Rock N Roll McDonald's

To me this was as good as any other McDonalds. It's nice to have a drive thru option in downtown Chicago in case you need a coffee or something and you're car-bound. I stopped for a late nite cheeseburger and frappe for my long drive back home to Cincinnati. I haven't had the pleasure of dining in yet, but I imagine it's pretty interesting from what I saw. I drove passed the Beatles statues on my way through the drive thru.

If you need a snack or pick me up from a reliable old favorite, stop by the Rock n Roll McDonald's!

Mekong Thai Cuisine

I was driving around aimlessly on a day off and poked into Mekong for lunch.

I ordered a spring roll which was good, it tasted freshly made with lots of cabbage inside. The dipping sauce was a mix of mustard and sweet duck sauce type sauce.



I departed from my normal Pad Thai and ordered Pad Kee Mao with shrimp. It was very good, but not much to look at. It was definitely flavored well with chilis and smokey goodness. It did lack the color found in lots of Pad Kee Mao dishes in other restaurants.  I definitely liked the wide noodles in this dish.



I also ordered their hot and sour soup which I always like. It was vinegary and tasty. I would go back here especially for lunch, their prices were more than fair. The server was not the most attentive. I had drank all my water with my spicy dish and was panting waiting on her to come back to refill it.

Sprinkles

I so love Sprinkles. I really do. We made a daily trek to Sprinkles. That's right, daily. It was totally worth it. If you've never been to Sprinkles, I am sorry. They have a beautiful selection of cupcakes, and beverage options. They have a new flavor since my last visit. I found the magic of the salty caramel and had one every day. Everyone was really friendly. I even saw one of the employees come outside to take an order because the customer had a dog. There is limited seating inside but there is a generously sized bench outside for your cupcake/people watching pleasure.

I highly recommend you start with a milk chocolate, or a salty caramel. They are magical.

Phoenix

You would think that on Easter Sunday there would be more open. Oh well, poor planning. I was in town for a concert and it finally dawned on me to drive to Chinatown and find some food. After a LONG time trying to find parking I got into Phoenix and was sat immediately.

Everyone who greeted me was warm and friendly. It's a shame my photos didn't come out because from my table on the 2nd floor you can see a pretty nice view of the skyline. I ordered the shrimp dumplings which were good, freshly battered in tempura and piping hot with fresh shrimp.

I also ordered the Mongolian Beef, which was the best I've ever had. The beef was incredibly tender you could just shred it with your fork. A lot of restaurants will lean heavily on the onion element of Mongolian Beef, this restaurant leaned more on the beef. There was so much of the food that I had to take it home.

I was impressed and shocked to find out that they serve abalone, shark fin, fresh crab and conch at Phoenix. That's a little too adventurous for me on this visit anyways! If Chinatown is unfamiliar to you, give Phoenix a shot. If you arrive for brunch hours you can treat yourself to Dim Sum, which is what I wanted, but I got there too late. 

Dragon City II

Full Disclosure: I did not dine in. I had delivery.

I was so excited to find a cheap Chinese restaurant that delivers to my house. That is just too dangerous!

Pat ordered the sesame chicken and I had the General Tso's chicken. They didn't skimp on the veggies either, there was a decent amount of broccoli and such. Both were delicious and crisp. We also ordered crab rangoon (very tasty), egg roll (tasted housemade), and beef teriyaki which were tasty and tender.

They had several coupons for delivery orders which netted us a free 2 liter of soda, the delivery driver was very friendly and prompt. 

I have read mixed reviews of their dine in that it's dingy and old. As long as they prepare delicious food like our order I don't have to worry about it.

Buona Vita Pizzeria

We had to run some errands and were told about this charming little pizza place in Dayton. Bellevue/Dayton is not an area that I know a lot about. A friend of ours works here and gave me the inside scoop on what's good here.

Buona Vita has a decent wine and beer selection and their menu was interesting.

I ordered a salad with their homemade bleu cheese dressing. Very tasty. I love homemade dressings.  We also ordered the cheese stuffed breadsticks which were yummy.



I ordered the Furrio panini sandwich. This was a steak patty, pepperoni and their spicy red pepper sauce. This was really tasty and served with chips.



Pat ordered the meat pizza which had sausage and pepperoni which had a thin crust and traditional Italian seasonings on top. The pizza was really good. Pat said that he preferred this pizza to Pomodori which he loves. I liked it quite a bit as well.



Buona Vita is a good neighborhood pizza shop with tasty fresh foods. If you're in the Bellevue/Dayton area give it atry.

Mom's Shopping List: May

 

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From: Mom [mailto:xxxx@fuse.net]
Sent: Saturday, May 07, 2011 3:08 PM
To: Schlosser Becky L
Subject: groceries

 

2 boxes crackers                                                                                                         

lg jar prego spaghetti sauce

5 lb bag potatoes                                                                                                        

2 lg packages swiss cheese

tub country crock                                                                                                         

box spiral macaroni

6 cans cream mushroom soup

6 cans beefaroni

2 cans frozen pink lemonade

gal distilled water                                                                                                        

kitchen funnel

lg pk lighters

bag mandarin oranges

lg container watermelon

3 loaves wonder bread

2 pks bacon

3 tubes weber sausage

2pks american cheese

lg pk hot dogs

3 tubes original Pringles

2 gal vit D milk

lg container choc Nesquick – use to drink this all the time when i was pregnant with you, made good hot choc

2 cases sprite

12 TV dinners (2 of each)

lg pk Quilted Northern toilet paper

4 T-Bones steaks

2 lg sirloin

5 lb bag potatoes

tub country crock

Banquet pot pies 6 of any kind

Banquet chicken tenders

2 boxes crunch n munch  (snack)

or lg container caramel popcorn

  

topsy turvy  w/3 holes

1 cherry tomato plant

2 beefsteak tomato plant

5 lb bag TOP SOIL

 

 

For reals she has asked for that damn Topsy Turvy thing for 3 months now and I refuse to get it because I’ll end up taking care of it. I don’t like tomatoes that much. This list is tame compared to last months.

 

Predicting Movie Remakes of the Future: Ghostbusters

I know. Believe me, I know. You don’t want it, nor do I. But you know it’s going to happen. When discussing this movie with my husband for this post he told me “don’t touch Ghostbusters”. I don’t disagree. I just feel a bit of satisfaction predicting the horrible versions before they happen. I won’t bother with much summarization. If you’ve never seen Ghostbusters, you should.

Original Cast:

Bill Murray: Dr. Peter Venkman

Dan Aykroyd: Dr. Raymond Stantz

Harold Ramis: Dr. Egon Spengler

Ernie Hudson: Winston Zeddemore

Sigourney Weaver: Dana Barrett
Rick Moranis: Louis Tully

Annie Potts: Janine Melnitz

William Atherton: Walter Peck

David Margulies: Mayor Lenny

Slavitza Jovan: Gozer

Hollywood Version:

Dr. Peter Venkman: Ryan Reynolds

Dr. Raymond Stantz: James Franco

Dr. Egon Spengler: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Winston Zeddemore: Kenan Thompson

Dana Barrett: Kristen Bell

Louis Tully: Jonah Hill

Janine Melnitz: Zooey Deschanel

Walter Peck: Justin Long

Mayor Lenny: Val Kilmer

Gozer: Lady Gaga *can also do update on the song Ghostbusters

Version I Would Actually Enjoy:

Dr. Peter Venkman: Andy Samberg

Dr. Raymond Stantz: Fred Armisen

Dr. Egon Spengler: Bill Hader

Winston Zeddemore: Romany Malco or Craig Robinson

Dana Barrett: Rose Byrne

Louis Tully: Charlie Day

Janine Melnitz: Kristen Schaal

Walter Peck: Jim Parsons

Mayor Lenny: Bill Murray

Gozer: Lady Gaga *can also do update on the song Ghostbusters

Update Hurdles:

Getting anyone to watch either due to extreme hatred for any remake made of this eternally classic movie.

So, there it is. Either I’m sorry, or you’re welcome.