Food and Drink

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Dinner at the Desert Ridge Yard House

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

Here are some pictures from our dinner on Thursday night at Yard House.

I usually prefer to eat local when I’m out of town so I stay away from chains but Karen had never been to a Yard House before, I knew they had an extensive menu that would not disappoint, and the restaurant was literally just a mile away from our hotel (about 3 minutes by car or 15 minutes on foot). The crazy thing about dinner that night is the whole Uber situation in Phoenix. Because of the pandemic, a bunch of Uber drivers quit because they weren’t making any money (because everyone was staying home and people weren’t traveling) so there’s a shortage of cars available. Anyway, it took us almost 45 minutes to get from our hotel to the restaurant because, after waiting 20 minutes, our first driver canceled our trip and so we got another driver who we also had to wait a long time for. We seriously could have walked to the restaurant in less time. However, Karen was nursing her heel and, after playing singles all afternoon, I really didn’t feel like walking anywhere so we were stuck waiting on the Uber I ordered. I didn’t have to order the Uber back because Matt had his Uber drop Karen and I off at our hotel on his way home.

The whole Uber situation in Phoenix is horrendous. On our last day, I saw on Facebook that Melissa McCurley gave her Uber to Simone Jardim because Simone had the same situation with her Uber driver canceling the trip and waiting on another Uber would have made her late for her flight. Thankfully, Melissa’s Uber was already there and I think she had more flexibility so she gave up her car to Simone. Both of these experiences (our dinner one and Simone’s trip to the airport) made me grateful that I had prearranged a car service with Execucar. Granted it cost over $200 just for two rides — from the airport to the hotel and then from the hotel back — but the guarantee of having a car available at the scheduled time (our ride to the airport was actually early) is totally worth it.

Anyway, more about the trip on my next post. Until then, GNG.

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Breakfast at Mimi’s Cafe

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

I didn’t have to play until 3 PM on Thursday so Karen and I decided to have a nice leisurely breakfast that morning. We took an Uber to a quaint cafe in the Desert Ridge shopping area called Mimi’s Cafe. It was really only a 15 minute walk but neither of us wanted to walk to be honest. LOL.

The place is super cute. And, at 8 AM, we were the first customers there. They used to open at 6:30 AM before the COVID pandemic but they reduced their hours and still haven’t changed it back.

I’ve never been to France but I think they were going for the French cafe feel based on the interior decor.

I had the option of a side of toast, muffin, or croissant with my breakfast and, after our server Jessie told us that they bake their own muffins fresh daily, I had to get a muffin. This was probably the most delicious chocolate chip muffin I’ve ever had. It was so fresh that steam came out when I cut into it.

This was a good-sized muffin too — plenty for both me and Karen to enjoy. Here’s a pic of it with Karen in the background for perspective.

Here are some pics of Karen’s delicious French toast. The first one wasn’t done all the way so they had to remake it and bring her out another. It came out perfectly gooey the second time around.

I got to try a couple of bites and it was amazing. I will definitely go back and get this next time. I think Karen was happy with her meal. 😉

Here’s a picture of my meaty omelet.

Our server overheard us raving about the delicious muffins and wanting to bring them back to Wichita that he gave us four muffins to go – for free!

We gave one box to Lauren for her and Lea, and then we kept the other box. It came in handy over the weekend as we enjoyed them courtside while watching the pro matches. The Arizona sun heated them up perfectly and they were as amazing as they were had we eaten them fresh out of the oven.

The resort gave us a 50% OFF coupon code to use by the end of the year. I’m seriously contemplating going back with Brian. Until next time. GNG.

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Traveling to Arizona

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink, Hobbies, Travel.

Last week I traveled to Arizona for my first out of town pickleball tournament. It was one of the big ones too — the first Pro Pickleball Association (PPA) tournament of the year — with over 1200 registered players. It was a bit stressful trying to get out of Wichita with so many flight cancellations due to the winter storms. My 7 AM flight on Wednesday actually got canceled but luckily Brian was able to rebook me on an noon flight. The only downside is, instead of arriving in Arizona around noon, I wouldn’t arrive until 6 PM but I was grateful to be able to get there at all.

Obligatory airport pic. (Photo credit: Brian)

This is what Wichita looked like when I left.

Massive construction at the Denver airport.

Quickie airport lunch — hotdog and fries.

The first order of business upon my arrival at the resort — dinner and drinks at Roy’s. The drinks were delicious and pretty but expensive.

Karen was completely hooked on these lobster potstickers.

I got us some calamari to share.

My katsu chicken dinner.

Special bread pudding dessert.

Chocolate souffle.

Lauren Stratman joined us for that first dinner.

We had a nice time visiting over delicious food. I was so grateful I made it to the resort without any issues. I heard about the problems everyone was having with their car rentals and Ubers and I’m glad that Brian and I prearranged a car service pickup for me. Anyway, more about the trip next time. GNG.

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Tom Visits Wichita

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink, Things to Do.

My friend Tom who lives in Topeka came down for a visit a couple of weeks ago. He went to get manis and pedis with me and Brian and then the three of us met some coworkers for dinner at Oak & Pie.

I’m thinking Tom enjoyed his pedicure.

He got his fingernails done too.

Here we are at dinner with Alex and Kishan, and Chris and Zacch.

Here are some pictures of our dinner.

And yummy drinks!

The next morning, Tom and I had brunch at Chicken N Pickle on his way out of town. He had the junkyard dog burrito and I had the chicken n’ waffles.

It was a nice visit and fun weekend overall.

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Lunch with Tommy at Yokohama Ramen Izakaya

Posted on January 21, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink.

Stopped by Edgemoor Rec Center to give something to my friend Brooke a couple of weeks ago and ended up playing a couple of games before their time was up. After that, I had an hour to kill before the noon open play at Nahola so Tommy and I decided to have lunch at Yokohama Ramen Izakaya just down the street from the rec center. Here are some pics of our food…

Tommy and I both had the ten-hour curry which was on special that day. It’s way different than any other curry I’ve ever had and also came with two pieces of deep-fried battered shrimp.

Tommy also go the jalapeno popper starter. I didn’t have any of it because I don’t really like spicy things. It was served in a cute, square, wooden bowl on a rectangular platter with dipping sauce on the side.

I also had a fruity milk tea, which was a bit expensive ($5) as non-alcoholic drinks go but worth every penny. I would go by there just for that drink. And, it was the perfect balance for the curry which, though it was too spicy, had really strong flavors. Now that I’m posting this, I kind of want to get that milk tea. Perhaps I can talk Brian into going back with me this weekend.