It's All About More Food, July 2009

I have so many awesome pictures to tell these stories!

One of the delightful marketing points for Camp Swanie Resort is their proximity to a center full of shopping and dining. Having had a very very busy day on Wednesday, Mrs. Swanie, the kids and I changed out of our pajamas for an after dinner walk. Yes, we were so busy we had no time to change out of our pajamas. That, my dears, is a very busy day!

The kids quickly figured out that we were headed to that exclusive dessert location, Baskin Robbins. 

Captain Stubborn heard us offering the girls tastes of a newer ice cream flavor and thus created a new joke that will never, ever die, CS piped up that he, too, would like to taste the "Rotten Candy" ice cream. Nobody corrected him.

While Mrs. Swanie and I ordered our almost-twinsies Mint Chip Ice Cream Sundaes (one of us had an extra scoop in hers but I will not say which one of us that was even though it was not me,) the kids found their own perfect seating.

The next day, we headed off for Jason's Deli. Bad PerkyMommy did not get a picture of her reuben sandwich but you will have to trust me that it was delicious. As was the tomato basil soup. And the chocolate dip with chocolate chips and graham crackers for dipping. And the crackers with the red pepper hummus.

For dessert, Jason's Deli has complimentary soft serve. And the boys were very happy with the dum dums, too. As we left, I wanted to take a few crackers for souvenirs, so I decided that I would feel far less guilty about it if I schmoozed the manager. I stopped to tell him that Mrs. Swanie had brought me in and what a good lunch it was. He was very friendly and encouraged me to take my souvenirs! He said that Jason's Deli is moving into California, too. So far there is only one location and while I know of the area, it is not exactly convenient to my home. That said, there are not many opportunities for reuben sandwiches in our area so I might have to make a trip when the craving gets too big.

For dinner, we embarked on another grand adventure: We tried a restaurant that Mrs. Swanie had never been to before (although we later learned from Cabana Boy/Kids Club Captain/Concierge Bob that he occasionally dines at the location near his office,) Oreganos. (WARNING: There's sound on that page.)

Clearly this is a popular place because there was quite a line when we arrived for a mid-week dinner at the Gilbert location. The children managed to amuse themselves and the wait seemed shorter than the 20 to 30 minutes we had been quoted.

Miss Genius collected water from the patio misters to pour over the heads of the others who asked her to.

When we arrived at our table, my kids were thrilled to see pizza dough waiting for them.

One of our favorite local restaurants discontinued this practice but my kids love it and quickly dove into their balls of dough, as did the Miss Swanies.

Miss Genius created mushrooms.

CS made a donut, although when baked, the hole in the middle closed up.

Meanwhile, we adults poured over the menu. Rather than attempt to narrow down what we might order, but under clear directions of Concierge Bob that we "had to" order pizza, we decided to put together a sampling of items, and my, we chose very well...

When I see artichoke hearts on an appetizer menu, I cannot be stopped. The artichoke hearts compel me to order them. I have no choice in the matter. And so it was with Uncle Ray's Stuffed Artichoke Hearts, or as our server referred to them, "UFOs".

The sauce, oh, the sauce, Mrs. Swanie called it chipotle but I think it may have been red pepper mayo with 100 cloves of garlic. No matter what we called it, boy oh boy was it gooooood. 

Our server suggested that the artichoke hearts might not be enough appetizer for our table so Mrs. Swanie ordered Guaca Tony because she liked the name so much. We asked for extra pizza chips so that there would be enough for the kids. There was a lot of guacamole and two trays of pizza chips! Yummmm...

Despite his aversion to tomatoes (which I just do not understand in the least but what-EVER,) Concierge Bob and I agreed that the Bistro Classic pizza sounded really good. Mrs. Swanie and I wanted to have a pan pizza crust but the chefs said that the Bistro Classic could not be made on a pan crust because the white sauce would burn. Shucky, Darn. To solve our dilemma we ordered a small Bistro Classic thin crust pizza and a pan pizza with sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms and onions because, like me, the Swanies don't care for bell pepper. (Bell pepper aversions make sense.)

Bob removed the tomatoes, but Miss Captain Stubborn ate them for him.

Mrs. Swanie repeatedly uttered "Oh Wow" between bites. I ordered the frozen Bellini, for research purposes. First, the menu advertised a two-drink maximum on their specialty drinks, suggesting that they are notably strong drinks. But second, we had to compare the Bellini to the Abuelo's sangria as they had some similar ingredients. The Sangria won. 

That said, with cups the size of this, Mrs. Swanie rarely had to request a refill for her Diet Coke and that is always a good thing. (The fork and small appetizer plate offer some perspective.)

For dessert, the Swanies wanted to try the Original Pizza Cookie. They ordered two 6" chocolate chip cookies. I did have a bite but I was too full to have much more! They were very tasty.

In the aftermath of this vacation, we have more restaurants to explore including but not limited to Waffle House, more Delis, D'Vine Wine Bar and Bistro, The Good Egg, the Keg Steakhouse and I am probably forgetting others. 

Clearly, more research is needed.