Tag Archives: restaurants

Let’s Eat-Part 6

14 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

While Fred and I were living in Fort Worth, one of my dad’s brothers married a lady who owned a dress shop. They both lived in Louisiana, near Shreveport.  They would drive to Dallas twice a year for her to view and purchase clothing for her dress shop.  She had really good taste in garments, as women from Shreveport would drive the 30 miles just to shop in her store.  In the times they came to Dallas, they would call us and invite us to have dinner with them one evening during their four-day stay.  While neither Fred nor I can remember exactly the name of the restaurant where we ate, we both suppose it was the restaurant in the hotel where they stayed.  The main reason I remember it, is because they introduced me to grilled pork chops!  I had always breaded and fried the pork chops I fixed for us, and the grilled ones were delicious!  I never fried them again!

Credit Pixabay

I know that Pizza Hut is well-known in the U.S.  And we have enjoyed eating at those eateries most of our life.  

Credit Google Search and Pizza Hut

When we moved to Florida (Kissimmee, actually), there was one Pizza Hut in town, and we frequented it often.  One day they put out a “barbeque” pizza.  We cautiously tried one slice of it – and found we LOVED the taste!  It was chicken with barbeque sauce on it – all on top of the regular tomato pizza sauce, cheese, etc.  So every time we went to Pizza Hut after that, we asked that they make us a barbeque pizza.  It was great!

There was also a Shoney’s eatery in Kissimmee, where we ate occasionally. 

Credit Google Search and Shoney’s website

 Shoney’s was known for their breakfast menu, and we enjoyed it.  However, when we tried some of their lunch/dinner offerings, we were less-than-impressed.  I didn’t know anyone could make a “bad” soup – but Shoney’s managed!  I don’t remember just what kind of soup I had ordered, but it came with about one-half inch of oil on the top!  Yuck!   So we limited our eatings at Shoney’s to their breakfast buffet.

We both enjoy seafood, and were pleased to find a really good seafood restaurant in Kissimmee, called Shells.  I’m not sure we tried everything on the menu, but I found something on the menu called “Godfather’s Shrimp” and I loved it!  It was what I ordered every time we ate there (which was usually after church of Sundays).  Fred found a great Mahi-Mahi Italiano that was his favorite.  Also at Shells, I found they had a wonderful coleslaw that had Mandarin Orange slices in it!  I’ve never had that before, and was pleased with the taste.  Amazing!  Unfortunately, Shells in Kissimmee is no longer – I think the ones in Central Florida are in Tampa, Brandon and St. Pete Beach – and that’s really too long a way to go for seafood.  Shucks!

Well, okay it’s a long way to go for seafood, but Fred and I travel over to Titusville every-other month for lunch with my brother Bill and his wife, DiVoran (about 45 minutes).  And our favorite place to eat is Dixie Crossroads

Credit photo Google Search and Dixie Crossroads website; Steve Hunsader

And it’s a seafood restaurant!  They have a house specialty that is unique.  They serve Rock Shrimp.  Now, Rock Shrimp used to be what Fred calls a “trash fish” – the shell is so hard that it was nearly impossible to get to the meat inside.  And then, someone made a tool that would cut the hard shell and open up the good meat inside.  It has a “lobster” feel and taste to me, and I thoroughly enjoy it every time we go there. Yummmm

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat-Part 1

16 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Credit ChurchArt

I think most of us have a “favorite place” where we like to eat.  For some, it’s at home with all the home-made cooking we like to do, or like Mom used to make.  I’m from the generation that came from that.

My family – Thanksgiving 1956

To eat “out” was a rare and precious privilege.  There wasn’t a lot of money to throw around in my parent’s house, so we only ate out at special times.  That got better as time went on, and going to the local Furr’s Cafeteria for lunch after church services became the norm.  And we loved it.

Furr’s was known as the best grocery store in Albuquerque at the time, so when they added a cafeteria, we were ecstatic.  And the food was good.  We’ve eaten in many a “cafeteria” in past years where the food was only passable – and they didn’t last too long.  But Furr’s was an exception.  I’ve just checked online and found that it is now located in cities and states other than Albuquerque and New Mexico (Colorado, Texas), but it is still in existence – now known at Furr’s Fresh Buffett.

Credit Google Search and Furr’s website

My family also loved to eat Mexican food, and Albuquerque was loaded with just such places.  Some of our favorite Mexican restaurants were in Old Town – either La Placita 

Credit Google search and explorall50.com

Credit Google search and Pinterest

La Placita was known for the trees growing inside some of the rooms or La Hacienda.

Credit Google Search and Pinterest

They were practically next door to each other in Old Town, and only a few minutes from our church, so that was also an after-church place to eat.  Of course, those were highly “touristy” restaurants, and they seemed to take turns having “good” food and “not so good” food.  When one wasn’t too good, the other one was.  And then it would take a change and we had to guess which one to go to that next time.

But then a really good Mexican restaurant opened its doors, called El Pinto.

Credit Google Search and b.zmtcdn.com

It opened after Fred and I married and moved away (1961), but Mother kept telling us it was her favorite place to eat.  So we always went there when we visited Albuquerque.  It lived up to Mother’s reviews.  I just checked online and found it still in business with many glowing reviews. 

We lived in a house just two doors down from a main auto artery, Lomas Blvd.  If I walked to Lomas, and turned right, there was a little strip center there, with a small hamburger joint on the end of it.  I don’t remember the name of it, but they made the BEST hamburgers there!  They put chopped onions and mustard on their burgers, and wrapped them in wax paper, creating an aroma that I’ve never found since then.  I think the nearest aroma to that I’ve found is when we were in Texas and ate Whataburgers.  They are the best!  And their burgers come the closest to that little burgers shop I’ve ever found.  I really loved that place.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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