October 3, 2023 Lunch - Jerusalem Restaurant. Dinner with Dianne , Willy, and Jim - Grilled cheese hamburger on Ratatouille with salad

October 3, 2023 Lunch - Jerusalem Restaurant. Dinner with Dianne , Willy, and Jim - Grilled cheese hamburger on Ratatouille with salad 

I called Diane and invited her and Jim for dinner.

I went to Physical Therapy in Rio Rancho at 11:30 and graduated.  As I  drove back to Albuquerque I saw a sign for Jerusalem Restaurant in Rio Rancho near the Intel plant.

I turned into the parking lot and took a seat. 

The menu looked pretty familiar lots of shawarma, kebabs, and gyros.

I decided to get something I had never ordered, a Shish Kafta platter.

I asked if it came with Tzatziki and the waiter said, “No, it comes with garlic sauce, but you can have a 2 oz. container of tzatziki for $1.49.”

I ordered the tzatziki.

I was soon surprised when a bowl of Tabouli salad was delivered. It was light on Bulgar and had a fair amount of chopped lettuce, but the. Tomato, cucumber green onion, and parsley were finely diced like a good French restaurant. I was delicious.

I ate quite a few bites and there was still enough salad left to garnish two pitas of pockets filled with the kafta, garlic sauce, tzatzik

The pita was warm and soft and I asked for another one for $1.00.  As I left I asked the waiter if they make their own pita, and he said, “Yes.”

When I asked the cost of 6 pita, the waiter said, “$6.99.”

I passed.

The meal with water was $20.00.  I took most of the rice home and 1 1/2 Kafta, so enough for rice for our a dinner and a lunch wit +h  , xmcis’ Kafta.

I enjoyed the lunch and would go back.

I then drove to Costco and bought baguettes, tuna, coffee, heavy cream, three bottles of 2018 Ollana Reserva Rioja, and one bottle of Gruet Blanc de Noir.

I then drove home and watched Nicole Miller’s show announcing the removal  of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Eight Republicans voted to remove him with all 210 Democrats. Also, the judge in the civil trial in NY entered a gag order against Donald Trump for a tweet against the Judge’s court clerk with her address and Internet address, saying she was Chuck Schumer’s girlfriend and in control of the case, both statements were false and upset the judge even though Trump took down the tweet. So one judge has set a limit on Trump’s reckless lies.

I then reviewed a lease from 3:00 to 5:30.

Then Suzette and I cleaned the kitchen and made hamburgers and heated the ratatouille. I also had a snack of herring and herring salad on a slice of baguette and two slices of salami on a slice of baguette.

I then made five hamburgers from the loaf of thawed ground beef, sliced five slices of rosemary bread and five slices of the fresh baguette, sliced slices of Manchego cheese and called Willy and invited him to join us for dinner.

Willy came at 6:30 and Diane and Jim arrived at 6:45 with a bottle of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc and a bottle of Berne Cotes de Provence rose.

I poured five glasses of the 2018 Ollana Reserva I had bought at Costco today and Suzette brought in the hamburgers she had grilled with the medallions of melted cheese and the heated bread slices heated in aluminum on the grill.

Suzette then plated one hamburger on a pile of ratatouille on each of five plates.

Diane carried her bowl of salad of boiled beets wedges, caramelized pecans, red onion, romaine lettuce, red bell pepper and small cheese sticks to the table under the gazebo in the mass of cosmoses in the garden and we added spoonfuls of salad to our plates and enjoyed a hardy, healthy dinner.  

I opened another bottle of Ollana Rioja Reserva and we drank it after diner and talked about past and future trips.  Jim and Diane are taking a 21 day tour to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand this fall and we discussed our trip to Spain.

At 8:45 Willy left and soon thereafter, Jim and Diane left.

I drank several cups of chai and we then watched some news and I blogged until 12:00 p.m.  

Bon Appetit