Phipps Feeding Fiasco

The experience

Today I was home around lunch time and was anticipating going to the dentist at 1 o’clock.  I asked Ogre if he wanted to have lunch with me and he accepted.  I’d be getting a bonus though as Benji would be coming with us!  I wanted to have lunch at Amado’s as I was craving their yummy rice, but Ogre suggested we go somewhere new and have a childsplate lunch.  Sounds like a good plan since we can have dinner at home tonight!  We decided to go to Nico’s Tex-Mex Cantina.  I warned him on the way in that it’s never a good idea to hit a restaurant that is the same genre of one that I am craving! Read the rest of this entry »

The experience

Ogre had a business meeting on the other side of town and called me to suggest that we meet up in Addison for an early dinner.  Sounded great to me.  Of course, as I was leaving, I was paged about an admission, which delayed me about 20 minutes.  No problem, Ogre said he’d be having a beer at the bar anyway.  I finally got the kids all packed up and headed across town.  I didn’t want to drive to far into Addison or Dallas, so we decided on Fish City Grill tonight.

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The experience

Today is a day that my husband has been waiting for since the early start of our Feeding Fiasco.  When he heard it was opening right before his birthday, he declared that we’d be eating at Chuy’s -no discussion.  Which, actually, is fine by me, one of my favorite dishes of all times hails from Chuy’s.  We have not eaten at Chuy’s for over 3 months anticipating this day and because of “The Rules.” But here it is, Ogre’s birthday and here we were, the Phipps, our parents, and our Dusty at the new Chuy’s - Plano location!  Read the rest of this entry »

The experience

Today Grace was working till around lunch so I packed up the kids once Benji finally decided to wake up and we headed towards downtown to meet up with Mommy as she got off work.  We were deciding between a crepe place or Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill.  We had been wanting to go to Fadi’s for some fabled Sunday brunch we had heard of for some time, so today would be it after we found the other choice rated $$$ online.

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The experience

I went to a friend’s baby shower today and one of my children’s favorite people was there, also.  She told me that she had Mina’s present in her car and that after the shower she and her husband were going out to eat.  Since we, of course, were going out to eat, we decided we’d meet up so that Mina could see her.  One of our other friends suggested a sushi joint but it was somewhere unknown to me so I thought we’d try a place suggested awhile back by one of our readers: Sushi Masu.  After the shower, she and I parted ways to meet back up at the restaurant.

Ogre and I packed up the family and brought Mina’s new and not improved sushi (the new one did not come with a lid!) and after making a wrong turn and then a u turn met up with Pia and Will. We all got settled in and Mina was excited to finally open her birthday present from Pia.  She wanted to open it all up right away, but Ogre was able to talk her into putting it away.  She played with her sushi for a bit instead and played with Pia also.

Meanwhile, the adults tried to figure out what we wanted for dinner.  None of us have ever been here before and the sushi menu is quite lengthy.  By the time you get to the bottom of the list, you’ve forgotten what was at the top.  Will reminded his wife that he is allergic to shellfish and Ogre recalled that I had told him that we couldn’t do seafood or shellfish per special request by Will and asked me why in the world were we eating sushi.  I looked at Pia and blamed her.  She tried to tell us Will was not allergic to shellfish.  I asked Will about it, and believe me, he’s allergic. 

While we were deciding and writing out our orders, Benjamin was TOTALLY flirting with Pia.  I wondered if he thought we were eating with Sarah Geronimo.  It was very cute how smily and bashful he would get.  She came over to sit beside him and he offered her his nasty carrot that he’d been dipping in ranch and eating.  That would’ve ended the romance for me but she took a bite anyway.  Benji was in true love.

Ogre took all the orders and then looked at me and said, “Whoa, wait a second.  Did you initial this??”  Well, obviously I had.  I’m a doctor, when I document an error at work, I initial it, it’s like second nature.  He laughed at me and took a picture.  I gave him stinkeye.  He thinks I’m a dork.  All I know is that the guys in Medical Records would be proud (shout out, Rodney and Stan).

We put in our order and verbally ordered some Beef Gyoza and some diced cold tofu (like they put in miso soup) for Benji and Pia and I ordered Miso Soup.  While we waited, our waitress brought out some “sweet bread”, which reminded me of a Chinese Doughnut.  I didn’t actually eat mine because I think the soup came out at about the same time.  Of course, Benji wanted “sue” (soup) and kept asking for “mo mo sue” (more soup).  Thankfully, the dumplings came out and Ogre cut some up for him and he expertly ate it with his chopstick (that’s right, he’s so good, he only needs one!).

Food started coming out in a pretty good tempo at this point.  I asked them when we ordered to put Will and Pia’s order on a separate plate and their platter came out next.  Then Ogre’s crazy spicy rolls came out, followed by the sushi pieces and finally my Music Crunch Roll.  After a few minutes, Mina’s beautiful tuna sashimi came out. Ogre took a piece for himself and kept telling me I needed to try it and that it tasted so good.  I’m sure that it did, but as Mina’s mother, I wanted her to eat as much as she wanted so I did not take any sashimi.  Ogre, who is reading over my shoulder is insisting that Mina “gave” him a piece.

Ogre may be telling the truth I wasn’t paying too much attention as he was teaching Mina how to use chopsticks.  She is getting very good at truly eating them with chopsticks without trainers.  She still, for now, typically gives up and just eats with her hands.

Benji started dancing the dance that his Ate Mina (Big Sister Mina) taught him where he points his fingers and swings his elbows back and forth.  I did this with him and he likes to have everyone participate, so he would point to a person and grunt at them until they were doing it, too.  After he pointed at Mina, he pointed at Pia, then Will, then Papa.  He had the whole table rockin’.  The boy was very proud of his control over our table. 

Ogre was very impressed when he looked over to see that Mina had covered her remaining pieces of tuna with ice to keep it super cold.  I looked over to see the fuss and predicted that I would not be trying the luscious sashimi tonight.

I would be trying their tuna roll though.  I originally did not order this (hence, the correction), but while the Music Crunch Roll was very flavorful, it was TOO SPICY for me -I’m talking my lips were burning!  I needed something inbetween pieces of the Music Roll to cool me down!

Benji ended up eating 3 little bowls of tofu.  I think the waitstaff was impressed by Benji’s enjoyment of the cold tofu.  Mina ate all of her tuna.  Ogre and I did not fare so well.  I left 2 pieces of the Music Roll behind (which Ogre may have eaten) and Ogre did not eat one of his yellowtail sushi. 

This deserved some dessert so we ordered Mango Ice Cream for the kids.  Benji finished off his and Mina came close to finishing hers.  After we fought a little bit about the bill, we settled our bill and headed home.  It was later than any of us thought and some of us (me) have to work in the morning!

The food

The food was excellent here.  The beef gyoza we ordered was very flavorful with lots of onion flavor.  Mina had to eat two of them and was disappointed when the waitress removed the vinegary-sweet sauce it was served with too soon.  The were nicely fried with a crisp wrapper.

The Nigri sushi was very fresh and tender.  Even though one piece was left behind, it wasn’t for a lack of effort.  Too many of the excellent rolls were consumed, however.

Will and Pia order quite a few rolls.  They were both impressed with the sushi and will apparently didn’t even want to eat seafood!

The rolls were extremely well executed and very creative.  The Music Crunch Roll was very good, but a beware it is pretty spicy.  Ogre thought it was only medium spice, but he’s not a good judge because he enjoys spicy foods. This roll was unique. It had a mix of crab and crunch on top of the roll as a kind of crown.

The tuna roll was an excellent choice to cool down the palate.  The tuna was extremely fresh.

Ogre ordered the White Dragon roll which was a yellowtail cucumber roll topped with flounder, miso chili sauce and sliced jalapenos.  It was actually less spice than the Music Crunch Roll once you removed the jalapeno.  The miso chili sauce had a definite miso flavor with a sweet vinegary bite to it.  The fish, again, was very fresh.

He also ordered the Blazing 151 Roll.  It has fried crab with cream cheese also topped with a chili sauce. This was also a very good roll.  Ogre and I don’t even particularly enjoy rolls with cream cheese, which they go a bit heavy on at Sushi Zushi, but this one was very good.  There wasn’t too much cheese and Ogre enjoyed the spice.  It was the hottest roll of the evening.

Mina’s sashimi was the star of the show.  This was perhaps some of the best tuna.  Ogre was amazed at the texture.  With Nigri tuna sushi, even when super fresh, you can always feel the grain of the meat.  These amazingly sliced ruby red pieces were tender throughout.  Even creamy.  VERY good tuna sashimi.  Mina devoured it.  Sparing a tiny piece for Papa.  She would have given some to me but I took one for Team Phipps.

The ice cream was typical of your sushi restaurant.  Maybe they all get it from the same place.  It always seems about the same everywhere you go.  But do you really go to sushi for the dessert?

The service

One of the best I’ve ever experienced.  I think he was a manager, but he was very helpful and not in in an overwhelming or pushy manner.  He let us peruse the sushi menu and then came over to help us with recommendations based on what we told him we liked.  They kept the table uncluttered (which is a difficult task with all the items  that we ordered).  When Ogre dropped his chopstick on the floor, he was right there to offer another chopstick.  They kept Benji’s bowl full of tofu and did not even charge us for it.  They were also very kind to the kids and talked to them and did not seem bothered by their presence.  Although, I think the adults might have been louder than the kids tonight.

The kids

Definitely excellent food and definitely a kid friendly restaurant!  The restaurant is small and casual and very laid back, there were a couple of other tables with kids and I did not feel uncomfortable here at all!  We did not order off the kids menu, but there was four selections, 3 of which were Japanese and one that was basically chicken nuggets -great for kids. 

This is a great choice for excellent sushi in an unpretentious setting.  We still like Sushi Awaji more for both the MamaSan Roll and their kid friendliness, but this is a great alternative and is very “roll heavy” if that is something that you are looking for.  Ogre and I both like the rolls here over Sushi Zushi, which makes this a great suggestion (Natalie) and a great find!

The total: 159.90 ($30 worth of sake, 4 adults and 1 little girl with a very expensive palate)

The experience

I was at the hospital pretty late today and all the way down in Dallas, so I did not get to my dad’s house to pick up Benji til 6 oclock, then we had to truck it over to the house, switch in to the Tahoe since Dusty was coming before we could get this show on the road.  Ogre and I swear we’ve seen that Chubby’s is a great choice for a family friendly restaurant and doesn’t Chubby’s just sound like it’d be cool to eat??  Yeah, that’s what I thought…

So we arrive and go in, and um, is it 1985 in here?  Ogre said that this is what the Black Eyed Pea looked like before they decided to be “trendy.”  It was various shades of mauve and gray in there.  The most eye catching thing was the refrigerator case that you pass as you go into the main dining area.  Full of pies, cakes and bottles of chocolate milk.  It took a minute to get Benji past all that and to the table.  So, here we sat.  I looked at the menu.  Very…ordinary.  I didn’t look at any one thing and say to myself, “Wow, now that sounds good!” 

Our first order of business was to figure out what to order for the kids.  The kids were happily occupied at this point -Mina with her big “chubby” activity book and Benji with the crayons and coloring pages.  I had to borrow one of those to check out the kids menu.  Ogre and decided not to get Benji something separate because he hasn’t been feeling well, so his appetite is sub-par.  Mina declared that she wanted a Bacon Cheeseburger.  We put that in when we put in our drinks.  Benji continued happily coloring.

When our waitress came back, Ogre said that we were ready even though he really wasn’t.  I ordered the Pork Chops, but not before I asked if they’d be tender and she even went back to the kitchen to find out if grilled or fried would be more tender.  I warned the waitress that if it tasted dry and chewy I’d be sending them back.  Dusty ordered Chicken Fried Steak (Texas Sized) and then Ogre went through “should I get a salad or sandwich?”  “Which sandwich should I get” and on and on until he finally decided on a Philly Chicken and a side salad (then he had to ask what dressings they had and if their bleu cheese was good).  I’m sure the waitress was loving Team Phipps at this point.  But, I must say that she was very nice about the whole thing.

So, more waiting.  Benji is in to cars these days and was quite pleased to point at all of the wheeled pictures and call them a car.  I did not let him enjoy his childhood and corrected him when it was a train, bus or jeep.  Don’t worry, he didn’t listen to me.  

Ogre got his salad and offered each kid a pack of crackers, to which they eagerly ate.  He gave Benji some bleu cheese to dip in, Benji shuddered after trying that and then handed it to me to eat.  Gross, but I ate the bite so he could continue enjoying his crackers sans bleu cheese.

Mina’s man-sized cheeseburger came out and Ogre cut it into quarters for her and then, of course, she decided she needed to go to the bathroom.  While they were gone, I portioned out some broccoli cheese rice for Benji and also gave him a quarter of Mina’s cheeseburger.  At first, I think he liked the rice and even took a big heaping forkful of it, but he later focused on the bacon from the burger and forgot about the rice.

Mina returned and soon after, the rest of our food arrived.  I started to cut up my pork chop and, at first, I was afraid that this was the toughest piece of pork that ever landed on a plate, I took a bite and it wasn’t that bad.  Turns out that I just had the dullest knife ever.  Dusty let me have his.  Our entrees came with bread and this where things started to go south very quickly. 

Ogre buttered half a roll for Benji, who quietly “ate” his bread for about 2 minutes. Then he was handing back the bread with the butter licked clean and demanding more butter.  I would not let that happen, so he threw the bread on the table.  Then he got ignored for that behavior.  Next, Ogre gave him a piece of cornbread and I’m not sure if that had butter on it or not, but after 15 seconds, this, too, came flying across the table.  More crying, more ignoring.  So, Benji decides he can get my attention by attempting to throw his chocolate milk.  Luckily, his milk landed in the empty bleu cheese dressing cup and I picked it up and put it across the table and guess what? More screaming and crying.  It was getting a little out of hand, but I was sticking to my guns and ignoring him.  It worked to some degree, every once in awhile, he’d calm himself, and once he did it long enough to hand over his plate.

Mina, on the other hand, is eating her broccoli cheese rice and hamburger and even asking for seconds of the rice.  She later recanted, as I anticipated looking at how much broccoli cheese rice she had left.  BUT, SHE…EATS…SO…SLOW… It’s almost painful sometimes.  Ogre and Dusty were done and Benji is screaming and Mina is chewing and chewing and taking her time.  When the waitress came to clear their plates (actually, Dusty asked her to), Ogre scooped off some mashed potatoes and made a whole new plate for Benji to eat with cut up chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and a piece of cornbread.

At first, he seemed interested and even took a bite of the cornbread.  We gave him some Heinz 57 and he promptly put his finger in it and wiped it on his shirt.  Gross.  Then he took his finger and poked the cornbread and said “Uh-oh” repeatedly as he then flung the pieces of cornbread on the table, onto the floor, and on to me.  He did this repeatedly.  I tried to ignore him.  Ogre asked me if I wanted dessert.  I was done eating now because Benji was grossing me out.  I told Ogre no, not with Benji being a disaster next to me.  Ogre finally took the plate away and we and everyone in the restaurant were once again subjected to his screaming and crying.

We nudged Mina along to finish up dinner.  She finished off her broccoli cheese rice (amazing for this child!) and finished out the bacon that was left on the burger and we were FINALLY able to let the other restaurant patrons have some peace.

The food

Um, not so great.  Not horrible, though.  Just…eh.  I am still left with an unsatisfied taste in my mouth after eating here. 

I ordered the Pork Chops with broccoli cheese rice and fried okra.  The description on the menu says that the pork chops are “seasoned to perfection,” which they are not.  They also were not very tender, but not so NOT tender that I felt like it needed to be sent back.  I just sort of muddled through dinner, eating it, but not ENJOYING it.  The broccoli cheese rice was certainly not the best I’ve ever had.   Kind of bland, really.  The fried okra were fine, but I’ve said it before, I’ve never met a fried mushroom or a fried okra that I didn’t like.  Ogre says that these were not great because the batter was not seasoned properly.

Ogre ordered the Philly Chicken and thought that it tasted good.  He didn’t complain about it, but he didn’t really rave about it either.

Dusty ordered the Chicken Fried Steak and I really couldn’t read him on how he liked it.  He said he did and that it was great, but didn’t have anything nice to say about the restaurant after we left. 

Mina liked her cheeseburger (bacon specially requested)  and liked the broccoli cheese rice also.  Other menu choices included chicken tenders, corny dogs, spaghetti and meatball, among other things and except for the spaghetti, comes with one vegetable. 

The service

Our waitress was very nice and very patient with us.  She kept the drinks refilled and was helpful.  Dusty had to prompt her to take away the clutter, but that’s the only misstep that I noted.

The kids

It’s a casual restaurant with coloring for the kids and a very good kids menu.  It’s casual and I certainly did not feel bad or embarrassed to let my kid cry in the restaurant and no one seemed to (or showed that they) cared. 

Problem is, the dinner here isn’t very good.  You’d be compromising taste for family friendliness at this joint.  Now, the breakfast pictures looked very tasty, so that might be a better tasting experience!  Otherwise, I’d skip it.

The total: $35.72

No website, so:

910 W Parker Rd # 101
Plano, TX 75075

What did Guidelive say?

Rants, Raves, and Ramblings

I feel like I’m bordering on pretentious by giving this a far from glowing review partly because it’s just so, well, boring!  The restaurant was monotonous, the menu unoriginal, and the food flavorless.  Was I in the Twilight Zone of restaurants??? Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo….

Mina liked the 80's decor and took a picture...

The experience

We had family picture night at Mina’s school so we headed off in search of a new fiasco right afterwards. Mommy was suffering a migraine once more so I was looking for somewhere close.  Mina asked about Pizza then changed her mind to Chinese.  I was suggesting one nearby when Grace recalled we had wanted to try First Chinese Barbecue.  Mina loves the pork spare ribs at most asian restaurants so she was excited.  So off we went after checking with the navigation on where exactly it was.

Read the rest of this entry »

The experience

Well, Ogre actually wanted to try Brio’stoday in Allen, but after looking at the website (are you proud?  we actually did some research!) I was a little scared off by the prices for a regular old Wednesday night.  I suggested Carrabba’s instead.  I did not see that Ogre had switched over to the Carrabba’s website to compare prices and so when I look over, I said, “Oh, look at that, Brio’s has Pasta Weesie too!  Hey!  Their menu looks just like Carrabba’s!  It’s like an expensive Carrabba’s!” (The pricing Ogre was saying at the time was ~5 bucks more).  Ogre looked at me just busted out laughing.  Not with me.  At me.  That’s the love of my life right there.  Anyway, after some hemming and hawing, we headed out to Carrabba’s with the kids and Dusty in tow. Read the rest of this entry »

The experience

Today when I called Ogre to go to dinner, he said he wanted to eat somewhere quick because he had a lot of work to do.  First off, Mina eating and quick has never been compatible.  I did, however, choose a close restaurant since that cuts down on overall going out to eat time somewhat.  I also have a coupon from my Passbook, which is always an added bonus.  We were headed to Prince Bistro and Ogre played this up to Mina like it was going to be some big fun thing because it had the word Prince in it.  My eyes were wide with worry as she was probably going to be pretty let down.  Read the rest of this entry »

The experience

Tomorrow is Lolo’s birthday, BUT he’s working tomorrow night, so we wanted to celebrate with him tonight.  Mina loves birthdays and would not be pleased to not celebrate her Lolo’s birthday.  Ogre and I went hard to work trying to pick a place to eat for my very picky parents.  VERY PICKY.  We thought of a few places and headed to Lolo’s house.  My dad chose Benihana’s from our list of suggestions.  Ogre told me it was because it has “Benny” in it.  Read the rest of this entry »