Vacation - Restaurants (#2)

Yes, I'm back to vacation posts!  Who ever thought I'd be vacationing in the state I grew up in, never saw that coming!

Vacations call for restaurants... and like I mentioned before there are the comfort restaurants.  You know the ones you can guarantee will consistently serve up decent food.  Then there are the ones you decide to give a chance for one reason or another.  Sometimes this works out well, and sometimes you just want to spread the news that no one should subject themselves to that dining experience!

GOOD EXPERIENCE:
Brick House - Orlando - International Drive
We were headed to Ripley's with a group of 7 and as you can imagine it's not always easy to spontaneously decide on a restaurant for lunch with such a large group.  After passing quite a few options we finally all agreed on Brick House.  The atmosphere was fun - would definitely want to visit for dinner & drinks... the food was good tasty & something for everyone... decent prices - most meals ranged from $10-$15... and the portions were huge - good thing I split my meal with my mother-in-law!  (And even on a rainy day we were able to eat outside on the covered patio!)  I would definitely recommend this restaurant to Floridians & tourists alike.

BAD EXPERIENCE:
Black Angus - Kissimmee - Irlo Bronson Hghwy
How did we end up here?  Try jet lag, starting dinner too late, & not being able to get the oven in the rental house working.  We were hungry & grumpy and it was the nearest restaurant.  It started well, the restaurant was decorated nice, roomy, & had a big menu.  But inevitably the food was horrible, not one of us enjoyed our meals.  Even my 4yr old wouldn't eat her hot dog - c'mon how can you mess up a hot dog?  Then to top it off, at the end they forced 16% gratuity on to our check without warning - no where on the menu or posted in the restaurant did they mention this.  I like to tip the server based on service & food quality, not because management decides what we owe.  (BTW, I used to be a server, so I'm a decent tipper).  I of course went straight to management to complain and he blamed me, he said I should have seen this on the check and had the server remove it if I didn't agree, seriously!!!  Needless to say, I made a small scene, stormed out, and swore I would tell everyone never to eat at the Black Angus in Kissimmee!!!

Any of you ever tried Brick House?  Had a bad experience at Black Angus?

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Vacation - Restaurants (#1)

Hey I'm finally getting around to the first post about our two week vacation in Florida!  Seeing that I am still short on time - the realtor is showing our apartment again today - it's going to be quick but useful.

During our vacation we did our best to moderate how often we ate out at restaurants, besides it being unhealthy & costly, we wanted to enjoy eating on the lanai & grilling at the house we rented.  Being that we live overseas there are definitely restaurants you miss, sure we have access to great European restaurants but sometimes the ones you grew up with just call your name.  For me, while visiting The States I have to squeeze in a meal eat at either Outback and/or Red Lobster.  We luckily enough hit up both!  (No, they aren't Michelin Star restaurants but they're yummy and bring back nice memories.)

For the adults, we had an array of choices, but my daughter was limited.  She's doesn't eat mac & cheese, hamburgers, steak, or shrimp... but luckily she does eat her share of fish sticks, chicken nuggets, & hot dogs which were on most American kids menus.  But after a while we felt bad ordering her those things, and then we started noticing grilled chicken on a lot of menus.  Turns out she is a big fan of grilled chicken at restaurants - now I felt a little less bad that she was eating too many fries during the 2 week vacation.

My 4 yr old enjoyed the grilled chicken at Red Lobster & loved the ice cream at the end.  But it was the grilled chicken at Outback that made her oooh & aaah!  She liked the chicken so much she even told the server, ha-ha!  Now the milkshake she ordered at Outback didn't go over so well, but the chicken completely made up for it.  So if you're stumped what to order you kids the next time you happen to be at an Outback or Red Lobster, go for the grilled chicken, it's highly recommended!

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Ribs Factory

In the past I've posted about my search for a good steak here in Eindhoven.  This search has turned up a couple restaurant options, Rodeo and Sméagol.  But each one has their downfalls, depending on how you look at it.  Rodeo is small, hot, and expensive, but the food is great.  Smeagol doesn't serve alcohol, but the steaks are tasty and affordable.  Then we discovered Ribs Factory.  At first I stayed away from it because it seemed too cliché to eat there as an American, but one thing lead to another and there we sat at the bar.  See at Ribs Factory you can only reserve a table for 6 or more people, otherwise you have to eat outside or at the bar.  Luckily we've never minded eating at the bar (it's actually a more relaxed experience) and we get seated faster.  Ribs Factory seems to bring it all together, good prices, good atmosphere, and a damn good steak.  There are actually three to choose from, the Scottish, the Argentinian, or the American steak... each one is delicious.  Since our first taste of their steak & ribs we've been hooked.  I often hear myself telling my husband we're not going to create a side budget just to eat there weekly.  I honestly think he'd go once a week, and if you knew him you'd understand this is a huge compliment.  Another thing the Ribs Factory offers is a discount if you eat outside of the peak hours.  So from 4-5PM & 10-11PM.  This means you have to place your order within that time period... I of course tried one night when paying around 10:30PM, but she said we had place our order before 10PM so the discount did not apply.  Smeagol is equally as good and right next door, so if Ribs Factory is packed there is always a back-up plan!

Queen's/King's Day

Queen's Day is was one of my favorite Dutch holidays.  (Since I've been blogging for a while now this isn't the first time you've heard about it.)  But this year's Queen's Day is the last one for a long-long time.  The Dutch Queen has stepped down and her son has taken over, so next year we'll be celebrating King's Day instead.  Not really sure if that will have an effect on the fun holiday or not, a holiday known for its markets, music, and of course orange clothing/accessories.  Since I've lived in The Netherlands I have participated in as many Queen's Day (April 30th) celebrations as possible, and this year was no different.  Well, the atmosphere was different, more subdued... maybe I'm getting older or maybe the Dutch were just more focused on the Queen's abdication.  Last year there were dj's everywhere and lots of space to dance and party.  But this year, there were a lot of tables and chairs, and the weather was cooler, all of which have an influence on the day.  It didn't stop us from having fun though.  And this year I lasted twice as long as last year!  Last year we found one great bar & dj and basically stayed there, this year, we were all over the place.  We hit up at least 4 or 5 venues and squeezed in dinner at an Indian restaurant in between.  As usual I took a ton of pictures, with 7 people roaming mass crowds there was always something going on.  We were even separated for a while!  A couple holidays ago I realized it was quicker and cleaner for me to walk back to our apartment to use the bathroom than wait in line for a port-o-pot or use one at a bar.  First bathroom break went well, second one (after a few more drinks) ended up in a 30 minute search to find our husbands again.  I told my husband we should have picked a meeting point, oh well!  As I mentioned we had dinner reservations, I seriously doubted we would make it but we did, and it was great.  We even had half the restaurant to ourselves, thanks to a partition wall.  In all of my Queen's Days I've learned to stock up on the orange accessories early.  I bought a pair of orange sunglasses for 80 cents in the weeks leading up to the holiday and while we were in the middle of the crowds I saw someone selling the same ones for 10 euros, crazy!  I've also learned don't take anything you value, because you'll either lose it or get it so dirty you'll want to toss it afterwards.  You can only imagine thousands of people littering their food and beer cups everywhere, not quite nice to walk through by the end of the night.  I'll leave you with pics as always, and a big thanks to the old friends & new friends who helped make the day a blast!  And to my in-laws for babysitting!!

And of course, happy birthday Mom (next year the day is all yours because King's Day is on the 27th)!!!

Makes Me Laugh (#1)

There is a sushi restaurant around the corner from where I live.  In the window hangs this sign:

 

Every time I see it, I laugh.  It is such a subtle mistake in spelling/grammar, but such an easy one when it comes to translating from one language to another.

Bloggin' From TN #4

Wow, I can't believe I've managed to pump out 4 blog posts while visiting Tennessee.  Between my phone and my grandma's little Acer Aspire One I've been keeping you all fairly updated.  To be honest the point of this trip was to help my Grammy clean house, so it's not like you're going to get adventurous posts from the Smoky Mountains or even the heart of Nashville.  Besides helping my grandma, this trip has been about squeezing in some of the things I miss about The States, like extended family, shopping, and even a good steak.  (Is it rude to put them all in one category?  I hope not because I mean well.)  I've been putting a lot of great shots on Instagram but haven't used any of them for Wordless Wednesday, for me it's an entirely different creative outlet & audience. 

Today we managed to squeeze in a trip to Outback Steakhouse.  I used to work at Applebee's so you most likely will not catch me in that type of restaurant but I do find Outback & Red Lobster acceptable (even though I know they probably work just the same behind the scenes!)  Anyway, I was in the mood for a lot of seafood at a price I can't find in The Netherlands but it turns out my grandma doesn't like it.  End of plan.  So, I opted out for surf 'n turf at Outback, for those of you unfamiliar with this term it means you get a combo of steak & seafood on one plate, yes!!!  And if you're at Outback you're almost required to also order the Bloomin' Onion for a starter.  Then there was the cheesecake, something you don't often find on a Dutch menu.  So after ordering half the menu, including caesar salad and grilled asparagus, I realized there was no way I could eat all of that, even though I was sharing the appetizer.  So in American style, we brought a doggy bag home (this is what Americans do because the portions are too large and/or they want to get their money's worth).  The restaurant even had hooks on the end of the booth to hang the doggy bag, can you believe it???  Now I'm stuffed, and it's been 3 or more hours since we ate!  All of the calories I worked off busting my butt around my grandma's house I consumed in one meal... oh yeah, and the Budweiser I'm sipping on isn't helping either!  We'll be leaving soon, and like I said, I have to squeeze everything in.  I actually wanted Michelob Ultra, that's what I used to drink in The States but I'm too used to Dutch beer and it would be like drinking water.

And in usual fashion, I have included pics for you!

Bedrijfsetentje

Business Dinner = Bedrijfsetentje

This weekend my family's company hosted a dinner party, something they try and do at least once a year.  We've gone to an array of restaurants through the years, one of the most memorable until now was Landgoed Wolfslaar.  It's a Michelin Star restaurant located in a beautiful old villa tucked away in the woods.  This years choice was also quite unique, we dined inside an old windmill.  De Meulen is a quaint restaurant attached to a historical windmill called De Korenaar.  I wish I could say this post was about the delectable food (I'll include a couple pics thanks to a colleague Suzanne) or all of the lovely people that work at our company but it's not.  It's about my outfit (my husband is probably rolling his eyes right now).  I knew right away that I wanted to wear an unworn black dress that has been hanging in my closet for over year.  It's a great dress, skin tight yet forgiving, falls just below the knee, and has a boat neck.  I've pulled it out many times and yet it always seemed just that bit too much.  Finally I had an event to wear it to, the only problem was, it's sleeveless and it's very cold here.  This meant I was going to have to layer it up in order to wear it to the business dinner.  I'm not into fashion, and have very little understanding of clothes, so the best idea I had was to wear a cardigan and pantyhose.  (Of course I also asked around hoping someone would have a better suggestion but nothing suited me - even asked Party411.)  I made my husband watch as I tried on at least 6 different cardigans and boleros, all of which he just laughed at, saying I looked like the preachers wife.  I eventually settled on a small silvery bolero (aka shrug), it was the most flattering of all the unflattering cardigans, if that makes sense.  Once dressed for the party I realized I had completely dulled the outfit down.  The black dress, black pantyhose, and black heels all blended together.  And the bolero kept me semi warm but took away from the neckline and fit of the dress.  But no matter what, I knew I wasn't too flashy and I was more on the conservative classic side of style.  Being that I am the GM's wife and daughter-in-law of the owners it was appropriate.  Then as everyone filtered into the party I realized I was dress like all of the women about 20 yrs older than me and that all of the women my age were wearing skin tight black pants (also an option I had shown my husband)!  Arg!  People tried to be polite and say that I looked nice, but I know what they were thinking, ha-ha!  Besides the uncomfortable pantyhose which I hated from the moment I struggled to put them on, I also had to suffer through shoulder pain.  Somehow the day before the party I hurt a muscle in my shoulder, the pain slowly grew until I could barely move my right arm (and I'm right handed).  I managed to feed myself during the dinner, but my husband did have to pour my water and help me with my jacket... in the end he looked quite the gentleman.  No matter the outfit or pain, it was a lovely company dinner and I look forward to the next one... thanks to the in-laws for a great party!

Where To Eat?

With hundreds of restaurants to choose from in Eindhoven, it can occasionally be difficult to decide on where to eat!  Eventually it boils down to what are you in the mood for, how much do you want to spend, and how close is it... very normal questions.  But what about the restaurants that you've personally never visited or heard any reviews about, are you the type to give them a chance also?  We are, as long as the place looks clean we're usually willing to give it a shot, at least once.  This past month we tried two new restaurants, well, one is new and one is new to us.  Being that we're American we are spoiled when it comes to a good steak, and it's been hard to find one here.  There is at least one restaurant in town that knows how to cook a steak, Rodeo.  In years past it was better, but it's still a decent place to eat.  Sure it's small, the tables are too close together, and it's usually warm in there, but the steak is worth it.  Then a few months back a new steakhouse opened, Sméagol.  It took us a while to try it out but once we did, we had no regrets.  Finally another option for a great steak in town!  This restaurant has a completely different atmosphere, is well lit (yes, I'm getting old and can't read the menu in dark restaurants), the service was great, and the price... wow, I swear they must have forgotten to charge us for something.  We'll definitely be going back for the mouth watering Argentinian steak.  Turns out the owner used to work at Rodeo, no wonder the steaks are comparable.  The only shocker was they don't serve alcohol, which was fine for a dinner with our toddler or parents, but if we're going to camp out for hours with friends this might affect our restaurant choice. 
The other restaurant we tried out was Juffrouw Tok.  This restaurant has been in Eindhoven for years, we've passed it everyday for the past 7 yrs we've lived in this apartment (we nearly share a parking lot).  And in all this time, we didn't try it until this past week... and it happened per chance.  Actually we went to the tapas bar next door, Senora Rosa, a place we thoroughly enjoyed during the summer.  But this time went all wrong.  We had a reservation, but yet the woman couldn't seem to find it, no matter, she still seated us within minutes.  Then it took about 15 minutes for someone to come by and take a drink order, which we could handle.  But after a total of 30 minutes passed and we still didn't have drinks or even placed a food order we couldn't take it anymore.  We had a movie to catch and time was running out, so as a group we decided to pick up and leave, and hopefully find a place that could squeeze a meal into about 45 minutes so we could make The Hobbit on time.  Luckily there was a nearly empty restaurant next door, and they were more than willing to accommodate us.  The main reason I had never eaten at Juffrouw Tok's was because it seemed like all the meals I could make at home.  And it turned out to be true, but it was still nice, sort of like eating at grandma's house.  The service was friendly & quick enough, it had a ski hut feel (large fire & wood everything), and the food was tasty and reasonably priced.  I doubt we'll go back, we like to eat out because they can make things I'm not capable of doing.  But at least we know it's a great fall back restaurant if everything else is booked. 

Self Serve

In America buffet style restaurants are quite common, but here in the Netherlands you don't see them so often.  This weekend we stumbled upon an interesting new restaurant with this self serve idea behind it.  It's called Lundi, and it is here in Eindhoven.

At first we were all a bit taken back because the restaurant had rules, a lot of them, but once we were used to the system it was an enjoyable dinner.  Rules, you're wondering... one of which, you have to chose up front whether you'll be dining for 2 or 3 hours.  Another, you pay upfront.  And the one that took us by surprise was the alcohol card, if you want to drink you have to put money on a card and use this at the drink station.  The buffet was not strange, it was the self serve alcohol that caused a good laugh.  You place your card on a scanner and tap your own beer (there's also wine) and the amount of alcohol gets deducted from the card.  The first few beers splattered everywhere, wasting money, but we did eventually get the hang of it.  Since we had to get our own drinks, we joked about possibly having to cook our own food too!  Surprisingly the food was good, you never know with a buffet.  The food was fresh and was often cooked or prepared at a station directly in front of you.  It's called a world-kitchen, so they had everything from sushi to chicken nuggets.  By the end of the night we were stuffed and they even had to kick us out because the 6 of us stayed until well after the restaurant had closed.  Over all it was a fun experience.  The downside is the location, sure it's close for us, but most people will not bother to go because it's outside of the center and the surrounding block 'has not been kept up so well.  The upside, it's huge and decorated nicely, and it's definitely family friendly and can host large groups of people.  I hope for them they stay in business and manage to market themselves properly (maybe my blog will help, ha-ha)!