No, not quite THE era. But the end of the terrible reign of Andrew the Tyrant. GONE, sleazy passes at every girl who walks through the doors of Micklegate House! GONE, the random "cell toss" (what I dubbed his ad-hoc criticisms which he would lash out whenever his morning tea wasn't enough of a morning pick-me-up)!
Fearing the possible repurcussions of Sleepy Female On Door Shift + Drunk Andrew, I stayed awake most of the night...that and Christine and I got hooked on YouTube. Either way, I went to sleep sometime between 5 and 6am, and had to wake up at 7:15. I was awake when Andrew left because I heard the noise of a suitcase being pulled down the stairs, and the big front door opening. I was groggy and didn't give a good goddamn so I just faced the wall and went back to sleep. I suppose he's on his way to Indiana by now. It doesn't bother me that he'll now be polluting America with his shady green-card presence. We know how to deal with sleazebags like him in the Land of the Free--in the words of Toby Keith, "We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way."
I am at work right now, trying to get by on just over one hour of sleep. I have been managing alright, but I almost forgot to take the mail downstairs (I was almost 15 minutes late with it) and I'm having trouble enunciating at my normal level of crispness. The word "Benenden" is starting to sound something like "burger" and I'm not even bothering to try and say "medical benefits." It's all I can do just to remember where I am.
Being tired brings up all sorts of thoughts and ideas that probably would be best left unsaid. Just for sanity's sake--I mean the sanity of anyone reading this. But, you see, I spend a lot of my time here at work reading the writing of others. They run the gamut from travelogues (people I know are in Paraguay in the Peace Corps, year-long trips around the world, teaching English in Shanghai...) to observations on the benefits of meditation to deep emotional outpourings to inane online surveys asking who I last said "cowabunga" to. I just finished reading a rather long blog of a friend of mine and my warped, tired brain seems to be rather on the impressionable side today...so here I am writing. But at least he was writing about places he's traveled to; I'm writing about nothing in particular.
But no writing is bad writing. Look, this is my true writing voice. What thinkest thou?
Anyway, I have exactly two weeks left here. Well, 13 days after today. It is very possible that these will be the slowest 13 days of my existence. I am trying so hard to stop my brain from fantasizing about going home....I'm trying to remind myself that 13 days is still a significant amount of time and that I should stop getting so excited because that only makes the time go slower. I should find something to do and concentrate on that. But I can't think of anything, and I have slipped into a daily routine of go to work, come home, eat, watch a movie with Sue and/or Amit, sleep. Rinse, repeat. And after this weekend I won't even have Sue to hang out with anymore, because she's moving in with the family she's nannying for--trying it out at least.
A lot of things are going through my head at present--the fact that my great-uncle just passed away two days ago and I'm the only one not at the funeral...the news that there is a chance Erin may yet be moving to Los Angeles after all...the fact that this and next weekend are CHOCK FULL of fun things going on at home in the USA (parties, recitals, get-togethers...) that I won't get to be there for but i was SO CLOSE so it's killing me...the fact that I'm going to have to organize some sort of goodbye soiree for myself and I'm not really that energized about it--part of me wants to just slip out the door!
I guess I'll do what I always do when I can't think of anything else to do. I'll make a list.
Things I most want RIGHT NOW:
hug
kiss
bed
Family Guy
sleep
cuddle
bath
....I miss.
Tired now. That's all for now, faithful readers (What a joke. Can you hear me chortle?)
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
The Lake District
Hi all!
This weekend was enjoyable, I must say. But first let me briefly comment on the production of joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat which i saw thursday night. The lighting = great. Costumes = cheap. Music = awesome multiple keyboards with top-of-the-line sounds. sounded like a full orchestra. very cool . the sound people didn't do their job as well as they could have; sometimes people weren't miked enough and other times the singers were blowing out the mikes and it was painful to listen to.
the most interesting thing about the evening was to observe that at least in york, the theater is like the ballpark. i have a picture of a man DRINKING BEER during the show. and people brought in all sorts of snacks. some noisy. and i got in trouble for taking little film ckips--the usher had to admonish me twice. why she gave a shit, i dont know. power trip. and loads of other people were doing it, with VIDEO CAMERAS (i had my little canon) but because i was onthe end and she could reach me, she picked on me alone.
all in all, it was good. i could have done a better job as the Narrator though becayse i have a higher belt range. teehee. it was fun, though.
WEEKEND:
Friday:
Friday after work, Naomi walked me to the train station as I took off for Manchester (I had to swtich trains 3 times to get to Sarah's place). It was sad to say goodbye to her...it's always weird saying goodbye to people you meet here because there's such a large chance that you wont ever see that person again....so you want to say something like "have a nice life"...it's odd.
the train rides were uneventful, and i got to Windermere 4 hours later, 5 minutes early. Sarah took me to this cute pub where we met up with her new coworker boyfriend Nick. He's a sweet guy. One glass of wine got me a little tipsy, because I was very very tired. We got home, to her little village which has almost no people living in it, no lights--so it was pitch black and all the stars were visible. how gorgeous. i conked out as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Saturday:
Yummy fry-up for breakfast. I dont think I'll ever LOVE baked beans, but theyre ok when youre hungry and youre in England!
After eating we lounged around fora short while, I met Sarah's housemate Zoë. Then we headed out the door for a drive and a walk around the countryside!
Now, this is the stuff we all picture when we think of stereotypical English countryside: green hills, stone walls, cute cottages, colorful trees and flowers...and lots and lots of sheep. And villagers waving at you as you pass by. And mountains and lakes, too! We had a lovely walk for about an hour and a half, to get to this stone circle which is apparently 1000 years older than stonehenge. It certainly looks it; the stones are much more weathered and worn down. The circle was located on a hill which afforded an AMAZING view of the surruonding hills, valleys and mountains. It was windy but not too cold.
Going back, we drove through the country some more, stopping for a snack in --was it Grasmere? correct me if im wrong--anyway we ate a PIZZA with APPLES and CUMBERLAND SAUSAGE. sounds weird? well it is kind of, but very tasty especially after a long walk. I also bought some local treats--Eccles Cakes (theyre like giant Fig Newtons), butter shortbread and Kendal Mint Cakes. These things are awesome--theyre like the center of a York Peppermint Patty only harder--they are made of simply peppermint oil and lots of sugar. YUMM.
We went back to Sarah's place, which by the way is called Bobtail Cottage (and the cottage next door is called Wain Garth--how funny is that!!), and lounged around a bit wth Zoë. I was amazed by the mountainous backyard view they have, and the fact that you can see (and hear!) lots of sheep. Sarah and I had some wine, and worked on the pepper and mushroom risotto dinner, and apple/pear/sultana crumble for dessert.
It came out yummy. Nick had dinner with us as well. Then we headed down to the Eagle's Head--even a village as small as Sattherthwaite has a pub--for a pint. It is a quintessential English pub. Dark, cozy, everybody knows everybody.
A good evening.
Sunday:
Cloudy, raining steadily. Not good weather for me to go on the Go Ape! course, but we decided to forge on through anyway.
Go Ape! isthe outdoor adventure park-thingy where Sarah works. To understand what it is, picture the Ewok village--high up in the trees, swinging by ropes from tree to tree. That's kind of what you do. You are high above the ground, on ledges which are built on the trees. The idea is to get from tree to tree by doign different obstacles. Some are rope bridges, some aer special ladders, some are rope nets, barrels...and zooming down cables which is really fun (until you scrape your head, which i did twice. oh well). ...and jumping off ledges in a 'Tarzan Swing' onto a vertical rope net which you then must climb to reach the next ledge.
I had an absolute blast doing this, despite the fact that I was cold and soaking wet. The best was the huge leap at the end, where you are 60-something feet up in the air and you have to do a huge leap to get to the next net. You are in free-fall for a few feet which is pretty scary, but afetr I was done all I wanted to do was do it again! ..but not quite, becuase it was cold and wet and Sunday roast was waiting in the pub back in Satterthwaite.
It was my first (finally!) English Sunday Roast. Yummy pork with applesauce and stuffing, and cabbage, parsnips, potatoes, cauliflower. Mmm.
I was sad to leave Sarah, and I wasnt looking forward to the 6-hour train ride ahead of me. It does not take anywhere near 6 hours to get from her place to York, but it does on a Sunday because of rail repairs. I had a 2-hour bus ride to Preston, Lancashire and a 90-minute wait there, and then a 3-hour train ride to York itself (lots of stops). By the time I got back I was exhausted and overheated....but what a good weekend.
I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with Sue and Amit. My bed had somehow gotten broken over the weekend so Brad and DJ replaced it with another one for me.
Tha-tha-that's all folks...
2.5 weeks left.
This weekend was enjoyable, I must say. But first let me briefly comment on the production of joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat which i saw thursday night. The lighting = great. Costumes = cheap. Music = awesome multiple keyboards with top-of-the-line sounds. sounded like a full orchestra. very cool . the sound people didn't do their job as well as they could have; sometimes people weren't miked enough and other times the singers were blowing out the mikes and it was painful to listen to.
the most interesting thing about the evening was to observe that at least in york, the theater is like the ballpark. i have a picture of a man DRINKING BEER during the show. and people brought in all sorts of snacks. some noisy. and i got in trouble for taking little film ckips--the usher had to admonish me twice. why she gave a shit, i dont know. power trip. and loads of other people were doing it, with VIDEO CAMERAS (i had my little canon) but because i was onthe end and she could reach me, she picked on me alone.
all in all, it was good. i could have done a better job as the Narrator though becayse i have a higher belt range. teehee. it was fun, though.
WEEKEND:
Friday:
Friday after work, Naomi walked me to the train station as I took off for Manchester (I had to swtich trains 3 times to get to Sarah's place). It was sad to say goodbye to her...it's always weird saying goodbye to people you meet here because there's such a large chance that you wont ever see that person again....so you want to say something like "have a nice life"...it's odd.
the train rides were uneventful, and i got to Windermere 4 hours later, 5 minutes early. Sarah took me to this cute pub where we met up with her new coworker boyfriend Nick. He's a sweet guy. One glass of wine got me a little tipsy, because I was very very tired. We got home, to her little village which has almost no people living in it, no lights--so it was pitch black and all the stars were visible. how gorgeous. i conked out as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Saturday:
Yummy fry-up for breakfast. I dont think I'll ever LOVE baked beans, but theyre ok when youre hungry and youre in England!
After eating we lounged around fora short while, I met Sarah's housemate Zoë. Then we headed out the door for a drive and a walk around the countryside!
Now, this is the stuff we all picture when we think of stereotypical English countryside: green hills, stone walls, cute cottages, colorful trees and flowers...and lots and lots of sheep. And villagers waving at you as you pass by. And mountains and lakes, too! We had a lovely walk for about an hour and a half, to get to this stone circle which is apparently 1000 years older than stonehenge. It certainly looks it; the stones are much more weathered and worn down. The circle was located on a hill which afforded an AMAZING view of the surruonding hills, valleys and mountains. It was windy but not too cold.
Going back, we drove through the country some more, stopping for a snack in --was it Grasmere? correct me if im wrong--anyway we ate a PIZZA with APPLES and CUMBERLAND SAUSAGE. sounds weird? well it is kind of, but very tasty especially after a long walk. I also bought some local treats--Eccles Cakes (theyre like giant Fig Newtons), butter shortbread and Kendal Mint Cakes. These things are awesome--theyre like the center of a York Peppermint Patty only harder--they are made of simply peppermint oil and lots of sugar. YUMM.
We went back to Sarah's place, which by the way is called Bobtail Cottage (and the cottage next door is called Wain Garth--how funny is that!!), and lounged around a bit wth Zoë. I was amazed by the mountainous backyard view they have, and the fact that you can see (and hear!) lots of sheep. Sarah and I had some wine, and worked on the pepper and mushroom risotto dinner, and apple/pear/sultana crumble for dessert.
It came out yummy. Nick had dinner with us as well. Then we headed down to the Eagle's Head--even a village as small as Sattherthwaite has a pub--for a pint. It is a quintessential English pub. Dark, cozy, everybody knows everybody.
A good evening.
Sunday:
Cloudy, raining steadily. Not good weather for me to go on the Go Ape! course, but we decided to forge on through anyway.
Go Ape! isthe outdoor adventure park-thingy where Sarah works. To understand what it is, picture the Ewok village--high up in the trees, swinging by ropes from tree to tree. That's kind of what you do. You are high above the ground, on ledges which are built on the trees. The idea is to get from tree to tree by doign different obstacles. Some are rope bridges, some aer special ladders, some are rope nets, barrels...and zooming down cables which is really fun (until you scrape your head, which i did twice. oh well). ...and jumping off ledges in a 'Tarzan Swing' onto a vertical rope net which you then must climb to reach the next ledge.
I had an absolute blast doing this, despite the fact that I was cold and soaking wet. The best was the huge leap at the end, where you are 60-something feet up in the air and you have to do a huge leap to get to the next net. You are in free-fall for a few feet which is pretty scary, but afetr I was done all I wanted to do was do it again! ..but not quite, becuase it was cold and wet and Sunday roast was waiting in the pub back in Satterthwaite.
It was my first (finally!) English Sunday Roast. Yummy pork with applesauce and stuffing, and cabbage, parsnips, potatoes, cauliflower. Mmm.
I was sad to leave Sarah, and I wasnt looking forward to the 6-hour train ride ahead of me. It does not take anywhere near 6 hours to get from her place to York, but it does on a Sunday because of rail repairs. I had a 2-hour bus ride to Preston, Lancashire and a 90-minute wait there, and then a 3-hour train ride to York itself (lots of stops). By the time I got back I was exhausted and overheated....but what a good weekend.
I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with Sue and Amit. My bed had somehow gotten broken over the weekend so Brad and DJ replaced it with another one for me.
Tha-tha-that's all folks...
2.5 weeks left.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Out Of Obligation
I haven't updated in a while, I know. I think part of it has been that the weather has been so gorgeous I haven't had my thoughts on updating so much, another part is that nothing really has been happening....and I guess I've just been lazy.
So in the last 2 weeks or so we have welcomed 2 new people to MH: a wonderful new Aussie named Sue, and an equally wonderful Israeli girl named Amit. They're awesome. Naomi returned 2 days after I did from my vacation, and the four of us have been hanging out constantly (well not so much Amit...she prefers to go online/smoke/bone guys) and it's been fun.
For Easter we had a taco dinner. Why do Aussies think it's correct to put SPINACH and MUSHROOMS on their tacos? And that mozzarella cheese is as good as any for tacos? You should have seen my face when Naomi put the grated mozzarella in the cart. And you should have seen my face when they looked at my reaction blankly and said, "um, how does it matter what kind of cheese?" How does it matter!?!?!?? Blasphemy!!
Not much went on the next week or weekend, except that weather was absoluetly fabulous and I spent every minute of it outside tanning. I got a little color :-).
This week has been OK, going to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat tonight, as a treat to myself, and tomorrow I'm going to visit Sarah (finally!) in the Lakes.
I am counting the days til I come home. I have already purchased and sent off for my new Samsung phone, and next week at this time I'll have my first bank transfer done. Also at this time, I will be done with my LAST DOOR SHIFT! That's certainly cause for celebration!!
I'm a little sad that tomorrow will be the last time I see Naomi for a long time, and I'm crap at goodbyes...but such is life. i wish I was the one leaving tomorrow. My mood today is not stellar but that's mostly becuase I've gotten so little sleep.
So in the last 2 weeks or so we have welcomed 2 new people to MH: a wonderful new Aussie named Sue, and an equally wonderful Israeli girl named Amit. They're awesome. Naomi returned 2 days after I did from my vacation, and the four of us have been hanging out constantly (well not so much Amit...she prefers to go online/smoke/bone guys) and it's been fun.
For Easter we had a taco dinner. Why do Aussies think it's correct to put SPINACH and MUSHROOMS on their tacos? And that mozzarella cheese is as good as any for tacos? You should have seen my face when Naomi put the grated mozzarella in the cart. And you should have seen my face when they looked at my reaction blankly and said, "um, how does it matter what kind of cheese?" How does it matter!?!?!?? Blasphemy!!
Not much went on the next week or weekend, except that weather was absoluetly fabulous and I spent every minute of it outside tanning. I got a little color :-).
This week has been OK, going to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat tonight, as a treat to myself, and tomorrow I'm going to visit Sarah (finally!) in the Lakes.
I am counting the days til I come home. I have already purchased and sent off for my new Samsung phone, and next week at this time I'll have my first bank transfer done. Also at this time, I will be done with my LAST DOOR SHIFT! That's certainly cause for celebration!!
I'm a little sad that tomorrow will be the last time I see Naomi for a long time, and I'm crap at goodbyes...but such is life. i wish I was the one leaving tomorrow. My mood today is not stellar but that's mostly becuase I've gotten so little sleep.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Restauriffic
My poor stomach is crying out for decent eats. In honor of my constantly rumbling innards, I have decided to do a post wherein I list all of my favorite restaurants, grouped by city/area and ethnicity/genre. They are not in any order of preference. And I try to avoid chains at all costs, but there are a few exceptions.
Chicago (home, sweet home):
Mexican (fast): Tacos Erendira beef tacos --theyre really good
Mexican (sit-down): Nuevo Léon -- pork tamales and carne asada steak
Italian: Bertucci's -- lasagna
Asian (sit-down, includes Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean): Chai Tung -- crab rangoon, chicken fried rice, chicken teriyaki, sashimi, mongolian beef, duck
Chinese (take-out): The Great Hunan -- sweet and sour chicken, fried rice
Greek: Rodity's (it was hard to choose!) --saganaki, Roditis wine, roast lamb, rice, rosemary potatoes, baklava, spanakopita
German: Schnitzelplatz (Berghoff gets honorable mention for longevity and excellent lemon meringue pie dessert) -- Wienerschnitzel
Steak: Eli's -- prime rib or filet mignon...do not let the waiter be a snob to you
Pizza (deep-dish): Giordano's --plain cheese.
Pizza (regular but NOT thin-crust): Ricobene's before owners changed -- plain cheese
Indian: The Viceroy --it's buffet-style and they don't label the food items. But it's yummy.
Chicken: White Fence Farm --corn fritters, all white meat
Hot dogs: Nicky's, man. Or that other place on 35th nearer to Halsted. Murray's, is it called? --hot dog, only rule being DO NOT put ketchup on it. That's rule #1 in Chicago.
Argentinian: Fogo de Chao -- meat.
Breakfast: Le Peep -- any of the skillets or breakfast sandwiches. any smoothie, and/or a peach bellini
Seafood: McCormick & Schmick --swordfish, clam chowder
Dessert: Mario's Italian Ice --plain lemon, watermelon or blue raspberries. and don't forget the lupini beans!
Janky: The New Archview --your basic 2-eggs-any-style breakfast
Bay Area:
Breakfast: Joao's --see The New Archview
Smoothie: The Juice Society (wtf is its name now, though?) --strawberry/banana
Dessert: Yumi Yogurt --i was depressed that day and don't remember what flavor I ordered
Mexican (fast): Henry's --Nachos grande--pollo con frijoles negres y pico de gallo
Chinese (reg): China Stix --the salt and pepper spareribs are especially tasty
Chinese (seafood): Someplace at that big Chinese plaza area in Milpitas. It was all in Chinese...
Italian: Mio Vicino --cheese ravioli
Thai: Thai Pepper vegetarian pad thai and thai ice cream for dessert
other: La Fondue --the dinner for 2. start with the Cajun cheese mix. Then get among other things buffalo, filet mignon, swordfish, and duck. Do the milk chocolate dessert.
...the rest is all chains.
Los Angeles area:
Indian: Jaipur --Butter chicken and plain naan. Nuff said. If you must eat something other than that, try the Chicken Tikka Masala or Chicken Makhni
Italian: Italian Express (OLIVE GARDEN IS NOT ITALIAN, SHILPA!!!!!) the cheese buns, the cheese pizza
Mexican (fast): Baja Bud's -- 2 beef tacos (stop laughing) with cheese and cilantro and pico de gallo, or chicken nachos a la Henry's (see above)
Mexican (sit-down): Don Antonio's or La Cabana --cheese enchiladas and pork tamales
Thai: Tongdang Thai Kitchen --chicken pad thai, chicken fried rice
Chinese (reg., sit-down): the only place I've been to, VIP Harbor Seafood --uh. same old.
Chinese (dim sum): I don't know; I think it was all written in Chinese. Again the only dim sum I've ever had, sadly, so there isn't much basis for comparison here. --i have no idea what any of that stuff was. But it was good.
Burgers (fast): In-N-Out --double-double with cheese. eat it PLAIN, damn you!!!
Burgers (sit-down): Barney's.--a bacon cheeseburger. and get curly fries.
Greek: Delphi, the only place. And it was decent. --see Rodity's above.
Sushi: CA Roll Factory --CHUPA CABRE. and whitefish tempura. and miso soup. and the Erin Roll. Priscilla says the shrimp tempura is good, too.
Argentinian: Gaucho Grill (YES, I'm aware it's a chain) Chimichurri sauce. it doesn't matter what you eat as the entree, cuz the chimichurri sauce is why you come. but for lunch i recommend the chicken provolone sandwich, and the salmon for dinner.
Dessert (cold): Diddy Riese or Mashti Malone's -- any type of ice cream sandwich. it's all good.
Dessert (not cold): Sprinkles Cupcakes -- RED VELVET
Toronto:
Austrian/Slovenian: The Linden Leaf --get the Wienerschnitzel
Pizza: Pizza Pizza (not to be confused with Little Caesar--this pizza is to die for.) --plain cheese or pepperoni
Chinese (buffet): The Mandarin --everything here is great, even the non-Chinese food. Be sure not to miss the lobster ice cream
Seafood: This fish-n-chips place near the lake mmmm
Chicken: St. Hubert's -- all white meat.
Fargo-Moorhead: --this is slightly tongue-in-cheek, but all true
Mexican (sit-down): Mexican Village --get your basic 2-taco and tamale combo
Mexican (fast): Taco John's --the ole's and cheese (basically hash browsdrenched in nacho cheese)
Chinese: This place in Duluth. I KNOW Duluth is not close to F-M, but it's the best I can do. --my first-ever Chinese food experience, so I had to include it. I ate the chicken fried rice and the sweet and sour chicken.
Dessert: Dairy Queen --Cotton Candy Blizzard
Italian: Grandma's (it's the name of the place) --lasagna
Norwegian: Sons of Norway (you can get lutefisk, lefse and rummegrot)
Seafood: Red Lobster the fried seafood platter, and the Lobsterita. and the cheesy biscuits.
Pizza: Dwayne's (salty and oh-so-delicious. just prepare for immense heartburn later) --cheese. pepperoni ok too.
Burgers: Burger Time --your basic burger and fries. PLAIN!!
Minneapolis Area:
Steak: Murray's Steakhouse fliet mignon
5-star: Goodfellows -- buffalo carpaccio, pork medallions with mini yukon gold potatoes
Seafood: Kincaid's --salmon
Chinese (sit-down or takeout): Fong's --whatever, it's Chinese takeout.
Burgers: This sports bar-y place in Bloomington --again, the plain cheeseburger.
Bemidji-Walker-Cass Lake-Nisswa area:
General fine dining: The Boulders --get the crab dip to start, and some wild rice soup, and then a steak or some walleye if you want something lighter
Native American (Ojibway): The Northern Lights Casino --wild rice soup and fry bread
Steak: The Goose Crossing -- NY strip steak with garlic mashed potatoes, and the Bailey's Irish Creme torte for dessert
Italian: Tutto Bene. Enough said. --anything, really, but I personally love the cheese ravioli with a strawberry Italian soda to drink, and the fruit ices for dessert.
Chinese: Great Wall Buffet --mmm
Pizza: Chippewa Paws --plain cheese
Mexican (tacos only): Pike Hole Taco Night --appetizers you must always getcheese sticks and onion rings. get a large soft shell taco for the main course; you will not go home hungry. if you can stuff it in, finish with a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.
Mozzarella sticks and onion rings: Pike Hole (all the time)
Pizza: Dave's (quite possibly the best pizza ever, even beating out the ones in Chicago) --just go nuts. it's awesome.
Dessert: the Bemidji Dairy Queen, and Teal's donuts (fresh) --get a cherry or grape Star Kiss at DQ, and the plain donuts at Teal's.
York (England):
Fish and chips: Stuart's of Druffield --haddock and chips. cod is more expensive and as far as i can tell there's no difference in taste.
Sandwich: The York Hog Roast --the pork sandwich on while with "everything" which means applesauce and stuffing. And make sure to get some crackling, too.
(these two things are about the only food-related things I will miss about England.)
OTHER NEWS: it was sunny and warm yesterday, and it is sunny and warm today. that means mateja is happy!
Chicago (home, sweet home):
Mexican (fast): Tacos Erendira beef tacos --theyre really good
Mexican (sit-down): Nuevo Léon -- pork tamales and carne asada steak
Italian: Bertucci's -- lasagna
Asian (sit-down, includes Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean): Chai Tung -- crab rangoon, chicken fried rice, chicken teriyaki, sashimi, mongolian beef, duck
Chinese (take-out): The Great Hunan -- sweet and sour chicken, fried rice
Greek: Rodity's (it was hard to choose!) --saganaki, Roditis wine, roast lamb, rice, rosemary potatoes, baklava, spanakopita
German: Schnitzelplatz (Berghoff gets honorable mention for longevity and excellent lemon meringue pie dessert) -- Wienerschnitzel
Steak: Eli's -- prime rib or filet mignon...do not let the waiter be a snob to you
Pizza (deep-dish): Giordano's --plain cheese.
Pizza (regular but NOT thin-crust): Ricobene's before owners changed -- plain cheese
Indian: The Viceroy --it's buffet-style and they don't label the food items. But it's yummy.
Chicken: White Fence Farm --corn fritters, all white meat
Hot dogs: Nicky's, man. Or that other place on 35th nearer to Halsted. Murray's, is it called? --hot dog, only rule being DO NOT put ketchup on it. That's rule #1 in Chicago.
Argentinian: Fogo de Chao -- meat.
Breakfast: Le Peep -- any of the skillets or breakfast sandwiches. any smoothie, and/or a peach bellini
Seafood: McCormick & Schmick --swordfish, clam chowder
Dessert: Mario's Italian Ice --plain lemon, watermelon or blue raspberries. and don't forget the lupini beans!
Janky: The New Archview --your basic 2-eggs-any-style breakfast
Bay Area:
Breakfast: Joao's --see The New Archview
Smoothie: The Juice Society (wtf is its name now, though?) --strawberry/banana
Dessert: Yumi Yogurt --i was depressed that day and don't remember what flavor I ordered
Mexican (fast): Henry's --Nachos grande--pollo con frijoles negres y pico de gallo
Chinese (reg): China Stix --the salt and pepper spareribs are especially tasty
Chinese (seafood): Someplace at that big Chinese plaza area in Milpitas. It was all in Chinese...
Italian: Mio Vicino --cheese ravioli
Thai: Thai Pepper vegetarian pad thai and thai ice cream for dessert
other: La Fondue --the dinner for 2. start with the Cajun cheese mix. Then get among other things buffalo, filet mignon, swordfish, and duck. Do the milk chocolate dessert.
...the rest is all chains.
Los Angeles area:
Indian: Jaipur --Butter chicken and plain naan. Nuff said. If you must eat something other than that, try the Chicken Tikka Masala or Chicken Makhni
Italian: Italian Express (OLIVE GARDEN IS NOT ITALIAN, SHILPA!!!!!) the cheese buns, the cheese pizza
Mexican (fast): Baja Bud's -- 2 beef tacos (stop laughing) with cheese and cilantro and pico de gallo, or chicken nachos a la Henry's (see above)
Mexican (sit-down): Don Antonio's or La Cabana --cheese enchiladas and pork tamales
Thai: Tongdang Thai Kitchen --chicken pad thai, chicken fried rice
Chinese (reg., sit-down): the only place I've been to, VIP Harbor Seafood --uh. same old.
Chinese (dim sum): I don't know; I think it was all written in Chinese. Again the only dim sum I've ever had, sadly, so there isn't much basis for comparison here. --i have no idea what any of that stuff was. But it was good.
Burgers (fast): In-N-Out --double-double with cheese. eat it PLAIN, damn you!!!
Burgers (sit-down): Barney's.--a bacon cheeseburger. and get curly fries.
Greek: Delphi, the only place. And it was decent. --see Rodity's above.
Sushi: CA Roll Factory --CHUPA CABRE. and whitefish tempura. and miso soup. and the Erin Roll. Priscilla says the shrimp tempura is good, too.
Argentinian: Gaucho Grill (YES, I'm aware it's a chain) Chimichurri sauce. it doesn't matter what you eat as the entree, cuz the chimichurri sauce is why you come. but for lunch i recommend the chicken provolone sandwich, and the salmon for dinner.
Dessert (cold): Diddy Riese or Mashti Malone's -- any type of ice cream sandwich. it's all good.
Dessert (not cold): Sprinkles Cupcakes -- RED VELVET
Toronto:
Austrian/Slovenian: The Linden Leaf --get the Wienerschnitzel
Pizza: Pizza Pizza (not to be confused with Little Caesar--this pizza is to die for.) --plain cheese or pepperoni
Chinese (buffet): The Mandarin --everything here is great, even the non-Chinese food. Be sure not to miss the lobster ice cream
Seafood: This fish-n-chips place near the lake mmmm
Chicken: St. Hubert's -- all white meat.
Fargo-Moorhead: --this is slightly tongue-in-cheek, but all true
Mexican (sit-down): Mexican Village --get your basic 2-taco and tamale combo
Mexican (fast): Taco John's --the ole's and cheese (basically hash browsdrenched in nacho cheese)
Chinese: This place in Duluth. I KNOW Duluth is not close to F-M, but it's the best I can do. --my first-ever Chinese food experience, so I had to include it. I ate the chicken fried rice and the sweet and sour chicken.
Dessert: Dairy Queen --Cotton Candy Blizzard
Italian: Grandma's (it's the name of the place) --lasagna
Norwegian: Sons of Norway (you can get lutefisk, lefse and rummegrot)
Seafood: Red Lobster the fried seafood platter, and the Lobsterita. and the cheesy biscuits.
Pizza: Dwayne's (salty and oh-so-delicious. just prepare for immense heartburn later) --cheese. pepperoni ok too.
Burgers: Burger Time --your basic burger and fries. PLAIN!!
Minneapolis Area:
Steak: Murray's Steakhouse fliet mignon
5-star: Goodfellows -- buffalo carpaccio, pork medallions with mini yukon gold potatoes
Seafood: Kincaid's --salmon
Chinese (sit-down or takeout): Fong's --whatever, it's Chinese takeout.
Burgers: This sports bar-y place in Bloomington --again, the plain cheeseburger.
Bemidji-Walker-Cass Lake-Nisswa area:
General fine dining: The Boulders --get the crab dip to start, and some wild rice soup, and then a steak or some walleye if you want something lighter
Native American (Ojibway): The Northern Lights Casino --wild rice soup and fry bread
Steak: The Goose Crossing -- NY strip steak with garlic mashed potatoes, and the Bailey's Irish Creme torte for dessert
Italian: Tutto Bene. Enough said. --anything, really, but I personally love the cheese ravioli with a strawberry Italian soda to drink, and the fruit ices for dessert.
Chinese: Great Wall Buffet --mmm
Pizza: Chippewa Paws --plain cheese
Mexican (tacos only): Pike Hole Taco Night --appetizers you must always getcheese sticks and onion rings. get a large soft shell taco for the main course; you will not go home hungry. if you can stuff it in, finish with a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.
Mozzarella sticks and onion rings: Pike Hole (all the time)
Pizza: Dave's (quite possibly the best pizza ever, even beating out the ones in Chicago) --just go nuts. it's awesome.
Dessert: the Bemidji Dairy Queen, and Teal's donuts (fresh) --get a cherry or grape Star Kiss at DQ, and the plain donuts at Teal's.
York (England):
Fish and chips: Stuart's of Druffield --haddock and chips. cod is more expensive and as far as i can tell there's no difference in taste.
Sandwich: The York Hog Roast --the pork sandwich on while with "everything" which means applesauce and stuffing. And make sure to get some crackling, too.
(these two things are about the only food-related things I will miss about England.)
OTHER NEWS: it was sunny and warm yesterday, and it is sunny and warm today. that means mateja is happy!
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