The Pink Bicycle

This afternoon, Mommy went for a massage while Daddy and Charlie went to Miniature World. Then, we walked a few blocks over and had dinner at the Pink Bicycle.

I have only ever had appies here, and those were good. I have heard rants and raves about the burgers, and I guess it is all a matter of personal taste.

We sat inside at the back, but we should have sat outside since Charlie was being a terror. Seriously, worst child behavior ever. He hit the guy across from us with a fry. Twice. I was mortified. We should have left, or given him a time out, but we were cramped for space.

Anyway, food. Our appie was really yummy. We had onion rings. The onion rings here are spicy. I like that. Not everyone will though. Luckily, Charlie did.

Matt had a pork burger. He really liked this. I tried it, and more than did NOT. Not my thing, and I would have never ordered it for me.

After waffling on whether to have the special (a camel burger--is that real camel?), I just had a cheese burger. (The bun, indeed, was intact; the picture is after I gave Charlie some.) I have mixed feeling about it. The pickle was awesome--duh, preggo. The sauce and cheese and bun and veggies were good--especially the sauce--highlight! The burger patty was meh. It tasted home-made. And that is probably what some people like about this place. But you know what? You know where else I can get a burger that tastes home-made? Home. And it doesn't cost $13. I thought it needed more flavor, something special.

The fries were great though. And the service was, too.

I don't know; I don't really have any complaints that are valid. I just wasn't a huge fan of the dish I ordered. I will be back; I'm sure a place with such a great reputation deserves another chance.

5th Street Bar & Grill

Cost: $10 for disaster, $30 for dinner

Prep: 35 minutes + clean-up + drive+wait

We had a dinner disaster last night. Matt chopped up a tonne of veggies for a stirfry. Peppers, broccoli, onion, green onion, carrots, and more. Then, just as he was finished, a can of fruit JUMPED from the cupboard above the veggies, landed on one of the Correll plates, and shattered it. No, not shattered, sharded it.

He was frustrated, the food was all COVERED with shards of glass, the clean up took quite a while (and involved moving the stove), Charlie was pissed that he could help vacuum, and hunger was roaring.

So, we went out for dinner.

We decided to try the Fernwood Inn again, since it was about 5PM on a Monday. However, on our drive over, traffic was heavy, and it was 5:15 by the time we reached Hillside.

We decided, in a split moment, to turn right instead. We haven't been to 5th Street in a while, so we decided to pop in.

The last time we were at 5th Street was almost a year ago, and honestly, it was a bad experience. I had the $20 Prime Rib, as did 5 of the 6 adults at our table. It was terrible. So much fat, about 75% fat, and WAY too much added fake smoke flavour (WHY?). THEN, to top it off, Glee star Corey Monteith had been dining there as well, and Glee is one of our favourite shows (mine especially), and he ran into Matt, who was carrying Charlie, then 6 months, and didn't apologize! It just left a bad taste in my mouth, both food and experience wise.

But, it was not a bad enough experience to cross 5th Street off. (Charlie, Grandma Sharon, and I have been here once since.)

There are things I do and don't like about 5th Street. The first thing I don't like is the parking lot. It is way too small, but at 5:15 on a Monday, it was great. Even when we were leaving at 6:30 there were still a few spots.

The thing I like is the menu, $5/$10/$20 (plus a bit more now). BUT WAIT. Those prices and that style of menu are DONEZO! I couldn't believe it. Overall, the prices really weren't that different, but I still think it is a mistake. One bonus is the kid's menu: $5.55 for any item (and great choices for when we need a meal for Chuck).

I also, generally, like the service. It is usually fairly quick, and the waitstaff is friendly and professional. Last night we had Maia (I think that is her name) who we have had a few times, and she is accommodating even to a baby stealing her pens and devices while she is trying to take orders.

We ordered three appies and a meal to share. It was a bit much, but I think Charlie would have liked a bit more food even though his patience was stretched.

For appies, we had the oysters, fries (the dip is C's fav), and flat bread (our fav). Charlie likes to use 1 fry to eat as much dip as possible, lick that from the fry, and then dip again...and repeat. His most favorite food in the world is anything pickled, so olives, and thereby the flat bread, was also a hit.

As out shared entree, we had the burger with salad. The burger was great, huge patty and perfect for sharing.

Besides the change in menu, my only real complaint last night was the high-chair. It had no working buckle, which is a problem for parents with an acrobatic toddler and a possible liability for the restaurant. Actually, I do have another complaint, not 100% 5th's fault: there was a smoker smoking just outside the open doors, and the ENTIRE restaurant really stunk before they shut the doors/asked the person to move. THERE ARE LAWS AGAINST SMOKING THAT CLOSE TO DOORS AND WINDOWS YOU GROSS SMOKERS, just saying.

Anyway, I am not against 5th Street. We had a good experience last night and the baby genius like it.

Deluxe Burgers

Cost: $5

Prep: 25 minutes, but hard to say as Matt and I did it together.

Today was shopping day, and we scored on some marked down pre-made fresh burgers. Thrify's makes very nice gourmet burgers (another kind will make an appearance later in the week). These were beef burgers with bacon and cheddar cheese immeshed.

We grilled these up on the griddle, not the George Foreman. The GF is put away and is a pain to take out. It lived on the counter previous to us buying a Tassimo, and it was utilized constantly. Now, it has scarely made it to non-cupboard air since Boxing Day.

As our side-dishes, we made yam chips and salad. The yam chips are delicious, especially with the chipotle aioli from Costco, but I rarely make them because they are a lot of work. If I had a mandolin, it would be easier to cut them, but I don't so I refuse. Matt had to do all the cutting to be able to eat these this time. We decided one yam was enough, but honestly it looked like it was going to make much more before the yam was cooked.

Once the yams are cut, it is an easy dish to make. I put olive oil on a pan and spread the chips out in a single layer, and then lightly brush the tops with olive oil again. Then, I broil for 5 minutes, flip, and broil a few more minutes.

There was also a large side salad, but I am still really not feeling lettuce, so Matt and Charlie "ate" it: ie Charlie sucked the dressing off and gave all the lettuce back to Matt.

To get some veggies in, I loaded my burger with onion and tomato. The burgers also made a gourmet relish, spicy mustard, mayo, and pickles. One burger this size and no sides in enough for me. It was the first time Charlie was served his own burger, and you can tell by his face that he was not so sure what to make of it. He did end up eating most of it, but like all foods, he dissected it first.

Helpin' Out Some Hamburger

Cost: $6.50

Prep: 20 minutes

Another night where Charlie and I were on our own....It is the most difficult time of day when I am trying to make dinner and Charlie is being a butt. And boy has he ever been a butt lately! He's still adorable, but he is hitting, biting, chucking, etc, and we are giving timeouts like compliments.

Tina has gone :( and I had a really long day at work (including an after school staff meeting). Matt didn't get home until 5:50, and I was already done eating by this point. I sometimes just feel like I have way too much on my plate. I guess this is the plight of the modern "superwoman"--a million responsibilities.

Anyway, I made an easy dinner tonight because of the circumstances. I tried to make it as healthy as possible, but I honestly didn't try very hard.

I cooked up some Kraft Dinner. I noticed that it was expired, but I didn't notice that hard, so I made it anyways. It was fine.

I fried up some ground beef, added taco seasoning, red pepper, and onion. I think the veggies mask the fact that this is ground beef with salt and KD. It makes it ground beef with salt and KD and veggies.

I also made a Caesar salad kit. This seems to be the only kind of salad I can handle. I don't know what is different about this salad kit. Charlie ate quite a bit, and he especially loves the croutons.

Anyway, because I was passively-aggressive with Matt, I didn't put a drink for him on the table. I guess that wasn't really necessary because by the time he got home it was cold :(

Easter Dinner

My grandma did Easter dinner this year. Let me rephrase. My grandma did Easter dinner for 18 people this year.

Youch!

Again, I forgot to take pictures in the big group setting, but it had all the fixings. We usually do these big holiday meals as a potluck style--my thing to bring is the candied yams and sometimes pickle trays. This year, Gram wanted to do it all herself though.

My favorite part was the stuffing. The crumbled sausage and bacon really takes it up a notch! I avoided the brussel sprouts, but my grandma cooked them in chicken stock, and everyone said they were good. Other dishes included mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans, turnip, dinner rolls, cannied yams, pickle and olive plates, tons of gravy, and the meats: turkey and ham. I don't think there are enough opportunities to eat turkey. I wish there was more.

So, job well done, Grandma. Thank you for the fabulous Easter dinner!