the town centre, as our hotel was off in a different direction. As we got our bags off the bus, the ticket man whistled down another bus straight away for us - a super smooth transition. God we really were so so good at this!

As we approached the bus, we started to see how many people were in it and Phil was like ‘Jess we ain’t gonna fit in there’.

Yes we will, I said confidently. I wasn’t quite sure if we would but I thought we could give it a go.

We poked our heads into the bus and the only physical space inside the bus was the aisle between the left double seats and the right single seats. So there were no seats available and there was absolutely no room to stand as the inside was 4ft tall.

‘I don’t understand, where do we go’ I said.

The locals looked at us like we were blind, and then a woman ushered me in and pointed to the gap between her arse and the woman’s arse in the seat across from her. She was pointing to the gap in the aisle with no seat.

‘Position yourself there and you’ll be fine’

I mean, she must be crazy I thought, there is no seat. Like, she was telling me to sit on AIR.

She pointed again and everyone was staring at me, so I turned around and closed my eyes for the leap, or fall should I say, of faith, as I sat into nothing.

True to her word, my bum fell in between the two women’s arses and somehow I wedged my bum into a kind of seat position. I had around 5% of the left seat under my bum and 2% of the right one. I do believe that I defied the laws of gravity.

Turned out Phil was having the same issue right in front of me. Then the ticket man squeezed in and it’s hard to explain but he wedged himself in at a total right angle, his top half laying on top of the masses of food boxes on the front row and his legs in the small gap by the sliding door. His face rested in a large box of mangos.

It was madness.

It was INSANELY crammed and we were both sat on NOTHING.

‘One ticket for a Mr David Blaine please’

I had been right, we had managed to fit in. Though I’m not sure I was glad to be proved right.

Someone got off after 10 minutes so Phil got a seat (OMG BUZZING) but then I was on his lap and the ticket man was lying across us so Phil pointed out that he was actually worse off now with the weight of us on him.

He needn’t have worried though, cos 3 minutes later someone else got in and we were demoted back to the air seats.

I asked Phil for some water and said ‘I can’t reach that right now, but can I offer you a spring onion’.

After another 10 minutes of balancing crouched down legs bent, I realised one of my legs had gone numb and I had pins and needles in my foot so started to shake it around as much as possible to avoid amputation. The thing was, my foot was stretched in the space under Phil’s arse, so I was just kicking his feet while he tried to balance in his Yoga chair seated pose.

5 minutes later, someone got off (YESSSSS) and we got a seat a row behind, so naturally I took it and Phil did the air seat next to me (the one I’d been in). Turns out this one was even more difficult to balance in than the one in front and Phil hovered there in a state of shock, clinging on to the seat headrests with white knuckles in a desperate attempt to stay up.

ANOTHER PERSON then squeezed into the front, I have no idea how, and the ticket man was hanging out the door.

Police stopped the vehicle and I thought this is it - I was sure they’d say there were too many people.

Nah, he just wanted a little pay off didn’t he.

After a total of 40 minutes we FINALLY arrived and checked into Camp Carnelleys. Bloody hell what a relief.

Phil had it in his head that we should get dorms to save money but when I pointed out that he could drink less beer to save money, he agreed that we should just get whatever room I wanted. So we got a nice little private room, cos I’m 33 and can’t really be arsed listening to the snoring of a group of strangers unless I really have to.

Phil showered immediately but I had a one way ticket on the food train, so went straight to Lazy Bones restaurant. I really wanted to have a nice cold beer but after ranting at Phil about beer, I had to get a juice to prove a point. Turned out the juice was the same price as the beer. And the food was way more expensive that I expected, but needs must - ordered the cauliflower soup and feta & coriander samosas.

Well it was bloody fantastic. The soup came with a sprinkling of Parmesan and a warm bread roll with real butter on the side, and there was a tasty chutney with the samosas. Unfortunately Phil arrived as the food did (how does he always do that) and I had to share DAMMIT.

We noticed mosquitoes were a bit lively so after Phil had gone off to get water (I would say he’s a good lad, but he uses it as his cover when he’s mainly excited to go buy beer), we went to Fisherman’s camp next door to check out the food prices and look at bike hire for the next day.

At Fisherman’s Camp, we had a drink and enjoyed the lovely view, then Phil started chatting to the boss. She was like ‘Hey why aren’t you staying here, I have a lovely place you could stay’. So Philly Tours did some negotiating and we agreed to move to this new cottage the next morning. We booked bikes to hire too (I was excited but I think Phil was ever so slightly more excited) and Phil gave them a test cycle round the grass, nearly scoobying completely on the hay as he tried to look like a Professional Bike Checker (Phil’s dream job).

It was dark by the time we got back to our camp and we saw some kids running around with torches playing a game - so Phil decided to have some fun. He went off to the toilets and on his way back, he hid in the bushes and started making weird monster noises. The kids went wild with laughter and screams and had no idea where it was coming from. He managed to get back to our room and with the light off, he wrapped Froggie round his head and put a torch under his face. A ridiculous game of monsters and knock-down ginger began and the kids were absolutely loving it. I watched through the curtain in the dark and as they sneaked towards our door, I would bang on the door as soon as they were close, making them go crazy with screams and giggles. The finale was when Phil went out to scare them but one of the boys had hidden himself under the seat in front of our room and he scared the absolute dungers out of Phil 😂. Phil laughed and congratulated them on their scare and the kids politely said goodnight to us as they ran off back to their tents. I thought abut when people asked them about their holiday to Kenya and what the highlights had been, how disappointed their parents would be to hear if it had been when a random man pretended to be a monster in the dark 😂.

We ended up going for dinner in the same Lazy Bones restaurant and massively over ordered...sort of on purpose though...

Broccoli & cashew salad (oops had bacon in)

Cauliflower soup

Dahl, rice, raita & chapati

Patatas bravas (it said it was a starter but the portion was the size of Phil’s head)

We happily took the leftovers away, a nice packed lunch ready for our cycle the next day ready, and went off to bed with one of the bikes in our room just so Phil could stare at it before he went to sleep.

[travelingtheusa]

SOUTH DAKOTA

10 Sep 2018 (Mon) – We worked around the camper today.  The water pump stopped working.  Paul tried to fix it but it is buried deeply in the bowels of the RV.  He would have to pull out the electric cable reel, water pipes, etc.  He got it working again but he thinks there is a loose wire in the pump.  The next time we run it, a little vibration might loosen the connection again.  The pump is just buried too deeply behind a lot of other things.  It is too hard to get out.

     We went out for lunch to Woodys Pub & Grill. Apparently it was a happy hour because the waitress brought Paul two beers.  I only got one drink.  I had a taco salad in a shell that was over cooked and Paul got a Philly cheesesteak made with ground beef (what kind of steak is that?).  We did the laundry and picked up groceries at WalMart.  We also got a refill for our propane tank (it’s been cold enough to turn the heat on at night).  I called the next two campgrounds and made reservations.  We are headed to Texas as of tomorrow!

9 Sep 2018 (Sun) – We drove to Buffalo Gap to tour the 1880 Cowboy Town.  Unfortunately, when we got there the place was closed.  It wasn’t even the same name and looked like it was just closed up. We turned around and drove back to Sioux Falls to the Great Plains Zoo.  It didn’t open until 11:00 a.m. so we turned around and drove to Cracker Barrel and had breakfast.  We have been eating at Cracker Barrel for more than 30 years.  Over the last several years, we have noticed changes taking place.  They used to automatically bring biscuits and cornbread to your table when you sat down. Now you have to ask for it.  Today, I not only had to ask for a biscuit but I had to say how many butters and jelly packs I wanted with it.  No one came around to refill coffee cups – they used to have someone constantly wandering the restaurant with a pot of coffee.  The biscuits are also smaller than they used to be. And the portion sizes of the meals are smaller, too.  They may be trying to save money but I feel this is a death spiral for the restaurant. They are letting go of the things that made them famous.

     After breakfast, we drove to the zoo.  It was small and the majority of the animals in the zoo were from other places around the world – giraffes, rhinos, flamingos, penguins, kangaroos, etc.  Some animals had large areas to roam; other animals and birds were in very small cages. They should take some of the roaming area and expand the cages.

     We left the zoo and drove to JC Penney where Paul picked up a pair of jeans.  Then we stopped at Vitamin World where I picked up some supplements for me.  We returned to the campground and tried to look in the quarry across the street.  There was a fence and warning signs posted around the place so we couldn’t get in.  Paul later flew his drone and got a good look at the quarry from the air.

     The Sioux Valley Model Engineer Society was hosting an open house this weekend.  We walked in and wandered around their model train display.  Then we walked over to the bleachers, climbed to the upper level, and watched cars participating in a road rally in the parking lot next to the fairgrounds.

 8 Sep 2018 (Sat) – There was a flea market being hosted by the fairgrounds.  We walked over and wandered through the building.  Much of everything on sale was used items – many of them collectibles. Some food items were on sale, too. We bought a small Paleo lemon tart.

     We drove into Downtown Sioux Falls today.  There was a sidewalk arts festival going on.  It was very large and encompassed several blocks.  We strolled past the booths, admiring all the arts and crafts for sale.  There was also a display of sculpture artwork on Phillips Ave.  They have the sculpture show every year.  The winner of the show gets selected to have their work go on display somewhere around the city.  We have seen several sculptures around as we have toured the area.  We stopped for lunch at the Blarney Stone.  It was an Irish Pub and the food was very good.

     We took a look at three churches.  First was the Cathedral of Saint Joseph.  The stained glass, artwork, and architecture were all lovely.  Someone told us not to miss the chapel in the basement.  The cathedral conducts tours Monday through Friday. Unfortunately, it was Saturday so we were left to wander the building on our own.  After looking around the cathedral, we walked out and around to the back to enter the door leading to the chapel.  It was on the first floor, not the basement.  And while it was lovely, it wasn’t anything to go out of the way for.

     Next stop was at the First United Methodist Church.  We parked in their parking lot and felt compelled to look inside since their parking lot was taped off because of all the tourists coming in for the festival.  There was a group of people getting ready for a wedding today.  We wandered into the sanctuary and it was lovely.  There was a dome ceiling and large organ pipes made out of copper.  The church was undergoing renovations and the church deacon was happy to describe it all.  We thought the nursery was delightful.  It was not only very childlike, there were large windows that opened up to the back of the sanctuary.  Whoever was watching the children could also watch the church service through the window.

     Lastly, while leaving the festival and walking back to the truck, we entered the Lutheran Church and took a tour of that building.  Then, on the way back to the campground, we stopped at the U.S.S. South Dakota Memorial.  The ship was cut up and scrapped but they managed to save a few pieces.  The memorial traces the outline of the ship and then has the few pieces placed in that space where they would have been on the actual ship.  We have been on many ships but none that ever looked as big as this one.  I think because it was so open, it made the area look so much bigger.  It was interesting.

7 Sep 2018 (Fri) – We left Mitchell at 10:00 a.m. and drove an hour and a half to Sioux Falls.  President Trump is flying into the city later today to host a fund raiser for the governor of South Dakota.  It seems like he’s been coming to all the Midwest states we are in around the time we are there. What kind of timing is that???

     We are camped at W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds.  Like all fairgrounds, it is open and sites are in a long line.  We have full hookups and not much else.  Our campsite is grass and pull through.  We are larger than our patch of grass so the back end of the RV hangs out into the paved area behind us.  It’s not a major roadway so we should be OK.  There is no office.  The camp host came riding over in his golf cart with his wife and led us to our site.  As we were talking, a great explosion took place and I could feel the vibration underfoot. We thought it was an earthquake but the camp host chuckled and told us it was just the quarry across the street. It is an active quarry and they do blasting in the pit.  The host had to come back for a check (they only accept cash or check) because the checkbook was in the camper.  When they came back, the wife gave us a booklet on Sioux Falls.

     After paying for four nights, we drove into Sioux Falls for lunch. The Falls Overlook Café was the perfect location.  We sat out on the deck which looked out onto the Sioux Falls.  The café is in the old power house.  The Big Sioux River runs right through the middle of the city.  It is beautiful with lots of rock formations and cascading waters.  On the shore are remnants of the former mill and power house.  After lunch, we walked among the ruins and along the river. There was a visitor’s center across the river with an observation tower to look over the area.  The most fetching view was of the river and falls.

6 Sep 2018 (Thu) – We left Presho today and drove to Mitchell. I am amazed at how flat South Dakota is. There are many, many crop lands and cattle ranches on flat or gently rolling grassy plains.  Thousands of rolls of hay dot the land.  Even the town rolls up the grass cut on the side of the road then auctions them off to local farms and ranches.

     We arrived at the Dakota Campground at 11:30 a.m.  There was no one in the office.  I called the phone number and was told to wait for the wife to return from running errands.  We walked around the campground while waiting.  She returned pretty quickly and we got checked in.  The campground is pleasant and clean looking with lots of trees. We got a site with full hookups. The Wifi doesn’t work at all.

     After set up, we went into town and got lunch at The Depot, a converted railroad depot station.  Service was slow but the food was good.  We then drove to the Corn Palace.  It is a building decorated with corn cobs that have been sliced in half and nailed in place.  The Corn Palace is a tradition in this area since the late 1890s.  We went inside and found a large auditorium with some kids playing basketball on the court below.

     We then drove to the Dakota Discovery Museum only to find it closed today.  Oh, well.  We returned to the campground and relaxed.

 5 Sep 2018 (Wed) – We left Rapid City today and headed out to Presho. It is a small town of little more than 500 people.  Trip Advisor says there is nothing to see or do in this town.  After check in at the campground office, we set up then walked next door to Hutch’s Café where we ate lunch.  Then we came back and potsed around the camper for the rest of the day. We finally had all those left-overs from all our dinners out.  The frig really cleared out!

 4 Sep 2018 (Tue-Our 47th Anniversary) – We drove to Hot Springs today.  First stop was at The Mammoth Site.  So interesting!  A businessman was going to build a development.  There was a large hill on the property that he thought was unsightly and arranged to have it removed.  As they started to dig up the dirt, the bulldozer operator noticed what looked like bones.  The businessman halted construction and contacted the nearby university.  It turned out the bones were of a wooly mammoth. Further investigation uncovered several wooly mammoths.  Realizing the historical value of the find, the businessman sold the property at cost. The site was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1980.  Since 1974, 61 mammoths have been uncovered at the site – the greatest concentration of mammoth remains in the world.  They erected a building over the site to protect the dig and work continues to this day. The guide told us that there is at least 40’ below where they are now.  The site was a prehistoric sinkhole that filled with water.  The water was warm and  grasses grew around the edges.  The sides were covered with a slippery substance.  Animals that fell into the sinkhole while trying to eat the grasses were not able to get out.  Over thousands of years, sediments filled the sinkhole.  Today, a building encloses the entire area and a fence has been erected around the edges of the dig.  Visitors are allowed to walk around the perimeter of the area and view all the bones that have been uncovered to date.  Where some have been removed, they put in plaster casts to show where they were. It is amazing to see all the bones in this one, condensed site.

     After the Mammoth Site, we drove toward Wind Cave stopping briefly to grab a bite to eat in town.  We bought tickets to take an hour and a quarter tour of the cave.  Because we had worn our sneakers on the tour of Jewel Cave, we had to have them disinfected.  A park ranger took us out on the porch, sprayed the bottom of our shoes, and gave us a brush to scrub them with.  We wandered around the exhibit area for an hour until it was time for our tour.  There were 40 of us on the tour.  The ranger, a young woman, was pretty entertaining.  Paul was appointed to be the last person in the group (as he was on the Jewel Cave tour).  His job was to make sure everyone stayed in front of him.  The tour wound its way through narrow passages over a mile long. It was like a hike through a cave. We didn’t really get to stop as a group to explore areas along the way.  The most outstanding thing about Wind Cave was the boxwork.  It was a kind of thatch work on the ceilings and walls. It was named boxwork because it reminded early explorers of open ended boxes.

     When done, we hurried back to the campground.  Bonnie got walked, the animals got fed, we quickly changed, then headed out to the Dakotah Steakhouse to meet Rick & Brenda for an anniversary dinner.  The food was great and the company delightful.  It was a great end to a great day.

 3 Sep 2018 (Mon-Labor Day) – It was a light day today.  I spent the morning trying to catch up on getting all our pictures sorted and labeled.  Paul worked around the camper and on the truck.  At 1:00 p.m. we went out for lunch at a Mexican restaurant then did some food shopping at WalMart.  

     We met Rick & Brenda at the Lost Cabin Brewery.  There was a food truck outside and we ordered dinner from there. Paul had a sandwich and I had tacos. We all enjoyed their beers.  There was a guy on a microphone reading trivia questions.  The customers in the bar had to guess at the answers.  After each section of 8 questions, we turned the page in and the guy then gave the correct answers.  Anyone who got all the answers correct won a free beer.  No one won.  The questions were tough.  There were 8 rounds in total.  It was fun, even if we didn’t win.

     After we got back to the campground at 8:30 p.m. we ran the wash over to the laundry room.  After checking for three days, the machines were finally available (the machines are free and they’ve been busy every time we’ve stopped in to do our laundry).  We finished the wash at 10:30 p.m.

 2 Sep 2018 (Sun) – We got up early and headed out to Custer where we visited Jewel Cave National Monument.  They opened at 9:30 a.m. and offered tours on a first-come, first-served basis – unless you made a reservation online.  We got on a 10:40 a.m. tour.  It was one and half hours and went down 380’ below the surface (that’s 38 stories!).  It was a one and a half mile walk.  We saw things we have never seen in other caves.  There were stalactites that had a kind of arrowhead appearance.  That was because the stalactite formed then water filled the cave and covered the end of the stalactite, placing more minerals on it. There was also something called boxwork. It looks like thatch on the walls. All the walls were covered with popcorn shapes.  Where it was broken off, there were crystals underneath.  The cave was beautiful.

     After the cave, we drove to Crazy Horse Memorial.  Stone masons have been carving into the rock for 70 years. There is just the head of Crazy Horse done at this point.  We toured the museum and saw many pictures and sculptures of what the end product will eventually look like.  Maybe our grandchildren’s children will see the final stonework.  The museum was huge and also included the home of the first stone mason, Korczak.  He agreed to do the carving and began in 1948.  Since then his children and now his grandchildren have continued his work.

     We stopped in the town of Custer and had lunch at the Dakota Cowboy Inn Restaurant.  The food was pretty good and afterward, we drove around the town.

     At 5:30 p.m. we met Rick & Brenda for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. After dinner, we went to a show at Cirque Italia.  The show was housed in a large tent and included acrobats, aerialists, a contortionist, a bicyclist, skaters, tight rope walkers, a singer, and a clown.  The music was good but way too loud.  

1 Sep 2018 (Sat) – We drove into the Badlands today.  There was the Iron Mountain Trail, the Needles Highway, Custer State Park, and Mount Rushmore. The scenery was absolutely beautiful!  Trees covered mountains, prairie grass spread out across the lands, the roadway wound through narrow turns and tunnels cut through the rock.  We saw buffalo, a mountain goat, prairie dogs, pronghorn, and mule deer.  

There was a restaurant along the route where we stopped to have a bite to eat.

     We met Rick & Brenda for dinner at the Independent Ale House. We walked around the city afterward and stumbled on an alley covered in graffiti.  There was a sign at the front of it proclaiming it to be Art Alley. Some of the graffiti was pretty good. Some of the artwork covered other artwork and much ran into the painting next to it.  We walked through the alley commenting on artistic ability. We ended at a creamery and enjoyed some ice cream.

31 Aug 2018 (Fri) – It was about an hour’s drive from Belle Fourche to Rapid City.  We are staying on Ellsworth AFB in the FamCamp.  There are two parts to the campground.  One part has two wagon wheels with campsites around the circle. The other part is three rows of sites across a gravel parking lot with cement pads.  We have full hookups.  The wifi is poor and I got a notice from Verizon that we have used the 15GB allocated at 4G and are now reduced to slower data speeds.  Aaaaarrgghh!

     When we arrived at the office, it was closed but the doors were open. We walked in but no one was there. There was a pile of envelopes on the desk with campers’ names.  We sifted through and pulled out our envelope.  It said we were assigned to site #35.  As we wandered around wondering where everyone was, two clerks came into the office with their lunch.  They had run out to pick up something to eat and forgotten to lock the office.  When everything was straightened out, we drove to our assigned spot and set up.  They said the campground is booked for the weekend.  There is one RV in the overflow lot.

     Once set up we drove to the Dakota Air & Space Museum at the entrance to the air base.  There was a museum we toured.  We also took a tour bus that drove onto the base.  Everyone gave their driver’s license to the driver who turned them over to the security officer in the guard house.  He checked the system then returned the licenses back to us before we could go on base (they wouldn’t accept my military ID).  The driver was very knowledgeable about the base and pointed out things as we drove along.  Ultimately, we arrived at the Minuteman Missile Silo.  The group went down into the silo and we saw a missile standing in the shaft. The guide explained how the missiles would have been launched if needed.  There were 1,200 missiles in South Dakota during the Cold War.  Everything was dismantled by treaty with Russia.  

     We contacted Rick & Brenda, friends of ours from Florida, to see about having dinner together.  They were on the Minnesota caravan with us, then left to explore the north western states while I flew back to New York and Paul sat in Minneapolis.  We reconnected here in Rapid City.

     We met Rick & Brenda for dinner at the Firehouse Brewing Co. for dinner.  We had a great time and the food was very good.  Afterwards, we walked along Main Street looking at the buildings.  There are many bars and restaurants in town.  We stopped at the Independent Ale House for an after dinner drink.

 30 Aug 2018 (Thu) – We drove to Lead (pronounced Leed) this morning.  The Homestake Gold Mine closed down and Sanford built a lab deep in the mines in order to conduct experiments with nutrinos.  There was an open pit outside to observe that was over a half mile deep and a mile wide.  We took a bus ride to the buildings of the former mine operation where a docent described the history of the building.  An engineer demonstrated the lift cables operation for us.

     We drove to Deadwood next.  It was a very interesting old western town.  There was a Mustang Run going on at Sturgis and the cars are driving all around the area.  The main street was closed and dozens of mustangs were lined on both sides of the street with their hoods propped open.  We strolled along the wooden sidewalk and admired many of the historical buildings.  We stopped in at the Deadwood Social Club on the second floor of an old hotel for lunch. The food was OK but the service was slow.  Wild Bill Hickok was shot in Deadwood and there was a sign at the bar where he was shot as well as a sign at the bar where his killer was captured.

     We stopped on the way back to the campground to get fuel in the truck for tomorrow’s move.      

 29 Aug 2018 (Wed) – We left Medora, ND, at 9 a.m.  It was a long drive to Belle Fourche, SD – over 4 hours. There was construction going on along the route into the campground so we got a little agitated trying to navigate around it. Ultimately, we got into Riverside Campground.  It is an older, less maintained campground with about 40 sites. The sites are close together and the gravel has all but worn away leaving campers to park on the grass. The pull-through sites are alternated so that the hookups are on the non-door sides of our campers.  

     After set up, we drove into town to see what we could see.  There was a visitor’s center co-located with a museum, an original two story log cabin moved to the site, and the marker for the Geo Center of the United States.  The center of the U.S. used to be in Kansas, but when Hawaii and Alaska joined the union, the center relocated to Belle Fourche.

     Our arrival into South Dakota marks the completion of our state map.  We have been to every state in the union and several Canadian provinces.  While we have driven through Rhode Island many times, we have never camped there (do they even have campgrounds?) so we have not filled it in on the map.

[twocoursemeal-blog]

TCM Eats: Yamato II

Yamato II (Copley Square) 

“And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley

Dear readers, let us pause in remembrance of those great and forgotten heroes of old. Those brave, brave souls who once sought to climb great heights and, in doing so, tested the very limits of their endurance. We won’t mince words with you: we ate way too much fucking sushi at Yamato that night.

We ate:

Wayyyyy more than we should have.

We drank:

Hot green tea

Matt’s Thoughts

I’m never one to stand down from a challenge, especially when that challenge is “You can just eat as much sushi as you want - no real strings attached, just finish it.” I first tried Yamato a few years ago, and have been going back ever since for largely one reason: the fish. While it’s not something out-of-this-word, the quality of Yamato’s fish is actually very good! I’ve always been happy, whether ordering a complex roll, a simple sushi, or even sashimi. I’ve never in my many, many, many bites of raw fish at Yamato ever had something I felt even remotely uncomfortable about eating - it’s a huge plus for me.

Yamato also has, for better for for worse, a bulk ordering system. While other AYCE sushi spots may try to throttle you by limiting how many rolls you can order at once, Yamato just laughs and gives you a blank canvas. Order as much as you want, as many times as you want, and the only thing that limits your pace is the speed at which the food comes out, and how often your server comes by to check on you and take your next order.

As with other reviews of a similar nature where we just ate a lot of different things, I’ll break our items down one by one.

Seaweed Salad A fine showing. Standard, but still a nice contrast to all of the fish and rice. Yamaoto’s version was well seasoned, and I always get it when I visit.

Shumai I don’t care if these are frozen or not - Yamato’s shumai come out great every time. Extremely light, slightly shrimpy, and go great with the sauce.

Vegetable Gyoza Not my order, but I tried one anyway. These tasted very vegetable-y (go figure), and had some nice pieces of mushroom chopped up inside. Maybe a spinach wonton wrapper? Eh, I can sleep easy without knowing the answer to that one.

Mixed Tempura Though I don’t get Yamato’s tempura (I’m there to eat fish, and find the tempura to be too filling), every time a dining companion orders it, I’m always happy to try a bite or have a piece. I’ve found their tempura batter to be reasonably light, and their veggies are usually cooked properly.

Eel Sushi Surprisingly excellent - the eel was sweet, clean, and tender. There’s a reason we ordered a bunch of this over several rounds. Points go to Yamato’s eel sauce, which was veered closer to savory than to syrupy.

Tobiko Sushi A personal favorite, though Yamato’s version tends to go a bit heavy on the rice (unsurprisingly). I love the sensation of going into it thinking the whole thing is solid, and then biting into it and finding out that 50% (ideally, at least. Yamato’s is more like 20%) of it is tiny fish roe that proceeds to snap and pop with every bite. Modernist cuisine, eat your heart out.

White Tuna Sushi Another Yamato favorite - the quality of the white tuna is excellent. Buttery, clean, just the right amount of chew. I’m always glad to have some on my plate.

Salmon Sashimi I also love the quality of Yamato’s salmon. Again, clean salmon flavor, with beautiful ribbons of fat throughout. Though I generally prefer the balance provided by the seasoned sushi rice, salmon is one of the few fishes I enjoy as sashimi.

Shrimp Tempura Maki Our first maki! This one is just fine - the salmon is usually cooked well, and is about 50/50 whether it’ll come out hot, but either way it’s tasty. Sometimes, the pieces are a bit on the large side and can fall apart or be hard to eat, which is unfortunate.

Dragon Maki A Yamato favorite for me - I love the combination of crispy shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber, and eel sauce. Yamato tops theirs with tobiko as well, which is always a plus.

Rainbow Maki I tend not to order the Rainbow Maki when I go, just because I feel like I prefer its components separately, and the many slices of fish tend to get lost. Yamato’s version was fine and enjoyable, but didn’t really change my mind.

Spicy Salmon Maki I’m not quite as large a fan of this one when it comes as a chopped mix, as Yamato’s did. I can’t remember if that’s always the case, but either way, it was tasty.

Spicy Yellowtail Maki Yellowtail was one of the first ever sushi fishes I’d ever had, and it holds a soft spot in my heart. Yamato’s seasoned mayo is has pronounced garlic and spiciness, and it plays well with the slightly fishy taste of the yellowtail.

Spicy White Tuna Maki Surprisingly enough for me, the spicy maki above all others. Take all of the benefits of the excellent white tuna, and add in Yamato’s mayo, and you’ve got yourself a winner.

Cucumber Avocado Maki What you’d expect, with slices of well-ripened avocado inside. Occasional bites provided a respite from the repetitive texture of the fish rolls.

Eel Cucumber Maki Yamato’s eel shines again! This one was tasty, though personally I would have liked a little more eel, and the contrast of the cucumber wasn’t as enjoyable as something complementary would have been, like avocado (Yamato does offer an eel avocado roll).

Sweet Potato Tempura Maki A Yamato favorite (and general sushi stop favorite overall). If you’ve never had a sweet potato roll, I cannot recommend it highly enough (sometimes referred to as Idaho Maki). Though it has some variation from place to place, it’s always some form of tempura-fried sweet potato topped with eel sauce. It’s wonderful. You get soft, you get crunchy, you get chewy, you get sweet, you get savory, you even get some thermal sense from the hot potato plus the generally cool/room temperature rice. It’s filling too, which was bad for this visit, but is generally great when you’re out for sushi and hungrier than your wallet allows.

Spicy Salmon Hand Roll When I say I saved the best for last, I mean that I saved the best for last. I LOVE Yamato’s spicy salmon hand roll, and make sure to include one in every round I order, always. It’s just such a perfect roll for me. Large pieces of that excellent salmon, spicy mayo, tempura flakes, all within a cone of rice and nori that leaves you ripping and tearing your way through a balanced, contrasting spicy, rich roll. Unfortunately this time, the spicy salmon hand roll came with chopped salmon instead of whole! It was a big disappointment for me, but even with the switch up, I enjoyed every bite.

Octopus Sushi / Ebi Sushi / Ebi Sashimi / Mackerel Sashimi / Tuna Sashimi / Philly Tempura The reason you didn’t see these in my review is……. I didn’t eat them! Though I did hear they were good from my dining companions.

Angela’s Thoughts

I’m always excited to go to Yamato, and I’m always excited to leave. It is a place where bad decisions are made for a fixed, all-you-can-eat price. I’ve never left Yamato truly happy, and this visit was no exception. I always eat way too much -- more than I should, and more than you care to read about. I’ll highlight some of the notable things I ate below.

I tend to skip the appetizers at AYCE places; they’re generally cheap and unnecessarily filling (gotta maximize your value with SASHIMI!). The tempura was better than I was expecting, however! The batter wasn’t too overwhelming (a bit worse on the shrimp than the veggies, in hindsight), and the shrimp and vegetables were both cooked well. They also included some sweet potato tempura, which is always my favorite.

The best thing to order at AYCE sushi is definitely sashimi. The ebi and salmon sashimi were quite good. The mackerel sashimi, which is generally my favorite, was small, dry, and left a lot to be desired.

After we had our fill of sashimi, we went on to the sushi. Overall, the sushi was poorly constructed, and fell apart pretty easily. That doesn’t really affect the taste, fortunately. The clear stand-out was the eel sushi. I was solidly full after our first round, and still ordered a few more pieces on the second go. The eel was warm, tender,  and very well seasoned, with lightly charred crispy bits from the broiler. It was easily the best thing I ate.

Next, the maki. This tends to be the broadest category at most American sushi restaurants, and personal preference really dictates what you’ll like and dislike. For example, I am a huge fan of sweet potato tempura maki in any form, even though it is carby, filling, and cheap. On the other hand, I won’t touch Philadelphia rolls with a 10-foot pole (no cream cheese with my fish, please!). I’m a huge fan of shrimp tempura in maki rolls as well, especially when it’s freshly made. The Dragon roll (shrimp tempura and crab stick inside, avocado and eel outside) scratched that itch for me, and added in some of Yamato’s delicious eel on top of everything! The spicy salmon maki deserves a shout-out too, for having spicy mayo with a real kick to it.

One last nice thing is that, while there were a few highs, there were very few lows -- nothing was notably dreadful, or even memorably bad (except the mackerel sashimi… and the fried ice cream, DO NOT order that). Everything seemed ok-to-great quality, which was satisfying for an AYCE sushi place. The majority of my gripes about Yamato II are that I always eat too much, and that’s a personal problem -- and not really a problem for the restaurant at all!

Overall:

For some reason, we continue to visit Yamato II. The many price-hikes over the years means that it’s long since ceased to be a good deal. Instead, it’s a brutal bonding experience, and a weird exercise in perseverance. Despite the hardship we face every time we visit, we have our perennial favorites that we order each time we go. We’ll both be back to Yamato II, because we haven’t learned our lesson.

We give Yamato II 3 obesity crises out of 5.

[k8eatsphl]

k8eatsla pt 2 & 3: namhau & luu’s, tito’s tacos, wedding food, james beach

damn the second and third day of my l.a. stay was such a blur! also sorry i took like NOOOO PIX lol so this is a boring post for pure documentation. but here’s a map (thx u for inspiration patrick): 

day 2

saturday morning i woke up at 4am cuz was still on east coast time. chilled in bed til 6 then headed out for a run/hike around the baldwin hills park and the ballona creek bike path.

the bed and breakfast i stayed at serves breakfast from 7-9am, so got back to my room at around 8:30 to shower.

breakfast was served in the kitchen on the island. namhau, the wife of the couple that runs the b&b, served fruit salad with strawberries, blueberries, fuji apples, plums, and apricot. to go with the fruit there was yogurt and some granola she made (pumpkin seeds, dried fruit, coconut). also she made all of the dishes that she served in--rly nice little cups and tiny little bowls, and these plates that looked like lily pads. she also gave me some rly dark coffee she made in an aeropress.  really nice!

while i was eating my fruit and yogurt namhau toasted a poppyseed bagel and used one half to make me an avocado toast with pesto, avocado, feta, and walnuts in honey. it was sooo fuckin good! i told her i’d pay like $15 for it in a restaurant lol. the other half of the bagel i got plain and tried each of her three homemade jams: orange marmalade, blackberry jam, and raspberry jam. def the orange marmalade was my favorite.

i stayed at bfast way too long talking to namhau, luu (the husband), and another guest james (production engineer at CAVA GRILL going through a divorce living in arlington va...learned a lot about him). headed out at 11am to walk to my noon massage appointment in west culver city.

after my massage i grabbed tito’s tacos, which is a popular but contentious taco place in culver city. contentious cuz the tacos are like school cafeteria tacos: yellow hard shelled tacos with beef and yellow cheddar and iceberg lettuce. 

i got one beef taco and one beef and bean burrito. every order also comes with a side of chips and salsa. got my box of taco/burrito/chips and a mountain dew (lol dk why i got that, it just slipped out when she asked what i wanted to drink) and sat at a picnic table in the sun. i thought i took a covert pic of my food but turns out i just took a pic of my lap! it’s okay though, the box was not photogenic...just a pile of tortilla chips.

the beef in the taco and the burrito was way diff than i expected it. i did actually like the taco. the beef in the taco was more like the beef in a tamale...like pulled, seasoned beef. almost fluffy. there was a lil too much cheese tho and it kept falling out, but i just let it fall on top of my chips and melt in the sun so i got fake nachos.

bean burrito was insane! it was like...a volcano of hot beans and beef chili. so dangerous and messy to eat! it was not my favorite burrito...i thought i would love it, cuz i love refried beans. but it was just too much.

the chips were a’ight, a bit stale. the salsa was more like gazpacho...felt like the tomatoes they used weren’t ripe so it was kind of a grainy, light, but refreshing, dip.

after titos walked back to the b&b to get ready for the wedding. stopped at copenhagen bakery on the way to pick up some apple strudel because namhau talked about liking it. they didn’t have strudel tho! so just got a couple of danishes.

i got to the wedding too early to be seated (!) so went to the mandrake bar across the street from the venue (smogshoppe) and had an aperol spritz, which was nice.

at the wedding i was still full from tacos! they were handing out hors d’oeuvres from gina’s dad’s restaurant/catering company? looked mostly like flatbreads. i tried one speck one and it was good. u kno, a flatbread. for my dinner i chose the branzino with salsa verde. at the table they also served family-style sides: white asparagus, israeli couscous salad, roasted potatoes, and spaetzle. everything was good! i really enjoyed the fish. 

for dessert they had a dessert buffet with tiny little cannelles, almond tortes, crostatas...very german lookin desserts.

day 3

slept in a bit (til 6!) and showered and packed up my stuff, cuz was gonna be checking out of the b&b at 11. was first to arrive at breakfast and all the food was much the same as the day before. the main diff was instead of avocado toast namhau made sourdough toast with tahini, cucumber, and mint. we also had the pastries i bought from copenhagen bakery.

alex and gina threw a brunch buffet from 11-1:30 so i headed out after breakfast. decided to WALK to santa monica from culver city (mistake) and james (the divorcee) wanted to walk with me cuz he wanted exercise and company. didn’t have the heart to tell him i’m a lone ranger, so was like ‘sure but u kno this is a 7 mile walk’ n he was like ‘sounds good’. we walked and talked for 2 hrs. mostly we talked about how he’s excited to live by himself for the first time, how he picked out his new mattress and furniture, and how he wishes his son (19) wanted to travel around the world. i told him about wwoof and workaway.

at 12:30 we were still walkin and i was like ‘shit if i want to get to alex’s buffet i better call an uber’. so we got a car that dropped james off at venice beach and me off at the restaurant. by the time i got to the restaurant (lunetta all day) most of the food was picked through, but i still got a plate of bacon, potatoes, and some lemon ricotta pancakes.

after brunch we went to alex and gina’s house and hung out and drank sparkling water lol. and a bunch of ppl like chain smoked weed in the backyard. i’ve never seen so much pot consumption. it all felt very l.a. 

at 6 folks were starting to disband to find dinner and i really wanted to see santa monica/venice beach still. so peaced out and took an uber to the boardwalk at venice. at this point was hungry, but none of the restaurants looked good.  i walked back and forth for like an hour or so and was starting to get really hangry. after sunset decided i’d just go to the airport and find something to eat there (which in a none hanger state i know is not a good idea).

at the airport went to james beach, which funnily enough, is a restaurant in venice beach i decided not to go to. i’m sure the food at the venice restaurant would have been better. i got a $21 salmon club sandwich and they were fuckin out of fries!!! so got a side salad and also a ballast point ipa. rly liked the ipa.

when the sandwich came out i was severely disappointed cuz it looked tiny and wimpy. but actually it was really good. the bread was toasted rye and it was super buttery. the salmon was overcooked (hey ho) but the bacon and avocado was rly nice. and the salad was surprisingly good...with grape tomatoes, bleu cheese, and a balsamic vinaigrette. tab was $45 :< :< :< 

at midnight my plane boarded and i landed in philly at 8am this morning. very exhausted from talking to so many ppl and walking ~12 miles a day! glad to be back in philly.

[k8eatsphl]

k8eatsla pt 1: baroo, sqirl, in n out

this was a day of eating for the books!

these next few days i’m in la for alex lakes wedding!!! who woulda thunk it.

this morning woke up at 3:30, had my coffee n water/vinegar (3 glasses of water, last one with 1 oz acv), showered, cleaned apt, and got uber to airport. at airport i picked up a chocolate chip muffin from la colombe to have with my free plane coffee in air. ended up eating that at ~7:30am philly time. choc muffin was fuckin delicious. had a hint of orange.

for my first day in la i had a goal of eating 3 distinct hipster “toasts”: shrimp toast at baroo, ricotta toast at sqirl, and egg salad sandwich at konbi (vaguely fits with theme).

landed in la at ~12pm philly time and took the “flyaway bus” to union station then the metro red to vermont/santa monica and went to baroo. not sure how i heard about baroo...think from la.eater.com. they are a korean restaurant big on fermentation n sounds like they used to have a stand alone restaurant but closed, then recently reopened in the union swap meet, which is basically a flea market, but sounds like this is gonna be bull dozed soon for development? so figured i should check them out. they are ephemeral.

i entered the union swap meet n p sure everyone in the place was like “white gurl with a longchamp in here, bet she’s lookin for that new expensive restaurant.” but wandered around a while before i found it. swap meet also has a pet store with lots of birds, a mobile phone place, some t-shirt places, n some salons.

found baroo and ordered a shrimp toast with tepache. wasn’t sure what tepache was. sat at counter and received my tepache in a jar. turns out it is a fermented pineapple drink. it was good! the rim smelled like hot sauce, which made me question the cleanliness of the jar, but it tasted all pineapple.

received the shrimp toast about 15 min after i ordered. the toast came with a salad of very random greens in a lemon dressing and two little green sauce blobs. the salad was good! i ate that while i had the motivation. omfg the shrimp toast was delicious. idk if i’ve ever had shrimp toast before but imma seek it out now. the bread was nice and oily and crisp and the top was perfectly browned. the green sauce blobs were very floral/herby and cut through the toast fatiness nicely.

after baroo walked to sqirl, about 15 min walk away. walked by the la municipal street lights building which had like a museum of historic city street lights which was kewl.

got to sqirl n saw a big crowd of ppl outside but when i got in i was third in line. still took forever cuz guy in front of me was chit chatting with everyone (including the owner jessica koslow minor celeb sighting!).

ordered ricotta toast with quince jam and barley tea and sat down inside. people watchin was crazy. all kinda of weird styles going on. lots of mullets and bleached eye brows. got my barley tea after ~10 minute wait. it was very good, rly piqued my tastebuds for brewing some of my own when i get back home.

after about 45 min got my toast. it was super good! rly big piece of brioche with a tonnn of ricotta and a nice slab of jam. i ate it n talked to a guy who had been waiting a long time for a salad.

after sqirl (truly a dream i’ve had for the last ~4 years) i wanted to go to konbi, but i was so full and the walk there was so long and sketch lookin. i ceded my last toast.

took the metro red line to metro expo line and went to culver city where my airbnb is. got the full tour from luu and namhau and headed off to baldwin hills to try to exercise my toast fullness off. walked up a giant hill and down the giant hill!

then walked through culver city to sprouts to buy some shampoo and then to the bar fathers office for some wine. had a glass of grenache (not good) and a glass of malbec (also not great but not as bad as grenache).

then went to in n out! cuz i gotta!!! got a double double and fries and took it to go cuz i still wasn’t hungry. thxfully snacking on the fries on my way to airbnb did the trick n i inhaled that mf. wish i had another.

as laverne would say, “tomorrow is another day!��. for eating.