A Very Special Date

The Husband worked late tonight. Usually, on nights when he works late, Nicholas and I either have leftovers, keep it simple or get take-out. Tonight we decided to do something different, and we had a date at Lone Star Steakhouse. He cracked me up – as we pulled into the parking lot, he asked, “Who are we meeting here? Grandma and Grandpa?” He has an amazing memory for the most unusual things. We haven’t been there in over a year, since my Mom’s birthday last July. He’s right that we don’t usually go there by ourselves; in the past, it’s been to meet my parents there. But holding that knowledge for over a year? Wow.

One of their little “perks” are their peanuts. When you enter the restaurant, they hand you a bucket of peanuts in their shells. A few years ago, you’d eat the peanuts and throw the shells on the floor. They took the peanuts away for awhile, but they’re back now. Only catch is that due to “health department regulations,” no more peanut shells on the floor; they now give you a separate bucket to put them in. Nicholas has never had shelled peanuts before and delighted in learning how to crack them open. In no time, he had amassed quite a pile of peanuts for snacking.

This is why I picked Lone Star for dinner tonight:
They have the BEST sweet potatoes, tender and liberally sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. I’ve had a craving for their sweet potatoes for awhile, and finally got to satisfy the craving tonight. When I asked him what he wanted for dinner, after rattling off the choices, he heard “macaroni and cheese,” and asked me what KIND of macaroni and cheese they had. He’s very specific about the kinds he likes (namely, anything but homemade mac and cheese is A-OK with him, I’ve learned). He decided to take a chance and order their version and ended up wolfing down the entire dish. He told me it was his favorite kind because the pasta were shaped like rainbows in the sky. Kids have such a unique way of interpreting things. After looking at the elbow macaroni, he’s right, of course; it’s half-circle shape IS shaped like a rainbow. Too cute.

We also ordered their Iceberg Wedge Salad. Foodies be darned, I happen to like iceberg lettuce. I like the other fancier ones too (for example, mesclun, butter, arugula and so on), but iceberg suits me just fine. They serve it perfectly, on a chilled plate, the way it should be. I was sharing it with Nicholas, and we got “white dressing” (also known as bleu cheese dressing). Luckily he likes it as much as I do, and we ended up demolishing it.

Nice restaurant, good food, and great company. A perfect end to a less-than-perfect day. When I went to grab the link for the restaurant’s site for this post, I noticed the map that they have here, showing their locations. I thought it was a little odd that a restaurant called “Lone Star” had NO locations in Texas, and are actually heaviest on the northeast. Their “About Us” section even mentions their “Texas-style” decorating and food. Go figure.

Alright folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow for this week’s Rediscovering My Library and New (to Me) Blogger on the Block segments. Until then…

A year ago today … beer makes everything better.

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