Today L & I worked out and I ran 4.25 miles in 45 minutes. It was really tough and will give me a tough mark to beat. But hopefully I am still improving.

For a late lunch we went to Chik-fil-a. It reminded me of the good ol’ Indiana days when I used to eat at the University library Chik-fil-a. It was in the basement of the library, and it was good. The Chik-fil-a we went to today was right by a In-N-Out, and the Chik-fil-a was packed, but it didn’t look like In-N-Out was that busy. I was thinking what my favorite fast food place was. L said I already decided it was Wendy’s however that wasn’t decided until today. I like Chik-fil-a the best. Eating chicken makes me feel healthy, even though it is battered and has butter on it. Further, they were started by Christians, similar to In-N-Out. Chik-fil-a doesn’t open on Sundays, and In-N-Out has bible verses on their wrapper. However, I have looked for them in the past and have not seen them. My friend J says she has. Anyway, the sandwiches are really good and I am glad they have expanded. The fries are criss-cut and the sandwich comes with a pickle. Chik-fil-a is expanding in CA and now there is one in Santa Ana and Long Beach.

For a more formal dining experience I like Outback Steakhouse. Ribeye is my favorite. Unfortunately, L doesn’t like going there very often.

D and I have been to The Loft together twice. The first was in Cerritos over a year ago and the second was in Cypress yesterday. Both times we saw the same guy from our church! How weird is that? We ordered an island fried chicken plate (a must, as L & L does not have it) and a regular teriyaki chicken bowl along with a spam musubi. I got D hooked on the plate lunches–cool.

On Sat. we hosted a “Torino dinner” for my fam. It was really just some Italian food from Trader Joe’s or “Trader Giotto’s,” while watching a little Olympics. We should have people over more often because it motivates us to clean!

Our latest culinary adventure took place at Mike’s Bar-B-Que. D ordered the pork rib dinner with beans and cole slaw ($10.24) and I had the brisket dinner with macaroni salad and collard greens. ($9.60). They also give you two pieces of white bread, which we toasted at home. I ordered the “hot” sauce, which was…hot. I don’t think that even my sister in law would have to add tabasco. 🙂 It was enough food for lunch the next day when I made some rice and corn to add. We used our trusty Entertainment Book coupon so we got my dinner for free! The meat was good, but I’m not sure I would go again without some sort of discount. The lunch plates seem like a pretty good deal, though. ($5.40-$7.59). I liked the macaroni salad–slightly soupy and sweet. They ran out of the potato salad, D’s first choice. Also, this is probably better for take-out as there isn’t too much ambience.

Mike’s Bar-B-Que
11513 Knott Avenue
Cypress, CA 90630
(714) 799-6222

One of my hobbies is trying new restaurants. I think D sometimes gets annoyed because I always want to go somewhere new instead of sticking with the tried and true. However, D proved his taste for adventure when he ordered the “Peruvian Punch” made of purple corn at Nory’s Peruvian Restaurant a couple of weeks ago. It is an acquired taste. Pictured is D’s order of rotisserie chicken. I had chicken fried rice. They also give you some rolls to dip in a small bowl of aji–a light green, spicy sauce that contains peanuts and crackers, according to our waiter.

I just got the Orange County Entertainment Book for 2006, so that will be dictating our dining choices in the upcoming months.

Last night, D and I went to eat at BCD Tofu in Garden Grove. We shared the short rib combo, which comes with soon tofu, pictured here (we also ordered one extra stone pot of rice). As you can see, it was a cauldron of bubbling spiciness, sputtering out onto my paper place mat. We requested “medium” spiciness, and it was quite good. The ribs also came piping hot, served on a sizzling plate. It was a good amount of meat, so I’m glad we shared. While we were waiting for our food, the restaurant played “Arthur’s Theme” by Christopher Cross, a favorite of mine. Good times. The waitresses also tried speaking to us in Korean–haha.

Now, on to the story for which this entry is named. After our dinner, I suggested that we go to the boba place at the end of the strip mall, called Boba Loca. D tried to poke the big straw through the plastic top, but it wouldn’t go through. So, he held the cup steady and jammed the straw with all of his might and broke the whole cup! Milk tea spilled all over the counter, bar stool and floor. D asked for a new one and I tried to mop up as best I could with the paper napkins. We had the cashier poke the hole in our new boba so we wouldn’t have a repeat disaster and we quickly left. The cup had a Bible verse on it, just like In-n-out!

Afterwards, we hung out at the Block. They have added a lot of stores recently that I hadn’t seen before. There was cool looking gelato place called Melt that we should try some day. D bought a Berkeley sweatshirt at Steve and Barry’s. Everything in the store was $7.98! D used to go to that store in Indiana for IU t-shirts, but I guess they’re expanding. The t-shirts were super cheap and the iron-on writing would come off after a few washings. However, D’s sweatshirt is embroidered, so hopefully it will last longer.