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With the holiday season we're all probably eating out more and eating too much junk(especially at work). What's your favorite restaurant and when you eat at home what's your favorite meal to have?
We don't eat out that often, its usually one of the chains, like Applebees or Binnegans, fast food is Taco Bell, Culver's or Qdoba. Probably my favorite meal at home is homemade mac & cheese, fresh or frozen green beans and meatloaf. For an ethnic food is probably chinese, then italian.
At a restaurant: Thai We have a very nice, family owned Thai place here in our small town, that is very yummy and equal to or better than some of the well known Thai places in Vancouver, BC
With the restrictions in my current diet, there are lots of foods I like, but the ones I used to LOVE are off limits. I really like my lightly curried non-dairy broccoli cream soup. :o
I haven't eaten fast food in probably 20 years, and we always prefer to find the instdependent interesting restaurant rather than go to a big corporate place. Luckily we have quite a few to choose from here. Yay!
Hugs and Holiday butterflies,
~T~
We have a standing Friday date for Sushi at Hana on Broadway here in Seattle. We sit at the bar and we don't order - we just let what comes, come - yummy, yummy. One of the chefs from there opened up his own place last year that is fantastic too. (Shun - across from the U Village). I'm not big on fast food - if we do have some, its usually Taco del Mar, though now there is a Chipotle in the area which is good too. I also love Pho, which I guess is technically a fast food.
At home I like to do veggie stir fry or curry.
No question in my mind....DH and I traditionally bike or walk down into town for our Sat and Sunday breakfasts at Ralph's Pretty Good Cafe. I love the croissants, the French toast w/bacon, and the big lattes. :p After breakfast, we either do a bike ride or a 3.5 mile walk before heading home.
Here's Ralph (who moonlights as an actor as well):
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/attac...9&d=1195939055
My favorite place in town is called Paragon. We usually eat in the bar rather than a full meal. A few of the offerings they have are Mushroom Cigars with Porcini Aioli, Hummus Flatbread with bell pepper, ricotta, onions and lemon aioli, garlic fries, mac & cheese ! They also infuse their own vodkas --- mmmmmmmm.
At home I like to make a Lime Marinated Salmon, it's so easy and tastes so good.
MMMMMmmmm... Tom Kha Khai...
If I go out its usually Thai or Mexican, sometimes sushi or Hawaiian BBQ or Greek.
Favorite dives in random order:
Sauls in Berkeley - www.saulsdeli.com
New York style deli food, made a friend who's a Boston native weep for joy and nostalgia. Great service.
Lois the Pie Queen in Oakland - Southern and soul food with an undetectably lighter style. You'll never know it's good for you ;) Inexpensive and berry good. Have some pie.
Blackberry Bistro also Oakland - same as above, pricey, worth it, sit outside and people on a nice day. Breakfast, brunch only.
Cambodiana also Berkeley, Cambodian food of course and best lamb chops anywhere!
Gary Chu's in Santa Rosa. - exceptional Chinese food, reasonable yet can be too beautiful to eat.
Lynns I think the name is in Cambria - ollaliberry pies, pancakes...
For burgers I like Vals on A' st in Hayward - great real ice cream shakes, pizza from Bronco Billy's either location, ice cream Fentons creations are bigger than your head.
I do not eat at chains often yet sometimes crave an I-hop meal. When traveling I enjoy spotting independent restaurants and saying "this looks good" and I'm good at finding them.
I look for places that look clean, some people smiling inside, local plates on the cars, local produces or dishes - have the fry bread in the southwest or the lobster in Maine and of course if there are bikes outside. :p When it comes to choosing a place to eat I follow what Mae West said "when choosing between two evils I always pick the one I have not tried before"
My DH and I have two standing dates a week. Tuesday lunches are Chinese food and Friday dinners are Mexican. Hmmm....maybe that has something to do with not being able to lose weight. :o
My favorite restaurant is Mandalay, a Burmese restaurant in Silver Spring, MD. Just went there tonight, in fact. My favorite meal is a papaya salad and sour mustard with tofu, but I've never had a bad meal there.
At home, I like spaghetti squash with fake meatballs and Barilla green-and-black-olive sauce doctored with mushrooms and peppers, or brown rice with fake chicken, baby bok choy, onions, and enoki mushrooms (if I'm feeling energetic.)
Around here, we've got every ethnic food imaginable, and my neighbor and I rotate among them every weekend--Thai, Salvadoran, Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, Burmese, Indonesian, Indian...the list is endless, and they're all delicious.
I never eat fast food, mostly because they don't have vegan options. Except Chipotle, which I love.
Around here I LOVE wildflower bakery/cafe. YUMM!Fab butternut squash ravioli's and chinese chicken salads. But I have to stay away because their bakery items are to DIE for! The chocolate chip scone and carrot cake are my two favorites.
Otherwise good BBQ would be what I want. I can never pass up good que.
BUT, I would have to go to Alabama (paging silver family) to have Jim and Nicks. Again- my sweet tooth always has room for lemon ice box pie. Have mercy!!
My other faves are in nor cal. Chunk cripsy chicken in a ginger garlic sauce at a certain place in Santa Rosa is my all time fave.
My other fave up there is Langleys on the Green in Windsor. That used to be our "date night special place" when we lived up there.
Oh and one last fave... REAL sourdough bread. The kind from San Francsico. Actually franco american out of Petaluma is the stuff! I can eat the entire loaf with either some butter or good olive oil... BOY HOWDY!
DH and I just got back from a favorite sushi spot, where we had yellowtail cheek, salmon, spicy tuna rolls, and all our usual faves.
Like DivingBiker, I also like Mandalay in Silver Spring (my co-workers took me there for my b'day this past September). Indian is a frequent fave, too. There's a new Ethiopian place that just opened in Silver Spring, and that was really good. No utensils...eat with the "spongy bread". :p
I grew up eating at Italian restaurants, but strangely, when DH and I go out, we usually opt for the more...well, exotic. But Japanese and Indian top the lists. However, if given the opportunity, I never fail to pass up eggplant parm! :D
Oh...and I do try to avoid chains (aka "factory food") and fast food places.
Milos - Fancy (for these parts) local place. Amazing scallops over wild mushroom risotto.
Apple Dumplin' - Local down home place. Meatloaf, smashed taters, and green beans...pure comfort food.
Fiesta Cafe - Local Mexican place. Cheese enchiladas, beans, guacamole, and draft Dos Equis.
Yes, we have great sour dough bread here. RM, next time you're in the Bay Area take a trip south to the little town of Pescadero. Not only some great cycling butQuote:
Originally Posted by Running Mommy
www.duartestavern.com
Among other yummy things they make an artichoke soup that is to die for, have some crusty sour dough bread with it .... yum.
Big Mac, Large Fries, and a Chocolate Shake.
Just kidding!!! :p
Lobster, pretty well anywhere. Also the crab ravioli at the Wild Apple Grill. And pretty well anything on the menu at the Minstrel Cafe where I got married last spring. Yeah, I know, you've never heard of any of these restaurants... :)
Yeah, but I like that. Keep those reviews coming in. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by kelownagirl