B-day week restaurants and food

Boy - it has been a week of eating and more eating (and not enough exercising). But, most of it has been worth it. This is where I went, what I ate, thoughts about it, etc. (Yes, I know I ate too much!)

Starting on New Years (so much for resolutions)...

Ruby Tuesdays - I love their salad bar and it didn't let me down. Craisins and their pumpernickel croutons. yummy! Now, the White Bean Chicken Chili wasn't near as good as mine - so I didn't eat it all. I would say the company was better than the food - the Crums as they traveled stopped to have lunch with me.

Elmos Diner - (pictures on other blog later). Went with my friends Kris, Tonya, Josiah, and Baby Girl/Boy Dixon. Had so much fun. Just a laid back (but busy that day) diner in the 9th Street District of Durham. Had the BLT, fries, and an Oreo Shake. The only thing worth it was the shake - and boy was it yummy!

Chai's Noodle Bar (Thai Food) - went here with Rachael as she couldn't be in town for my b-day (duty calls). We split the edamame - which is so good! I had the thai yellow curry with chicken and she had sesame chicken (not very Thai-y Rach). Mine was good, a little too spicy I think that night. Rach's was good and since she was going out of town I had some leftovers for the week. Melissa used to work here and that is how I know about it. I'm getting some Bubble tea there before heading out of Thai-food world!

George's Garage (across from Elmo's) was great. Vic loved the hummus and sandwich - what I always get (thanks for MG and CG for the suggestion. We also got 2 bites of chocolate cake each - dried out. So, I won't waste those calories. And I got a root beer - not diet. That was good too - very worth it! Vic even told her mother about the hummus - it was that good!

Outback Steakhouse - Man, it was great. I hadn't been to one in about 2 years - since I lived in Raleigh. I used to go there all the time. Claudia and I enjoyed a much shorter wait than expected, and great food. I got the outback special. I learned a while ago to ask for my steak medium well and butterflied (allows for more cooking since there is more surface space, but not as thick). It was so good. Had a salad and veggies. Two splurges were the apple cobbler - new and yummy and the cheese fries - amazing. Well worth the calories! There was protein in it too! Thank you Claudia!
I also went there in Richmond with Felicity this weekend. It was good too. I was a little better. Got a smaller steak (cooked the same way), salad, and veggies. No potatoes this time. While watching Colts Playoff Football - good game!

Rudinos - This is a great pizza and "grinder" place in Durham and the rest of the triangle. I found it after church one Sunday. Since it was Matt's and my b-day in the office we got that brought in for lunch. I had a New Mexico Chicken Grinder. It was good with cheese and peppers and the whatnot, bread was great - but it would have been better at the restaurant due to the hot factor of the sandwich.

The Cheesecake Factory - I wait all year for this. The Dulce Le Leche Cheesecake. It was well worth the wait and I ate every bit of it. Vern got the PB cup cheesecake - it was too rich. Kase got the Chocolate Mousse CK - it was better, but too chocolaty for me. Yummy! Pictures of this are on the other blog as well

Don Jose's Mexican Place - This was the whole trip to Richmond. We had great food (the white sauce is amazing) even though it took forever to get our food - we were scarfing down the chips. I had a chicken Quesadilla and beans - Felicity had a taco salad. yummy. Sorry - no website for this, but it is on Hull Street in Chesterfield VA (just south of Richmond). Well worth a 2 hour drive from Durham.

ColdStone Creamery - We had this as my b-day dessert on Saturday night after Outback. It was so good. I haven't had any of their ice cream in probably 2 years since before gallbladder surgery I couldn't eat milk products due to the pain. I had the french vanilla with strawberries and graham crackers in a waffle bowl - yummy. It was so good and the fact that it didn't hurt my tummy was worth it too!

Bodo's Bagels - Veronica has been telling me about this place for years, so I finally went. Gorgeous "grounds" of UVA is a perfect setting for soft, fresh warm (not chewy), high (not as big of round) bagels. I had the whole wheat with peanut butter and honey. It was worth the hour drive to Charlottesville (from Richmond) and I'm glad Vern told me about them.

So...after all that...now I have to eat normal again and exercise. But - your b-day only comes around once a year - and 30 only comes around once in a lifetime! Live it up! To end it tomorrow (but healthier), but tonight is the game GO GATORS and tomorrow night is Red Robin sharing with Laura!