Eating Out

With the holidays approaching (and finals over), I've been doing a lot of pre-winter break catching up with friends. I met a friend for breakfast at Chompies in Tempe on Tuesday. What a great place! The menu is almost overwhelming but I had the granola french toast. They start with thick slices of challah bread, dip it in pancake batter then granola, and finally fry it. Yummy (and an extra 5 pounds straight to the butt on a plate).

Wednesday I had lunch with my advisor and two other students at T. Cook's at the Royal Palm in Scottsdale. These are some pictures of the grounds and the restaurant. It was almost too nice! I had the butternut squash soup with a cranberry/ cream cheese wonton and a mixed greens salad with cranberry croutouns and roasted squash. Both were definitely different but neither was quite as satisfying as my french toast the day before. Funny how expensive isn't always better. Maybe my palate isn't quite refined enough.

Wednesday night DH and I went to dinner with a friend at Asia de Cuba at the Mondrian hotel in Scottsdale. From what I read, there's one in a hotel in LA, and also another in San Fran. The decor was different to say the least. Our friend's mother was in town visiting from Bozeman, Montana and she was a little blown away. These are some pictures of us at dinner and DH and I in the lobby. The restaurant was entirely white and the waiters wore all white. Notice the butts on the lamps? I went to the bathroom and the walls were painted with the lower half of mens bodies, with the pelvis area covered with bunches of grapes or leaves. I don't know who decorated this place but it is eclectic to say the least. There was also this strange stuffed sheep in the lobby. So on to the food. It was good but pricy and maybe not worth the cost. The dishes are served family style so we ordered the calamari salad, crab croquetas, butterfish, and the roasted duck. I LOVED the calamari salad. It had greens, cashews, bananas, and of course calamari in it. It was delicious. Definitely the highlight of the night for me. Maybe on a very special occasion I'll head back there but it definitely won't be for a while.