If you like dining out, then restaurants.com is for you. You can save big with their latest promotion. You can now get gift certificates for 80% off. This means you can get a $25 certificate (regularly priced at $10) for just $2.
To get started, go to their website and put in your zip code to see a list of restaurants in your area, or anywhere you'll be dining. When you've made your selections, remember to use the code savor when you check out to get your 80% discount.
I've used these, and they do work but if you're unsure, call the restaurant ahead of time to verify their policy.
Expired
Monday, February 22, 2010
Quote of the Week
You don't want to get to the end of life's journey and discover you never left the interstate.
- Robert Brault
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. On the highway of life, that's not always the best route. Life is short, so make the most of all the twists and turns.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Just Another Day
Just me here, pondering on the day. I haven't accomplished much today. We started the day with our usual homemade waffles. Yeah, the kind made in a waffle maker, not popped into the toaster. This has been a Sunday morning ritual for quite a while. Backing up a bit, the day actually started with me feeding Rosie some of his mush food (canned cat food - this time it was beef), and I crawled back into bed for a few minutes. We got up to the sound of throwing up - on the bathroom carpet. That would be Rosie - I guess the beef didn't set too well. This was the first time since implementing the new food that he has "lost his cookies" so maybe it was that one can/flavor.
After breakfast we made a trip to Wal-mart for shoe laces, milk, eggs, cheese and, of all things, transmission fluid. Now we've got to keep that truck running as it's my sole source of transportation these days. No luck in the car search this weekend. Anyway, we got the truck back on track at least for now. We'll get our mechanic to check it out and hopefully find out what's causing the leak. Just one more thing on the ever-increasing heap of "stuff to do".
I did talk with my friend Ashley for a while. She (and the kids) are doing better after a round of strep throat tore through their household. Kevin was the only one who escaped the attack.
As for the rest of the day, I have just been hanging out spending time on the computer, checking out my regular haunts plus a few new, interesting reads. The weather has warmed up this weekend, but I stayed in just kind of bummed about Rosie and his health issues. We need to take him back to the vet soon for a re-check on his sugar level. We're pretty sure he's become diabetic since he's drinking a lot more water and his sugar level was 485 last time. We're hoping a change in diet with reward us with a reversal of his condition. It does happen sometimes. He had a different variety this afternoon and all seemed fine, and I didn't find any more "decorations" on the floor.
I wound up with a sinus headache late this afternoon. Aren't those miserable? Dinner time rolls around and I opened the fridge, pulled out eggs, English muffins, butter (Smart Balance) and some leftover sausage patties. That was my dinner. Yum! No, not really, but it was food. So the day wasn't all that exciting, but it was indeed a day, each is unique in it's own way, and beats the heck out of the alternative wouldn't you say?
So, how was your day?
After breakfast we made a trip to Wal-mart for shoe laces, milk, eggs, cheese and, of all things, transmission fluid. Now we've got to keep that truck running as it's my sole source of transportation these days. No luck in the car search this weekend. Anyway, we got the truck back on track at least for now. We'll get our mechanic to check it out and hopefully find out what's causing the leak. Just one more thing on the ever-increasing heap of "stuff to do".
I did talk with my friend Ashley for a while. She (and the kids) are doing better after a round of strep throat tore through their household. Kevin was the only one who escaped the attack.
As for the rest of the day, I have just been hanging out spending time on the computer, checking out my regular haunts plus a few new, interesting reads. The weather has warmed up this weekend, but I stayed in just kind of bummed about Rosie and his health issues. We need to take him back to the vet soon for a re-check on his sugar level. We're pretty sure he's become diabetic since he's drinking a lot more water and his sugar level was 485 last time. We're hoping a change in diet with reward us with a reversal of his condition. It does happen sometimes. He had a different variety this afternoon and all seemed fine, and I didn't find any more "decorations" on the floor.
I wound up with a sinus headache late this afternoon. Aren't those miserable? Dinner time rolls around and I opened the fridge, pulled out eggs, English muffins, butter (Smart Balance) and some leftover sausage patties. That was my dinner. Yum! No, not really, but it was food. So the day wasn't all that exciting, but it was indeed a day, each is unique in it's own way, and beats the heck out of the alternative wouldn't you say?
So, how was your day?
Wine, Food & Friends
If any of you remember my post on our Cheers group just after Halloween, I talked about how we all came together as a group. Well, last night we resurrected the wine dinners that were previously held at Carolina Winesellers, at the home of the founders of our group. We gathered at 6:30 for dinner catered by Dine by Design, local caterers who are also treasured members of our group. We are fortunate to have such talented folks among us.
The food and wine pairings and comments are as follows:
Key West Salad paired with a South African Chenin Blanc (smelled and tasted like a Sauvignon Blanc to me). No matter what or where the wine was from, it was good.
Grilled pork tenderloin paired with a Chilean Carmenere (Santa Rita). Absolutely yummy. Chile makes great wines.
Twice baked potato paired with a California Chardonnay from Sonoma (surprisingly a Kirkland brand from Costco). Mmmm... Good!
Chicken Saltimbocca paired with a Chianti (Pietro, I think). Nice choice, went well with the chicken and earthiness of the mushrooms.
Turtle brownie for dessert. A pie-shaped portion of chocolate yumminess paired with a Rosé from somewhere. Sorry by that time....well you understand. I didn't take notes on the wines so it is from memory and subject to errors.
The evening was full of fun, friendship and great conversations on topics ranging from wine and food (of course) to golf, travel, shopping, and restaurants, and that was just at our table. We have been getting together like this for several years now, and the good times just keep getting better and better. It is truly a wonderful group of people, all friends with a common interest in good food, good wine and good times shared with each other.
Many thanks for the delicious food and the expert wine pairings. Salute!
The food and wine pairings and comments are as follows:
Key West Salad paired with a South African Chenin Blanc (smelled and tasted like a Sauvignon Blanc to me). No matter what or where the wine was from, it was good.
Grilled pork tenderloin paired with a Chilean Carmenere (Santa Rita). Absolutely yummy. Chile makes great wines.
Twice baked potato paired with a California Chardonnay from Sonoma (surprisingly a Kirkland brand from Costco). Mmmm... Good!
Chicken Saltimbocca paired with a Chianti (Pietro, I think). Nice choice, went well with the chicken and earthiness of the mushrooms.
Turtle brownie for dessert. A pie-shaped portion of chocolate yumminess paired with a Rosé from somewhere. Sorry by that time....well you understand. I didn't take notes on the wines so it is from memory and subject to errors.
The evening was full of fun, friendship and great conversations on topics ranging from wine and food (of course) to golf, travel, shopping, and restaurants, and that was just at our table. We have been getting together like this for several years now, and the good times just keep getting better and better. It is truly a wonderful group of people, all friends with a common interest in good food, good wine and good times shared with each other.
Many thanks for the delicious food and the expert wine pairings. Salute!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Dinner at Ombu
It's not fair to review a restaurant after only one visit, so this is not a review. Besides, I'm not a restaurant critic, although I can be critical. Tonight I took my husband to Ombu for his birthday. For anyone not familiar with Ombu, it is located on Hanes Mall Blvd. across from Wal-mart. It is an attractive brick building with a patio and fireplace. It is just as elegant inside with both tables and booths. We were seated next to the kitchen, which wouldn't have been my choice because it was brighter, hotter and noisier. However, it proved to be entertaining and enlightening to see how the kitchen was run. I commented to my husband that I doubted it was like this at Applebee's, and he agreed it probably wasn't.
Jen was our server, and she did a very nice job. She was knowledgeable about the menu, and when I questioned her about the serving temperature of their red wine she admitted that it was not climate controlled, but served at room temperature. While it was comfortable for humans, it's not so good for the wine. She said she would like for us to share our thoughts on this with the chef, as he takes customer's comments to heart. Chef Joseph Monteiro is the Executive Chef as well as a partner in the restaurant. He came to our table to hear our thoughts and relate his concerns over not having the proper storage or cooling capacity for the wines. And Ombu does have an extensive wine list. His task would be much simpler if it did not. It is apparently something he thinks about often.
We placed an order for lobster and gruyere fritters with poblano pepper jelly and chives, and gave the red wine a try. After all the only place we ever get it at the correct temperature, at least in this town, is at home. Jen brought us samples of "The Bitch" grenache from Barossa. It was light in body, similar to that of a pinot noir, but full of flavor like you would expect from Australian wines. We enjoyed it in spite of the temperature so we each ordered a glass. I suspect another 8-10 degrees cooler would have made a pleasurable difference, though.
Soon our fritters arrived. They were crispy, golden mounds of spicy sweetness combined with the gooey cheese, and of course the lobster. The lobster was not extremely obvious among the other flavors and textures. They were quite good, but I would have liked a little more heat and a little less sweet in the sauce.
The restaurant didn't appear too busy when we arrived for our 7:00 reservation, but picked up steam as time went on. The kitchen was slammed, and Chef Joe was keeping everyone in line and things moving. Shortly we got our orders. I had the Scottish Salmon with truffle potato au gratin and almond Thai basil butter. Hubby ordered the divers scallops with smoked tomato grits, pancetta and cilantro hollandaise. There were four large scallops on individual beds of the grits and pancetta. They were topped with caviar. Now this was the first experience of caviar for either of us, and I've got to say, I didn't care too much for it. If asked ahead of time if I thought I would like it, I would have replied, "probably not". I would have been right. It was not so much as to upset the dish or the eater, but it's not something we'd want again. It had the mouthfeel of so many little black seeds popping like tiny bubble wrap. The salmon and scallops were cooked perfectly, and the portions were generous. I even remarked that my salmon was large enough to split. I usually buy enough for 6-oz. portions for each of us. This must have been about 10 oz. The only issue with the food was that the scallops were not served on a "hot" plate like my salmon, and were maybe not as hot as they could have been from the get go. We let them know this for future reference.
This was a very nice experience, and we saw first-hand a chef who cares about the food and wine he serves, and we saw him in action. The wait staff were all friendly and competent. I would give Ombu a thumbs up rating. We had heard really good things about Ombu from friends, and they were right.
I cannot comment on the dessert. I declined to even look at the menu since I was so stuffed. Did I mention the complimentary bread and butter? Yum! It was all good. Would I go back? Yes!
Now to make this evening even better, Ombu is one of the area restaurants listed with restaurants.com which sells restaurant gift certificates on-line. I had purchased a $25 gift certificate during one of their special offers for just $2.
Bottom line, I recommend this restaurant especially for special occasions.
Jen was our server, and she did a very nice job. She was knowledgeable about the menu, and when I questioned her about the serving temperature of their red wine she admitted that it was not climate controlled, but served at room temperature. While it was comfortable for humans, it's not so good for the wine. She said she would like for us to share our thoughts on this with the chef, as he takes customer's comments to heart. Chef Joseph Monteiro is the Executive Chef as well as a partner in the restaurant. He came to our table to hear our thoughts and relate his concerns over not having the proper storage or cooling capacity for the wines. And Ombu does have an extensive wine list. His task would be much simpler if it did not. It is apparently something he thinks about often.
We placed an order for lobster and gruyere fritters with poblano pepper jelly and chives, and gave the red wine a try. After all the only place we ever get it at the correct temperature, at least in this town, is at home. Jen brought us samples of "The Bitch" grenache from Barossa. It was light in body, similar to that of a pinot noir, but full of flavor like you would expect from Australian wines. We enjoyed it in spite of the temperature so we each ordered a glass. I suspect another 8-10 degrees cooler would have made a pleasurable difference, though.
Soon our fritters arrived. They were crispy, golden mounds of spicy sweetness combined with the gooey cheese, and of course the lobster. The lobster was not extremely obvious among the other flavors and textures. They were quite good, but I would have liked a little more heat and a little less sweet in the sauce.
The restaurant didn't appear too busy when we arrived for our 7:00 reservation, but picked up steam as time went on. The kitchen was slammed, and Chef Joe was keeping everyone in line and things moving. Shortly we got our orders. I had the Scottish Salmon with truffle potato au gratin and almond Thai basil butter. Hubby ordered the divers scallops with smoked tomato grits, pancetta and cilantro hollandaise. There were four large scallops on individual beds of the grits and pancetta. They were topped with caviar. Now this was the first experience of caviar for either of us, and I've got to say, I didn't care too much for it. If asked ahead of time if I thought I would like it, I would have replied, "probably not". I would have been right. It was not so much as to upset the dish or the eater, but it's not something we'd want again. It had the mouthfeel of so many little black seeds popping like tiny bubble wrap. The salmon and scallops were cooked perfectly, and the portions were generous. I even remarked that my salmon was large enough to split. I usually buy enough for 6-oz. portions for each of us. This must have been about 10 oz. The only issue with the food was that the scallops were not served on a "hot" plate like my salmon, and were maybe not as hot as they could have been from the get go. We let them know this for future reference.
This was a very nice experience, and we saw first-hand a chef who cares about the food and wine he serves, and we saw him in action. The wait staff were all friendly and competent. I would give Ombu a thumbs up rating. We had heard really good things about Ombu from friends, and they were right.
I cannot comment on the dessert. I declined to even look at the menu since I was so stuffed. Did I mention the complimentary bread and butter? Yum! It was all good. Would I go back? Yes!
Now to make this evening even better, Ombu is one of the area restaurants listed with restaurants.com which sells restaurant gift certificates on-line. I had purchased a $25 gift certificate during one of their special offers for just $2.
Bottom line, I recommend this restaurant especially for special occasions.
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