Most of you that know me, know I usually don't comment on our dining experiences unless they're really good or really bad. We got there around 6pm. Got front row parking (there was only 1 other table of people in the place). Ok, it's early I thought. They sat us at a 2 seater table right next to the entrance. Neither of us like being stared at, which is usually what happens when someone walks in the door and there's a table right there, so we asked to move. The server was hesitant about it for a sec, but moved us anywhere we wanted. We just moved 1 table over, but it was a 4 seater. Maybe they wanted to be prepared for the big rush. Joking.The menu on Restaurant.com and restaurant's website were much different than at the actual restaurant menu. I asked if we had pages missing (as there were actually blank pages through the menu), the waitress said many people make that comment to her, but no, that was what they offered. She asked if there was something particular I had seen on their website and she said they should be able to make it if I wanted, but I couldn't remember exactly what was on that menu, so we stuck with what was on the menu in front of us. There were only 6 entrees on actual menu: filet, salmon, chicken picatta, catch of the day, greek stuffed chicken, crab cakes, plus 1 special and a few sandwich options. Website had 15 entrees plus sandwiches (yes, I counted). Soup or salad with the meal were $2-$3 additional. The websites said salad or soup were included with meal. Usually I don't mind paying extra if I want a salad, but it's the point that we chose to go here based on their menu and gift cert offering ad on restaurant.com and their website. We both thought the waitress did not seem to be interested in being there. I would have probably been a little cranky had I been working and it was that slow. Maybe she had things going on, I understand, no judgement there.
Looking past all the initial issues, maybe the food is soo good they just need a few items and maybe people eat later than 6pm. No, the food was just not good, mine tasted like frozen prepared food (I had greek chicken and DH had catch of the day, mahi mahi). The fish was overcooked, rice tasted like instant Uncle Ben's, and my mashed potatoes were pasty. (yes, maybe I've been watching too many cooking shows, I do pick up on pasty potatoes - means they were either over cooked or over worked).
I usually don't complain, but this was not even worth staying for. Definitely not worth the price. Music (recorded, playing on a speaker right above our head) was loud, even though there were only 2 other tables when we got there, and I usually don't mind the music at restaurants. I do not want to be one of those people that gets annoyed at the music level in a restaurant, maybe I just noticed it because everything else was so not good, I was trying to think of a positive. The only high point was the chocolate that came with the bill. It was delicious cream mint. I love Angell and Phelps chocolate, as overpriced as it may be. 1 or 2 pieces just work for me. While we're on positive notes, the bread before the meal was ok also. At the end, we had no problems using Restaurant.com certificate, but we will not eat at Angell and Phelps again.
We've still got credit for restaurant.com, so we're going to try 2 other places. Hopefully that goes better.
On to better things - saw Julie and Julia with some friends Saturday night - Loved it! Didn't love paying $9.50 for 1 person for 1 movie (plus $4 something for a SMALL cherry coke), but oh well. Theatre movies cannot be fully enjoyed for me without a cherry coke. Brings me back to my childhood. Let me tell you that when we got to the movie, it was packed. We turned the corner to look at the statium seating for 4 seats and we saw a sea of gray. I really think we were the youngest people in there! I'm thinking most of those people watched Julia Child on tv, so were seeing the movie because of her. The girls I went with on the other hand, were not familiar with Julia Child at all. I guess the movie did a great job at bringing different ages together to enjoy a wonderful light-hearted movie. The previews were not light-hearted at all - they were about a serial killer (The Lovely Bones, which is also a novel), a crazy step dad (The Stepfather) and some other similarly creepy storyline. I probably won't be seeing those, but what I will be seeing again is Julie and Julia. But with the price of movie tickets, I'll likely wait for the rental. Until then, I've added the book to my list.
Against Andy's suggestion, we tried out the new Sam Adams this weekend. Don't get me wrong, Andy has great taste and has never steered us wrong, and he loves Sam Adams, but he does not like fruited beers (exception, orange slice in his Blue Moon). Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier was voted the 2008 Samuel Adams Beer Lover's Choice winner and was just released January 2009. It was just ok, not too fruity, but bold like most Sam Adams. It actually smelled better than it tasted. A traditional witbier with orange peel and coriander, with an added hint of blackberry. We also tried Shock Top. We usually like to go with micro-breweries, but I've wanted to try Shock Top for a while. Glad I got over that one. It's ok, pretty thick for a light beer, but tasted similar to Michelob's other offerings. Not too good.
We've ended our Blockbuster through the mail subscription. It was about $16/month and we would only watch a movie or 2 on the weekend. Now that Blockbuster has changed it's rental rates to $2/day and Redbox has come to our area, we just didn't see where we got $16 worth of movies per month. We rented from Redbox and it was easy, and just $1.07! It would be a little more convenient if the Redbox kiosk was somewhere other than Walmart, maybe McDonalds or Walgreens as in other cities (the photo above is from a McDonalds), but can't beat $1/night for a new movie!
A Top Fuel dragster accelerates from 0 to 100 mph (160 km/h) in as little as .8 seconds. The cars can reach up to 325 mph in a quarter mile. And that's just Top Fuel dragsters. We also saw funny car, pro-stock, motorcycles, pro-mod, top alcohol dragster and funnycar and a few others. Here's top fuel dragsters Antron Brown (blue) and Brandon Bernstein (red). Antron was leading the points on Friday when we were there.
We mostly stayed in the stands for the races but checked out the pit area afterward. We saw Antron Brown and Doug Kalitta hanging out near their pits. Here's Doug's top fuel dragster getting loaded into the truck.
Today my Aunt and I went over to Orlando to check out the AmCon show, a contact manufacturing trade show. So first we took lovely I-4 through Orlando and arrived at the HUGE Orange County Convention Center. It actually took us longer to drive there and walk from parking to the hall than we were actually at the show. There were maybe 100 exhibitors, most from around Florida. Being a job shop show, there were plenty of machine shops, both milling operations and stamping and forming to plastics and gasket mfgs, software and enclosures - a good mix of industries offering prototypes to production parts.
This is my nice big salad with some of the bread options and a really tasty new drink, pomegranate green tea. I was hesitant to get anything other than my beloved strawberry lemonade, but it sounded good and it was. In addition to everything seen here, I also tasted the french onion soup, creamy tomato soup, tomatoe basil penne, andouille sausage penne, mac and cheese, sourdough bread and topped it all off with red grapes and a little chocolate fro-yo with heath bar, peanut and caramel topping. Gosh, when I write it all down, it's no wonder I'm still feeling full! I wish there was a Sweet Tomatoe's closer than Altamonte, which is a 45-60 minute drive away. Oh well, it's something to look forward to when we go to Orlando.
In other news - I'm on the search for a salt jar. If you ever watch the Food Network, you see most chefs have salt on their table in a little jar. One - I'd like to know what type of salt that is, it seems pretty course, but not as course as kosher salt, and Two - I want a countertop salt jar! Not that I use salt much at all, but it's cuter than the salt container from the grocery. I've seen a few I like, but I'm picky. The Neeley's on Food Network have a pig jar which is cute, but not for me. Paula Deen has a simple dish which is cute too. This is probably something like what I look for. Simple and traditional and plain. 
Or maybe I'll surprise you and try this one. This white piggy is cute, but probably too mis-match for me. I think it's actually a planter. And I just don't know if I like pigs in my kitchen. But now that I'm thinking about it, it's plain enough being white and having clean lines and not much detail that I may venture off and try it. Maybe they have different shapes or something less pig-like. Suggestions?
This is what's coming up for dinner - warm and spicy food should help us keep warm inside! It's fresh Florida shrimp seasoned with cayanne, paprika, EVOO, salt, garlic and lemon and then can either be grilled or broiled. Normally, I would let DH cook this on the grill, but it's too darn cold out there, so it's into the broiler for a few minutes on this one. I'm serving it with steamed rice and veggies for a simple weeknight dinner.
Saturday night we went out to dinner with DH's dad and step mom to a local favorite, The Chart House. The food is always top notch and my in-laws go there so often, everyone knows their names so it's like their 'Cheers'. They've got a new manager who wasn't very friendly as the previous manager, but Chef Alex was there and friendly and courteous as usual. His personal recommendation - the seasonal Cashew Crusted Sole. We had already ordered the Pu Pu platter as an app before he came out to greet us. He sent out some extra polenta fries which were superb - what can be better than fried grits?! Also on the platter: lobster spring rolls, cajun shrimp and scallops with mango salsa - yum!
DH had prime rib and a HUGE Australian lobster tail and MIL had another seasonal item - hazelnut trout with shrimp, parmesan risotto and veggies. As always, we finished off dinner with a molten lava cake dessert (had to order that right when we arrived -
Today is my MIL's birthday - Happy Birthday! It's freezing here so we're not going out to the monthly dog night at 
The crotons didn't survive at all. They all dried out so quickly, you wouldn't even be able to tell they were there. Our nightblooming jasmine didn't make it, but it had a fungus before the freezes. The areca palms are brown, as are the bird of paradise but I see some green on birds. The ixora and ficus trees out front were all brown and we trimmed them back last weekend. There's new green leaves coming out so they're all clear. We also modified the front flower bed so that it's not taking over the whole yard and walkway anymore and made the outline for a new flower bed with room for a tree or bush. Don't mind the dirt, it's covering transplanted grass that seems to be taking to its new home.
Who knows if we're past the freezing temps. Forecast for early next week show lows in the upper 30s. Usually by mid-March, the weather warms up for Spring Break, so we'll see.
Sunday was the finale of 
Next line was Will Call to pick up my ticket and get DH's free birthday ticket. It's a promo Disney is doing this year, free admission on your birthday. Then the line to actually get into the park. We went back to get on the Safari, but there was a long wait, so we got the fastpass and took the train out to the Conservation Station which is where the petting area is. Here's DH petting a big sheep.
We rode a few more rides including the river rapids where we got soaked, ate lunch at Flame Tree BBQ and then it was time for Expedition Everest. This is a pretty cool roller coaster that is partially in the dark and sometimes goes backward. I think I did pretty good, but in the below photo, DH is posing but my scream is real. It was fun!
All in all, a great day and we'll probably be back again next year! For more of the photos from our day, check out 
