Weekend Epicurean Adventures

One thing that Erika and I really enjoy doing together is going to restaurant and enjoying a good meal.  Since we first took Arianna to Culvers when she was three days old, she's quite a good girl in restaurants, and though we sometimes have to eat quickly, it is not because of a pending meltdown.  She likes to sing and cheer in restaurants, so its very cute and we make sure that she is not kicking the table or screaming.  She can amuse herself quite nicely with paper, crayons, sugar packets, and a little towers of creamer.

We try to avoid fast food except when we are tired or in the middle of a road trip because we figure if we are going to spend money eating out, to do it at places we enjoy.  Today we had a two-restaurant day.  We had breakfast at Chuck's Southern Comfort Cafe.  I tried something new -- sweet potato pancakes which were quite tasty.  They are chewy like a crepe, but have the thickness of a pancake and a taste that goes well with real maple syrup.  Erika had huevos motulodos with eggs over-easy.  They looked and smelled delicious.  Arianna ate a medley of banana, pancakes, and cereal.  Chuck's is quickly becoming our Sunday breakfast place.

We then decided for Thai food for dinner.  Thai is my favorite of the Asian cuisines, and it turns out there is a good Thai place in a strip-mall on 123rd & Harlem called Thai Smile.  We had pad stickers and chicken rice soup for appetizers, while I had spicy chili chicken and Erika had cashew chicken with pineapple for the main course.  Arianna was watching Wow Wow Wubzy and singing along to the Wubb Girls.

On Saturday, we went to the Taj Mahal Indian & Pakistani Restaurant in Orland Park.  I've not had Indian food in a long time.  Erika ate for the lunch buffet while I ordered Frontier chicken from the menu.  It was all very delicious and it was nice to have Indian food that was not dry ans tasteless like the last few times I've had trired it.  I guess I needed to go to a good Indian restaurant.

All in all, it was an excellent culinary weekend.  Erika and I really enjoy a little bit of the Epicurean life, and it is fun to introduce our daughter to new places to eat and new cuisines to try.  Even if she doesn't eat them now, she'll never remember a time in her life without them.  She in an anthropologist's daughter, after all.


Share