Good Friends

This past weekend our good friends from Atlanta, Liz (as in "Never trust a skinny cook" blog fame), her gracious husband Henry, and their oldest son, Andy, were in town to watch a couple spring training games. Well, Henry and Andy were here for the spring training games, a long time wish for Henry. Liz claimed she was here researching the Tampa restaurant scene. I will let Liz summarize her findings if she cares to do so. I do know we had a lovely dinner on Saturday at Vino e Pasta, as you know is one of my favorite restaurants.


We had a lovely evening reminiscing about the "old" times and catching up on new happenings. It is always a fun evening when you are out with Liz and Henry, and it was nice seeing Andy after far too many years.


Thanks guys for a lovely evening.

Lobster and More Lobster

We do not eat lobster very ofter, but this past weekend found me dining twice on lobster. My dear cousin, Shirley, shipped two lobster tails and two steaks from Omaha Steaks. This was a very kind and generous gift. So, Saturday, Frank and I fixed the two tails with asparagus. They were excellent, very tasty and just the right size. Of course in my normal eating mode which I haven't recovered yet, I would have been tempted to do surf and turf. But the lobster was more than enough, especially since lobster is the best way to get melted butter to the mouth. Thank you Shirley for a lovely meal.


On Sunday we decided to go to 400 Beach Seafood and Tap House. It was a beautiful day for outside dining so we took a sidewalk table overlooking Straub Park and the bay beyond. But let's get back to the lobster. The first time I ate at  400 Beach I had the lobster roll and found it lacking in flavor. That was over a year ago, and since I already had lobster breath from the night before, I thought I would give it another chance. While this time it had slightly more seasoning, it still was fairly bland. No more lobster roll from 400 Beach for me. It was a far cry from Legal Seafood. (Among others I've had).


Quick Health Update: I continue to improve, but it seems far too slow of a recovery for me. But I am going in the right direction. I just need more energy. 

Celebration

To celebrate my outstanding scan results, I decided a nice dinner out was in order. So on Saturday night, Frank and I headed to Roy's in Tampa. While Roy's is part of the Outback Group of restaurants, it is based on the concept of Roy Yamaguchi's original Hawaiian restaurant with Hawaiian Fusion cuisine. We had wonderful dinners in a very nice setting. 

Frank opted for the three course prix fixe options, selecting the Poached Pear and Pecan Salad, an entree of Olive Oil Seared Mahi Mahi, and Roy's Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé for dessert.

I skipped the salad course, and ordered the Polenta Crusted Scallops for my main course. And not being able to resist, the Chocolate Souffle for dessert. 

We had a very enjoyable dinner and a nice celebration.

More Good News

While I continue to recover from the research trial in early January, the results are in. Both the MRI of the brain and CT scan of the torso so significant regression in tumors. This is really good news. That is two set of scans in a row with no new growth and regression in those that are there. It also means I don't see my oncologist for four weeks, (I really like my oncologist, but a break from our frequent appointments will be a welcomed break). 


Oh, I am still cooking, but nothing significant. Just simple stuff with limited work effort.


That's all I'm saying.