Early Dinner

Last weekend the family and I flew to Tampa, FL to spend some time with my in-laws. It was a quick trip, literally an over-nighter. We flew in Saturday night after the boy refereed his game and flew out a short 24 hours later.

We have been meaning to go for so long…but schedules, life, work, and school prevented us from doing it. Grandma Lybrook was not happy about it either. So instead of disappointing her again, we thought a quick trip was in order.

It was really rather fun…the benefits of the husband’s job made it possible. And I’m so grateful.

As a result of the late start, we didn’t get to Florida until late evening and we then made dinner plans. But I forgot that seniors like to eat early. I’m not sure why but they do. We on the other hand, are used to a much later dinner hour, we have to get in all of our commitments before we can sit down and eat. Why is life so crazy?

Anyway, we didn’t arrive to the restaurant until after 7 pm…and by now Grandma Lybrook and Frank were pretty hungry.

In keeping with my penchant to photographing food at restaurants, this was our menu.

Saganaki. A fried Greek cheese dish that is incredibly delicious and way too many calories to count. I ate the whole thing.

Oysters on the half shell. Not for everyone but definitely for me…I love them.

and this dish…shrimp Parmesan. Oh my aching heart and hungry tummy. I loved it so much, I’m going to copy it in my kitchen one day. I swear I will.

And this gourmet masterpiece? It’s what the boy would eat every day, except on Sundays which are  mac and cheese days.

I guess I was hungry too…

Lunch With The Sister

Last week, I took the sister out to lunch. The fact that she can’t feed herself really doesn’t matter. It’s a way to get her out of the house and get some air, it’s really not for the food.

However, one of my favorite things to do is eat, so I constantly look for a place that has great ethnic food, a place where the cook is indigenous to the country whose fare the restaurant boasts. This place is one of those. It’s a Vietnamese pho (roughly translated noodle soup) place. It’s a place that where the cook, the waiter, and the patrons are mostly Vietnamese.

So like I said, the sister can’t feed herself, so I get her a lot of things that doesn’t require the use of hands. I get her a lot of drinks with straws.

This is what I order, a bowl of steaming hot pho with noodles, rare flank steak and other unmentionables.  It’s delicious. I guess the sister could have used a straw to drink out of the bowl. I have long gotten over the fact that people stare at us with pity when I’m out with her, but drinking soup out of a bowl with a straw in public may be pushing the envelope.

Instead, I order her a simple rice and beef meal and I feed her with chopsticks.

I order this every time I go to this place. It’s a coconut, red bean, and jelly drink. I don’t have the ingredients at home to make it, so it’s my treat every time I go there. I’m going to find out and send all of you the recipe.

I am so hungry.

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