Girls’ Night Out: Envy, Tonic Ultralounge & James Bond

I have been wanting to check out the Tonic Ultralounge in downtown Springfield for a few months now. I jumped at the chance, when a friend suggested the somewhat upscale bar for a girls’ night out. We are not fuddy-duddies by any means, but we are not big party-goers either. Thus, we opted to meet for a 6:00 dinner, with a movie at the new Hollywood Theaters to follow. My friend had been to Tonic just a few nights earlier, and had high remarks about the food and service.

We both arrived at Tonic promptly at 6 o’clock on Friday night. However, I had actually arrived in the downtown area about a half an hour early. My friend had also suggested that I check out a new clothing store on Walnut Street, called Envy. She definitely knows my taste. The clothes looked trendy & fabulous! Thankfully, the prices are much more reasonable than some of the other trendy apparel stores in the downtown area. They are not Wal-Mart prices, but you won’t necessarily have to shell out $200 for a pair of jeans either. I bought a new, but vintage-looking red coat and scarf. I also found a very nice, large handbag that matched perfectly. I only paid about $80 for all three combined. Those were regular prices, not sale prices. I decided to wear the new coat and handbag on my girls’ night out.

I walked from Envy to the Tonic Ultralounge. The downtown area was surprisingly dark and desolate for a weekend. I had to remind myself that it was the day after Thanksgiving, and it was a little early in the evening. People were probably busy doing family stuff, or shopping and dining in the south area of town, near the mall. Also, most of the college students had gone home for the holiday.

When we arrived at Tonic, there was only one other customer. Another friend met us shortly after we arrived, but no one else came in the entire time we were there. I was told that it is usually swamped on weekends, with a wait of at least an hour to eat. This particular night, we had the place to ourselves, and it was somewhat hard to imagine the place being packed.

The menu doesn’t have an abundance of items, but I found a few that sounded quite good. They have your basic bar-food appetizers, hamburgers and sandwiches. What looked really good to me, were the main entrees, even though there were only a handful. This is where the problem started. I first ordered the seabass. A few minutes after taking our order, the waiter returned and announced that they were out of seabass. I then opted for the filet mignon, only to find out a few minutes later, that there were out of that too. In fact, they were out of all of the entrees. Apparently, they had been slammed the night before, but were unprepared for the crowd because it was Thanksgiving. I was told that they had all of the appetizers and hamburgers. However, I wasn’t in the mood for typical bar food. If I wanted a hamburger, I would have just gone to Burger King! I didn’t want to come across as a picky wench, and I didn’t want to embarrass by friends. Therefore, the three of us decided to order 2 appetizers and share them.

The nachos were very generous in size, but it was obvious that none of the ingredients were very fresh. In addition, the toppings were sparse. The guacamole and taco meat looked like they had been sitting around for a couple of days. All in all, this appetizer was quite unimpressive.

The sampler platter was just a tad better. It came with four types of appetizers: egg rolls, scallops, shrimp, and some kind of herb cream cheese wontons. They were (once again) out of the scallops, so we agreed to substitute more of the wontons. The platter was $15, which I thought was much too expensive for what we received. We received only four of each item. The shrimp were kind of small to warrant only getting 4 pieces. The only thing that I really liked were the egg rolls. They were actually quite good.

We were still a little hungry, so we decided to indulge in dessert. We were (once again) told that they were out of ALL of the desserts, except the chocolate fondue. Fortunately, that was the dessert we had been wanting. Again, it was just okay. There was nothing overly special about the chocolate. We received four items for dipping: apple pieces, pineapple, cinnamon-dusted sopapillas, and strawberries. The strawberries were surprisingly fresh, considering that nothing else seemed to be. The pineapples pieces were tough and chewy, and the apples were tough and dry. They were also kind of brown. The sopapillas were pretty good though.

Despite the snafu with the food (or lack of), I thought the service was actually great. The waiter was friendly and very apologetic about our experience. Additionally, he kept our beverages refilled at all times. Of course, we were about the only ones there, so I’m sure that made the task much easier.

My first experience at Tonic Ultralounge was not all I hoped for, but I WILL be going back. My friends swear by the place, so I am confident that this was just a really “off” night. After all, it was Thanksgiving weekend, and they had been unexpectedly slammed on the holiday itself. I look forward to trying it again – hopefully I will have the sea bass or the filet next time!

Since I wrote so much about Tonic, I will be brief with my review of the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. All I can really say, is that I loved it! I was disappointed when Pierce Brosnan was left out in the cold, and not rehired to play 007. As a result, I boycotted Casino Royale. I decided to give Daniel Craig a chance, when I heard from several friends say that he was much better than Brosnan. I have to say, it is true. While, I am a Pierce Brosnan fan, he was much too soft for the role of James Bond. Daniel Craig brings back that much needed edge, while still showing Bond’s compassionate side. If I must say, I think I have developed a little crush on Mr. Craig. I also loved the opening credits and the accompanying song, Another Way to Die. Jack White, of The White Stripes, teamed up with R&B songstress, Alicia Keys for the piece. I never would have envisioned the two of them performing a song together. Then again, I never would have paired Jack White with Loretta Lynn either. They were fabulous together! Here is a link to a Youtube video of the opening sequence of Quantum of Solace. Check it out for yourself!

The new Hollywood Theaters at College Station are quite nice as well. The seats are the most comfortable in town, and the lobby is very appealing. The prices are high – $9 for adults. However, I think they are about the same at the Campbell 16. People have been complaining about the high prices of movie tickets ever since I was a kid. This is nothing new, and I wasn’t surprised by the $9 price tag.

The girls’ night out was a nice little getaway that I needed, after spending Thanksgiving with family. It turned out to be a fun, fabulous night even when you factor in the experience at Tonic. Keep in mind that I will be returning to Tonic Ultralounge again, so watch for an updated review. I just have to give them a second chance!

An Unreal Recipe for Western Spaghetti

This is a fun and clever short film. It is brought to you by the folks at PES Films. Man, do I wish I could cook like that!

If you visit their website, you will discover even more funky, short videos.

May is National Salad Month

I have learned that the month of May is the official National Salad Month. I am not exactly sure who made this declaration, but I have heard that it was started by the official Association for Dressings and Sauces in 1992. However, as someone who is striving to eat more healthful, nutritious fare I have decided to pay homage to this month-long holiday. I resolve to eat at least one serving of salad or other type of leafy green vegetable each and every day for the month of May. That is not a small feat for this gal, as I generally choose meats, breads & grains, and sweets over a typical salad. It may be a tad easier now that we are getting close to summer, when I know I will have the occasional craving for a tasty, but cold salad or fruit.

Things I am keeping in mind for National Salad Month:

• Not all salads are low-fat, low-calorie, or healthy. Typically, many salads available at your favorite restaurants are over-sized and “over-caloried.” Be sure to check out nutritional information online before you head out to eat, or ask for the information at the restaurant. You might be surprised!
• I always ask for a non-fat dressing first, or at the very least, a low-fat dressing. And I always insist the dressing be served on the side.
• I never pour the dressing over my salad. Instead, I dip my fork in the dressing between each bite. I then pick up a piece of the lettuce salad. The dressing goes much further, and the amount of fat and calories that I take in goes down. Yet, I still have the taste of dressing in each bite.
• Sometimes, when I am at home, I will experiment by making my own “dressings.” For example, last night, I mixed some red wine vinegar and couple of seasonings to use as dressing for my salad. Be creative, but do pay attention to the amount of fat and calories of the ingredients you are using.

For more tips and ideas on healthy eating and restaurant food, check out Hungry-Girl.com

Take the Salad Dressing Personality Quiz

Make a Trailer Park Ginger Bread House

I received this photo of a trailer park ginger bread house in an email. It looks like it might be fairly easy to make, although I have not tried it myself. I am sure anyone who is creative and good with cake decorating and baking could do this.

Earthworm Pie– Is This for Real???

Today, I was browsing through some of my grandmother’s old cookbooks. I have been wanting to find some great, but easy recipes for Halloween and fall. I was perusing the Community Cookbook (1978) from the tiny town of Doland, South Dakota. I don’t know what the population of Doland was in 1978, but in July of 2006, it was an estimated 269 residents. WOW!!! That is small! Actually, I love cookbooks from small communities, churches, etc. They have recipes from real folks like you and me. They are not “expert” level recipes from Emeril or Julia Child.

Today, as I was looking through this particular cookbook, I came across this recipe called Earthworm Pie. At first glance, I thought it was something like Grasshopper Pie which is a legitimate pie made with Oreo Cookies, lime Jello, and evaporated milk among other ingredients. To my surprise, Earthworm Pie was not the same. Here is the recipe, taken straight from the Doland Community Cookbook in 1978:

1 egg
1 pie crust bottom
1 C evaporated milk
1 C Swiss cheese, grated
earthworms
bacon bits
chopped onion

To prepare earthworms: Boil 3 times in clean water each time then bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes, to crisp. Then crumble. Sprinkle onions in pie crust. Cover with egg, evaporated milk and cheese mixed together. Add bacon bits and top all with earthworms.

This is a joke, right? Or is this for real???