Monday, December 7, 2009

Traveling to the midwest--part one of the food factor in Lawrence...

I had a brief visit to Kansas and froze. I covered the weather and that fact in my last post. It stayed with me since it was THAT cold. Really, truly, honestly....it was terrible.
I woke up. I overslept and it was snowing in Denver. I had agreed to bring coffee to Tiffany and so I made my way to Daz Bog. Normally, I would have stopped at Peet's coffeeshop, but knew that parking would be an issue. Instead, I drove, slowly, to Daz Bog and picked up our respective coffees.
I met Tiffany at the Bull and Bush and she drove me to the airport. Immediately, I recognized that in my haste to meet her and bring coffee, I had forgotten my travel water bottle. Mistake #1--avoid purchasing unnecessary items at the airport. Everything is overpriced and again, unnecessary. I had gum. I had hoped to eat prior to meeting Tiffany, but figured I could have lunch with Casey. Mistake #2--skipping breakfast unintentionally. I should have eaten either an english muffin at my house or a pastry that Mark offered me at Daz Bog. Either way, food would have been nice.
I flew in and we drove directly to Lawrence. I was famished. I arrived at 1:15 pm and we drove to Lawrence. No stops for wine or food. Instead, we ran errands. I was a little annoyed because of the hunger, but was trying to remain positive.
Since we were running errands, my hunger waned. I was beyond hungry and so when it came to choosing a place, I couldn't decide. I considered mexican--typical--but Casey was uninterested. He suggested going to Aladdin Cafe, but I wanted to check out La Parilla. I hadn't been there since a trip out with Brian and I had fond memories of it.
La Parilla is south american fare and, again, I had enjoyed it. We entered the restaurant and we were the only diners. Well, it was an odd time to eat lunch. I think it was 3:30 at that point.
Anyways, Casey chose the special and I was intrigued by the salvadoran enchiladas. I considered fish tacos but thought better of it. Fish in the midwest could have less than desireable results. The salvadoran enchiladas were potato, yuca and cheese, or something to that effect. We began with chips and salsa. The chips were fresh, unsalted, but recently fried. I overlooked the lack of salt and tried the salsa--too sweet, but hunger kicked back in and I ate it.
The food arrived and it was okay. It lacked flavor and I suffered through it. I was disappointed with the food. I remembered it being tasty and flavorful. Plus, the margaritas used to rock. The house ones we drank were mostly sweet and sour.
We decided to check out the Bourgeois Pig...again, another place that I used to enjoy while in college. We entered the coffee shop and ordered a drink. I chose a ginger infused vodka with soda. As we caught up with each other's lives, I recalled the delicious hazelnut coffee that used to draw me to the establishment when I was in school. Suddenly, a pot was brewed and I had other fond memories of Lawrence. Although, I do not believe that I would be able to drink the coffee now--too sweet.
The day started off, frantically, but ended in a calm fashion. We watched the KU game at a pub and drank red wine. More later on my food adventures while in Kansas. I promise I will stop lamenting the weather.

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