Ladies' Day

On Mother's Day, I told my Mom that I wanted to take her to lunch.  

And two months later, we finally made it happen.  Our schedules are ridiculous.

I had to come up with a new place due to our favorite lunch spot going out of business. So, after asking around for weeks, I decided to go with the place that just about every one suggested.....

Di Prato's

I was looking for a place that offered salad plates and sandwiches with Southern flair.  Think food that would be served at a ladies' luncheon.  It is our favorite kind of lunch and what we always used to order at Cinnamon Hill.

Di Prato's was exactly what we were looking for.

An added bonus:  the pimiento cheese.  For goodness sake, THE PIMIENTO CHEESE.  It was to die for!  Just as every one had told me it would be.  And don't even get me started on the pita chips.  I have never had anything like them and am officially and forever in love!

The next time that we go, that is all that I will be ordering.  It was the best!

I also had a chicken salad sandwich with pasta salad on the side.  And Mom had a salad plate with chicken salad, tuna salad, and broccoli salad.

All was delicious!

We got there at 11am because we were warned that the lunch crowd can get pretty big.  And it did.  Just about the time we were leaving.

Leaving to go get some dessert!

Di Prato's did offer dessert and had multiple cheesecakes in the bakery section... but I had been wanting to go back to Nonnah's ever since we had my sister-in-law's bridal luncheon there.  Nonnah's is known for their desserts and if you are going to go all out, you might as well go for the biggest and the best!

And we did....

Look at the size of my Mom's cake!  She got the Chocolate Temptation and I got the Peanut Butter Pie.

Mom didn't even have to think about what she wanted.  And I don't blame her because I tried a bite and the cake was exceptional!  And that is a HUGE compliment coming from a non chocolate cake fan.  I could have totally eaten the entire piece and loved every second.

My peanut butter pie was not an easy decision, though.  I had to stare at the bakery case and quiz the waitress about the different flavors.  I really wanted a piece of cake - but the coconut was infused with strawberry liquor and the carrot was frosted with white chocolate.  I'm sure that both were absolutely delicious but I was really in the mood for a good basic dessert.  So, I went with the pie.  Peanut butter is in my top five favorite foods, after all.  And the crust was made with crushed peanut butter cookies!  Very light, very fluffy, very peanut buttery, very BIG.....

Totally worth it.

I really had such a great lunch date with Mom!  It was fun to try a new place, revisit an old one, and just catch up on life.

And in the spirit of trying new places.... the next day I checked out a new restaurant that opened up across the street from where I work.  It is basically a fast food joint but is known for their milkshakes.  And milkshakes just so happen to be one of Kev's favorite treats.

Their specialty is the watermelon shake.  Considering that we go through at least one watermelon a week, I figured that would be what Kev would want.  But he can't give up his love for the chocolate ones.  So, Kev got a Hershey chocolate and I got the watermelon.

And then I turned on the air full blast and drove 35 minutes home as fast as I could before they melted.

Let's just say that both were incredible.  Very creamy, very thick, and full of flavor.  The watermelon one exceeded my expectations.  Refreshing and light with chunks of watermelon.  Kev drank/ate his entire shake immediately.  I tried to savor mine and have a little at a time... but once the shake had been in the freezer for the entire day, it just wasn't as good.  More like an icee.  Don't worry - It didn't stop me from finishing it.

Cook Out has 36 flavors of milkshakes - but we are such creatures of habit, we will probably never try any other flavors.  

Or have another milkshake for that matter.  At least for the summer - not for forever.  We have been "treating" ourselves quite a lot lately and even though we are sticking to the same fitness regimen, it is starting to take it's toll.  We can tell such a difference in the way we feel.  

It's all about moderation. 

It's too bad that sometimes I choose to forget what that means. :)

It has been such a good summer so far... and still so much fun to be had.