Lunch time seems to be a good time to explore the neighborhood. Yesterday, I deliberated between walking over to the mall for lunch, since I had to go to CVS Pharmacy anyway (located at the mall), or eating at a place called Sweet Green. I walked by Sweet Green and it appears that it's a restaurant devoted to salads. That pretty much assures that I'll be attending Sweet Green on my own since Tom probably can't eat anything there. He will want to make it known that's it's not that he doesn't like salads, it's that he can't have salads. So, there it is. I decided it would be more time efficient to just grab something at the mall. Yes, I'm trying to save time....because I have SO much to do. (Insert heavy dose of sarcasm here.) I noticed they had a Chick Fil A and decided I'd give that a go. Turns out that was a terrible mistake. The food wasn't nearly as good as the first time I experienced it. My fruit was basically brown and gross looking, and I'm still slightly skeptical about whether the chicken was fully cooked or not. I ended up throwing most of it away. Then, I decided I would search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I think it's important to know where the sweet treats are in the neighborhood! First, I considered grabbing a chocolate chipper cookie from Panera bread. While I think the name for their version of the chocolate chip cookie is delightful, I never enjoy eating these cookies. 8 out of 10 times the cookie is hard as a rock. In fact, I remember on of our first dates, Tom took me to Panera bread and ordered me a cookie. I was flattered, of course, and it's not like I wasn't going to eat it, but the minute I took a bite of the rock hard cookie, I looked up at him and said, "You know, there are two types of people in this world; there are people that like hard chocolate chip cookies and there are people that like soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies. I like the soft, chewy kind." From that day forth, we have scoured the greater Eugene, Albany, and Corvallis areas for the divine chocolate chip cookie. Sweet Life and Laughing Planet are the two best so far. So, I wandered the neighborhood, past Sweet Green again and was instantly convinced I had made the wrong choice about not eating there. I vowed to eat lunch there sometime this week. Soon after passing the Sweet Green, I saw a place called Buzz. I guessed it was probably a coffee shop and what I know about coffee shops is that they usually have sweet treats. So, in I went, and sitting there on an elevated pedestal, like they should be, were the chocolate chip cookies. I bought one and waited until I got home to enjoy it with a glass of milk and I can safely say Buzz has some excellent cookies. This, however, is not the only place to get sweet treats. Near Buzz, is a place called Frozen Yo or something to that effect. I don't remember, I just know it's a self serve froyo place. We ventured there a couple of nights ago. Tom and I are accustomed to a franchise in Eugene, Corvallis and Albany known as Yogurt Extreme. They have TONS of froyo flavors and I think they boast something about having 100 toppings? This place we tried out back here was no Yogurt Extreme, however, they did have one major perk. Free Hot Fudge. Are you kidding me!? I was so confused at first because the hot fudge pumps were placed near the cash register and I watched a woman pay for her yogurt and then she doused it in hot fudge. I was like, "Uhhhhhhh, that lady is cheating and no one even called her out!" When Tom and I sat down, I mentioned to him that that was really strange. Of course, he hadn't really noticed anything so I relayed the entire story to him, and pondered, "The hot fudge is what makes it heavy...and expensive?" Then, I glanced at the counter again just in time to see a kid's mother pay for his treat and then he walks over to the hot fudge and slathers it on. I was like, "WHAT IS GOING ON!?!" In that moment, I saw a sign bolted to the wall that read, "Free hot fudge." Whoa. Mind blown! While it may not be yogurt extreme, it has benefits all of it's own.
Once Tom got home, I expressed my desire to check out this place that I'd read about on the internet. Again, if you know anything about me, my sister, or my father, you know that when we go to a new place we love to scope out the Italian markets/delis in the area. We were famous for doing this in Seattle and I figured that they would have to have some good ones back East. I did some preliminary Googling and Yelping and found The Italian Store. People were raving about it. I couldn't believe how good of reviews it was getting. I had considered walking there earlier in the day because it's only about a mile and a half away but then I realized that my forecast was calling for thunderstorms again. I have been caught out in thunderstorms twice since being here and I was not up for the risk a third time. Tom said he'd take me and we'd go for dinner. So, when you arrive at The Italian Store you see a gaggle of people waiting around the front counter. That's a sure sign that this place is legit! Then, you take a number, and wait for your number to be called. When you get called, you better know what you want! Tom got a couple of slices of pizza and I got a chicken parm sandwich. Then, I just wandered the store and looked at all the pastas, the mushrooms, the wine and cheeses. I know Dad will want to know...."No there was no teleme cheese and no copa." Still, I was home. I could probably have easily spent an hour in there looking at everything. But, alas, I resigned to come back at a later time (maybe I'll walk!) and we left with our foodstuffs to head back to the apartment. We had a lovely meal sitting at our lovely table in our lovely breakfast nook, except we use it for dinner. It was quite enjoyable to just get to talk about our days (not that I have a whole lot to talk about) but it was calming nonetheless.
I am constantly amazed at how much these mushrooms cost. We were raised to "hunt" this type of mushroom, basically. This 1 lb. bag could be yours for only $59.99 +tax!
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"Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti." ~Sophia Loren
Ohhhhhhhhh, this is amazing! That jar is about as big as my head!
After dinner, we decided that we would start watching The Americans. We watched the pilot episode and I was pretty hooked. Some parts of the pilot dragged on, and I thought okay, move on already, but I think things like that often improve over the course of a series. I don't want to give too much more away because I really want my mom and sister to start watching it! Hopefully, we'll have more time to watch it before we hit the spy museum on Saturday. I know they have an exhibit devoted to The Americans so I'm excited to see that!
By the time I get done writing I always think I'm leaving something out...and I probably am.
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