OUT TO LUNCH

At the Manor there's an opportunity to go to a restaurant for lunch about once a month or so. When we first moved in, we didn't see the need to partake of that activity since eating in the dining room here struck us as quite enough of a novelty. And good as the food is here and I assure you, we consider it to be very, very good, the time comes when one has tested the chicken cordon bleu and the pot roast and the barbecued beef sandwiches and the peanut butter pie and the myriad of dishes that comprise our meals which varies to an astonishing degree. No complaints there and new things continue to appear in the weekly menus.

Eventually, however, one's palate longs for a bit of variation beyond the cornucopia offered at the Manor and one is tempted to broaden the culinary exposure. After a few months of living here, we started signing up to go with the Out to Lunch Bunch.

We pile into the Manor bus, piloted by Luis, one of the most pleasant and cheerfully helpful chauffeurs around and off we go to challenge our tastebuds.

One month we tried French food. At Le Petite Boulangerie I had a Croque Madame.

At Divina Cucina, Mr. Bob and I shared Spaghetti a la Carbonara.
It's our favorite Italian dish and we always order extra garlic.

We often share our entrée (what does it mean that we insist on our own individual desserts?) and at El Sol we chose to split a Quesadilla del Sol. This was the occasion when Mr. B. enjoyed 2 margaritas followed by Mexican coffee and missed a Physical Therapy appointment. After all, he had a bus driver. Right?

The Lunch Bunch made an exception when we visited the Tam O'Shanter (I know that I reported on this in December and I apologize for the repeat). We ate dinner there and it was the small cut of prime rib that I ordered, rounded out by a C.C. Brown hot fudge sundae that couldn't be considered at all small.

Kerima who shepherds us on these outings makes it a painless experience. She's the one who keeps track of what each person orders and days after we return to the Manor a bill is issued to each of us. None of that having to dicker about who had what. I do pretty well on that part, but it's figuring out the tax and the tip that spoils the whole outing for me, so the way this is set up works perfectly for us.



Now the whole purpose of today's entry is so that I can share with you a picture that I like a lot and I don't know why. It was taken when we lunched at The Raymond House and in case you're curious, my order was for chicken curry and condiments. And water and wine, which accounts for at least 2 of these glasses.