mad cheap: hot and sour soup

as the weather turns towards autumnal chill, one thing to remember about lincoln is that there is an upside to so many strip malls: so much chinese takeout.

you don't need to live near the restaurant-laden n. 27th corridor to get a bowl of hot and sour soup (or egg drop soup) for a dollar if you're lucky-- and two dollars if you're not. a bargain anywhere on that spectrum. ready on the spot, too; no need to call ahead. this bowl is from ming's. i can recommend theirs for sure.

not for vegetetarians, and i don't know i'd trust a place that said otherwise.

more last minute halloween treats

cupcakes from le quartier. aren't they beautiful? tasty, too. use that coupon i wrote about the other day-- expires 10/31!

last minute halloween cookies?

even though conroy's bakery is in college view-- and on the prescott street strip of businesses near union college-- they are open on saturdays, not being seventh-day adventist themselves. (i'm going with irish catholic because of the name, and the posters in the windows for friday night fish fry events, and being closed on sundays.) they're right across the street from the mill, which is, of course, also open on saturdays, and every other day of the week. coffee takes no holiday.

you need to visit this bakery just to experience how fabulous it smells in there, but it's also the place to go for a variety of decorated cookies on any holiday.

le quartier coupons, half-loaves

found a coupon for le quartier on p. 2a of the ljs today. not sure how often they run them. look for them in the paper version of the paper if you have paper access.

a recent picture of their black walnut sourdough is above-- look how purplish and gray the meat of the bread is, because of the nuts. so delicious. almost beats the blue cheese bread, but not quite.

the $2 half-loaves are up for sale on the glass counter at meridian park, and on the east wall (by the croutons on the wire rack) at the pine lake location. keep an eye out for that to change with extra holiday business; who knows what that will bring.

open harvest member meeting tonight-- 5pm-- potluck-- great location-- triggertown!

how's this for some late notice for you? open harvest co-op grocery is having its 34th annual membership meeting today (sunday, october 25th) from 5 to 7:30 pm at auld recreation center. that's in antelope park, and the actual address is 3140 sumner but just go to 32nd & a and you'll see it. it's that mysterious looking building you can see from the bandshell or the fabulous rock island trail. i haven't been in it since i was a kid, for a science fair.

one of my favorite local bands, triggertown, is playing at, supposedly (you know how events go), 5pm and again at 6:45. there's food to share. if you're a member and learning of this from this post, looks like you're bringing "fruit or a beverage" to share.

From 6:45 to 7:15 there's a q&a with the board of directors. there's an interesting debate going on about those new "impulse purchase" shelves by the registers. it's my understanding the co-op bylaws have clearer guidelines about the purchase/selling of food items, but not so much about non-food items. there's going to be a petition asking some changes along those lines.

i can see the point of those who want clearer structure-- believe me, in a co-op, if there's not already a procedure and a set of guidelines, there will be someday so you might as well go ahead and do it--

but in my little magpie grocery shopping brain, my first reactions to the new impulse racks were: well, that's certainly an unattractive display. then i thought, i bet those aa duracell batteries are twice as much as they are across the street at walgreens. (by the way, they're 4.99 for a four-pack at open harvest. outrageous!) then i thought, some people are going to be mad those aren't the rechargeable kind. (I didn't even notice the notebooks made of non-recycled paper, or the ashtrays.)

i think they should put the magazines up there. i would love to browse the magazines while in i'm in line there.

anyway... should be an entertaining meeting. if you're a member, go! i hear they had horrible turnout last board of directors election. you've got equity in this business.

there are all kinds of holidays in grocery shopping

on november first, grocery stores discount all the halloween candy and paraphernalia until they sell out (which doesn't take long). same happens the day after christmas, valentine's day, easter, and... husker football games. it's a different sort of candy after husker games, of course. it's candy for the heart and arteries!

earlier this week at the 70th & pioneer hy-vee, i bought the 3# potato salad for a dollar, the 5-layer dip for a dollar-- and that was also buy one, get one free. and then the bacon-wrapped, stuffed chicken breasts for a dollar apiece. so all the food in the top picture cost four dollars total.

if you and your household don't like potato salad, this would be a silly buy, even at a dollar. i passed up the pasta salad at the same price for that reason. and i was happy with the dip (with a little heat added), because there is this other sport called baseball that you really should check out sometime, nebraska.

oh, and the husker tissues are are $2 at the same hy-vee. i hope i don't need them tomorrow. no more post- traumatic- sports- depression for me, thanks.

leftover review, new restaurant: toast

I'd never heard of the fallbrook neighborhood, so if you're like me, you're going to have to mapquest directions to 570 fallbrook blvd to find toast, a new place that calls itself a cafe, serves deli food, and looks like an expensive restaurant inside-- except for the two giant flat-screen tvs in the (full) bar area. it would be a good venue to watch a game. between that and complete coffee service, using beans from the mill, this should become quite the neighborhood hangout.

what you see here is half of a deilicious sandwich. what you don't see here is a club sandwich, as it's called on the menu-- they usually look more like this. this sandwich, however, was very tasty, and i'd go buy it again. it comes with salami, roast beef, smoked ham and turkey, and cheddar and mayo. i added (at no cost) lettuce and tomato. the meats were all excellent quality and the flavors blended wonderfully.

i've included a picture of the food side of the menu. it's limited but a great starting point.

today only, half-off everything at south street dairy queen-- closing for season

the tiny dairy queen on south street near capital parkway is closing for the season today. everything is half-price! they're open until 10pm. go enjoy an unusually warm day-- compared to the weather we've been having-- with some half-priced sweets.

this location doesn't serve hot food (except for hot fudge) so don't go in expecting a cheap hamburger like i did. oh well!

there's a bunch of signs saying there's going to be some lane closures, but not street closures, in the area from 2-5pm for a road race. i'm not sure what that's about and a cursory (literally and figuratively) search of the journal star website came up with nothing, but i'm not used to their new setup, so maybe it's just me.

free pizza (or beer) on your birthday month for signing up for an email list

so right where antelope creek runs near 48th & normal, on the west side of 48th, there's an establishment that is both a barbecue place called buster's, and a pizza place called ramos, and then a sports bar on top of that. i confess i have been here in the past, when i lived within walking distance, and they had some sporting events on their televisions that i didn't have on mine. anyway, it had been a while.

but i signed up for their email list here once, and so just got an email for either a free personal size pizza or a free draft pint. considering the value, i went for the pizza. i mean, do the math here.

deep dish, not at all spicy-- and i do prefer spicy-- but tasty nonetheless. pretty doughy and good for the chicago style.

they have maybe a dozen televisions for sporting events, two pinball machines (spiderman and addams family), and i've heard rumors of karaoke-- though not witnessed it myself. and according to the menu, they deliver until 2am! holy cats.

the thrift store in lincoln where your dog can accompany you. and wayne thiebaud.

i might not have noticed cause for paws if it weren't right next to my vet, namc, whom i also recommend--but that's talk for a dog blog i don't have (yet). cause for paws thrift is within that south 56th/old cheney/ highway two snakepit of busy streets, all with a morass of lanes-- an area where, once again, one appreciates the general gridlike nature of most of the urban planning in lincoln. the quickest hint i can give is: same building as juice stop, other side. so it might take you a minute to find it the first time. or two. but it's worth it.

website here, with hours that have changed recently--but now include sundays, on the limited side. and yes, you can take your well-behaved dog into the store with you-- even off-leash. and the money earned (check their website for current information, and hours of operation) goes to pet-related causes.

they're doing that summer/winter switch of clothes and housewares, and most things are half-price if not less. i bought some good work clothes that were quality and inexpensive. the shoe selection stands out, and i generally avoid second-hand shoes.

of course i looked for a kitchen item so i could write about this store here, and found something that i had already wanted: a sheldon cookbook, which made me quite happy. (of course you should buy a copy at the sheldon gift shop given the opportunity yourself; the sheldon needs your money too! i invite any of my friends in other cities to show me a better free museum. and the kaneko exhibit right now is fantastic, so at least go see that.)

somehow haven't bought it before, but like i said, always wanted it. the picture on the cover-- from the sheldon's permanent collection-- is of course by wayne thiebaud, who was one of my first favorite modern artists as a child. of course he was! look at it! he painted cake! and bubblegum! with those thick, frosting-like strokes! he was my introduction into appreciating pop art the way the beatles were my introduction into appreciating pop music. they catch your eye, they catch your ear, and it goes from there.

the cookbook was a dollar at the thrift store. go buy some some stuff there, or drop stuff off! and you can take the dog along.

i hope there's something in there i want to make...