PlazaJen: Passion Knit

OK, there's been a lot going on.... let's start at the beginning, rather than the middle, mmmkay?

Friday Night Fish Fry. Well, this was a bit of a bust. We went back to St. Thomas More's, where it all began for us, and they've changed their fish this year. The baked fish was pretty good, though rather bland, and the fried fish was resoundingly over-battered. And it wasn't "battered" but rather "triangular-shaped fish object" and my first bite pulled away an empty corner of...batter/crust. No fish. Argh. Sides? Ok - your standard green beans, corn, and french fries, plus slaw & buttered boiled potatoes (which I do so love.) Desserts were once again run by the girl scouts, and I must say, the girl from last year who delightedly applied whipped cream decided to get industrious, and created a tray that she took from table to table, upselling people who perhaps weren't going to mosey over to their table to choose a dessert. I had seen pecan pie, and she dutifully went back to get some. Pretty cute. But not worth a return trip, sadly. $8.50 per adult.

Sunday Blogger Meet Up. Well, is it really a meet-up if it's just two of us, and we've already met before? Emma Liar is back in Kansas City, and had a hankering for Hooter's chicken wings. So we got some.



I must say, the 3-Mile Island? Not hot enough. Dammit. It's pretty sad when Pizza Hut's "Blazin' Hot" pack more punch than wings named for a nuclear disaster.

And after we got home, I busted my hump to finish the wristwarmers. I knit on them all throughout The Kingdom, which is a very stressful movie, I think, and if you've seen it, you'll understand the jarring disconnect to turn that movie off & immediately see Jason Bateman introducing the Foo Fighters on the Grammys.

I knit so much, and so devotedly, that all my tiny little fine-motor-skills muscles ached. Even my ear ached, and I blamed the knitting. But I got up this morning & wove in the ends, and Bravissimo, here they are!





I can't wait to knit another pair, but in finer-gauge yarn and smaller needles. Hello, have you met the Masochist who lives on CandyCane Lane? Yep, that's me!

Labels: dining, knitting

Well, OF COURSE it's Friday.

It's the first Friday of Lent! And most of you know the Wo and I do not adhere to a specific faith, except any disciplines that are directly ordered from the Lamar Donut Church of Goodness. But a lack of religious organization in our lives does not prevent us from availing ourselves of any good celebrations. Or food. Thus, tonight begins our 2nd Annual stream of Friday Fish Fry Forays! I'm going to focus on reporting back more on the food and ambiance, vs. my own wide-eyed agog-ness that accompanied me to most of last year's adventures. (We are working on getting tickets to that Cure' of Ars shrimp boil in advance this year, but we are unsure how to get them short of going to mass, and that feels a little...disingenuous...plus I would totally get busted for not knowing the routine.) TGIF, and when I write that, I really mean it. Swear on a stack of Lamar's.

Labels: dining, kansas city

I had lunch today at Cafe Cuba today, 4116 Broadway, and here's my report:

Very good. More expensive than I anticipated, but delicious and a welcome break from the standard lunch fare. I'd re-read the review in the Star, and made sure I ordered a Cubano Coffee, which was everything I hoped for and more - except I wished there could have been more. A small shot of sweet caffeinated loveliness, my dining companion mistook for a side of soy sauce. (Which seemed out of place to her, rightly so.) I had the #1, Steak Sandwich, she had the #3, Cuban Sandwich - which is similar to the #2 Cuban Sandwich, only more meats and cheeses. Her sandwich was huge! If I wasn't a reluctant mustard eater, I definitely would have made the same choice. My sandwich was flavorful, and the bread was delicious. The steak was a bit chewy at times, but the true star of the meal were the plantain chips that came with your sandwich. Every time I see plantain chips, I expect to taste banana, because of the resemblance, but of course they are more akin to a potato, and sliced thin & deep-fried - well, they make the common potato seem just that more ... common. Each of us spent around $11 for our meal - including beverage - which is perhaps more than the average sandwich costs for lunch, but then, you aren't getting an average sandwich. We ogled the pulled pork and rethought our choices, which we'd already ordered and paid for, because it looked to be a winner. That's what I'll try on my next visit.

Obviously the restaurant is not trying for any major ambiance - the furniture is reminiscent of a company break room, and laminated maps of Cuba and Cuban money serve as place mats. None of that is particularly important, but there was a strong cleaning product odor that irritated the senses and distracted from the delicious smells emanating from the kitchen. If it hadn't been 90 degrees, we would have availed ourselves of the outdoor seating. It will take a couple more visits before I have a final rating, but for now, I'd give it 3.5 out of 5.

Labels: dining, kansas city

So the dinner last night was awesome. The food, the service, the atmosphere - everything was stellar. Money well spent, and again, I get no kickbacks or free meals, but if you are looking for a good Mexican restaurant that isn't all about the goopy cheese and overly-fried things, Guadalajara Cafe is the place to go!

In addition to our menu, we got a big sheaf of paper explaining how tequila is made, and then page-ads of the different tequilas featured in the drinks we would be having.

Ever-on-the-lookout for marketing tie-ins, I said at one point, "The Tequila People MUST be involved in this shindig." Too true. A man I had never seen at the restaurant was strolling around the tables, providing shots (shots!) of various tequilas in addition to your regularly-scheduled drink. Now, the drinks weren't full-sized or doubles or anything, but I can tell you by the third course/drink, I started giggling uncontrollably at James, who was trying to explain turkey seasons between Missouri and Kansas to me. Something about hearing the old t-shirt saying in the back of my head: One tequila! Two tequila! Three tequila! Floor!

By the fourth course, I was desperately trying to make eye contact with the couple at the table next to us. I looked at James and confided, "I'm trying to make friends." He cracked up laughing as he replied, "Me too!"

Sadly, we made no friends. And we are not professional drinkers by any stretch of the imagination. By the time we got to the flan & it's accompanying Coffee Tequila Patron, we were losing some steam & buoyancy - even though the plates were small, the food was very filling and provided some ballast to offset the varying cocktails. They told us they'd be having another one towards the end of May, and I expect we'll be attending! Hopefully with existing friends, so we don't embarrass ourselves trying to make new ones mid-dinner.

Labels: dining

Two weeks ago, the Wo and I were struggling to come up with dinner plans that sounded agreeable to both of us. Then, like a message from above, a KFC Fish Snacker commercial came on....and he looked at me and said, "Wanna go to a fish fry?"
My eyes widened, partly in fear, mostly in excitement. Having been raised without any organized religion, these Friday night Fish Fries always seemed off-limits to me. Off we went. And it's become our new Friday night thing! So I'm going to write up our experiences and reviews. I'll also say that nobody's peppered me with any questions (my biggest fear - "HI! Do you go to church here?") and we've had a grand time.

Friday February 23, 2007 - St. Thomas', 118th & Holmes. Fundraiser for the Boy Scouts.
Cost: $8/person, all you can eat.
Food:
The fare included baked fish & fried. The fried fish was far superior to the baked, though had we added lemon to the baked, it might have been tastier. You also can choose from beans, corn, rolls, french fries, coleslaw & boiled buttered potatoes. For those watching their sodium, everything seemed to be prepared with an absence of salt, which I suppose is always the best way to go - add your own until it suits your taste! (This coming from the boullion cube queen.) There was also cheese pizza, more for the kids I guess.

Ambiance:
Pretty tame. There were a few kids running around, and the noise was what you'd expect from 60 people dining and sitting together. It wasn't difficult to find a seat. We sat with an adorable older couple who only needed a couple of pointy red hats to become garden gnomes. They were silent, and so were we.

Dessert:
A fundraiser for the local Girl Scouts troop. This was certainly the highlight of the night, as I went up to buy us a couple plates of...something. One older girl saw me coming and immediately stood up and greeted me. She was very formal and pulling out all her adult-like behavior. I inquired about what was popular, and she steered me to the pumpkin pie, saying it was "quite good tonight." Then I was asked by another scout, if perhaps I wanted whipped cream on it. I looked at her, grinning up at me with braces and clutching the can of Reddi-Whip with barely-contained enthusiasm. "Of course!" She grinned even wider and asked, "A little? ...Or a LOT?" Oh, certainly a lot. This was the moment they were waiting for. After dispensing the whipped cream onto our piece of pie, the girl seated next to her immediately got the can away from her. Turns out, they were taking turns, and I knew that I'd made a good choice picking pie. We got a brownie as well & took that home - all-in-all, the best $2 worth of entertainment I've had in a long time.


End Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5) We'd go back.


Stay tuned! Next review: Friday March 2, 2007 - Church of the Nativity, 119th & Mission.

Labels: dining, kansas city