Whenever the family and I go to a restaurant, I look for something different to try. I do have my favorites, but I also go out of my way to find a dish that is unique in taste and original in presentation. Sometimes, I won’t know what I’ll be getting until the server places it in front of me.
For today’s feature Freedom Friday, I would like to give you a sampling of what I’ve had the pleasure of eating. I wish there was a way to transform the photos into real dishes in order for you to smell the aromas and savor the sweet flavors, but this is not the Starship Enterprise where I can say, “Tea, Earl Grey, hot,” and the replicator will create the item for you. Wouldn’t that be something? Instead, I’ll give you some background to the shot, and relate my thoughts about the experience.
My goal is to make you hungry.
Prime Rib Burger—For Mother’s Day, I thought I’d treat my amazing wife to one of our favorite restaurants here in Canada. They have a delicious gluten-free menu she can enjoy while the kids and I can gorge on the pizza and burgers. For this time around, I chose to order a Prime Rib Burger. Since I love mushrooms so much, I added them as a topping for a buck. I can only describe the meal as an explosion to the taste buds. The chef cooked the meat to perfection and the mushrooms added an extra level of flavor. The side Greek Salad complimented the meal, making it all the more enjoyable.
Curry Beef—During one of our Thursday night dinner dates, my wife recommended the Curry Beef. I’ve never liked beef unless prepared on a burger. This time, she was right. I had one taste of her dish, and I quickly ordered one for myself. The plate comes with tender sirloin drowning in curry sauce. Added in the mix is a sprinkling of onions and green pepper. A surprising finish to a morsel is the heat delivered by the sauce. Not overly strong, but having a kick, the dish leaves a satisfying aftertaste.
Salmon Sushi Combo—This year’s Canada Day festivities included a trip to our favorite sushi restaurant here in town. While the rest of my family was ordering Vegetable Maki, Chicken Fried Rice and Miso Soup, I order a Salmon Sushi Combo. I gotta tell you, of all my favorite dishes I’m writing about today, this is my absolute favorite. The meal comes with six salmon maki, three sushi and one salmon hand roll. Like all sushi meals, it also comes with a generous helping of soy sauce and wasabi. I have to tell you something. Sushi is the only meal that feels like home to me. I don’t feel stuffed, sick or bloated when eating sushi, and the next day, I’m gearing up for more. I wish the whole world was made of sushi because then I wouldn’t have to wait so long before eating it again.
Grilled Chicken Salad—As part of an extended celebration my family and I had for my youngest, recently having performed in the drama troupe’s rendition of Beauty and the Beast at a Ribfest, we stopped by the Greek restaurant down the street. I typically order a lamb dish, but that night I had already eaten a bit at the Ribfest, I needed to go for something light. The Grilled Chicken Salad was perfect for this occasion. A Greek Salad topped with the moistest grilled chicken I’ve ever tasted made this meal a treat to enjoy. Every single ingredient was fresh. Every single bite had a perfect finish. One day, I hope to learn to cook chicken this way.
That’s it, folks. Are you hungry yet?
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE SEARCH FOR PARADISE, on sale October 20.
What was the last thing you had that made your latest trip to a restaurant special?
Looking to God 
There’s a mobile catering van one hour’s drive from where I live. The cheeseburger is on a bun that is itself cheese flavoured and lightly toasted. And I have a suspicion the chips (fries) are cooked in honey, or nectar or liquid gold or possibly even cooked by angels. I don’t know how they achieve the taste of the chips.
Well, goodbye diet !!! Here I am, TRYING to LOSE weight, & you do a post on culinary delights such as those. 🙂 ( Waddles off into distance, mumbling & muttering….. 🙂 )
Sorry, Zathra. Tomorrow I’ll stick to zombies. Then again, there is some talk of food in the post, too. Oh, well! 😉
I lost about 25 pounds after being close to 200 pounds. & as for discussing zombies, I took a forensic anatomy course, I’ve watched medical documentaries, worked in a hospital, so I’ve seen some strange things. 🙂
Yes, I remember. I’ll need to one day pick your brain regarding Gangrene. Not sure if you could help. It’s an idea in the works for now and may not come to fruition until–well–maybe never! But I’m thinking about the condition.
Gangrene is simply tissue necrotization, but it’s associated with one part of a human body. Sometimes a factor like the venom of a brown recluse spider will cause it.
Does your idea involve ZOMBIES, perhaps ? 🙂
You achieved your goal, Jack! My mouth is watering and you forced me to get up from the computer and go make breakfast! Wonderful post. 🙂
Thanks, Jet!
Snorts! I have to admit that the salad looks amazing! I could really go for one of those right about now my friend. XOXO – Bacon
hmmm…not safe to read such posts early in the morning…who am I kidding? Not safe to read such posts any time…
Looks wickedly delicious! 🍓
Lovely post, Jack. Yes, you’ve made me hungry for dinner/lunch, although it’s morning here! Since we’re on vacation, we’ve had the opportunities to eat out a bit lately, but it’s been mostly chain restaurants. The kids love the buffets–especially the desserts! Probably the best meal I’ve had lately has been an Indian buffet, complete with kheer, a dal dish, curried beef (I didn’t try that one, though), and much more. That and a giant ice cream dish from Coldstone that took me two days to eat (literally), it was so large. Still, I ate too much! Only thing that would be better is if we could somehow make it to the Greek restaurant we’ve been to twice with a friend; they have great spanikopita, dolmades, tzatziki sauce, etc.
Spanikopita, dolmades & tzatziki sauce sounds heavenly. Okay, now I’m hungry!
That Prime Rib Burger looks good. Sadly my relationship with curry has always been argumentative. 😉 It’s very cool that you always try for something new. Most people, myself included, tend to stick to the tried and true dishes. Then again, I don’t remember the last time I actually went out to eat. It was probably an ice cream/restaurant chain called Friendly’s to treat my son to a grilled cheese. I do think I tend to experiment more with different burgers than other meals. There’s an odd ‘safety’ to mucking around with burger toppings or the meat. Actually, I’ll go with Ostrich Burger and Wild Boar Burger as my last true experiment.
Burgers are awesome. I try all sorts of toppings as well. Have you every tried pickled eggplant as a topping? So good. I’m talking an added sense of flavor here. So good.
Never been a fan of eggplant. I’ve tried, but the texture is always an issue for me. There’s one at a nearby restaurant that puts a giant slice of pineapple on it. Then again, I love pineapples.