Wednesday Dinner 4/27/2011

Daaaaaaaaaaaaamn! My bad ya'll!! I've been gone way too long; I didn't realize I haven't blogged in a month. Ok I am making a promise now to keep my blog updated on all my "Wednesday Dinners". I hope you all are doing well and are staying COOL in this weather!!! Well it’s been to long so let the "Wednesday Dinner" begin. Ironically the last time I blogged I had dinner with Tiff, Pooh and Moe and in this blogged I had dinner with them again. All of them except for Moe, she stood us up. Pooh, Tiff and I decided to do a little happy hour, I suggested Gyu-Kaku (http://www.gyu-kaku.com/). I have been there before but as of late I had been hearing about how great their happy hour was, so I suggested we give it a try. So we all met and it was ON!!! Tiff and I were the first to arrive, Pooh came a little while after (she was stuck in traffic) and Moe's ass just didn't show up (I mean she called and said she was on her way but that was about it). Gyu-Kaku has quite a few locations in California and we decided to do the one in Torrance since it was kind of in the middle for everyone. We arrived at 5:30pm and as soon as our bottoms touched the seats it was time to order drinks!! This happy hour is INSANE with drinks and food starting at $3 that’s ridiculous, so it was only right that we indulge. I was soooo HUNGRY and so was Tiff, we started off with the:


Spicy Tuna Volcano
Calamari
Fired Cheese Wonton
Fried Chicken Karaage

It was been my mission to get Tiff to try sushi and that day was my lucky day because she tried it and she liked it!!!!! It didn't take long for the food to come out and when it did I was in heaven. I was thrown off by the Fried Chicken Karaage but come to find out it was just fried chicken thigh meat and it wasn't too bad. The only complaint I will make is that Gyu-Kaku doesn't have many dipping sauces, they serve the same spicy sauce with everything, and I mean EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!! When Pooh arrived she ordered a drink and she ordered the Fried Chicken Karaage as well. Over the food and drinks we all just mainly caught up with the events in each others lives, I have to give a shout out to Tiff on getting her 1st client!!! Tiff has been practicing doing hair and will be attending cosmetology school this summer. So CONGRATS on your 1st of many clients!!!!!!!!!! Talking with Pooh & Tiff is hilarious we all get each others sense of humor and that is so rare these days, they listen and they give the best advice!!!! On the 2nd go round of ordering I ordered:

Tuna Tartar
Philly Crunch

I totally forgot to mention that Gyu-Kaku has happy hour from 5pm-6:30pm and from 9pm-Last Call, crazy, right!!!!!!!!!! So we continued to eat, drink, talk and laugh. By the time I looked at my watch it was 8pm, then I checked it again and it was 10:45pm. WOAH, we had been there for a LONG time so long my ass was hurting from sitting (hahaha). I think that was the longest I had ever sat in a restaurant. All in all dinner with my girls was GREAT, even though we kicked Moe out the group (hahaha). If you are not familiar with Gyu-Kaku get familiar hands down a great spot!!! The food was great the thing I love about Gyu-Kaku is that their sushi is not your typical sushi and the food is very good. I totally enjoyed myself and will be going back, the total for dinner was about $52 which was about $17.33333 each which isn’t that bad. If you would like to make a "Wednesday Dinner" reservations drop me a line wednesdaydinnerwithash@yahoo.com and follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/wednesdaydinner. In closing I would like to leave you with this “The only thing you change about a good woman is her last name" until next week -Ashley

Wednesday Dinner 6/15/2011

Hello and good morning, I hope you all are having a great day and preparing for an amazing summer. So Shameka and I are 2 for 2 with Wednesday dinner, however I think I might band Shameka from picking out food places because this choice did not impress me. Shameka had been trying to get to "Casablanca"(http://casablancarestaurant.net/). She was telling me how good the food was and we should go, so we did. "Casablanca" is tucked on a corner off of Lincoln in the Marina, its very old Mexican very Casablanca like the movie. So we arrived and it was pretty crowded, they placed us in a awkward table in the middle (epic fail) so as soon as a both became available we moved. It was Shameka, myself and Shameka's daughter Khaliah. We were served fresh, hot and home made flour tortillas accompanied by a green salsa. This salsa was DELISH it also had pieces of cheese in it, amazing. So it was time to order and we started with:

Shameka- Cadillac Margarita
Ashley- Mango Margarita
Shrimp Ceviche Tostada

The tostada was DELISH it was very fresh and had plenty of shrimp on it. The only bad thing is it makes the tostada shell soggy if you don't eat it fast enough. Next it was time to order dinner and we had:

Khaliah- Cheese Quesadilla
Shameka- Combination #10 (Two Enchilada Suizas (Chicken, Cheese, Onion, Green Sauce, and Sour Cream)
Ashley- Grande Burrito with Chicken (Stuffed with Beans, Lettuce, Onions, Tomatoes & Topped with Red Sauce and Melted Cheese)

It seems like it took almost forever for the food to come out and between the tortillas and the ceviche I was FULL!! Finally the food came out and mine appeared to look good but it really wasn't. The best thing on the plate was the rice and beans. The burrito was HUGE and I wanted to cry because I don't like wasting food. Anyway I didn't get a chance to taste Shameka's food or Khaliah's. I think all of us were FULL. Over dinner Shameka and I talked but Khaliah did most of the entertaining and talking. That little girl is too funny!! So since we all were full it was time to be out. The bill came out and I damn near passed out $88.00 HUH? For what?!?!? This place was NOT worth that. The food wasn't that great so I will NOT being going back. What I did like was the atmosphere and they had a live musician, it was very dim and romantic. And as we were leaving I smelled a aroma and it was amazing I think it was shirmp or fish but whatever it was I wish I would have ordered it! I would only recommended Casablanca if you want to over pay for Mexican food, and with that being said Shameka is on "Wednesday Dinner" probation. But anyway if you would like to take a "Wednesday Dinner" ride drop me a line wedenesdaydinnerwithash@yahoo.com and follow me on Twitter, www.twitter.com/wednesdaydinner . In closing I would like to leave you with this "Before you talk listen. Before you act think. Before you criticize wait. Before you pray forgive. Before you quit try" Until next week MUAH- Ashley

Wednesday Dinner 6/8/2011

WHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know its been a minute and I know I've been slacking but I'm baaaaaacccck. So let me just get right on in to the "Wednesday Dinner". This week I went to dinner with my dear friend Shameka and maybe I shouldn't call it dinner, it was more like Happy Hour, well hell it was Happy Hour. Shameka had been urging me to try the Happy Hour at "The Cheesecake Factory" (http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/). Shameka knows I am NOT a huge fan of "The Cheesecake Factory" I prefer The Grand Lux. "The Cheesecake Factory" has like 100 menu pages and I personally think they are over priced. However I decided to give this Happy Hour a try......Shameka did most of the ordering. The bar area was not full at all considering we arrived right at 4pm when Happy Hour started, we were pressed for time so we had to order and eat fast, here is what we had:

Fried Calamari
Spinach & Cheese Dip
Buffalo Blast
House Salad

I was afraid to drink a alcoholic beverage because I had been coming off one of the worst hangovers I had in a while. So I was taking it easy, I ordered water. Shameka ordered J.W.'s Pink Lemonade, Coke and Water. It didn't take long for the food to come out, first up the fried calamari. Ok so you really can't go wrong with calamari, unless its burnt. Next the buffalo blast, its like buffalo chicken and cheese wrapped in something and then fried served with ranch. It wasn't to bad it was a little heavy on my stomach tho. Next the spinach and cheese dip, lets just say BOOOOORING! It was really bland and the chips were kind of hard!!! And lastly the house salad, I needed a salad to balance what I was eating because I was starting to feel sick, I mean you can't mess up a salad. All in all the food was good, the one thing I will say is there was enough food for 3 people. The Happy Hour pricing it pretty cheap with most appetizers at the $5/$6 range. Shameka and I chit chatted over the food but like I mentioned we were pressed for time. I'm still stuck on not really fooling with "The Cheesecake Factory" but maybe I'll visit Happy Hour again, MAYBE. Thanks Shameka for the date, hahahaha! If you would like to get on the "Wednesday Dinner" dating scene drop me a line wednesdaydinnerwithash@yahoo.com and follow me on twitter, www.twitter.com/wednesdaydinner. In closing I want to leave you with this "Don't murder someone who is already committing suicide". Until next week, muuuuuuaaaaah -Ashley.