Really?

Look at what the sickos at Lays have come up with. 

Chicken and waffle flavored chips. Even worse: I love them goddammit. Looks like next time I am home alone it will be me, the Winchester boys and these stupid chips. 

I hate you Lays. 

Ugh

Look at this ridiculous product. But it's so so addictive. 

I hate you.

Jerks

Whoever invented the whole ranch dressing with pizza thing needs to die. 

Why? Because I tried it and it was good. Now I want to dunk my 'za in ranch all the time. Thanks, jerks. 

Thanks, Whole Foods . . .

Thank a lot Whole Foods for ruining my lunch on Wednesday. A group outing to see Awesome and Awesome Baby, which should have been like, 100% awesome was only 80%. I don't know who mixed up your Indian food on the food bar but it was not good or up to usual standards. No curry. All spice. The Chana masala was not good. Very disappointing.  And you know I am usually all over the Chana masala. 

Awesome Baby was the sweetest ever and I managed to get in some kisses even though her mama was wearing her. Totes did not care at all. I had to kiss those baby cheeks. Had. To.  Maybe next time I will get to hold her. Obviously I think my own kids are pretty damn spectacular but I admit to missing the baby snuggles. Baby man turned 1 and doesn't have any interest at all in cuddles anymore. Tears. 

This trip to whole foods gets a 2. Booo. Lunch combo was weird too. I shouldn't say weird. It's people I like that I don't eat with combined with people I eat with on a regular basis. Sartorial + Veggie Tales + Twist + Awesome = not bad. A little weird.   I will say it also made me miss Awesome Coworker a bit more. :( she is such a mom though. So that was cool. She'll be back soon. I hope. 

A Very Sad Lunch Affair . . . .

Oh my gosh you guys!  I just had the most pitiful lunch ever.  I'm almost embarrassed to write about it.  I was going to to get something on my own.  Waited too long and then by that point anything and everything sounded good.  You know when you aren't quite ready to eat nothing sounds good?  Then you wait too long and EVERYTHING sounds good? That was me.  First I wanted fried oysters, but there was nowhere close enough I was willing to walk too.  Then I wanted a Schlotzky's original, but I looked at the calories and decided it wasn't worth it.  So here is where it gets pathetic.

I ENDED UP EATING A BRISKET SANDWICH AND A BOX OF MINI CUPCAKES.

I am not lying.  I wish I were.


Too lazy to go out I just started down the tunnels and more or less gave up under the Chase Tower (i.e. like one block) and went into Otto's.  I had a desperate hope they might have a fried oyster basket, but they only have shrimp.  Don't ask what the deal was with the oysters. I don't know.  The brisket caught my eye.  Done.  Chopped brisket sandwich to go.  On the way back I conveniently got sucked into Gigi's cupcakes (damn you!) and walked out with a pack of 4 mini cupcakes.  Gave one to Ducky Momo and ate the other 3 myself.  Not a typo.  I ate THREE cupcakes.  Mini cupcakes, but still.  And I also ate the whole damn sandwich too.   I have to tell you.  It was pretty good.  I'm kinda surprised too.  Bun was fresh, brisket was not bad. I have certainly had worse.  Sauce was on the super tangy end of the spectrum but it wasn't fighting with any strong flavors on the meat.  A litle smoke in the meat and very lean.  Considering this is from an underground eating place that obviously has no pit I'd have it again for sure.  Don't tell Chungry.

Otto's 3.5

Taste Test

Randall's fried chicken. Samosa caught my eye. got that too.

Samosa was pretty crappy.  What do you expect though from the grocery store.  It was like a 1.5 and I will never make that mistake again.  Tried it on the kids and none of them liked it either.



Sad veggie samosa

 

Randall's fried chicken however was really good.  Hubs favorite food is the fried chicken.  He's been steadily making his way down the list of recommended fried chicken in the  area.  Randall's--yes the supermarket-- is on that list.

 

Good crispy coating although for me it was a bit overdone.  Good spicy flavor that didn't overwhelm.  Very subtle.  Chicken meat was also great  Brined before frying which is the way I like it.  I thought this was great chicken.  Hubs, just ok.  we got 8 pieces for $6.99 which I also thought was pretty good.  However when you consider that none of the kids would touch it for whatever reason then it's not such a great deal.  No. 3 Son wound up pulling the container of chicken onto the kitchen floor and the dog went after it faster than I think I have ever seen him move.  At that point I think there were 2 pieces left.  He grabbed one and and ran around with a giant thigh hanging out of his maw until I shamed him into dropping it.  After that No. 2 Daughter ran around all night yelling at him to "release" whether he had anything to release or not.  Poor dog. :(

I'd get the Randall's again.  Way less greasy than Popeyes and I lie the spice level better.  Next time I will try it leftover.  I have a suspicion it is killer when it's a day old and cold.
3.5

Work Lunch Thingy . . .

So I'm on this board, right? And every quarter we have a lunch with speaker or something that I try to go to as a diligent Board Member.  Today's lunch was at the fancy pants law firm in our building.  Good for two reasons.  1) Didn't have to go any farther than the elevator bank to get there; and 2) lunch was not a sandwich box.  It was legit hot lunch with real plates and silverware and glasses AND coffee.  Whoa.  Obviously a better lunch than I would have garnered on my own.

No idea where it came from though.  Nice lasagna.  Good cheese, nice tomato sauce.  Firm brewed coffee superior to whatever coffee service we are using here in our digs.  Good stout roast and smooth finish.  I made Cubed go with since he is new and it was an industry thing.  I tried to kind of give him background for what was going on.  Not sure if he was with me or not.  On a 35,000 ft level I think he was.  These are total nerd events anyway.  I have found you really have to be in the weeds some already to fully appreciate most of these topics and lunches.

I can't really rate this but it was not bad.  I'd say a 3.5 Oh wait! Almost forgot best part.  Some super garlicy and buttery bread.  if I had been alone with this bread I could have easily put away about 5 pieces and only had that and salad.  Since you can't fly the freak flag at the fancy law firm I resisted and had some of everything.  I did not have a cookie though due to the garlic bread.  Garlic bread was like a 4.5 on its own.  Garlic.  Mmmmmm

Gimme the Usual

Treebeards. Chungry and Ducky Momo had some errand to run. New new new guy (I'm thinking Cubed?) had plans. Los lobos el solo. 

Shrimp étouffée with a fruit cup to go. You know I loves me some étouffée.  Consistently awesome. Fruit cup also top notch. I have recently learned that I'm allergic to cantaloupe so at least now I don't need to feel bad about not eating it.  I know, who's allergic to cantaloupe? How random is that right? But apparently I'm allergic. Yay me!

Since I waited until after noon to head out I opted for tunnel location vs market square. The court house juror crowd can be intense over there. The advantage to the tunnel location is superior bread. Not sure why its better but it wails on the bread at market square.  I ate the bread against my better nutritional judgment. It was good. 

Gotta run. No 1 son is doing Harry potter magic at daughter No 2 and she is screaming bloody murder. Sigh. Is it Monday yet?

Curry Madness

Field trip with Twist!  I am always jonesing for Indian and Twist suggested Ponticheri in Upper Kirby. Another Awesome co-worker find. Even though she wasn't there is person she was there in spirit. Awesome had her baby and is currently having lunches daily with Awesome Baby. Mazel tov!!

So first up. I was loving this place. Great decor and vibe. You walk in and are greeted by a delicious and lovely baked good counter. Note the gorgeous rainbow toasty thing with heirloom tomatoes.

And it smells great there too. So I didn't know what Frankies were and ordered an okra one that sounded awesome. But then I got it and it was a wrap. Still good but I was wanting something to dip naan in.  My fault. I'll know next time. I also got an order of samosas and naan.

Samosa was spinach with some paneer. Mmmmm. Heaven. Nice crispy outside.  Good curry. You only get two which is kind of a bummer. Three would be good.  For $7 2 doesn't really seem like good value.

The okra Frankie above unwrapped. This was spi-cy. Nice mix of tomato and okra. I wasn't in love with the sweet chutney but it was ok. My preference would have been for some tomato kind of sauce.  I was expecting something like sauteed like a masala just put in a naan wrapper.  This was a little dry as is.   I needed it saucier overall. But nice crunch and flavors. You want to know what was good? The omelette Twist had was wonderful. Nice grill flavor on the meat. Good mushrooms and tomato here too. Super good portion. He ate it all. 

Kitchen sink omelette

After we got back Ducky Momo gave me the what for for going to Pondicheri without him.  Based on one reference to Fried Chicken Tuesday Dinners I was supposed to know that he wanted to eat there.  Go Figure.  However, I would go back any day of the week.  I am always on the prowl for Indian food.

 

Good debrief with Twist.  Caught up on lots of office news and gossip.

 

Pondicheri, is a 4 microwave and recommended

 

 

Food Porn

In Napa this week. So far food has all been good. Happy girl.

Behold:

update 7/11.  Notes on food below.  Overall Napa had some of the best food I have ever eaten ever.  All around solid.  Meal in San Fran at Okumo was top notch and our server was THE BEST server I have ever had in my life.  Friendly but not obsequious, attentive, but not too much.  Just right.  And, my man knew his sake.  On to some of the food.  Pics of SF meal on Hubs phone b/c I left mine at the hotel.



Gott's Roadside in St. Helena was the bomb. Perfect break in wine tasting. I went with hot dog, onion rings and mint chip milk shake. Perfect antidote for too much wine. Dog and burgers all from Neiman Ranch. Rings hand battered in some real good batter that was obviously mixed up on site.

sparkling rose tasting at Domaine Chandon.  I loved, hubs not so much.  Pink champagne is about as girly as my drinks get.



Fried squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta.  Holy Shit was this good! No lie. Brannon's, Calistoga

Some local pilsner in Calistoga at Brannon's.  Great atmosphere and they actually turn on the ac when it's 105 outside.  Bless.

Hemingway margarita.  Done with wine by dinner on the 4th.

baked squash with goat cheese.  I love me some baked squash and had to try this.  Not bad.  goat cheese was interesting.  Liked but only thing of the evening I did not LOVE in spades.

grilled trout

Fish and chips.  Not only was the portion generous, fish was fresh, tasty and moist and the beer batter was the bomb!  Coleslaw was meh, but you don't get this for the coleslaw. 



Cesar salad with romaine hearts.  I am a snot about Cesar dressing and this one got it down in spades.  Nice kick, good nchovy. No mayo taste.  Perfect size for appetizer.  A Fish Tale downtown Napa

This was my entree at Fish Tale in downtown Napa.  I don't think the name is 100%  May have been A Fish Story? I'm too lazy to go verify right now.  So, grilled trout with some arugala and some vinegar something or other around it.  Doesn't matter. it was wonderful! Perfectly done. This was the best meal of the trip I think.  Everything that came out of the ktichen on a busy night was 100% awesomeness.  Kudos to kitchen staff and the chef here.

Shrimp and fresh corn grits at A Fish Tale.  Shrimp perfectly done. beautiful flavors. Not too fussy. Fresh corn grits were a nice addition over traditional grits.

Bacon crackerjack sundae at A Fish Tale in Napa.  OMG. I can't even begin to tell you how awesome this was!! Mastery of the salty sweet combo.