Monday, December 15, 2008

Seattle Soup Line Says Eat Out if You Can


Friday night is our date night. For years my husband and I bucked the national trend and rarely went out for dinner together. We are still well below the national average by going out once a week but it’s been working for us. Now that our country is in a recession and I’ve been laid off we have been forced to reconsider our date night.

Eliminating it entirely is out of the question. We shouldn’t have to sacrifice time spent together just to save some money. We also want to consider the restaurants and their staff’s livelihoods. When you cut something out of your life somebody down the road may lose his or her job. So our plan is to continue to go out but to seek out deals. Lombardi’s in Issaquah has a great happy hour menu and the beauty of it is that they offer it at 8P so you don’t have to eat at the senior citizen hour.

Last week we went to one of our favorite restaurants in Issaquah, Mandarin Garden. The place has been here for more than twenty years in the hands of the same owner. Restaurant seating at Mandarin Garden is typical of a casual Chinese food place meaning nothing special but the seating in the bar is a beautiful experience. Mahogany furniture, a burning fireplace and warm colors make it a very inviting place to dine. We always order the Garlic Chicken Sticks (8) that are served hot with lemon wedges and last week we tried their highly recommended Pot stickers and found them to be equally fantastic. These 2 items and a couple of glasses of wine shouldn’t set you back more than $25.

There are ways and ways to make ends meet and still live your life. It is also good to keep in mind that you live in a community and that everything is connected. So good advice is to help out when you can and if that means eating out sometimes then so be it.

1 comment:

Robj98168 said...

Matts gourmet hot dogs is my fave along with Hey! Paison for a philly cheesesteak, or Wah Kue Cafe in Burien- same owners for 50 over 50 years!