Stick's

We took advantage of the weather to sit outside (possible for the last time this year). N opted for the side platter (hummus, tabouleh, baba ghanoush, and grilled veggies, yum!); the falafals are a little too hard and flavorless. The rest of the crew had kebobs. We have determined that everything at Stick's is lubed up with a fair amount of oil. Makes for a shinier presentation.

Cocina Del Sol (Kitchen of the Sun)

Cocina del Sol really defines the phrase "hit or miss". It took us a few visits to really figure out which parts of the menu to avoid. On our first visit I got the fish tacos. I think they are described as "fresh snapper, pan fried..." or something to that effect. I was really disappointed. What I got were breaded cubes that looked like they came from the freezer section of Kroger. The main reason I was willing to go back for a second try was that B and N got some awesome meals from the Breakfast side of the menu. B got the crab and goat cheese omelet which was phenomenal and N got the juevos rancheros which she also really liked. J has tried several items on the menu with some decent successes. They are outlined below.

Arizona Beef Steak Sandwich
Dozens of small, hearty strips of well-seasoned beef on a really nice bun. The side options are fries and corn on the cob. They are both a decent option. The corn was substandard once but deliciouos on at least 4 other occasions.

Chili con Carne
Not really like a typical Chile. More like chili without any sauce. Just a dense pile of seasoned ground beef. Not really enough food to fill you up, even with the chips. but then I don't know if it would be wise to eat much more than the"meat plate" that they give you.

Some thoughts on the Crab and Goat Cheese Omelet
B has had the C&GHO at least 5 times. The C/GC ratio was perfect only the first time that he's had it. Left to their devices the cooks are too liberal with the crab. Now the solution is to order just the Goat cheese...not even bacon helped this one out.

---

One final comment on Kitchen of the Sun. The dishes rarely come out of the kitchen looking the same from week to week. On any given day the juevos rancheros might come with guacamole or the C&GCO may come with chips. There's just no way to tell.

Daihachi

I think we might be regulars at Daihachi. The waitress (don't know her name) barely lets us finish our orders before we get the "okay" . The only thing that she really waits for, I think, is the drinks. It's usually a Chicken Bento Box for J, Sashimi for B and the Tofu Bento Box for N.

The food is usually pretty good, the service is fast and we always know what we want whenever we go to Daihachi.

Chipotle

Huge crew for Chipotle today. We picked up three extra J's. Not enough diversity in the menu to really bother with posting everyone's meal.

The lesson for today...Avoid Chipotle on a rainy Friday.

The Brick Oven

Today at the Brick Oven, we tried the 'new' pizza, which tasted roughly like manure on dough. The service was slow and below par, per usual. I think I will stick with the Helen of Troy (aka the Swamp Thing) pizza from now on. B, J, and J had the Manure special, and the Ns shared a medium Helen.

The Tavern

B, J and Tall N went to the Tavern. We've pretty much decided that the Tavern is the fastest place in town. We started to get our food 2.5 minutes after we ordered and all three of use were done within 15 minutes. FAST FAST FAST. We all got the two egg breakfast with the ridiculous number of options.

J might be a little burned out on the Tavern for a while...

Casella's

J's favorite sandwich at Cassella's is the cheese steak...but you can only get it when it's a special. J decided to go with the "SPO" instead...not bad, but no cheese steak. Pizza for B and Panera for N.

Padows

N was out working on a report but we picked up an extra J...little J from Spire. B J & J all got the Boo Plate special. The beans were excellent, the BBQ pork was pretty good but B would have liked about 50% more food. I think tall N went with a standard egg salad sandwich or something lame like that.

Zazu's

J was MIA today. He has a big race tomorrow. But we picked up four auxiliary members and headed to the original place for wraps. N had a make your own veggie: the Mediterranean with grilled vegetables. B had the "usual", meat-lovers chili with sour cream and cheese of course!

The Carving Board

J and his wife (also J) brought back lunch from the Carving Board. N had some leftover soup from Whole Foods. B had his typical burger (medium rare, cheese, onions, not a shred of lettuce). TCB burgers are one of the best in town, in my not-so-humble opinion. J had some sort of sandwich that I did not identify -- it looked pretty good though.

Whole Foods

B is getting more cranky by the day. It was a fairly uninspired day at Whole Foods. But once again...scrubs was good.

Zandi's

An old standby that has been neglected. J turned down the advances of the "other" lunch crew and we got some sandwiches and ate outside on this unseasonably warm October day.
N&N: Hommus on Wheat (spelled like Zandi says it)
B: Hot Chicken and Cheese
J: Club 5

Kyoto

It's been a while since we visited our Japanese mom...Bubble tea is delicious. We need to call ahead next time so she can prepare the bubbles.

Tavern

Probably the fastest lunch place in town. If you are ordering a "standard" breakfast (eggs, pancakes, grits, biscuits, etc) you will have your food before you can fill you water glass and unwrap your napkin. Not the cleanest place in town but it's not weird and you don't get dirty looks for ordering breakfast in the middle of the day.

Tavern Note: Don't ever lick the menu, even if there IS syrup on it...

Whole Foods

Not much to say here. WF get thrown into the rotation almost once a week. Good scrubs episde today.

China King Buffet

This is B & J's special place. N is not a big fan of the Chinese buffet so it's the standby when the guys are left to fend for themselves. When there is no talking and two guys are inhaling their food, it doesn't take very long to get through lunch.

Daihachi

Our attempt to go to the Carving Board was squashed by the long line out the door. The sandwiches are good and Candice is nice but it takes about 1 minute per customer to place an order. So when the line is out the door it's at least 10 minutes before we get to the counter. Fortunately Daihachi is right there.

Same orders every time:

J: Chicken Bento
B: Sashimi & a Pepsi
N: Tofu Bento (with Avocado roll)

Sometimes there's some green tea or an extra tuna roll...

Chipotle

Just J & B on this trip. B's previous Chipotle lunch included the fatty dregs of the normally delicious carnitas. There was some hesitation this time around but B's disdain for the big C was suppressed by a better selection of delicious pulled pork.

Chipotle Note: Always get the Guac on the side...