Going Out To Eat

I LOVE going out to eat. This love developed shortly after I heard one too many, "I don't like this. I don't want to eat it. Waaaah!" Besides, cooking takes preparation, time and talent and I'd rather blog, or sew, or sit on my butt watching TiVo'd Oprah. We don't think about cooking until everyone is starving and by then it's too late to get started. I know I've trained my family to be this way - shame on me. When I go out to eat I pretty much get the exact same thing everytime at each restaurant. Each place has one or more items on the menu I love and trying something else (like my hubby does EVERY time) just ends in disappointment and wishing I had just gotten what I always get. Here's my list of restaurants and what I get there, in no particular order... (drum roll please) 1. Carrabba's: filet Marsala, Mezzaluna Carrabba (combination of 2 dishes) or the Salmon On a number of times (at least 3) the salmon has come to me not completely cooked, so watch out for that. Anything with the word "Bryan" in it is delicious. The taglainini (sp?) is foul - not in the chicken sense but in the gross sense. Proceed with caution. Most entree's come with soup (all are yummy but the spicy chicken is especially) or a salad; the Caesar is the best and I get mine without croutons - if I'm going to eat all that bread in olive oil then I need no croutons. Oh, another thing about the olive oil, you have to ask for the balsamic vinegar; add it. 2. Wendy's: grilled chicken sandwich with fries and a coke I figure that ordering the GRILLED chicken instead of the breaded/fried gives me permission to have some fries and coke. Sometimes I'll throw away the end of the bread if I run out of chicken in the bites. This is not how I grew up but I'm trying to convert - I don't have to eat everything on my plate MOTHER! 3. Los Hermanos: Halibut Veracruz Now, the clencher with LH is that I never go if I have to wait longer than 10 minutes. There is no burrito on this planet worth a 2 hour wait. Swing through Taco Hell - it's faster anyway. Their purple smoothie drink is worth the $ but not worth buying a t-shirt and wearing it there so you can get it for free. Seriously, I don't want to look like an idiot to save $3.25. No offence to those who do want to look like idiots... you're saving lots of money and that is to be commended! 4. Thai Village in AF: Pad Thai and/or the coconut soup (can't remember the official name) This place gets a bad rap because they serve their soda in a can. But, I am happy to know that no bugs have fallen into the fountain container and I'm drinking the real deal. There is one server there that needs an attitude adjustment (WE are the customer, don't be a jerk) but most of them are gracious. Pad thai is what I get at any Thai restaurant. 5. Cafe' Rio: grilled steak salad only if I'm going there with someone who loves it will I wait in line for 30-45 minutes for some friggin' lettuce and chewy sliced steak. I don't get the big deal about that place. It's just too long to wait for a burrito (see the LH notes). Granted, I do think their tomatillo ranch dressing is to DIE for but my gourmet friend Miss Teenie can make it pretty close to the real deal. The place we prefer is... 6. Bajio: chicken chimichanga with black beans and sweet rice topped with mango salsa B usually gets the pineapple shrimp salad but I think the shrimp are dumb. They're just little guys, not worth stabbing around the lettuce for (ending in a preposition?). But the guys behind the counter are the SAME ones everytime (seems like they're at the other ones we go to also, but I'm sure they're not). The kids chaw on a cheese quesadilla ("Make yourself a dang quesa-dill-a, Napoleon!") and the sweet rice while gulping down Apple Beer (who's idea was Apple Beer anyway?) 7. California Pizza Kitchen: hummus with pita bread if with a friend and Margherita Pizza I can eat a whole pizza by myself. The crust is thin and tasty and the ingredients are fresh basil, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. The hummus is to die for. They have a spicy grilled chicken soup that, I swear, is the same that you can get in the refridgerator section of Costco. I have one in my freezer at this very moment. 8. Carl's Jr.: I love, love, love the low-carb $6 burger that comes wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun Sometimes they use a piece of lettuce that is too monsterous to get into your mouth but the patty is so tasty and the fresh ingredients are refreshing. Sometimes I top it off with an Oreo Shake --- I don't eat the burger for any type of diet, I just like the taste. 9. Arby's: jalepeno poppers with the berry dipping sauce I'll swing through and just snack on those sometimes. Not ALL the time or often but they're fun and I won't go through the trouble of making them at home. 10. Tepanyaki: chicken with veggies This is a fun place to go if you have a group and are alright with smelling like grill smoke. You must be ready for them to hurl a busted piece of shrimp or chicken (if you're allergic to fish) into your mouth but even my kids have successfully accomplished this feat (one is 6 and the other almost 3). I hear they're opening one in Lehi right off the freeway. The Provo one is out-of-date and kinda trashy. My P loves the broth they bring out at the beginning; shocking. These are all places in the Utah Valley area. Restaurants up in SLC have much better cuisine than we do down here and I do try what sounds good on the menu (Red Rock Brewery, Lugano's, Pine, The Boulevard, Cucina's). With the exception of Carrabba's, we've found the food choices in the valley to be sub-par. What makes your tastebuds tap?