Sandwich Without The Bread

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0086 . . . OPEN:


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

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0085 . . . OPEN:


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.

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0085 . . .

Jumbo Lunch

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0084 . . . OPEN:



As often as I grab Chinese takeout for lunch at work, you might think that I would want to steer clear from any and all restaurants serving that cuisine on my day off. Well, you would be wrong.

I had lunch this afternoon at Jumbo Buffet. I was in the mood for sushi, especially when I realized that it had been several months since I had any. I would say that there are at least five Asian buffets that serve sushi that are within a reasonable distance from where I live. I also couldn't remember when the last time I ate at Jumbo Buffet, so it was as good a choice as any.

The sushi was good. I would have preferred more nigiri sushi choiices, but it might been a matter of timing. I might have been there when the restaurant thought people might want more maki sushi.

And I did make selections other than the sushi. I even picked a few things that I suspect are more inspired by American cuisine than any Asian cuisine. Things like green beans and corn. For the record, you can eat both with chopsticks. The green beans are quite easy to eat with chopsticks, albeit one at a time. The corn . . . takes a little more patience.

And with the bill, the server brought my fortune cookie. Here's what the fortune said:

"You have a friendly heart and are well admired."

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A Twin-Fortuned Cookie

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0083 . . . OPEN:


Yesterday, I grabbed takeout from China 1 on my way to work. I decided to go for something a little different, and I ordered the honey chicken combination. It's something they serve as one of their lunch specials, but as I mentioned the last time I ordered from China 1, those are unavailable after 3:00 PM, and it was almost 6:00 when I placed my order.

From what I can tell, the honey chicken is batter dipped chunks of chicken, sinilar to how chicken is prepared for sweet and sour chicken. It was served with some sort of honey sauce, which could be get on the overly sweet side if not handled correctly.

The meal also came with fried rice. The remaining sauce could have been a little on the too sweet side, but mixing it with some soy sauce and hot mustard cut the sweetness just a little.

The big surprise came with the fortune cookie. The cookie contained two fortunes -- rather like an egg that has two yolks, I suppose. I suppose it would have been strange if the two fortunes had been identical, but they were different. Fraternal rather than identical twins, you might say. And here is what those fortunes said:

"You are original and creative."
"You are talented in many ways."

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Linda Collection 4

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0082 . . . OPEN:


Since I haven't indulged in takeout for the past few days, I thought I would dive into the bag of fortune cookies that my friend Linda gave me. In other words, it's time for another Linda Collection.

I only grabbed three cookies out of the bag this time. Here are the fortunes, in alphabetical order:

"Do not be afraid of competition."
"There is no fear for the one whose thought is not confused."
"You have much skill in expressing yourself to be effective."

I would like to think that that last one applied to me.

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A Baci Is Just A Baci

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0081 . . . OPEN:


I finally unwrapped the other Baci in the package I got recently. Now, I have discovered that if you want to get the lovenote in readable condition, you need to unwrap the chocolate carefully. Of course, I had figured that out before I ever unwrapped my first Baci.

The note inside was in at least one other language that I hadn't seen previously. I recognize it as Greek, but again, I couldn't read anything other than the English version. Here's what it said:

"The more I love you the more you flee from me my darling."

This was attributed to a C. Baudelaire. Not recognizing who that might be, though.

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Sealed With A Baci

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0080 . . . OPEN:


A few entries back, I mentioned Perugina's Baci chocolates, and how each chocolate contains a lovenote inside the wrapper. At the time I wrote the entry, I mentioned that I hadn't tried a Baci, so I had no firsthand knowledge.

Well, that has changed. Not too long ago, I was in World Market, and was looking through the candy section when I noticed Baci on one of the shelves. Obviously, I grabbed a box right away.

The box contained only two chocolates. Not much more than a sample, but to tell the truth, that was all I really wanted at the moment. I just wanted to get an idea of both the candy and the notes.

The chocolate was delightful. A dark chocolate ganache with chopped hazelnuts, topped with a whole hazelnut and covered in dark chocolate.

What really interested me was the lovenote inside the blue and silver foil wrapper. It was printed on a slip of translucent paper. It had what I assume was the same message printed in several languages. Besides English (the only one I can read), it was also printed in what looks to be Italian, French, Spanish, and one other language. Here's the English message:

"We've spoken a lot about love. Now let's try to listen to it, shall we?"

I haven't seen what is inside the other chocolate yet. That's for another entry.

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Back To The Fortunes

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Most of last week, my lunchtime urges were satisfied by Jimmy John's, Subway, and Calistoga Artisan Sandwiches. All very satisfying, all very tasty . . . but unfortunately, none of those places put fortune cookies in with their sandwiches.

On my way to work Saturday, though, I decided that I wanted Chinese, and I went to China 1. (At the time, it was the closest place.) I decided on a a shrimp lo mein combination. Basically, it's the same as their lunch specials, except that China 1 only offers the lunch specials until 3:00 PM. And you guessed it, by the time I got there, it was after 3:00.

The combination was shrimp lo mein, pork fried rice, and an egg roll. As I have mentioned before, China 1's fried rice is a little heavier on the onion flavor than I usually prefer, but it wasn't too bad. It was tasty, it was filling, and that was the most important thing. I think I was even able to eat my meal in less than an hour.

Rounding out the meal was the fortune cookie. Here's what the fortune said:

"Your determination will bring you much success."

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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

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0077 . . . OPEN:


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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Lunch On The Run

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0076 . . . OPEN:



I tried someplace new for lunch this afternoon. It's not too far from where I live. It's China #1. Now, that's not to be confused with China 1. China 1 is in St. Matthews, more or less at the intersection of Breckenridge and Shelbyville Road. China #1, on the other hand, is in Beuchel, right next to the Bashford Manor Kroger.

Now, while these are two completely different places, they are quite similar. Their menus and prices are about the same. Both places are more for people wanting to get takeout than for sitting down to eat (limited seating at both).

I happened to be near China #1 when I realized that I was starting to feel just a little hungry. It was the closest place, and I was in the mood to give it a try.

As is usually the case when I try a Chinese place for the first time, I went with my default order, the shrimp lo mein. They do a respectable job with it. They had plenty of shrimp in my order, and from my point of view, that's the most important thing.

And of course, there was the fortune cookie. Here's my fortune for today (or at least for my lunch):

"No profit grows where there is no pleasure to be had."

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Linda Collection 3

JANUSFILES2 . . .ENTRY #0075 . . . OPEN:


Since I haven't had takeout for the past few days, I thought it might be a good time to present another batch of fortunes from the fortune cookies my friend Linda gave me. (And sooner or later, the cookies are going to go stale, so it might be a good time to eat them before that happens.) In other words, kiddies, it's time for another Linda Collection.

There is no rhyme or reason to these presentations, by the way. I just pulled a handful of cookies out of the Ziploc bag, and I'm arranging the fortunes in alphabetical order.

"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
"If you understand what you’re doing, you’re not learning anything."
"There is a prospect of a thrilling time ahead for you."
"There is no greater pleasure than seeing your loved ones prosper."*
"Use your head, but live in your heart."

*This one looks a little familiar. I think I may have encountered this fortune before, but I will have to do a little digging before I know for certain that this is a close encounter of the duplicate kind.

JANUSFILES2 . . .ENTRY #0075 . . . CLOSE

Promises Of More Material

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0074 . . . OPEN:


I found a new source of fortunes, or at least fortune-ish sayings. Yesterday, I unwrapped a Dove Promises chocolate, and as I happened to glance at the inside of the wrapper, I saw a short message that would have not been out of place if I had found it while cracking open a fortune cookie.

Dove is not the first candymaker to do something like this. From what I have read, the Italian chocolatier Perugina has been doing this for years with their Baci chocolates. Wrapped inside each Baci (which, by the way, is Italian for "kiss") is a short lovenote, usually quotes from great love poems or other comments on love. (I have never tried a Baci, so I don't have firsthand knowledge.) And as I mentioned in an entry last year, Nestle includes messages on their Nestle Treasures chocolates as well. Those messages offer advice on the theme of just taking time to enjoy life.

I'm not sure if there is a general theme to the messages found on the Promises wrappers. I think I will have to look a more than just the three I sampled last night before I come to any conclusion. But here are those first three:

"Trust with your heart, not your head."
"A gentle touch speaks volumes."
"Laugh until your heart overflows."

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Taking Things Easy (Or At Least Easier)

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0073 . . . OPEN:


Last night's dinner was takeout from Oriental House. More than anything else, it was the easiest choice to make.

I had a feeling that things were going to be just a little crazy at work yesterday. And guess what -- I was right! I had just about enough time to walk next door, place my order, and pay for my food. They brought my order over about 15 to 20 minutes later.

Surprisingly enough, I had time to eat at something resembling a normal meal. Things were relatively quiet when my order arrived, and I was able to eat several bites in between customers. More importantly, I didn't have any of the jerks who seem to find it funny to keep me from eating more than one bite at a time.

I went with the Hong Kong chicken. No particular reason, other than maybe I like the way the remaining sauce mixes with the rice. And of course, the meal ended with a fortune cookie, with this fortune inside:

"Teach only love for that is what you are."

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Linda Collection 2

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0072 . . . OPEN:


A few months ago, I mentioned that my friend Linda had brought a bunch of fortune cookies to the monthly meeting of my local SF/fantasy club. She mentioned that when she got takeout from one Chinese restaurant, they were giving her several fortune cookies with each order -- more than what she needed. When I mentioned what I was doing on this site, she gave the remaining cookies to me at the end of the meeting. And over the following few months, she gave me more fortune cookies -- enough to fill a couple of big Ziploc bags.

And after that first entry (Entry #0024, by the way), I haven't done anything with them.

Until now.

One very big reason for that, of course, is that I have been gathering more than enough research material on my own. Since I didn't get any takeout myself the past few days, I thought this would be a good opportunity to present more fortunes from, and I have chosen to call them, the Linda Collections.

"Never argue with a fool."
"Say hello to others. You will have a happier day."
"The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work."
"Turbulence is a life force. It is opportunity. Let’s love turbulence and use it for change."
"What great things would you attempt if you knew you could not fail."

More collections like this to come, I promise.

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Numerical Curiosity

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0071 . . . OPEN:


"Working together works."

This was the first fortune that I encountered a second time. Its brevity was probably why I did a search of my earlier entries when I found it in a cookie for a second time. It was short enough where I realized that this was no mere feeling of deja vu -- I really had seen this fortune before.

It wasn't until earlier this week that I decided to take another look at the actual fortunes. Since I started this particular online journal, I have been keeping the fortunes in an envelope. (Right now, it's just your standard #10 envelope, but sooner or later, I suspect I will need something much larger.) I took the fortunes out of the envelope, and carefully began sifting through them until I found the two with that fortune given above.

After encountering the same fortune twice for a second time, I was now more than a little curious. I remembered that the fortunes had "lucky numbers," but I was now wondering if there were two different sets of numbers, or if by some chance the "lucky numbers" were the same.

As I quickly discovered, there were two sets of "lucky numbers" on the two fortunes. That leads me to conclude that wherever the fortunes are printed, they probably go through two different printings. The first printing is for the actual fortune, and the second pass through the printer (on the reverse side) is for the numbers. (That's my best guess, anyway.)

In any case, here are the "lucky numbers" that appeared on one of the duplicate fortunes:

13 17 55 27 18 50

Its twin had this set of numbers:

48 05 36 27 08 19

I'm still trying to decide if this is a sign that I should play either of these sets of numbers.

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Just Wanting A Few Minutes To Eat

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0070 . . . OPEN:


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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The Wisdom Of Yogi

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0069 . . . OPEN:


"You are imaginative in using your skills. Apply this next week."

In a previous entry, I mentioned getting a fortune cookie with the exact same fortune that I got . . . well, it was some time ago. When I got it the second time, I wondered what the odds were on one person getting the same fortune twice.

After yesterday's entry, I am going to have to revise that thought. Now, I have to wonder what the odds are on getting the same fortune twice at the same time.

Okay, I realize that my situation is just a little out of the ordinary. Most people are not going to be buying fortune cookies by the half dozen, the way that I did. And don't know if there is anyone else who writes about the fortunes he or she finds in fortune cookies.

Still, there is a situation that is at least somewhat similar to what I just encountered. Take a group of friends who get together for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. At the end of the dinner, when the waitress brings out the fortune cookies, what are the odds that two of them would get cookies with the same fortune in them?

I suspect that "astronomical" would probably be a fair estimate. Getting a better idea would more than likely require a mathematical genius, like Charlie Eppes of Numb3rs. And sorry, but my mathematical skills don’t come anywhere near that level.

Like most fortune cookies, these fortunes came with sets of "lucky numbers" for playing the lottery. I checked the back of these two fortunes, and found two different sets of numbers. The numbers on one fortune were:

08 15 24 37 41 43

The numbers on the other fortune were:

11 16 20 21 28 41

I didn't think about checking the numbers on my other set of twin fortunes. I may have to go back and do that, just to satisfy my curiosity.

Yogi Berra might have been right. This sounds like a case of deja vu all over again.

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Not A Typo

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0068 . . . OPEN:


I have been continuing my brief hiatus from Chinese takeout at work the past few days. This weekend, it was Subway and Papa John's. Definitely a welcome change of pace, but unfortunately, none of those places serve fortune cookies.

(Fortune cookies with your pizza. Now, that might be an interesting gimmick.)

Instead, I have another batch of fortune cookies that I picked up at Max Orient a couple of months ago. Now, it was probably at the beginning of the year when I got these cookies, but I know who picked out the cookies for me. As I mentioned the first time I presented fortunes that I picked up at Max Orient, they sell fortune cookies at three for 50 cents, and I usually get a dollar's worth. There is one lady who works behind the counter who almost always drops in an additional cookie to be certain I’m getting what I'm paying for. (I will assume that she does this for everyone who buys fortune cookies, and not just me.) With this particular batch, I got eight cookies. And here are the fortunes:

"Emulate what you respect in your friends."
"Pull the universe inside you. Make it your own."
"Take that chance you've been considering."
"You are imaginative in using your skills. Apply this next week."
"You are imaginative in using your skills. Apply this next week."*
"You will make many changes before settling satisfactorily."
"You will soon be crossing warm waters for a fun vacation."
"You will soon be receiving sound spoken advice. Listen!"

*No, this is not a typographical error. I really did get the same fortune twice in the same batch of fortune cookies. I'll be writing more about this in another entry.

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Strange New Definition Of "Mild"

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0067 . . . OPEN:



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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Taking The Lo (Mein) Road

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0066 . . . OPEN:


As I mentioned in my last entry, I decided to go for a bit of a change for dinner at work. Sandwiches, mostly -- Penn Station and Subway. But for Saturday night, I decided to stick to Oriental House.

As I have mentioned in at least one entry, one of my usual default orders is shrimp lo mein. Part of my logic in ordering that is that it's something relatively simple, and if a restaurant screws that up, I probably don't want to be wasting my time trying anything else they might have.

I finally got around to ordering shrimp lo mein from Oriental House on Saturday night. I was expecting it to be good. It was something of a reverse of my usual logic -- I already know that they serve good food, so they shouldn't be screwing up something this simple.

And they didn't. Lots of shrimp (I think they were medium size), vegetables, and plenty of noodles. A satisfying dinner, to say the least. And I didn't realize it when I placed the order, but I was getting what most Chinese restaurants sell as the large portion. Most of the time, I order the smaller size.

And of course, let's not forget the fortune cookie, and its fortune:

"Think about your own mistakes rather than blame on other's faults."

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Changing The Pace

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0065 . . . OPEN:


For the past few days, I decided that I wanted a little change of pace. So instead of Chinese takeout, I've gone with sandwiches from Penn Station. Delicious, but unfortunately, they don't include fortune cookies with their sandwiches.

On the other hand, I do have a bunch of fortunes to share with you. A half dozen pithy thoughts, to be precise. They're from a batch of fortune cookies that I picked up at Max Orient at least a couple of months ago. It was right before I started working next to a door to a Chinese restaurant, and was getting my fortune cookie fix several times a week. The bag has been hanging on the doorknob of my bedroom door ever since then, just waiting for the right time for me to crack them open.

With this week's hiatus, I thought it was as good as time as any to do just that, and take a peek inside these cookies. Here they are (in alphabetical order):

"A secret is no longer a secret by the time it gets to you."
"There is someone owing so many thanks to you."
"They can because they think they can."
"Things are only impossible until they are not."
"To build a better world, start in your community."
"Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny."

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The Silence Of Thunder

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0064 . . . OPEN:


Another Saturday night, and as the old song goes, I ain't got nobody. Of course, part of that is because as usual on a Saturday night, I was at work.

I thought this past Saturday night would be a relatively peaceful one. With Thunder Over Louisville going on, and some 700,000 people downtown, I was hoping that things would be rather dead at work. Well, it was on the quiet side, but not quite as quiet as I hoped it would be.

Fortunately, I went by Oriental House before I clocked in to get dinner. I wasn't feeling particularly adventurous, so I went with something I had tried before, the Hong Kong chicken.

The fortune in Saturday night's fortune cookie is giving me a feeling of deja vu. I have this feeling that I have seen this one before. At the moment, though, I can't recall if I have posted it in an earlier entry:

"You will be successful in your work."

I'll have to go back through my past entries to see if I have encountered this fortune before.

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Chaos For Chaos

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0063 . . . OPEN:


Most of the time, when I'm ordering takeout, I never know what I'm going to order until about 30 seconds before I actually order it. I suppose some people would say that I just can't make up my mind. I prefer to think of it as the essentially chaotic functioning of my mind.

Somehow, that was rather appropriate last night. Things were crazy all night, and for no apparent reason. Crazy enough that I had to phone in my order to Oriental House, then walk over a few minutes later to pick it up.

I ordered the beef with broccoli. I'm fairly certain that I've ordered it before, but come to think of it, last night was not one for being adventurous.

I thought the fortune was just a little amusing:

"Your love life will be happy and harmonious."

Now, could someone please tell me what a love life is?

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A Case Of Deja Vu?

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0062 . . . OPEN:


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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