harley
part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5
after the show, i sat like a zombie in the hotel room for a few hours. watched tv, my head bobbing many times, as i'd temporarily fall asleep, but i didn't want to sleep.
finally hopped a red train out to seaport village, mid-afternoon. too early for dinner. zombie walked over to the ben & jerrys and got a scoop of strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone. yes, overly expensive ice cream, was what hit the spot. sort of a tradition, but my better half wasn't with me, so it wasn't as good.
i settled down on the edge of a planter to eat it, and watched the provided entertainment—a pan pipe whistle blower guy. if you watched that episode of south park, you know he's keeping the world a safer place.
back at the hotel, watched a couple of hours of mindless repeat episodes of some show i used to watch, to kill time. also took a great deal of pleasure staring out the window, watching the stumbling drunk bimbos trying to walk down a small flight of steps, and into the street. total strangers having to stop them from getting hit by cars, or getting into cars with random men. never understood the need to drink to get blitzed that much. hope they enjoyed waking up the next morning.
didn't know where to go for dinner, but knew i was running out of energy to get it. finally decided i was on vacation, so just roll with it, and not worry that anything was going to cost too much. i wanted meat. not going to be an in-n-out anywhere nearby. decided i'd just find a steak. looked up menus of nearby restaurants, and the price of little eight-ounce chunks of cow were forty bucks and up.
i remembered we used to have a joking argument with a former coworker about who had better steak—ruths chris or mortons. he argued mortons because it's where his family had always gone, had gone for his engagement party, etc.
we argued ruths chris because of the food. it's great, even if it is pricey.
san diego has both. ruths chris was just a red train and a bit of a walk away. been there. it's excellent.
mortons happened to be about a block away. have never been, so went there out of curiousity. no reservation and just after five, so took a chance they could squeeze in a single person. they did, in spite of my scruffy car show jeans and t-shirt outfit. seated me at a nice table in the back. very dark in there. restaurant still pretty empty, but noisy nevertheless.
like ruths chris, everything was a la carte. they brought out a loaf of bread while i looked the menu over. like the diameter of an elephant's foot loaf of bread. sliced off a chunk, and slapped some butter on it. and was disappointed that it wasn't the best bread i ever tasted. took a few bites to be sure, and no, didn't like it.
ordered just a steak and a baked potato, and a coke. turned on my ipad and waited. i'm sure they don't often get a patron lighting up an ipad very often, so i got a few awkward stares from other diners. they were loud, and rude. i ignored them.
the food shows up. waiter stands by with the condiment thingy, wanting to load up my potato to my satisfaction. he seemed disappointed that i only wanted butter on it. then when i started to add salt and pepper from the shakers on the table, was sad that i did want them to run off and fetch the big pepper mill.
my final opinion of mortons: the food was average. the steak wasn't flavorful, the potato was huge, but it was just a potato. i skipped the creme brulee that i would usually have. i could have had the same meal for a fifth of the price, albeit less salty, at sizzlers.
so eric, i think i will just stick with ruths chris for special occasions. you should try it sometime. even the garlic mashed potatoes will rock your world.
after that very pricey meal, back to the hotel to soak my disappointment out in the tub. packed up my bags, so i could sleep in, and be ready to go quickly.
to be continued...