Archive for "Food and Drink"
Fun Day at Marco Island
Posted on May 30, 2022 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
On one of the days we were in Naples, we went to visit Cindy and Joe in Marco Island. They had a beautiful high-rise condo rental with amazing water views.
The wrap-around balcony offered beautiful views from every angle.
We went early so I could join them for open play. The rest of our group arrived around lunch time.
After a few quick pics, we all piled in the elevator to head to lunch.
Lunch that day was at Snook Inn, a super popular hangout spot in Marco Island.
This place a really fun, island vibe.
…and great live music most days.
Fun pic of Cindy and Joe while we were waiting for a table.
Their specials that day…
Pictures of our delicious food…
Post-lunch group pic…
The rest of our group spent the day hanging out at the condo in Marco Island. Brian and I went back to the US Open that afternoon to watch some more pickleball. Everyone had a great time. Thank you to Cindy and Joe for hosting us and letting me play with them that morning. What a perfect day!
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Brunch at the Cafe in Downtown Naples
Posted on May 21, 2022 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Brian and I decided to take a break from the US Open one morning and explore downtown Naples. We found this place called The Cafe Kitchen & Juicery that had rave reviews and decided to give it a try.
It was a beautiful morning but all of the patio tables were taken so we ended up dining inside. It was great because we were there early enough that we pretty much had the inside of the restaurant, which wasn’t very big, all to ourselves.
I had a massive headache so I decided to indulge in some freshly-pressed, raw, hand-crafted juice. I got the “pink pleasure” drink which is made with beets, pineapple, strawberry, apple, ginger, orange. It was both delicious and refreshing. It was just what I needed at that moment.
Their menu of fresh juice is quite extensive. It was honestly hard to choose.
As for food, Brian decided to go with a bagel breakfast sandwich and I went all-out with a lobster omelet because why not? It’s not often that I’m dining at an establishment that this as an option on their menu.
My pretty lobster omelet…
Brian’s breakfast sandwich looked like your run of the mill bagel breakfast sandwich but he said it was good and he enjoyed it.
Here’s a selfie of the two of us at the restaurant. The lighting was great because we were seated next to a window. It was as close as we could get to being outside where we really wanted to be without actually being outside.
I can see why many people choose to retire in Florida. They have fabulous weather year-round. If only it weren’t so expensive to live there…
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Easter Brunch at YaYa’s
Posted on May 18, 2022 by Ching under Family, Food and Drink.
We enjoyed the Thanksgiving brunch at Yaya’s so much that we decided to return for Easter brunch. Here are a few of our pictures from that visit.
YaYa’s probably has the best brunch in town. The offer a wide variety of options and the food is always good. We enjoy it immensely and are never disappointed. We highly recommend trying their brunch if you’ve never been. It is a great place to celebrate whatever it may be that you are celebrating.
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Jay’s Birthday Dinner at River City Brewery
Posted on May 17, 2022 by Ching under Events, Food and Drink.
We were the first ones to arrive at the restaurant for Jay’s birthday dinner at River City Brewery. We decided to give the other’s a hard time for being late.
It was all in good fun, though.
Everyone eventually made it.
Some pictures of food…
Alicia is always ready with her own salad dressing.
It was a hectic date with Tulip Time in the morning, the ladies’ round robin in the afternoon, and the birthday dinner in the evening but it was totally worth it. After all, it’s not everyday that a dear friend celebrates a birthday.
I’m so glad we could be there to celebrate Jay. Until next year!
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Lunch with Denise Neil
Posted on May 6, 2022 by Ching under Community, Food and Drink.
It’s not everyday that I get to have local celebrity so, of course, I’m documenting this. Well, actually, I document any time I eat anywhere so I guess the post is not that special but the person is – for sure!
As per my usual MO, I only got pictures of our food so there are no pictures of the two of us. I know, “Pictures or it didn’t happen.” You’re just going to have to take my word for it that I got to have lunch with THE Denise Neil.
Denise and I met at La Galette. This place is so good and it is so close to one of my favorite pickleball hangouts (Seneca Park). I really don’t know why I don’t go more often. Probably because I’m mostly hanging out with guys who always want to go to TJ’s instead. TJ’s does have the good rootbeer float.
Anyway, here’s what I had that day: chicken salad sandwich in a croissant and chips. Denise had a quiche and salad.
They also randomly delivered some cookies and a cup of French onion soup to our table. I wondered if it was because they were trying to impress Denise, who is kind of a big deal. I mean, she’s a household name around here.
I’m not really into French onion soup, though I’m sure it’s very good, so it remained untouched. We were busy with conversation and enjoying the food that we did order that neither of us ended up eating the cookies either during lunch either. I did take those back to work and shared them with my friend Chris Townley.
One of the best things about having lunch with Denise, besides the good conversation, is that she makes me feel totally normal. She takes pictures of her food too! One can never have too many food pictures and we sat by a window so we had excellent natural light. Anyway, are alike in that way. No one really understands my obsession with take food pics but she gets it.
I first met Denise through Twitter back in 2008 — the early days — but we hadn’t really done anything together since the Wichita Eagle dining panel ten years ago. I follow her on social media and we see each other at events like the Wichita Orpheum’s Celebrity & Chef Cookoff (not as much the last couple of years because of the pandemic). She did speak to my Rotary club last year to promote her book. Other than that, we’ve only really seen each other a few times.
Recently, she’s gotten into pickleball (as with the rest of the world) and someone referred her to me, which was perfect because we already knew each other. It made sense because everyone knows I am completely obsessed with the sport and it has consumed my life over the last three years. Conversation at lunch centered around pickleball which is one of my favorite topics to talk about — even to people who really don’t care to hear about it. Anyway, as someone who is new to the sport, she had a genuine curiosity and I was more than happy to fill the gaps.
Denise is now officially part of our Wichita Pickleball Facebook group that’s about 2,200 strong and I cannot wait to see her on the pickleball courts!
Until next time, GNG.
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