One success and one failure:
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| I have a few friends who go to happy hour every Friday night together. I will occasionally join them, but to be honest, I was tired of the same two places they always went. And in the last couple of years, we had noticed an increase in the number of people going to happy hour, to the point where, if you didn't get there by 4 pm, forget getting a table. I'm not sure if it's the aging community we live, people being too cheap to spring for a meal, or just the lack of other places to go. This has forced them to look at alternative establishments, which is where I joined in last Friday night. I wouldn't call myself a 'picky eater' per se, but I have a low tolerance for most 'bar food,' meaning I'm not wasting calories on fried or greasy food. Unfortunately, the place we did go had a happy hour menu that consisted of wings, onion rings, fried mushrooms, etc. Even the salads on the regular menu were your basic iceberg variety. I settled on the parmesan eggplant sliders, and yes, they were fried, and no, they weren't good. I didn't see any wine on the happy hour menu, and it was a dismal selection of craft beers, so I went for my old standby: Blue Moon. I wish I could tell you it was as delicious as that photo looks, but that's not my picture. Mine was served in a plastic cup, with a thin slice of orange. All in all, going somewhere new was an epic fail last week. |
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In better news, I tried an old recipe with a new twist. I made my Angel Chicken (a crockpot recipe of chicken in a sauce that includes cream cheese and white wine) with these zucchini noodles instead of pasta. This was new for me, as I've only ever substituted spaghetti squash for pasta. I give the zucchini a thumbs up. I'm not a huge pasta person, but my family is, and even they thought this was a really good replacement. The only negative thing was the expense, but I'm not about to buy a device that does this for me.Stay tuned for more excitement in coming weeks (sarcasm inserted) |
We just bought a device this past weekend for making zucchini noodles out of fresh zucchini. We haven't tried it yet and probably won'e for a few weeks based on schedules, but I'll blog it and tell you how it went. We just recently discovered spaghetti squash with this great recipe I found and we are hooked on it. So much healthier than pasta with fewer calories.
ReplyDeleteThat does seem like a disappointing happy hour. Happy hours should,in my opinion, include some exotic type foods that actually taste good. Those eggplant sliders should have had potential for tasting better than they were. Cant' go wrong with a Blue Moon, unless it is presented the way yours was. Funny too that wine wasn't on the happy hour menu, usually the house wine is.
At least you are sticking with your commitment to get out there and try new things, right?
betty
You will have to post about the zucchini noodles! I just refuse to buy another kitchen device, though I wonder if I could do something similar with one of the graters I already do own.
DeleteI prefer quiet bars where you can have a real conversation, so happy hours may be too crowded for me...but what am I talking about, Mrs. C does not drink and I have to be careful to not drink too much, not very good at stopping, but if I could, I prefer the known and not trying new places. Why yes, i am a bit boring. And while bar food is probably not very healthy I do like a little grease from time to time.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, happy hours can be noisy. My preference is an outdoor patio, but that's not happening in January.
DeleteSure sounds like staying home may have been better than going to that new place haha Never even knew there were such a thing as zucchini noodles.
ReplyDeleteAnd now I'm wondering if you'd eat zucchini noodles?
DeleteA decent restaurant should have their own glasses. Especially for Blue Moon; I'm a big fan of the Belgian whites. . .
ReplyDeleteThey ran out! That's how busy it was!
DeleteAt least the bar could have had the decency to serve fried pickles!
ReplyDeleteJust today I had a "rice" bowl for lunch with cauliflower instead of grains. All in all it wasn't bad, but it also wasn't a real substitute for actual rice.
Fried pickles are on lots of menus around here. And omg, I love riced cauliflower. I make it once a week, though I buy the frozen bags of it. Lots of good recipes out there!
DeleteMine was a frozen bag too, though I have made it myself. Pretty easy to do with a food processor!
DeleteYour first experience reminded me of a similar experience I had right before Christmas, when one of my store vendors took me out for a holiday dinner at a rather expensive restaurant here in Philly as a treat for always supporting her company. The dinner total (for only the two of us) was $160.00. And I have to say, the meal was average (and served in very small portions and not at all flavorful). And can you believe that they did NOT serve wine by the glass, so she had to order me a $60.00 bottle of wine! I drank only one glass with dinner and took the rest of the bottle home. I felt bad that she spent all that money on the dinner, because in all honesty, it was not that great.
ReplyDelete"with these zucchini noodles instead of pasta. This was new for me, as I've only ever substituted spaghetti squash for pasta."
I've tried those same noodles and LOVED them! I've also had carrot noodles and they too were good.
Looking forward to your next post, my friend!
Oh, that is so disappointing about the pricey restaurant! And what place doesn't serve wine by the glass?? That is ridiculous. I've seen orange veggie noodles, but they might have been butternut squash. I will have to experiment with more.
DeleteThat doesn't sound good at all. I have a slicer that makes smaller noodles out of carrots and zucchini that I use sometimes. I'm not a fan of bar food either.
ReplyDeleteMy sister in law took us to the Stratosphere restaurant years ago and the food was expensive but not good.
Maybe you can post about the veggie slicer! Unless you already did and I don't remember. That's a bummer about Stratosphere!
DeleteSliders are showing up everywhere now, it seems. Sorry for your bad experiences.
ReplyDeletewww.thepulpitandthepen.com
I love a good slider, but this was not one.
DeleteI’ve come close to buying those zucchini noodles, but then realized I’d be the only one to eat them around here. Since even your pasta loving family thought they were a good replacement, I just may have to buy and try them anyways! That’s too bad about the place you ended up at being packed. My husband and I avoid crowds like plague.... I think we would have up and left. And besides, no wine? He would have been happy to choose a beer, but definitely not me!
ReplyDeleteThe noodles were really quite good. I just put a tablespoon of butter in a skillet and then added the zucchini and stir fried them for a few minutes until tender. Thanks for stopping by!
DeletePlastic cup?
ReplyDeleteSomehow I can't bring myself to drink anything in a plastic cup/glass.
Yeah, I felt like I was 18 again!
DeleteWe've made them zucchini 'noodles' using Queenie's 'banjo' slicer, works OK. Have also heard of folks using a french-fry cutter with some success.
ReplyDeleteQueenie says I grow too much zucc. I say there's no such thing. Only the chickens win in this argument ..... ;-)
Oh, we love zucchini. So versatile for both sweet and savory recipes. I'm not sure if it's chock full of vitamins and nutrients, but at last it's not bad for you!
DeleteIn my view, the first one is definitely not an epic fail. It was just an experience where you learned a bar you won't want to go back to. That's always good information to have.
ReplyDeleteI have not yet tried zoodles, but I will. I think they're a great idea.
I suppose you're right . . . I can cross that place off my list and move on to something else new. You will like the zoodles (and I didn't know that's what they were called!)
DeleteOmgosh. Trying new places or even finding one place that doesn't change over the years is so challenging! I've been checking reviews on just about every place I've been going lately because I too have decided to do some new things. Unfortunately, some of those new things just don't turn out. My biggest pet peeve is going to some pricey place and having everything from the service to the meal to the drinks just mediocre. - Your zucchini noodles I am totally on board with. I love 'em! I use eggplant too as well as the spaghetti squash. I'm finding a lot of alternatives in my new quest to be as healthy as I can be this year and every year to follow! - I'm diggin' your blog and I will be stalking you. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to have found your blog as well! Yes, I hate it when you spend $$$ and are disappointed. We've had that happen a few times on trips and that's really made us sad (especially when you've read rave reviews). Oh well, live and learn!
DeleteUgh! Bar food! That's the worst. It's like someone took a list of nutritional guidelines and did the exact opposite of what they said. And no wine?! No way!
ReplyDeleteBut you did try something new and you earned your wings with the Angel chicken. I like the sound of those zucchini noodles.
Not every experiment will succeed, but you win every time you change up your old routine.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks, Rob. I like the way you put that! Changing things up is helping me enjoy life, despite a dud happening here and there.
DeleteI saw your first picture and thought you were trying a mimosa for the first time!
ReplyDeleteI love that you are doing this! You mentioned in a comment you have riced cauliflower on a regular basis. That's something I've never had. *Puts it on list*
I'm fairly new to spaghetti squash, too - tried it for the first time about two years ago. A girlfriend told me to prick the squash a few times and put it in the crockpot with a cup of water for a few hours. Easy!
We eat the riced cauliflower or broccoli once a week as a side dish and love it. I highly recommend it and the bags of frozen are cheap. I've always microwaved the squash and then cut it open and baked it. I will have to look into the crockpot version. Thanks!
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