Green Earth Restaurant Pasadena, California 2019

Every year when Pat and I visit California for our annual winter holiday, we make sure to visit the Green Earth restaurant in Pasadena, California.

The Green Earth restaurant, as the title would indicate, is a vegetarian restaurant. Pat wanted to visit this restaurant because it is the sister restaurant (run by the same Vietnamese family) of the Green Earth restaurant in Tornonto, Canada, Pat's former home (Pat now lives in Hamilton, Ontario).

Thuoung U - The Green Earth Restaurant

Our host at the Green Earth restaurant in Pasadena is Thuoung U, a Vietnamese immigrant.  I remember the first time I asked him his last name and he said "U".  I said "How do you spell your last name?"  He said "U".  Pen ready, I said "What is the rest of it?"  He said, "That's it, just 'U'".  Pretty cool eh?

Pasadena is a short drive mileage wise from our stay in West Hollywood but long traffic wise. It is worth the trip though. Pasadena is a beautiful town.  Neat and clean.  

Pat and I always sit at the same booth, which has always been available when we drop in unannounced. We're always receive a friendly welcome by Thuoung.  

Pat and me at our booth at the Green Earth Restaurant - I don't know what Pat was doing - by the way we don't sit next to each other, I sit across from pat at the table, we just posed this way for the picture which probably discombulated Pat

The menu changes every year.  We look forward to trying new vegetarian entrees. This year was no exception.  

Our vegan dishes at the Green Earth Restaurant - the one with tofu chunks are Pat's - I don't like tofu, that's how I knew the difference

I don't remember the names of these entrees but they were delicious. And we always top off our meal with a slice of vegan cheesecake which we share.  

Vegan cheesecake, which I like better than regular cheesecake - I don't have that heavy feeling in my stomach after I eat it, very tasty!

This blog post just another little slice of our annual California adventure. Sad to say we probably won't be visiting Thuoung next year.  We have decided to spend our whole two weeks in Palm Springs next year.  Maybe in 2021 we will return, hopefully.

Our Visit to the Delish Restaurant in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Continuing with my recent annual holiday in Ontario Canada, this is video of our visit to the Delish Restaurant in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Pat is moving to Hamilton next year.  He wanted to show me around his new home.  We're in the discovery mode.  

We found this wonderful restaurant owned and run by a Costa Rican immigrant named Erick Merlos.  

While the area around the restaurant has clearly seen better days, finding this restaurant was like finding a diamond in a desolate street.  

Hamilton has nowhere to go but up.  And what a delight it was to find this Delish restaurant!  

To be continued:

Veggie Meals

Me slurping some delicious soup at the Veggie Grill, West Hollywood, CA

Late yesterday afternoon I took Bill to his favorite restaurant in Milton. 

Bill generally doesn't like to go to restaurants but he likes this one in Milton (which shall remain nameless but those who know me know the restaurant I'm talking about). He likes it because it's not noisy and crowded and no screaming kids.  It is also not very expensive and he really likes their soup (as do I) which is very good.  The restaurant has booths in addition to the ubiquitous tables with the four chairs around said tables. We always get a booth by the window.  

The waitresses are always glad to see us, they greet us with a smile on their face.  Bill has a favorite, her name is Tanya.  A middle aged, stocky, black woman.  Bill always teases her about how beautiful she is which she takes in good humor. She may not be Christie Brinkley "beautiful" but she has a beautiful soul and, as I said before, she is always glad to see us.  Bill feels comfortable at this restaurant.  And I am glad that I can take Bill out to a place where he feels comfortable and can kibitz with a nice person.  Bill can't stand to go to the usual beach resort restaurants that are noisy, expensive and uncomfortable. Especially these newer restaurants with the cushioned benched seating against the wall, where you're eating next to strangers (who came up with THAT idea?) of the spindly tables out in the middle of the floor with the equally spindly chairs.  We tried one of those restaurants (a new one in Milton directly across the street from where we ate last night) and we didn't like it.  Indifferent waitresses, noisy (see a pattern here?) and uncomfortable.  Also the choices of food are weird and expensive. Not a pleasant experience. 

Oh I know some say I don't know what I'm talking about but excuse me, I do.  We're talking about me and Bill here, not  you. 

My singular requirement for dining out is to be comfortable, eat food that I like at a reasonable price.  Also, food cooked on the premises and not this Sysco half cooked food that you see being unloaded every morning in Rehoboth Beach from their long tractor trailer trucks.  Food for the masses, food for the touristsas.   The reason you pay so much for the food in Rehoboth, which I find almost always to be mediocre at best, is because the restaurant owner/operators have to pay such high rents.  Of course you can fool yourself thinking you're eating in a fou fou restaurant, if that works for you fine.  Doesn't work for me.  You're paying a LOT of money for frozen food that's shipped in and warmed up and squirted with something of undetermined liquid for "presentation."  Give me a break.  But if that kind of dining works for you, and it does for many, then go for it.  Doesn't work for us.

A typical early morning sight in Rehoboth Beach's restaurants - the ubiquitous Sysco food truck unloading cartons of frozen (yes, FROZEN, and you thought they were cut fresh?) French Fries and other foodstuffs that you pay top beach dollar for - even the sea food is frozen.  If you want fresh seafood go to a place like Provincetown, Mass where there are actually fishermen who bring in the fresh catch of the day - Rehoboth Beach doesn't have any fishing trawlers, only beach umbrella and chair rentals.

Now, what is this too long blog posting leading up to?  Ever since I came back from Los Angeles, I haven't had one good meal out, including last night.  I go to this restaurant in Milton because Bill likes it but every time I get something there, I come home sick.  My stomach is a rumbling, saying to me "What are you doing to me!"  

Each time I go into this restaurant I look in vain for a veggie dish.  Of course most restaurants around here, "veggie" is a salad of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and (if you're lucky) a fresh red onion.  The ubiquitous iceberg lettuce which has absolute zero taste and nutritional value.  Every get one of those "Wedge" salads?  That's HALF a head of iceberg lettuce.  Talk about a make believe meal. All you're eating folks is the salad dressing that's on the worthless lettuce. 

So last night I tried something different.  I got the Eggplant Parmesan sandwich.  Hey, I like eggplant, what could go wrong? Well, I should have known.  The soggy, tasteless eggplant came in a huge roll (the roll was actually quite good, the few pieces I tore off) and was smothered in that rubbery mozzarella cheese.  Is it me or do you find that a big swab of mozzarella cheese has absolutely no taste, unless you think rubber has a taste.  The only taste I ever got from mozzarella was when it is browned on top of lasagna or a casserole. And then the taste is very faint.

I used to get a chicken caesar wrap at this restaurant but the chicken always tastes funky.  I suspect there is some old chicken sitting around at room temperature for a long time back in that kitchen.  I never order chicken any more at that restaurant.  

The one time I did get a vegetarian wrap (special request, it wasn't on the menu) I got some concoction of iceberg lettuce (there's that damn iceberg lettuce again) and tasteless winter tomatoes and red onion with a caesar dressing.  All I was crunching on was onions and slop.  

The photo above is one Pat took of me at the Veggie Grill in during our stay West Hollywood. 
 

That's Pat sitting at the table waiting for me at the Veggie Grill in West Hollywood.  Note the bright, inviting colors, space and total lack of screaming kids and NO WAITRESSES or attitude - this is relaxed dining folks

Everything they had on their menu was veggie and  . . . . delicious . . . . and tasty.  And you know what?  Made on the premise.  Nary a Sysco trailer food truck was to be seen early in the morning.  

The Veggie Grill at the Hollywood Walk of Fame - what I really liked about the Veggie Grill chain (in addition to the wonderfully healthy food at reasonable prices)  is how easy and efficient it was to place an order. Clean, fast and efficient and friendly.  What more can you ask? This restaurant is equally friendly to singles, couples and groups.  No attitude. 

I'm suffering here folks with the lack of choice of a good veggie option.  I can make something myself but I do like to go out.  Maybe someday someone will open up a restaurant for us who want fresh, wholesome food, sans grease and old chicken and . . . . . this is a BIG ONE . . . . NON-SEAFOOD (which I know is impossible being as to how we're here at "the beach") restaurant. Food when you eat it your stomach says:

"Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" 

Just two of the many veggie options Pat and I ate at the Veggie Grill in West Hollywood

And thank you faithful blog followers (and anyone new to this blog) for indulging me again in one of my all too frequent rants.  Sometimes I feel I just have to get things off of my chest and that's why I love my blog. Now I feel a LOT better. 

El Compadre

The El Compadre restaurant on Sunset Boulevard - Pat and I were looking to replicate our experience of the La Quetzalteca restaurant in Millsboro, DE

Little late on my posting today folks.  Messing around with my slow, slow computer.  I finally decided to bite the bullet and buy a new computer.  This one, an iMac 27 inches, is five years old.  I fear the hard drive is failing.  Heck, I'm failing.  So I called the Apple store this morning and put in an order for a super duper charged iMac to last me for the duration.  Oh yes, this is Apple so you know I'm spending major bucks (got to contribute to the Apple bottom line don't you know) but I NEED my computer.  Some people buy motor cycles, some people take a cruise around the world. Me?  I buy the latest in computers so I can stay connected with the world.  Gone are the days when our only source of information was what the three major TV networks doled out to us after they filtered the news, now we not only can go on the Internet to filter our own news (which can still be a challenge because we're going through the "American" filter) but we can also contribute to the social intercourse via blogging, like I'm doing now and, to a lesser extent, Facebook.  Wow, that was a long sentence. I try to keep my sentences short and simple folks but sometimes you just have to let the thoughts roll onto the keyboard as they rattle out of my head.

So folks, here is the latest installment of my ten day stay in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.  This post is about our dine out one night (our second or third night, I forget which) at the El Compadre Restaurant on Sunset Boulevard.  All of our other meals were at vegan establishments but I want to sample the local Mexican culinary delights just once.  And I did.  

Interior of El Compadre restaurant, Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA

As we were walking down Sunset Boulevard one balmy evening in January (doesn't that sound great? Balmy in the same sentence with January?).  I heard music and joyful sounds coming out of this hole in the wall on Sunset Boulevard.  I suggested to Pat that we venture in.  He acquiesced, knowing that even in the Cheese Palace he could probably get something vegan (he did).  

We enter the raucous environs. I look for the seating hostess.  She tells us there will be a half an hour wait.  I look at Pat in askance.  A couple waiting nearby detect our uncertainty   He says to me "It's worth the wait."  I'm easily persuadable and make The Decision on the spot.  We wait.  

After the aforementioned half an hour wait (the hostess knows her business) we were seated.  We peruse the menu.  I see a cheesy mess that appeals to me.  Oh, I almost forgot.  I ordered a lime margarita while I was standing sand waiting to relax me.  By the time I was seated, I was relaxed, in spite of the salt that rimmed the margarita glass (I don't like salt with my tequila libations). 

Our meal, I almost pigged out on the spicy salsa alone - I can taste this food now

We order our food, I order another lime margarita, without salt this time, and settle in to enjoy the vibes of the El Compadre restaurant.  While we were waiting for our order, I almost totally pigged out on the chips and salsa alone.  Oh how I love good, fresh, spicy salsa.  Yum!

Chips and salsa, that's me!

A three man combo was playing not two feet from us.  This video is not the best representation of that delightful combo but it does give you a flavor of the night. Yet another good night in West Hollywood, California.  Oh and yes, I was a little tipsy on the way home.  Actually, this was the only time during our stay in California that I had a drink, they don't serve alcoholic beverages at the vegan palaces we frequented during our holiday odyssey in California.  





You know, I've often wondered what musicians are thinking when they're playing beautiful, melodic music like this in a restaurant when just about everyone else is either talking, laughing of feeding their faces. Well, I can tell you both Pat and I appreciated their music. We were sitting right next to them while they played. A very pleasant evening indeed. I was stuffed when I got back to where we were staying but contented and just a little bit tipsy, which was alright.

Tom

Tom and Ron (yesterday)

Yesterday my former co-worker (at the bank in Philadelphia 1986-1994) and friend stopped by for a quickie visit.  

Tom has several homes (New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania) and at least once a year he comes by my way and always stops in for a visit.  

When I worked with Tom in Philly, he was a clerk in the department where I headed up a research project.  I was the big deal back then.  Tom was very ambitious and a very hard worker.  After work he had an after hours job collecting cable boxes in some of the worst neighborhoods in Philly.  

Tom eventually created a data base of his customers and had his own business which he sold to Boston Scientific for big bucks.  He invested his money in the stock market (Tom is very smart) and is now a millionaire several times over.  Yep, I'm impressed. 

Me and Tom, March 31, 1994 at the Marathon Grill in Philadelphia - my last day of work at the bank

Tom retired early before he was fifty and now travels between his various homes, dodging the ladies (Tom is still single).  Tom also travels across the country in his quest to visit every state in the union. 

Tom recently returned from a visit to the Southwest.  He said "Phoenix wasn't all that but Utah was spectacular."  Me, I'm getting ready to visit Los Angeles with my Canadian buddy Pat.  I've talked about visiting all the states before I check out but Pat doesn't have much interest in that goal which I don't blame him.  I've even expressed an interest in visiting all the Canadian provinces but Pat isn't interested in that either but I digress (as I often do in this blog).

Tom and I went out to lunch yesterday and I found a wonderful new restaurant in Milton that actually makes falafels!  Can you believe it?  I got a vegetarian dish of falafels and wonderful veggies.  Will wonders never cease.  Imagine a restaurant in this area that isn't shoving crab cakes at you.  And wonder of wonders, I saw nary a Sysco truck delivering precooked food to the restaurant. That's my kind of food, fresh locally.

Modern Mixture Two - Milton, Delaware

Hey, booths!  Instead of the current trend of rickety tables and open seating sitting next to strangers

So with all the negativity in this world yesterday was a good day.  Friends are so important.  I'm glad I got 'em.

Daddy's Kitchen

One of my favorite spots to eat is a restaurant just off of Rt. 896, just across the border from Delaware to Pennsylvania.  The restaurant is called "Daddy's Kitchen" and it is in the heart of mushroom country; Landenberg, PA.

Last month my friend Pat and I took this route to Pennsylvania to celebrate my birthday in Philadelphia.  The restaurant is located about halfway up the 125 mile trip from Milton, Delaware to Downingtown, Pennsylvania.  "Daddy's Kitchen" is not a big restaurant, just a small, hideaway in an even smaller strip mall.  In fact I discovered it last year when I stopped to get gas.  

Ever the adventurer, I'm always one to try new restaurants as long as they're not too pricey and exclusive.  I'm all about good food, reasonable prices, comfortable seating environment and good service.  "Daddy's Kitchen" scores high on every one of my modest requirements for a good dining experience.  Even Bill likes it and you all know how Bill HATES to dine out.  "Daddy's Kitchen" has to have the best mushroom soup that's ever made its way down my pie hole.  YUM!  Of course Daddy's Kitchen is located in the heart of mushroom country.  In fact, this area of southern Chester County (Pennsylvania) is the mushroom capital of the world.  Lots of crap here folks but I digress.  

Daddy's Kitchen info

Pat's easy to talk to new restaurant adventures even though he is a strict vegan; no meat and no dairy products.  In fact, Pat won't even eat vegetables that share the same refrigerator space with those aforementioned non-vegan food groups.  Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a wee bit but he's pretty strict about what passed through his lips.  

Well, Pat wasn't disappointed with Daddy's Kitchen.  They happily prepared a fresh steamed veggie bowl for him.  What a restaurant!  What service!  

Our meals, guess who isn't the vegan.  Yup! Those fries belong to moi.

Pat checking the vegan options on the menu at Daddy's Kitchen

The Bay Leaf Restaurant Milton Delaware

The Bay Leaf Restaurant on Rt. 16 Milton, DE

This evening I had a very pleasant early dinner at the Bay Leaf Restaurant in Milton, Delaware.

I like to dine out occasionally.  However, I've never gotten used to eating alone even though I've been the "lonely guy" many times during my long tenure on this earthly pane.  



My high school friend Ed is down this week from his home in Pennsylvania.  When he's down at his home in Rehoboth, we usually do dinner once or twice.  However, I just didn't feel up to traveling the dangerous Route One to his home in Rehoboth Beach to have dinner at one of those loud, expensive and stressful Rehoboth restaurants.  When I go out to dinner I like it QUIET which is doesn't happen during the Season in Rehoboth.  I remember a time a few years ago when I met my friend Ed for an early dinner and the table next to us was the typical extended family:  Mom and pop, three kids, grandmom and grand pop plus a Baby in a Basket which they placed on the table right next to us.  Oh lovely.  Please don't misunderstand me, those folks are what keeps our economy going but I prefer not to stuff my face with a Chicken Caesar Wrap listening to a two month old baby cry.  Just not my thang, you know?  

I suggested to Ed that we have an early dinner in Milton.  The restaurant is called the Bay Leaf Restaurant.  I've eaten there several times and never been disappointed.  Milton doesn't have a whole lot of restaurants.  Three others that I can think of which will remain unnamed.  I haven't been impressed with the other three.  Been disappointed every time I've eaten in them so I haven't returned.

I was surprised when we went into the Bay Leaf this evening.  There was only one other patron in the restaurant.  A middle aged woman who was eating by herself.  I don't mind so much eating by myself as long as the restaurant isn't crowded and I feel like I'm taking up a whole table and thus depriving the restaurant of paying customers.  However, I prefer to dine with someone.  I like to talk, which should come as no surprise to any of my regular followers.

This evening we had a delightful meal.  My friend Ed had a pasta and spinach dish.  

I had a Chicken Caesar Wrap and fries.  I didn't get a dinner because I just can't eat that much anymore.  I ate half of my wrap and I'll keep the other half for lunch tomorrow.  I splurged and have a Triple Chocolate cake (topped with a cherry) for dessert.  It was licentiously delicious.  I really shouldn't of.....but I did.  Pangs of guilt are sweeping over me now.  As I so often say after Going For The Dessert After the Meal, I'm telling myself "Never again!"  But I will.  

Strawberries Sauvignon - a Bay Leaf Chef Special

After finishing our meal and wrapping up exchanging information on our latest medical adventures, Ed and I checked out.  At the cashier's station the owner asked me "Aren't you the guy with the blog?"  OMG!  You know folks, I'm encountering this situation more and more often.  I've had my blog going on seven years now and apparently I am becoming quite well known in certain quarters.  Of course the first thing I thought of "What did I write in my last blog?"  Even more I thought "What pictures did I post?"  Ah yes!  I did post a picture of Channing Tatum in his, well um....undies.  Oh my.......oh well. 

Lauren - the owner who asked me "Aren't you the guy who blogs?

One of the first things that went through my mind was that she would ask me "Do you practice the gay lifestyle?" as was the question my ignorant, homophobic North Carolina distant cousin asked me when I was on vacation in North Carolina in March and who, when I affirmed I was gay, growled to me "Now get this, if you set foot on my parent's land (I was going to introduce them to another cousin and his wife) you'll have to deal with me, you got that bud!".  Yes folks, I have been permanently scarred by that accusatory question.  I was prepared to be asked not to "set foot" in that restaurant but instead had a very pleasant conversation with Lauren about how slow business was for her restaurant on Monday nights.  I wasn't in Kansas North Carolina anymore folks.  I was in the First State which (mostly) welcomes diversity....and marriage equality.  

Folks, this is a fine restaurant. You want to get away from the traffic, the crowds, the noise of Rehoboth?  Travel six miles north to the historic, quaint town of Milton and the Bay Leaf Restaurant.  They are open for business seen days a week including Mondays!  Comfortable seating, good service, large menu, freshly prepared food, reasonable prices and FREE PARKING.  What's not to like?  

Me in the front of the Bay Leaf Restaurant this evening. Plentiful, free parking folks!

Yes, I do plan to go back on Monday nights.  Now to send out my invitation for dining companions.  Wish me luck! I prefer not to eat under a spotlight.

Annual Road Trip Day Seven

Is it the seventh day of our annual road trip?  Hard to believe.  I think I missed a number somewhere along the way.  Oh well.

Today was spent driving through four states:  

1. Georgia
2. South Carolina
3. North Carolina
4. Virginia

We stopped at two very nice rest stops:  one in North Carolina and one in Virginia.

North Carolina rest stop

We're in Virginia now.  Just arrived about an hour ago.  We left Helen, Georgia early this morning (about 7 am) We arrived here in Suffolk, Virginia; near the naval base (where on the eastern coast of Virginia aren't you near a naval base?)  about 6 pm, thoroughly stressed.  Our GPS was a big help but downtown Suffolk is about as traffic heavy and crazy as Norfolk.  

Hampton Inn, Suffolk, VA

After checking into our rooms we went out for a bit to eat.  We didn't want to drive so we walked to the Golden Corral, a buffet style restaurant two blocks down the street.  A BIG MISTAKE.

The Madhouse Golden Corral

This is Friday night and the place was packed.  Kids?  OMG!  Forget about it.  

I got our Senior Buffet ticket (total cost for the both of us $29.65 - wow!) and dived into the morass of people.  These buffets really don't work for me and Bill.  We just don't eat that much.  My mistake for going there. Bill said to me "Why did you do this to me?"  So I said "Lesson learned."  

One good thing, we're not too far from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel so we can skeedaddle out of here pretty early tomorrow and make it back home in Delaware (four hours away) in time to turn in our rental van to Enterprise (they close at noon).  

Romano's Restaurant

We did have a good lunch at an Italian Restaurant in a town whose name I forgot now, called "Romano's".  I had a Chicken Caesar Wrap with a wonderful pasta salad.  $7.99.  Bill had a bowl of fresh vegetable soup, $2.99.  Great prices, great food!  Hit or miss folks.  That's what is so interesting about these vacation/road trips.  Just like Forrest Gump said about a box of chocolates:

"You never know what you're gonna get."  

Ain't that the truth!

Tomorrow....HOME.

Annual Trip to Philly Flower Show 2013

Self-portrait of me at the Love statue in center city Philly - sorry Spo, no smile

Hey folks!  I'm back from my annual trip to Philadelphia.  My back is still aching from that damn short bus that Delaware Tech used but other than that mistake, my trip was a wonderful success. Clear blue skies, mild (if a tad brisk) weather, and friends.

City Hall, Philadelphia, PA yesterday

For the past four years I've been taking the annual trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show to visit my friend Don McK. in Philly and also to visit my old haunts.  I used to work and live in Philly for thirty-seven years.  You know me, I love to relive old memories and visit old friends and yesterday was just about perfect, except for that damn short bus (I know, I'm repeating myself - more about that bus later). We were packed into that bus like sardines and I felt like a sardine when I got out in Georgetown after the three hour ride from Philly.  I'm still stiff.

I met my long time good friend Don Mck. for lunch at 13th and Arch.  Woody's (the longtime gay bar) was closed so we ate again at "More Than Just Ice Cream", another restaurant just around the corner from Woody's.  

Me and Don at "More Than Just Ice Cream" in Philly yesterday

We had a fabulous lunch!  You know what I like about Philly?  So many excellent restaurants just about on every corner, reasonably priced meals and no attitude (you know, the "this is the beach, we're doing you a BIG favor by even letting you in our restaurant" attitude that I too often encounter when dining out in Rehoboth Beach and its environs).  The restaurant wasn't rushed, the service was friendly, efficient and excellent. And the food was EXCELLENT. Fresh, tasteful, and pretty. The whole time I was in Philly yesteday I saw nary one Sysco truck (i.e., no froze food reheated at "beach" prices). Say, I'm getting a bit off the subject which I often do when I venture outside of this overpriced tourist trap restaurant environment where I live now.  I sort of get used to being overcharged for mediocre meals and attitude until I get outside of Slower Lower and find out what real restaurants and real service and real prices are really about.  There, I've gone one and one and now I have to get ready for work. To be fair though to the "beach" restaurants, they do have to pay a high rental for their Sysco infused establishments. That's been the general excuse I've heard anyway when I bitch about Rehoboth restaurants.  That and the fact that I'm just too cheap to spend the money at a "good" restaurant (this attitude coming from the local restaurant snobs). 

Lunch art "More Than Just Ice Cream" yesterday.  My Chicken Quesadillo actually was one, not the cheesy mess that I've always gotten in Rehoboth Beach. Don got a pulled pork sandwich (no grease).  FRESH SALAD.  No reheated frozen overpriced Sysco crapola.

I have been chastised by some in Gayberry (i.e., Rehoboth Beach) that I don't eat at the "right" restaurants in Rehoboth, and that why I get mediocre food.  Well friends, I don't have a Washington D.C. pension to partake of those prices where I pay up to $60 or more for lunch.  I like to go to just "regular" restaurants, keep the lunch tab under $25 and get good food.  What's so hard about that?  Just saying.

Still, I'm always pleasantly surprised when  I do eat at a restaurant outside of the Rehoboth trap how effortlessly and matter of fact those other restaurants are about providing a good dining experience instead of just moving the chow hounds through so they can fill up more tables.  No rush yesterday.  Don and I took out time eating and catching up on gossip and news and never a disparaging look from the help.  Refreshing to say the least.  

Some of the artwork I saw yesterday in Philly on buildings - did not see any graffiti - again, Philly's artwork has Rehboth Beach beat by 10,000 miles - this is real art not the psuedo "art" peddled in Rehoboth Beach - just saying

More about my trip to Philly tomorrow.  LOTS MORE.  I didn't mean to get off on a tangent about the merits of Rehoboth Beach eateries versus Philadelphia eateries.  Always happens though when I venture out of my "Beach Bubble" and taste how the rest of the world lives.

Yep, that's our "bus."  Looks like a Dodge Ram 4 X 4 with a cab, which is probably what it is.  Cheap.  

Stood Up

My view from my Table For One - I was too embarrassed to ask the waitress to take a picture of me alone at the table. I've never gotten used to dining alone.

Yesterday I was stood up for a luncheon date.  No big deal in the whole scheme of things but to me it was a reminder of how much I hate to dine alone.

Ironically, it wasn't me who called for the luncheon date.  It was my friend.  "Let's do lunch!"  I said "What's a good time for you?" (as I usually do, I am the accommodating one).  He said Tuesday.  I knew that was his day off although it wasn't my day of but what the hey, I can accommodate as I usually do.  

Yesterday morning I sent a text message to him "See you at 11:30."  I didn't receive an answer because I know that he sleeps late.  No big thing.

Eleven o'clock rolls around and I bundle up to go out to lunch.  A cold wave has rolled in.....finally.  Actually, I really didn't want to go out to lunch in the cold and also because I had to go to work yesterday afternoon near the same location where we were having lunch, the Rose and Crown Restaurant in Lewes.  Two trips into town.....in the cold.  I can do that.  What they hey.

So I get there and cross the threshold of the Rose and Crown at 11:24 pm.  The bartender gives me one of THOSE looks that says "Oh uh, a single diner hogging up one of our tables that could fit more."  I know THAT look because in my past I have often dined alone.  And the reason for that is because Bill doesn't like to eat out and most of my friends either can't afford to eat out or have something more important to do than dine out with me.  Sounds harsh but it is true, trust me, I know from experience.  I'm one of those saps people that other people make lunch or dinner dates with and if something else comes up better, they either cancel or postpone their date with me.  I don't know how I got into that position (maybe because I'm just too damn accommodating) or maybe just because I'm a bore.  I don't know which but it's a fact folks, I know from experience.

Anyway, I tell the waiter "I'm meeting somebody."   I want to go to a booth but he tells me "Oh no, they seat six."  Uh, okay. I've sat at that booth before and been comfortable but God forbid, I wouldn't want him to lose any business.  So I seat myself at one of those rickety tables for two out in the open (see above photo).  

The waitress comes over.  I tell her "I'm waiting for somebody."  I order an iced tea.  Fifteen minutes later she sashays by giving me THAT look. I tell her "Oh, I'll go ahead and order while I'm waiting."  As I said before, I had to go to work yesterday afternoon (at 2:30) and I do like to take an hour nap before I go to work, so I better order now. I sent my friend another text message "I'm here!"  

I order their overpriced $11.00 bacon cheeseburger, well done with fries.  Fifteen minutes later I get a plain hamburger, medium rare with luke warm fries.  Last time I was there I got luke warm fries.  I've seen reviews of this restaurant about their lukewarm fries.  Must be a speciality of theirs.  The fries are good but would be better if they were hot.  Oh well.  

I begin to eat feeling like Steve Martin in the movie "The Lonely Guy."  Remember that scene when he was eating alone in the restaurant?  When the disdainful waiter sat him down in the middle of a crowded dining room, every one stopped talking and a spot light clicked on to highlight Steve Martin's character EATING ALONE.  That's the way I felt folks, like a lonely, old fool (which I am actually but that's a subject for another blog posting).  

Ever eat alone?  I'm sure most of you have at one time or another and probably only did it once after discovering how unpleasant it is.  So there I was, chewing my medium rare $11.00 hamburger, trying not to make eye contact with the other diners who were obviously pitying this poor soul who has no friends and has to eat alone.  I tried to see the humor in my situation at that time but failed to do so.  I'm sort of feeling it now though, that's why I'm writing about it.  

I was half tempted to ask for a take out box to pack up my $11.00 medium rare hamburger (that I ordered well done) and end my embarrassment.  But I didn't want to admit defeat quite just yet.  For what seemed like an interminably extra long time, I chewed and chewed on that hamburger (which surprisingly had that nice charcoal taste that I like in spite of the pink middle which I despise) until I was finally finished.  I asked for a take out box to take my now totally cold fries home (I can reheat them in my oven at home at taste them the way they were supposed to be served....hot).  

The time was now 12:30 pm. Out in the cold again, into my car and the four mile ride home.  When I got in the house Bill asked "How was lunch?"  I told him "I got stood up but the hamburger was good."  I told him that I was going to take my nap which I usually take before I go into work.

Nap taken, got dressed in work drag and off to Lewes again.  I arrive at work at 10 minutes to 3 pm, the start of my shift.  At 2:56 pm my iPhone beeps. I see I have a text message from my friend who was to join me at lunch.  Text message:

"Shoot!  I forgot.  I'm really really sorry."  

Yesterday wasn't a total loss, I got a blog posting out of it.  And I'm sort of seeing the humor in it....I think.  

Ron's Tidbits of the Week

Bunny rabbit in Union Cemetery this afternoon - "I see you!"

I thought retirement was all about lolling about the house, watching TV, snacking, eating out and generally vegetating.  Ah yes, that may be retirement for some but not for Busy Ron.

One thing I used to kid my Mother about after she retired was that her life in retirement seemed to rotate around a series of doctor's appointments.  Well folks, be careful who you tease.  Now that I am in retirement my life is also rotating around a series of doctors' appointments.  This past Monday I had my annual eye exam.  I came through fine, just a minor adjustment on one eye.  As you can see I have an adorable eye doctor (just my type).  The only downside is that I see him once a year.  He said I have the beginnings of cataracts but I have "a long way to go."  That's good news!  So I asked him if I could take his picture for my iPhone.  He wasn't quite sure but I took it anyway before he had a chance to change his mind.

My cute eye doctor - I got lucky (for once)

Next month I have an appointment with a new dermatologist.  My regular dermatology visits are with the VAMC in Wilmington.  I go every six months.  My last one was in December.  I had several spots removed from my face.  My next appointment isn't until June.  In the meantime I have a wart (of all things) that popped up on my left forehead.  Thank goodness it didn't pop up on the end of my nose or else I could keep it and go out this Halloween as a witch.

As I reported before in this venue, I had another blood test last month.  That one showed my PSA count down to 5.1 from a high of 8.4 last June.  It's a good thing I didn't jump into the downward spiral of prostate cancer treatments because it looks like my PSA count is going down on its own.

And of course the last two Tuesdays in a row I had dental appointments.  Again as I reported in this venue those two visits set me back over $1,000.  Maybe I'll get some of that back from my dental insurance but probably not much.  They've been pretty tight about paying benefits.

In among all my medical appointments I have several social engagements that I've been putting off that I have to fulfill.  My neighbor Barbara wanted to take me out for my birthday at a place of my choice. We went out today for lunch (I don't drive at night).  I chose wrong again.  I chose the new Italian restaurant in Lewes called Annabella's.  It was a disaster.  Hey, it's not hard to chose bad restaurants in this area.  The hard thing is to chose a good restaurant that isn't an overpriced tourist trap or one that doesn't cost $100.00 for two for lunch.

The restaurant I chose for my birthday lunch today = BIG MISTAKE - Barb was smiling when she went in but now when she came out

Barb had a meatball and spaghetti.  Yes, A MEATBALL.  She ordered "meatballs and spaghetti" so what does she get?  ONE BIG MEATBALL.  She said there was no taste to it.  She said it was like the cook just made a big meatball out of ground beef without any seasonings.  Nothing subtle here.

"My God!  I actually ate that meatball!"

I got Eggplant Parmesan.  And as usual when I order Eggplant Parmesan at anyplace except the Rehoboth Diner, it was a greasy mess.  I'm still digesting it.  The gift that keeps on giving.

Yes, I ate the grease soaked Eggplant Parmesan - I didn't touch the canned Chef Boyardee spaghetti - took that home for Bill

I used to write restaurant reviews but I don't anymore.  The way I figure it these people are in business and I don't want to make their work any harder of them. The economy is too rough on everyone as it is.  Let the word of mouth get around about the sub par meals that are served around here.  I hear a Panera Restaurant is coming to our area.  Can't be soon enough!  I just hope they don't succumb to the Feed the Tourist Reheated Frozen Food (a la Sysco) and Overcharge Them For It trap.  I've eaten at a Panera restaurant in Greenville, South Carolina where my brother lives and it is great!  No waiters to tip, no screaming kids,  no tourists.  Oh wait, ah yes.  I am in Tourist Land here.  Oh well, we'll see how it goes.

I just got back from my daily walk.  Hey guys, want to lose that stomach?  Tired of looking like you're six months pregnant?  Walk a mile briskly every day.  You may not get Ryan Gosling abs but you will lose that belly and you can tuck your shirt in again.  Just saying.  You know who you are.

The weather today was fabulous!  The temperature reached up to 61 degrees.  Bill and I went down to the Union Cemetery in Georgetown and I took another 743 photos of headstones.  Just a lovely, wonderful day to roam around a quiet cemetery.  We weren't alone.  Several couple walked through the cemetery on the pathway for their Afternoon Stroll.  Why not?  The Union Cemetery is located right in the heart of downtown Georgetown, with is the busy little county seat of Sussex County, Delaware.  The courthouse is there and all those law offices.  While taking photos of the graves I came across a little bunny sunning himself near a headstone.  He didn't move even though I was within two feet of him.  He too was enjoying the "balmy" breezes of the day.

The little bunny rabbit sunning himself on Short's grave this afternoon