Much to report!
Lemon Tree – I don’t see a single pea-sized fruit anywhere. Lots of blossoms left so I guess it’s not game over yet but lots of flower-drop, too. I did clip off some leaves (see below) and a new leaf is already growing from that spot so there’s life in the tree it’s just that it remains uncertain if fruit is in the tree.
Retro party food – I made two Jello poke cakes in two weeks. There they are:
Now it’s out of my system and I don’t have to make any more of them. Which is lucky, because you can see that I’m already out of ideas.Of note in these two photos is that the round cake was transported in a covered cake carrier that I got from the Dollar Tree for one dollar and the rectangular cake is my first foray into decorating with lemon leaves.
Went to a seafood restaurant for dinner on Sunday. It’s the kind of single owner, non-franchise place that I usually like. Sami, you know, is a fussy patron and things started off on the wrong foot when he ordered a “Sweet Rob Roy on the rocks” and it was delivered on the rocks but in a martini glass which he found intolerable. I asked the waitress for an empty rocks glass so I could pour Sami’s drink into it and when she finally came back with it, it was a beer glass. Note that we did ask if they had a full service bar before we ordered anything so outre as a cocktail on the rocks in a rocks glass.
Also, when the martini glass full of booze and rocks was delivered, the waitress put it down in front of me and when I started to slide it over to Sami, the base of the glass caught on an uneven plank in the table and about half of the contents sloshed out. The waitress stood and watched but never said a thing as we scrambled for paper napkins to gather the rocks and mop up the booze. Those wet napkins stayed at the edge of the table for the whole meal when the food came, it was plunked down without any napkin replacement.
The menu was large, the food was dished up in very big portions but is some of the most god-awful stuff I’ve had in a long time. Here is Sami very pleased about the three enormous pieces of haddock in his Fish ‘N Chips basket … then he tasted it.
Anyway, long story short: I’ll never get him back there. Eateries only get one chance with him and that chance is 90% dependent on the server and 10% dependent on the quality of the food.
Our visit to that place is summed up by this brief video shot underneath the illuminated rotating lobster that welcomes you to the restaurant.
Scene: Upon departure after the meal
The players: A married couple.
Action: He – [complains] / She – [shushes]
fin
Cripes Suzette 
Don’t food servers still rely on tips ? Agree with the 90/10 ratio, it sounds about right.. Maybe it’s me, but I am always suspicious of restaurants with cutesy signs.. I have seen everything from Johnny Appleseed to a wide variety of animals. Okay, maybe an anchor or a couple of fishnets somewhere in a seafood restaurant, but even that often portends disappointment. We walked into one in the Keys that had a filthy fish tank with half dead looking fish in it..Walked back out, I mean if the fish tank is dirty, I don’t even want to think about the kitchen. The poke cakes are adorable, I can’t recall ever making or eating one, but they look delicious.
I’d describe this decor as more bombastic than cutesy. Here’s a pirate swinging over the staircase to get to the second floor.
The second floor, by the way, has an entire boat as the main upstairs seating area. They pulled a boat up to the backside of the building, cut through the walls, and BOOM! extra seating. I do kind of admire that sort of vision.
Oh my..bombastic indeed.
Although the boat appeals to my admiration for making do with what you have. Admittedly, I have no idea how much boats cost as opposed to a simple addition. I do begin to understand the server’s bad mood though.
Sounds like the server was a newbie or she just didn’t care. I hope you tipped accordingly.
The poke cakes look yummy.
OhMahGerd! I think this has to be one of my favorite posts. I thought the video was the capper, but then I opened the comments! You simply cannot do better than a dangling pirate and an extra boat/room/boat. Love it! Even if the food was bad, that just adds to the whole experience…the “Ouvre” as one might say.
Love poke cakes! I’ve never made a round one though. I’m feeling that I might have to try it in spite of not having a lemon tree to supply decorative leaves.
I will fight the impulse, but with Thanksgiving coming I’m not sure I can succeed. My married kids remember poke cakes from their childhood, before I became a baking Scrooge. Their little sister thinks their stories about cinnamon rolls and homage soup are pure fantasy.
Aggh! homemade…although homage has a certain hubris to it.