Cuco's in Upper Arlington

I love Cuco's Tuqueria in Upper Arlington. In my opinion (and isn't my opinion the only one that counts?), it's the best Mexican food in Columbus. Enchiladas...


Tacos...


Fajitas...

I can't remember what Steve had...


Nachos....

Homemade Indian & Chinese foods

Homemade veggie curry - chickpeas, cauliflower, spinach, potatoes, peas and carrots over basmati rice. Delicious!

Here's what you need to make homemade fried rice. Leftover, cold rice (don't use warm rice, it will turn to mush), soy sauce, garlic, green onions, eggs, hot pepper oil.


And here's what you need for homemade eggrolls. This is kind of labor intensive but SO GOOD.



YUM!

Barley's Ale House 1

When Tony travels for work, the kids and I usually order pizza and have a picnic on the living floor in front of the television. Tony recently went to Denver for a couple of days and we decided to switch it up a little. We went to Barley's (which happens to be one of Tony's favorite restaurants - and he was a little bitter when we told him about the dinner). We had a pile of nachos as big as my head. That is saying a lot because I have a giant noggin. Ian had chicken fingers, I had pierogies, and Connor had chicken wings. The wings were too spicy for him, so he then ordered some fries. Barley's fries are awesome. They are batter dipped and then fried. All and all, a great meal. It's a shame that Tony missed it...

Oscar Viewing Party

We recently hosted our second annual Academy Award viewing party. Basically, we got tipsy and watched the red carpet fashions and had dinner. We dressed up and broke out the table linens and nice dishes. It was fancy!

Best salad ever - homemade bacon bits, blue cheese, romaine, tomatoes, and homemade balsamic dressing.

Special for Connor - cheesy garlic bread.


Chicken wings! My dad made these, and they were delicious. He deep fried the wings in his ginormous turkey fryer and then coated them in sauce and let them warm in a crock pot.


Dinner! Steak, corn casserole muffins, and roasted potatoes and veggies.

The BEST sandwiches ever made!

Last weekend, I had occasion to make sandwiches for a large number of hungry musicians. I also made pasta salad and cookies, but I forgot to get pictures of either. The sandwiches were definitely the highlight of the lunch and I think that the pictures speak for themselves!


Fixins! Bacon that I fried that morning, ingredients for a homemade vinaigrette, leaf lettuce, turkey, ham, salami, sandwich pepperoni, stem tomatoes... YUM

Here's a little secret of mine for sandwiches... I slice the tomatoes thinly and sprinkle with a little sea salt. It draws out the flavor and dries up a little of the moisture.

Provolone, bacon, ham, and turkey topped with tomatoes and leaf lettuce tossed with vinaigrette.

Italian sandwiches - ham, sandwich pepperoni, salami, tomatoes, lettuce, and vinaigrette.

Barley's Ale House and Interpol

I love Barley's Ale House (the one downtown, not the Smokehouse in Grandview). It's cheap, the food is great, and the beer is even better. I had pierogies and a salad. And Scottish ale.


My brother had bangers & mash. And Scottish ale.


Then we walked to the LC and saw School of Seven Bells (not a fan) and Interpol (huge fan). The boys in Interpol are always so well dressed. I wish that I had gotten better pictures.


It seems that hipster men have moved on from the mustache trend and are now sporting mullets. Yes, mullets. I couldn't get a good picture, but Paul Banks from Interpol has what can only be described as a combo fauxhawk/mini mullet. It's atrocious.


Here's a screen shot of Interpol's appearance on Conan O'Brien from 2/11/2011. Here's a quote from TeamCoco's site: "Front-man Paul Banks was also sporting a pretty snazzy ‘do that I’m going to call “the baby mohawk mullet.” And if you Google "Paul Banks mullet", you'll see numerous Tweets that say things like "Did Paul Banks lose a bet?" Perhaps that's it. Perhaps he lost a bet and was forced to get the worst haircut known to man.

Ian's 8th Birthday

Ian recently brought it to my attention that I failed to document his 8th birthday party on the internets. So, here are some pictures from Ian's 8th birthday extravaganza! (His birthday was in November. That's why you'll see some Christmas decorations in a few on the pics)


Bowling with his brother and his best friend from school!


Pizza and cake at home with family and friends!


Making a wish...


Opening gifts at the party!



Two days later, on Ian's actual birth date... Hanging with the dogs and waiting for more gifts.


More presents!



Birthday breakfast at one of Ian's favorite places - Abner's in Hilliard. We love this place. It's cheap and the food is always great.

Mad Men Dinner Party

We recently had the pleasure of dining with my siblings, their spouses, and my parents at The Clarmont in German Village. We had never been to the Clarmont before. It's an old school Steakhouse that's still stuck in the 1960's - but that's a good thing. The ambiance was very "Mad Men". (If you've never seen Mad Men, you must start watching it immediately. Mom - I am talking to YOU).

Everyone dressed up for the occasion. Here is my brother (aka Don Draper) and Connor (as Roger Sterling). Handsome fellas!


David and Mandy, and a table full of highballs and martinis!


Baby bib lettuce with blue cheese, bacon, and vinaigrette. Delicious!


My meal - a NY strip steak, baked potato, and sauteed spinach.

Ian and his chicken fingers. He wasn't happy that I wanted to take his picture when all he wanted to do was eat.


The after dinner party! Here's Henry as he discovers how fun it is to dip sunglasses in to a drink!

Ian Eats Donuts

This morning, Ian wanted donuts from The Lil Donut Factory in Hilliard. Tony didn't want to drive that far (2 whole minutes), so he convinced Ian that Tim Horton's would be an acceptable substitute (also 2 whole minutes away). Ian asked for 6 donuts - a combination of glazed and chocolate covered. What Ian wants, Ian gets. He liked the glazed donuts but didn't care for the chocolate covered ones. Also, pajama shirts are optional at the breakfast table (for kids) in the Stewart house.

Tony Drinks a Juice Box

Here's Tony, drinking an orange flavored Capri Sun. He's also eating a slice of salami. Our friend, James, swears by the orange Capri Suns and says that they are the best out of all of the flavors. Connor tried one and said that it was initially very sweet but that wore off quickly and it became very tasty. He still prefers the fruit punch flavor for it's floral bouquet and peppery finish. (Okay, I made that last sentence up... OR DID I?)

Betty's, Short North

On Friday, The Boss and I had a late lunch at Betty's while we went through some work stuff. This chicken, black bean, and corn quesadilla was very tasty. But it was served suspiciously fast. There was less than 5 minutes between when I ordered it and when it arrived at the table. The Boss ordered crab cakes and they were served equally as fast... And looked a lot like falafel. All in all, it was still a good meal.

Tommy's Pizza

Connor and I recently agreed that Tommy's is our favorite pizza place in Columbus. Dante's and Iacono's round out the top 3. The sauce and cheese at Tommy's both beat out Iacono's. We picked Tommy's over Dante's for two reasons. First, is the location. We love the pizza, but it's too far away. Secondly, they don't offer chicken fingers. Ian hates pizza and loves chicken fingers, so chicken fingers are a must-have for any family dinning experience.

Happy New Year. Love, Kroger

I've never seen a whole animal head sold in a grocery store before. That was until I saw this pig head at Kroger on New Year's Eve. This little beauty was priced at $22. I did not purchase it.



Instead, we had the traditional New Year's Day meal of pork roast, sauer kraut, black eyed peas, and mashed potatoes.

I'm back!

A few weeks ago, my husband was complaining that there wasn't any food in the house. He had a valid point, but I was still too lazy to go to the grocery store that day. Instead, Connor and I came up with a genius idea! We cut out a picture of a roast beef sandwich from an Arby's add and put that in the fridge. Trompe-l'oeil!