Bonefish Grill

Betsy's twin sister, Katie ("Hey Brian, watcha doin"), and her husband, Jimmy, came up from Atlanta to visit last weekend. Although they talk on the phone, and on FaceTime, multiple times a day, Katie and Jimmy don't often make the drive up to visit (to be fair, we don't regularly drive down to see them). So Betsy is always pestering her sister about coming up to see us. 

I mean ALWAYS pestering Katie. EVERY time they talk. It wouldn't be so bad if Katie didn't promise she was coming up, then change her mind at the last minute.

Here's how a typical week's conversation goes:

Monday

Betsy: "Katie, you coming up this weekend"

Katie: "Uh, what day is that? 13th? Yeah we can come up!"

B: "Awesome! I have so much stuff for you guys to do!" [Note: Betsy putting her to work so often may be a contributing factor in Katie's decision not to visit]

Tuesday

B: "You're still coming up, right?"

K: "When, THIS weekend?"

B: "Yes, Saturday! We need Jimmy to clean out the gutters and patch up the hole in the garage ceiling. I need you to help me plant the garden and pressure wash the driveway! You'd better be coming up here!!!" [I really think Betsy should hold off on the list of prospective chores until after they arrive]

K: "Uh...yeah I think we can make it up...we'll see..."

Wednesday

B: "What time are you getting here on Saturday?"

K: "Oh...uh...I don't think we can come up"

B: "Why not??"

K: "Well, there's supposed to be a lot of traffic that day and it might rain"

B: "So?!?"

K: "It'll be nice in Atlanta. I think we're just going to go dirt-bike riding"

B: "What?!? You promised you'd be here!!!"

K: "Well...maybe we can still come. We'll see"

Thursday

B: "Grace is really excited about seeing you!"

K: "Yeah...we're not coming up this weekend"

B: "Why do you ALWAYS do this?!? Just come up!!

K: "I just don't feel like driving up that day"

B: "Come on, Katie. Just come up"

K: "Sorry"

B: "Katie! Come up!"

K: "What's Grace doing?"

B: "She's crying because you're not coming up. Tell her, Grace!"

G: "Daddy, Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left?"

Me: "Repeat"

G: "Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left?"

Me: "Repeat"

G: "Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left?"

Me: "Repeat"

G: "Pete and Repeat were on a--"
B: "Be quiet you two!! Katie, Come up!!"
K: "We can't do it. It's too late now; we already made other plans"
B: "Fine. I'm not talking to you"

Friday
K: "Hey guys, watcha' doin?"
B: "Hey Katie, you'll never guess what happened to me today!!"

The following Monday, the same conversation plays out. Katie will always promise to come up, Betsy will get excited, Katie will decide to stay home, Betsy's hopes will be crushed. Grace and I are subjected to the ensuing sibling bickering.

But, last weekend, they drove up!!! Admittedly, it was so they could retrieve a trailer that was stolen from them the last time they visited and they were only staying the night. Yet it was a visit nonetheless!! Jimmy patched up our garage ceiling from that time I fell through it and they helped pressure wash the driveway--it's crazy how the only time anything seems to get done around here is when they are in town.

So, since they were here, we decided to go out to eat. Betsy and I really wanted to go to Bonefish Grill because they have a great gluten-free menu and we hadn't been there in a while (since before I started bringing my Vitamix to restaurants). Katie and Jimmy agreed, and we went on Friday night.

Grace is getting better at photography

We had to wait a few minutes until our table was ready, but it was great weather and we didn't mind sitting outside.

Come for the 'Bang Bang Shrimp,' Stay for the Memories!! And the bill...you need to pay the bill.

I ordered the rainbow trout, but the waitress said they were all out of trout, so I got the salmon with fresh vegetables and asparagus. The restaurant had no problem putting my meal in the Vitamixer. It was freezing inside, but they blended my dinner really hot so I was happy pushing it through the syringe.

Grace photobomb

Dining out with Katie and Jimmy is always an experience. They invariably find something wrong with their meal every time. Meat is overcooked, undercooked, service is slow, restaurant is too cold, lights too dim, meal too expensive, waiter too rude, no silverware, hair in soup, food too greasy, portion too small, too big, too cold, too hot, they've seen it all. At one restaurant in Florida, they ordered the Surf 'N Turf, only to discover that they'd gotten the "Surf OR Turf" (seriously, have you ever heard of Surf OR Turf???) and had to choose between fish and steak. Then the waitress brought the meal out, dropped it on the floor, and acted like it was Katie' and Jimmy's fault. There was a huge scene and, long story short, they are never returning to that place.

So what was up with Bonefish Grill? Here they are judging their dinners:

That was the only bite Katie had of her fish taco

Other than the Bang Bang Shrimp, which everyone agreed was awesome, the two food pessimists were less than satisfied. Their concerns were legitimate. Jimmy's 6 oz. filet mignon was the size of a meatball and the quality of the meat wasn't that great for the price. The fish in Katie's fish taco was dry and she really didn't like the taste of the mango salsa. She only had one bite out of three tacos, so the restaurant was kind enough to take her entree off their bill.

From their standpoint, Katie and Jimmy are extremely unlucky when it comes to eating out. They acknowledge that they're hard to please and most restaurants just don't get it right. From an outside perspective, it might seem as though they are far too finicky about their meals and not allowing themselves to simply enjoy eating out with their family. Hypothetically, someone who eats through a feeding tube might go so far as to say that they're very lucky to be able to taste their food in the first place. Hypothetically.

Grace LOVES her Uncle Jimmy

Hope you guys hurry back!! Grace wants you to build her a tree house!!!