When You Don't Cook, Where Do You Eat?
#11
  Re: (...)
Hey All,

Just a Q -

When it's "cook's night off", do you go out to your favorite restaurant or do you order in? Or both?

The Hubby and I dine out at a restaurant 2-3 times a year. Always on Valentine's Day and my BD, and sometimes just out of the blue.

No, wait a sec, make that exactly 2 times a year. <<<that sneak!>>

Unfortunately, I have found out that my fav-o-rite steak house and immaculate raw bar place has closed this year due to a McCormick and Schmink's opening nearby. When we were there last Feb 14th, we had the place to ourselves at 6 pm, not a good sign. The year earlier, we couldn't get a table with a week's notice. So he made reservations at McC's & S's this Saturday.

[rant]
I am not happy with Steak 38 going out of biz. I loved that place! In all of the 16+ years we've been going there, I only once had a grain of sand once in my 1 dozen Blue Point oyster apps. I even got a pearl one time, teeny-weeny, but a pearl nonetheless. Okay, the filets were a bit pricey - $40 per - but they were done to order or replaced, and that only happened once.
[/rant]

So now they're gone, closed for good, and we're going to this new steakhouse. Has anyone been to McC's & S's before? I'm not terribly fond of fish (mother's fried flounder during Lent - gag!!), if you've been there, what's good?

Or, name your fave restaurant/take-out place that you do on cook's night off and where it's at and why you like it.

Barbara
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Then find someone whose life has given them vodka.
Reply
#12
  Re: When You Don't Cook, Where Do You Eat? by BarbaraS (Hey All,[br][br]Just...)
We try to avoid the chains as much as possible. Even though our percentage of population who eat meals out is really high (probably because of the 35,000 students), we only seem to get B market chain restruants and have the ususal collection of Chili's, Applebee's, etc. There are a couple of local restaurants we especially like - KoFusion, Escobar's, Silvercreek
Reply
#13
  Re: When You Don't Cook, Where Do You Eat? by BarbaraS (Hey All,[br][br]Just...)
Depends how much time and money I have. At 35-40 cents each, baleadas or pastelitos can make for a good, simple, and VERY inexpensive meal. These are available at dozens of comedores and lots of street vendors. My favourites, for these are Kiri Kiki and Apetito's Café.

For a little more - around $2-$4, plenty of comedores and merenderos have meals consisting of a nice piece of fried, baked, or rotisserie chicken, a small salad, some refried red beans, and a montón of tajadas. My favourites for that are Merendero Paola and Pollos Marlon.

For something more upscale, there's Playa Taty's or El Guapo's, with a variety of things starting at around $7-8. The former even has prime rib (something not easy to get here) on Sundays, and the latter serves an American-style, turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day.

Of course, there are plenty of chains, including many American ones. My favourites, there, are Quizno's (American, of course), and Pollo Campero (a Guatemalan chain that has even spread to some parts of the States).

Even with all these options, I don't eat out often, but usually cook something for myself, or reheat something I've already made.
If blueberry muffins have blueberries in them, what do vegan muffins have?
Reply
#14
  Re: Re: When You Don't Cook, Where Do You Eat? by HomeCulinarian (We try to avoid the ...)
If I don't cook, they order out. Pizza or Chinese.
Practice safe lunch. Use a condiment.
Reply
#15
  Re: Re: When You Don't Cook, Where Do You Eat? by labradors (Depends how much tim...)
Labs,

My Father opened a meat store (carniceria) in The Dominican Republic about 15 years ago when my folks used to own a house there. The biz did great in dry-aged meat, but suffered greatly after he sold it out to a local biz man.

Yeah, good beef is hard to get in the Caribbean. All the cows are range fed grass, that's why he tried that biz in the first place.

On the other hand, the pork was absolutely fantastic!! Pigs had been introduced after a quarantined period due to hoof and mouth disease. And the Dom Rep pork people don't inject them with nitrites and nitrates and it was the most tender and tasteful pork we've ever had!! We used to bring back a slab or two of bacon along with a six-pack or two of El Presidente beer. The El Prez you get in the US if for crap. It's got preservatives in it that totally change its taste. I practically spit it out at the bar where I ordered it after tasting it. Ultra yuck!!

Is the pork in the Honduras preservative free, too?

Barbara
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Then find someone whose life has given them vodka.
Reply
#16
  Re: Re: When You Don't Cook, Where Do You Eat? by BarbaraS (Labs,[br][br]My Fath...)
[blockquote]Quote:

On the other hand, the pork was absolutely fantastic!!

Same here. Pork and chicken are wonderful. Beef is not very good, but there are ways to make some good beef dishes, if one chooses the right cut. The ones that work the best for me, here are punta de pierna (top round) and cabeza de lomo (top sirloin).
If blueberry muffins have blueberries in them, what do vegan muffins have?
Reply
#17
  Re: Re: When You Don't Cook, Where Do You Eat? by BarbaraS (Labs,[br][br]My Fath...)
I have eaten at McCormick and Schmicks a few times. The food has always been wonderful. My only complaint is that it is always very crowded and loud. At the Kansas City location, there is a special booth you can reserve that is very private and even has curtains. Some day I plan to do that.
Theresa

Everything tastes better Alfresco!
Reply
#18
  Re: Re: When You Don't Cook, Where Do You Eat? by chef_Tab (I have eaten at McCo...)
Quote:

I have eaten at McCormick and Schmicks a few times. The food has always been wonderful. My only complaint is that it is always very crowded and loud. At the Kansas City location, there is a special booth you can reserve that is very private and even has curtains. Some day I plan to do that.




Ah, thanks for the info!!

Barbara
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Then find someone whose life has given them vodka.
Reply
#19
  Re: When You Don't Cook, Where Do You Eat? by BarbaraS (Hey All,[br][br]Just...)
I'm, sorry, Barbara, I can't help you with McC and S, but I can answer the rest of your question.

We always try to stay local. We live in a small town, and we don't have many choices but we're fortunate that we have 2 good ones, a tiny Italian place and an Irish-American newbie. They try to use as many local products as possible, and we want to support that effort. The only chain we visit is the Outback.

We hate it when a favorite restaurant closes, or changes hands and not for the better.

It's a scary time for restaurants, and anyone in the food service business. 2 years ago, the faculty dining room I managed was closed because of the economy. Then my position as a cook in catering was eliminated, same reason. Now I'm back in the restaurant business in a new venture. Things are good so far, but noone is breathing easy.

So, that's why we try to support our locals, rather than the chains, most of the time.

PJ
PJ
Reply
#20
  Re: Re: When You Don't Cook, Where Do You Eat? by pjcooks (I'm, sorry, Barbara,...)
If I don't cook the house goes hungry. Holly has trouble frying water and every restaurant around "locally" is trying their best to be the best Applebee's they can be. A couple of hours away we have a Biaggi's that I love. We have some nice places the Des Moines area and a couple in Ames but locally we have NOTHING!

We might get a pizza from the local quick stop type of store every now and again. Buy 10 larges and the next one is free after all.
"Ponder well on this point: the pleasant hours of our life are all connected, by a more or less tangible link, with some memory of the table."-Charles Pierre Monselet, French author(1825-1888)
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)