All you can eat...but more than you should

When we want to take the kids and grandkids out to eat but don't want to spend a week's salary, we usually end up taking them to an all-you-can eat restaurant. This way, everyone gets what they want and I don't have to worry about a hypoglycemic kid taking a bite out of a waiter.

Old Country Buffet is located close to our house. That's probably the best thing I can say about it. Actually, the salad-bar isn't bad and that area is seldom as crowded as the meat-carving station is.

Years ago when I was in the Navy and stationed in California, my best friend was an Army sergeant named Rick. Every payday, Rick, his family and I would seek out some buffet. Rick wouldn't eat the day before, wanting to save room  for his feast. Upon arrival, he would survey the offerings and determine what the most expensive item there was. Then he would load his plate up with whatever it was...again and again. Rick was all about getting his money's worth. He would look over whatever the rest of us had on our plates and tell us how much each item cost per serving and we we should all try for more expensive items.

Rick would not appreciate Old Country Buffet. Even their higher-end items (roast beef, etc.) are of fairly low quality. But where else can a kid color-coordinate their plate? 

"Look, papa. I've got all orange foods: Jello, mac&cheese, carrots and orange soda!"

The Main Chinese Buffet (as opposed to the Auxiliary Chinese Buffet) in Lacey, Washington is probably my favorite buffet. not only do they have a Mongolian grill and a great selection of fresh sushi and sashimi, but they also frequently have Dungeness crab and local oysters on the half-shell.

The food all tastes fresh and most of it seems at least moderately low-sodium.  Prices are fair, under $15 per person

Accessible Apartments? HAH!!!

My house and I have a few things in common: Neither of us are in good physical shape - the wiring is bad, the pipes need repair, it's too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. And the house is in even worse shape than me :D

Over the summer, the wife and I had decided to look into someplace newer and more handicapped  accessible. We had just refinanced the house and were pretty sure we could rent it out for (most of) the mortgage payments.

Armed with naive optimism and the results of several Internet searches, we went apartment hunting.

The first thing we found out? Just because a place advertises "handicapped accessible", "barrier free", or "wheelchair friendly" doesn't mean they have any apartments that remotely match those descriptions. 

None of the apartments we looked at had a roll-in shower. They all had bath tubs. That's pretty much a deal-breaker for me. I'm not nearly steady enough on my feet to get in and out of a tub. Last time I tried I fell and would have had to call an ambulance if my weight-lifter son hadn't been there.

The closest we saw was one apartment with several grab-bars, wide doorways and...very plush thick carpet! I really wanted to rap on someones forehead and say "Thick carpet, really? Think, McFly, think! How is a wheelchair supposed to navigate that?" ADA Apartment guidelines state: Carpet or carpet tile shall be securely attached and shall have a firm cushion, pad, or backing or no cushion or pad. Carpet or carpet tile shall have a level loop, textured loop, level cut pile, or level cut/uncut pile texture. Pile height shall be 1/2 inch (13 mm) maximum. This stuff looked twice that length.

None of the rest of the buildings we looked at had anything resembling an accessible apartment. One complex "offered" to allow us to make the necessary modifications - at our own expense, using their contractors and setting aside a deposit to cover reversing the changes.

Eventually we decided to stay in the old money pit and make repairs and modifications.

My God, it's full of meat!

A couple years or so ago, I was watching The Travel Channel when some show about eating insane amounts of meat came on. 

I didn't pay much attention, in my limited experience such places put way more emphasis on quantity than quality. 

But then, they started talking about a Brazilian steakhouse, one where giant skewers of meat are brought to and carved at your table. And they don't stop until you put up a red light/sign. My eyes glazed over as I tried to come up with a business reason to make a trip to wherever this Mecca of Meat was. I may have drooled. 

My wife recognized the expression on my face and assured me it would only be a matter of time before such an establishment opened in Bellevue.

That time came a few months ago. Novilhos Steakhouse opened next to the Factoria Mall in Bellevue.

Various things came up that delayed our trip there. But then we received a $25 gift certificate and decided to go and protein-load. 

Our first mistake was arriving too late for lunch on Saturday. They close from 2:00 to 4:30. So, we decided to burn off some calories in advance and wheeled over to the mall proper.

After 2 hours of "malling" we were more than ready to settle down for some meat.

Accessibility was average. There was ample space for my chair, but the ramp was very steep. The placement of items in the salad bar was a little high, it was hard to see what was being offered.

Speaking of the salad bar, that was impressive...and disappointing, I was impressed by the quality and variety of many items, but some of the more mundane items, like potato salad, were really awful.

As soon as we turned our signs to green, the Gauchos began to arrive with meat-a-plenty. The first offering was prime rib and it was perfect - fork tender and juicy. Subsequent servings were less desirable. The bacon-wrapped filet Mignon was tough and dry as was the chicken breast. The pork sausage was amazing, but the pork ribs were almost inedible.

The sides - deep-fried plantain chips, roasted bananas and mashed potatoes were all quite good. 

We each had a glass of wine, a cup of coffee and shared a lovely mango pudding.

It was a good experience, some of the food was good, but this was not a good value for $150.00