Ria's Bluebird

Today is the last day of the conference that I came to town for, so after attending a last session this morning, my husband and I headed over to Cabbagetown for brunch at Ria's Bluebird before visiting  Oakland Cemetery. (We have weird ideas of "fun," I suppose.)

I ordered a "fat stack" of buttermilk pancakes (three pancakes).

Also: a homemade sausage patty and skillet potatoes.

Cuts Steakhouse

Still being in Atlanta, Georgia, until Sunday, my husband and I decided to have a very good dinner at Cuts Steakhouse this evening. (All this fine dining is difficult!)

I tried the goat cheese risotto fritters.

Of course my husband ordered the special bacon appetizer.

My husband ordered one of the specials, a steak with crab.
He was a very happy camper.

I had the lamb burger, which came with a side of fries.

I also ordered the pimento mac & cheese. (Because I love
mac & cheese. Apparently I'm still 12.)

Fandangles

I'm in Atlanta, Georgia, for a conference, with my husband is tow. We arrived in town this afternoon, so after cooling off in our hotel room, we headed downstairs to one of the hotel restaurants, Fandangles, for dinner. I admit that our primary motivation for staying put was the weather: mugginess and heavy rain after a long day of travel made us lazy. I'm also not usually a fan of hotel restaurants - they're not bad, the food gets the job done (to so speak), but I prefer trying new places outside the hotel. That said, tonight's dinner was very good.

My husband and I shared a wedge salad.

We also shared some smoked chicken spring rolls...

...and the hummus sampler. (My husband, good
man that he is, ate most of these appetizers.)

I had the grown-up's grilled cheese sandwich, which came with
2-3 types of cheese, bacon, and basil; a cup of excellent
tomato soup, and fries. This was outstanding.

Noodles & Company

While everyone else seems to go out to buy and decorate their Christmas tree about an hour after Thanksgiving dinner, my husband and I wait until the weekend, which, for us (Catholics) is the first weekend in Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year, and the official start of the holiday season. I have yet to locate someplace convenient where we can cut our own tree, but there is a small lot next to a local shopping center close to home, so before buying a tree, we had lunch at the nearby Noodles & Company.

My husband ordered the steak stroganoff.

My husband also had a side of Wisconsin mac & cheese.

I had the chicken vera cruz salad - one of my favorites.

Shylo's Mobile Cafe

One of our Christmas traditions is to visit Christkindlmarkt, a German Christmas market at This is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City. We go during earlier in the day, although nighttime must be lovely with all the lights.

Since we go around lunchtime, time time around we tried Shylo's Mobile Cafe, I ordered the Phoenix Steak Sandwich: sliced rib eye, pepper Jack cheese, chipotle aioli topped with jalapeno cheddar sauce. I also ordered a side of truffle fries. Very satisfactory!

Current Fish & Oyster

Tonight, my husband and I went to a holiday concert in downtown Salt Lake City. We decided to make it a date night, and had dinner beforehand at Current Fish & Oyster.

Appetizer: The smoked clam dip was served with potato chips.

Appetizer: We also got an assortment of breads.

I ordered the fish and chips, which were fantastic.

Jim's Family Restaurant

Since Jim's Family Restaurant is perhaps a quarter mile from our church, my husband and I decided to make a stop there for lunch after the service today.

I had the chicken fried steak, eggs over easy, and
homestyle potatoes.

I opted for the biscuit with gravy in lieu of toast or pancakes.

My husband tried the steak fajita omelet.

He also opted for the pancakes.

The Lodge at Bryce Canyon

For our last night at Bryce Canyon National Park, we had dinner at The Lodge at Bryce Canyon, which is located within the park itself.

We shared a quesadilla with grilled shrimp.

We also shared some hummus.

I had the chicken Caesar salad.

Also: flourless chocolate cake, which was fantastic 

Cowboy's Smokehouse Cafe

My husband had an urge for breakfast-for-lunch, so we headed back to the Cowboy's Smokehouse Cafe.

I had a very filling omelet with cheese, onions, and mushrooms.

My husband ordered the Bunkhouse Breakfast:
three pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a biscuit.

Stone Hearth Grille

On our way to the Bryce Canyon National Park Astronomy Festival this evening, my husband and I had dinner at Stone Hearth Grille.

We shared steak tartare. 

We both had French onion soup.

And I had some very good mushroom risotto. 

Bryce Canyon Pines Restaurant

We had an early dinner tonight, deciding on a place we'd passed on our way to and from Bryce Canyon National Park: Bryce Canyon Pines Restaurant. We shared a shrimp cocktail (which turned out to be fried shrimp); I had country fried steak, and sour cream raisin pie, which was delicious.

Galaxy of Hatch Diner

Before heading out for our day of exploring Bryce Canyon National Park, my husband and I had breakfast at Galaxy of Hatch Diner. I had the breakfast sandwich with sausage, an egg, and American cheese, and the ubiquitous hash browns that I don't touch if I can help it.

Cowboy's Smokehouse

My husband and I decided to travel south for the Astronomy Festival at Bryce Canyon this week, and we rolled into town this afternoon. After a drive around Panguitch Lake and on our way back to our hotel, we stopped off at Cowboy's Smokehouse for dinner. It was excellent.

We shared some Rocky Mountain smoked trout.

I had the combination platter, with pork ribs, beef, and a
sausage. I could have done without the fries (superfluous!).

One Man Band Diner

On our way down to Bryce Canyon today, my husband and I stopped off at One Man Band Diner for lunch. It was an interesting place; one picked up a tableside red telephone to place one's order, after which one would be summoned when the order was ready.

Breakfast is served all day; my husband ordered the Hobo's
Dream: hash browns covered with diced ham, onions, bell
peppers, mushrooms, and cheddar, and served with eggs,
toast, and jelly.

I had Hank's Country Breakfast: country-fried steak, two
eggs, and hash browns.

My lunch also came with a buttermilk biscuit and country gravy.

Spatoro's Cheesesteaks

My parents came down to see my husband and I today, and because Reading Terminal Market was so close to our hotel, we went to Spatoro's Cheesesteaks within the Market for lunch.

My mother, ever the individual, had the tuna salad sub with
onions and peppers.

I had the cheesesteak with American cheese, onions,
and mushrooms. 

We also all shared some fries.

Big Daddy's Pizza

Really, what it comes down to is that my husband and I are incredibly lazy. I had these thoughts of going out to dinner tonight but my husband was feeling run down and coldy and just wanted pizza, so we ordered delivery from Big Daddy's Pizza. Their website is a bit of a mess; even though they offer delivery, one couldn't choose a delivery option online, and submitting our order online got messed up, so this time we just called to place our order, which was a better decision. My husband was in charge of ordering dinner, and he may have ordered too much.

My husband ordered two pizzas; this was the Alfredo chicken
pizza (Alfredo sauce, chicken, garlic, fresh tomato, mushroom).

This was the coronary: pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, beef,
and breakfast bacon.

Also, we tried the ribs, which were pretty good, although
there was a bit too much sauce on them for my liking.

Strega Prima Italian Steakhouse

Tomorrow my father-in-law has a milestone birthday, and since my husband and I happen to be in town for another family celebration, we took him to Strega Prima Italian Steakhouse for dinner.

I started with clam chowder, which included pancetta and
smoked haddock. 

I ordered the dry-aged ribeye...

...and the macaroni and cheese.

And for dessert: dark chocolate cake.