geli wrote:Thanks to Bridgestone for the excuse to go to LSC as well as the addictive Swedish candy. Mmmm, Dumle....As for the Ferrari candy, I think the Crown Prince must have really strong teeth.

A big thanks to Bridgestone for being the driving force behind a terrific Monday night Lao Sze Chuan outing. Great turnout, a spot-on LSC menu highlight reel and interesting conversation fueled by LTH energy and Tsingtao.

The Swedish candy Bridgestone generously shared was, as Geli mentions, a real treat. In particular I liked the intense chewy licorice and salty life saver like disks with hints of coco and black licorice.

A number of us, including the Bridgestone clan, headed to the Skylark for drinks where, of course, mayhem ensued.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:A number of us, including the Bridgestone clan, headed to the Skylark for drinks where, of course, mayhem ensued.

Oooooooooo...mayhem. I'm SO jealous!

LTH,

Bridgestone w/Plopp
Swedish candy, or is he trying to tell us something?



Array of Swedish Candy



Bridgestone Sr., Cathy2, Josephine



Mike G w/Bulgarian Army Officers Hat

Finally back in Sweden where the weather is sunny and close to 40 degrees warmer than 80% of the weather I had in Illinois this past weekend...

Gary truly went above and beyond any call of LTH-duty in preparing a Lao Sze Chuan blow-out for us. We had essentially all of the board favorites I've been dreaming about all of these years. Everything was incredible although stand-outs for me include the beef maw, the 3-chili chicken, the ma-po tofu and the dry-chili fried shrimp (in my glee, I sadly forgot both camera and pen so I'm hoping someone will correct me if my names are wrong). Somewhere there's a picture of Gary in deep conference with Tony and a 2-page sheet of menu ideas in hand. Thank you, Gary! Your experience and planning (not to mention your personality) made for an incredible dinner.

And, of course, as one reads time and time again, LTH gatherings are great social events. It was wonderful to see my few old aquaintances again as well as meet so many new (for me) posters. I'm so pleased that you all braved the snow and rush-hour traffic to attend this dinner.

So, thanks everyone for a wonderful evening!

(Oh, and thanks Gary for making me the new posterboy for "Plopp"... This is, if nothing else, incentive for me to bring my camera to a future event so that I can get a picture of you when I hand you a bag of: .)

Thanks, Gary, for organizing such a nice, Monday night event and to everyone who attended for making it so special. Even though the trip from Highland Park to LSC took nearly 2 hours (a big thanks to C2 for driving), it was definitely worth it. Not only was it an honor and a pleasure to finally meet one of my LTH heroes, Bridgestone (and family) but the food was delicious too, as usual . . .

Santander, we only had 3 dishes that I've not posted pictures of before. Since I didn't do the ordering, I'm not sure of the exact details but I'm confident that someone else can fill them in. In any case, here are the images . . .


Eggplant



Sweet Potato puffs



Boiled Beef


A few more, non-menu images . . .


LTH'ers, in the house



LTH'ers, in the house



Here, Bridgestone serves up the delicious Swedish candies that he brought from home



Swedish candies



MHL examines one of the offerings

=R=

Bridgestone wrote:Gary truly went above and beyond any call of LTH-duty in preparing a Lao Sze Chuan blow-out for us.

Bridgestone,

Truthfully, this was a very easy dinner/get together to set up. I simply posted Bridgestone would be in town and, even on a snowy Monday night, the response was terrific. You cut a wide swath on LTHForum, a wide swath indeed.

Menu wise, I picked a few favorites, went through an old thread or three, chatted a bit with Mike G* and, Bob's yer Uncle, dinner.

Enjoy,
Gary

*Curiously, Mike is one of the few people I know who is not fond of LSC's MaPo Tofu, which I like to order with the $2 pork option. $1 pork option is not enough, $3 too much.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Santander, we only had 3 dishes that I've not posted pictures of before. Since I didn't do the ordering, I'm not sure of the exact details but I'm confident that someone else can fill them in. In any case, here are the images . . .

Eggplant = Chinese Egg-Plant in Garlic Sauce (# 637)
Sweet Potato puffs = Gratis dish Tony sent out, not on the menu
Boiled Beef = Boiled beef in Spicy Szechaun sauce (#530)

With the Boiled Beef I was asked if we wanted Szechuan pepper, to which I, of course, answered yes.

Thanks, R and G! I have a whole slew of pictures to post (including Szechuan Fried Breadsticks, which were awesome) from Valentine's Day, and will start working our tried-and-true main courses in with your wonderful photography.

In fairness, I should point out that "Mike G's suggestions" would better be described as "What Gleam ordered for our table at the Xmas Eve Dinner."