week o' eatin'

that's what it has been...

monday it was an outing with James and Jeff for phô and vietnamese coffee. later, we grabbed some grub at Del Taco, which was kinda gross. it made Taco Hell (Smell) seem like gourmet.

tuesday night, lois and i headed for La Cocina de Marcos - our favorite. Cindi, we must go there soon! I know that Pat's is on the same block, but you must resist the temptation and meet us for Mexican sometime.

wednesday was actually spent indoors and out of the cold rain. we just grazed since there was little in the refrigerator and even less inspiration to go shopping.

thursday morning was breakfast with Cindi at the Delectable Egg in Lowry. real nice place and even better company. we tore through our yummy food (she had a skillet made with Denver omelet-style ingredients and i had a rooster, which is a chicken breast, two slices of french toast, and two egg whites with your choice of veggies) and headed for the Peaberry a couple doors down. she had a frozen joe, which tastes kinda like a Heath bar coffee slurpee. and i opted for a mocha.

such a good time.

thursday night was spent with our friends, Yulita and her boyfriend, Tracy. Yulita is a really cute Indonesian gal who was once Lois' star Spanish student at Metro...about ten years ago. We basically kept in touch with her because she worked at the Kokoro which we occasionally visit. when our schedules permit (or when the stars collide) we try to have dinner with them. the last time (April 2004) we went to Taste of Thailand. this time, we headed to 44th and Lowell, where Cafe Brazil has relocated. if you like caribbean style (i.e., black beans, plantains, spicy) and seafood, this is the place to go. now, you don't have to eat seafood there, but that's why i go ;) one of my favorite dishes is La Caleña (shrimp and sea scallops in a slightly sweet and spicy sauce over a bed of rice and garnished with pepper, onions, carrots, and zucchini). YUM

friday was once last jaunt with James before he headed back to Memphis the following day. it was nearly a day of liquid dieting...which can be translated to: a shitload of beer. first up, Breckenridge Brewery. a couple pints and a phenomenal reuben sandwich (fries weren't very good though). next, Falling Rock Tap House. that's where Jeff works. the place has 74 beers on tap and probably that many bottled too. james was in heaven. he was getting to drink dopplebocks and eisbocks, which are a rarity in most parts. i guess you can take a man out of Germany but you have a harder time taking out the German beer in him... as for pub grub, we just shared a basket of their 420 wings, which were like spicy teriyaki. we were there long enough to eat, drink, listen to a band (West of Chicago - bluesy), shoot a few games of pool, and evade a parking ticket. ya see, most meters downtown now have to be fed until 10 PM. and considering we only paid for a couple hours (5PM to 7PM), we were damn lucky we didn't get a few paper violations - we left at midnight.

of course, everything comes with a price. although we missed out on a parking ticket, i paid for our night o' drinking with a big ol' bruised knee.

no, we weren't drunk...just careless. as we were crossing the street, i banged my knee into the trailer ball of a truck. yowtch. got a little cut, some swelling, and a really cool green and blue bruise about the size of an old silver dollar. ah well.

we weren't done eating though. on the way home, we stopped by the Viva Burrito Co. by my house. the place is an old Jack In The Box that serves breakfast burritos, tortas, fried tacos, regular burritos, quesadillas, etc. and they do it 24-7...the dining room does close at 1AM though.

saturday night. went to Black Eyed Pea. big disappointment. used to go there more often, but it seems that the food quality is worsening. it might be a while before we go back.

afterwards, we sped on over to the cheapies to see 'Cinderella Man.' was very good. ooh, the boxing scenes were a bit brutal, especially the last one between James Braddock and Max Baer. excellent though. it's a shame that they decided to release it around the time of the last Star Wars installment; i doubt many people saw it...if the box office receipts are an indication. the movie cost $88 million to make and has only made $60 million as of last week. i wonder if it'll garner any Oscar nominations or if it'll be forgotten since they won't be announced until February.

last night we went to Bennigan's and shared an appetizer of southwest egg rolls and ultimate nachos before our burger and salad came out. ha! sounds like they were in the closet...

we had an earlier dinner than usual. so when we finished, we went shoppin'! off to Big Lots! for cleaning stuff and assorted things we don't need...and to Sunflower Market for this week's produce...and to Mervyn's for some towels and a sheet set (items for our ethiopian friends who just bought their first house).

and now you have the sordid details of our gastronomic ventures of the past week.

i'm hungry...