I've been debating whether or not I wanted to blog this; I have no pics, and wasn't really impressed. But I consulted the Facebook peoples and the one person who responded (Thank you Mama Unit) said it must be so. And here we go.
My department at work typically which typically runs on 6 people has been running on 3-4 for the last two months now. As one of those 3-4 (for one memorable week 2) people I've been putting in a good bit of overtime. Since my job qualifies as sedentary to light level occupation I'm not so much physically tired as my brain turns to pudding. Funny what 10 hour days will do to your mind, isn't it? Two weeks ago the boss decided to take the three of us to lunch, we just had to pick where.
Personally I usually bring leftovers from home or eat in the cafeteria... On rare occasions when I have cash I'll hike over to the No Fish! Go Fish! cart or down to the food cart pod, but those occasions are very rare indeed. So I bowed out of the lunch location selection. Amusingly enough one of my co-workers had just that morning been complaining that she "always had to pick the restaurant" when she went out with her family. So with malicious glee we all cried "Not it!" in unison and left her with the choice... Muahahahahaha!
Okay, enough with the glee. The day arrived and a location was announced. Jake's Grill. Never heard of it before, but supposedly they have "Great Seafood!" So I googled it. Found the location (10 blocks from work, awesome.) and perused the menu. Some nice looking stuff, some expensive stuff, but still... Not too bad, and I wasn't buying. And away we went.
Very elegant and quite fancy I must say. The waitress was knowledgeable and quick. The menu looked nice. The place was neither empty or crowded and the accoustics were such that we didn't have to yell to hear each other. We went around the table and the orders went like this:
"I'll have the chicken fettuccini" No seafood, but okay.
"I'll have the french dip." What?
"Ooh, that sounds good, I'll have that too." What!? What about the "Great Seafood!" they talked about earlier?
I decided to have some fish, the Tuesday blueplate special in fact. "Herb Horseradish Crusted Atlantic Salmon with summer vegetable medley and roasted red peper risotto cake." Sounds good right? Mmmm horseradish crusted...
I got a salad with my lunch and requested the house made roquefort dressing on the side. Very, very tasty with a nice horseradish kick of its own. When my entree came I was excited, it looked so pretty, bright vegetables, lovely crust on the salmon, pretty sauce decoration... The rissotto cake threw me off a bit, but I've never been a fan of cubes of rice. Reminds me of Chinese takeout fried rice that's been in the box too long.
I picked up my fork, flaked into the salmon, tried a bite... And almost cried. The crust was soggy and flavorless. The fish was nice, but it was just salmon. I couldn't taste any herbs let alone any horseradish... I longed for at least a lemon wedge to brighten things up a bit. It went downhill from there. The summer vegetable medley consisted of a quartered orange carrot, a sliced on the bias yellow carrot, half of an asparagus stalk, and maybe three bell pepper slices all either cooked to mush or still crunchy raw. The rissotto was overdone and oddly sweet from the pepper. All together the best part of my meal was the salad that came before hand. The fish was nicely cooked at least, just... Flavorless.
All together kind of a let down. Which makes me sad.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Food Cart Friday
So last post I talked about giving a different restaurant.com place a try, but you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men... Yeah. It went awry.
Alot of personal stress hit last week ( if you should know, you probably already do. <--- how cryptic is that???) and BellaBabe and I spent Friday afternoon/ evening running around the Clackamas end of 82nd like chickens with our heads cut off on a mad dash to acquire everything for our impending trip. (WORLD CON BABY!) As we were winding down and starting to think of which drive thru fast food place we would hit on the way home the Babe signal went off!
It was a message from our old pal Kane-ger-Man. He was suffering from the dreaded, and all too common, "Good Times Deficiency". So after much debate, and sizing up the available space in the RedMobile it was decided that we would meet up at the Jolly Roger for drinks before strolling down to the 12th and Hawthorne food cart pod. So off we went.
At the Jolly Roger I ordered a Bloody Maria (my new favorite drink, and they make them STRONG at the Jolly Roger!) while BellaBabe ordered (...insert the name of the pineapple, coconut, raspberry, rum, and far too much lime concoction she had here--->*), it was okay although too much lime and not enough raspberry. Kane-ger-Man joined us and ordered (... Wow that's a fail twice in a row on remembering drink names), he did not care for it. It tasted like a... Pina Colada gone bad was the best description. He sent that back and ordered a shot of rum instead. He was much more pleased by the straight rum without all the "foofyness". Then the band kicked on and loud reggae band + TINY bar = Headache for LittleRed and an unhappy Kane-ger-Man, so we departed.
After being temporary distraction by a small classic car gathering in a nearby parking lot, we wandered to the 12th and Hawthorne food cart pod and let the sights and smells assault us. Now I must be honest, this is far from the first time we've come here. In fact it's one of our favorite late night destinations. I love the carnival atmosphere brought about my the strings of light under the tent, and the food is nothing to sneeze at either. All together we ordered six items from four different carts.
At Pyro Pizza, BellaBabe and I ordered the Traditional Margarita pizza while Kane-ger-man ordered the Pepperoni.
We gave our names and wandered away while pizzas were assembled and cooked to crispy, chewy, perfection in their wood fired oven. Strolling diagonally across the lot we arrived at Whiffie's Fried Pies and ordered the BBQ Brisket and Mozzarella fried pie.
After ordering the pizzas and the pies came the debate. Crepes? No, nothing we can agree on. Potato Champion? Not tonight, can't read the sauce board and not really a fan of their poutine. What about the BBQ place? Never been. Let's go! So over we wandered to Bubba Bernie's in search of something non-piggy (BellaBabe has allergies) and not too substantial. BellaBabe spotted Sweet Potato Tots and seemed intrigued, and while I'm not usually a sweet potato fan I decided to suck it up and try something new.
They were awesome! We tried them with three sauces, the Texas Smoke, the Honey Bourbon, and the Bubba Sauce. Texas smoke was our favorite followed by the Honey Bourbon. The Bubba Sauce was odd, it seemed like the flavor changed each time we tried it. BellaBabe theorizes it is made up of a mixture of all of their other sauces. I concur with this possibility.
I almost want to end it there. I really really do. Leave it on a high note. But I can't. After everywhere else we opted to try El Brasero. We ordered a beef taco and beef nachos. The taco was bland and extremely dry even with the lime quarter squeezed over it. And the nachos (which I am not a big fan of anyway) were packed full of jalapenos. And neither BellaBabe or I are fans of that "So-hot-I-can't-taste-anything-but-FIRE" style of heat. So... Not so much. But Kane-ger-Man seemed happy to munch away. Besides BellaBabe and I had more than enough food with the pizza, pie, and tots.
Mix all of the above together with a slight buzz, nice atmosphere, and lively conversation and you get one great evening! Thank the Gods It was Friday!
Alot of personal stress hit last week ( if you should know, you probably already do. <--- how cryptic is that???) and BellaBabe and I spent Friday afternoon/ evening running around the Clackamas end of 82nd like chickens with our heads cut off on a mad dash to acquire everything for our impending trip. (WORLD CON BABY!) As we were winding down and starting to think of which drive thru fast food place we would hit on the way home the Babe signal went off!
It was a message from our old pal Kane-ger-Man. He was suffering from the dreaded, and all too common, "Good Times Deficiency". So after much debate, and sizing up the available space in the RedMobile it was decided that we would meet up at the Jolly Roger for drinks before strolling down to the 12th and Hawthorne food cart pod. So off we went.
At the Jolly Roger I ordered a Bloody Maria (my new favorite drink, and they make them STRONG at the Jolly Roger!) while BellaBabe ordered (...insert the name of the pineapple, coconut, raspberry, rum, and far too much lime concoction she had here--->*), it was okay although too much lime and not enough raspberry. Kane-ger-Man joined us and ordered (... Wow that's a fail twice in a row on remembering drink names), he did not care for it. It tasted like a... Pina Colada gone bad was the best description. He sent that back and ordered a shot of rum instead. He was much more pleased by the straight rum without all the "foofyness". Then the band kicked on and loud reggae band + TINY bar = Headache for LittleRed and an unhappy Kane-ger-Man, so we departed.
After being temporary distraction by a small classic car gathering in a nearby parking lot, we wandered to the 12th and Hawthorne food cart pod and let the sights and smells assault us. Now I must be honest, this is far from the first time we've come here. In fact it's one of our favorite late night destinations. I love the carnival atmosphere brought about my the strings of light under the tent, and the food is nothing to sneeze at either. All together we ordered six items from four different carts.
 |
| LittleRed is such a dork she forgot to take a pic of everything before the eating commenced. Above is the Pepperoni Pizza ordered by Kane-ger-Man. |
We gave our names and wandered away while pizzas were assembled and cooked to crispy, chewy, perfection in their wood fired oven. Strolling diagonally across the lot we arrived at Whiffie's Fried Pies and ordered the BBQ Brisket and Mozzarella fried pie.
 |
| Incredibly poor cell-phone pic of friend pie awesomeness. |
They were awesome! We tried them with three sauces, the Texas Smoke, the Honey Bourbon, and the Bubba Sauce. Texas smoke was our favorite followed by the Honey Bourbon. The Bubba Sauce was odd, it seemed like the flavor changed each time we tried it. BellaBabe theorizes it is made up of a mixture of all of their other sauces. I concur with this possibility.
I almost want to end it there. I really really do. Leave it on a high note. But I can't. After everywhere else we opted to try El Brasero. We ordered a beef taco and beef nachos. The taco was bland and extremely dry even with the lime quarter squeezed over it. And the nachos (which I am not a big fan of anyway) were packed full of jalapenos. And neither BellaBabe or I are fans of that "So-hot-I-can't-taste-anything-but-FIRE" style of heat. So... Not so much. But Kane-ger-Man seemed happy to munch away. Besides BellaBabe and I had more than enough food with the pizza, pie, and tots.
Mix all of the above together with a slight buzz, nice atmosphere, and lively conversation and you get one great evening! Thank the Gods It was Friday!
****
There are several more pictures I wanted to add to this but for some reason Blogger won't let me. So they've been uploaded to the Flickr gadget on the right of the page. Sorry for the low quality cell phone pics, the lights were low and I don't have a camera. It's on the list, I promise.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Lead us not into temptation... (For it tastes NASTY!)
I know, I know, I know! I'm a bad bad blog girl. Sue me. No really don't. I don't have anything.
In light of many things, including a rather epic trip (WORLDCON BABY!) in *gulp* 15 days, I've been living on the tight side, eating in, at friends' places, or on the very very cheap. My mind is too full of gotta buy, gotta find, gotta packs to really focus on blogging.
As you may recall from my last post I've become aware that I'm ignoring the restaurants in my neighborhood. This can not stand.
But how to explore the local culinary scene while still saving every available penny for WorldCon? The answer is Restaurant.com. Rather, it appeared to be the answer. With seemingly monthly 80% off sales on restaurant gift certificates it seemed to be a good way to explore the area on the cheap. So back February I dropped about $20 of real money and ended up with $250 in Restaurant.com money. The way it works (usually) is you pay a certain amount and end up with a certificate for $25 off your bill of $35 or more, including an 18% tip. Sounds pretty sweet right?
To date I've used 3. Two at Brother's Crawfish (great food, bad picture lighting. We'll go back and blog about it I promise.) and one on last Friday (July 29th) at Aladdin's Cafe.
Let me paint you a picture... Happy Friday! Its hot, beastly hot. Nothing sounds better than hiding in some air conditioning for an hour or two. BellaBabe and I decide to "splurge" and see Green Lantern at McMenamin's Bagdad theater for $3 a ticket. Whoot for cheap! We arrived at the theater about 20 minutes before the show was supposed to start, thinking to get a pizza and some tots to share during the show. Complete mission failure! They had one person behind the counter taking and assembling orders. The line was epic, the previews were starting... Dilemma! We decided to eat after the show and dashed into the theater to grab seats.
The movie was great! Ryan Reynolds is a sarcastic bastard and I love it, what can I say? BellaBabe and I kept up our running commentary (yes, we're those people who talk in theaters. The tickets cost $3, suck it.) and at the end we were satisfied with our entertainment and giggling in sisterly glee.
After the show, we're hungry, we're wandering Hawthorne, we're spit balling ideas... Suddenly I remember my restaurant.com certificate stash. There are three choices relatively near our house, lets explore somewhere new...
After a little debate (and the fact that I can't find one of the certificates) we decide to try out Aladdin's Cafe. I call ahead to make sure they still take the certificate (ALWAYS CALL AHEAD TO CHECK!) and they do. So off we go.
My excitement over trying new food is slightly dimmed by the dingy strip mall location, but there are many loyal diners (identified by the suspicious glares tossed at the "newbies") so we press on.
Let me point out, this isn't a cultural difference/ foreign flavors distaste. We adore Nicholas on Broadway. I know that if I order the Stephen's Chicken I'm getting at least two if not three meals out of it. And the Gyro? Forget about it. Three meals easy. Not to mention their AMAZING pita bread and humus.
We ordered the humus appetizer. I decided on the combination kabob (kafta and lamb) and BellaBabe bit the bullet and went for the Special of the day, Mansaf — Cooked yogurt with lamb.
I don't want to get into details because... Well I don't want to make myself sick. It's enough to say that (with their lovely open kitchen) I got to watch the cook overcook my lamb twice, the kafta kabob was practically charcoal, the "basmati" rice that came with both dinners was overcooked, I suspect came out of a box, and BellaBabe's portion held the shape of the pan they stored it in... Seriously. As for "The Special"? I'll throw in a pic.
That is curdled yogurt ladies and gentleman. The mouth feel was grainy and disgusting...
We declined dessert and ran home to kill any potential food poisoning with alcohol. (I know it doesn't really work that way, but after that nastiness... Liquor was required.)
Now I'm crossing my fingers for our text attempt... Until then, happy eating!
In light of many things, including a rather epic trip (WORLDCON BABY!) in *gulp* 15 days, I've been living on the tight side, eating in, at friends' places, or on the very very cheap. My mind is too full of gotta buy, gotta find, gotta packs to really focus on blogging.
As you may recall from my last post I've become aware that I'm ignoring the restaurants in my neighborhood. This can not stand.
But how to explore the local culinary scene while still saving every available penny for WorldCon? The answer is Restaurant.com. Rather, it appeared to be the answer. With seemingly monthly 80% off sales on restaurant gift certificates it seemed to be a good way to explore the area on the cheap. So back February I dropped about $20 of real money and ended up with $250 in Restaurant.com money. The way it works (usually) is you pay a certain amount and end up with a certificate for $25 off your bill of $35 or more, including an 18% tip. Sounds pretty sweet right?
To date I've used 3. Two at Brother's Crawfish (great food, bad picture lighting. We'll go back and blog about it I promise.) and one on last Friday (July 29th) at Aladdin's Cafe.
Let me paint you a picture... Happy Friday! Its hot, beastly hot. Nothing sounds better than hiding in some air conditioning for an hour or two. BellaBabe and I decide to "splurge" and see Green Lantern at McMenamin's Bagdad theater for $3 a ticket. Whoot for cheap! We arrived at the theater about 20 minutes before the show was supposed to start, thinking to get a pizza and some tots to share during the show. Complete mission failure! They had one person behind the counter taking and assembling orders. The line was epic, the previews were starting... Dilemma! We decided to eat after the show and dashed into the theater to grab seats.
The movie was great! Ryan Reynolds is a sarcastic bastard and I love it, what can I say? BellaBabe and I kept up our running commentary (yes, we're those people who talk in theaters. The tickets cost $3, suck it.) and at the end we were satisfied with our entertainment and giggling in sisterly glee.
After the show, we're hungry, we're wandering Hawthorne, we're spit balling ideas... Suddenly I remember my restaurant.com certificate stash. There are three choices relatively near our house, lets explore somewhere new...
After a little debate (and the fact that I can't find one of the certificates) we decide to try out Aladdin's Cafe. I call ahead to make sure they still take the certificate (ALWAYS CALL AHEAD TO CHECK!) and they do. So off we go.
My excitement over trying new food is slightly dimmed by the dingy strip mall location, but there are many loyal diners (identified by the suspicious glares tossed at the "newbies") so we press on.
Let me point out, this isn't a cultural difference/ foreign flavors distaste. We adore Nicholas on Broadway. I know that if I order the Stephen's Chicken I'm getting at least two if not three meals out of it. And the Gyro? Forget about it. Three meals easy. Not to mention their AMAZING pita bread and humus.
We ordered the humus appetizer. I decided on the combination kabob (kafta and lamb) and BellaBabe bit the bullet and went for the Special of the day, Mansaf — Cooked yogurt with lamb.
I don't want to get into details because... Well I don't want to make myself sick. It's enough to say that (with their lovely open kitchen) I got to watch the cook overcook my lamb twice, the kafta kabob was practically charcoal, the "basmati" rice that came with both dinners was overcooked, I suspect came out of a box, and BellaBabe's portion held the shape of the pan they stored it in... Seriously. As for "The Special"? I'll throw in a pic.
We declined dessert and ran home to kill any potential food poisoning with alcohol. (I know it doesn't really work that way, but after that nastiness... Liquor was required.)
Now I'm crossing my fingers for our text attempt... Until then, happy eating!
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