My Idea of a Super Bowl

Last month I got to go out to lunch with some coworkers to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We went to a traditional Taiwanese "hot pot" restaurant in Gardena and I had such a good time I've been jonesing to bring Stacy and the fam. Given that neither of the kids have been seriously maimed in a week or two, so we decided this would be a good weekend to press our luck.

We piled into "Goldie" (as L refers to our golden minivan) and made the jaunt up Western Blvd to the Asian metropolis of Gardena to the Boiling Point restaurant. Stacy ordered the seafood soup, I got the beef, and we ordered a second seafood to split between L & N. Klutzy kids and bowls belching prominences of fire always make for an edge-of-your-seat dining experience!

The kids were fascinated by the food; N was particularly impressed that the shrimp in his bowl still had their eyes.  L pointed out that a significant number of the denizens of her soup were in fact "bivalves."  Eventually N became concerned that the "smoke" coming off the boiling bowls and the fire whipping out from under them was drying out his sensitive lips.  Mommy's emergency lip balm evidently wasn't rated for hot-pot dry-out, so the complaining continued on through the meal.

By the time we finished we'd managed narry a spilled drink nor a single scorched body part!  This was a celebratory accomplishment!  (We don't count the 8 or 10 dropped chopsticks recovered from the floor.)  As a reward for "trying and not dying" we made a second stop on the way home - the Ranch 99 Market on Artesia Blvd where we promised the kids a special treat.  I love that place.  It is a real-deal Asian market and I always feel compelled to show anyone I drag there the meat counter.  You'll find staples like filet mignon and pork tenderloin along side more unexpected delicacies like duck feet and twelve different types of tripe.  The pork bung looked especially fresh.  Sadly they appeared to have run short on pork uterus.

The special treat ended up being peanut butter ice cream bars, which is about all Mommy would let me get away with after the meat counter tour.