Friday Food 10-07-23

I haven't been to Fish in a Bottle for sushi in months.  Don't know why, guess I just haven't gotten back in the dining out habit.  Carol and I went on Monday evening,  discovering all over again how delicious the food is there.  I didn't take a picture of the Tempura, which looks like tempura everywhere. 

Carol had a glass of wine. Always looks good, but I can no longer tolerate alcohol.

Crunch,Crunch is one of our old favorite rolls.  

Shrimp tempura, crab meat, cucumber, avocado, and crispy crunch on the outside.

This cucumber roll is new on the menu and we will order it again.

There is no rice and the outside is wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber strips. 

Albacore, crab, fish roe, and??  I don't remember what else and the online menu does not list this roll - too new, I guess. 

I brought home the leftovers and ate them for lunch the next day.  And they were again delicious. I will start going there frequently again.  Before Covid I went once  a week. 

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Catching up! 05-05-22

Oh, my goodness, I haven't posted for a week.  Not only do I not do much of anything, I also don't have any energy.  We do our two walks a day, but sometimes, like today, I come home in the morning so weary I have to take a nap.  Have an appointment with my primary next week and hope she can help.  Or I'll have to look for a new doctor and most of you know what that is like.  

I have been eating out.  Too lazy to prepare food myself.  Last week Carol and I went to Fish in a Bottle for the first time in forever.  I had Salmon Sashimi which was as delicious as it always is.  Carol had Tempura, which she shared, and it was also delicious.  I will have to go more often.  Unfortunately, our favorite waiter no longer works there and we missed him.  Hope he has found a better place.   On Saturday I was invited to dine with one of my neighbors whose wife was out of town, along with another widow lady.  I think he just doesn't like to eat alone as he has asked us before.  Rembrandt's is a local steak house which is very popular, probably because of the bar.  The place is sort of a barn and the tables are bare, not even a placemat, and it is very noisy.  I chose the blackened Diver Sea Scallops on Parmesan Mushroom Risotto. Tasty if a little salty and the presentation was lacking - even a few sprigs of parsley would have helped.  At any rate I could only eat half and had the remainder for dinner the next night.  

Scallops with Risotto

Guess I got in the mood for avoiding my kitchen and took KoKo out for breakfast on Tuesday.   There is an old and popular breakfast/lunch spot that has several names.  I think of it as Two Sisters, which is what it was called when I first came to Placentia.  They have some outdoor seating so I took KoKo's pad and we sat under the eave and looked out into the parking lot.  The outer patio was added with the Pandemic and takes up about ten parking spaces.  Bummer.  

I people watched, of course, mostly this lady who was decked out in sparkles.  You might be able to see that she has rings on every finger, both hands.  Also a sequined blouse and this light jacket with silver threads throughout.  I know I am being old fashioned, but all that glitz at 9am?  Shocking!

I mainly went for pancakes which are quite thick and large, filling the inner rim of the plate.  They were very tasty and very filling, so I had to leave these last few bites.  Their coffee is good and I relaxed and enjoyed the different view.  KoKo was very good and was happy to let people pet him, but mostly just laid on his pad and watched everything that was going on. 

I've managed to put off grocery shopping until I have no bread, no eggs, no veggies, no fruit, ...the cupboard is almost bare.  MUST go tomorrow.  Anyway, I was forced to go to In & Out Berger tonight.  I guess I go about every six weeks, mostly so I can have French Fries!  They are one of the few places that don't use precut potatoes which are kept fresh with Sulfites, to which I am very allergic.  In & Out starts with fresh potatoes, peels, and slices them on site, so I don't have to worry.    So, that has been my "gourmet" week.  As far as accomplishing anything at home, it is just the usual - laundry, watering, cleaning the bathroom... you know, all the unexciting things we do. 

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Friday Food 08-27-21

One of the best things about computers, to me anyway, is having tens of thousands of pictures I can scroll through and remember people, places, events, animals, flowers - just everything.  I just spent an hour looking for pictures of food for this post and enjoyed images of trips I have taken, quilts galore, Surfside Quilters Guild members and meetings  And that was only two years worth!  I did think I took more food pictures than I can find now, but settled on these three, all from ten years ago in 2011 in widely separated locations. . 

I enjoy eating fish, but don't cook it much at home because I don't BBQ and my oven hasn't worked for years.  So, I eat fish when I eat out.  This is one of my favorite meals - Salmon, broccoli, baked potato (or rice).  Makes me hungry just thinking about it!   This was in Long Beach, CA.. 

Another favorite is fish tacos  I especially like shrimp which are very good at  Chronic Tacos, but these two are from a food truck that used to serve at lunch time in Brea, CA.  I prefer corn tortillas, but they only served flour. 

And, of course, sushi is high on my list of favorites.  This yummy roll was at a tiny sushi place near Beaverton, Oregon.   

I may have to go out for sushi tomorrow night., probably to my favorite neighborhood spot "Fish in a Bottle" .  Since the pandemic is so threatening I may have to do takeout.  But it will be the best.

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Friday Food 08-30-19

Birthday coming up and I know I want to have some sushi and/or sashimi.  Can't decide where to go.   Here are some selections from the past year.  

Scallop and salmon sashimi with daikon at Fish in a Bottle, Placentia. 

Specialty rolls at Ikiru in San Diego. 

Green Tea Ice Cream at Ikiru in San Diego.

Poke Bowl from H2o in Irvine.

Poke bowl detail from H2o in Irvine. 

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Friday Food 10-05-18

Fish in a Bottle restaurant in Placentia, CA., is currently my favorite restaurant.  It is close by, the service is good, the food is delicious, and the cost seems reasonable.  The served food other than sushi and sometimes we give that a try.  The other night it was tempura and it was good.  I don't eat it often anymore because my old stomach doesn't think it is so great.  Have to follow up with some bicarbonate of soda.  

I especially enjoy the seared ahi served with rice and lovely veggies.  

I'm looking forward to dining in Pacific Grove next week.  I'll probably end up at the Red House, my all time favorite, but Il Vecchio is a close second.   I'll report next Friday. 

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Friday Food - Birthday 09-07-18

Birthdays require dessert, don't they?  And I, having a large sweet tooth, indulge that requirement.   Every meal out the last few weeks has ended with dessert.  Those below were at Fish in a Bottle here in Placentia, one of my most favorite places to eat.  Japanese food isn't heavy on dessert, other than green tea ice cream with chocolate drizzle, but FiaB has several special offerings.  

Since it has been my 80th birthday I have been telling most everyone I meet how old I really am!   I eat at Fish in a Bottle regularly, at least two or three times a month and know some of the waiters and waitresses, so had to share my news with them.  The result was a complimentary dessert (above) with a burning candle.  But the picture without the candle is better, so here it is.  I always want to lick the rim of the plate when they decorate it like this.   But I resist that temptation.   There is vanilla ice cream, a strawberry, and a small "cookie" of fried  tempura dough.  All sprinkled with powdered sugar.  

We ordered two desserts to share.  This one is ice cream with tempura and, again, the strawberry.   

This is tempura coated fried banana which is delicious, we have shared it before.  I had my doubts about fried banana, but it isn't completely soggy and the tempura is crisp.  This strawberry is more than sad and not ripe, but I don't eat strawberries so didn't have to suffer it.  The red under the bananas is raspberry coulis.  

I'll probably not have dessert here again until next year.  It is almost too much after a good helping of sushi rolls or sashimi.    But it is special on one's birthday.  

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Friday Food 06-29-18

If I am going to feature Friday Food you will see some sushi, because it is one of my favorite things to eat.  I'll try not to overdo it.   My two favorite sushi spots are Fish in a Bottle in Placentia, CA, and Ikiru at Liberty Station in San Diego, where I had this for lunch one day last year. 

 

I don't remember which roll this was, but it was delicious.  Looks like tuna. 

This is the Ikiru fabulous Ultimate Crab roll, which is not raw.  It is my favorite of any roll I have ever eaten anywhere.  Remember the restaurant scene in the movie "Harry met Sally" where the lady at the next table says, "I'll have what she has."  That describes this situation!  

Hard to eat with chopsticks, try asking for a fork!

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Sushi for dinner - yummy 12-08-16

It has been a month since I ate sushi and usually I have it about once a week.  So, I was delighted when Carol and Dick wanted to have dinner at Fish in a Bottle.  It was a delicious meal and the company was great, but it was also very tiring.  Guess I'm not completely well, yet.

 

 

 

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Bonnie Hunter and Sashimi 02-09-16

Today was the February meeting of Surfside Quilters Guild and Bonnie Hunter was our speaker.  We had 164 in attendance, including 29 guests who all came because of Bonnie.  She did a great program showing about 20 full sized quilts and shared some of  her quiltmaking theories.  I'll be doing her workshop tomorrow making her quilt design "Texas Tumbleweeds".  The squares and rectangles are all cut and the sewing machine and all equipment are in the car. 

 

This is one of the quilts she showed today.  What I would call a coordinated scrap quilt because the color is limited.  Of course, I love this one because it is yellow and blue, my favorite combo.

 

This evening I took myself to dinner at Fish in a Bottle and had the tuna and salmon sashimi.  It was extra good - my hunger and the fine quality of the fish.  It was served on a bed of finely shredded raw beets - yummy.  The sushi chef kindly cuts it extra small for me because I have a hard time getting the usual size pieces in my mouth.

 

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Getting well slowly 11-04-15

A big day - appointment with doctor and out to dinner at my favorite "Fish in a Bottle" in Placentia.  I am really scrapping bottom in my freezer and will have to get to the market soon.  So, I enjoyed the sushi and the company.  I feel like I've been stranded on a deserted island!  I also had to stop at the hardware store for a new flapper for my guest toilet - it has been flushing itself for several days.  I couldn't stand to call a plumber to install a new flapper and I couldn't get the cutoff valve to move, so I suppose the next water bill will be out of sight.  Things happen!. 

KoKo needs a bath before his mommy comes home on Saturday.  May do it myself or take him to Petco, maybe.  What a sweet little guy he is.  Now, if we only spoke the same language so I would know what he wants at different times.  I will miss him.

What a boring post.  I'll get back on track soon.

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Signs and Flowrs 12-05-13

As many of you know, I really do hate to shop.  But the time comes when I must do it.  Today I bought two handbags at TJMaxx and a new pair of black pants at the Dress Barn.  I was exhausted!


Since I haven't been shopping in a long time this may be something that many stores do.  I went out of the dressing room to look for another size and when I returned there was my name on the door!  Gosh, I felt like a movie star!  What a great thing to do.  Congrats to Dress Barn.

Just cool!

I met my friends Carol and Dick at our favorite restaurant "Fish in a Bottle".  I know I have visited the ladies room before, but this interesting fresh flower bouquet was never there.

It is very striking against the "marble" wall and at first I thought they were artificial flowers.

But, on closer look I saw they were real, and lovely, flowers.

The secret is this heavy vinyl "vase".  I don't know how it is put together, but it is not sewn (of course).  There are three tapering, skinny compartments and the water goes up to about an inch below the top of the vinyl.  Cute, eh?   After I looked at these pictures I realized I should have checked behind the vase to see how it is fastened to the wall.   Sigh!  Guess I'll have to go back for dinner again, just to check out the vase in the bathroom. 

Wicked Dessert 10-07-11

Wednesday evening I had dinner with two friends at Fish in a Bottle in Placentia (they also have a place in Cypress) which is one of my favorite restaurants.  They have wonderful food and it isn't all sushi and sashimi, although that is what I usually chose because I love it!  We decided to save a spot for dessert, which we shared.  It is a fantastic combination of tastes and textures.

Banana Caramel Cheesecake Roll
We ordered it with ice cream which adds a cold hard texture to the soft banana filling and the crisp outside layer (which allows it to stand upright).  The caramel is drizzled on the plate along with chocolate and berry.  To me it seems like an odd combination, but it all works together and is delicious. 
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Maybe not healthly, but delicious! 06-04-10

Out to dinner two nights in a row - what is happening with me? Last evening Carol and Dick and I went to Fish in a Bottle - AGAIN - and it was fabulous. Carol ordered the Teriyaki Chicken which was a huge half breast. She cut pieces off for Dick and I so we could appreciate how tender it was. Hm-m-m-m. Tonight I went to a Mexican place in the same strip mall. There are always customers there whenever I have parked in that lot and I wondered how good it really is. It is just a neighborhood place, very plain, basic menu and sometimes they are the very best. It was good, but not spectacular. I had chicken enchiladas with green sauce, rice and beans. Just a little dab of chopped lettuce and sour cream, so I had to ask for more. And I needed a takeout box for one of the enchiladas. The chips and sauce are served when one sits down, but the sauce is a little too hot for me. And just water to drink. $7.33. I have been thinking about Mexican food lately and this should hold me for some months.

Beach Cities Quilters Guild Quilt Show is tomorrow at Soka University in Aliso Viejo. Their members make very good quilts, both traditional and art, so it is usually an excellent show. Liz and I will drive down together, as we have been doing for the past half dozen years. I am a member of the guild so I will see lots of quilts made by people I know, that always makes it more fun.

Our favorite sushi chef 02-12-09

Yes, another wonderful meal at Fish in a Bottle- on Wednesday evening.

This is the chef who is usually working on Wednesdays and he rolls a great sushi roll. The hand on the right belongs to a guy sitting at the sushi bar who almost jumped out of his skin when my flash went off. I guess I might have warned him, but how could he not see a fat old lady in a hat with a camera to her eye? Standing right next to him?

The chef is checking that guy's order. You can see the Fish in a Bottle logo in neon behind the chef - in both pictures.

I confess I sometimes eat at other restaurants. This evening I went with my friends Mary and Joe from San Juan Bautista to Marie Calendar's. I don't know how far flung their locations can be found, but they started fifty years, or so, ago in Long Beach as just a pie shop with a Dutch door on the sidewalk where you rapped to alert a sales girl to open the top of the door and sell you a pie. They still have the best commercial pies I have ever tasted, but, you know, pie is a very individual taste. However, to my taste the crust is just right - always - and the fillings fresh and intensely flavored. Of course, I haven't eaten a slice of pie anywhere for about a year. Perhaps I am fantasizing! At any rate, no pie for us tonight, just comfort food - meatloaf, shepherds pie and shrimp and chips. Ah-h-h-h!

Tomorrow (Friday) Liz and I are driving out to Hemet for the Valley Quilter's QShow. It isn't a large guild, but they are quite prolific and make some charming quilts. We especially like to see all the fresh grass and blossoming orchards along the way, plus the gamboling lambs and colts in the green, green pastures. Images from our pasts revisited.

More Fish in a Bottle 12-30-08

This pretty young woman is our favorite waitress at Fish in a Bottle, our favorite restaurant. Her name is Kwan (although I am not sure of the spelling) and we are always delighted to be seated at one of her tables. Recently she has been working some evenings at the new Fish in a Bottle in Cypress, CA, and we don't see her as often as we would like.

I took a picture of her in July, but she had closed her eyes, so I had her pose again in early August. Cute.

She was not working tonight when Carol and Dick Bednar and I had our last FiaB meal of 2008. As usual, it was delicious. But we did try something we had not tried before and, though it was tasty, we won't put it on our list of favorites. In the center is a plate of "lobster and avocado spring rolls". They were just okay and besides they are fried (just like all spring rolls) and the three of us generally avoid fried food. On the left is a plate of "Golden Dragon" roll and on the right a plate of "Tiger" roll. I keep thinking I should ask if I might have a list of their sushi rolls so that I can tell you what is inside. I'll make that a resolution for the New Year!