Text 30273, 76 rader
Skriven 2015-08-26 22:17:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: last hurrah 141
=======================
It was decided that I'd get chauffeured all the way to the
house, if we got on the road early enough. So right at the
crack of 10 we were on our way down 81 to 15 to 270.

A pretty easy drive. Toward the end of Pennsylvania we
stopped at Sheetz for gas, and I picked up the fixings for
a soft-drink tasting.

Sprecher honey root beer - the Shipps' favorite, with a nice
honey taste but I thought a soapy off aspect. Not oversweet,
a balanced mix of roots and spices. I discover this is from
Wisconsin, which would have been extra points in favor if we'd
known ahead of time, and that the honey version is a so-called
limited edition.

Frostie root beer - very sweet, licorice and wintergreen with
some vanilla (artificial) and a fruity-floral aftertaste. From
Detroit.

Frostie vanilla root beer - cloyingly sweet, somewhat like the
above but with gobs of vanilla extract that only accentuated
that aftertaste, in which Gail found "almost strawberry" and
I found "almost rose."

We got to Bethesda in good time. Thank you!

My brother came out to greet us; he was in a good mood, having
just got a conditional job offer at Hughesnet (conditional on
what I'm not sure).

I got a bunch of things done, after which Jonathan wanted to
have a celebratory dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Bowie, plus
he wanted to drive in the rain. He prefers driving in the rain
(even more in the snow), because he feels the other drivers
are more polite when the weather is bad.

The place was packed and noisy, but we were shown to what
seemed to be the last empty table.

Our waitress was young and cute and engaging. Her subtle
upsells didn't work, mostly.

Jonathan ordered the sirloin medium with mash and applesauce.
On second thought ... he called the waitress back and requested
the smothered with onions option, which I believe is a buck or
two more. Here, let it be remembered, when you order sirloin
you get a fatless square piece of I believe "shell sirloin,"
the same muscle as provides the "baseball sirloin" that you see
at places like the Keg, only this is thinner and harder to do
rare. It came medium, which he noted was a notch too done for
him: he explained that he likes medium-rare, but usually places
err on the side of rare, which puts him off (this is in contrast
to my experience and my preference).

I got the New York strip rare. This is a real sirloin strip and
thus costs a few dollars more than the so-called sirloin. I like
the flavor of both cuts equally, but the fatty edge of the strip
called loudly (the top muscle of the shell sirloin, which has the
fat, is not served here and I suspect with its gristle goes into the
chili). It came medium-rare, which if I were feeling like fussing,
would have gotten a fuss. It was, though, decent meat, and not all
the fat cap was cut off, and this one had a nice bit of fatty tail
on it; I didn't want to risk another.

My sides were even more dubious: the chili was all gristle, which
most people might fuss at, actually ideal for me; buttered corn
came almost too salty to eat, and I shouldn't have eaten any of
it, because my hands swelled up and I am now under the influence
of a double dose of Lasix.

Thunder and lightning during the meal and for part of the ride
back, which pleased the boy.

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