The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 2)

[robirdstx]

Today my lady friend and I had lunch at the Kona Grill in Webster. This was a return visit for my friend but a first for me.

 

She had the Pork Tenderloin which came with mashed potatoes and baby bok choy.

 

 

And I opted for the Fried Calamari with a spicy aioli and a glass of wine, as I was not doing the driving.

 

 

Edited August 25, 2016 by robirdstx (log)

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, Okanagancook said:

The first polite interruption to explain would be ok with me but that's it.  Anymore is not appropriate.  And yes, wonder how he treats a staff member who does something incorrectly.

Food looked goo.  Was the kebab flavoured with tamarind and tomato?

Pomegranate and walnut I think

[Anna N]

Today Kerry and I checked out not one but two Home Sense stores (a lovely way to get a retail therapy fix). But we also worked up an appetite as we usually do. We headed to Ichiban Sushi in Burlington. 

 

 

Water and warm sake for me. 

 

 

Tea for Kerry.

 

 

 We each had a bowl of miso soup and shared this small complementary dish of noodles.  The noodles were very lightly seasoned with sesame oil and quite delicious. 

 

x

 

Takoyaki and spring rolls. 

 

 

we shared a bento box of teriyaki beef, California rolls, sushi and tempura. 

 

An attractive serving of fresh fruit. 

 

Twas a lovely lunch right up until I knocked over the glass of water!   Of course it went in Kerry's  direction!  It flowed around her iPhone, dripped onto her purse and a few drops even landed on Kerry herself. I emerged bone dry but very embarassed. Praying her iphone suffered no permanent damage. Afterwards we discussed how few such incidents we've endured given the number of lunches we have shated. 

 

[Okanagancook]

On the bright side, at least it wasn't your Sake!

[Smithy]

Uncooked rice is a wonderul desiccant.  I've saved more than one bit of damp electronics this way: turn it off (if it's still running), remove the battery, plop into a bag of dry rice, seal, leave alone for 24 - 48 hours. If she hasn't already done something along those lines, I recommend she do so asap.

[Kerry Beal]

Phone's fine - the case it's in kept it safe from the water. 

 

 

[robirdstx]

One of my lady friends has had a bad week. Her less than two year old refrigerator died on Sunday. Thankfully she has an extended warranty, but the process of getting the problem identified and the parts ordered has taken all week. What with the Labor Day holiday extending the time frame for getting her fridge back up and running, we met for lunch today at the Olive Garden in Texas City so I could lend her our electric cooler. I did not get a photo of her grilled chicken flatbread so I will share two photos of my calamari and toasted ravioli.

 

 

 

 

[Anna N]

Yesterday Kerry and I went on a hunt for a food/kitchen related item which if I told you what it was I might have to harm you!  All will be revealed in good time.   But that is only to establish that we were in the area of our favourite ramen house, Kenzo.

 

 

 

 

Shared plate of chicken karaage.  I really wanted to like dipping sauce but couldn't get past the hints of furniture polish.  It was citrusy and flowery but didn't seem to do much for the chicken. 

 

 

Shoyu for me with optional bok choy and bean sprouts.

 

King ramen for Kerry. 

 

 

 

[Tri2Cook]

Food porn and intrigue... what more could we ask for?

And no, the lack of comma between food and porn was not a mistake.

[Anna N]

 So today we headed out to Hamilton to the Punjab Market to replenish our supply of nuts for the townhouse in

Manitoulin (yep, it's that time of year again).  Our first choice for lunch was inexplicably closed. There was no note on the door yet their sandwich boards were outside. We checked their posted hours and we were certainly within them but there were no lights on and no signs of life. Perhaps a sudden emergency. 

 But Kerry decided we were in an area where there was another restaurant we had once visited. She couldn't remember its name or even its cuisine. She has an incredible built-in GPS not to mention a memory that is prodigious. She found the little place tucked away in a plaza.  As soon as I saw the place I insisted we had never ever been inside it.   But we searched eG and there was irrefutable evidence. As soon as we walked in the door I recognized the place.   There is absolutely nothing memorable about the decor but Iimmediately was reminded that the last time we ate there a young boy and his father were enjoying a lunch together  and I was fascinated by their interaction.  

We checked eG for information about our last visit  and knew we would be in good hands. There's no decor, no ambience, you drink water from styrofoam cups and eat from paper plates. But the food...   The place is called Himalya  and from searching on eG we learned we were last there in May 2015.

The place can only seat perhaps 12 or perhaps 14 people. Only one table was available and it had not yet been cleared but we claimed it. It was a table for four and no sooner had we sat down than we were approached by a young lady who I asked if we would mind sharing the table with her and her girlfriend. We indicated we had no objections. It's that sort of restaurant.   Ultimately we did enjoy a brief interaction with them and joked about people with different food preferences. OK we make fun of vegans but it was lighthearted banter and not intended to be hurtful.  The restaurant is vegetarian and her girlfriend was also a vegetarian.

 

 

 

 Mixed vegetable pakoras and two dipping sauces.

 

 

To die for onion kulcha (naan stuffed with onions)

 

 

Aloo gobhi (spiced cauliflower and potato). 

 

 

Mattar Malai Methi (peas, cheese, fenugreek leaves cooked with spices). This was very good but we were both surprised that the cheese was crumbled rather than in cubes. 

 

[Tere]

Ate in a few hole in the wall Nepalese restaurants in my time in Tokyo that were simply wonderful. All in out of the way areas not frequented by gaijin. Japanese food loving friends were, thankfully, not in short supply. The culture recognises good food when it sees it.

[suzilightning]

4 hours ago, Anna N said:

 So today we headed out to Hamilton to the Punjab Market to replenish our supply of nuts for the townhouse in

Manitoulin (yep, it's that time of year again). 

 

OHHHHHH   Anna and Kerry in Manitoulin and Shelby in KS......can it get any better?

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Can you believe we have a Himilayan restaurant with a Yelp 4-1/2 star rating in our little community of 150,000 souls. This report has made me even more determined to get there somehow. Your lunches look so good!

 

It doesn't look good because when I suggested another Indian restaurant the other day the first word out of my husband's mouth, was "Urghyuckh"! I don't know how to spell "yuck" pronounced guttarally, like a kid would, but that's what I heard, roughly. I asked why, and he said, "Indian food sucks!" I responded that there is a learning curve for people not used to it. He was having none of it.

 

It's over a four mile round trip to walk to by myself for lunch, so that's out too. It is especially out because I can't pass a grocery store without picking up stuff, and it's never one item. Over two miles with a load is too long a hike for this old pack mule, and there's a supermarket in the same strip mall.  

 

Maybe if I research the menu more, find less challenging and less spicy dishes, and show him some photos, I can talk him into it. I am nothing if not resourceful. This will happen someday.

[Anna N]

OK everybody I make the same mistake but it is NOT Himalayan but Himalya.  Nor is it any sort of chain restaurant as far as I know. 

[rotuts]

@Thanks for the Crepes  

 

the menu at the Himalayan looks good

 

just get things that are crunchy     Samosa / Bhaji     and the mixed tandoori chicken

 

those items are usually not spicy.

 

best of luck !

 

 

[liuzhou]

6 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

"Indian food sucks!"

 

Tell him, very honestly, that his opinion of Indian food is irrelevant. This isn't an Indian restaurant. It is Nepali. Nepal is a different country.

 

I love Nepali food and I've never met anyone who didn't like momos. Obviously I haven't eaten in your particular place, but I'd imagine the mango curries or kormas would be a good place to start looking for less spicy dishes, although, in my experience, Nepali food is more subtly spiced than many Indian dishes.

[Shelby]

16 hours ago, Anna N said:

 So today we headed out to Hamilton to the Punjab Market to replenish our supply of nuts for the townhouse in

Manitoulin (yep, it's that time of year again).  Our first choice for lunch was inexplicably closed. There was no note on the door yet their sandwich boards were outside. We checked their posted hours and we were certainly within them but there were no lights on and no signs of life. Perhaps a sudden emergency. 

 But Kerry decided we were in an area where there was another restaurant we had once visited. She couldn't remember its name or even its cuisine. She has an incredible built-in GPS not to mention a memory that is prodigious. She found the little place tucked away in a plaza.  As soon as I saw the place I insisted we had never ever been inside it.   But we searched eG and there was irrefutable evidence. As soon as we walked in the door I recognized the place.   There is absolutely nothing memorable about the decor but Iimmediately was reminded that the last time we ate there a young boy and his father were enjoying a lunch together  and I was fascinated by their interaction.  

We checked eG for information about our last visit  and knew we would be in good hands. There's no decor, no ambience, you drink water from styrofoam cups and eat from paper plates. But the food...   The place is called Himalya  and from searching on eG we learned we were last there in May 2015.

The place can only seat perhaps 12 or perhaps 14 people. Only one table was available and it had not yet been cleared but we claimed it. It was a table for four and no sooner had we sat down than we were approached by a young lady who I asked if we would mind sharing the table with her and her girlfriend. We indicated we had no objections. It's that sort of restaurant.   Ultimately we did enjoy a brief interaction with them and joked about people with different food preferences. OK we make fun of vegans but it was lighthearted banter and not intended to be hurtful.  The restaurant is vegetarian and her girlfriend was also a vegetarian.

 

 

 

 Mixed vegetable pakoras and two dipping sauces.

 

 

To die for onion kulcha (naan stuffed with onions)

 

 

Aloo gobhi (spiced cauliflower and potato). 

 

 

Mattar Malai Methi (peas, cheese, fenugreek leaves cooked with spices). This was very good but we were both surprised that the cheese was crumbled rather than in cubes. 

 

LOL Yes, I remember that post.  Specifically I remember the water in the styrofoam cups.  I want some of that onion.

[robirdstx]

My lady friend with the refrigerator problem and I met today and had lunch at one of our favorite places, Michiru in Webster. She is still waiting for her refrigerator to be repaired but that is another story.

 

We both had a cup of the Hot and Sour Soup.

 

 

She had the Red Curry Chicken with Brown Rice. I had a good photo of her dish but inadvertantly deleted it. I hate it when that happens!

 

I had the Szechuan Peppercorn Beef

 

 

[robirdstx]

My lady friend, with the still not yet repaired refrigerator, and I had lunch today at one of my favorite places - Floyd's in Webster. My friend's meal of grilled redfish with a side salad was not photographed. I often choose to have their half and half crawfish, but today I opted for the grilled shrimp with onion rings. So good!

 

 

 

[Anna N]

It is so good to see someone else contributing to this topic. You don't have to be ladies you know. Laddies would be just as welcome!  

[ElsieD]

29 minutes ago, Anna N said:

It is so good to see someone else contributing to this topic. You don't have to be ladies you know. Laddies would be just as welcome!  

 

Well,  that's nice to read because John and I often go out for lunch.  It isn't always exciting, but it is usually tasty so I'll be happy to post.

[robirdstx]

4 hours ago, robirdstx said:

My lady friend, with the still not yet repaired refrigerator, and I had lunch today at one of my favorite places - Floyd's in Webster. My friend's meal of grilled redfish with a side salad was not photographed. I often choose to have their half and half crawfish, but today I opted for the grilled shrimp with onion rings. So good!

 

 

 

 

PS: On the topic of the still to be repaired refrigerator, my friend was called by her appliance company, just after we had ordered our meals, to be told that the parts were in and could they come by to make the repair today. NO! Not to fully rant, long story, but she has been very patient for 4 weeks and for them to call and expect her to be there at the drop of the hat was just too much, especially when she was 45 minutes away from home. Anyway, the repair has now been scheduled for Wednesday and we enjoyed our lunch.

[Okanagancook]

True 'service' is almost non-existence these days.

[Anna N]

After haircuts, a ritual shaving of the head before we go north, Kerry and I decided to check out a restaurant in Burlington called Celli's  Osteria (cellisosteria.com) because we had heard that they served my beloved funghi pizza.  This is the pizza from Pane Fresco that we have mentioned a number of times. We stopped going there when they stopped making that particular pizza. Well the rumour proved baseless.  The pizza of my dreams was not found there. But all was not lost.

 

 

Although my very first bite was overly salty these calamari bits turned out to be about the best I have eaten in as long as I can remember.

 

 

 This was also brought to the table and I dug right in. Kerry showed more restraint. 

 

G

 

The pizza was funghi and rapini.  

 

Not what I was hoping for but still exceedingly good. 

 

 

 It came with a choice of sides and I elected to have the potatoes. I expected  French fries but these were amazingly good little crispy potatoes.

 

 

 Kerry ordered what she thought was a meatball sub so was a little surprised that it arrived on a hamburger bun. She chose the Caesar salad as her side.

 

 And now it's confession time. I ate so much of the calamari and bread that I could not do any justice to the pizza or the potatoes so they will be tonight's dinner  

 

 Edited to fix some typos and remove a duplicate photograph.

 

 

Edited September 27, 2016 by Anna N (log)

[ElsieD]

My sister and I got together for lunch today.   She had the squash salad with goat cheese, those two rather small discs on top and I had a chicken wrap.  The chicken in the wrap was breast meat and sadly, it was overcooked and therefore somewhat dry.  That was a shame as otherwise it would have been a really good sandwich.  My sister liked the salad.