The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 3)

[Kerry Beal]

24 minutes ago, TicTac said:

 

FWIW - those would be Betel leaves.  Traditional wraps for beef in Viet cooking.  Great stuff.

 

If you are ever in Markham, give 'The Pho Restaurant' a shot, husband and wife run front of house, mom and aunt cook - best Vietnamese I have had in the GTA.

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion - we do find ourselves in Markham on occasion. 

[Kim Shook]

On 5/29/2018 at 5:16 PM, Anna N said:

 

 

 Our reason for choosing this restaurant:

 

Banh xeo—Fried pancake with coconut milk, bean sprouts, shrimp and pork. 

 

 

 

 Dipping sauces.

 

 

I adore those pancakes!  They are a little hard to find around here.  When I find them, they are called "yellow pancakes" and are always on the appetizer menu.  The only sauce I've ever gotten is a very thin sauce that looks like (but can't be - not strong enough) fish sauce with a few strands of pickled carrots and daikon on top.  The pickled vegetables are also served along side the pancake - to roll up with the herbs in the lettuce (I am too messy to do that.  I just pile it all up, drizzle with sauce and get going with a knife and fork!).  

[Anna N]

That Kerry and I ended up having lunch out today is somewhat of a minor miracle. However, the cause is not  particularly food related so I’ll spare you the boring details and just share photographs of our lunch. We returned to Spoon and Fork which offers fusion Japanese/Thai. 

 

 

 Tea for Kerry and warm sake for me.

 

 

 Calamari and gyoza. 

 

 

 Wonton soup for me. 

 

 

 Hot and sour soup for Kerry.

 

 

 Chinese beef and broccoli. 

 

 

 Chicken curry.

 

 

 Chicken satay and seaweed salad.

 

We also ordered kimchi fried rice with chicken but for some reason it took almost 30 minutes or so I believe for it to finally arrive at the table.  At this point we had lost interest both in the rice and in photography so I apologize.

 

 

[Anna N]

 Today we were on Fairview Street in Burlington and when lunch was mentioned we pulled into Ichiban Sushi House. This was only minutes after we noted that the branch of Chapters that has been in Burlington almost from the beginning is now empty.  I am sure I have spent the equivalent of many months browsing the shelves of books in that store.   Now back to the main story.

 

 

 As usual tea for Kerry and warm sake for me. 

 

 

Complimentary Chap Chae: Glass noodles stirfried with shiitake mushrooms and vegetables and served with soy sauce and sesame oil. 

 

 

 A bowl of miso soup for both of us.

 

 

Takoyaki.

 

 

 Bento box for Kerry with chicken teriyaki and shrimp and vegetable tempura.

 

 

Bento box for me with bugogi beef. (I would’ve liked to run off with the box.)

 

 

Small fruit plate brought with the bill. 

 

 

 

 

[Anna N]

Today Kerry and I returned to My-Thai in Stoney Creek. 

 

 

A beer for me and ginger tea for Kerry. 

 

 

 Crispy calamari.

 

 

Beef salad and a bowl of rice. 

 

 

Panang chicken curry. 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

48 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Today Kerry and I returned to My-Thai in Stoney Creek. 

 

And here I was expecting something else.

 

[Anna N]

So I knew this morning that Kerry and I were headed to Mickey McGuire’s 

 

 

And I thought I would be a little proactive and try to determine where we might have lunch. I discovered a recurring ritual from reading back over old posts.  It seems more than once when we’ve made our annual trip to Mickey’s we have eaten at the same place. Bangkok Spoon.  

 

 First Mickey’s.  We must’ve spent 45 minutes tasting cheeses. We were helped by a delightful young lady who was not only enthusiastic but extremely knowledgable. 

 

Neither Kerry nor I are huge fans of soft cheeses but I know there are people who do appreciate them so with the permission of the staff we grabbed a couple of photographs of the soft cheese case.   Unfortunately they were just in the middle of re-organizing it so it is perhaps not showing to its best advantage.

 

 

 And here is a peek at the very first layer of a very large shopping bag containing our purchases. 

 

 

It’s just a teaser. But for those in the know it’s that time of year again and more cheeses this will make their appearance in the coming weeks.

 

 And so to lunch.

 

 We decided to share a bunch of appetizers and when the server arrived with some of them he announced that we had too much food and could we move to a larger table!  Oh well. We moved and swallowed our pride.    I am quite sure he meant nothing by it and just wanted to make sure we were a little more comfortable with room to breathe.

 

 Ginger tea for Kerry. I was very tempted by a single sake on the menu but it was 300 mL and I didn’t feel I could do that justice and still walk out of there under my own power.  I drank water. 

 

 

 From left to right:

Calamari, coconut shrimp and tofu with deep fried taro root.

 

 

 Something the restaurant called shrimpy cocktail. The sauce is a mild wasabi mayo.

 

 

 

 Sticky rice with peanut sauce.

 

 It was fortunate that we got there when we did because before we left every single table was filled.   Obviously a very popular place.   I have leftovers!

 

 

 

 

[rotuts]

Nice

 

sorry about the sake.

 

every thing looks tasty

 

next time you go back

 

thanks them for allowing you to take  the pics of the soft cheese.

[rotuts]

Oooooo

 

Oooooooooo

 

Im guessing that the LL's might take some of that Fromage

 

to the Island ?

 

nice

 

but .....

 

Hard work ahead

 

some might like crackers w their cheese

 

fine

 

but fresh baked French style bread ?

 

[ salt , yeast , flour . water ]

 

or  .....

 

some dark bread ?

 

modernist or not ?

 

dark bread a sour cherries in it ?

 

See ?

 

not so easy.

[Anna N]

All very good ideas. But we might also explore some alternative options including nuts and fresh fruit and perhaps some crudités?  

 Or perhaps a little of each.   Part of the joy of anything is the anticipation.   You can’t really go wrong with good cheese.  

[curls]

Beautiful cheese shop and cheeses. Will look forward to seeing them again when you and Kerry are up North!

[robirdstx]

A lady friend and I met at Jimmy Changas in League City for lunch today to get caught up. We had both been traveling since our last time together, so there was lots to talk about!

 

 

I had the Machete Salad (and brought half of it home) with Ranch Dressing on the side and my friend had the Sombrero Plate (Bean Tostada, Crispy Beef Taco, Queso Chip and Guacamole).

 

 

 

[Anna N]

 Today @Kerry Beal and I went in search of Dave’s Killer Bread at the Great Canadian Superstore in Grimsby. And since we were in Grimsby decided to have lunch at Grimsby Thai once again. 

 

Ginger tea for Kerry. Seemed somewhat odd that there was no teapot.

Icy cold brew for me which definitely hit the spot on a day when the temperature felt somewhere around 40°C.

 

 Calamari of course. Very tasty very chewy.

 

 

 Penang curry and rice bowl. 

 

 

 Lamb in a spicy lime sauce. So good!

 

P.S.   we found the bread. 

[Anna N]

 Today  @Kerry Beal and I finally made it to the Asian grocery store to stock up on various ingredients (mostly for me).  Kerry wanted to have lunch at a place she remembered we enjoyed a while back.  This place. But it appears to of gone out of business. She did pop next-door to the Filipino Store and grabbed us each does a bag of decent Chicharrones.  But all was not lost as we ended up having lunch at Kenzo ramen house. 

 

 

Gyoza. 

 

 

 King Ramen for Kerry.

 

 

 Tonkotsu Ramen for me. 

 

 Certainly took the edge off our disappointment that other restaurant had disappeared.

 

 

[Anna N]

Today @Kerry Beal and I headed out to Woodbridge, Ontario to exchange one of Kerry’s Cuisinart Steam Ovens.  Its fan had stopped working.  We also stopped to pick up some packing cases for @Alleguede.  We met up with him and his sister at Sushi Wa to effect an exchange.  With four of us at lunch instead of the usual two photographs were rather neglected.  

 

 

Edamame and a small sampling of a noodle dish were provided as a complimentary starter. (We had made inroads into the edamame before we remembered to take photograph and had demolished the noodle dish.) 

 

 

 We shared the spicy calamari but had finished all but this little bit before we remembered about the photo.

 

 

@Alleguede and his sister had the chicken teriyaki Bento box. 

 

 

 Kerry had the beef teriyaki Bento box. 

 

 

I had the Tempura Bento box. 

 

 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

6 hours ago, Anna N said:

Today @Kerry Beal and I headed out to Woodbridge, Ontario to exchange one of Kerry’s Cuisinart Steam Ovens.

 

I feel your pain.

 

Is this perchance the Woodbridge of the Great Dog Disaster?

 

 

[Anna N]

4 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I feel your pain.

 

Is this perchance the Woodbridge of the Great Dog Disaster?

 

 

Supposedly.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I went to lunch today at Torero's Mexican Restaurant in Cary with my sister and her eldest daughter, my niece. Sis asked me where I wanted to go and I said I wasn't married to anyplace, and asked her what she was in the mood for and I would research it during her hour and a half drive to get here. A lot of the less expensive and really good places here are mom and pop's that are closed on Sunday. She said she was taking me to lunch, and to pick wherever I wanted, so after ascertaining that we all really like Torero's and weren't falling into a rut yet, we decided to go there. 

 

It was so good to see them! They were both delighted when I rose from my wheelchair and hobbled over to my crutches across the kitchen. I probably could have managed even without them on this trip, because my niece was kind enough to drop Sis and me at the door of the restaurant before parking and then pick us up there too, so not a lot of long distance walking.

 

The chips and salsa are nice, but if I'm on the ball, I will mince some fresh jalapeno and bring it with me to add a little heat. 

 

The lunch menu is available on Sundays until 3 PM, and you get discounts on already very reasonably priced dishes. I ordered steak fajitas and Sis ordered the fajita burrito off the lunch menu and my niece ordered the fajita sampler with chicken, steak and shrimp off the regular menu, which is available during lunch. I think she has ordered this all three times we have eaten there. I almost always get the Carne Asada, but was feeling self conscious because Sis was picking up the tab, so I ordered the steak fajitas instead, which was $1 cheaper on the lunch menu.

 

Well, the fajitas come with nearly the same ingredients as the Carne Asada platter, but the steak is not real skirt steak in the fajitas and it is in the Carne Asada. That wasn't the deal breaker, though. It's always so impressive, visually to see the steam and smoke rolling off the cast iron sizzle skillet when someone is served fajitas. Then there is the tantalizing aroma and the sound of the fierce sizzling. Well to get these effects which last several minutes, once the food is delivered, they have to heat that cast iron to approximately the temperature of the surface of the sun! This means that your food will be burned beyond a nice char where it touches the cast iron. I remembered quickly having to rescue shrimp in fajitas from overcooking from years ago by moving it to a cooler place. I like the sensual affects of fajitas, but today I remembered that they are a lot more show than they are well-cooked food. With the attention to detail, that this restaurant has continued to demonstrate over 20 years of patronage, they had placed lettuce leaves under the small ruffled tortilla bowls of Mexican rice and frijoles refritos that were also on the sizzle platter. The lettuce was fried to an almost unrecognizable crisp. That said, I still very much enjoyed my lunch, and will enjoy the leftovers tomorrow. Just next time, I will order the Carne Asada as usual and enjoy the delivery of fajitas to other tables.

 

We talked about them going to the WEG Equestrian Games in Tryon, NC next week. Oh, how I wish I could go! Horses will be flown in from all over the world for this event, and not just any horses. The BEST horses in the WORLD. And they are going! They have promised to share many pics, and my niece, who is the photographer in the family has promised to send along photos of her dogs, cats and horses to help me forget I no longer have a pet of my own. We also talked about proper preparation of chimichangas when Sis considered ordering one for lunch. I told her the one time I ordered one at this restaurant, it was delivered much less crispy than I would consider good. Niece, who is already a good cook and has strong opinions on food prep, concurred that in order to be proper, a chimichanga must be fried crisp. I told them it was years ago, I had only tried it the one time, and that the cook who made mine might be deceased for all I know, but she didn't order one.

 

They also talked about their new mandoline, and asked if I had one. I said no and told them that too many of the tales in the "I will never again ..." thread here on eG seemed to involve mandolines. They are enamored of theirs though, going on about the perfect slices it makes. I told them the stories about even using the guard, and a hand slipped into mayhem. I told them the stories about even with a Kevlar cut-resistant glove injuries occurring anyway. I stressed not using it while distracted and to really watch yourself when applying a lot of pressure. I hope I put the fear of the mandoline into them. 

 

The mariachi band was there again. Those guys are so handsome in their matching costumes and they are talented musicians. The trumpet player didn't seem as loud today, but did not add a mute to his repertoire. He was using a smaller silver instrument today instead of the larger highly polished brass one of the last time. The booths are spacious, deeply padded and comfortable. I can highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for good Mexican food with good service and a comfortable place to eat it. We certainly enjoyed it today.

[Anna N]

Today while we were driving around the Asian part of Mississauga @Kerry Beal spotted this.    Knowing that we were in a bit of a rut in terms of places to eat lunch we decided to give it a try.

 

 

 Squid tentacles (Grilled)  with a vinegar sauce. 

 

 

Lechon.  

 

 

Lumpia Shanghai. 

 

 Both of us brought leftovers home.

 

 

 Could not resist a photograph of the front page of their menu. It says so much about Filipinos and their food culture.  

[Anna N]

@Kerry Bealand I are certainly trying to mix it up to amuse you and of course ourselves.  After a nice long browse through HomeSense, we headed to Harpers Landing for lunch.  The name rang a bell with me and I thought it had something to do with the American Civil War. I was close. And as Kerry pointed out there must’ve been a landing at Harpers Ferry!  

 

 

 Belgian Moon beer for me.

 

 

Tea with not quite enough milk for Kerry. 

 

 

 Crispy calamari

 

 

 Brussel Sprouts Bravas. Guess it would be pedantic to insist on them being called Brussels sprouts.  Crispy Brussel sprouts, smoky tomatoes, pimento aïoli.  As Kerry pointed out this dish had great potential. This iteration did not live up to that potential. 

 

 

 Asado Platter: grilled butcher’s steak, barbeque lamb shoulder, house-made sausage, chimichurri, mustard, smoked cheddar, pickles, naan . Also pointed out by Kerry that naan is of course the appropriate thing to serve with an Asado platter!  In fact it didn’t even come close to naan.  It was pita. 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2018 by Anna N
Edited to give Kerry back her first name! (log)

[rotuts]

nothing wrong w Pita

 

freshly made

 

Im hopeful the Calamari 

 

were extra decent.

[Anna N]

11 minutes ago, rotuts said:

nothing wrong w Pita

 

freshly made

 

Im hopeful the Calamari 

 

were extra decent.

Nothing at all wrong with pita or with naan. They just seem inappropriate with an Asada platter.  The calamari was tender but I’ve definitely had more interesting coatings and more tasty dipping sauces. I believe this one was supposedly a chimichurri aioli which again seems at odds with calamari. Maybe I am just being too fussy. The lamb and the beef, however, were excellent. 

Edited September 12, 2018 by Anna N (log)

[Anna N]

26 minutes ago, Anna N said:

After a nice long browse through HomeSense, we headed to Harpers Landing for lunch. 

I forgot to mention the worst of lunch at Harpers Landing. It was the noise level. I even asked our server if ear protection wasn’t a requirement to work there! It really was such that we will not be returning. Who wants to shout at their dining companion?   It wasn’t the music, although that was bad enough, there is nothing in the restaurant decor-wise to absorb the ambient noise which was deafening.  

[Anna N]

Today Kerry and I decided to check out a Brewhouse in Burlington. Click.    It had been recommended by a close relative who raved about food, and the service etc. etc. 

 

We eventually received some service when I called out to the four staff members hanging around The podium and chatting animatedly not even a table width away from us. 

 

 

Beer for me. The server asked, “Would you like a glass with that?”  Really?  No,

in such a public place I’d be happy to just swig it out of a bottle. 

 

 

 

Tea for Kerry. Tell me in which restaurant are you presented with a teapot and tea cup and the tea bag is in the cup not in the pot?   A teabag which is been drowned in milk does not make for a very good cup of tea. In fairness the server did her best to rectify the situation by bringing another pot of tea with two teabags in it.

 

 

 Not the best calamari we’ve ever had but certainly quite passable.

 

 

 

 same for the poutine. 

 

 

 But this? This is a charcuterie platter or at least that’s what the menu claims. It occurred to me as soon as it was put down on the table that I could’ve gone to almost any supermarket and ordered some deli ends and come away with more and better offerings. The cheese pot was bland.

 

But the soft pretzels although not a bit like pretzels were quite good. 

 

 I don’t usually comment so much on the restaurants we visit as I’ve said from the beginning we are not reviewing them. But really this one was off the mark in terms of price versus quality and I couldn’t stay quiet.  

 

 But we still managed to look on the bright side. There’s another restaurant we can cross off the list!  

 

 

[ElsieD]

As my late father in law used to say, two visits in one.