Restaurant Meme

My friend Lisa has tagged me with a fun little meme. One of the real treasures of blogging for me is the friends I’ve met as our paths have crossed on our blogs. Lisa is one of those friends. Though we have never actually “met” in person, through blogging and e-mail I’ve gotten to know that she is what Anne of Green Gables would have called a kindred spirit. There are times I read a post of hers and think, “She just read my mind!” If you haven’t visited her site, you’re missing out, so go over and see what Lisa Writes…

Here are the rules of this meme:
1. Link to name of person that tagged you.
2. Include state and country you live in.
3. List top 5 favorite local restaurants.
4. Tag 5 other people and let them know they’ve been tagged.

I’m tweaking the rules just a little for my post. Because I was squeamish about the whole blogging publicly on the internet idea in the first place and internet security and all that, I try not to give out too much specific info about where we live, so I’ll just share that we are somewhere on the coast in the southern USA. In my more frustrated moments I have been known to describe our little town as the armpit of America, but that’s not at all genteel, kind or ladylike, is it? The reason I mention that is because it relates to the fact that I’m not sure I’ll be able to come up with 5 local restaurants that are favorites, but I’ll try.

1. Barbara Jeans – good home-style cooking, and I love that I can get the veggie plate, with squash casserole being my very favorite of the choices. They are known for their crabcakes, but I’m not a seafood lover, so I leave those for others to enjoy.

2. Panini’s – The only Italian restaurant we have (still longing for an Olive Garden….), but it’s quite good and it's located downtown in the historic district right in the waterfront park area. It is a good place to go without the kids, and you can’t beat the location. Actually, the whole downtown area is nice because it has neat little (expensive) shops where window shopping is an enjoyable activity, and the waterfront park is great with lots of bench swings and a wonderful playground for the kids. When the weather is nice it is a beautiful place to spend an afternoon.

3. La Nopalera – Mexican food. The whole family loves the queso and chips. The kids are always asking when we can go get “cheese dip.” My mouth loves it, but ever since I was expecting Boo my stomach hasn’t loved it. I thought once she was born I’d be able to tolerate it again, but not so much. Their spinach quesadillas are wonderful, though.

4. Outback – The only good steak place that doesn’t involve driving to the next town. D loves the Bloomin’ Onion, and I do, too, but my stomach doesn’t. This last pregnancy pretty much ruined me on lots of foods.

5. The Upper Crust – a little pizza place around the corner from home. Great pizza, small town atmosphere, and we almost always run into someone we know there. There are benefits to a small town, too. They also put a big pasta noodle in your drink as a straw. The boys think that is the coolest thing.

Due to the fact that I’m typing this with a horrid headache that seems to have accompanied the weather front that brought the rain we’ve been experiencing all day, I’m sure I’ll think up better and more witty suggestions after I’ve already posted this one, but I’m going with this as is. I’m tagging Kim, Kim, Leslie, Rabbit and Lisa!