Archive for June 2013
Brian’s Birthday at Bradley Fair
Posted on June 14, 2013 by Ching under Events.
Brian and I committed to attending all of the jazz concerts this year at Bradley Fair. We are making up for missing the jazz concerts last year because of my Thursday night Zumba classes, which I’m not teaching this year. Woot!
Brian and I like to come early so we can park our car next to our spot across the lake from stage. We like the other side of the lake because we can spread out, bring our own booze and snacks, and just relax.
Don and Carol Mason, a couple we met at the outdoor concerts a few years ago, joined us last night. We’ve been meeting them at the jazz concerts every year (except for last year when we all sort of blew off the concerts for various reasons) since then.
Jay and Becca joined us also.
It was a beautiful day for an outdoor jazz concert.
We brought birthday cake to share with everyone because it was Brian’s birthday.
This photo gives you a good idea of where our spot is in relation to the stage.
This is Brian taking a picture of himself and Jay.
This is OUR tree.
I love the outdoor jazz concerts. We always have so much fun. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend checking it out at least once this summer. The concerts happen at 7:30 pm every Thursday through the 4th of July. A great fireworks display usually follows the very last concert. That will be true this year as well, specially since the 4th of July falls on a Thursday.
If you are not yet convinced, here are some pictures that we took during the 2010 and 2011 summer concert series at Bradley Fair. No pictures from last year. We’re well on our way to rectifying that this year, though.
Hope to see your smiling faces at Bradley Fair next week!
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Brian’s Birthday Lunch with Grandma
Posted on June 14, 2013 by Ching under Family, Food and Drink.
Brian’s birthday is on June 13. Grandma’s birthday is on June 19. Ever since Brian was born, they’ve always celebrated their birthdays together. This year is no different.
Brian took Thursday off and took Grandma out for birthday lunch. The two of them went to Brint’s Diner because that’s where Grandma wanted to go. I didn’t get to go because I had to work yesterday. Plus, it was a good opportunity for grandma-grandson bonding time.
Brian had biscuits and gravy and hashbrowns.
He said his biscuits and gravy were good. The large homemade biscuits were light and fluffy, not dense. The hashbrowns were just your typical hashbrowns. Overall he thought it was just okay. He was glad that they served them breakfast though, because they quit serving breakfast at 10:30 AM. He and Grandma arrived around 11 o’clock, thinking that the restaurant served breakfast all day.
I’m not a huge fan of Brint’s Diner. I’ve been there a few times with Brian (it’s been several years though) and the times that I went it was just okay for me too. Some people really like it though. Check out Urbanspoon for more reviews.
The main thing is that Brian had a great lunch with Grandma, and I think Grandma had a great time too!
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2013 Celebrity & Chef Cookoff
Posted on June 12, 2013 by Ching under Events.
Brian and I had a great time at the 2013 Celebrity & Chef Cookoff last night. It’s a benefit for the Wichita Orpheum. The event was sold out so Brian and I both felt so fortunate to have gotten tickets at the last minute.
This year’s celebrities included Judy Adams, Wichita State University women’s basketball head coach; Marc Bennett, Sedgwick County District Attorney; Linda Brantner, Delta Dental of Kansas President & CEO; Wayne Chambers, High Touch CEO; Jeff Korsmo, Via Christi Health President & CEO; Mark Larson, KWCH Meteorologist; Michael O’Donnell, State of Kansas Senator; and Roger Scholfield, Scholfield Honda President. The chefs this year were Kevin Derks, Newport Grill; Ben George, Treat America at Beech Activity Center; Jake Lippincott, Pretroleum Club; Martin Martinez, Candle Club; Jim McNulty, Kansas Star Casino; Peter Moretti, Wichita Marriott; Marshall Roth, Siena Tuscan Steakhouse at Ambassador Hotel; and Nathan Toubia, Bocconcini Italian Eatery. Three-time champion Chef Jason Febres returned this year as one of the judges. Denise Neil, Wichita Eagle restaurant reviewer; Joe Stumpe, freelance journalist; and Suzanne Tobias, Wichita Eagle family and education writer, complete the rest of this year’s judging panel.
Brian and I got to sample delicious creations by The Anchor, Bocconcini Italian Eatery, Taste & See, Bella Luna, Bob & Luigi’s, Cake Face Bake Shop & Deli, Fat Jewish Girl Catering, Olive Tree, Wichita Marriott, On the Border, Petroleum Club, Public at the Brickyard, Siena Tuscan Steakhouse, A Taste of Art, Treat America, Wagonmasters, etc. We’ve dined at many of the places, but there were a few we’d never tried before. The food was plentiful and the alcoholic beverage flowed freely. The Orpheum folks sure know how to party.
We had a great group from work last night. Ginger attended with her two daughters. Karen came with her husband Don. Patrice, Bridget, and Jimmy (who is actually on the Board of Directors of the Wichita Orpheum) also attended. We had a table full of fun people. A few of us actually won some silent auction items.
There was one live auction item that I wanted, the movie night at the Orpheum, but the price quickly escalated. I think it went for almost $5000. Whoa! It’s scary how high those live auction items go for. One guy accidentally made a bid while waving his bottomless martini order over. The auctioneer was like, “This is a live auction. You can’t be waiving your arms about.” Shortly after that, I almost did the same thing when I was waving good by to some of the members of our group as they were leaving. Ooops! Good thing Brian quickly made me put my arms down. LOL.
There was one table that seemed to bid and win everything. Although, the biggest winner of the evening was Siena’s Marshall Roth when he was anointed winner of the 2013 Celebrity & Chef Cookoff. They were at the table next to ours and the entire table erupted in gleeful celebration when the winner was announced.
Brian and I had a fabulous time. I hope we get invited back next year!
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Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant
Posted on June 11, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.
Darcy and I had dinner at Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant in Topeka last night. It was actually pretty yummy. I also got to try their raspberry wheat. Not as good as my peach limbic, but it was pretty good as beers go.
We shared the hummus starter. The orange color is because it’s made with chipotle and tomato. They make different types of hummus each day.
Their special on Monday night was almond encrusted tilapia. Darcy and I both ordered it, except she got hers with green beans.
I asked for black beans with mine.
I thought it was pretty good though the tilapia filet could have used more flavor. It was a little bland for my taste. And the presentation was somewhat lacking. Other than that, dinner was good. The hummus wasn’t the best, but it was delicious. You just had to ignore the bright orange color. LOL.
I may take Brian over there next time we’re in the area so he can try their beer. They have lots of other options on the menu that we can try also. And, the restaurant seemed pretty popular with the locals as the parking lot was quite full when we got there. Even on a Monday night. So that’s pretty good.
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Somewhat Healthy Sunday Dinner
Posted on June 11, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink, Health.
This was our dinner on Sunday night. I decided to put avocados in mine because I bought a ton of avocados from Sam’s Club to use for the guacamole that I’m making for Faith’s food day at work on Friday.
My salad was super delicious. I thought it was even better than the best salad we’d ever made. Makes me want to eat more salad.
Brian said that the only thing that could have made it better is if we ate our dinner outside like we did the last time. We love dining al fresco.
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