Monday, June 30, 2008

Lambert's Cafe

Sikeston, Missouri, United States

When we were in college in Nashville, my wife, who was not yet my wife, and some friends of ours drove three hours to Sikeston, Missouri to eat dinner here. Why, you say? Well, you see, my wife had never had fried okra before, so obviously, we had to cross four states so that she could taste it.

Also, they throw the rolls. Really. Lambert's is known as the home of the "throwed roll." There’s a guy with a big cart of steaming hot dinner rolls who walks around the dining room. If you want one, you raise your hand to get his attention, and he pick up a roll with his tongs, and he flings it at you. I am not kidding. You’d best be ready.

As you might have picked up from the fried okra, the cuisine is Southern in all its glory. Those with low grease tolerance need not apply. I had the chicken fried steak, which is a piece of steak, breaded and fried. Yes indeed, that’s good stuff.

The address is: 2305 E. Malone, Sikeston, MO 63801; Telephone: (573) 471-7563.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Office

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico

You know you’re in trouble when one drink costs more than your entrĂ©e. During happy hour. The Office is a place where such things happen. The restaurant itself is on the beach. On. As it you can walk down the beach from your hotel and literally stumble over a table. Chances are, you will stumble over that same table in your attempt to walk back to your hotel.

The first time we ate there, I think I had carnitas. I think that they were good. I know that the margarita was good. Being a place where all of the out-of-towners go to party, it can be wild and loud. The meal I remember the most, there, though, was late one night when the whole restaurant was practically deserted. The party was farther down the beach. My wife and I sat alone at a table on the beach. We split some chicken enchiladas and a margarita, listened to the surf, squished the sand between out toes, and watched a lunar eclipse.

One more thing, since Cabo is a big sport fishing destination, the chefs in the kitchen will cook your catch to order if you want them to.

The Office is located on Medano Beach a mile or so from downtown Cabo San Lucas.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Brown Bar

Austin, Texas, Unites States

Three words: white grape martini. That’s all you really need to know.

Okay, fine, here’s more: The Brown Bar is located in the Brown Building, a former office building that has been converted into lofts on the corner of 8th and Colorado in downtown Austin. Our friends used to live there.

The interior is, yes brown. How’d you guess? Hey, they’re just like UPS! Except, of course, they serve alcohol and they won’t get your package there by 10:00 a.m. the next day. And they’ve won all sorts of awards for their array of martinis. So really, they’re not at all like UPS. The image is pretty upscale. The bar attracts a lot of young professionals and political-types, Austin being the capitol of Texas and all, but, at least when we were hanging out there, there, the vibe was sophisticated without being snotty.

And yes, they have a brown martini, made with Godiva chocolate liqueur.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Paul

London, England, United Kingdom

Ah, the perils of ordering coffee when traveling in a foreign country! (Even if they do speak English.) What if you order the wrong thing? What if you screw up your order so badly that they laugh at you? What if you freeze up when the person behind the counter asks you what you want? What if you take so long that the person behind you stabs you in the back with a butter knife? Hey, it could happen.

Actually we loved going to Paul when we were in London. The South Kensington location of this French bakery was across the street from our hotel. Once you get down that “Americano” means “watered-down espresso” and that it's the closest thing to regular coffee, and that “white” means “with milk,” you’re golden, and you won’t look like the obnoxious girl in line behind up one day who ordered a grande skinny decaf latte. Let me tell you how well that went over. Although, I have to admit that I didn’t know the proper term for the pastry my wife kept ordering. She said her grandmother calls it an “elephant ear.” I didn’t find out that the correct term was “palmier” until our last day. I had just been calling it “one of those.”

For some reason, although Paul is a French bakery, I expected English people to be working there. Nope. They were actually French. And it didn’t take long to notice that more than half of the people in line were also French. I know this because they spoke French to the French people behind the counter who spoke French back. It wasn’t until about the fourth day of our trip that we noticed that our hotel was next to the French embassy. Keen powers of observation, I tell you.

In any event very much enjoyed our lazy mornings sitting on the sidewalk sipping our coffee and reading the London Times, pretending to be true Londoners, or Parisians as the case may have been. Paul is a chain, and they have locations throughout London.

By the way, I highly recommend our hotel, The Pelham. They have one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in. They give you bottled water every day. The have complementary copies of the London Times. And heated towel racks (!).