Quick Bites

**Last weekend we had an exceptionally romantic meal at Cafe des Amis in Parkville. I love how cozy the dining rooms are, and how wonderful the service. I love long leisurely meals where no one leaves the check and then tells you not to rush; at Cafe des Amis you sit and sip your wine and finish your conversations (and eavesdrop on those around you) and then ask for the check when you're ready.

By far my favorite part of the meal was the mussels. Their Moules Marinieres Facon Odile are steamed in sherry wine with shallots and garlic and finished with cream. I wanted to ask for a straw to fully clean the bowl when the bread from our bread basket was gone, but I thought better of it. And I've thought about those mussels every day since, which I think means that they were exceptionally delicious. The rest of our meal was so good - but not mussels-good. I think I'm going to start using that as a new unit of measurement. I'm obsessed.

Cafe des Amis
112 1/2 Main St in Parkville, MO
816*587*6767

**Yesterday, we spun the lunch wheel at work and were ordered by fate to eat Chinese food. I love our lunch wheel - it has been altered to suit our favorites and weed out the spaces that always make us spin again, like "Donuts." It takes all the painful indecision out of lunchtime and tends to lean heavily toward the "Indian Buffet" space we created. It is a magical lunchtime tool - if you'd like to use a virtual version, try the Wheel of Lunch.

We decided to try someplace new to us and so we ventured out to Pei Wei, which is the fast casual concept from the PF Changs people. I loved my lunch - the Thai Dynamite with chicken had a zippy Sriracha chili sauce with Thai basil, garlic, and soy and was served with a huge mound of brown rice. The order of edamame was completely unnecessary but good, and I saw so many other tasty things whizzing by our booth that I hope we spin Chinese again next time.

Pei Wei Asian Diner
9222 Metcalf in OPKS
or
15141 W 199th St in Olathe