I have been remiss in posting lately. There are lots of reasons (excuses) for this. In the end, it boils down to the little voice in head saying bad things. But I have managed to overpower the little devil for the time being. And here I am.

So, now that I’m back, I was not at all sure what to write about. I am still not sure. I could write about how I want to go to the beach. Every year we go to the beach. But we did not go in 2012. And have no plans to go in the near future. I miss it. Even though it’s getting warm enough here. I still want to see the ocean. Maybe we can go for Christmas. The sand is the perfect place to stick my head when I don’t want to deal with life. But whining about not going to the beach seems ridiculous.

Ft. Myers Beach

Maybe I should talk about something good. I missed the daily prompt that called for making a list. Maybe I’ll make a list of the last 5 restaurants where I have eaten. This is easy, I eat out a great deal. Today is Thursday.  I did cook tonight, so I’ll start with yesterday, Wednesday.

5. Wednesday – Downtown Grill & Brewery, Knoxville TN – I dined on deep fried fish and fries (fish and chips) paired with a nut brown ale. The ale was just what I needed after a 10 hour day wrangling dogs and cats. The fish was fine, but not fantastic. It’s hard to ruin fried food. Fried batter goes with everything, right?

4. Monday – Smoky Mountain Brewery, Knoxville TN – I enjoyed a jalapeno and pineapple calzone with a tasty seasonal brew, Capricator Bock. Both were great. The calzones are always perfect there. The crust is cooked crisp and the cheese is perfectly gooey. Good stuff.

3. Sunday – Cru Bistro & Wine Bar, Knoxville Tn – Here we shared 3 small plates consisting of Calamari with Salt and Pepper Seasoned Calamari Tossed with Sweet Cherry Pepper, Toasted Garlic, Basil Pesto Sauce, Bake Brie with Hazelnut Strudel & Hot Pepper Jam Topping, Water Cracker, Tarragon Grape, and Pan Seared Scallops, Benton’s Bacon-Tomato Cream, Arugula, Toasted Baguette. Beverage wise I had a Saw Works Brown Ale. Dinner was finished with Bananas Foster Creme Brulee. It was all great and we will definitely go back.

2. Saturday – Salsarita’s, Oak Ridge – I was attending a stained glass workshop and we got super hungry. It was a quick, inexpensive place to go. It wasn’t bad. The salsa was fresh and loaded with cilantro (a favorite). Beverage – water

1. Friday – Newk’s, Knoxville TN – This was a working lunch. I had never been there before. I thought the place was a sandwich shop. But they have lots of other goodies. I had the crab bisque and 1/2 vegetarian club. It was surprisingly good. Some of the folks with me ordered salads. Those looked fantastic. They were fresh, large and full of goodies. Beverage – water, no ice.