Tag Archives: Food

August 29, 2011 · 7:59 pm

WildSide BBQ Bar and Grill

You have until tomorrow to enter my giveaway!

Last night we headed out to Thornton Park’s WildSide BBQ Bar and Grill. Once we were seated, we discovered that they revamped their menu, so I was excited to see what they had to offer.

Kevin ordered their brisket platter with a side of French fries and garlic bread. I may have snuck a piece of his bread…

brisket

garlic bread

I ordered a new item: mahi fish tacos. The mahi was encrusted with tortilla chips, and it comes with a side of their pasta salad. I love WildSide’s pasta salad. It’s a vinaigrette based dressing and is light and delicious. I was glad to see they didn’t change this recipe. I need to recreate it as soon as possible.

mahi tacos

It was a lot of food. I got three fish tacos. Each taco had a big piece of mahi with the tortilla chip crust and then was topped with cabbage, corn and tomato salsa, and jalapeno ranch dressing. The flavors were really good, but the fish was a little dry. I’ve definitely had fresher fish elsewhere. I really liked the crunchiness of the cabbage and the spiciness of the salsa. I was stuffed after only eating two tacos (and of course, all my pasta salad).

After my disappointment in myself yesterday for a  weak workout week (say that three times fast), I managed to will myself to the gym despite having a slight stress-induced panic attack as I was walking inside. I kept thinking, what am I doing here? You see, I had gotten out of work an hour later than usual, had a longer-cook-time dinner planned for tonight of which some was going to our next door neighbor who just had a baby a few days ago, and I really need to read a book for work within the next few days. Yes, I have to read a book for a project I’m working on at work. The book is actually really interesting, but I still have a ways to go and probably should have had it done already.

But I knew I had to start out the week right, correct my mistakes from last week and get moving. I felt really good after my workout and not as stressed (maybe because of the endorphins?).

Now stuffed chicken is in the oven (with extra to be brought next door later tonight or tomorrow as to not disturb a sleeping baby), and I plan on hunkering down and reading tonight.

Has you Monday been as busy as mine?

Yesterday, I asked all of you if you ever felt guilty for missing a workout. Do you ever feel guilty for working out when you know you have a ton of other things to do? Today I definitely felt a little bit of guilt, but I feel better now that I know I can still get everything done. I would also never put working out before a friend or family who really needed me or before my health.

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Filed under BBQ, Fitness, Thornton Park

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August 28, 2011 · 8:01 pm

Chuck’s

Two more days to enter my stainless steel straws giveaway!

This morning Kevin and I set off for a long walk with the puppy before it got too hot out then met up with his brother, sister-in-law and nephew for breakfast at Chuck’s in the Mills50 district. Chuck’s is a small, British diner. The British family that owns it is super friendly and welcoming. Their breakfast menu isn’t huge. You can order your typical breakfast fare: eggs, waffles, pancakes, etc. They also have traditional English bangers (sausage links).

Kevin ordered scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns while I ordered a vegetable omelet with grits.

Kevin's

Mine

The eggs in the omelet were cooked really well, but I thought the vegetable choice was interesting. It had green beans, red peppers and carrots. I was in the mood for onions and mushrooms. The only cheese they offer at Chuck’s is American, so I opted for no cheese. I’m not really a fan of American cheese unless it’s in a grilled cheese.

Overall, it’s a really good little diner with great service, but the menu is a little limited.

Weekly Workout Summary

I can’t remember the last time I took more than two days off from working out. I just felt really sluggish and exhausted all week and had very little desire or motivation to workout. I’ve been seeing great progress in how I look and on the scale, so I hate to have a down week, but I wonder if it’s also my body telling me to take a rest of week. The problem is that I tend to feel a lot of guilt afterward when I don’t work out.

Tomorrow starts a new week, and I just need to stay focused and committed to my workout goals.

What are your thoughts on rest weeks? Do you ever feel guilty for not working out?

Thoughts on American cheese?

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Filed under Breakfast, British, Mills50

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August 26, 2011 · 7:26 pm

Napasorn

If you haven’t done so, don’t forget to enter my stainless steel straws giveaway!

I was expecting Hurricane Irene to rain on my lunch parade today, but we made it through the day with no storms in downtown Orlando. My friend Katie and I grabbed lunch at Napasorn Thai Restaurant downtown on Pine Street. I adore Thai food.

When we walked into Napasorn, it was packed. We were actually seated at the bar because all of the tables were taken. It must be a popular workweek lunch destination, especially on Fridays.

We started out with ginger salads, soft rolls (what they call their spring rolls) and cheese roll crisps.

salad

soft rolls

cheese roll crisp

The ginger salad was your typical Asian salad, and the ginger salad dressing was nice and chunky. Their summer rolls had plenty of shrimp and were really good and refreshing. I also really enjoyed the cheese rolls, which also had shrimp and cream cheese on the inside and was served with a plum dipping sauce. It tasted almost like crab ragoon.

It was a good thing we loaded up on appetizers because it took more than an hour for our main courses to come out. Our waitress explained that the kitchen got slammed all at once. I looked around the restaurant and not one table had their food the whole time we were waiting for ours.

Finally all of the food came out at once to everyone in the restaurant, and the food was definitely hot. You could tell it was coming straight off the stove, running out the kitchen to the tables.

I ordered the tofu pad Thai, which was delicious. It actually ended up being one of the best pad Thais I’ve ever had.

pad thai

The sauce coating the noodles was delicious, and you can choose how spicy you’d like it. I got it at a medium heat, which was perfect. The only problem was I scoffed it down quicker than I should have. It took so long for the food to get out that I really felt like I needed to get back to the office, so I pretty much inhaled the plate. I don’t know if I even came up for air.

Katie ordered panang curry with chicken, and she said it was her new favorite thing on their menu. It smelled really delicious.

panang curry

I was appreciative of the extra time Katie and I got to spend catching up, but  I definitely can’t be taking two hour lunches every day. I was disappointed in the speed that the food came out, but I also felt bad for the waitress because she was sort of the face of the issue, even though it was a problem in the kitchen.

Do you like spicy foods? I usually like a little bit of spice, but I can’t handle too much. Ordering things at a “medium” is perfect.

What’s the longest you’ve ever had to wait at a restaurant for food? I felt like I was on Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares!

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Filed under Asian, Downtown Orlando, Thai

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August 14, 2011 · 4:48 pm

Hot Dog Heaven and sister time

Now that the summer is coming to an end, my sister is heading back up to Normal, Illinois, to start her second year at Illinois State University. I feel like she just got home! Yesterday, we decided to spend the day together to get in some time together before her trip back.

First we met up for lunch at Hot Dog Heaven with my dad and step mom for some Chicago hot dogs and tamales.

hot dog

tamale

I had never been to Hot Dog Heaven before, but my parents go pretty often. It’s a very traditional Chicago style dog, and it was very tasty. They definitely bring in a lunch crowd. Upon walking in, you’re greeted by Chicago memorabilia on the walls and signs advertising their Vienna beef hot dogs. It was great.

After our lunch, my sister and I headed back to their house to bake some cookies. Kathryn has a great sugar cookies recipe, and we had fun baking and decorating them.

beating

cookie sheet

scooping

iced cookies

sprinkling

Kathryn

Kathryn and I

It was a ton of fun baking together, and the cookies came out great. I’ve been snacking on them ever since. After our tasty treats, we laid by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. It was a great day with my sister!

How many siblings do you have? It’s just my sister and I, and we are five years apart. I can’t believe she’s in college! It’s so crazy!

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Filed under American, Orlando, Quick Service

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August 11, 2011 · 7:41 pm

Shari

Last night my friend and former coworker from my previous job, Phillip, and I grabbed dinner and caught up at Shari Sushi in Thornton Park. I had never been there before, but I had always heard good things about the food; however, I was warned that sometimes the wait staff can be a little snooty.

Shari was hopping for a Wednesday night! The space looks like it could have been a night club at one point. We were seated in the upstairs balcony section, which overlooks the rest of the restaurant. Despite what I had heard about the snoot snoot level, out waitress was really sweet and attentive.

It is definitely a hipper and trendier atmosphere and menu than the other sushi places I’ve been to. Just look at their funky water glasses.

water

Yes, I did almost spill it a few times.

Their menu is very unique with nontraditional sushi rolls. I didn’t see any plain California rolls or spicy tuna rolls here. Everything had some sort of twist. Phillip ordered a Rainbow roll and their Chiquita roll, which has bananas on top. I’m definitely going to try this one my next trip. He said the Chiquita roll was awesome and really liked the banana flavor.

Phillip's

I ordered the Mt. Chau roll, which is a California roll with real crab (as opposed to krab) with a seafood medley baked on top. I also ordered the dragon roll, which had shrimp tempura, asparagus and avocado.

Mine

This may look like a lot, and you’re probably right. But, of course, I cleaned my plate. Everything tasted really fresh and went well together.

I really enjoyed the uniqueness of their menu, but it was a little pricier than most sushi places I’ve been to. All of the rolls were at least $10 and some were more than $20 per piece. It’s good, but be prepared to spend a little more. Also, if you’re in the mood for simpler or more traditional rolls, you may want to look elsewhere.

I think it’s a great post-work place, and I had a wonderful time catching up with Phillip.

Are you a fan of sushi? What is your favorite roll or sushi ingredient? My favorite is raw salmon. I could eat it for days!

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Filed under Sushi, Thornton Park

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