food

On recommendation from Jenny, a friend of Jake's on Facebook we went to Firehouse Grill & Diner in Carbondale tonight - 5 adults with 3 kids.  There were all of 2 other people in the restaurant at dinnertime on Saturday night.  Sorry, but I recommend NOT going there:

PROS:

• we were seated right away, plenty of open tables & high chairs
• after selling out every piece of furniture and kitchenware in Mom's house this weekend, we were happy to have a table, chairs & silverware for all of us!
• all of our meal orders were correct
• hungry babies screaming for food didn't bother anyone -- no one was there
• we had lots to talk about during dinner (and after) as we joked about the (lack of) service
• the food was good - not thrilling, but good.

CONS:

• open since June 10th, and already they were out of regular tea, shrimp, MGD and bleu cheese dressing -- on a Saturday night.
• it's attached to one of the sketchiest hotels in Carbondale - was once called the Knights Inn
• the waitress was obviously VERY new to waitressing - like since June 10th.
• she only brought out one plate at a time, and forgot whose meal was for which person.  There were 10 people in the restaurant - 8 were at our table -- and she was carrying one plate at a time -- couldn't she check at the counter?
• our meals came slowly, and we had to ask for kids meals early when Paxton was screaming and throwing his head down on the table crying for food
• Mom's margarita sat on the counter for at least 5 minutes before she started to get up to pick it up herself & the waitress finally brought it over - warm.
• the rib-eye steak was super-thin and was the same price as a HUGE t-bone steak
• Jake was served expired Miller Lite beer (and they JUST opened the restaurant June 10th)
• had to ask for a spoon for screaming hungry baby's applesauce
• ordered a loaded potato, which came with no butter or sour cream
• had to ask for sour cream, butter & steak sauce
• there was no changing table in the bathroom
• and to top it all off...when the waitress delivered the check, she stood directly behind Grandpa, watching over his shoulder while he calculated her tip!

We would have had better service if we walked into an ACTUAL firehouse and ate with the firemen.

Thanks Grandpa, for an entertaining dinner -- glad your steak was the biggest.

And, thanks Jenny. What other restaurants do you recommend that I can avoid? :)

I used to say that spoon feeding baby food was the worst part of having a baby.  Since Paxton arrived I've had to revise that statement.  Not just because he's a screamer, is needy, and overly sensitive.  But because he actually LIKES to eat (most of the time).  So, spoon feeding him isn't all that bad. 

With Ayla we were rollin' in the big bucks (well, compared to now) so I didn't think twice about buying lots of baby food jars for her, tossing leftovers, and moving on.  But with Paxton, money is a little tighter, so I thought I could try making my own baby food -- at least partially.  It *is* cheaper (or about the same price) and is actually more convenient because you tend to buy more "bulk" that you will have on hand.  Plus, I like that I can try some other foods that don't normally come in the jarred baby foods.

Here's what I've tried so far:

Homemade:

• butternut squash
• zucchini
• sweet potatoes
• acorn squash
• spaghetti squash
• cantelope
• banana (duh...seriously folks, don't buy jarred banana baby food...I mean, c'mon)
• avacado

Semi-Homemade:

• applesauce - I bought a big jar of no-sugar added applesauce.  He loves it and we add it to anything he doesn't love quite so much...and the jar is WAY easier than trying to cook & peel apples (no thanks).
• green beans - just mushed up the canned ones we were all eating (need to mush them more next time!)
• carrots - mushed up canned carrots

Next on my list:

• pears
• chicken (dare I?)
• canned sweet peas
• frozen broccoli
• canned corn
• any other suggestions?????

Any one want to share their baby food experiences?

Ben makes world-famous fresh salsa.  Seriously...it's so good, and now all of you know about it and this is the world-wide-web.   There you have it.  World Famous.

Pico De Gallo Salsa:  

Mango-Cucumber Salsa: 

Ooh...better go get a glass of water, my mouth is burning from the hotness already!  Can't you just taste it?  

Sorry, I cannot divulge recipe secrets....we might need to start a salsa business one day and if we gave you our recipe, no one would need to buy it from us (sorry, from Ben, not me...I'm just the taste tester and food photographer)!

Have a great day!