I've had a few really great eating experiences outside of the home in the last week and a half. First of all, let me tell you about China Star. It is a Chinese buffet in Tucson at the corner of Swan and Grant. It was really good! We were very hungry, having played 4 games that day without a true lunch break. The restaurant staff gave us our own room which was maybe a good idea, since we came straight from the fields to the restaurant, and there was a whole bunch of us, like maybe 25-30 (dirty) ultimate players! The highlight of the buffet, for me, was the ribs. They were really tasty!! They had that red glaze to them, and just sweet enough. And at around $9.50 for the dinner buffet, that was a pretty good deal too!
Later on, (after we washed up :D) we went to the party which was ok. My girl Lexi and I decided to explore the neighborhood for other options, and we ended up at The Buffet (http://www.thebuffetbar.com/), a Tucson landmark down on 9th Street, near 2nd Avenue. It was kind of a dive, but it was packed, and the vodka cranberry hit the spot.
A couple nights before our China Star experience was the annual installation and scholarship banquet for the Arizona Asian American Bar Association. Mostly, Asian American lawyers and judges belong to this group, but EVERYONE looks forward to the annual banquet! Each year it gets bigger and bigger! This year we filled up the entire C-Fu Gourmet restaurant; there must have been at least 500 guests that night, including judges, state senators and representatives, law school deans and other dignitaries. I've been going to this banquet every year for the last 14 years or so, since I was in law school -- the food has always been an amazing 10-course Chinese buffet -- and this event has really grown; I remember about 40 people attending the first one that I went to back then. I've only missed the AAABA banquet one time, about 4 years ago. I had trial that day, and Judge Cohen really wanted to finish the trial, so he kept us in court until we finally finished around 8:30 that night! I was so sad! I couldn't exactly tell the judge that I had to go because I had a banquet to attend...
Anyways, the food this year was as great as it always is! for appetizers we had shrimp dumplings (har gow), pork and shrimp dumplings (shu mai), and BBQ pork buns (cha shu bao). So yummy! The seafood soup came next, and then the entrees started arriving at the table, plate after plate, including everyone's favorite Honey Walnut Shrimp! Wow!!! We also had 2 kinds of Chinese greens, black mushrooms (Mmmmmm!), whole steamed fish, beef and broccoli, fried rice, chow fun noodles... soooo much food!!! Finally, it was time for dessert, and we were all excited to see the fried sesame balls - crispy, chewy, and sweet - and the miniature custard pies which were still warm in their flaky crusts! So satisfying! Such a great banquet!
Last Friday was the Black Women Lawyers Association of Arizona awards banquet. This was a really beautiful event that was held at the University Club in downtown Phoenix. Some really great women were honored that night, including Commissioner Phemonia Miller, County Attorney Frankie Jones, Attorney Ben Thomas (he's not a woman!), Dean of Students Dr. Willie Jordan Curtis, and Honorable Glenda Edmonds. Dr. Shirley Mays, Dean of the Phoenix School of Law, delivered a very inspiring keynote speech. The steak and salmon dinner was very good, but the dessert was OMG!!! It was like a chocolate mousse oreo pie. Oh my goodness that was tasty! It had a layer of chocolate mousse, then a layer of miniature oreos, then another layer of chocolate mousse. Soooo chocolatey!!! Congratulations to the BWLAA, this was truly a memorable and beautiful evening!
So, get out there once in a while, put on a fabulous outfit, and enjoy some food and company outside the house now and then! It's almost as good as home-cooked, and sometimes it's a tiny bit better :-)
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