A Familiar Fortune

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I was weighing my lunch options while on my way to work late this morning. The decision came up Lemongrass Cafe, for at least a couple of reasons. For one thing, I hadn't had takeout from there in quite a while. For another, I decided that, even though I enjoy it, I really didn't want Burger King today.

As usual, I went with one of their lunch specials. This time, it was shrimp chow mein, because it was something I hadn't tried before. Even though I didn't make this a specific New Year's resolution, I am going to try a few new things this year. Eat at some new restaurants -- or even at a couple where I haven't eaten in some time.

The chow mein was delicious, as I expected it to be. Besides the shrimp, there were a variety of vegetables, including mushrooms, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, and celery. The shrimp were succulent, and the remaining sauce blended well with my brown rice.

And of course, there was the fortune cookie. What surprised me was that I recognized the fortune:

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

I knew I had seen the quote before. At first, I thought it was something that either Benjamin Franklin or Robert A. Heinlein had said. But I just Googled the quote, and it turns out that it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said it.

Good advice, whether in a fortune cookie or wherever Eleanor Roosevelt first said it.

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Not The Oops I Was Dreading

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Yesterday, I stopped by Lemongrass Cafe on my way to work to get lunch. I went with the Shrimp With Garlic Sauce lunch special. I was in the mood for something that I had eaten before.

It was only as I was getting to work that I suddenly said to myself, "Oh, crap." Shrimp With Garlic Sauce is one of several items on the menu that is flagged as being hot and spicy. They will alter the spice level to fit your preferences, but I had negelected to say anything in that regard when I placed my order. My first thought was that the default that Lemongrass Cafe used would be the highest level of spicy; something with more Scoville Units than I really wanted.

On the way to work, some of the garlic sauce had spilled onto the egg roll. When I took my first bite from the egg roll, I was pleasantly surprised. I did not immediately start belching fire, as I was thinking I might. Apparently, the default is the mild end of the scale.

After breathing a sigh of relief, I ate the rest of my lunch without any sense of dread. And of course, there was the fortune cookie at the end of the meal. The fortune read as follows:

"A family reunion in the coming months will be a tremendous success!"

This would have been better suited for my parents' wedding anniversary back in August, now that I think about it.

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Lunch On The Fly

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Yesterday, I decided to get lunch from Lemongrass Cafe. The main reason for my choice was that I hadn't picked up anything from there recently, and I was having something of a craving for their food. (It was also on my way to work from the Eline/St. Matthews library.)

I decided to get the Almond Fried Chicken lunch special, because I don't think I had ordered that from them before. (And because I hadn't bothered with breakfast, I also grabbed a couple of double cheeseburgers from Burger King on the way to work as well.)

When she saw my lunch, Emma wondered what I had ordered. She thought I had ordered something from Oriental House, and she didn't quite recognize it. It does look similar to a couple of Oriental House's lunch specials, but the addition of the almonds threw her off.

The food was delicious, as usual. And of course, there was the fortune cookie at the end of the meal, with the following fortune:

"Luck is coming your way."

[ADDENDUM: I was looking through previous entries, and it appears that I have ordered the Almond Fried Chicken before. And I will probably order it again, because I like it.]

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Internet, Iced Tea, And Egg Fu Young

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Yesterday, I went by Lemongrass Cafe for takeout. The shrimp egg fu young lunch special, to be precise.

I didn't go from there to work, though. It was still at least a couple of hours before my shift started. Instead, I went a couple of blocks down the road to Heine Brothers Coffee. I got a large cup of iced tea, set up my laptop, and connected to their wifi network.

It made for a pleasant combination. The egg fu young was delicious, Heine Brothers serves a refreshing iced tea, and being able to eat and drink while surfing the Internet is something I'm unable to do at the library.

And I did get a fortune cookie. Ideally, I would have posted this entry yesterday, but by the time I started thinking about writing it, I realized that I needed to get to work. So, the opening of the cookie (and the revelation of the fortune inside) was left for today:

"Success is in the details."

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Sandwich Without The Bread

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I made a stop by Lemongrass Cafe on my way to work yesterday to grab some takeout. This time, I decided to try something a little different, and went with the shrimp egg fu yung lunch special.

Now, as far as I can recall, I don't remember ever having egg fu yung before. I think what probably triggered my decision was a program I saw on KET last week. It was a program on regional sandwiches produced by WQED of Pittsburgh. One sandwich mentioned in the program was a local specialty in St. Louis called a "St. Paul Sandwich." (No, I don't know why it's called that.) This sandwich is a serving of egg fu yung slapped between two pieces of bread.

I don't live in St. Louis, but I think that part of the program got me curious enough to try egg fu yung. and as is the case with their other lunch specials, Lemongrass Cafe serves a generous portion. I know there was stuff in the egg fu yung besides just the shrimp, but unfortunately, I really couldn't tell what was in it. Well, I do know that there weren't any bell peppers.

I thoroughly enjoyed the egg fu yung, as well as the brown rice that came with the meal. And of course, there was the fortune cookie at the end of the meal. The fortune inside the cookie read as follows:

"It is the hope and dreams we have that make us great."

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Lemongrass Before Work

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I made a quick stop by Lemongrass Cafe about 30 minutes ago. I wasn't on my way to work -- that will be in a few hours. But I'm at a meeting at the St. Matthews/Eline library, and Lemongrass Cafe is only about two blocks away from the library.

I ordered the shrimp lo mein lunch special. While the food has always been enjoyable when I've had it at work, it was absolutely delicious when I was able to eat it while it was still hot.

And this was one time when I opened the fortune cookie with my meal, since I would be writing this entry right away. Here's what the fortune had to say:

"A thrilling time is in store for you."

I'm trying to decide if this is a good thing or not.

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Being Prepared

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There are times when you can just tell that things are going to be going crazy. That happened to me yesterday. I think it was based on how things had gone at work the past few days, but I had the feeling that things were going to be anything but calm at work yesterday.

And I was right.

I went by Lemongrass Cafe on my way to work, and I picked up the shrimp lo mein lunch special. And when I was ready, I reheated the food in the microwave, and tried to have something resembling a peaceful meal.

That, as it turned out, was a little too much to ask. A lunch that should have taken 15 to 20 minutes to eat at most lasted over an hour. I could barely get a bite in my mouth before someone else walked in. Is it really too much to ask for just a few minutes to eat in peace? Trust me, I start to get a little cranky when I get taken away from my food one time too many.

And as I mentioned last time, Lemongrass Cafe remembers the fortune cookies. Here's what yesterday's cookie said:

"Rest not from duty, but find rest in it."

Okay. Now, can someone tell me just how to do that?

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Don't Forget The Fortune

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I have been a little disappointed with my last couple of orders from Oriental House. No fortune cookie, ergo, no material for an entry here.

On my way to work yesterday, I decided to pick up something at Lemongrass Cafe. I went with the lo mein, but this time, I decided to try the beef lo mein for a bit of a change.

The fun part was finding a few moments to actually eat. Emma swears that Tuesday is when they let all the lunatics out of the asylum. After last night, I'm beginning to think that she just might be right. Some of these people had to be synchronizing their arrival times just to screw with my attempts to eat.

The beef lo mein was pretty good. I'm toying with the idea of ordering a "surf and turf" lo mein some time, although that would be a dollar additional.

And most importantly, Lemongrass Cafe didn't forget the fortune cookie! Here's what the fortune read:

"A truly great person never puts away the simplicity of a child."

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Just Wanting A Few Minutes To Eat

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After taking some time away from Cninese takeout, I decided to go by Lemongrass Cafe on my way to work yesterday. I think I was in the mood for some shrimp lo mein more than anything else, so that's what I ordered.

I think Lemongrass Cafe's shrimp lo mein just might be my favorite. Or at least the lunch special is. It comes with the rice of your choice (my choice last night was brown rice), and that made it just a little more filling.

The only problem, as usual, was the actual eating. Because I'm working alone for the most part, I'm eating while behind the counter. There are times when I am barely get one bite of food in my mouth before someone else walks in the door. And there are more than a few jerks who find it funny that they are preventing me from enjoying my dinner. (I haven't slammed anyone's face into my counter -- yet -- but I have been sorely tempted.)

As I said, the food was great, when I could get a chance to savor it. And of course, there was the fortune cookie at the end. Here's what the fortune said:

"A small house can hold as much happiness as a big one."

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Strange New Definition Of "Mild"

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Yesterday, I decided to get takeout from Lemongrass Cafe to take to work. The primary consideration was that it on my way to work from the library. I also knew that I needed to get something before I went to work, because for some reason, Tuesdays tend to be just a little on the insane side.

I was right about the higher-than-usual level of insanity. If I hadn't ordered takeout before I went to work, I would not been able to get anything later. And that would have made me crankier than I already was.

I had ordered the shrimp with garlic sauce. And I specified the mild version. Based on what I got, this was obviously some strange new definition of the term "mild" of which I was previously unaware. This was more of a medium in terms of spiciness. It wasn't overwhelming, but the sauce definitely left something of a lingering tingle on my lips and tongue.

Despite our disagreement on what constitutes mild, the food was great. And I discovered that Lemongrass Cafe has an option for ordering brown rice with their lunch specials. Which I did.

And I discovered that there is at least one writer of fortunes for fortune cookies who has a quirky sense of humor. I think it shows through the fortune that came with last night's cookie:

"How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand."

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A Case Of Deja Vu?

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Tuesday, I had plenty of time to make it to Lemongrass Cafe to get takeout for that night's dinner. I went with the almond fried chicken. Batter-dipped chicken, fried (obviously), with plenty of almonds (also obviously) and assorted veggies. The sauce came in a separate container, and I decided to save that for mixing with the rice.

I have the feeling that I have seen the fortune that came in the fortune cookie before:

"A smile is the most effective medicine."

I'm fairly certain that I haven't used it in any of my entries yet, though. I think this is a mystery that needs further research.

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Doubling Down Again

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Saturday afternoon, I made it to Lemongrass Cafe in time to order one of the lunch specials -- even though I wouldn't be eating it for a couple of hours. (As they say, it's all a matter of timing.) After Friday night's dinner, I suppose I was wondering how another restaurant's sweet and sour shrimp would be, so that's the lunch special I ordered. I remembered to ask if it had bell peppers in it (it did), and I remembered to ask them to leave them out.

After I left the restaurant, I realized that my stomach was rumbling, and that I really needed to eat something right then and there. so, I decided to go to China 1, and get a small order of pork fried rice.

The fried rice was good. A little more onion than I prefer, but still pretty good. And the fortune from China 1 read as follows:

"Confuscius say: Lovers in triangle not on square."

For some reason, I'm surprised that I haven't seen more fortunes that use that particular format.

A few hours later, when I was ready to eat dinner, I zapped the sweet and sour shrimp in the microwave. It came with plenty of shrimp, but unlike Oriental House, the sauce was in a separate container. I liked that, because I could control the amount of sauce on the shrimp.

I also concluded that it might be Oriental House's sauce that's just a little too sweet for me. Lemongrass Cafe's sauce is still sweet (and not sour enough), but not overwhelmingly sweet.

And here is the fortune I got from Lemongrass Cafe's cookie:

"Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another."

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Forgetting My Own Rules

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Tuesday, I made it to Lemongrass Cafe again to get takeout. My timing had been off most of the day, and I was cutting it close to the 4:00 PM deadline when I placed my order. And I was a couple of minutes late getting to work, which threw Emma off just a little bit.

Tuesday, I decided to order the Princess Chicken lunch special. And I didn't remember to follow two of my own rules. First, it was listed as a "hot and spicy" dish, and I don't think I asked for the mildest version. Second, I forgot to ask if it had green peppers in it. It does, and of course, they had no way of knowing to leave them out.

Fortunately, the bell peppers were in large enough chunks for me to easily remove. And if I did order the full-spicy version, it was manageable. There was heat, but not overwhelming.

Minus the peppers, the Princess Chicken was quite good. Besides the chicken, there were peanuts, water chestnuts, and celery in a decidedly spicy sauce. There was the occasional burning sensation, but I felt it more on my lips than on my tongue. And when I mixed the remaining sauce with the rice, I don't remember feeling any burn at all.

And of course, let's not forget the most important part of the meal -- the fortune cookie. Tuesday night's cookie read as follows:

"Foot: A device for finding furniture in the dark."

Or for finding any other obstacles that might be on the floor in the dark.

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(Lo) Mein-Lining It

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Yesterday, I said that I needed to change my dinner habits just a little. Monday, I found out just how right I was.

Monday afternoon, I made it to Lemongrass Cafe right before the 4:00 PM cut-off point for the lunch specials. As I mentioned quite some time back, one of my default choices when ordering Chinese is shrimp lo mein. Lo Mein is one of their lunch specials (with your choice of beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp), so I decided to get that, and take it to work for dinner.

Right after I left Lemongrass Cafe, though, I realized that I was going to need something else to eat sooner. And I'm still not sure why I did this, but I decided to bike a couple of blocks over to China 1. I picked up a small order of lo mein there as well -- pork lo mein this time.

I went to work after that. I was a couple of hours early (which threw Emma for a curve when I first arrived), but used the time to take a nap in the back room before clocking in. I also ate the pork lo mein right away. As the saying goes, that really hit the spot right then. I saved the shrimp lo mein for later (after a quick zap in the microwave). The shrimp were a decent size, and the vegetables included mushrooms -- one of my favorites.

And best of all, I got fortune cookies with both orders. The fortune in the cookie from China 1 read:

"You have a yearning for perfection."

I was also amused to note that this fortune came decorated with smiley faces at the beginning and end of the fortune.

The fortune in the cookie from Lemongrass Cafe read:

"A great pleasure in life is doing what others say you can't."

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Back To Business

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Now that April Fools Day is out of the way, we now return to our regularly scheduled presentation of fortunes.

Tuesday, I decided to do something just a little different. I like Oriental House, and it has the advantage of being conveniently located to where I work, but I thought a change of pace would be nice. So before I went to work Tuesday afternoon, I stopped by Lemongrass Cafe, a restaurant that specializes in Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese cuisine. It's not too far away from where I work, so getting the rest of the way to work with the food wasn't a problem. Still, it's far away enough that I will have to think about going there in advance.

I took a look at their takeout menu, and decided upon one of the lunch specials, shrimp with garlic sauce. The menu indicated that it was hot and spicy, but also said that the spiciness could be adjusted. As usual, I went for the mildest version.

The food was cold by the time I was ready for dinner. I expected that. It was also delicious. Pleasantly spicy, in fact. Most of the sauce had been absorbed by the rice, so I really couldn't detect the garlic as much as I normally would.

And unlike Oriental House, I didn't have to ask for a fortune cookie. Lemongrass Cafe includes one as a matter of course. The fortune in Tuesday's cookie read as follows:

"The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does."

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