Dinner & A Movie

Sept. 02 - 2012

In celebration of our (Wife and I) 6th anniversary (September 03 - 2006), we decided to do the whole Dinner & A Movie thing.  Prior to dinner, as previously posted about, we went to the Starving Artist cafe.  Great food there, and really great service.
Well after we had a really nice waffle and a coffee, plus caught up with an old friend, we decided to eat.
The choice we made was the Lone Star Texas Grill restaurant, where we had never been before.

Dinner started out easy, and relaxed. Two glasses of Ice-Water and their bottomless Nachos & Salsa. The funny thing is, some restaurants just have Green Tea, or biscuits, or even fresh baked bread, but this one it's Nachos & Salsa as the "appetizer" that is on the house. The Nachos were, well, just that. Plain, unadorned Nachos, while the Salsa could have been the Tostios salsa you buy in the store. Either way, it puts you into a mood to have some Fajitas instead of a thick juicy steak. Needless to say, we did just that. Apparently they have a tortilla press located within plain view of the restaurant, and you can watch the tortillas as they are pressed flat, and baked under hot-lamps in a spirialing cascade down to the bottom where they are captured into a bowl to be placed in nifty little holders, which holds about 6 tortilla shells for your enjoyment with your Fajitas.

The Tortilla Over is supposed to be an attraction, as they have a large sign (right) depicting that there are Fresh Hot Tortillas baking right before your eyes.  The whole process from press to bowl takes about 5 minutes under the hot-lamps.  Really neat process actually, and the kids that were patronizing the restaurant thought it was a great attraction.  Almost every family with young children, and even some adults, made their way over to the Tortilla over to see it in action.
Needless to say, I didn't go there by choice, but after the coffee earlier and the glasses of water, I needed to make my way to the bathroom, which the hallway to was right beside where the oven is.  Err, separated by a good 10 feet of course, and a brick wall!  Don't need those nasty bathroom bacteriums making their way to the fresh bread.

This, of course, brings up to the main course, which we had a nice dish of calimari rings prior.  Sorry, the photo of the Calamari, just wasn't up to snuff.  But I can tell you, even if it was, it wouldn't have done those rings any justice.  They were very good!  Excellent flavour, and the dipping sauce was top notch!  If you, like myself and my wife, have a soft spot for Calimari, you would not be disappointed with Lone Star's Calimari.

 

Ah, the Main Course... We opted for the Dos Fajitas (Fajitas for Two) which was just fantastic.  You had the option of Chicken or Steak fajitas, but since we couldn't rightly decide what we wanted, we opted for choice #3.  A mix of both!  The fajitas are served on top of some roasted onions and green and red peppers, with Rice and Beans on the side.  Guacamole is, as expected, optional, since it's not liked by all, but I would recommend the Guacamole.  Also, to note, there is a dish you receive prior to the Fajitas being placed with the fixings still sizzling before you, hissing out their song of succulence, which contain the cheese, lettuce, tomatos, and of course, Sour Cream. 
All in all, the food was very well made!  The Tortillas, apparently, are bottomless, and your server (our's was called 'Moonshine') opens up the Tortilla bowl for you to serve the first ones.  Sure enough, Fresh baked Tortillas, and hot sizzling fixings, definitely at the top of my list of making for a most enjoyable meal.  Great place to eat, with excellent ambience, and very friendly staff.

We look forward to visiting this restaurant again!  Hopefully next time we'll decide on something different to eat, but with how good these Fajitas are, perhaps not.

 

Well, all that was left now, was the movie.  We popped over to the Five & Nine Drive-In, yes they still have Drive-In movies, where we spent the next hour and a bit waiting for the sun to set, and our bellies to settle from the succulent treats we had just moments before.  The light was perfect for a quick photo in the car before the sun set and we'd spend the next 6 hours (yes 6 hours!) in eye-candy bliss as our three feature movies would begin.  Normally for a feature packed evening you would see just 2 movies, which for what you pay, is still a great deal.  After all, what theatre can you go into which has your own private seating, personalized sound system, and great company for under $15.00?  I can't think of a single one.

Needless to say, we got the special triple-feature evening, being a Long-Weekend (Labour Day) where we watched The Expendables II, The Posession, and finally, The Bourne Legacy.

 

An enjoyable, if long, evening away from the kids.   Looking forward to giving it another go sometime!

 

If you're near a Lone-Star or if you have a local Drive-In, do yourself a favour.  Give it a whirl.  You never know, you might find something to make the stresses of the day, become a thing of the past.

 

Until Next Time, keep those shutters firing!

 

 

All photos taken are with a Nikkormat FT2 35mm SLR using Fuji Superia 800ASA Colour Negative film.  Film has been processed by hand in a Jobo C-41 Press-kit and scanned using an Epson Perfection 4490 Flatbed scanner.