I'll be going to London and Ireland in April with my husband and some friends. I would love recommendations on places to eat (especially ones that won't break the bank!) and what kinds of food are good in those places. We'll be going all over Ireland -- Dublin, Belfast, Killarney, etc. (basically a big cirle around the country).
I'm going to Baja Cali in September with some friends and would like suggestions on places to eat in Ensenada. Nothing expensive. Thanks.
Agh! Snails, along with slugs, bugs and spiders, give me the creepy-crawlies. I just killed some with salt yesterday, and then I went nuts with that itchy feeling of things crawling all over my legs. I have snail-o-phobia, even though they are harmless little creatures!
I remember one day my boyfriend at the time and I forgot it was Mother's Day and went to a popular chain restaurant. Yikes!
I said that pop is the noise when you open a can of soda, but there is no pop sound with plastic bottles of soda. What an argument, huh?
@ Alm 25. "but my grandfather says sodie-pop"
My grandpa says the same thing out in the country in Northern Calif. We say soda here of course, but when I went to school in Oregon, they all say pop. I actually argued with one of my new Oregon friends about whether to say soda or pop. My husband, who's from Oregon, quickly adapted to our soda ways.
Yes, there are hotdogs with cheese. They are in the fancier hotdog section near the bratwurst and polish sausages. I had them on a camping trip last year, roasted over the fire. They were oh so good!
I miss Hershey's cookies 'n mint. That was my favorite candy bar when my mom let me pick one out at the grocery store. Pretty much everything I used to like they still make, but perhaps they just don't taste the same as when I was a kid. I could buy Zingers and Snoballs if I want, but the price is so overinflated nowadays that I won't!
I agree with Luna. When my husband and I go to London in a couple weeks, we're bringing our host Twinkies. ... By special request from the host! Knowing the strength of processed Twinkies, at least they won't get smashed up in our checked luggage or go bad in the six days that the Twinkies will be staying in our luggage. :)
When I went to Australia, I stayed with a couple of host families, and I brought them California walnuts.
It is definitely more special to bring people something they might not get in their country/city.
I walked in Whole Foods once to see what it was like, and the prices were so high on everything. I noticed that the store carried some of the same goods as TJ's for a higher price. As journalists make about as much as beggars in San Francisco, and living in the Bay Area is expensive anyway, it's hard to go grocery shopping as it is with food prices increasing every couple of weeks. So as much as I'd love to buy organic and good-quality foods, I'm kind of stuck. I just pick what I buy very carefully. Just because people don't make enough money to shop at Whole Foods doesn't mean they can't have fairly healthy diets.
Where's the pizza one? My husband can't go a week without pizza! Barbecue would be a good one too.
Carnitas are a good and different taco filler.
When I went to Mexico City, street vendors were popular. Items included tamales, corn on the cob and freshly made corn tortillas with beans on top. There was fresh-squeezed orange juice. People would have carts full of oranges and squeeze the juice right there. Restaurants offered orange juice and lime juice with soda in them, which was delicious and refreshing, if you need a non-alcoholic beverage for younger party-goers.
Reading these lists made me hungry. I love Mexican food!!! In fact, I'm going to make enchiladas tonight with homemade sauce using my dad's dried sweet and jalapeno peppers.
I like all the info here. My husband and I have a meager journalists' income and plan to travel out of the country every year. We've saved up for about a year for our trip to Ireland/London (leaving in a few weeks) and have paid for stuff for the trip throughout the year, rather than all at once. We're pretty much all set to go, and we've had emergencies to pay for such as an auto accident and vet bills for our dog. All we have to pay for is food and the remaining balance on our bed and breakfast stays (we're staying at a friend's house in London too). We already picked out some of the cheaper places in our Ireland and London travel books. The way we save: buying clothes only when we're desperate and rarely going out to dinner. It's been hard for me not to buy clothes! We bought clothes we needed for our Christmas gift to one another.
We're already looking forward to our next trip: Honduras. It will be nice to go where our dollar will buy more!
My brother and I always take mom out for MD b/c we do not own our own homes yet and Mom / Dad would feel obliged to cook/cleanup in their homes. THey are very particular( read OCD) and would have more stress if we prepared the meal because they like things done their way. We went out for a 4pm early dinner reservation to a high end restaurant and treated mom. There was no cleanup to worry about so we were in no rush. The food and servicer were superb. Mom said it was exactly what she wanted. THis is my only goal on MD!
I thought about this thread as I was eating a pretty average buffet lunch with my mom and wishing there was some place a little nicer we could have gone. When you're 100 miles from anywhere, Applebees sounds pretty fancy. The cafe was where Mom wanted to go and that's what counts. I drove up (about 80 miles) to go to church with her and spend the day. As I said, lunch was so-so, but the day was beautiful and it was nice to have time for just the 2 of us. Mom's 87 and pretty amazing. She just bought her first pair of blue jeans as well as a 42" flat screen HDTV. One of the best things for me was channel surfing and coming across a replay of the KU-Memphis game. Watching the end of that game on the big screen was great!
@wookie - I agree. For special occasion dining, high-end is the only way to go. Not just because I am the "Queen for a Day" (heehee) but also because they are able to accommodate busy services without a problem. You do get what you pay for, in this as in anything.
@liwinegirl - This may sound self-congratulatory, but I do agree with you - on other people's children. I have felt so sorry for kids whose parents are screaming at them to behave when they have clearly never been out and have no idea what is expected of them.
Having said that, all three of my children (ages 10, 7, and 2) have been out to "grown up establishments" and done fine...but that is because they go out to dinner with us on a regular basis and know what is expected of them. The 2 year old gets wiggly, but we know this and take turns taking him for a walk (in the parking lot if necessary). We did this with our older children when they were little and they now LOVE restaurants and can order for themselves off a menu.
We don't, however, take them out way past their bedtimes, or ignore them in restaurants, which is what I have seen many parents doing. No wonder the kids act up when they are overtired, hungry, and no one is paying attention to them. I get a little cranky under those conditions as well. =)
It's just mom and me on Mother's Day so whatever she wants is what goes. If she wants to stay in and have me cook, if she wants to go out, heck if she wants to cook - it's her day. This year we went out for dim sum. No reservations. We were seated immediately, even in the middle of the lunch crush, received attentive service and ate delicious food. Then we spent the rest of the day walking it off!
@brittj8585- I feel your pain! While I can't say all of the customers were an issue yesterday, there was an unusual excess of screaming children and, I work at a wine bar. Young children who go out on these holidays typically don't know how to behave on account of the fact that they don't go out very much at all. In some cases, I think this is why parents can be unequipped to control them. The majority of adults had a great deal of patience because they know it is busy on a holiday; the minority complained about the children and under-tipped for not having a "perfect" experience. Not sure if it applies to your restaurant, but children simply don't belong in grown up establishments and holidays should not be an exception.
^5 @ psychsarah! Sounds like a terrific day. Glad it went as smoothly as it did. You must have eaten at a very well run restaurant that didn't overbook and underestimate meal timing.
During the text exchange between my daughter and me, I told her, "Be patient! It's going to be a non-stop day." She responded, "Mom, that's EVERY day here..." So she was prepared for the throng. Our neighbors across the street went to Olive Garden and I'm curious to know how that went.
@foodiemama - congrats on a great MD!
BF cooked dinner and wanted me to take it easy in front of the TV. Eventually he needed a tiny bit of help with the phyllo/manchego/mushroom pastries.
Me: "Would you like some help?
BF: "That depends...you want to eat today?"
(ROFLMAO)
It was a good day, despite the potential for it being very difficult for me.
I hate Mothers Day, Easter, and Valentines Day, all because I am a server. The people that come out on those days are the people who never go out any other time, so it seems as if everything is new to them, from ordering drinks when asked, to how to tip. I had one table leave cash and a coupon from another restaurant, along with a 10% tip on the discounted price. The tip wasn't even enough to cover the coupon mistake which I had to pay for. Another table let their 5 kids (under the age of five) sit at a table all by themselves. The kids threw everything from broccoli to whole hamburgers on the floor. They also screamed very loudly when taken to the bathroom, so loudly you could hear them from every corner of the place. I am requesting off next year.
Unfortunately, there's several hundred miles between my mother and I. Usually MD was a chance for me to wow her with some fantastic breakfast recipe and we would spend the day just enjoying each other's company--going to a movie, etc. We rarely, if ever, went out that I can remember. Anyway, this year I sent her some quince de membrillo, which I know she will love, and called. It's not the same, but I think the expression of love and appreciation, however you do it, is what counts the most. It's not a black and white 'restaurant or home-cooked meal question'.
I agree that MD is whatever makes Mom happy- I'm happiest in the kitchen and feeding other people and making THEM happy-so I cooked for everyone else today. And I'm not italian-but maybe in a former life-seems I never sit down at these meals either. But let me just say, in mother's-day-induced fit of narcissism-my meal ROCKED!! I outdid myself...and that made me happy mom on MD.
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