Chillin with the family at Chili's

The same group of girls from the Italian restaurant gather again for another celebration! Last time the group gathered to celebrate Liz's birthday and this time we gathered to celebrate our inner fat kid by going to Chili's (with the exception of skinny girl Beth who rolled her eyes in disgust at the notion). So how did Liz, Kelly and I celebrate our inner fat kids? For starters, we split an appetizer three ways (of which half was left on the table). Then Liz and I split an order of fajitas and Kelly ordered a bowl of soup, that she barely touched. Kelly and I went so far as to split a margarita. Real fat kids the world over are currently hurling rotten vegetables in our direction (vegetables that went rotten because they were uneaten while donuts were consumed instead).

Let's break down the meal course by course. First course - margaritas. This was by far the highlight of the meal (other than the company, of course)! Per Kelly's recommendation, we ordered the Presidente margarita, which I can now highly recommend myself. I am usually very picky about margaritas and will frequently order beer at Mexican restaurants to avoid that sickly sweet, disgusting sweet and sour mix most places put in margaritas. I don't know what Chili's puts in their Presidente margaritas but they are fantastic!

The second course was the skillet queso. Kelly had a coupon for the queso, so it was free. This was a good thing, since that's how much it was worth. I prefer a traditional white queso. This was more like Velveeta cheese, beans and ground beef. It probably would have been better if they brought it out piping hot, but it was a little on the cold side. We couldn't really send back a free queso. Luckily, it came with a side of salsa, that I happily chowed down on with their salty chips. I looked up the nutrition info on this queso and it's the worst thing they have on their menu. Next time, I will get molten chocolate cake for an appetizer.

At about this point in the meal, everyone's feeling a little tipsy from their margaritas. The conversation has risen to both a content that is inappropriate for children and a volume level that allows the near by families to hear it. We were surrounded by tables of families with children because - we were at Chili's.

On to the next course - the fajitas that Liz and I split. The fajitas can best be summed up in one word - mediocre. However, I would go to Chili's again and order the fajitas again, just so I can have an excuse to drink that Presidente Margarita.

As fat kid night wrapped up, we chose to decline desert and then decided to walk the eight blocks to the free outdoor concert, rather than move our car. Commence with the vegetable throwing now.

White Girls love Panera!

Last night, a group of my female friends and I enjoyed a delicious, authentic-as-far-as-we-know Italian dining experience in a non-chain, super cute bungalow of a restaurant across from the Hunter Thompson Art Museum. This Italian eatery was snuggled in with a coffee shop, bakery and a bocce ball court. I could barely squeeze my Honda Accord in between the luxury SUVs in their cobblestone parking lot that overlooked the river. The group of girlfriends that I was with, who chose this charming place, are not the kind to frequent chain restaurants (and certainly if they did, they weren't likely to admit to it). However, over bruschetta and white wine, my friend Liz told an amusing anecdote about a retired coworker who ate the same thing, at the same restaurant everyday for lunch over several decades. She ended the tale with some gentle teasing of our friend Kelly, who always insists on going to Panera Bread for lunch when she's working with our other friend, Jade. Defensively, Kelly jumped in quickly to set the record straight before the other girls pegged her as a chain-restaurant-eater. She pointed out that she works in Cleveland, a small town in East Tennessee that doesn't attract a lot of original restauranteurs. Panera is simply the best options of the other, lesser priced chain fast food establishments. Panera offers free wi-fi, plays classical music, sells expensive coffee spin off drinks! The girls nodded and then Kelly sealed the deal by informing us that one of her customers owns the Panera and she's giving back to the local economy. Phew. This last bit of White empathy closed the case. Her position in our White Girl's club was secure.

So this brings me to the latest restaurant to be subject to amateur review - Panera Bread! We love Panera Bread! For lunch, I like to get their turkey sandwich with bacon on the Asiago cheese bread. I also enjoy their salads. As a stereotypical weight conscious white woman, who frequently orders salads I really appreciate the variety of salads that they offer. It's a nice break from your typical cobb or chef salad to get a salad with some apple slices,walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese. Also, one advantage to going to a chain restaurant over our trendy, neighborhood sandwich shops is that you can review their nutrition facts on their website before dining to ensure you make a well educated, nutritional choice.

Lunch at Panera is great but I especially love them though for their bagels at breakfast time. Bagels are my breakfast carbs of choice. I prefer them over their sweeter breakfast competitors, such as danishes, sticky buns and donuts. Living in the south my whole life, I've struggled to find good bagels.  Like any good white young adult who owns a bicycle, I would prefer to buy my bagels from local bakeries. However, the local bakeries in my neighborhood specialize in donuts, cinnamon rolls, muffins, scones and even croissants - but no bagels.  Luckily, I can rely on Panera to come through with delicious bagels!

So next time you're driving through an unsophisticated, untrendy rural/suburban piece of America, look for a Panera and you'll be sure to please any white girl in your group!