Dining Out
Posted
Fri, 05/30/03
This has been a week of varied dining for me. I don't normally go out of the house for meals, but since my parents were in town visiting this week it seemed as if we ate out at least one meal a day.
Tuesday was dinner at the Golden Corral, which I've blog-waxed about before. There are a lot of food choices at the restaurant, but I stuck with my basic: fish and vegetables, although I couldn't resist a small dish of vanilla pudding. I also snuck a few spoonfuls of my husband's sautéed mushrooms. While they lacked any real spicing, they were tasty as well.
Wednesday was lunch at Orlando's on the campus of Spokane Community College. I work part-time at the college. My boss Claudia wanted to meet my parents and have lunch with them. Orlando's is completely staffed by students learning the culinary arts, where patrons are asked to evaluate their individual servers and/or chef. The ambiance of Orlando's was surprising, similar to an elegant restaurant one might find on Spokane's regular beat. Our server's name was Zack, and he was exceptional. All of us chose to evaluate him, and he received some very good marks.
The food was very appetizing, and presented in a neatly artistic display on the plate. I started with an Egg Drop Soup prepared with a beef broth base. My entrée choice was the Chicken Maki, and it was delicious: a spicy mix of tender chicken over rice with fresh vegetables and a side of Focaccia bread. The vegetables were cut in uniform fashion, long and thin (including pea pods, asparagus, carrots and mushrooms). My husband was of the opinion there wasn't enough of it, but I thought portions were perfect. I enjoyed the experience so much I'd like to go again. Fair warning, though: Orlando's is usually packed. If my boss hadn't made reservations, I think we would have been in for a long wait.
My forays into public eateries of Spokane rounded out on Thursday, when my parents and I met with some relatives at O'Doherty's Irish Pub & Grill. The pub was right up my alley: Irish with the inside ambience similarly so. I'm not much of a drinker, although I do appreciate sentiments and humor which accompany the Irish penchant for spirits. I loved the various posters depicting Guinness, Irish castles, another of Irish writers, and yet others of sports figures and events.
I sampled the Irish Burger and simply loved it. Instead of ground beef, the burger contained thinly-sliced corned beef, melted Swiss cheese, onions and tomato. The French fries were large and thick, and there were plenty of them. My mother had the Irish Dip (identical to the French Dip sandwich), and all around had a good time. My cousin Sheila reserved one of the larger rooms for our luncheon. It was the most pleasant dining experience I had during the entire week.
My only complaint was the condition of the restrooms. They were less than clean, but other than that I could see myself going to O'Doherty's again and again. Not just for the delicious food, but for the pleasant and relaxing atmosphere of the dining area - sans the loo, of course.
Tags: Restaurants
Send Comment >
