I like to eat at Bombay Grill!

Yo.
You like Indian food?
I do. Well, if you count Chicken Tikka Masala as Indian food, then yes! I also like naan. And now you know the extent of my Indian food knowledge.
BUT
in my defense, that CTM is so good I don't have time to try anything else? Why improve on perfection!?

So far, we've tried:
Kiran's near 6-10. It was good. It was expensive. It was good and expensive.
Mantra on S. Mason. It is good. It is fairly priced. It has pretty atmosphere.
But our most favorite...
BOMBAY GRILL in Richmond, TX.





It's family run. It's DELICIOUS!!!! And you must go there and become one of us. Do it. Today.

We like to to-go-it.
For Leelah we like to order the Chicken Pakora- might misspell that...

Oh CTM. You are the best.

And in case you don't believe me... Check out their Urban Spoon reviews.

Staycation- Went to the Movies

It's just the ol' Johnicles and me thanks to Nana and Papa who are watching our sweet lion-lover.

What have we been up to? Eating. Walking around the Downtown in extreme gale/gusts of wind. Eating. Planning our next meal. Sleeping in. Eating again. Getting gout from all the eating. And
we went to the movies!

We saw Silver Linings Playbook.
Thoughts:
- Why didn't Bradley C. get any nom love this year? He did a fantastic job IMHO. Yeah J-Law was great, but I kinda thought she did a great job playing herself which is pretty awesome (minus the potty mouth).
-It's cray. I mean really, it's about mental health issues. Which made me want to write the director and book author a thank you note for showing how normal being abnormal is. I mean everyone in the movie had issues.
 Even the therapist.
-I loved that Bradley Cooper's character was loyal to his wife. LOVED that. Oh my goodness we need more messages like that in this messed up-do-anything-you-want world.
-It reminded J and I of As Good As It Gets. But with a lot more cursing- could have done without that language.
-My favorite part? When J-Law was showing Bradley Cooper her little dance studio that she put in herself and says something to the effect of, "I'm not that great of a dancer. I just do it to have fun."
I don't know why, but this line was so very freeing to me. It was one of those movie moments that preached to my soul.
I would love to read the book, but again, can't take all the a-b-c-d-e-F in there. There are better words to read than that.

And another thing. Can we just stop it with the F word already? We perused Urban Outfitters and the F word- full out with all the letters- was everywhere. It's like a chic-Spencers now? Whaaa? No future teenager version of my child will NOT be shopping there.

So declasse! 

And our yum yum yumsies- we budgeted and have dined at:
Pink's Pizza- so it was okay. I prefer Star Pizza, Mazzei's and Top it Pizza. Oh they played music with full on F--- in the lyrics, so yeah, no taking my kid in that joint either!
Rainbow Lodge- we ate Elk Eyelashes! JK. Skirt Steak with chimichurri- we did lunch so as to save! John had crab cakes and all was well with the world.
Black Walnut Cafe- I'm going to say I just haven't found my dish here. But I won't give up on it yet.
La Lupita- Woodlands peeps need to get on this! Mexican- no Tex, Just Mex as they say. Kinda pricey, but yum! Get the steak tacos and make the add queso fresco!
Tomorrow--- we are hitting up Crescent City Beignets for b'fast.

Welcome to Katy, TX Bonefish Grill!

I dreamed a dream of fine dinniiiiiinggggg in Katy,
my homeland.

And unlike, Fontine, my dream came true: Bonefish Grill y'all.

Yeah, I've been blowing up Facebook about it because I've been twice.
"Look at me, I'm a flippin' dolphin, I know somethin'!"

Some might be thinking, "Does that chick like work there now and stuff?"

No, I'm not qualified enough to work there- those servers know their stuff. I will get to that later.

I'm going to speak Mom-ese for my fellow Katy/W. Houston Mamas out there so you go there asap with your girls on a good ol' fashioned GNO.
 
 How to get to the Cinco Ranch Location:
If you are heading on 99/Grand Parkway and you are heading towards "Fancy Walmart" in Richmond, i.e. going South, exit Cinco Ranch Blvd and head on over to La Centerra. You're gonna wanna enter in through the Starbucks/Apricot (I can't buy anything in there) Lane Store entrance and go allllll the way to the back.
Other locations- they are in it to win it in Texas now!
Webster: 19325 Gulf Freeway
Webster, TX 77598
And Willowbrook: 7877 Willow Chase Boulevard
Houston, TX 77070

Look for this... Now, this is one of my fancy pics y'all so I had to watermark it...

 There's a revolving door. Just be brave and go through it.

What to Wear:
Look, Moms. This is the perfect blend of our kind of "Sparkly shirt means dressed up." Put that fave tunic/sparkly shirt on with jeans and you will be just fine. Or not. I wore a tshirt there for the Media Review Night and was just fine.

The Service (You won't get the stinkeye here):
From the hostesses to the waitstaff, I was impressed. This was the kind of place where details are of the most importance. To sum up the servers in 2 words: Kind and Knowledgeable.
Definitely polished, but not in an oddly rehearsed way more like a "I'm a proud I work at such a fine establishment" way.
Now, us Moms as fellow CFA guests appreciate a kind waitstaff!

It Feels Like:
I'm all about the "feel" of a place.
This place with all its touches is lovely. It is a chain only the definition of multiple locations from Florida to Texas- but wait- I felt that is was much more like a solo-chef situation. It reminded me of my favorite restaurant in aTm.

The Price:
I am putting this before I tell about the food. Now look here, I'm a self-proclaimed Dave Ramsey girl and showed a few other Media Reviewers my envelopes. I'm pretty sure it embarrassed them and maybe me a little if I think too much more about it.
This can be a budget friendly spot- but you need to budget for it. You and the husrshband can get away with a great meal for about $45 if you go big. Or you could come during the happy hour- Sun. - Thurs. 4-6:30 and guess what- THEY HAVE FOOD THEN!!!

I love that trick by the way. Forget the drinking, I'm not into that anyway. I'm into the cheaper Happy Hour Food options!!! Cheaper food when you go there!!! So maybe get away with a meal under $20 instead- how does that sound!?

The Food:
I can vouch for the following:
Wagyu Beef & Ginger Dumplings

Saucy Shrimp- this one really surprised me in its sweet taste!
Pecan Parmesan Crusted Rainbow Trout
Chicken Marsala (Y'all don't even understand. This is my new favorite. It haunts my soul. I must go back...)
Dorado (Mahi Mahi) You get to choose a "signature sauce" LEMON BUTTER RIGHT NOW. This is my new best friend. 
But I hear the Chimichurri sauce was pretty awesome too...

What I'm Gonna Try Next:
The Coconut Shrimp with Jasmine Rice! And their brunch!



If you wanna know more, I implore you to check out their website. If you stop in, please ask for Andrew, the manager. I know he'd be more than happy to say hi. Their Joint Venture Partner even brought us our food, cleared our table and checked on us- I told you they were nice :).

Be warned, you will forget those other fishy chains once you come here. I have!

Nerds, Dorks, & The Hobbit Cafe!

We are attempting to Nerdify our child.
Nerds are so hot right now, but I've always been fond of them.
John is a Nerd.
I love him.
Leelah has the makings of what appears to be a fine Nerd one day.

Me- well, I'm a Dork. There is a difference...

Let me break it down for you in Gillian's Definitions/Qualifiers: (Y'all know you love my lists!)

NERDS: 

• Intelligent, can amass a large repetoire of facts of miscellaneous trivia, obscure topics ranging from machinery to animal heart sizes to movie/toy/book specifications. 

• Very loyal to what they love- can you say "Firefly?" 
• Has hobbies that require painstaking patience and time. They will never give up and "never surrender!"
• Can quote entire scenes from either ST2: Wrath of Khan or Empire Strikes Back or both. 
• Reads encyclopedias for fun. 
• Has read a book in the Dune series and understood it. 
• Has an unhealthy affinity for Legos.
• Owns a quippy tshirt such as:

DORKS: 

• Semi-smart, but not brilliant. 
• Likeable, but will spazz out in a moment's notice. 
• More into food than NERDS. 
• Usually attempts to be humorous. Gets laughs 45% of the time. 
• More into movies and music. 
• Almost made it into NHS.... Quietly hated above group for 5 yrs after attempt to get into NHS fail. 
• Will clean up on Entertainment Trivia and every now and again surprise you with a brilliance blackout of ingeniousness.
• Has had some liquid come out of some orifice on their face whilst laughing.

Leelah's Nerdifying is starting to take shape as she has been presented with the entire LOTR series and fared very well in watching it! I must say there was a slight preoccupation with Legolas and she asked questions every 8 seconds...
"Who has the ring now?" 
"Why did that happen?"
"Ummm.... Where are they going again?"
"Is Gollum real?"
"Who plays Legolas again?"

Now that we've finished up the LOTR viewings we are taking her to dine at a fun little place in Houston that's got great burgers (all we've tried so far) - The Hobbit Cafe:

source: www.myhobbitcafe.com 


The Nichols recommends this Hobbit-hole in the wall for a great little Saturday lunch!
You are guaranteed a bearded server and it's a fun jaunt into one of my favorite areas of Houston!
2243 Richmond Ave  Houston, TX 77098 is the address.
Been around since the '70's.
Check it out whether you are a: Nerd, Dork or Foodie*!
It's family-friendly, however they are big into beer and ales just like Hobbit-folk. So don't be surprised when they hand you a novel-menu of their selections of said liquids.


*To be a Foodie:
- Must own Saffron.
That's it.