The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 1)

Today my GF and I drove the 20 some miles down to Galveston for lunch. We chose to visit the Mosquito Cafe, one of her long time favorites but new for me.

You place your order and pay at the counter and they bring the food to your table.

This plaque was about 7 feet above the floor!

My GF had the Mambo - Slow Roasted Pulled Pork and Red Leaf Lettuce on a French Baguette with Housemade Fruit Chutney on the side.

And I had their Carnitas Tacos - Slow Roasted Pulled Pork on Soft Corn Tortillas with Field Greens, Chipotle Sauce, Housemade Salsa, Rissole Brown Rice and Housemade Black Beans.

When we were finished, we crossed the street to check out the recently opened Patty Cake Bakery, which has the same owners as the Mosquito Cafe.

My GF purchased several items to take home but we shared a couple of the Black & White Cookies. Yum!

Slow roasted pulled pork. Heaven on earth.

In an effort to keep our lunches interesting and different Kerry and I were discussing which ethnic cuisines were missing from our rotation and were amazed to realize that we had missed Chinese! So last week we decided to rectify this and had a buffet lunch at Foo Ho in Burlington. I love the leisurely pace of a serve-yourself buffet and since these ``ladies who lunch`` consider the opportunity to talk and people-watch at least as important as the food, this worked out perfectly.

We each made two trips to the buffet:

My first trip.

Kerry's first trip.

Kerry's second trip.

My second trip.

Both of us were too full for dessert though the offerings were quite tempting.

Not sure how the ladies who lunch will fare for the month of July as we are both on Manitoulin Island cooking up a storm click. I have little doubt though that we will lunch at some interesting places.

Edited to add link.

Anna and I are up north right now - for anyone who might be following our adventures in eating here.

We were in Sudbury for some retail therapy today and had lunch at My Thai Palace. We have eaten here before - it's a reliable place to get a good meal in Sudbury.

We both had a pot of ginger tea.

Then shared spring rolls, beef satay, Thai spiced wings and of course Calamari.

Catching up on a few recent lunches.

The day after the 4th of July, I met with my regular LWL GF and a group of her fellow hospice volunteers for their monthly lunch. This one was held at Fish Tales in Galveston on Seawall Blvd. I drove myself down as I wanted to walk along the seawall before and do some shopping and photo taking after the lunch.

The light was really dim in the part of the restuarant where we were seated so I was only able to get a good photo of my own dish.

I had their Greek Salad with Grilled Shrimp. The salad itself was just okay but the shrimp were great.

After I left the ladies, I went over to the harbor side of the island and took some photos of the pelicans that hang out near pier 19, and bought a fresh red snapper at Katie's to take home for dinner that night. Then I went back over to the gulf side and took a bunch of photos of the pelicans flying overhead. Still haven't snapped that perfect inflight photo. I going to head down there again on Friday to make another attempt.

Yesterday, my GF and I drove across Houston (37 miles each way) to a Polish restaurant named Polonia that I had read about on Chowhound's Houston Board.

My GF had the Veal Snitzel (which she liked very much) and it came with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. The sauerkraut was not quite sour enough for her.

And I had the Sizzling Kielbasa that also came with sauerkraut. The sausage was very nice but I like mine a bit spicier.

After our lunch we visited Polonia's Food Store, which is just a block or so down the street from the restaurant. We were both so busy shopping that we totally forgot to take any photos. My GF bought various chocolates, a cheese cake, and some frozen perogies. I can't remember which variety she chose. I bought a package of potato perogies and one of beef and pork. I also got some garlic sausage for my DH.

Today I had an appointment to get my hair cut. After my trim, I went to Gringo's Mexican Kitchen (located just a few blocks from the hair salon) for my lunch. So just one lady who lunched. But, man, it was so good!

I had their version of a cobb salad - Chicken Cabo Salad - grilled chicken, crispy bacon, chunks of avocado, diced Roma tomatoes, black olives, chopped hard cooked egg, and grated cheddar & jack cheese on a bed of crispy chopped romaine.

Last week my GF and I drove over to Houston’s Galleria area to lunch at the Canyon Cafe with one of her internet friends, Meg (“met” through an embroidery forum) and her husband, Andres. Meg and Andres were visiting Houston (and other parts of the states) from Uruguay, while on their way to their new home in eastern Europe. I didn't know much about Uruguay, so did a wiki look up before our meeting so I could ask some intelligent questions. LOL We had a wonderful time, spending almost two hours chatting over our lunch. The lighting in the cafe was a bit uneven so some of my photos did not come out but here are the one's that did.

We started off with the complimentary chips and salsa.

To which we added the Con Carne Queso Dip, as described in their menu: A rich cheese dip made with chihuahua cheese and our spicy beef mix. Served with soft tortillas and crisp chips.

Andres and I each ordered the Grilled Chicken Quesadillas - they were filled with caramelized red onion marmalade and mixed cheeses. Served with tomatillo-avocado salsa, chipotle mayonnaise and Margarita slaw. The chipotle mayo was especially good!

My GF and Meg ordered fajitas. Meg had the beef and my GF had the grilled shrimp. Unfortunately, those two photos were very blurry, but just imagine a sizzling cast iron platter, piled high with southwest rice and black beans, and topped with grilled beef with onions and peppers or grilled shrimp. But, I did get a good photo of the toppings that came with the platters. The soft flour tortillas came wrapped in corn husks.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our food!

At the end of our lunch, Meg gave my GF and I a sweet treat she had brought with her from Uruguay.

There were two white and two chocolate cookies for each of us. My DH is really enjoying them.

After our lunch, my GF and I went shopping at The Container Store. She needed some small storage boxes for her embroidery flosses and I wanted to get adjustable shelves and storage baskets to update my kitchen pantry.

So, this past weekend my DH's Honey Do project was the pantry update. This is the before photo, taken for my eG foodblog last spring. Green walls, non-adjustable shelving and no light.

Fresh Paint and LED Lighting Added.

New adjustable shelves installed.

Pantry restocked!

I am so happy!

....

Pantry restocked!

I am so happy!

new pantry is inspirational!

Anna has noticed a BBQ place in Stoney Creek that was getting good reviews - so after haircuts, a couple of thrift stores we headed off to Memphis Fire BBQ .

We shared a pulled pork plate and a brisket plate - so got 4 sides - fries, biscuit, chopped salad and caesar salad.

Our thrift store finds netted us some shot glasses, some cocktail glasses for Anna - and the best thing - a second remote that works with the cable box in my house. Can't wait for hubby to wonder how come the channel changes when he's got the remote on his chair!

Robirdstx-We're pantry twins! I love that set up...I have the same one and all my friends are jealous!

....I am SINFULLY envious of your newly stocked pantry.

Hi Anna - thank you!

new pantry is inspirational!

rotuts - glad to help!

...and the best thing - a second remote that works with the cable box in my house. Can't wait for hubby to wonder how come the channel changes when he's got the remote on his chair!

Hi Kerry - Love this! We have dual remotes and sometimes have remote wars.

Kerry, how was the food? We are down in that neck of the woods from time to time and it's always nice to know of a good place to get decent food.

Kerry, how was the food? We are down in that neck of the woods from time to time and it's always nice to know of a good place to get decent food.

I will let Kerry answer for herself but from her reaction and the reaction of a couple of other diners, this was excellent BBQ food but after sampling food from a number of BBQ places ranging from fair to excellent I have finally concluded that I DO NOT GET IT!

Kerry, how was the food? We are down in that neck of the woods from time to time and it's always nice to know of a good place to get decent food.

Yeah - Anna doesn't care for pulled pork - likes her meat to have a bit of tooth.

It was pretty good BBQ - not the best I've ever had - but far from the worst. Sadly they don't seem to do ribs.

What kind of BarBQ place doesn't do Ribs? I thought is was the must have menu item?

Next time I am in Hamilton I will have to check it out.

Robirdstx-We're pantry twins! I love that set up...I have the same one and all my friends are jealous!

Genkinaonna - and apparently, we post at the same time, too.

The LWL are truly back in business now that we are back from up north and I'm back from the Heartland Gathering.

Yesterday we were in search of a couple of special thrift store items (Anna had a premonition - I'll let her tell you more about it) and found ourselves in downtown Oakville. We had lunched once before at Oki and enjoyed it so decided to hit there again.

Yakisoba

Pork Tonkatstu

Shrimp and veg tempura

We also hit Whole Foods - I was amused by the sign - apparently you can now combine making your dim sum and having your fortune told!

I neglected to post our lunch from last week. Fortunately both Kerry and I were on the same page as to what might hit the spot – it was time for a comforting bowl of Pho again. So after completing a few errands and checking out a few charity stores we popped into one of our favourite pho joints:

The ubiquitous calamari:

And Pho:

Though I think we would both be happy with Pho every week we decided it was time for a change before we bore ourselves and you. I had been thinking of the West Plains Bistro for some reason and Kerry had had a family gathering there last Saturday so it was an easy decision.

Kerry had the mussels in white wine:

And I chose the chicken pot pie with frites (we shared the frites).

Kerry and I tried a new restaurant yesterday. Called Aroma Island it specializes in Taiwanese cuisine. It is in the plaza where one of our favourite Asian stores is located. We shopped for Asian ingredients and gadgets prior to enjoying our lunch.

Shortly after we were seated we were presented with this enormous bowl of soup which seemed to be chicken, corn and egg and was quite tasty. It would surely have fed 5.

We ordered from the "3 dishes" menu with an appetizer of Beef Scallions rolls:

I chose the stir-fried chicken and broccoli to keep us grounded with something at least familiar:

Then Kerry chose the BBQ ribs with the restaurant's special sauce:

And finally I elected to try the salt and pepper squid:

This was far more food than even we with our healthy appetite could manage so the leftovers went home with Kerry for future meals.

We also popped into a Value Village but it was sale day and utter chaos prevailed. We quickly retreated.

Kerry and I tried a new restaurant yesterday. Called Aroma Island it specializes in Taiwanese cuisine. It is in the plaza where one of our favourite Asian stores is located. We shopped for Asian ingredients and gadgets prior to enjoying our lunch.

Shortly after we were seated we were presented with this enormous bowl of soup which seemed to be chicken, corn and egg and was quite tasty. It would surely have fed 5.

We ordered from the "3 dishes" menu with an appetizer of Beef Scallions rolls:

I chose the stir-fried chicken and broccoli to keep us grounded with something at least familiar:

Then Kerry chose the BBQ ribs with the restaurant's special sauce:

And finally I elected to try the salt and pepper squid:

This was far more food than even we with our healthy appetite could manage so the leftovers went home with Kerry for future meals.

We also popped into a Value Village but it was sale day and utter chaos prevailed. We quickly retreated.

Scallion rolls look heavenly, and, oh, those ribs! Yum!

....

Scallion rolls look heavenly, and, oh, those ribs! Yum!

I would order those scallion rolls again if we return there. The texture was somewhere between crispy and chewy and the beef was pleasantly seasoned. The ribs were definitely moorish. My first rib was boneless but I almost convinced Kerry that I had eaten the bone and chided her for leaving the bones on the plate.

Edited to remove an extraneous "to".

Yesterday my LWL GF and I went to Tookie's for lunch. Hurray! Tookie's has finally re-opened, after being devastated by Hurricane Ike three years ago, and is now serving lunch in addition to dinner. My GF had introduced me to Tookie's shortly after I had moved to this area some nine years ago and going back together was only appropriate.

Let's go inside.

Lunch Crowd

Wall Art

Front side of menu - Note the Onion Rings!

Back side of menu - Burgers and More - Decisions, decisions...

My GF went for her favorite, the #99 Burger - white wine, cheddar and beef burger with all the fixings. She said it was perfectly juicy and full of flavor.

I went with the Chili Cheeseburger. OMG! Delicious!

Since the burgers are a half pound each, we decided to share a combo order of the onion rings and french fries.

The onion rings are so good! Onions are sweet and the batter is nice and crisp, not at all greasy.

At the end of our meal we were stuffed and very happy! And then we bought the souvenir t-shirts!

Yesterday my LWL GF and I went to Tookie's for lunch.

..... .

That does look like a fun place to eat. Not a fan of burgers but those onion rings definitely call out to me.

now THAT is what i call a perfectly cooked set of onion rings. your friend's burger looks lovely,too

Today Anna and I headed out to Buffalo for a little retail therapy - and had the pleasure of lunch with patris at Bistro Europa .

Curried Squash soup.

The Reuben for me.

M.E.L.T. sandwich for Anna.

Patty had the Golabki - beef, pork, and rice stuffed cabbage, sweet and sour tomato, dill, salad, house-made rye bread - no picture. There was a rather strange picture of my legs on the camera however.

Anna and I hit Kegworks online purveyor of all sorts of beer and cocktail making stuff. They had a huge assortment of bitters - and we added several bottles to our collection - as well as some Q tonic, some Regatta ginger beer, Luxardo maraschino cherries and some seltzer chargers.

We also made a trip to Wegmans - picked up a few cheeses and some chuck eyes to play with sous vide.