Merry Holidays!

Ahhh yes. I may have taken a short break from the blog, but I had an even shorter break from work. Most everyone around here is gone until after January 1st. It's very quiet around here, but also very dull. There is no work to be done at ALL.

So! I spent Christmas with my parents, grandma (local), cousin (+husband and twin 4-year-olds, up from San Antonio), aunt (+husband, local), uncle (+wife, down from Illinois) and various other relatives and family friends. Our Christmas Eve festivities were over in Dallas at my aunt's house. We had delicious spinach, pear, and cranberry salad with my grandma's famous veggie soup and delicious homemade cornbread. Dessert was a variety of miniature cakes and some delicious apple crumble. Hats off to my aunt, who did most of the cooking. Christmas day, somewhere between 20 and 25 people showed up at my parents' house to consume ham, chicken, stuffing, green beans, corn, potatoes, deviled eggs, noodles, and oh so much pie. The pre-food food included home made caramel popcorn, mixed nuts, and our family's famous (ok none of this stuff is famous, but it's famous to us!) holiday punch. I could tell you what's in the punch, but then I'd have to kill you. With my fists.

Two days with the twins, and I was about ready to collapse. I don't know how my cousin has the energy. She and her husband are great parents. Anyway, we talked, ate, put a puzzle together, sang carols, and played with munchkins, and in my mind, that makes just about the best way to spend Christmas.

(Also presents: new printer, wireless awesome mouse, fuzzy socks and pillow, some moolah, two shirts, a ring, some bracelets, and um... yeah i think that about covers it?)

I hope everyone else had a fantastic Christmas, and here's hoping the New Year goes even better than this year. See you in '08!

Neither food nor event. Please ignore.

I'm rather bored at work today, so I started going through my brain and remembering websites I visited once or twice and then forgot.

www.freeburmarangers.org

The part of me that still cares about humanity wishes someone would put a stop to that murderous dictatorship and let the elected leadership take its rightful place at the head of the Burmese government. There is another part of me, however, that realizes no one really cares about freedom anymore, only profit. And then there's my inner-opportunist, who realizes what a good thing this would be for the U.S. in terms of global image. We would just have to spin it right. Now go back to the kind part, who shakes her head in disgust that the other parts of me could even think such heartless things.

It's times like this I wish I had some power.

Pretty Lights, tasty bites

Last night, as I drove home, I took a different way back from the Super Target and ended up lost in a slightly wealthier neighborhood. I'd just like to say that people with a lot of money sure do know how to string Christmas lights. I mean.. do they hire someone to do this or are they just inherently awesome at it? It is a great mystery to me, because I know if *I* suddenly came into a large sum of money, I still wouldn't know the first thing about putting up Christmas lights on my house. Then again, maybe those people just did it as kids. My parents just put out a wreath and some animatronic deer.

That's another thing. When did Christmas become universally tacky? I remember, as a child, looking at all the houses on my street and thinking "These are really pretty decorations, except for the one guy who has orange lights all over his roof in the shape of a longhorn. He is dumb." Now, I will go home to my parents' house and think "If I see one more half-inflated, stereotypical Santa balloon, I'm going to kill someone." It was like this last year. It will be like this forever, until we eliminate the blowup decoration industry. Even my dad, who has never expressed much sentiment about such things, agrees that blowup snowmen and Santas must die.

Oh yeah. this is a blog about doin and eatin stuff, so.....I ordered Chinese food a couple of days ago from Asia Bowl over near the Ridgemar Mall. I've gotta say, I'm glad I got something other than shrimp fried rice, because their shrimp cashew dish is VERY TASTY! It's a chain, but who cares? Tasty food is tasty food, authentic or not.

http://www.asiabowl.com/

Thanksgiving, chili, and fire

Good morning! Happy Holidays! I was going to post around Thanksgiving, but I haven't been motivated as such. You know how reptiles stop being active when it's cold? I begin to wonder if I am not the same. It got down into the 30s last weekend, which is awesome, but I'm stubborn about turning on my heater, so I got to look like a big poofy marshmallow in my blankets and fuzzy things!

Anyway! So we had a Thanksgiving potluck at my parents' house: ham, mashed potatoes, copper carrots, green bean casserole, rolls, and pies--Pumpkin and Pecan! It was quite a delicious spread. The couple of days following Thanksgiving I ate Egg Salad Sandwiches at the Gingerman for dinner. On Sunday, however, I got quite a treat!

Frye and I went over to Brian and Morgan's place (James was being antisocial) and ate some delicious chili made by the master chef and his lovely assistant (Frye). They had a nice warm fire going, which heated their entire apartment. Cute little Cordy was out first, and then once we started playing with the fire, they brought out Bina, the calm doggie. As an aside, dark chocolate makes the best s'mores. I will remember that for next time. Oh yes.

Well, that about wraps up my eclectic post for today. I should really do some work.

Spiraling Out of Control

I forgot to post again. Bonk. Sorry.

So Sunday afternoon, Leah (http://chappaboogie.blogspot.com/) invited James, Frye, and me out for a lunch with her mother at a vegan restaurant called Spiral Diner. It should be noted that none of us are vegan, or even vegetarian. So keep that in mind.

The "greeter" at Spiral Diner is a statue of a robot thing made of a steel cage entwined with wood. (Oh how clever, trees are the organs HAR HAR) I knew I was in for a treat when the guy seating customers looked like a biker, but talked like a hippie. Unsurprisingly, the tiny little place was packed full of people. Most looked like standard "indie" people, but there were a few people (myself included) who did not look like they belonged. In the interest of an unbiased opinion of the food, I looked pointedly down at my menu and tried not to read the articles on the walls, most of which dealt with "environmental" issues in the DFW area.

The menu tries to pretend it isn't vegan, with menu items such as "Vegan Meatballs" and "Philly Cheez Steak." There are no meats or steaks involved with either dish. They even have a "Tofu Scramble" with "VEGAN BACON." I'm going to repeat that. VEGAN BACON.

OH HELL NO, you did NOT JUST MAKE FAKE BACON!?!!?!????!~!~!asldhfkaushdif

Ahem. Bacon is sacred to me. Sorry.

So I got the "Chik'nless Salad Sandwich." Here's the description from their website, "Diced Seitan (wheat-meat) tossed with a mayo/mustard dressing, spices, chopped apples, cranberries and pecans. Topped off with lettuce, tomato and a hint of vegan mayo. Served on Toasted Organic Multi-grain Bread."

Ok excuse me a moment while I laugh my ass off at you hippies. You're trying to make this sound as much like a chicken salad sandwich as possible, even going so far as to describe its main ingredient as "WHEAT MEAT." Why are you making substitutes for meat? I mean... aren't you basically saying "Well we don't like meat, but we really need to eat meat." I just... buh.. anyway.

That said, the sandwich wasn't bad at all. It came with potato salad or corn chips, and I chose the potato salad. Also pretty tasty. I was a little surprised, actually. If they hadn't slapped me in the face with the words "vegan" and "organic" and had, instead, just said "it's got all the crap you like in chicken salad without the chicken" I would have been a happy camper. I have no problem eating meatless food as long as you don't try to preach at me.

After I finished eating, I chanced a look around at the walls. To my immediate right was a great little article about some hippies saving a tree. On top of the wall sat a Jesus action figure with a little chef hat. Bit presumptuous, but eh. Then we went up front to pay. Biker Dude was there, and sitting next to the register was a vegan propaganda book, the title of which I have forgotten.

Just in case all the meatless food around you wasn't enough of a tip off, here's a reminder that you are at hippie central, and your leather wallet and purse are not appreciated.

All in all, it was an amusing experience, and I'd eat the food again, though I'd be reluctant to try any of their other "meat-like" products, and I cannot fathom eating grilled tofu. Eh...I'm cynical and opinionated, so here's their website. Decide for yourself.

Spiral Diner

Nihonryoori o tabemasen :(

Alas and misfortune!

Mikado Japanese restaurant is no more. An attempted trip to my favorite Japanese place (read: only place with good yakisoba) last night forced me to turn instead to Taverna, which is Italian. I picked at some seafood ricotta with broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes, but the cream sauce just wasn't what I wanted last night. The bread at Taverna was quite tasty, and the waiter was prompt, but aloof. The atmosphere is alright. It's dark, like a romantic dinner should be, but the music was all over the place, with that "when the moon hits your eyes..." song setting my mood to "annoyed" as soon as my drink arrived.

I was disappointed when I arrived, and the food just wasn't worth $19.

Ehhh I have nothing else to say. I am so sad. I might go cry in the corner.

FTC in the 'House.

I'm making a note here
HUGE SUCCESS.

I introduced my dad to the Bangkok House place last night. I think he was pleased. FTC was out in full force, scolding us for not eating everything, and threatening us playfully in broken English. "You betta take that home, or I gon' cry and hit you with spatula!" The mute came by and tried to speak words, but they weren't words. They were noises. So there you have it. You can ask my dad.

"It was good, but they sure do hover around the table..."

YES THEY DO! EEEE!

The most gorgeous day ever.

Good afternoon, Internet Denizens. I'm writing on this happy Monday to report that I have the the best lunchtime view ever. The only thing that mars the landscape is the horrid squealing of geese/ducks. It may be almost 80, but who cares? I'm sitting on a porch in the shade, overlooking trees, a grassy field, and a river. There's a soft breeze blowing--not enough to muss my hair, but enough to ensure my body temperature does not rise to uncomfortable levels.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a vast improvement over my mood of previous hours.

I love you, lunch hour.

That is all.

The Spices Must Flow (and be spicy)

This weekend marked the first time since I went to Orlando (before this blog's conception) that I had good Indian food. Saturday afternoon, Morgan, Brian, and I all piled into James' car and journeyed to the faraway land of Plano (I think. It's all fuzzy up there once I get past the Grapevine Mills Mall.) to a place called Sitar. By the time we got there and into the restaurant, my stomach was rumbling, and the smells were driving me crazy! Points already for amazing smells.

The atmosphere is a little on the dark side, but that's alright. The waiter showed us to some seats and took our drink orders, but didn't bring us menus. Oh yes. It's a buffet! My thoughts were skeptical at first, but oh boy was I surprised when I went and actually looked at the buffet. They had SOOO much tasty stuff. They didn't have chicken tikka masala or chicken korma or anything familiar, but sweet JEEBUS was it ever tasty. I actually can't remember the names of the meals, but they did have some very tasty Nan (that's a kind of flatbread, if you are unaware). I managed to shovel away a plate and a half of food before I decided to stop.

As if the absolutely mouthwatering Indian wasn't enough, my friends and I then journeyed to the Cheesecake Factory to partake in some $7 pieces of cheesecake and other assorted things. The strawberry shortcake I had was pretty good, but I've had better. Their cheesecake is still pretty fantastic though. MMMMMMmmmm cheesecake.

In the end, I'm far more impressed with Sitar than with Cheesecake Factory. I don't have any real rating system, but suffice it to say that I'm dating an Indian food restaurant. Yeah.

Map to Sitar Indian Cuisine.

They need 'E' on the end of everything.

Good morning, and welcome to another edition of How...inappropriate. Today is this writer's birthday, and I'm feelin fancy in quite a fancy mood!

Yesterday my family and I ventured to the magical land of Stinktown (Dallas, TX...no offense aunt Brandy) to celebrate my birthday! It was planned somewhat last-minute, so I did not get to pick where I ate. Luckily, I have similar restaurant taste with my family, so the Grand Lux Cafe worked nicely.

My parents and I procured a table, and a few moments later the rest of the group arrived. Fiascos ensued as we tried to somehow block the sun from glaring off of things.
We failed, ultimately, but as drinks arrived, we settled down and began to chat.

That, however, is not the point of the story. I want to talk about the Grand Lux. The place is situated in the Galleria mall, which is itself a monstrosity of consumerism and a monument to efficient valet parking, and is decorated with gold columns and fancy things. The kitchen is ENORMOHUGE, as evidenced by the size and variety of the menu. You can get Thai Chicken Pizza (my second choice, which I will get if I ever go there again) and a plain old club sandwich. You can get an omelette, giant chocolate cake, or a Caesar salad. Or you can do what I did and get the amazingly fantastic Short Rib Sloppy Joe. It was big enough for two meals, and that's exactly what ended up happening. I took my first bite of that sweet, tender, delicious short rib sloppy joe, and knew immediately that I had selected the best possible meal on that menu. Just talking about it makes me drool a little. Just a little though...I'm at work!

Anyway, Grand Lux Cafe gets my full approval. Go there to eat if you're ever at the Galleria in Dallas, TX or at any of their other locations.

Their website can be found here!