Saint Balentimes Day at Andy's Place!

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Hey y'all!  Well, LOVE is definitely in the air around here today.  I hope y'all have had a fabrulous Saint Balentimes Day!  I know I have.


I just happened to be off work today, as Monday is my regular day off from work.  Oh, me and The Mrs. had to work all morning on our own biniss, but I mean I was "off" from workin' for the man.  So, I had me some very big plans for today.


The first part of the plan was to get our work done early, and take The Mrs. out for lunch some place real nice.  It went good, too.  We got our junk done by 1100 HRS, and got ready to head out for lunch.  So, I asked The Mrs. where she wanted to eat.  She said, "Well, I've been seeing these ads on TV for the Crawfish Palace out toward Haughton.  They say they have boiled shrimp, and I'm REALLY hungry for some good boiled shrimp." 


Honestly, I had seen their ads on TV, and it looked like a pretty decent place to eat.  So, we planted ourselves in The Sable (along with our 7 week-old great-nephew that The Mrs. is keeping care of for a while because our Niece-in-Law had to get back to work after grunting him out...he's a cute little booger...).


So, we head out toward Haughton on Hwy 80 East, and we find the Crawfish Palace. 

Now, that there is definitely a "Palace."  If you're a crawfish.  One thing I truly love is a restaurant with a deflated LSU Tiger, an extra ladder, and a propane tank in the front.


Really, I do.


So, I'm like, "Where in the hell do we park?"  It took a little while for us to spot the reserved parking amongst the tow trucks and service vehicles.  I was thinking "Man, this must be one of those really good joints where working folks go to eat lunch.  This is gonna be aces up."


Wrong.  It seems that the tow trucks, and vehicles in various states of repair did not bring folks to the Crawfish Palace to enjoy lunch.  Nope.  They are just sitting on the lot with not a sign of human life anywhere.  This here is a view from the "parking area."

You just gotta love a restaurant that is "handicapable."  They gots a ramp, and an extra bicycle on the side, too.


Fortunately, the Crawfish Palace is not open for lunch today.  We thought the joint might be open because the neon "Budweiser" signs were still lit.  But Naw...no dysentery for us!  It seems that it opens at 1600 HRS...I'm not sure if that's every day, or only on Monday, or only on Saint Balentimes Day.  But, I really don't care, because I'm just very happy that it was not accepting walk-ins.


So, The Mrs. is feeling all embarrassed behind her initial request, so she says, "Take me to Red Lobster."

Now, Red Lobster is ALWAYS a safe choice.  We have eaten there at least four million times, and never once came down with the Bloody Flux.  Well, our Red Lobster is right near Pierre Bossier Mall which is a quick 7 minute drive back from the Crawfish Palace...if you drive 90 mph, which I did.


I'll swear, we pulled in to the lot at The Red Lobster at 1215 HRS, and there were people camping out for a table.  I'm not kidding.  In the four million times we've been there, I have never seen that parking lot so full.  People were sitting on top of Escalades, heating up beanie-weenies on their engines, etc.  And, right ahead of us was a huge bus from The Home unloading walkers, and wheelchairs filled with blue-hairs, out celebrating Saint Balentimes Day.


The Mrs. was like, "If I don't eat something pretty soon, I'm gonna get a headache!"  Well, she really didn't say that...but we were both hungry, and circling the parking lot like vultures looking for a gopher.  Then all of a sudden I hear The Mrs. ...it was like the voice of an angel (which she is).  "Andy!  Look over there!  Ichiban!"


Now, it seems that one of her favorite restaurants, "Ichiban Sushi & Grill" has recently opened up at Pierre Bossier Mall.  I mean, it is right within eye-shot of The Red Lobster.  And, it looked like NOBODY was there.  You talk about luck being on my side...


So, we navigated our way over to Ichiban (in the Pierre Bossier Mall).  We parked about 50 feet from the entrance...with great nephew in tow in one of those fancy car seats that they make you use now.  I'll swear, these new legal restrictions about making you restrain children in a vehicle are something I'm gonna have to get used to.


Now, The Ichiban was really quiet...and the nice Chink lady came and took our order, and left us silverware.  Look...I had never seen chop sticks all stuck together like this.  

I know the picture is fuzzy, but that there is a dang good idea.  I mean, you can actually eat food with those things because they hang together at the top.  BTW, if you look close at that picture you'll see little great-nephew in his baby seat.  He's so cute.  I mean, he looks like a racoon in there, or like we've got him blindfolded as to prevent him from looking at Chinks...but it's just a shadow across his eyes.  


We are multi-racial around here, and all.


The Ichiban is a nice place.  The decor is kind of a mix of a 50's diner, and standard Chink.  I like it.

And the food was good, too. 

Up in the top you'll see The Mrs.' lunch.  She ordered a Sushi called "Hot Mama."  It had what she thinks was Salmon, and some other junk.


The lunch on the bottom was my Teriyaki Shrimp.  On the menu they said "Shrimp Box."  So, I was figuring it would be a box lunch.  I was wrong again.  Nope, they brought it on a beautiful red enameled tray deal.  It looked like WAY too much to eat after I had already had the soup, and really heavily dressinged salad (really just lettuce with about a quart of dressing on it).  But I ate all of it.  Really I did.  Even the Honeydew melon sliced up that looks to me like a squirrel.  


Don't that look like a squirrel to you?


Anyway, it was DANG good!  And, it was only $26 for lunch (plus the standard one dollar per customer tip that I generously left).  And, The Mrs. brought home about half of her Sushi roll deal (which she sat down on and crushed in the passenger seat, causing great laughter between us both at the car wash, while Great-Nephew screamed his little lungs out because he had shit his pants and we didn't know it).

I just love her.


Speaking of LOVE.  It seems that the largest search portal in the universe went all happy today.  Two Dogs alerted me via The Facebook today that this is what folks are seeing...

 

 Some monor that makes WAY too much for clicking keys spelled it wrong!

There, I fixed it!  Don't bother to thank me.

Anyway, it was a glorious Saint Balentimes Day at Andy's Place!  Really it was.  

Look!  At about 1500 HRS, this here is what we had weather-wise.

And, as promised...

Don't bother to thank me...