Phipps Feeding Fiasco

Still not working, no pics (they’re apparently working on it)…

The experience

We needed to run some errands again…yes, the fish!  One of our fish actually did die like the Pet Store guy said would happen, but Ogre still needed to change out the water.  So, we had to go to the Pet Store to buy some supplies for him to do that.  Now we just have to wait for the water to clear or the fish to stop dying (2 down, 3 to go).  Anyway, when I was shopping downton last week, I recalled that there is that little cafe on 15th street not surprisingly called the 15th Street Cafe.  So, we headed there with the kids.

We were the only ones in the restaurant when we showed up so we had our pick of seats.  In fact, the kids did not even want to sit with Ogre and me and we figured that would be okay since we had the place to ourselves. 

Ogre immediately noticed the “fans” above our heads and he and the kids thought this was pretty cute!

Ogre ordered dinner at the counter.  While we waited, the kids played at their table, Ogre read the Observer, and I watched America’s Got Talent on the TV.

Unfortunately, while the kids were playing Ring Around the Rosie, Benji hit his head against the table and had to come running over to Papa.  Mina was very sweet and came over to give him a hug and a kiss.  Apparently, she did not kiss his boo boo because he said, “No, Mina, kiss other side.”  And she did.  He was better after that and went back to playing.

Our dinner arrived and Ogre got the kids settled back down at the table and then decided he’d join me on my side of the table so he could watch AGT on TV also.  We couldn’t actually hear anything going on TV, but perhaps that is what made it even funnier.

The kids finished up dinner pretty quickly and decided that maybe their parents weren’t so embarrassing to eat dinner with.  Both of the kids ended up in Papa’s lap as I was still finishing up dinner.  Benji went back to their table to eat whatever left over scraps they had from dinner and ended up hitting his head again on the table.  Sheesh.  He headed back over to Papa for some loving. 

Right about that time, I decided I was done with dinner and we headed on out to get more fish supplies!

The food

It was a pretty schizophrenic menu.  They had a cuban sandwich, some pastas, salmon on special, burgers…I don’t know what to categorize this as!

I ordered a Patty Melt.  It was a steak patty on light colored rye bread with onions and mayo and jack cheese.  For a burger that was WELL done, it was still pretty juicy, but pretty lacking in flavor.  It was just bland overall, it needed some tanginess to it (like French dressing or Thousand Island).  The caraway seeds in the rye bread was also pretty overwhelming, but that may just be the pregnancy sensitivity talking!

Ogre had a Cuban (pork loin and ham with a jalapeno dressing and mustard) sandwich and he liked it a lot. He was very complimentary of it.  He added his side of cole slaw to his salad and said it tasted better like that.

The kids shared a PB&J sandwich and both of them ate their share of that without problems.

The service

Counter service (they do bring your food out to ya).

The kids

Laid back, small casual resaturant with a kids menu.  No kids activities. TV on in the background, but you can’t really hear the sound.  Average kid friendliness.

I wasn’t super impressed with this little spot.  Don’t think we’ll be back!

Boo!  Flickr uploader on wordpress still not working, posting without pictures…

The experience

Mina had hula lessons tonight so I called Ogre as we were finishing up to figure out dinner.  He had told me to find some place between here and there as I drove to where she has class, but I did not see much on my way there.  We ended up deciding to meet off 75 (I take the back streets when I drive her there).  We decided on Bone Daddy’s since Mina did a great job at hula class and she LOVES ribs.  Read the rest of this entry »

The experience

Mommy was working this evening so it was dinner time with Papa and the kids.  Mina decided she wanted Japanese and I had no idea where to go.  I was headed to Richardson in the general direction of some Asian restaurants when I recalled a restaurant off of Belt Line.  So we pulled up to Masami to eat.  I unloaded the kids and we headed in.

Read the rest of this entry »

The experience

Today was one of those days that reminds me that our lives really revolve around our kids and, right now, Mina.  For lunch, we took back up to L&L Hawaiian BBQ to watch the hula dancers, then back down for her to attend her friend’s birthday party at ASI and then I took Benji home to nap.  Unfortunately, Benji was not waking up any time soon when it was time to head to her next birthday party at Amazing Jake’s.  I told Ogre to go ahead and go as they also needed to pick up Lolo and I would join them later with Benji.  Benji did not wake up until 6:30, so he and I were about an hour late to the party! Read the rest of this entry »

The experience

Somehow I went from craving and wanting Sukiyaki to ending up at a burger joint.  I searched far and wide to find a place that serves Sukiyaki (other than Awaji) and came up with nothing.  I caught Benji’s cold and since I couldn’t have sukiyaki, I figured anything else would be find as long as everyone else was happy and everyone else is happy with burgers.   Ogre suggested Twisted Root down in Deep Ellum.  Sounded good so we packed up the kids and made the long trek down there. Read the rest of this entry »

The experience

Well, today, we had to run some errands and, of course, got off to a late start.  We needed to hit Wal-Mart for a few items, so Ogre wanted to eat near the Wal-Mart somewhere.  We are really running low on choices in that area.  Ogre recalled J. Palace (actually, he called it Jade Palace, and swears that is the name of the restaurant and that they just didn’t want to pay for the other letters!) right by Cassis (where we got drinks the other day).  Sure, I said.  Read the rest of this entry »

The experience

So we’d be eating without Dr. Mom tonight so I figured on something quick, easy, and nearby.  After so many months of this, those pickings were getting slim.  I finally settled on Schlotzky’s and Dusty decided to tag along.  I went by and picked up the kids from Lala’s house and we were off.

We headed in and the kids went directly for the rotating bar stools.  I had to catch Mina’s attention to figure out what she wanted.  I quickly placed our order and grabbed a bag of chips for the kids.

Once I got the drinks filled, I first attempted to get the kids to sit at a regular table but they insisted on the stools.  I finally agreed and set their drinks and chips up on the counter.  Benji pretty much just ate chips.  I managed to get Mina to eat a small bit of the pizza she ordered, which turned out to be more cheese bread than pizza.

Mine came out shortly behind and I quickly downed my meal.  After a few more failed attempts to get the kids to eat more, I gave up and we headed home.

I let them bring the rest of the chips…

The food

Sandwiches and pizza.

I got the Original.  The closest thing I can relate this to is a muffaletta.  The sandwich is served on a round bread that is similar to an English muffin.  Its a decent sandwich with meats that seem of good quality and I like the olives.  The price always seemed high for a sandwich here.

The kids got a cheese pizza to split.  It was truly just cheese.  No sauce.  I probably should have ordered a side seeing as the kids didn’t eat much of it.  Can’t say if it was what they had already eaten at Lala’s or if they didn’t like it.

Dusty got a Chicken Caesar  Salad.  He said it was OK.  It seemed pretty generic to me.

The service

Counter service, though they appeared to have someone who was our “server” who brought out the food.

The kids

They have a kids menu with a few small sandwiches and pizza.  Decent selection but nothing great.  So just OK kid friendly.

Total Cost: ~$12

The experience

It was another busy day for Team Phipps.  Benji was still asleep at Lala’s house and we needed to hit the mall (I wanted to buy some gifts from the Disney store for upcoming birthday parties that Mina has been invited to), and buy fish for Ogre and Mina’s fish tank (Mina wanted to get what I thought was “a,” meaning ONE fish for Papa for Father’s Day…they came home with a 14 gallon tank).   Anyway, we decided that after the mall, we’d better eat, lest we have a fish fry in the car.  Over the weekend, when Ogre and Mina went to the tea party, he saw that Urban Crust was FINALLY open!  We’ve been waiting for this place to open, it seems like, for months!  Read the rest of this entry »

The experience

Mina started hula lessons today, so it was just me and her.  We ended up having to stop off at the hospital for an admission after her dance lesson, so I decided we’d eat in Rowlett so it wouldn’t be too late when we were eating dinner.  Just a few weeks ago, I ate at J. Miguel’s and found it to be pretty good and reasonably priced.  There’s also an Italian restaurant that I’ve never eaten at, so I gave Mina the choice of Italian or Mexican.  She chose Mexican.  So we headed over to J. Miguel’s.

We were seated right away and Mina said that she wanted to sit next to me at dinner.  No problem.  Our waitress handed her a coloring page with the kids menu and some activities on it.  As she walked away, Mina noticed that there were no crayons.  I told her we’d ask for some and in the mean time, found a pen for her to use.

When our waitress returned to take our order, I tried to order while Mina kept whispering in my ear, “Crayons!!”  I asked about the crayons and we were told that they didn’t have any.  Mina was a little sad, but I found a yellow highlighter for her to use.  It was the best I could do.

She was pretty happy to draw on the back of her paper with the pen and highlighter.

Our food came out pretty quickly, but they messed up part of my order, so I had to wait on my enchilada.  Mina also wanted a plate (hers came in a basket) and we requested that.  I was still able to munch on my chalupa.  We decided that she forgot about Mina’s plate and had to ask again.  It came out about the same time as my enchilada.

I cut up Mina’s chicken and then we started in on the rest of dinner.  I found myself eating more of Mina’s dinner than mine!  Luckily, she didn’t mind sharing!

We finished up dinner and headed back home to our boys.

The food

Tex-Mex.

I ordered one chalupa with queso and one enchilada with verde sauce.  The chalupa was fine, nothing earth shattering and the chip was a little to dense for me.  The enchilada with verde sauce was not good at all!  The verde sauce was not tangy at all and I could not even taste any tomatillo in it!  I took one bite of that and could not stomach another!

Mina ordered the chicken fingers and fries.  Those were actually pretty tasty.  Thank goodness the portion was pretty big (three big filets) as I ate some of hers to supplement the “lost” enchilada!

The service

Average overall.  She forgot a requested plate for Mina, but otherwise was fine.  Food comes out quickly (but initially wrong).

The kids

It’s kid friendly as it’s laid back and casual dining.  Has a kids menu and kids activities, but they were out of crayons (which is a pet peeve of mine!).  I think it’s more torturous to give a kid a blank coloring page with no crayons!!

I liked this restaurant a lot more when I came here for lunch a few weeks ago.  I ordered something completely different that time, but the jury is still out for me.  I think I’ll have to try it a few more times before I decide if I really like it or not.  Based on this experience, it was only so-so.

The total: 12 bucks or so

The experience

We decided to go to Fogo de Chao for Father’s Day with Ogre and his dad.  (We went out to lunch with my dad).  We arrived to find Oma and Grandpoo already waiting on us as we were about 10 minutes late to arrive.  We were seated right away after that.  We discussed that the restaurant was not nearly as packed as last year and wondered if it was the economy. Read the rest of this entry »