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Dave Nalle Inspired by a series of articles by Sadi Ranson-Polizotti, a healthy dose of ego and the realization that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it occurred to me to share my thoughts about some of the fun and eclectic music on my iPod. |
”TGIF”…Eating at the Chain
If I may say so myself, it was a smashing idea of mine own for husband and I to go out to dinner for Valentine’s Day in this year of our Lord 2006. Of course, it was to be a treat from my husband to me even though it was, heh, my idea. The genius of the idea, besides husband footing the bill, was we decided to go the day after Valentine’s Day to avoid the crowds.Even at that I was surprised how crowded this bistro type of eatery was. This in the dead of winter in a summer resort area known as Delaware’s Rehoboth Beach.
Crowds don’t necessarily equal good food but go with me on this, in the dead of winter in an area frequented by tourists three seasons of the year, when one chances upon a restaurant with a bit of crowd in the off-season, the customers are likely locals. Locals who would, we assume, know the best restaurants of the area that remains open in the winter.
Yes, “TGIF” is a chain restaurant so there’s likely nothing terribly unique in this resort location for the chain. In fact, I checked the restaurant’s web site and determined that my own dining experience fits the corporate model.
The food at “TGIF”, which is an acronym for the famous saying “Thank God It’s Friday”, a phrase meant to express the exasperation of a work week finally ended, was bistro food with a flair. The intimation in the chain’s name is that this is the place to go for fun and a happening drink, a fine way to begin the cherished weekend.
Since husband and I were but an old married couple, this allure was not the reason for our visit. I did note that the restaurant had a happening bar area complete with the required 75 televisions that pepper such haunts. Were I a young and single chick I might drop in such is the ambience. Hey, a specialty drink after a long work week, some mindless bar chat, a few glances at the big TV screens, yeah, that’s the ticket.
But it was time to get down to the first order of business. Which was, as might be expected, the ordering of the food.
“TGIF” has a 3 course menu deal that I find intriguing. Of course it’s competition causing this new fad in bistro type of eateries as I’ve seen commercials for “Appleby’s” advertising the same thing.
I chose just such a 3 course deal and was pleasantly surprised. For $12.95 one could purchase an appetizer, a main course and a dessert. The 3 course deal does have restrictions. In fact there’s a separate menu for these deals so don’t expect to peruse the entire menu and choose any three such items desired. The selections for the 3 course deal are plentiful and how could you go wrong with such a stomach filling meal for thirteen bucks?
For an appetizer I chose something called “Zen Chicken Pot Stickers”. “TGIF’s” web site describes this appetizer as follows:
ZEN CHICKEN POT STICKERS
Fire-grilled dumplings stuffed with minced chicken and vegetables. Sprinkled with pico de gallo and served with a sweet & tangy Szechwan dipping sauce.
Now I’m not sure what that “pico de gallo” is but the appetizer was tasty and plentiful. As described, these pot stickers are “dumplings”, i.e. a dough stuffed with something, in this case, chicken and vegetables. The pot stickers are first boiled then quickly fried over the fire pit, giving them a nice grill mark and adding a bit of bite to the dough. The filling was full and the dipping sauce was terrific. The appetizer consisted of six of these pot stickers and the dish would make a great meal in itself, perhaps with a salad.
Since I knew in advance that we would be eating out, I did not eat a big lunch in anticipation but even with that I was unable to finish this 3 course deal.
Next up, for my entrée, I chose the “Pulled Pork Sandwich”. The menu stipulated it was a Jack Daniel’s pulled pork sandwich. Which means, I suppose, that that famous whiskey is used somehow in the sauce for the sandwich.
Everything at “TGIF” seems to be flavored with this whiskey and I must wonder why. Although I personally have no problem with the liquor and if my pulled pork sandwich was any clue, the booze does add a nice mellow taste.
My entrée is described as follows:
JACK DANIEL'S® PULLED PORK SANDWICH
Smoked pulled pork tossed with our signature barbecue sauce and basted with sweet-smoky Jack Daniel's® sauce. Topped with grilled red onion and served Friday's Fries and an extra side of sauce for dipping.
I ate half of this sandwich and since I knew I would be getting dessert I asked to have the other half of the sandwich wrapped for take home. I ate the other half the following day. If I were to grade this sandwich, at least in relation to other pulled pork sandwiches I’ve enjoyed, I’d give it a B+. A good grade to be sure. The sandwich would have received an A if only it had a bigger “kick” in terms of spiciness. As it was, the sandwich was packed with tender pork lightly covered with that Jack Daniels sauce.Husband is, I’m not making this up, the pickiest eater in the universe. He considers pizza one of the four food groups and frankly, over the years, the poor man has gotten so used to my own cooking that he seldom enjoys eating out. Which is not to say that I cook so well that no restaurant can match me. It’s more that I’ve learned how he likes his food cooked and between yon reader and me, no self-respecting restaurant would cook anything like I do for husband to be consumed by the general public.
Which is why husband proclaimed the cheeseburger and chicken wings of his order to be “not so good”. I simply do not know why the man bothers. I regularly make both of these items at home and as for the chicken wings I’ll lay the truth right here, I’ve yet to taste any better than mine own handsomely prepared wings. The chicken wings at “TGIF” were spicy with a sauce that looked to consist mostly of liquefied cayenne pepper. If the wings were fried, as they should be, there was no crispiness of the skin. I suspect “TGIF” bakes the wings then covers them with a cayenne-spiked sauce.
As for the cheeseburger, I thought it was terrific. The meat was a huge chunk of tender beef with, even though husband said “well done”, a slightly pink inside. Of course husband didn’t like it because how that man likes a cheeseburger is beyond description. Suffice it to say that his pronouncement that the cheeseburger was not as good as mine was greeted with a smile of the compliment. Take it from me, “TGIF” makes a great cheeseburger. For people of normal taste that is.
For the final choice of my 3 course meal deal, I chose a slice of cheesecake. My preferred of choice of cheesecake is one of New York style, a not too sweet concoction unadorned by the riff-raff of cherries and other such ungodly toppings. As might be expected, the “TGIF” cheesecake was nothing like this. The so-called cheesecake was some sort of sweet thing filled with peanut butter and crispy stuff. I took a few bites of the dessert. The sweetness went fine after the spiciness of the pot stickers and mellow taste of the Jack Daniels flavored pulled pork. Beyond that this dessert was strictly mass-produced schlock deserving of no greater grade than a “C”.
Yes, I’d go to “TGIF” again. The place has an extensive menu and every eater should find something that is filling and pleasing to the palate.
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Test Your Brain Then Smile at the Money
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More pics of week HERE
Dinner With the Girlfriend’s Parents
A girl asks her boyfriend to come over Friday night and have dinner with her parents. Since this is such a big event, the girl announces to her boyfriend that after dinner, she would like to go out and make love for the first time. Well, the boy is ecstatic, but he has never had sex before, so he takes a trip to the pharmacist to get some condoms. The pharmacist helps the boy for about an hour. He tells the boy everything there is to know about condoms and sex. At the register, the pharmacist asks the boy how many condoms he'd like to buy, a 3-pack, 10-pack, or family pack. The boy insists on the family pack because he thinks he will be rather busy, it being his first time and all.  That night, the boy shows up at the girl's parents house and meets his girlfriend at the door. "Oh, I'm so excited for you to meet my parents, come on in!" The boy goes inside and is taken to the dinner table where the girl's parents are seated. The boy quickly offers to say grace and bows his head. A minute passes, and the boy is still deep in prayer, with his head down. 10 minutes pass, and still no movement from the boy. Finally, after 20 minutes with his head down, the girlfriend leans over and whispers to the boyfriend, "I had no idea you were this religious." The boy turns, and whispers back, "I had no idea your father was a pharmacist." |
Jury Duty
"Jury Duty"Mrs. Hunter was called to serve for jury duty, but asked to be excused because she didn't believe in capital punishment and didn't want her personal thoughts to prevent the trial from running its proper course. But the public defender liked her thoughtfulness and quiet calm, and tried to convince her that she was appropriate to serve on the jury. "Madam," he explained, "this is not a murder trial! It's a simple civil lawsuit. A wife is bringing this case against her husband because he gambled away the $12,000 he had promised to use to remodel the kitchen for her birthday." "Well, okay," agreed Mrs. Hunter, "I'll serve. I guess I could be wrong about capital punishment after all." |
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More Fish Giggles HERE
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