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Sixth Stop, The Food

Thursday, August 26th, 2010 by Alyice

I cannot say enough about the food in Colorado. I am talking amazing cuisine here and something South Dakota is sorely lacking.

When my mother was alive, she’d often say, “I can never leave California. I can’t give up good food, I just can’t. I need to be able to leave the house, to get away, and to enjoy a delicious meal with good friends.”

I never got that until we moved to South Dakota. Being in Colorado was like being back in California. The climate was the same. The atmosphere was the same. And the cuisine was the same.

First night in town, we spotted a seafood house called Landry’s. It instantly reminded me of the Lighthouse at Shoreline Village, in California.

I still remember the first time my mother took me to the Lighthouse for dinner. It was my 21st birthday and she invited my Grams, her best friend Kenny, Roz (she was my mom’s best friend in the projects and a protector of me), and Danny (a co-worker of my mom’s who became such a dear friend to me that I asked him to be my son’s Godfather). They surprised me with gifts and delicious seafood. Aside from the surprise birthday party my husband threw me, that was one of the best birthdays I ever had.

But I digress.

Landry’s Seafood House is built to resemble a seafood house from the 1940s. It has a large theatre-style marquee over the main entrance and a steeple that reminds me of a lighthouse. Inside, the restaurant is low-key classy with great service. Seriously, I cannot say enough about the staff, or the food. I do have to warn you, though, that it is rather pricey. It cost us $140 for a family of four. (But hey, it’s not every day that you celebrate 20 years of marriage!)

Then one day, my son opted to check out a store for headphones when we spotted, Pei Wei. At first glance, I wasn’t sure I wanted to eat there. It looked like a fast food restaurant. But the kids talked me into giving it a try and I am so glad we did!

Upon entering Pei Wei we were greeted with a cashier who took our order. Fifty dollars later we were given a number and glasses (self-serve drinks) and asked to seat ourselves. Within ten minutes we were given our food.

At first glance, I thought, “This looks really fresh and delicious. I wonder if it tastes as good as it looks?” I took my first bite and knew…I knew I had entered heaven. The food was truly fresh and delicious. Unlike the Asian food I often taste here in South Dakota, there were no heavy sauces and no oily aftertaste. It was simply flavor, flavor, flavor! And the cool part is that I could order brown rice and stick to my diet!

Throughout our week, we ate breakfast at the hotel (free!), then ate lunch at fast food joints, and dinner at local restaurants—always trying to stick to feeding our family of four for under $50 per meal.

On our last night in Colorado, we wanted something close to the hotel. We were tired and didn’t want to tackle rush hour traffic so we decided to give a local Mexican restaurant a try. Then we spotted it; a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant called, Little Bangkok: Thai Cuisine.

“Dare we give it a try?” I asked the family. My daughter was against it but my son said, “You like Thai food mom. Let’s try it.” So in we went.

We were greeted by a very friendly elderly lady who appeared to own the restaurant. She was so accommodating and sweet that she instantly changed my daughter’s mind about the place and she couldn’t wait to give the food a try.

“Mom, since you like Thai, you order for us, okay?” said my son. “Sure,” I replied with confidence. But between you and me, I was a little nervous about ordering for them. For the most part, Thai food is an acquired taste.

Immediately, I ordered my daughter the Satay. I got her hooked a few years ago so whenever we eat Thai, she becomes a carnivore, settling only on the Satay. Satay is either chicken or beef marinated in coconut milk and mild curry spices. It’s served on a skewer with a side of Thai peanut sauce.

She loved the meat, but was disappointed in the peanut sauce. It was thick and very peanuty. My daughter is used to peanut sauce that is more liquid and sweet with just a hint of peanuts.

My husband and son are usually on the daring side. They like things hot and spicy. So when I ordered them the Tom Yum soup and a meat and veggie dish.

I asked for medium heat because normally mild is no heat at all. Most of the Thai restaurants I’ve been in tame down their curry and spices for Americans so I expected no difference here.

When the food arrived, it looked delicious. It smelled delicious. It smelled so good that our mouths were watering just thinking of taking a bite. Then it happened. They sipped their soup and about died!

If you could’ve seen their expressions every time they took a sip of their soup or bit into their food, you would’ve laughed so hard that you peed your pants. I felt bad, I really did. But it was so comical!

Finally, I apologized and asked if they wanted something else because my food, which I ordered as mild, was simply delicious.

“No,” they said. “It’s so good. It’s not all heat, it’s got a really good flavor. But it’s hot! It’s Holy Smokes hot!”

And so they continued to punish themselves until my husband couldn’t talk and couldn’t stop coughing. Finally, the owner/waitress came over with a pot of hot water and lemons and told them to “drink up”—that it would help soothe the throat and allow them to handle the heat.

Upon paying the bill, they both said, “We’re going to have to come back here again—if we ever make it back to Colorado.” Personally, I think they’ll order one mild and one medium and mix the two! What do you think?

Then on our last day, we spent a good hour looking for a liquor store that carried a specific type of beer for a game-playing friend of my husband’s who can’t get the beer in South Dakota. After finally finding the beer, we decided to eat before getting on the freeway and heading home.

Across from the liquor store was another hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Sakura Bowl: Healthy Japanese & Korean Food (located in Centennial, CO). They had Bento boxes for just $8.95! You order at the register, then sit and wait for the food. It was fresh, quick, and delicious. I, however, would caution you to avoid the chicken as it’s a little overcooked. I like my chicken to have a little juice, theirs was dry. The beef, on the other hand, was tender, juicy, and very flavorful! The vegetables were perfectly cooked, too!

Though we may have found one thing on a dish here and there that wasn’t up to par, overall the food in Colorado was to-die-for delicious and fresh. It was nice to go to a restaurant and find healthy foods at a reasonable price; to know that I could walk into a restaurant and not have to worry about my cholesterol because there were good choices available.

Until next time…

Disclosure: I paid for these meals. This is “my opinion”. I was not paid to write a review.

Posted in Get-A-Ways | 2 Comments »

Fifth Stop, Downtown Aquarium

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 by Alyice

The Downtown Aquarium is an experience you do not want to miss when visiting Denver, Colorado. It is truly a stunning aquarium filled with underwater adventure.

During your visit you’ll experience 14 thriving ecosystems, survive a flash flood, experience the North American Wilderness, observe a shipwreck and sunken temple, eye a beautiful Sumatran tiger, play with the sting rays, and enjoy a mermaid show—all for one low price!

And if you want to put a little adventure into your lives, you can sign up to scuba dive with the fish, or if you have a proper license, dive and swim with the sharks, but you better get there as soon as the aquarium opens up because this event fills up fast. The downfall is that it costs $75 per person. The upside is that entrance into the aquarium is included in the price!

Because we had not had a vacation in years, and because my husband was jonesing for a scuba diving experience, he signed the whole family up for this event.

My daughter loved it! She pulled out her underwater video camera and went to town. My son, however, found the whole experience a tad boring since there wasn’t much room to swim around. As he put it, “you basically float at the top for a half hour”. His advice, take scuba diving classes prior to signing up so you can actually “Swim” with the sharks!

As for my husband, he was like a kid walking into a candy store for the very first time. He didn’t care that all the fish in the tank were dark and hard to locate in the muddy water, he didn’t care that you could only float on the surface and were not allowed to dive down into the 11 foot deep tank, and he didn’t care that he had to stay near his wife so she didn’t panic and drown herself. Yes, he got a kick out of helping his wife—the woman who lived near the beach all her life and never learned to swim—experience the whole scuba diving thing.

After a half hour in the tank, my nerves were a little shattered. I was ready for some food and a nice Bailey’s Irish Cream and Coffee! So we headed over to the Downtown Aquarium‘s restaurant. If you do nothing else there, I’d strongly advise you to drop in for a bite to eat.

They have an AMAZING restaurant. Walking into that restaurant literally took my breath away. It felt very high-end. The ambience is relaxing and beautiful with colorful fish mobiles hanging from the ceiling and a 150,000 gallon fish tank viewable from all directions. And surprisingly the food was delicious! After our scuba diving experience, however, we opted for a less expensive meal and avoided the fish entrees. Instead we settled on a sliced beef sandwich with au jus sauce.

I can honestly say that it was probably one of the best aquariums I have ever been in. They really went all out to make it an experience you won’t forget.

Until next time…

P.S. The Downtown Aquarium sells disposable underwater cameras for $25. Personally, I am spoiled with my digital Nikon and found the image quality of the disposable less than satisfactory, but my husband said it was worth the price to get just two decent shots of the family.

Disclosure: I paid for this attraction. This is “my opinion”. I was not paid to write a review.

Posted in Get-A-Ways | No Comments »

Got A Baby In The Family?

Monday, August 16th, 2010 by Alyice

There was a rumor going around that my niece-in-law was expecting her first child. So I decided to make some cute baby-themed Christmas ornaments. Unfortunately, we’ve since been told that it was “just a rumor” and no baby is coming.

This grab bag includes a print of one of my mixed media pieces attached to a blank greeting card. I just love all the swirls and colors: white, blue, green, grey, brown, and yes, even purple.

It also includes four beaded ornament hangers and four hand painted—and hand cut—baby ornaments.

The front side is detailed with dark blue paint and a little glitter. The back side has been decoupaged with scraps from an old book, then outlined in gold.

I actually have two sets of these ornaments created, therefore this listing is for grab bags number 10 and 11—should you like to request them specifically.

To buy one of my grab bags, visit my shop page over at The Dabbling Mum by clicking here.

Get a little mystery in your life…

Posted in Grab Bag Project | No Comments »

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I'm a freelance writer, mixed media artist, SMVA, and the owner of The Dabbling Mum.

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