What's for Dinner, Mon., April 8, 2019

[NJCher]

I'm headed downstairs to check out the specials on the board at the hotel restaurant. I also might research some vegetarian restaurants in the neighborhood.

Wish I knew more about Uber food delivery, but have never tried it.

[janterry]

1. Curried Lentil, Coconut, and Tomato Soup

Recipe from Bon Appetit .

[irisblue]

2. Meatless Monday

Harissa Chickpea & Sweet potato curry over red thai rice.
Decafe tea.

[NJCher]

3. what a weird coincidence

No specials posted on the hotel restaurant's blackboard yet, so I meandered over to the concierge to ask him if there were any good vegetarian restaurants in the neighborhood. He pointed me to a nice on-the-wall display where all I had to do was click for local restaurants and it showed me a pic of the restaurant and the address. The hotel has a bus and will even drive me there for free. There were no vegetarian restaurants close by so I opted for a particular Korean restaurant and headed back upstairs to check it out on my computer. No menu had been listed for that one, and I also wanted to check guest comments.

Found the restaurant on my computer but the opening page had a splash screen that said it had recently opened a new restaurant in NJ, not that far from where I live. Huh? I thought that the geo-locators on my computer had thought I was in NJ, not IL. However, upon scrolling down, I see that this restaurant has locations in a few places: this place where I'm at in IL, and close to where I live in NJ.

What are the chances that I choose a restaurant in Illinois that is also in NJ, and those are the few places where they have restaurants (there are 4-5 in NJ).

The restaurant company seems interested in keeping to the origins of its cuisine. The menu is mostly in Korean, but it has some of it in English.

Since this seems like serendipity, I'm dining there tonight. All by myself, sadly. However, when I get back, the RG says that if I have a good experience we'll try one of the locations near us.

[PJMcK]

6. Great story!

Hope the meal is good. How fun would it be to find a good restaurant in the midwest that has an affiliate near your home?! Fun.

Travel safely.

[MissMillie]

4. hawaiian pizza

I completely cheated on the crust because....

At Mom & Dad's I made a turkey dinner: bone-in turkey breast, mashed-potatoes & gravy (no gravy for Dad), steamed asparagus, cranberries, sliced tomatoes.

I've never cooked a turkey breast before. It took longer than I expected. (Thank goodness I waited until the turkey was done before starting the asparagus.) Couldn't baste it w/ fatty broth/stock (because of Dad's low-fat diet), so it cooked w/ the lid on for quite some time. It came out very juicy. No crispy skin, but there's trade-offs in dealing w/ this issue.

Dad sees the surgeon for a follow-up tomorrow morning, he may be able to go back to a more "normal" diet. He hasn't complained once, and even when I suggested a sprinkle of cheese on his spaghetti wouldn't be the end of the world, he held fast.

They have enough leftovers for tomorrow, but I told him if he gets an OK from the doc, go get a pizza. He's been such a trooper.

I can't believe his gall bladder burst months ago and he'd been living with it.

[Kali]

5. mesquite grilled London Broil (or whatever we are calling this round cut nowadays)

on salad (or as a burrito for those who wish) with homemade ranch dressing. salad is salad bar style with romaine, cabbage, red bell pepper, onion, cuke, cauliflower, cherub tomatoes, and some raw turnip