The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 2)

[Darienne]

Love the Fancy Feast imagery...

[Anna N]

@Tri2Cook

 

you are pushing too close to the truth in both taste and texture. 

[rotuts]

WoW

 

Kudos all your(s) way !

 

even Mister Cat doesn't know anything about Fancy Feast !

 

I'll just leave it at that

 

!

[Anna N]

So yesterday Kerry suggested we plan our day around lunch rather than our usual system which means we choose a place to eat lunch whereever we end up.  I try to keep a list of potential places where we might like to eat lunch and one of those was a Mexican restaurant on James Street in Hamilton.  Encouraged by Chris Hennes' great topic on cooking from a Rick Bayless book I was sure I would find something I would want to eat.  (I have yet to discover anything in a Mexican restaurant here that I would want to have a second time.)

So after a couple of side-trips in the right direction (to pick up groceries and browse through a thrift store)  we headed to James Street in Hamilton.  Kerry said she was meeting a friend there for lunch in a week so she knew where the restaurant was.   As we pulled into a precious parking spot and I saw the name of the restaurant I was a little nonplussed. Didn't sound like the name I had in my mind but Kerry pointed out there could hardly be two Mexican restaurants on James Street. 

 

 The menu was not promising from my point of view and did not sound at all like the restaurant I had read about. But we were there and so we ordered.

 

 

 A small dish of guacamole to start.   It tasted of little more than onions but since I am a fan of onions I didn't mind it..

 

 

Quesadilla for Kerry. 

 

 

Barbacoa beef chalupas for me. 

 The ceiling was the most interesting thing in the restaurant. At first we thought it was an original tin ceiling but it doesn't take anyone long to realize these are very modern "tiles". 

 

 This restaurant is called Mesa and is on James St., North. The restaurant I had in my list is called Mezcal, Tacos & Tequila  and is on James St., South.  Aside from the guacamole I could not eat anything else on my plate.   So we were wrong on two fronts!  There are two Mexican restaurants on James Street  and I still didn't find anything Mexican that I wanted to eat!   And in case you think I am impossible to please, Kerry, who has sampled much more Mexican food then I, was not impressed either.  There is still the other Mexican restaurant on my list and I am prepared to give it a chance.  

 

 

[Smithy]

It's funny about Mexican food.  My sister, mother and I grew up hating it, whereas my father liked it a lot.  Somewhere along the line I developed a taste for it - a strong taste - and after that, whenever I visited my parents Dad and I would go out for our "Mexican fix".  My mother never changed her opinion of the flavors and textures, and so far my sister is just as averse.  Maybe there are other cuisines that are (a) considered monolithic when they aren't and (b) evoke strong antipathy to the perceived monolith, but offhand I can't think of one.  ("Chinese" used to be considered monolithic but I think we're collectively past that even though some of us may be ignorant of anything beyond Szechuan vs. Cantonese.)  Anyway, good on you for trying.

[IowaDee]

People sure are different.  Hubby and I have talked about which type of food we could live on forever and both agree it would be Mexican.  I grew up in Los Angeles so it was part of my childhood.  Hubby, poor guy, grew up in Tiny Town Iowa and never even had a pizza let alone a taco until he joined the Navy after high school.  When he fell for the stuff it started a life long love affair.  I so enjoy reading about The Ladies Who Lunch.  Used to do that with my co-workers and it was often an adventure.  Glad you and Kerry Beal have so much fun doing it now.

[Darienne]

Looking at the 'presentation' of the food of those Mexican dishes...I would never eat at that restaurant.  Eating Mexican food in Canada is not my idea of something fun or delicious to do. 

[Anna N]

 

So Kerry arrived at my house with this lovely selection of Colombian savoury pastries. We cut each in half so we could enjoy a larger selection without getting too full!  Fillings included meat, cheese, chicken and the only one that neither one of us particularly liked was the round one which contained an egg and a seasoning that was unfamiliar and didn't capture our taste buds.  We also shared two dessert pastries but forgot to take photographs.  Made for a delightful casual lunch with lots of time for gossip.

[Anna N]

 

Must be that Kerry and I are trying to make up for lost time. It also appears that we are going to attempt an around-the-world sampling of savoiry pastries. Again these samosas were brought to my house.   Both plates were the same. The dipping sauce is a tamarind chutney.   Kerry switched to a plum sauce which she felt better complimented  them.   

[Kerry Beal]

Sneaking this one in before Anna post's our lunch from Thursday. Friday after my clinic at the Mission I met a friend for lunch at the Mexican place that Anna and I should have gone to a few weeks back!

 

Mezcal Taco and Tequila Bar

 

 

Sikil Pak - a dip made from roasted pepita, charred tomatoes, citrus

 

 

For Francis, the sweet potato chorizo  burrito

 

 

Crispy Cauliflower burrito for me

[Shelby]

That meal looks like it tasted a bit better than than the "wrong" Mexican place.

[Anna N]

 So on Thursday Kerry and I chose to go to a Lebanese restaurant in Burlington--Monfort's on Brant Street. 

 

 

We shared these four appetizers : kibbeh,  tabbouleh, calamari and an eggplant condiment.

 

 

Kerry had the chicken and pineapple pita. 

 

I had chicken shawarma with fattoush.  I took the leftovers home and enjoyed two more meals.  

[Anna N]

So today these two ladies who lunch, Kerry Beal and me, had fish and chips in the well-known Burlington restaurant called The Thistle.  As you can guess from the tea cozy it has a Scottish bent.  We both ordered the same halibut and chips.  

Edited February 26, 2016 by Anna N (log)

[rotuts]

its a real shame there are so few fish and chip places around.

[Anna N]

Today Kerry and I returned to an old favourite (re-opened after a fire), Thai Coconut in Burlington.

 

 

 

I started with beer!

 

 

Then, just for rotuts, we shared some very tender calamari.

 

 

Thai Coconut Delight, a house special. Shrimp, each on a pillow of rice, in a mild curry sauce.

 

Another house special whose name escapes me.  Crispy chicken with green beans. 

[Okanagancook]

An AK with the calamari!  Doesn't get any better than that.  The other dishes look very nice and freshly made.  Sure wish we had a good Thai restaurant around here.

[rotuts]

""   shared """

 

 

that luck looks superb.  lucky yoooose 

 

remember    there's probably a taco bell near by for 

 

'desert'

 

that cheezetos  thing-ey

 

don't go there first.

Edited March 3, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[Anna N]

On Thursday Kerry Beal and I took a road trip out to Vaughn ( about a 45 minute drive)  to pick up a mobility device.   We spotted an Asian restaurant on our way there and decided to try it on our way back. I have not even a clue of the name of the restaurant but these type restaurants are ubiquitous now and I am positive I am not depriving you of the address of a destination  restaurant.

 

 

 Tea for Kerry and rm sake for me.

 

 

calamari

 

 

shrimp dumplings

 

 

tempura vegetables

 

not sure

 

 

Again not sure. 

 

Left "ramen", right lamb soup. 

 

Galbi

 

 

Think chicken karaage

 

 

Red Thai curry

 

 We also had some tempura shrimp and some steamed rice that we forgot to photograph and sweet deep-fried milk pudding. 

 

 

 

[Anna N]

 After risking our digestive systems taking one for the team (see the Taco Bell topic), Kerry and I opted for a return visit to Sakai in Burlington vowing that we would order something we have never had before. 

 

 

The ubiquitous "Japanese" salad. 

 

 I cannot find these on the menu but they were juicy shrimp with kimchi and honey and the menu said togarishi  although the latter was not in evidence.

 

 

 We also shared a seafood Pa Jun (pancake).

 

 

 A closer look at the pancake.

 

 

[Anna N]

 Yesterday Kerry and I went to a restaurant called Big Bowl in Mississauga.  Unfortunately their website appears to be not yet fully operational and I certainly cannot remember the names of the dishes that we had so I will do my best to describe what is in the photographs.

 

 

 Deep fried squid.   One of the best examples we have had in a long time.   We were both impressed as much with the salad as with the squid which was incredibly fresh and tasty. 

 

 

When I placed my order the cook came out  to make sure that I was aware of exactly what the dish involved. She then carefully explained it to me. Moments later she returned to say that she was extremely sorry but that dish was not available  but that she would do her best to re-create something as close as possible to it.  This was a do it yourself rice paper wrapper dish and came with rice paper wrappers of course and two dipping sauces.  There is grilled beef, skewered meat balls, spring rolls, shrimp-wrapped sugar cane, noodles, herbs and vegetables. 

 

 

 it was accompanied by two dipping sauces – – peanut and fish sauce.

 

 

Kerry ordered this dish  of a stirfry on top of deep fried noodles. Both meals were of an impressive size and much too much food for the two of us!  I also enjoyed an iced Vietnamese coffee. 

[MelissaH]

@Anna N, that looks both impressive and lovely. But I'm curious: what did you order that they had to improvise? Any guesses how what you got differed from what was on the menu?

[Anna N]

29 minutes ago, MelissaH said:

@Anna N, that looks both impressive and lovely. But I'm curious: what did you order that they had to improvise? Any guesses how what you got differed from what was on the menu?

 

29 minutes ago, MelissaH said:

@Anna N, that looks both impressive and lovely. But I'm curious: what did you order that they had to improvise? Any guesses how what you got differed from what was on the menu?

 Unfortunately without access to the menu the only thing I can offer you is that it was number 81.  It was listed under fondues and that alone in a Vietnamese restaurant was bound to intrigue.

[ElsieD]

Anna, that looks fantastic!

[Anna N]

 While I was returning from an appointment Monday I noticed a new storefront in our local mall.   "Great Chips" seemed to be the name above the door.  I was about to turn to my daughter who is driving to suggest that we drop in there when the sign became all too clear -- GREAT CLIPS.  Damn it was a new hairstylist franchise.   But on Tuesday when Kerry asked where we should go for lunch it was still on my mind and I said I wanted chips with gravy.  And so we headed out to the Royal Coachman pub in Waterdown figuring it was our best opportunity to get some chips and gravy.

 

 

First up were deep fried calamari though.   These did not look promising but were surprisingly good. 

 

 

Then a order of chips and gravy to share. Chips just passed muster but not the gravy.    Chips just passed muster but not the gravy. Came right out of the bistro packet I guess with nary a glimpse of any beef  component. 

 

 

Then  a plate of steak frites. Giving something a French name doesn't make it so!  But my ice cold half pint of Rickard's Red hit all the right notes.  Somebody needs to open that GREAT CHIPS franchise. 

[Darienne]

Interesting about the gravy.  I've had Poutine twice in my life and both times it was excellent.  Wicked to the core, but so tasty.

 

We were eating lunch at a local fish place in Peterpatch where we always go and I decided to go for their Poutine.  Mirroring your experience, Anna N, the French fries were their usual and just fine...but the gravy was horrendous.  I couldn't believe anyone could serve such wretched gravy, but they do and apparently other folks like it.  Curious.