Tacos Borolas

Tacos Borolas
4273 American Way
791-4379

When we went to Maharaja Cafe, it was impossible not to notice the man grilling tacos on the sidewalk just down the way. Having just completely stuffed ourselves, we couldn't eat even a taquito, but we vowed to go back.


After the Rock-n-Romp at Mud Island we were starved (despite gorging on free Central BBQ). Well, three out of four of were starved. One of us was asleep. Jiro played non-stop at the RnR and conked out in the car. I carried him in and he spent most of the meal asleep in my lap. I was finally able to balance his head on the wall at the end. (He didn't wake up until we were home!)

So please keep in mind that all of the pictures and notes from this meal were scribbled/shot with a 50 pound monkey asleep in my lap!


Ok, here's the deal. The dude grilling on the sidewalk is affiliated with the restaurant Tacos Borolas just a window away. You can walk up and order tacos and dress them yourself out on the sidewalk or you can go sit inside the restaurant and order them from the waitress and then dress them yourself. Inside you can also order off of the menu, which has a few other items in addition to tacos.

I wanted to order on the sidewalk, but since I was in charge of the aforementioned 50 pound monkey, we opted to sit inside. I had so hoped we'd finally get a chance to cool off since we'd been outside all day, but alas, either the A/C wasn't working or they were choosing not to use it.

I really thought that I was going to have to leave (and go to the Maharaja!) but the sweet waitress and my husband who was dead set on eating tacos convinced me to tough it out.

There were no free chips and salsa, nor were there any on the menu to pay for. Ditto on the cheese dip. Satchel wasn't happy about this and was too hungry to discuss the available food options. Again, our lovely waitress saved the day.

For whatever reason, Satchel did not think he wanted a taco. (He loves tacos.) The waitress suggested a quesadilla, and for whatever reason, Satchel said that sounded good to him. (He never eats quesadillas!) I asked for it with beef and cheese. He and Warren also got a fruit punch and a horchata. I stuck with water. (I don't think they had beer, but maybe?)

Next, assuming Jiro would wake up at some point, I ordered him some chicken flautas with rice and beans. Then for myself, I went hog wild. I ordered one shrimp taco from the kitchen, a ceviche tostada from the kitchen, and a beef taco from the grill.


Warren ordered three tacos. One spicy pork, one tripe, and one tongue. Really. There was a station with cilantro, onions, lime, radishes, and three salsas where you could dress your own tacos. I had to send my food with Warren to get dressed since, like I may have mentioned, I had a 50 pound monkey asleep in my lap!


The salsas were really good, one was super spicy, and we liked the unexpected addition of the radishes. Satchel's quesadilla came out with just cheese and was a little boring compared to what Warren and I had. I tried interesting him in the flautas that Jiro didn't care to wake up for, but he had his eyes on our tacos. I let him have a few shrimp and then he sampled all of Warren's (weird) meats.

Then I sat in amazement and listened to my eight-year-old say, "Beef tongue is delicious."

What choice did I have but to order him his own? When it came out (and they come out quick), he took a bite and said, "Oh, that's not the same." Turns out he liked the spicy pork the best, but that did not stop him from eating the beef tongue taco. Once he was done, he ordered a spicy pork taco. Warren got another taco too. (Four seems to be the magic number for a meal.) I went ahead and ate half of Jiro's flautas. Warren and Satchel helped me polish them off along with the beans and rice.

Then Satchel said, "I'm almost stuffed." Followed by, "I want to get stuffed."

So we ordered him another taco.

Not surprisingly, at this rate, all of the $1.75 tacos added up. I think we got out of there owing about $30. But it was totally worth it. The people were really sweet and accommodating, the food was good and fast, and it was a new and different dining experience. Next time, I will not wear the kids out before we go so we can stand on the sidewalk and pretend that we are in Mexico.

Thyme Bistro (Closed)

Our East Memphis correspondent, Steph, has graciously scoped out a new buzz-worthy restaurant for us...

Thyme Bistro
5689 Quince Road
552-4907

As a long-time East Memphis resident, I can not begin to tell you how happy I was to hear that an inexpensive, family-friendly, Project Green Fork (PGF) certified restaurant was opening less than two miles from my house. Rainbows literally appeared. (Well, that happened when we left the restaurant. But still, mostly true.) We couldn't wait to take our kids and try the place out.

Because I have so much faith in PGF, I felt comfortable taking not just my immediate family but also my mom and Chip's dad to Thyme despite no first-hand knowledge of the food. I was not made to look foolish. The six of us walked in at 6:15 on a recent Friday night and had no trouble getting a table. (I received mixed messages from different employees regarding whether or not they take reservations. You might want to call if you are going in with a larger group or later into the dinner hour.) The interior still looks pretty much the same as it did when the space was occupied by Rick Farmer's restaurant, Jarrett's. I was worried because it was a little bit quiet when we walked in- I was scared that my children's natural state of being might prove too lively for the other patrons. But they were on their best behavior, and pretty soon the place filled up anyway. At that point the noise level rose to a volume at which children can go unnoticed. It worked out well.

Everything we ordered was very well-received, so I'll take you through our dishes one by one.

My father-in-law order the special of the day, a perfectly cooked piece of halibut whose preparation I can not remember. Sorry.

My mother ordered the Thyme Burger, which is made with beef from Donnell Century Farm, one of my favorite local vendors. The burger is topped with baby spinach, muenster cheese, fried green tomato, homemade roasted garlic aioli on a ciabatta bun, with house cut fries. The burger was a big hit- my mom is considering putting a fried green tomato on every burger she eats from now on.

Chip had the Mediterranean Salad, topped with house-cured salmon, cucumber, olives, feta, onion, and a champagne vinaigrette. The salmon just melted in your mouth- it was exceptional. The salad as a whole was a wonderful mix of flavors.

Connor, my extremely picky seven-year-old, did NOT order off the kids menu, but did order a kid's meal staple- pepperoni pizza. He was pretty hungry and ate three pieces of it, but later told me he was iffy about the crust. I found this hilarious, since the homemade crust was what made it a great pizza. But if you know him, this doesn't surprise you a bit.

Chloe, my four-year-old, ordered the PB&J from the kids menu. It was made with strawberry jam and had grill marks, which gave it an awesome flavor. It also made the whole thing a bit suspicious to her, but once she tried it she got right past that. It was served with fries, which were the same as Mom's- hand-cut, thin and really quite delicious. Between the two of them, there were enough fries for everyone to eat. And we did.

I had the Saviori Pizza, only I requested that they hold the marinara and serve it with just olive oil. That's just how I prefer pizzas, no offense to the chef. The toppings were fantastic- mozzarella, roasted garlic, spinach, carmelized onion, and the crispest, most flavorful pancetta I've had in a long time. It was a gooood pizza.

The adults shared a bottle of wine from their very reasonably-priced wine menu. It all seemed very affordable, actually, but since my father-in-law generously picked up the check, I can't say for sure how we fared. I do know that we all went home happy and full, and we can't wait to go back and try other things on the menu.

The next morning at the Memphis Farmer's Market (MFM), I stood in line behind Rick Saviori, the chef and owner of Thyme Bistro, at the Donnell Century Farm booth. After Andrew Donnell pointed out who he was, I excitedly introduced myself and welcomed him to the neighborhood. I let him know that we had enjoyed an excellent meal the night before and that we couldn't wait to become regular diners at Thyme. Seeing him buying restaurant inventory at MFM drove the point home for me- we have a real gem in our neighborhood, and I'm looking forward to supporting it for years to come.

Vietnamese Bistro (Closed)

I am very sad to report that this restaurant had a pretty bad fire in February. I am not sure if they will re-open.

Vietnamese Bistro
153 N. Cleveland Street
725-1222

After taking the monkeys (Satchel, 8, and Jiro, 6) to see Karate Kid at Studio on the Square, Warren and I were in the mood for Chinese food. Since we don't really have a Chinese place we love, we ended up trying the somewhat newly opened Vietnamese Bistro on Cleveland. Warren was initially hesitant believing it to be sketchy, but agreed to a drive by.


It looked fine once we got there so we went right in. I was pleasantly surprised by the bright and cheery decor. It definitely seemed much cleaner and nicer than the former Thai restaurant that occupied the space in the 90s.

There weren't many people dining--they had one or two full tables. Warren recognized the waiters from the Viet Hoa market across the street, and that put him at ease. We sat at a booth near the flatscreen TV which was showing Men in Black. Warren pointed out the Karate Kid's real dad, Will Smith, much to the monkeys' delight.

Jiro was cranky and hungry, but smiled for me when I pulled out the camera.


Satchel was intent on driving me nuts by playing with everything on the table and running his hands over the blinds to make an annoying sound.


Our very nice (cute, young, and tattooed) waiter brought water and menus right over. The menu was very extensive and had lots of pictures. We had a brief discussion about whether they had bubble tea (they didn't) before figuring out what to order. Satchel immediately found what he wanted based on a photo (sorry, I forget the name), Warren went for his usual vermicelli with pork and egg roll, and Jiro refused to say what he wanted so I informed him that he would be getting chicken wings.

I was immediately drawn to the salad/goi section that featured both green papaya salad with shrimp & pork and a rare beef salad marinated in lime sauce. There's a green papaya salad I really like at Thai restaurants and beef salad is something I cannot resist. I asked the nice (cute, young, and tattooed) waiter what was better, beef or papaya, and he responded, "Lotus roots," referring to the lotus roots with shrimp and pork, also on the salad menu. "I don't think I'm ready for lotus roots," I replied and ordered the beef salad.

When Satchel told the nice (cute, young, and tattooed) waiter what he wanted, the nice (cute, young, and tattooed) waiter looked at me and said, "That's probably too big of a portion for him." I assured him that the dish would not go to waste.

A few minutes later, both Satchel and Warren had their dinners. Satchel immediately looked at his and said, quite sadly, "I thought the noodles would be cooked." We reminded him how he loves to eat raw Ramen noodles and encouraged him to try the dish.


As you can see in the above photo, Satchel was jealously eyeing Warren's vermicelli as he nibbled his crunchy noodles.


Luckily for Satchel, Warren seemed to also have his eye on Satchel's plate.


A few moments later, they agreed to switch, and then they both happily slurped down their dinners as Jiro and I did our best to patiently wait for our food.


A few minutes later, Jiro's chicken wings and my beef salad came out. I really liked the way they presented everything--much fancier than usual.


The nice (cute, young, and tattooed) waiter explained that I should pile my salad on the crackers to eat it, so I did. It was SO good. The beef was cooked in the lime juice like ceviche, so it hardly looked like beef at all, but tasted great. I was in heaven. And I probably should have saved half for later, but I ended up eating the whole thing because it was so so good! I did share a few crackers with the kids, though.


In fact, everyone ate everything. It might be the first time we've never had any leftovers! While everyone finished up, I decided to check on the bathrooms. The women's was very nice, and Fung Shei-y. (No changing table though.)

Our total bill came to $37.58 which is definitely higher than usual--the dishes are priced a little higher than say Saigon Le--but since we loved (and ate) everything there were no complaints from me. The nice (cute, young, and tattooed) waiter informed us that they deliver and was very chatty as we settled up.

On our way out we stopped to admire the fish tank. One "mohawked" fish in particular caught our eye, so we watched him for a good 5 minutes. Next time we'll probably sit next to the tank rather than the TV. I might even try the lotus roots.

Cockadoos

Cockadoos
85 S. Second
590-0610


In the summer time, I like to mix things up a bit. I suggested to Warren that we wake up early on a camp/work day and ride our bikes to breakfast somewhere. The kids voted for Cafe Eclectic (or "Coffee Eclectic") since they love the donuts there, but I wanted to try a new place. When that new place ended up being Cockadoos, we ditched the bike idea (it would be an 1.5 hour commute) and decided to drive. We actually decided to drive two cars since my office is near the restaurant.

Jiro and I "raced" Satchel and Warren downtown. I figured at 7:30am we could just park in front of the restaurant, but some delivery trucks foiled this plan. We ended up parking at a meter by the Flying Saucer about two blocks away. Or rather, I did. Warren decided he wanted to move his car closer to the restaurant. I had already fed the meter (which I didn't technically need to do until 8am) so the boys and I walked to the restaurant. We waited outside for a few minutes until Warren joined us and we went inside.


Surprisingly we were the only people in the restaurant. Fine by me. The kids asked if we could sit on all of the bright pillows lining the front windows, but I explained that the benches were more of a waiting area than an eating area. Instead we picked out a nice booth. A waitress greeted us, gave us menus, and asked for our drink orders. I asked for iced coffee, Warren went for a latte, and Satchel said, "I'd like a cappucino." I have no idea where he learned that but it was hilarious. I think the waitress was a little shocked, but recovered enough to offer him and Jiro orange juice. (The only other juice they have is tomato.)


While she was getting our drinks, I read the menu to the kids. I didn't get far before they were both clamoring for cathead biscuits and gravy--their favorite restaurant breakfast. I thought for sure one of them would want the Shag--a breakfast sandwich made of French toast, bananas, and Nutella--but they didn't. Continuing to read the menu only resulted in them tacking on hashbrowns and a Belgian waffle to their order. I explained that they would never be able to eat that much, but they protested mightily. "You can SPLIT and order of biscuits and gravy and then you can get something else on the side," I offered. Satchel looked at me like I had killed Santa and invoking his future teenager self, said, "No, I want my own order."

All of this grumbling made it hard for me to determine what I wanted to eat so when Warren offered to share the Memphis Bar-B-Que omelet with me, I readily agreed. He was also eyeing the sweet potato hashbrowns. When the waitress came over, I just ordered everything--the omelet, the sweet potato hashbrowns, the regular hashbrowns for Satchel, the waffle for Jiro, and the biscuits and gravy for them to SPLIT. I gave Satchel my death stare and said, "You'll share and like it!"

All of this happened a lot quicker than typing it all up did because after the waitress left we were still laughing about Satchel's cappucino order.

"Is it cappucino or CRAPpucino?" Satchel asked.

"Crappucino is what they make at Starbucks," Warren answered.

"Enrique and I made up a drink called CRAPpucino at school," Jiro said.

"Do you crap in a cup?" Satchel asked while much giggling ensued.

(Look I didn't name this blog Dining with Monkeys for just no reason at all!)

From there we went onto discuss the tragic story of the couple that was struck by lightening in North Carolina. The man planned to propose. He survived but his future fiance did not.

Warren told us, "The woman's last words were 'God, baby, look how beautiful it is.'"

Before we could get too deep into how scarred the surviving dude was going to be the kids started kicking each other under the table and whining about how hungry they were. I looked over towards the exposed kitchen and told them that it wouldn't be much longer and to try and be patient. These monkeys wake up hungry!

Our food came out a little while later and looked great. At first I thought the waitress had actually brought us two orders of biscuits and gravy, but she told me that she had it split up already. I thought that was super nice and I was so happy that I had stuck to my guns and made them split an order. The cathead biscuits were huge! She had also brought Warren and I an extra plate since we planned to share. With our huge order we barely fit everything on the table!


After attempting to eat half a biscuit without cutting it, Jiro asked me to please assist him with my mad knife skills. He and Satchel then proceeded to quietly eat for about 5-10 minutes. I got the omelet all split up and dug in. I was worried about a bbq omelet, but it was actually good. I was pleasantly surprised. I was going to ask Warren what he thought about it when he got up and told me he was going to feed the parking meter.

"What?" I said. "You only put in one quarter?"

"I didn't put in any quarters," he said.

That's when I noticed it was just now 8:00am (the time at which metering begins). I said nothing and let him go put money in. Obviously he was picturing an elite squad of meter maids who descend upon innocent breakfasters early in the morning. Who was I to crush his fantasy?

Warren was back in no time. Meanwhile Satchel, who had yet to touch his hashbrowns, was complaining of a stomach ache. Warren gave him the "I told you so speech." Jiro, who had easily polished off his biscuit and gravy was now busy instructing me on how to cut up his waffle and how much syrup ("seri-up") to put on it. Warren was busy trying to push the sweet potato hashbrowns on everyone, but no one was interested. They came with marshmallows on top and after one bite I said, "They remind me of Thanksgiving." This isn't bad, but I don't usually eat too much sweet potato casserole on Thanksgiving.

Jiro finished one quadrant of his waffle and then demanded that we go to the bathroom and wash up. The bathroom was very nice and clean, but there was no changing table or suitable place for diaper changing, just an FYI. (I say use the long bench up front--lol.) We went back to the table and Jiro ate a second quadrant of waffle and once again requested we go wash up. (Syrup is sticky, people!) Then back at the table, he polished off the rest of Satchel's hashbrowns. I'm telling you that kid is all Greenberg!


By now it was about 8:15am and the restaurant was pretty packed. Our waitress was having to hustle. I asked for the check and a small PGF certified to-go box for the half of Jiro's waffle that was left. I was patiently waiting, but Warren was fidgety. "Why don't I go get the car and bring it around?" he suggested.

"Why don't we just wait two minutes to finish this transaction," I replied.

He looked at me. I looked back. Then he sheepishly said, "The meter is about to expire."

"You only put in one quarter?" I asked. It was deja vu.

"You said it wouldn't take long to eat," he said. (Like the way he tried to turn it on me?) "If I would have put in two that would have been a total of $1.50 just on parking," he continued. (Actually my .75 plus his .50 would only be $1.25. I'm surprised Satchel didn't pick up on this and go on and on and on. He's kind of the Math Police in our family.)

"You're not going to get a ticket," I said as I handed the waitress my credit card to pay for our $36 breakfast. THIRTY-SIX DOLLARS. Yes, the meal in which Warren went out of his way to save .25-.50 on parking cost us $36 plus tip. And you know I'm a good tipper, so let's just be real. FORTY FOUR DOLLARS. ON BREAKFAST.

It was good, and I definitely think we'll be back, but we won't be ordering EVERYTHING that sounds good! Take my advice, if your kids can read, or just wake up super hungry, take the time to plan your order before going in. In fact, you can order via Facebook and Twitter too, so you could order ahead and have it ready when you get there. Maybe then, you could even get away with just one quarter in the meter!

Maharaja Cafe

Maharaja Cafe
4273 American Way Dr , Suite #2
366-5555

My fake brother is getting ready to move away from Memphis. I asked him which restaurants he would miss the most and surprisingly his list contained a few I'd never heard of. He went on and on about "some Indian place on American Way" so much so that I HAD to try it even though I am really not a fan of Indian food. Since he couldn't remember the name of the restaurant or its exact location, Warren and I had to drive around until we found it.

Boy am I glad that we found it!

We visited on a Saturday afternoon after a busy morning of going to the Farmer's Market and Children's Theater Festival at Rhodes. Not surprisingly, Jiro fell asleep on the drive over, so I had to carry him in. (He's a huge six-year-old so this was no easy feat.) Satchel (age 8) was knee deep in a new book and begged to bring it in, which was unneccessary since I was happy to oblige this request. I deposited Jiro in a booth and Satchel settled in next to him while Warren and I tackled the menu.

There was a nice, young Indian guy working the register--let's call him Shri Dreamy--and he helped us figure out what to order. My fake brother had instructed me to get "Chicken 65" which I assumed was number 65 on the menu, but it was the actual name of a dish. I asked Shri Dreamy if it was spicy and he said it could be, so I ordered it spicy. Warren requested his usual--Palak Paneer--and Shri Dreamy recommended the Chicken Tikka Masala for the kids. My brother had also insisted we get a Mango Lassi, so we did. Warren added on an order of rice and Naan, and that was that. Shri Dreamy instructed us to get our own water from a nearby water cooler and told us to pay after we ate.


We were the only people in the restaurant except for a large group of men at the center table. I peeked at what they were eating and started to get excited about our meal. Back at our table, Jiro was sleepily staring into space, Satchel was happily reading, Warren was playing Word Scramble on his iPhone (he's addicted) and I was taking notes and sneaking pictures.

The restaurant is in a strip mall across from the Waffle House near Getwell. You actually enter through the Regal Indian grocery store. Inside the restaurant part is a a makeshift counter and a menu board and as many blue booths as one could possibly squeeze in. The carpet and wall paper led me to believe the space was not formerly a restaurant. I kind of got a video rental store vibe from it, but that might have been because of the many Indian movie posters decorating the wall.

While we waited for the food to cook--it was made to order--several young Indian families came in. I was happy to see more children, especially younger and more rambunctious ones. There was at least one high chair and the staff seemed welcoming of the families.

There was a toddler exploring the place who I could have stared at all day, but our food was ready so I had to stop. I went to the counter, smiled at Shri Dreamy, and brought our delicious looking lunch back to the table on a tray. The Chicken 65 stood out since it came with a lemon and a chunk of sliced raw onion. In Cameroon (where Warren and I met and served in the Peace Corps), I developed a taste for raw onion. It is actually quite good to eat with spicy food. Just seeing it there excited me. I grabbed a piece of chicken with my fingers and popped it in my mouth. It was super crunchy and intensely flavorful. I was in love! Warren and Satchel immediately followed my lead. It was a bit too spicy for Satchel, but he wanted to keep eating it anyway. Warren and I started trying to pick out the flavors like in a Top Chef challenge. "Ginger," he said. "Tumeric?" I asked. "That's cilantro on top," he said. And so on. The Mango Lassi, which is a smoothie like drink, was quite refreshing and also effective at quelling the heatwave in our mouths.

After some more munching on the Chicken 65, we started in on the Palak Paneer and Chicken Tikka Masala. Both were excellent--the best I've had. I especially liked the big cheese chunks in the Palak Paneer. Satchel was really adventurous and tried everything, but funnily enough, raved about how good the rice was. Jiro, who was still half-asleep, would only agree to eat Naan, then immediately stopped when I tried to take his picture.

After a few minutes Satchel asked if we could get another order of Chicken 65 "not spicy." I had no doubt that it wouldn't go to waste, so I obliged. I also got another order of rice. Shri Dreamy seemed pleased that I was back to order more. I asked him where the name Chicken 65 came from, but he looked sheepish and said it was hard to explain in English. I did gather that it had something to do with the age of the chicken. I wondered if it was a house specialty, but he said that other restaurants made it too. I doubted it was as good anywhere else though!

While we waited on our second order, we polished off all of the food at the table. Then Warren went to explore the grocery store while I hung out with the kids. Of course by the time the second order was ready, our food had settled and we were too stuffed to make a dent in it, but Shri Dreamy had thought ahead and given it to us in a styrofoam to go container. (It was kind of Styrofoam City there, but I let it slide because the food was SO good.)

Satchel kept reading while Jiro and I went in search of Warren in the grocery store. I told Jiro he could get a treat, but everything was pretty foreign looking to him so he never found anything. (There was a bar of soap that he thought was a candy bar. Once I told him it was soap he gave up trying!) Warren had no trouble finding things he liked. He scored some garlic paste and some of the Indian spices/licorice candy that they usually have in a bowl at the check out.

We paid for our lunch and our groceries at the grocery register. It was being operated by a young woman who I guessed was Shri Dreamy's wife (or sister?). Our lunch total came to $34.91 and our groceries were about $8.

Full and happy, we went outside and explored all of the other treasures buried in the stripmall. (You'll have to wait to hear about those!) The kids scored some popsicles and Warren and I found where we want to do our next DWM review, then we all piled back into the car and headed home. I had the Chicken 65 in my lap and couldn't help picking at it all the way to Midtown. It's just absolutely addictive. Needless to say it was gone before nightfall!

Editor's note:While eating at Maharaja Cafe I noticed that they are closed on Mondays. This conflicts with what is on their website, which says they are open everyday. Their website is actually hilarious. Had I visited the website before going to the restaurant, I would have been very confused. It makes the restaurant seem fancy, when it is definitely casual. Also it says that there is a daily buffet. This *may* be true, but there wasn't one on the day we went. The best part about the website is the pictures--there's a nice one of the family that owns it (sadly Shri Dreamy is not pictured), but all of the other photos are stock photos. I especially love the fat white guy in a chef's hat and the basket of chicken tenders!

South Philly (Closed)

Sadly it seems we dined at South Philly just before they decided to close their doors for good. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the monkeys...

South Philly
250 Peabody Place
527-0007

A couple of weeks ago, we went to see Star Wars in Concert at the FedEx Forum. Warren, Satchel (8) and Anakin Skywalker (6) met me downtown and we went in search of dinner before the show. We wanted something quick and were in the mood for a new place, so we decided on South Philly which is just a short walk from the Forum.


Little did we know that Darth Maul and his friends had beaten us there. Luckily it seemed that our mutual hunger kept the light sabers at bay. I did see him and Anakin exchange a few threatening looks though.

Since South Philly is also near my office, and I'd eaten there a few times, I already knew what I wanted--the Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak. (I'm telling you, if there is Buffalo Chicken anything on the menu, I have to order it.) I noticed that they now had Buffalo Chicken Nachos on the menu, but in a rare moment of self-control, I forced myself not to order them. Warren decided on a regular ol' cheesesteak and Satchel opted for a plain ol' turkey sub. Anakin, proving that jedis do actually eat, requested a cheeseburger and nachos. I added on a couple orders of fries and a drink for each of us and that was that.

I sent the boys to get a table while I paid and got cups for our drinks. That's when I noticed that there was no Italian Ice, South Philly's other specialty. I had planned to let the kids have a treat after dinner, but the counter dude said they wouldn't have the ice in for a few weeks. Our bill came to $31.46, which was a bit high, a sure giveaway that I probably ordered too much.

The drink machines are self-serve, which the kids love, and we happily served ourselves. Darth Maul and his posse continued to grow as we waited on our food. Warren snickered that it was weird that a group of adults wanted to go see Star Wars in Concert even though they didn't have kids, but I didn't find it that strange. So then he snickered a bit about their dorkiness until I pointed out that we were just as dorky.

Our dinners started arriving one by one and Warren turned his ire towards me. "Why did you order so much food?" he asked. I had no idea that an order of fries could be a meal on its own and I could only blame Anakin's jedi mind tricks for allowing me to get him a cheeseburger and nachos. Although I have to say that the highlight of the meal came when Anakin took off his glove and told us, "I can eat with my robot hand."


Eventually Warren stopped complaining and started wolfing down his cheesesteak sammy, which definitely didn't seem too big for him. I really tried to just eat half of my Buffalo Chicken cheesesteak, but it was so spicy and delicious, I couldn't stop. (Really spicy!) I did finally make Warren eat half of a half. I knew instantly that I had chosen the wrong thing to eat before confining myself in a stadium full of strangers. Oops!


In the end I was thankful for the leftovers--half of the nachos, half a cheeseburger, half a turkey sandwich, and almost a full order of fries--so that I had an excuse to walk back to my office and refrigerate them. I needed a little exercise after stuffing myself. And after the (completely fabulous and totally not at all geeky) show was over, Satchel and Anakin had no problem polishing off the leftovers.