Uncle Lui's

Wednesday, July 31

A Bowl of Watermelon. Another Bowl of Watermelon.

For Lunch, I broke out four Zucchinis.

These were my first ever Individually Sealed for Your Protection Zucchinis. They usually cost more (I guess), but Alexa had them on sale, so I got them. I cut them up, added spices, and nuked them.

They're always good; John had a few, and I ate the rest for Lunch.

Later, Another Bowl of Watermelon.

Lonnise met me for Dinner, and we tried a new place (to her; it was my second time), Uncle Lui's in Sunrise, just off of University Drive and Oakland Park Blvd.

Uncle Lui's is a Hungarian Restaurant. It seemed kind of Jewish to me, but I'm not certain.

Everything there comes as a complete meal. When you sit down, they hit you right away with Bread and Potato Pancakes. We passed on the Bread and split one Potato Pancake.

I don't eat these very often... they're fried, and heavy and probably a lot of points. But I love them, so I really enjoyed my half, and Lonnise was a little weary, but was won over by the time she was finished.

You get Soup or Salad. We both chose the Lobster Bisque.

Well, the Lobster kind of rules out the Jewish part. Good thing I'm not Kosher -- I finished all of mine.

For our Main Courses, I had the Stuffed Cabbage special, and Lonnise had Shrimp Provencial.

I had three Stuffed Cabbages with a Sweet Potato on the side. The Cabbage was stuffed with ground Turkey and maybe Veal and Rice and spices. Delicious. I finished the Cabbages, and 2/3 of the Potato. Lonnise's dish had Shrimp sauteed with Tomato, Onions, Garlic and Lemon. She had it with Yellow Rice, and ate half of it before giving up.

Their meals also come with Red Cabbage and Creamed Spinach. We passed on the Spinach and just enjoyed the Cabbage. You can see the Cabbage in the photo of my Main Course.

The meals came with Dessert. We both passed, got things to go, and gave them away to our friends.

In a massive understatement, that was it for the day. Here's my steps.

One Blog Post; Three Days... Lucky You!

Sunday, July 27

Didn't eat much today.

I cut up more of the Watermelon that I bought on Friday. Ate some of it.

I had also bought a Canteloupe. They were on Sale for $1. I hacked that to pieces, too.

It wasn't that great, but it was worth a buck. Later, more Watermelon.

Around 11:00, in a development that will surprise nobody, I was hungry. I certainly wasn't going to *cook* anything, so I openend a can of Sauerkraut and guzzled that baby down before going to bed.

Here's Sunday's steps:

Monday, July 28

David and I were out running errands during the day, so we stopped at Pollo Tropical for Lunch. I ordered the Pork TropiChop.

I ordered this with Brown Rice, Beans, Onions, Peppers & Onions, and More Onions. And Pork. I added some Salsa... two Red ones and the hot Orange one.

That kept me full. I didn't get home until late, so I ransacked the refrigerator and made my Broccoli Rabe in Black Bean Sauce again.

Aside from the Broccoli Rabe, I had Mushrooms, a can of Quartered Artichokes, Garlic Slivers, Onion Flakes and some Hot Sauce. It cooked down and came out pretty good.

There was enogh for two plates like the one in the picture.

Before bed, I had some more Watermelon. I'm getting pretty good at cutting it up. I ordered a better set of knives, so maybe I can improve even more.

Here's Monday's steps.

Tuesday, July 29

Before I left for work, I cut up some more Watermelon and put it in Tupperware. When I got in, I had one of the containers. I had the second one around 1:30.

That kept me until I got home. I was starved, so I opened a can of Salmon and made my Mayonaisse-less Salmon Salad.

The pictures are reversed; go blame Blogger.

After the Salmon, some more Watermelon. I only have 1/4 of one left. I hope they stay on sale for a few more days.

Here's my steps for today. It's only 10:20, so there might be a few more before bedtime.

Spaghetti Squash Saturday

Saturday, July 26

It wasn't raining in the morning, so I took a walk on the Drive and had a nice coffee at Java Boys.

When I got home, I cut open the Spaghetti Squash that I picked up the other day at Alexa Produce.

I had bought two different Salsas at WalMart a couple of weeks ago, in anticipation of a Spaghetti Squash Day. I will use one on each half.

I nuked the first half, did the Spaghetti thing, and added the Lime & Garlic Salsa.

It was very good Salsa. There has to be a better way of getting the Squash out without burning your hand... if there is, someone please tell me.

During the day, I continued to work on the Watermelon I bought the other day. I also ate a package of Lettuce that was on sale at Alexa.

The other thing that I purchased at Alexa was some Broccoli Rabe that was on sale. I decided to make Black Bean Broccoli.

There were two packages of the Broccoli Rabe. The Mushrooms and Broccoli cooked down, and I was able to get two plates out of it.

Later, some more Watermelon and the rest of the Spaghetti Squash. The Riverwalk Cantina Salsa was a little thicker and had a nice flavor, but it had virtually no chunks in it. It would be good for some uses, but it left a little lacking as a topping for the Spaghetti Squash.


That was it. here's my steps.

Bravo Gourmet Sandwich

Friday, July 25

Have no fear -- the last quarter of the Watermelon didn't go to waste. I cut it up and ate it on the way to work.

At the office, there was one more Bowl of Watermelon from Albertson's in the refrigerator, so I ate that, too.

It's still a few weeks until my next trip to Lima, but I was feeling Peruvian food today. John turned down a lunch trip, so I was all alone and headed to Bravo Gourmet Sandwich, which technically is in the city of Wilton Manors.

I didn't even look at the menu; I just ordered a Pan con Chicharron Sandwich and a Parihuela.

Pan con Chicharron is a Pork Sandwich. The meat is cooked, then Fried (Griddled??) on the Griddle. It's served atop slices of Camote (Sweet Potato), and topped with Salsa Criolla (Onions, Salt, and a little Oil). I add some hot sauce to the mix. I usually don't get that here in North America due to its high point count, but it's what I wanted. I forget that the Sandwiches at Bravo are large. It is a shame that I am incapable of leaving food over, because half was certainly enough.

Parihuela is a Seafood Soup. This one had some Fish, Octopus, a Mussel, Shrimp, a couple of Scallops and some Calamari. All Parihuelas (both here and in Lima) have a flavor to the broth that I don't get anywhere else. I will try to remember to quiz Fernando when I am there.

Shockingly, that kept me full for the day. I finished the very last of the Frozen 99-cent Grapes from a few weeks ago.

On the way home, I stopped and bought another $3.99 Watermelon, and had some of that the rest of the night.

Here's my steps for the day.

Rendez-Vouz Bakery & Bistro

Thursday, July 24

I would be a really good Vegetarian. Except for the eating Meat and Chicken part. And Fish.

A Bowl of Watermelon. Another Bowl of Watermelon.

Kerri had gone back to Washington in the morning, so it was just Anne Marie and me for Lunch. I took her to a place near my house that I like a lot, but don't get to very often: Rendez-Vous Bakery and Bistro on Oakland Park Boulevard.

Rendez-Vous is a 'French Bistro,' whatever that is. I don't know; I just know that whenever I go there I get treated well and the food is good and reasonably-priced. They're open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, so I really don't have much of an excuse.

We both started with the Tomato Soup. It had a different name, but it was Tomato Soup.

It was thick and delicious.

For our Main Courses, I put a little effort into my order. What happened was -- years ago -- they had a counter that had some hot Sandwiches on it. One of them was roasted Vegetables on a nice White Bread, covered in some sort of Cheesy Sauce. It was delicious.

Lately, they have come up with a different use for the spot that used to have the sandwiches, but there's a Roasted Vegetable Sandwich on their menu. I've ordered it three times, and all three time it has been the same, but NOT what I was hoping for. I just plain forgot the last two times.

Today, I went to the kitchen and talked to one of the cooks. I told her my tale of woe, and she said, "You want the Croque Monsieur. We still have it, but we don't display them any longer."

Of course -- Croque Monsieur -- how could I forget? Anyway, the cook told the waitress what I wanted, and voila! -- there it was.

Delicious. Anne Marie ordered the Endive Salad, and she said that she enjoyed it as well. And without five years of mis-ordering.

Ann Marie takes a great Blog photo.

Back at the office, I had another Bowl of Watermelon.

Ed & Linda took Ann Marie out for Dinner, so I was on my own. When I got home, I decided to broil the remaining piece of Catfish that I bought on Monday. It was one big honking filet, weighing in at 1.16 pounds.

I had no fresh Vegetables, and I didn't feel like opening a can, and the Fish was big enough to keep me happy, so that was Dinner.

Alexa Produce on Oakland Park Boulevard has Watermelons on sale for $3.99, so I picked one up on the way home. I broke it open and cut up a quarter of it. Here's the three-quarters of the Watermelon that I didn't cut up.

Dont worry; I will finish it soon.

Here's my steps for the day.

Steak 954

Wednesday, July 23

We ordered in Lunch today from Joe Knows Lunch. I got what I always get when we order from there: the Vegetable Wrap on Wheat. I have them add Chicken Breast and un-add Cheese.
It is always good, but I always forget that it is, um, wet. So here's what it looked like.

Remember, 'wet' just means messy; I can deal with that.

During the afternoon, I broke out the Frozen Grapes. Ann Marie & Kerri happily joined me. Also, I explained about blog photos, so they were ready for Dinner.

After work, we went down to Las Olas Boulevard and took a Water Taxi Tour of the outrageously expensive homes along the New River. We got off (de-borded??) at Beach Place, and walked up A1A to the W Hotel, which houses Steak 954.

Steak 954 is an upscale (or -- according to their website -- a Luxury Boutique) Steak House. They serve Big, well-aged Steaks, and they're not shy about charging for it.

For our Appetizers, I had the Snapper Tiradito.

This was thinly-sliced raw Snapper topped in a Sauce made from Aji Amarillo (a Peruvian Pepper) and some other Fruit to slightly sweeten it. It was very good.

Kerri and Ann Mari had Salads. Tomato & Burrata for Kerri, and Beet Salad for Ann Marie. Ed had a Crab Cocktail, but his photo came out blurry.

It was encouraging to see how quickly they grasped the concept of fun Blog photos.

For our Main Courses we had... Steak. I had a 16 oz NY Strip with crushed Black Pepper, Kerri and Ann Marie each had a Filet, and Ed had the Wagyu Ribeye.

We ordered four Side Dishes to share: Mushrooms & Onions, Mashed Potatoes, Truffle Mac 'n Cheese, and Brussel Sprouts.

I only had the Sprouts and Mushrooms. There are those who would say that there was too much Butter on the Mushrooms... I would not be one or them. If you're going to saute Mushrooms in Butter, then GO FOR IT. They were fabulous. Fabulous, too, were the Brussel Sprouts. They were grilled. And done perfectly. I would go there, sit at the Bar, order a drink and throw back some Brussel Sprouts... that's how good they were.

We finished up with Cappucinnos or Coffees.

I had a Cap. Ann Marie had a Cap. Kerri had Coffee. Ed had an After-Dinner beverage.

Steak 954 was really good. The company was fun, and the food was on par with the other expensive Steak Houses in town, and the service was excellent. As a bonus, we had the opportunity to, um, speculate about the relationship of some of the other couples in the restaurant. All in all, everything you're looking for on a night out.

Later, at home, I had three Tomatoes. They were smaller than they appear in this photo.

Here's my steps for the day. I need to get in shape; I'll be walking a lot soon.