FLIP + CHING

Roots Seasonal Cuisine

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Ching under Food and Drink.

Got to try a new restaurant in Lee’s Summit while in Kansas City for work last month. We got there just in time for the tail end of their happy hour (literally, I think it was ending in 5 minutes when we arrived).

Here are a couple of pictures of their drink menu.

We enjoyed some delicious appetizers and small plates with our cocktails.

We also got to try several desserts.

Everything was so good. I thought the drinks were great. The food was good. The desserts were amazing. It was tough to pick a favorite. Anyway, I will definitely go back for another visit next time I’m in the area. Until then, GNG.

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Wild Night in Rockwall

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Ching under Travel.

We had a wild night in Rockwall and it’s not what you think. Spring is known to bring a few thunderstorms through the area. Well, as luck would have it, a storm rolled through Rockwall while we were sleeping on Saturday night. Around 2 AM on Sunday morning, we were both startled by a loud crash. It literally sounded like someone had thrown a brick through the window. My immediate thought was someone was trying to break in. Of course, I screamed really loud because I’m a screamer. Brian, the take-charge guy that he is, goes “Don’t move!”

I had woken up Wes who was sleeping outside in the living room. He knocked on the door to see if we were okay and we were like, “One sec.” I like to sleep naked so I had to put clothes on first. Then the three of us got to work to figure out the damage and what to do next.

Brian and I put shoes on before tackling the clean up so we didn’t step on any broken glass pieces. Wes went to grab the vacuum cleaner and also started looking for supplies to help us cover the window (scissors, trash bags, tape, etc.). The entire time Saki was nowhere to be found. She jumped off the bed and hid in the closet when she heard me scream. She was completely terrified and would not come out. When we were done with clean up, I went in the closet to get her and she was still shaking. It took me a good 20 minutes to get her to come out and come back to bed with us. I’d never seen her this scared since her first 4th of July as a puppy.

Here are some pictures of the broken window.

Brian picking up the bigger pieces of glass before we ran the vacuum..

After we got the glass picked up, he went outside to take some pics and it was this tree limb that caused the damage.

The window got pretty banged up..

We couldn’t find any tape. Wes did find these little sticker dots that people use to put prices on yard sale items so we used it to stick trash bag plastic on the blinds to keep water from getting inside (in case it rained some more).

This is Brian trying to comfort Saki so she would come out of the closet.

The poor girl was absolutely terrified. Saki hid in the furthest corner of the closet in the dark the entire time we were cleaning up. We looked everywhere for her when we were done and, when we finally found her, she refused to come out.

We eventually got her to calm down and the three of us went back to bed. But it was short-lived. Even though it wasn’t raining, it was still super windy outside and the rusting of the leaves and the trash bag on the window was freaking her out. She eventually hopped of the bed and ran back in the closet to hide. We tried to get her to come out again but she would not and, it’s like 3 AM-ish at this point, we really wanted to go back to sleep so we ended up just moving her dog bed into the closet (it’s a pretty big walk-in closet) so that she could sleep in it.

Everyone on the other side of the house slept through the commotion so they didn’t even know the ordeal that we went through in the middle of the night (or, I guess, that morning). We told the Sagers about it when they got up. Here’s a picture of Molly trying to get Saki to come out.

We got some better pictures of the storm damage in the daylight.

We think this is where the broken tree limb came from..

It was so wild. We’d never even experienced anything like this at home. But then, I guess, there aren’t any big, mature trees in our neighborhood so something like this isn’t likely to happen. We all survived and no one was hurt and Saki seems fine now. She is such a jittery dog. It probably won’t take long for something to happen that scares her again. Here’s hoping not. Until next time, GNG.

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Charlie’s Burgers & Street Tacos

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

Tried a hip joint in downtown Rockwall that came highly recommended. Verdict? Food is pretty good but the street tacos are a little expensive.

Molly was not very happy about her tiny $7 street taco but she was happy about double-fisting the beers.

I think this is their version of elote. Tasty but a little too runny for me.

The chicharones had a kick but great with the elote which I kind of used as a dip to tone it down. Probably not very spicy to a normal person but it tasted spicy to me.

These food pics aren’t the best but you get the idea. There was a good selection of burgers, tacos, and craft beer.

The restaurant is tiny. We got very lucky that there was a big enough table that could accommodate our group.

Obligatory group photo (clockwise starting with Brian and me): Wes Horton (aka Paddletek‘s Pickleball Wes), Molly Sager, Casey Dominguez, Marie (Casey’s friend – I didn’t get her last name), Cory Sager, and Michael Harris (main man and pickleball pro at our Chicken N Pickle).

Charlie’s menus, in case you want to scope it out in advance of going.

Until next time, GNG.

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Bella Napoli Italian

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

When we went to Siren Rock on the first night, we drove by this Italian restaurant that had pretty good Yelp reviews so we decided to check it out the next night. Little did we know they served absolutely no alcohol whatsoever. We saw a BYOB sign on the door as we were walking in, which we thought was weird, but we were already committed so went in anyway.

Here are some pictures of dinner that night…

This is Cory’s very saucy entree. It actually matches his saucy personality.

I’m glad we weren’t discouraged by the sign and went in anyway because the food was actually pretty good. Also, if you see beer in the background, it’s because Cory and Michael ended up going to the convenience store next door to buy some to drink with their dinner.

Brian and I had way more food than we could eat so we ended up taking most of it back to the Airbnb. It worked out well because our friend Deana’s matches ran super late. They were playing almost until 10 pm and most places were closed at that point (except for fast food) so at least she and Kali had food to eat for dinner when they got home.

I really liked the food here. It was good, reasonably priced, and the portions were super generous. The restaurant is not ideal if you must have some alcoholic beverages with dinner. That’s pretty much the biggest downside but I’m not sure if it was just the weekend we were there or if they had just recently opened and didn’t have their liquor license yet or what. There is a bar area inside the restaurant so I’m assuming they plan to serve alcohol at some point. I think definitely worth checking out when you’re in the area. Maybe if we play this tournament (or another tournament in the area) again next year or later this year I’ll have to pay them another visit to see if anything has changed on the booze front. I’ll post an update if that happens. Until then, GNG.

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Siren Rock Brewing Co.

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

We checked out Siren Rock Brewing Co. in Rockwall with the Sagers (Molly and Cory) while we were there for the Mid-South Diamond Regional pickleball tournament earlier this month.

The place had a fun vibe and they also had nice outdoor seating areas both at the front and the back of the restaurant. It was sprinkling on and off that day so we opted to sit inside but next to the garage door so we still had a feel of being outside.