Meals of March

Well, selected meals from the crazy month of March.  Note the two place settings!

Welcome to Charlottesville, VA, a medium sized town with enough restaurants to seat the entire population at once! Let's stay in and eat some chili...

with some gorgeous corn muffins on the side!

Keizo and I ate a lot of kale chips while he was here.  Wash kale, tear from stems, place on baking sheet, drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil, coarse salt and pepper.  Bake/broil for about 10 minutes, mixing once until saku saku (light and crispy).

Homemade pizza on no-rise whole wheat dough.  This stuff sticks to your ribs.

Banana/coconut/PB chip pancakes.  Difficult to flip over, unbelievably easy to eat.

Teriyaki fish, buttered rice, leftover pasta and spinach salad with yogurt-y dressing, broccoli, nectarine and Craisins.

Poorly photographed fried egg sandwich, one of several that were consumed.  One of the Saturdays I had to be at school, Keizo and my housemate drove out to Polyface Farm and returned with eggs and breakfast sausages.  The eggs did seem "firmer" than the ones from the grocery store, but were the same pale yellow color.  Taste also seemed about the same.

*****

Since he was in C-ville for goodness sakes, we did have to eat out occasionally.

The gelato sampler at Splendora's.  I will have to show immense restraint not to order this just for myself the next time I go there.  Clockwise from top: mint, coconut, mango, tiramisu, and hazelnut, with a scoop of Guiness in the middle (it was St. Patrick's Day after all!)

Blue Mountain Brewery's nine beer sampler, enjoyed on the patio at sunset after an afternoon of hiking.  It was as amazing as it sounds.  I hope to repeat several times this summer.

Historic Michie Tavern's endless Southern buffet!  The stewed tomatoes were my favorite part, although that isn't to say didn't also get seconds of the BBQ pork and buttery biscuits.  If you go, I highly recommend fasting both before and after.

Eatin' it up in Vegas

Sunday was the final day of the Seven's tournament, so we spent most of the day back at the stadium. Thankfully we discovered more food options set up outside the bleachers, and split this delicious fry bread taco for lunch.

After watching the final Japan game of the day, we went back to the hotel for a little nap before heading out on the town. We caught the Cirque du Soleil Mystere show, and left hungry for something a bit more upscale than stadium food.

We ended up not far from Treasure Island; right across the street at First Food and Bar. While perusing the menu posted outside, Keizo noticed that they served lobster and was sold immediately. It turned out to be a great choice.

To start, we received a plate of soft pretzel rings on the house. It came with three dipping sauces: a sweet mustard, a dijon and one I can only describe as dijon butter.

Next, we ordered the salad sampler for some much needed vitamins. The plate featured four mini-salads; endives with grapes and blue cheese, a very garlicy caesar, Greek salad and a bacon topped wedge salad, pictured below.

For my main, I ordered the lobster roll. When it came to the table, it didn't look anything like any lobster roll I had ever seen before---way fancier! The taste matched the presentation, and I appreciated not having to fight a spiny crustacean for the tasty meat inside.

Keizo's main was the steamed lobster, served whole with a baked potato and some greens. It was his first lobster ever...and he did a very good job hollowing out the bright red shell. So good in fact, that he barely touched the potato, he was so full.

Sheer delight!

While First is probably a fairly standard Vegas dining establishment, lobster and a few drinks were a nice treat for us, and a far cry from the stadium swill we had been consuming.

*****

On Monday, with no more rugby to watch, we head out to explore the Strip with two goals in mind. One was to eat lunch at a buffet, and the

other was to visit M&M World. I am happy to report that we accomplished both.

We ate lunch at the buffet at the Luxor, for no other reason than we were there when we got hungry enough to tackle a buffet. Lunch was around $16 a person; which while sort of reflected in the quality of some of the food was reasonable enough that I didn't feel like I had to eat myself sick to get my money's worth.

My first plate: pasta, steamed fish, an enchilada, marinated vegetables and a tomato and cheese sandwich on a dinner roll. Can't fault them on the variety.

I actually enjoyed my second plate, exclusively from the salad bar better, but there is no photograph to share. There is also no photo of Keizo's first plate; but his second is definitely worth mentioning.

Turkey and mashed potatoes complete with gravy and cranberry sauce! I had a bite, and it was pretty good.

Of course there was also a dessert buffet, along with some very disappointing coffee. I enjoyed the left side of my plate more; the tiramisu was creamy and the raspberries were by far the best part of the tart. I should have taken more and just eaten the top.

Our last stop of the day was the Bellagio, which I must say I loved.

In true betsu bara fashion, we ordered some gelato, one scoop of cookies and cream and one scoop of mixed berry. It was some of the best gelato I have ever eaten, and a wonderful way to end our trip to Sin City before getting back to basics in Zion National Park.