Jack is short for Jackopher: Dallas, day two

Alright, day two! 

I again tried to stick to a schedule, and we were meant to leave the house at 8am, because the Dallas World Aquarium opens at 8:30 and I wanted to get great parking and have the aquarium mostly to ourselves, since it was early on a school day. But Rhyann took forever to get ready. I didn't make a horrible deal about it, since it was their birthday, but it was aggravating, and I did remind them to be mindful of their time management. 

I had not slept very well, as Derek woke up at 5am with an internal stye, and he was miserable. I was up for about an hour and a half rying to figure out how to help him, so I was a litttle sleep deprived and kind of grumpy. Lack of time management is still a pet peeve of mine, but I'm glad I at least didn't explode about it. Like I did at Derek the day before. :/

We did get great parking at DWA, though!! I think all around, our trip to DWA was a great success. I haven't yet gone through my camera macros from the aquarium, but I'm not expecting much. 

He's so handsome!!! Derek stayed here taking bird photos for a good long time. No word yet on if any panned out. 

That front birdy rushed right up to me to  make friends! And that tiny little black and yellow bird would not stop harrassing the toucan, which I found delightful.

Taking photos of the friggin' bats. I fucking love that man so much. 

After Dallas World Aquarium, it was time to eat, so we found an Indian restaurant calld Shivas. Within reasonable walking distance of DWA. 

The vibe was pretty immaculate, and it smelled fucking AMAZING. Alex didn't order anything, not even to go (she got curry from Jinya to eat at home the night before), bu that didn't stop the rest of us! She did eat one piece of naan and loved it, and I mean. 

Rightfully so. It looked incredible. 

Our server came out and took our orders, and of course asked us about spice level. Derek and I usually order things at a medium to gauge how spicy shit is. Rhyann went and ordered their dish att an 8, which I marked as bold, but the future would tell us it was not bold at all. Derek asked our server how spicy they get their food at, they said a 5. We ordered our appetizers att a 4, in case Alex wanted some, Derek got his food at an 8 as well, and I got mine at a 5 thinking maybe Alex would eat some later and if it was spicy, she wouldn't want it. 

The onion pakora. Delicious, but not spicy. 

The Gobi 65. Again, delicious but not spicy. It was very mouth warming, but nothing to write home about. My chili oil is spicier. 

Derek's order of something or other, at a spice level 8 that he reported was weak heat. 

Rhyann's order of lamb something or other that they similarly reported was a weak heat. 

My order of matar paneer that was so not spicy that Alex could have gobbled up every last bit and not noticed. I DID, however, have a fun reaction to the parsley! There was a fuck ton in there, and I had to stop eaing it when my mouth got ichy and my eyes started watering. 

The rice! Lovely color. Also no heat, but that was intentional. 

After Shivas, we went back to the apartment to take a nap, and then get ready for Rhyann's 21st birhday bash dinner at Uchiba. 

Now. 

Derek and I get really excited to share food experiences with Rhyann. Alex likes to eat, she loves our food, but she's not into it like Derek and I are. And that's cool, no shade at Alex. But Rhyann has expressed interest, so we want to foster that. We had been agonizing over where to take Rhyann for their 21st birthday dinner. Not just because 21 is a big birthday, but because it had to be great food. We looked though restaurants for MONTHS and we finally landed on Uchiba. We figured that Rhyann loves sushi, and tapas is a great vehicle for food exploration, and Uchiba is both sushi AND tapas, so like. Boom. Perfect place! And boy fucking howdy was it ever great. 

Well, great looking to me. I didn' get anything other than shishito peppers. On the house, because the house felt bad about my dietary restrictions. 

Alright, here we go. Uchiba. I will do my best to remember what each item is. 

hey did have a vegan/vegetarian menu that they brought to me, but I didn't take a picture of that. 

I THINK this is the zero sen makimono? Hamachi, avocado, shallot, and cilantro. Nobody is around for me to ask, dammit. So I'm guessing. EDIT: Rhyann is nw awake and has informed me that this was actually a scallop roll. 

Too obvs, that's unagi. Both Rhyann and Derek reported that their sauce was especially delicious, though they did call it a fish caramel instead of eel sauce. Kind of disconcerting. 

sake and akami...

My on the house shishito peppers! Which were fucking DELICIOUS. 

Alex's wagyu skewers with potato medallions and aioli, so you know it's fancy.

Brussel sprouts that Derek and Rhyann reported as being totally fucking amazing. 

I believe those are pork dumplings? I am not positive, but I think that's right. 

Agedashi tofu. One of my absolute favorites. And I couldn't have any. :(

Pork jowl. It says it is adorned with a spicy gastrique, but I don't see it. 

Unagi, sake, akami, shime saba. Mackrel. My fucking sashimi nemesis. I've had it at ONE place where I loved it. One. And everywhere else I fucking hate it. 

Rhyann ordered the prawns, and it came with heads! What a treat! Rhyann did not opt to suck the brains out as Derek and I suggested. I think they said the little eyes freaked them out. Rhyann is saying right now, "it was the face, honestly, its little face. I know they have a face when they're alive, but I just can't eat the face". 

I shake my fist at the sky over mackerel!!! 

I believe this was fatty tuna belly and I think sea bream? Rhyann is telling me right now that the assumed sea bream is sharkskin flounder. 

Pork bao. No way are we ever anywhere with this as an option and Derek doesn't order it. 

karaage with kimchi caramel. CARAMEL. 

I believe they ordered another pair of unagi, because obviously. Eel is too fucking good. It was always my favorite thing to order. When I lived in Vegas, I lived down the road from a pretty decent sushi place, and my first time going there, I didn't know an order was 2 pieces, so I ordered 12 pieces thinking it was only one each. Nope. It was 24. But they turned it into this gorgeous dragon for me. That really was an excellent consolation prize for my sushi novice embarrassment. 

Uchiba's ACTUAL shishito peppers, not the freebie ones tthey made special for me. Rhyann and Derek agreed that these peppers were trying too hard, and my peppers were way better tasting. 

The pho dumplings that Derek said he wished were a bit more pho-y. 

I believe this is the 72 hour australian wagyu. 

Now, I do  not think that Derek or Rhyann got dessert. If they did, I do not know about it, because sometthing in that restaurant smelled like cat food, and it was making me nauseated as fuck. I had to leave. Alex left with me. 

When Derek and Rhyann were done, we got ready to leave, and Derek asked me to take a picture of he cars waiting at the valet. 

Not because he's a fan of cybertrucks, we all think those are stupid as fuck, but for whatever those oher two cars are. Lamborghinis? I don't know or care. 

We drove me to Jinya so I could get my dinner for the evening (I had Jinya literally every night we were there), and then went home to play Cards Against Humanity for a couple of hours. An all around good day, I believe!