vacation food....

ok, so my weekend in ouisville hardly counts as a vacation.....but i was determined to have a good time in my last outing as an academic team parent....and so i planned for 3 meals 'out'.....for starts...we called in a reservation to lynn's paradise cafe just moments after we picked up reese at her house.....if you don't already know who reese is, then 1) you are missing out and 2) i felt really nervous driving 2 of the brightest young people i know in my vehicle at the same time......doesn't the queen fly separately from the rest of her family just in case of a disaster?..........anyway....i digress.,,,,from lynn's paradise cafe......a really fun place for the pre-teen crowd...it would seem.....as there were no fewer than 3 tables of pre-teen birthdays...with stoic papas or mammas holding down the fort and maintaining some sort of control on the chaos...this place is done in 60's/70's trailor trash chic....and it really works...i had a pale ale on tap that was regrettably bitter......but the spinach salad with shredded gouda, boiled egg and bacon was really fine.......there was a purse for sale in the world of swirl gift shoppe (the entrance/exit) that was made out of a ky liscense plate.......not my style but i thought it was very clever......we could have toasted to absent friends...those in paris (not the one in ky)...who we were sure could not be having such a good time as we were having......others in my party had a grilled portabello sandwich....and a fried chicken salad......sunday night our little trio opted for thai...which meant an urban adventure in a semi-snow storm....back the way we had come......difficult with snow covering street signs.....and moreso since my sense of direction appeared to be off by 456 degrees or so.....and thus we crept through what must have been cassius clay's neighborhood.....hoping that nobody would be out int his weather.......the car that seemed to be parked in our lane outside a liquour store troubled us all briefly....but eventually we found our way back to bardstown road and watterson parkway for thai siam.....we knew it was opened because we called ahead.....and we were able to sit anywhere we wanted...and i ordered what i traveled these many miles for.....the fried tofu appetizer plate that i had 2+ years ago on another governor's cup weekend.....i dined alone on that occassion and brought scw carryout.......this tofu dish has the most delicious dipping sauce/paste made of sesame seeds and unknown ingredients.....best consumed with a piquant cucumber salad in a tiny dish.....not really a pickle....but oh so yummy.......i had a coconut milk-based chicken and vegetable soup rather than an entree....others had pad thia and/or green curry.......monday lunch.....well.....monday lunch always means that one's quick recall team failed to progress.......and that is ok because we hunted down a wonderful and crowded indian place on hurstborne lane....where the buffet was exceptional.....not too many hot things and lots of succulent vegetables, chick peas, an orange chicken that was not curry but something better......great meal...with a kingfisher beer.....i hope this what the best choice....i could not recal fromt he l.o's pictures/commentary on the subcontinent.......and so a great weekend...of good food, good company.........one last time........and spring break.......just a few weeks away...for real vacation food.....up east.....