Dinner by Smiley

Tonight Smiley made dinner for the family: two delicious meatloaf along with mashed potatoes.

Once the potatoes were boiled I was in charge of seasoning and mashing them and I will admit they turned out no better than average.

The meatloaf however, was one of the best I've ever had. And I'm not saying that to blow smoke. Lisa's made a heck of a meatloaf over the years and so the bar is high - I'm not sure this reached the pinnacle of her efforts but it was sure close. I thought the texture was perfect.

He described the ingredients as rather simple: meat, shredded carrots, Worcestershire sauce, two eggs, garlic, and Dijon mustard with barbecue sauce on top.

I regret I did not get a very good photo of it I was too busy concentrating on the consumption thereof LOL

Good job Smiley 

RE an online complaint about Little Ceasars

I just said this the other day! We could grab a quick pizza so easy years ago on the way to scouts or soccer or dance lessons and now it's a whole ordeal. Have to do online and even then more often than not it's cancelled or not ready. I frequent all the better private restaurants but still wish you could walk in and grab a Lil Ceasars pizza like u used to be able to!

- Lisa

Dinner at OG

Late in the afternoon Lisa and I set out for a funeral in Pleasant Prairie of the mom of one of her coworkers, but we got a flat tire on my Mazda before we even left our neighborhood.

Thankfully Mr P's was open and gave us quick and efficient service patching the tire. Kudos to them. 

After the funeral home Lisa and I visited an Olive Garden nearby. It was one of the nicest Olive Garden we've ever been to, and the food and service was very good. 

Ron's Place

As I mentioned after the mammoth creation, Lulu and I headed down to Kenosha to deliver both the statue and a dorm fridge she donated to my office. While we were in Kenosha she patiently waited for me to be measured for my suit, then I treated her to a late lunch at Ron's Place, restaurant recommended to me by my coworker Seth. 

I do not recommend the cheddar cheese curds as they are not really curds just small blocks of cheese deep fried. Edible and tasty but they are not cheese curds my friends.

I thought my entree was going to be a similar disappointment. I chose the 5x5 Burger, which is their mainstay and a popular item. But when it came out it looked like nothing more than a burger patty an oversized mediocre looking bun. I will say I was wrong. The burger tasted like it was grilled over charcoal, and the entire sandwich had great flavor the source of which I cannot easily identify. I would order it again.

Meanwhile Lulu ordered a modified club sandwich with onion straws, and a side of french fries. I don't recall what this item is called on the menu but it was mighty tasty too.

If you're in Kenosha and one casual pub food, Ron's Place is definitely worth a stop. 

 

Date Night in Cedarburg

On Saturday Lisa and I went on a date to see "White Christmas" at the Rivoli, a historic theater in Cedarburg. This is the second year in a row we've gone to see WC at a theater, and it's a tradition we hope to maintain. 

To our surprise and delight, Cedarburg's downtown was picturesque, full of  Christmas music and holiday lights. It was a bit like walking through Bedford Falls itself!

We stopped into a historic home that was having an open house and saw a sink that wasn't far removed from what we lived with for a decade. 

Dining options were at a premium as the street was packed. We finally found open seats in the heated tent behind the Lime Cantina. 

The chips and salsa? 10 out of 10. 

Lisa loved the tortilla soup

Their elote sucked, as did their rice and beans, but my word! The mole on the enchiladas was marvelous, and (to me at least) carried more than a hint of cinnamon. 

Then it was time for the movie at the charming theater. We had to get their early to get seats as the owner warned us it was going to be a sellout, so we sat and chatted for about half an hour. 

It was a great date night with my lady! XO

 

Real Chili

I met up with Lisa and Junie  at Real Chili after Lisa scooped her from a driving lesson. While we were there we bought a bowl for a homeless man that was passing time in the restaurant drinking a water. I mention this not to point out our charity, but to laugh about the fact that he turned down my offer of a hot dog and insisted on the chili, which was twice the price LOL

The Holiday Ethnic Fair

Today YaYa bought me a ticket for the holiday ethnic fair at State Fair Park, where she was volunteering at the booth for the Polanki Women's Group.

Their booth featured many fine examples of Polish pottery and ceramics, nearly all of which were beyond the reach of my pocketbook at the moment.

I was surprised at both the scale and diversity of the fair. They were literally countries represented that I had never heard of, as well as representatives from nations on five continents (I didn't see an Australian booth, although I could have missed it.) I didn't photograph any of them until I was literally walking to the exit so this is but the smallest example of what there was to see.

Afterward, after I made her go along while I did a little necessary shopping, Yaya treated me to dinner at Luna's where I had huevos rancheros with chorizo.

Thanks for the invitation and the generosity YaYa!

Thursday with Junie

Last Thursday was Throwback Day for Spirit/Homecoming Week and Junie, as you can see, went with a hippie vibe. She was dissapointed because some people, including a teacher, said it wasn't far off her norm. I disagree, as did Junie. 

After school I picked her up and drove her to a nail appointment off 77th and Capitol Dr, where I sat outside in the car for 90 minutes. Cute nails tho.

Then we drive across town to a Sendiks where we picked up the corsages and a boutenaire for her and some of the Core Four. We also picked up some groceries, which reminded us we were hungry.

So we went to a nearby Five Guys. It was the second visit to one in my life and good or not, a ten dollar burger this wasn't.  They're crazy expensive in my opinion. 

The fries though . . .ok, the fries are worth the money.

Anyway we say and talked about the day, some theological points from her Confirmation class, and other matters of interest on a rainy October evening.

A Long Narrative on a Bad but Uneventful Day

So for a few weeks our church has been advertising this event, and I reminded the family, more than once over that span, that I wanted us to go. 

YaYa and her boyfriend begged out citing a prior engagement but said they'd try and go another time. To me it sounded like polite fiction but fair enough. That left me with three other kids and (alas) Junie's friend Bella. 

 Lulu didn't want to go because she doesn't like chicken, so ok. She decided to go somewhere else instead, and took Junie and her friend along with her - this, Junie said she was too tired from homecoming to go out to dinner. 

Well, that still left Smiley, but he was working until 6 which meant we'd get there pretty late - oh! He walks in early, at 4. Great, let's go I say. 

No, he'd already agreed to meet up with LuLu. 

Ugh. 

Whatever. So I sulked in my bedroom. It didn't help that I had woken up sick with a bad cold, that the rain and the cold weather had been nonstop since Lisa left on her trip, and that I was just generally bummed. 

Then an hour later I heard footsteps in the empty house. 

No burglar folks. It was Smiley.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be out with Lu." I said. 

"Naw, she had already left so I just went up to my room."

"Annnnnd you didn't think of then going with me like I've asked for weeks?" 

Boy was I angry at the lot of them. 

 I went alone, pretty miserable in body and spirit, paid my money, waited a good 20 minutes in this line . . . 

Got to the front and the woman in front of me was firmly declaring to the kitchen staff that if they were out of white meat, they didn't have to bother making her a plate. 

Trivia: I can't stand dark meat

So the kitchen guy looks past her to me and says "What are you looking for?"  (which sounds combative in print. It was not)

"White meat, but you're out eh?"

"Yeah, what you see is what we got left."

What I saw wasn't much. 

Now I should mention that about 10 times as I waited in line I thought about just leaving and considering the $15 I'd paid a donation to the church. So I was not in a place of indignation when this happened. 

"What about those chicken tenders I saw that kid have? Can I have some of those?" I asked. 

You know that scene during the run on the saving and loan in It's a Wonderful Life, when the one bank customer asks for only the smallest amount she can, and George is so happy he kisses her? I was half expecting a kiss from this dude, such was his delight that no further ruckus was made. 

So for my $15 I had three kid sized chicken tenders, a handful of fries that were obviously the end of the bag scraps, the very last dinner roll they had, and a spoonful of cranberry sauce. 

Shrug Whatever. They obviously had far more people than they expected and they'll do better next time I'm sure, and besides, it gave the kids some unwarranted validation for not going. 

It was not - at least prior to 7 pm - a good day for me at all. 

An Evening with Smiley

After work, at his request, I went with Smiley to the library to keep him company as he wrote a paper.  We were there 3 full hours, right until they closed at 8.  On the way home we stopped at Pita Palace and shared a great sampler plate while we traded Pokemon and discussed WWI.

Titanic: The Musical

Last Thursday Lisa picked me up from work and we headed out to Fort Atkinson, about an hour from work/90 minutes from home,  to see Titanic: The Musical at the Fireside Theater.

Lisa tried both "The Grand Staircase" and "The Wheelhouse." She didn't get past the first sip or two of the former, and I drank most of the latter. 

On Thursday's the dinner is a buffet, but starts with a salad served at your table. 

I clearly overdid it with the protein, but both the selection and the flavors were wonderful. 

Dessert was a disappointment. Chocolate creme brulee that tasted like cake batter and no crunch to the surface. Fail. 

For the show itself a first: balcony seats.

The view was spectacular. 

We knew nothing of the musical before the performance, but both the inventive set design and the stellar voices of the ensemble cast deserve praise here. The music is great, but I'm not a fan of some of the historical myths that it propagated: it demonizes Ismay, paints Smith as a frail man eager to please, and completely emasculates Murdoch. 

Anyway, you don't go to a musical for the history, right? 

As a musical, it was worth every penny. And as a date, it was the bomb.