Six Lunches and One Dinner
I have been dining out once a day but Sundays in the past couple of weeks. The typical foods I have had include burritos, fried chicken, burgers, sandwiches, pizza, noodles, gyro. On Saturday, I have had either a Chinese lunch or a Korean Barbeque for a year after the Pandemic lockdown. Since last week, I have started replacing one causal lunch with a more formal dinner. I am happy to share the eating experience to embrace the holiday season, which may be the only cost I bear to celebrate.
On Monday, I went to Azteca to have a large burrito. By the way, my son has almost always gone to these restaurants with me because he is currently applying for a graduate program, so he stays home every day. As soon as he leaves for graduate school, I will be even more flexible in choosing my lunch or dinner. First of all, I love Mexican foods. Then, Azteca is always a reliable choice whenever I can't make a decision. I had my son take out the burritos from a family one in the past several weeks, and their foods taste great too. This week, I wanted to dine in, but that one is small. I started going to Azteca more than a decade ago, so I know it very well. The nearest one to my house locates in Mill Creek. I used to go to another one in Lynnwood interchangeably, but that one seems gone. The one in Mountlake Terrace is pretty convenient too. It was not a surprise that it was quiet without many customers during lunchtime on Monday in a residential area. The whole restaurant was clean, and the waiter was very courteous. My son drank his Pepsi very fast, and the waiter proactively refilled for him. The burrito was large and delicious. In the end, the waiter asked my son if he wanted the third refill. We walked out full and satisfied. I just noticed that the clip I filmed had been viewed 1,134 times, and with a University of Phoenix commercial in the beginning.
On Tuesday, I drove my son to Quick Gyro, the Mediterranean restaurant my son had frequented and recommended to me. Waiting for him in the car, I expected that he would order the same gyro for me several-week-in-a-row. Yes, he did, and I loved it because the food was healthy and tasty. It had never driven my glucose to go high. Instead of buying his typical platter, my son ordered a gyro too. However, he didn't manage it very well, so he spilled the vegetables and meats all over the table. He said that he would go back to the platter next time. The gyro is large, therefore, I always eat it slowly and carefully. Quick Gyro has become our weekly designated restaurant and will continue to be.
I had searched online for the best restaurants nearby and found one seemingly wonderful. However, it only opens from Thursday to Sunday for dinner. While thinking about a steak dinner, I planned to go to Keg in Lynnwood. I hadn't eaten at any Keg Steakhouse for more than a decade. Surprisingly, the website said that the restaurant was temporarily closed. Checking its other locations, I found the same result. Though it said for maintenance purposes, I wondered if it was because of the Pandemic. Of course, Chris Ruth may be the best choice, but only one steakhouse is in Seattle and attaches to a hotel downtown. I thought about Outback, which was located in one of the plazas by Bothell-Everett Highway south of the 405 freeway. The last time I dined there was in 2004 when I still lived in one of my owned houses in Red Hawk then. Calling its number, I checked with the reception if I needed to make a reservation. It sounded unnecessary for two persons, so I decided to drive my son on Wednesday evening to walk in. Oh, I need to explain that my son almost always walks into the restaurant to check if the table and the services are available, then calls me in. Why? I need to inject six units of Humalog first in the car. As soon as I entered the front door, I was curious if the restaurant had been renovated in the past seventeen years. My memory told me that it was smaller and dimmer. I ordered a glass of martini with gin, and my son only had ice water. Later on, I ordered Ribeye and my son tried New York Strip. Honestly, I forgot that this franchise is Australian cuisine. The steak tasted authentic and a little bit salty. I recalled that the well-done steak I ordered in 2004 was slightly overcooked, so I asked for medium for this dinner. It might be the right choice. After we sat down, several more groups of customers followed. The whole restaurant ended up with many filled tables on a Wednesday night. Before leaving home earlier, I had watched a college football game between MAC rivals Northern Illinois and Ball State. While eating the steak, I watched it remotely though I couldn't tell the scores exactly. Asking for the check, I realized that I could pay through a card reader on the table, which reminded me that this is a standard throughout this type of casual dining franchise. I had done it at Red Robin twice; one was in Bothell very close to this plaza at the other side of 405; another was in Salem, Oregon.
We used to go for a Vietnamese Pho lunch once a week but hadn't done it for three weeks. This Thursday, we decided to resume it. The Good for Pho is very popular in our area, probably is also the closest one to our house. Since the reopening of the dine-in, the tables can be filled pretty fast during lunchtime. Last time we had to wait, so my son lost patience to leave. Fortunately, he found a table this time, then I walked in after injecting six units of Humalog. It was a typical noodle lunch, but my son did order the appetizer. We both had a large bowl of steak pho with extra meats. Leaving the restaurant full of delicious food and soup, I felt lucky that we didn't need to wait because I saw a guy sitting by the door waiting for a table. Had we come slightly late, we would have had to be him.
Another weekly designated restaurant for lunch is Elliott Bay Pizza in the plaza north of 164th Street and one block west of Bothel-Everett Highway. Again, my son had frequented there for a year, and he brought me over recently. His favorite dish is always the giant nacho, and I am impressed by their gourmet sandwiches. However, I ordered a small pizza for this Friday's lunch but skipped the beer because it was raining harshly, disallowing me to walk to the nearby park to cool down alcohol. I didn't want to be caught driving under the influence despite that a draft beer doesn't exceed the limit. The waiter, who might be the owner, asked me how the food was when I asked for the check; I told him that I would see him next week. He liked my answer.
Usually, we go to either a Chinese restaurant or a Korean Barbeque on Saturday, but we changed the routine this weekend to decide to go to a lounge my son had also frequented for a year. The Cove locates in the same small plaza where Good for Pho and the family Mexican restaurant do. My initial plan was to walk there from our house, which presumably took half an hour. My son had walked toward there one hour ago to finish his morning walking session first. Stepping out for more than ten minutes, I suddenly realized that I didn't bring a mask with me. Thinking about covering my mouth with my jacket when I would enter the lounge, I decided to go back home to drive the car there anyway. Many masks are carried in my car. I had planned to walk because I wanted to drink during lunch, especially in a lounge; I changed the idea to drive because I would meet my son at noon there, so I would be too late if I still walked after going back to take the mask. It was the first time I entered this lounge, which was surprisingly spacious located in such a small corner. Reading on the chalkboard, I asked to try Voodoo Ranger draft beer, which confused the bartender. He brought me a small glass of it to let me try. I immediately explained that I meant to order it. My son recommended Fish n Chips for me. It was cooked slightly differently, like two pieces of fish steak. They were delicious nevertheless. The Cove is an authentic sports bar fitting my passion. While eating, I watched the Big 12 clash in which No. 13 Baylor would beat No. 8 Oklahoma to end their undefeated journey. I often go to the sports bars while on trips, but I should do more around the home. With a glass of beer, I was fine to drive back home after lunch. This clip can only be viewed on Youtube because it contains some college football game scenes on the TV in the bar I accidentally filmed. Youtube has a strict copyright rule.
As usual, I don't head out to dine on Sunday. While watching a World Cup 2022 European Qualifier between Spain and Sweden, I dipped the tortilla chips in the salsa to have my lunch.
Where am I going for dinner next week? The one I found online only opens from Thursday to Sunday? Maybe.