Showing posts with label Tucson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tucson. Show all posts

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Enjoying My Holidays

I am enjoying my holidays with everyone home. Yesterday we went to see Disney's new movie Tron, which was pretty good, not much knitting got done. My only 2 request to the movie makers are better fitting 3-D movie glasses to fit over my glasses and to come up with a way to do 3-D that does not leave me with a blazing headache. I personally feel a headache does distract from the overall movie experience.

After the movie we went for dim sum at China Phoenix. As usual the food and service were great. Sarah did her best to make sure we left with full tummies. Then it was home to relax and watch some TV.

Today after a late start I took the kids to Beyond Bread for lunch. Teri and I split the Avi's Avo for lunch. Avi's Avo is a turkey and avocado sandwich that is wonderful, and is one of our favorites.  I then sent Teri ahead to one of our local favorites a really wonderful book store called Bookmans Used Book Store. This gave me time to finish feeding Eric. There was not much that I needed at Bookmans so after perusing the store Eric I relaxed at the section of the store with tables and I worked on my latest charity project. Teri meanwhile pick out a full bag of books to read.

We ended the day by leaving the guys at home and going to Mayco's for their wonderful chicken taco's. It was good to have a girls night out. Teri does have a request from the family that runs Mayco's, please bring Mayco's to the Silicon Valley.

Check back in this blog during the next 2 weeks for some of our favorite Tucson spots. Have a great evening and enjoy your families.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Buddy's Grill

Today we had lunch at an old favorite that we have not been to in awhile. Buddy's Grill at 4821 E Grant just east of Swan. Lunch was just amazing. I can't not believe that there was not a line out the door, it must be the economy because the food and service were outstanding.

The server offer drinks as soon as we sat down. The flavored tea was excellent. While we were waiting for our order the waiter brought out fresh, hot bread and muffins. More bread was served when the salad came and that was a nice complement to the salad.

I had the Grilled Chicken Salad for $10.50. The salad came covered with freshly grilled chicken  that was juicy, moist and thinly sliced. One half of a sliced avocado which was soft creamy and delicious, tomatoes, olives and artichoke hearts. The salad was fresh and crisp with romaine lettuce. The  toppings were plentiful.  It came with a choice of salad dressing and I went with my old stand-by a side of mayo and ketchup which I mix at the table. The salad was so flavorful that it would be a push if a whole tablespoon of dressing made it on to the salad.

John had the Turkey Breast and Canadian Bacon Sandwich for $9.50. The sandwich was served on marble rye bread and filled to the brim with Turkey, Canadian bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes and tarragon mayonnaise. The sandwich came on a dinner plate with the sandwich taking up half of the plate. The other half was covered with fresh from the fryer french fries with just the right amount of salt. John said his sandwich was very good and not a bite remained on his plate by the end of the meal.

I have to admit that I trade most of my artichoke hearts with John for 3 or 4 french fries. It was well worth the trade. They were cooked just right crisp on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. With just the right amount of salt. It was a push as to who got the better deal in the swap with each of us declaring victory.

As for the restaurant, the parking was plentiful. The atmosphere was calm and relaxing. Eric enjoyed there music selection very much and the volume was just right. This is a perfect place to take out of town guest. It also has the right atmosphere for family dinners. John and I plan on going back soon. After all there is a full menu to try out that includes sandwiches, gourmet Angus burgers, pasta, fresh seafood and more.

In case you want to call ahead for reservations the Grant at Swan location telephone number is (520)795-2226. You can also check out their web site at http://www.buddysgrill.com for menu selection, specials, events and other locations.

Well it has been a very good and long day so have a great evening and enjoy your families.

*Buddy's Grill did not provide any compensation for this blog. John and I paid for our own meal. The opinions express here are my own. Menu pricing is subject to fluctuation's so the prices are apt to change.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Five Guys Burgers & Fries

I had a late lunch at Five Guys Burgers and Fries at 2802 N. Campbell Avenue today. Just in case you are wondering the cross street is Glenn.  This is a very easy to find sorta of fast food restaurant.

When I arrived the line to place my order was lined with peanut oil, peanuts to snack on while you wait and lots of bags of fresh potatoes. The menu was very basic and everything is cooked to order so it will take a while after you place your order to get your food but it will be very hot off the grill and hot out of the fryer.

I ordered the regular hamburger with lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, mustard, ketchup and pickles. I also ordered a small order of french fries. Since I had my drink glass with me and I don't drink anything with high fructose corn syrup I asked if I could add some ice to my tea and they said that was fine. Lunch with tax came to $8.16. They also sold bottled water which is very nice.

Since the music was very, very loud and the restaurant was crowded even at 1 pm I opted to take my food outside and sit in the shade. The outdoor seating is very comfortable and there was a nice breeze, so the feel like temperature was probably about mid 90's even though it was over 100 at 1 pm.

They placed the burger at the bottom of the bag buried under in my opinion was a very large order of fries which made it hard to get to the very massive hamburger under the pile of fries. There was so much stuffing in the hamburger that I opted to eat it burrito style with the wrapping around the burger. Everything was fresh and tasty on the burger, but next time I will order the small burger. The burger was so large that I opted to skip my afternoon snack today. The hamburger was just so wonderful that now I know why at 1 pm there was a line almost out the door for burgers.

I don't know if any of you are old enough to remember when McDonald's used to use freshly peeled  and sliced potatoes in their french fries back in the 1960's ; but, I have to tell you that these fries are one step better. Not only are the potatoes fresh they leave the skin on and fry them in peanut oil. With a little bit of salt they did not even need the ketchup. The small order of french fries dwarfed the very large hamburger. They were so hot and fresh out of the fryer that I had to let them cool down a bit before I could eat them. They were cooked to perfection with just the right amount of crisp outside and soft cooked to perfection inside. By the way they are also good cold from the fridge which is good because the order was so massive. I did take about half of the fries home.

I would eat here again and plan to take John and Teri here. The one and only down side was the high volume of the music. But I do plan on eating outside again.  I would not take Eric here unless the volume of the music dropped by 50% or more. I have been to concerts that were not as loud as the restaurant was today.

So to recap. The food and restaurant were excellent. The music was way too loud.

*This is not a paid review. The opinions in this review are my own. I paid for my own lunch.

Monday, September 27, 2010

The Snow Birds Have Arrived

Well it is that time of year again when we get our lovely snow birds. Most I have to say are pretty nice and lovely to have around. They give our local economy a boost which is great in the midst of a recession. Yes I know the recession has been declared over but in my humble opinion we are still in the midst of it.

But there are a few my northern neighbors are probably glad some of their neighbors are gone for a while. Take for instance the ones that feel that they must decide what belongs in my shopping cart. No you do not get to decide what I feed my family or publicly lecture me on what I have in my cart. Or how much I buy.

We don't get to many of these each year but please remember that Tucson is not the wild west we have somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 million people in Pima County. This means that we would really appreciate it if you do drive while you are here please have a drivers license and insurance. We do seem to get a few accidents every year in which an unlicensed driver or one with a revoked license careens into another car and comes up with the same old story: "I thought that this was the wild west and anything goes, you really don't need a drivers license or insurance to drive here".

This goes with creative driving also. Right turns from the left hand turn bays are generally frowned upon. This also applies to left turns from the right hand lane. We really don't mind if you want to drive 25 miles per hour under the speed limit but please do so from the slow lane, you know the one on the right hand side of the road. Not the fast lane on the left side of the road. A lot of people who live here year round have things to do and places to be.

Please feel free to take hikes in our many local National parks; but, please know your limits and bring plenty of water and a cell phone when you go out. Also do not hike alone and by all means let some one know when you will be back. I just hate watching the helicopters circling the Santa Catalina's looking for a lost or injured hiker.

Please feel free to visit all our museums and take part in the pelortha of winter actives after all this is why you came here. So you would not be snowed in all winter; but please don't laugh at us when we start serving soup when the temperature drops below 100 or we are bundled in our winter clothes when it hits the 70's. After all you did decide to skip summer which is the best time of the year in Tucson.

Enjoy your visit to Tucson tell your friends about the great weather and people. Enjoy our plays, musicals and other forms entertainment while in Tucson.

Please remember that we expect you to be on good behavior. We try to be a very polite city so it is expected that you open doors for mothers with strollers or people in wheelchairs. Please remember to wear your sun screen, burns are no fun and take away from play time.

So enjoy your time in the sun and play nicely. By all means invite your families for a break from the snow.  The more the merrier.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Another Wonderful Day

This is the second day we have had Teri home for a very short visit before she starts her second year of law school. This was also day 2 of shop until you drop. Today we went to the Tucson Mall and did some very heavy duty shopping. A new phone, a suit and a few other goodies for Teri. New pants for John. I reserved the biggest purchase of the day for me, some hand sanitizer for my purse. John and Teri have dropped and I hate to wake them up for dinner when we finished lunch so late.

We are busy getting all the Tucson highlights in like favorite restaurants in to. Just a few of our stops so far Mayco's for taco's, Frost for sorbet, Micah's for corecodo a wonderful beefy vegetable soup served with flour tortillas Maynard's for lunch. Mr.An's for teppan. We do love to eat out. I think I need to find a Wii fit game with my name on it.

We have also made a stop at Bookman's another local favorite. If you are ever in Arizona: Bookman's has locations in most major cities in the state. There is nothing else like it.

Eric has finished camp for the summer and starts school again next week. He won the award for the best smile in camp this year. He is very happy to have Teri home and out of the computer. He has yet to figure out how Skype works and why Teri spends so much time living in the computer. I wonder what sibling things they are going to do this weekend?

Through it all I am busy knitting. I have finished 2 scarfs since Teri has been home and started another hat yesterday. I am trying to play catchup with my charity knitting. I don't think the economy has picked up enough for my studio to do much business yet.

Well it should be time to rouse the troops and decide on dinner or not. Me I could just go for a tray of appetizers and forget the main course.  Or even better just go straight to dessert. So have a great evening and enjoy your families

Please note that no one has asked for or paid for an endorsement in this blog. John and I covered all the cost associated with the restaurant and Bookman's visits. No discounts were given.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Lovin Spoonfuls - Tucson Arizona

Food is one of the wonderful touchy subjects. Everyone has things that they will not touch and things that they love. Some people are vegans other are carnivores, most will go either way. We have a wonderful Vegan Restaurant in Tucson called Lovin Spoonfuls.

The menu has a wide array of options not just salads. They have come up with some amazing vegan versions of the food grandma use to make. They will leave you wondering is this really vegan, yes it is.

One of my favorite Vegan lunches is called a Route 66 a mock bacon cheeseburger, you will never catch me eating a real bacon cheeseburger it just sounds like a greasy heart attack on a bun. I have yet to figure out what makes a Route 66 burger so good but I will never turn one down. The Route 66 paired with a mock milk shake, soy based of course makes a wonderful treat.

Other things I will not eat include shellfish. Shellfish for some reason does not like me, but give me a basket of mock shrimp with cocktail sauce and I am in heaven. Lovin Spoonfuls makes a wonderful version.

I will never turn down a milk and egg free cake either. For me the consummate chocoholic it would be a toss up between the Black Forest Cake and the Chocolate cake. If available I would not pass up a good vegan carrot cake either. Did I mention that they had creme pies too, when available the coconut cream pie is wonderful.

If you happen to be around for breakfast you have to try the french toast or the pancakes, yes you can make both with out milk or eggs.

All these treats and a host of other wonderful food is available at Lovin Spoonfuls at 2990 N. Campbell Avenue in Tucson. This is just south of Fort Lowell on the east side of the street.

I have not been paid to do this review but if you stop by and enjoy some of these treats it will insure that I can get my Route 66 burger and shake when I want them.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Teri

This is Teri's last weekend at home before she heads off to law school Tuesday. I have been knitting and crocheting like crazy so she will have a touch of home when she is gone. I know that this is totally irrational but the knitting will continue and I will mail what I don't finish by Tuesday morning. She is also moving to a colder climate and I will be able to knit sweaters for her( but only if I use super wash as per Teri), something that she did not need much of in Tucson.

I will not have a completely empty nest,Eric is still at home, but as daughters go, I think I got the best daughter possible. The house will lack just a little spark when she leaves and it will be a long time till winter break. I will miss our long talks into the evening after the guys went to bed, those can never be replaced or duplicated. I feel so lucky that she included me in her life so much and valued my opinion.

We got a taste of the empty nest when Teri went to England for a semester, but we knew that she was going to be home for at least a year when she got home. This time is different. We know that she will come home for visits and we will visit her if Eric's health permits. But it is just not the same. After law school she will study for the bar and enter the work force, vacations and visits will become shorter.

I am very happy that we prepared her well for life on her own. Teri has been packing all week and has her first shopping list with coupons complete. Teri went through a rite of passage today and got her own Safeway Discount Card, this seems to be a rite of passage among Teri and her friends. For someone who went through the rites of passages in the late 70's this seems like a strange ritual, but it is so new millennium.

I am going to enjoy every last minute I can with Teri and try not to cry on Tuesday morning.

Friday, June 26, 2009

We made it Through the Week or TGIF



Eric got the stomach bug that was going around camp. After a long night of wild eyrps on Wednesday. I trudged through a long day of laundry and caring for Eric on Thursday. Trying to get a few naps in at the same time. In between all that I hand made a basket full of 100% cotton make-up remover pads.




I wanted to let you know that the camp bake sale was an over whelming success. They raised over 100 dollars. They had so much fun that they will do one in a few weeks. I will keep you posted. A big thank you to all of you who stopped by and help the campers out.




Friday morning started off GREAT. Eric was well enough to go to camp. I finally had time to meet up with my friends at the Foothills Mall Food Court. This is the most wonderful group of ladies around. There were new projects to be shown off including hand knit doll clothes and scarfs. I known your are thinking scarfs in Tucson,it's over 100 degrees outside right now, but before you know it the temperatures will dip to a chilly 70 degrees and they will be here when we need them. We had a discussion as to what constitutes "vintage yarn" and decided that anything in your stash longer than 5 years should be considered vintage. I got yarned by Suzy, 2 skeins of super wash wool, it is already saying make me into a scarf, with a zig-zag pattern. Before I knew it it was 11:30 and we broke up for errands or lunch.




A group of us went to Mayco's, its been a while since I have been there and they have changed up the lunch menu for the better. You have just got to try "O" on the lunch special menu it was just a little bit of heaven-sigh.




I have added some make-up remover pads that are hand crocheted cotton of various colors. These were added before camp this morning. I have listed a set of 10 but if you want more please let me know. Please feel free to stop by my shop to see everything I currently have for sale at www.artfire.com/users/Handmade~by~Sheri.
This afternoon with the help of John from Art Fire.come I got a Rapid Cart working on my blog. Thank you so much John. For those of you who have not used Rapid Cart in the past it is very easy to use. I have 3 items randomly in a box in the upper left hand corner of my blog. If you decided you want the item all you have to do is to click on the image and you will be brought to the check out for my on-line shop, pay with Pay-pal and your item will be shipped to you as soon as I receive confirmation of payment.
To sum up to day there is only one word for it, WONDERFUL. Have a great weekend :p