Archive for "Food and Drink"
Breakfast with the Hubs at HomeGrown
Posted on December 10, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian has only been to HomeGrown once before so he wanted to go again recently. We were downtown for an oil change so we were near the Naftzger Park location. They weren’t very busy that day so it was the perfect opportunity. Also, Brian’s first HomeGrown experience was at Bradley Fair so it nice for him to try a different location. There are three locations in town and, although I’ve never been to the New Market Square location, I have no doubt that they are all equally good.
Here are some pictures of our breakfast.
I had the Country Benny. It was so good! It’s basically an Eggs Benedict but made with biscuits and a sausage patty instead of a muffin and ham. I also had them fry my egg hard because I don’t like runny eggs. It had sausage gravy all over instead of hollandaise sauce, with sprinkles of bacon bits on top.
My breakfast was perfect in every way. Everything was cooked to delicious perfection. If I had one complaint, it would be that the potatoes could have been crispier. They were kind of soft.
Brian got what he always gets everywhere — biscuits and gravy with potatoes and eggs. I think that’s what most people order because I saw several of plates looking exactly like this come through.
For Brian, he dumps everything together and that’s how he likes to eat it.
This is how Brian looks before coffee.
This is how he looks after. It’s amazing how much difference a sip can make.
It was a cold day and Brian let me warm my hands with his coffee cup. He is much more amenable once he’s had his coffee and some breakfast in his belly.
I treasure leisurely days like this so much. It’s fun to just hang out and enjoy a nice breakfast with the hubs. Until next time. GNG.
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Birthday Happy Hour with Jenni
Posted on December 7, 2021 by Ching under Family, Food and Drink.
Met up with Jenni for happy hour at O’Malley’s Irish Pub during her birthday weekend. I’d never been there before and, since she lives in Haysville, I thought it would be convenient to meet there. It’s also a favorite post-pickleball hangout spot among my friend Debbie’s pickleball crew.
I think one of the best things about O’Malley’s is their extended happy hour. Very few places have happy hour past 6 PM. Their’s is 2 to 7 PM! That means five hours of cheap drinks – FTW!
I had a couple of boozy root beer floats while we were there. Root beer floats are awesome but even better when they’re spiked.
Besides the cheap drinks, they also have half-priced pizzas during happy hour so that’s what we got. They claim to have “the best” in town, which is a tall order considering that we have some pretty great pizza places. I thought their pizza was just okay (my favorite right now is Piatto’s Neapolitan Pizzaria and I also like Il Vicino and Wichita Brewing Company and Ziggy’s and River City Brewing — okay so there’s lots of other pizzas that I like better — LOL). Their’s is just a basic pizza. Pretty good for the price but not stellar by any means.
Jenni also got some wings, which looked good, but I didn’t try them. The main draw of the place is the drinks. The drink menu is extensive and the happy hour drink prices can’t be beat.
It was really nice catching up with Jenni and hearing how her career is taking off. She’s definitely “manifesting that shit” — which is why I thought the candle I got her for her birthday was quite fitting. My little sister is finally all grown up!
Until next time. GNG.
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Snowbound Ski Lodge at CNP
Posted on November 25, 2021 by Ching under Date Ideas, Food and Drink, Things to Do.
Snowbound had only been open a week and I’ve been there twice already (will be going for a third time tomorrow). When they first unveiled it, they had a special preview for employees which Karen invited me to attend with her as her plus one. We went on a Thursday and I met her there after my Aqua Zumba class.
I gave Brian a heads up that I would be home late because I was swinging by Chicken N Pickle after class. The funniest part is, after texting him some pictures from Snowbound, he texted me back immediately with “Where are you? Thought you were going to CNP?” LOL. Their goal was to completely transform the CNP rooftop into a merry ski lodge and, given Brian’s response, I would say they completely succeeded.
If you’ve ever spent any time on the rooftop at CNP, you really won’t recognize it. They did such a great job with the ski lodge decor. I’ve never been skiing before so I guess I wouldn’t really know but, I got a total kick out of the the reaction they got from Brian. Here are some more pictures.
They have these fun ski boot shot glasses that you can get various shots in. Karen did a cinnamon toast crunch shot with the guys — Dan Leddy, Rick Nutt, and Lauren Rezac. The shots are presented on skis. It’s super cute.
I got a video of the four of them doing the shot which you can watch by clicking here. Besides the fun shots in the ski boots, they have the prettiest drinks at Snowbound. They’re also very yummy and strong.
Here are some drink pics.
The avalanche is cool because of how it is lit up and everything. The interesting part about it is sometimes it is blue and sometimes it is purple. I just depends on who makes it, I guess.
That Thursday night that I went with Karen, she got the avalanche while I got the free rider. I love my drink except I wasn’t expecting the sprinkles which I don’t really like that much (not even in cookies or cupcakes).
The next time I order the free rider, I will ask them to hold the sprinkles.
This next one is the ski ya later drink.
Then this next pic is of white out with an empty ski boot shot glass next to it. I was told you now have to take the ski boots off the ski first before taking your shot because you can’t make drinking too much fun and game-like. Seriously? Who comes up with these crazy rules?
The drinks at Snowbound are yummy but the food is equally fabulous. These are two of my favorite things to get:
This is the salmon dip. They give you a generous amount served in a jar.
This is the pork belly and brussels which is amazing.
Here’s a picture of the Snowbound menu. I seriously cannot wait to go back tomorrow and try all the other food and drinks I haven’t tried yet. I highly recommend checking out Snowbound before the season is over. You can make reservations here.
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Birthday Lunch with Mom and Dad
Posted on November 1, 2021 by Ching under Family, Food and Drink.
Had a nice birthday lunch with mom and dad on Saturday at P.F. Chang’s. It was just going to be only me and Brian at first because we had to go to the store for a few things before the get together at our house but mom and dad happened to be available. We owed mom a birthday lunch and we owed dad a lot for helping Brian with the electrical work in the basement storage room.
Mom got me a present and the birthday card had a hair clip.
The shirt she got me is absolutely perfect but it will probably turn into a tank top.
Here are some pictures of our food.
We started with the starter sampler which had perfect portions of everything for the four of us. We got four of each of our favorite appetizers — egg rolls, crab wontons, pan-fried pork dumplings — and a handful of edamame.
The crab wontons are still my favorite.
Mom enjoyed her coconut mojito.
Brian decided to try the orange chicken instead of getting his usual Chang’s spicy chicken. It was okay but both agreed we still like the Chang’s spicy chicken better.
Mongolian beef and eggplant. It’s our most favorite dish that’s not even on the menu. I mean it is but the Mongolian beef doesn’t usually come with eggplant. I ask them to add substitute it for the green onions.
We shared a great wall of chocolate and vanilla ice cream for dessert. It was perfect because it’s hard to eat an entire slice of that chocolate cake by yourself. Even with the four of us helping (well, maybe mostly me), we couldn’t finish the cake.
The four of us had a lovely lunch.
The best part is always the fortune cookies at the end. Our server gave each of us a fortune cookie instead of just putting all four of them in a pile in the middle so in a sense she picked our fortunes for us.
Dad got a typical cryptic one. I wonder what truth he will discover.
Mom’s is actually fitting because I have no doubt that she will master pickleball (her new hobby in the coming years).
Brian is convinced he got the wrong fortune cookie and this was meant to be for me. He would never describe himself as an optimist and, frankly, neither would I. LOL.
Lastly, my fortune cookie tells me that others will seek my talents in the coming months. I’m a woman of many talents so I’m not sure which specific talent this is referring to. I hope that, in addition to seeking my talents, the people seeking my talents are willing to pay me for my services as well. It would be nice to be able to do something with my talents like make a little money on the side, if not actually make a living. One can dream. Until next time. GNG.
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Drinks with Leadership Wichita Classmates
Posted on October 19, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Met Bill Ramsey, Jessica Dunbar, and Teresa Veazey at the Candle Club for drinks before Nahola league yesterday. I normally live in pickleball gear but figured I should try to look somewhat normal last night. I had to figure out something to wear that looks like streetwear but I could still play in. I decided to go with my Vuori lux romper. It’s super comfortable. I’ve actually played pickleball in it before. However, paired with a jacket, it looks like regular street clothes. If you didn’t realize it already, “athleisure” really is a thing.
If you’re wondering why I didn’t have Aqua Zumba last night. I gave up teaching on Monday nights starting in October. A few months ago, the Nahola owners announced they were selling.
I’m not sure what the place will be when it gets sold and the new owners take over, so I decided to pull the trigger and give up my Monday night class. For as long as I’ve been a member at Nahola, my Monday night class has been the biggest obstacle that’s prevented me from participating in the league. When Nahola gets sold and pickleball there is no more, I don’t want to have missed out on playing in the Monday night league. I decided that it’s now or never. I’m going to try to play on Monday nights going forward until it’s no longer an option. #NoRegrets
The Candle Club actually has pretty good happy hour. We had egg rolls and onion rings. The other cheap food option was chicken livers which is not really my thing. Honestly, I’m not a fan of onion rings either. Teresa was the one who ordered it. Jessica and I both ordered egg rolls.
They gave you a decent amount of onion rings for $6.
Some of their drinks are half-priced during happy hour so I ordered a $4 glass of red sangria. I really didn’t need it before league but it was cheap and I wanted to see what their sangria is like. It’s not as good as mine so I’m glad I only paid $4 for it.
Only the four of us made it this time. We usually have a better turnout. It’s still pretty good though. I think we are the only #LeadershipWichita class that continues to meet on a regular basis. We were in the class of 2014. To have survived the pandemic (we really didn’t meet at all last year) and still be meeting regularly seven years later is a tremendous feat. Our “cruise director” Jessica is a rockstar and deserves all the credit.
Anyway, that’s all for now. Until next time. GNG.
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