FOODIES

Brian cooked us up a Pinoy breakfast yesterday consisting of sausage patties, fried egg and steamed rice. Really the only thing missing was the tocino. LOL.

Anyone up for Bang Wednesdays at Bonefish Grill? I think we’ll need to go before the promotion is over. What do you guys think?

“Friends don’t let friends eat Dillons sushi” used to be my mantra because when I tried Dillons sushi several years ago, I found it disgusting. I think the box I got must have been sitting there a while.

Anyway, our friend JW had been posting on his FB about going to Dillons to pick up sushi. Surely he wouldn’t keep going back if it wasn’t any good, right? So I decided to give it another try.

We needed to pick up a loaf of bread anyhow, might as well pick up some sushi while we’re there.

I was really impressed this time. The selection was quite vast. There were more options than I imagined would be possible at a supermarket sushi bar. Next time you’re at Dillons, pick up the sushi menu and check out the list of items that they can make for you. It’s quite a list.

You should also pick up the Southern Tsunami brochure that has all the nutritional facts. Most everything is pretty healthy, but there are some items that are better than others.

I think when I tried it before (years ago), the sushi wasn’t by Southern Tsunami. Now I think all sushi at Dillons is by Southern Tsunami or Advanced Fresh Concepts Corp. They’ve really got it down pat.

Here are some tips to make the most out of your Dillons sushi experience: (1) If you go during the day, it’s probably safe to pick up pre-boxed sushi from the refrigerated case. However, if you go at night, I would advise against this. Chances are, that box has been sitting there all day. It might be okay for you, but sushi that’s been sitting around just isn’t that appealing to me. (2) You can guarantee the freshness of your sushi by asking them to make it for you. This is great if you can’t find what you want or if you just want to modify something (e.g. you want cream cheese instead of avocado or vice versa, or if you just want to add or remove something). Speaking of, modifying is a great excuse to have them make fresh sushi if you don’t want to pick up one of the boxes. You could say something like, “I see you’ve got California roll here, but can you make me one with real crab instead of imitation crab?” or “Can I have this one but with fish eggs on the outside?” or “I’m really allergic to sesame seeds. Can I have one without?” (3) Skip the shrimp tempura sushi, anything tempura, or anything that is supposed to be crunchy. The crunchiness (if they can achieve it at all — Brian thinks they can’t) usually only lasts a few minutes so after a while, it’s not so crunchy anymore. All other options are okay, though.

Incidentally, I think I read on their brochure that the California roll is made with imitation crab and if you want real crab, then you need to look for the ocean crab roll or something like that. I will have to ask them next time I’m there.

So anyway, if you were like me and you’d written off Dillons sushi, it may be time to give it another try. It is really an excellent value. Brian wasn’t so impressed, but I was thinking it was fantastic for as cheap as it was. For the same price, you get twice as much sushi as what you’d typically get at restaurant.

Good thing the food was good because the service was pretty bad. The server we had was pretty inattentive. Even after we told her that there were three of us (except Brian was in the restroom washing his hands), she took off without getting Chad’s drink order. She turned around and left after I told her what Brian and I wanted to drink. I hate when people make assumptions, instead of clarifying first. Just as I figured, when she came back with the drinks minutes later, she set it in front of Chad and me.

We ordered an appetizer (the party platter with cheese sticks, potato skins, buffalo wings and pretzels) for the three of us to share and then both Chad and Brian got the black forest sandwich and then I got boring ol’ chicken tenders.

Our appetizer took 25 minutes to arrive, which would not have been bad except our food arrived a couple of minutes later. I hate it when the timing is off. At least the food was good.

The black forest sandwich was actually pretty good. It consists of grilled turkey, smoked bacon, monterey jack cheese, lettuce, tomato and honey mustard dressing in a bavarian pretzel roll and is probably not very good for you health-wise.

The chicken tenders were battered the way we like them. Although, they’re probably not good for you either. Chad is not a good influence when it comes to food. We’re always pigging out on stuff (most of the time it’s B&C BBQ) when we’re together.

As promised here are the pictures from our little family fiesta, which incidentally coincided with the fiesta in Tanjay (mom and dad’s home town).

Lumpia is a staple at any Filipino shindig. You can’t have a Filipino food fest without it.

Mom’s pancit is not very colorful, but it’s just the way I like it. The lack of color means there’s hardly any veggies. LOL.

This is supposed to be mungo, but you can’t tell because it has so much sabaw. It doesn’t look like much, but it was delicious!

Barbecued pork on a stick. This is what mom and dad meant by having a “barbecue” at their place. I guess you can’t call it a “barbecue” without grilling something. =P

Obligatory non-food pictures follow…

Dad and Logan

I think a decent-sized covered porch (like mom and dad have) is going to be a must for our next house. It’s fun to hang out (whether it’s nice out or whether it’s raining) and stare at nothing.

I guess staring at mom and dad’s tree isn’t so bad, but if your bladder is full then the little water feature might make you want to go to the bathroom.

Matthew (Logan’s dad) and Brian

Armando and Jen (Jennifer Cannady is in the background)

Good thing Jenni was out of town last weekend. We have way to many Jennifer’s in the family. I have to write their names as Jen, Jenni, and Jennifer just to keep them straight.

P.S. I really miss the 5MP camera of the HD2. After taking pictures with the HD2, returning to the HTC Touch Pro 2 and its lower picture quality is no fun. The food pictures just don’t come out the same.

Check out this one I took with the HD2 when Brian and I went to dinner at his parents’ house a few days ago.

It’s just not the same, right?

Hopefully, I can save enough money to buy the Samsung Vibrant (Galaxy S). It has a 5MP camera as well. Maybe someone at Samsung will send me one to play with. LOL. I doubt I’d be that lucky. Oh, well. I guess I just have to save money and pay for it like everyone else.