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Tennis and Jamaican food!  On my way to a tennis match on Monday, I drove through Stafford, thinking I might just spot an International food restaurant that wasn't already on my list. On Murphy Road I whizzed by this spot in a strip mall, right next to a liquor store. I kept it in mind. (okay I might have to subtract a point for the sign. The dotted pink image on top is really the damaged surface where some something was removed! Minus 1 ) Two New to the Blog! It actually didn't take much arm twisting after the match to convince teammates, Claire and Brenda to join me on a post tennis dining adventure. My list already includes all the easy places like Mexican and Italian, but they said they were willing to step out of the comfort zone a bit. They followed my car and I ran in House of Manna to have a peek. I headed back to the parking lot with my report and a thumbs up. "Guaranteed Dining Adventure!" I announced. 2 bonus points for adding 2 new friends to the blog! Atmosphere!  The first thing you notice inside, is the tropical mural with a festive fellow grilling up some jerked chicken... I assume! We were the only diners the whole time, (lots of carry outs) so we chose the best table, right by the mural. Besides the inviting mural, the tables looked welcoming with their plaid cloths covered by clean glass. There were even a couple of computers set up, reminding me of an internet cafe you might come across in Jamaica. And there was of course, lively Reagge music playing as well. 4 bonus points for Jamaican feel! Random Bonus points Lets give some extra points for this and that... We had our words of wisdom written on the wall. I had an actual Jamaican carbonated grapefruit drink that sizzled like pepper on my tongue. And there was a TV that was turned off. (I get so tired of TVs) And there was a gum machine in the corner. Nothing Jamaican about that...I'm just fond of gum machines! 3 random bonus points!  Food!  Claire's expression does not match the words we were hearing from her at lunch. I believe she was pondering what exactly was in her tortilla type meal. I would have to say, Claire was probably the most vocal over all 3 dishes. "Awesome!!" Was heard frequently. She is an intense and vocal diner! Jerked and Curry!  Brenda and I couldn't decide over the jerked or the curried chicken, so we shared. Brenda's curry (R) was tender and smooth. My jerked chicken was great on its own, but even better with the spicy sauce. (Brenda is a fan of spicy, so this worked well for her) The rice and slaw were a little tasteless, but there was yet another sauce for the rice. Perfect! Got to love a little plantain thrown in as well! 3+ points for food at House of Manna! Don't Worry...we had a People Encounter!  1 bonus point for Sharon's Jamaican accent. 2 points for Sharon's sweet, slow moving style. When we couldn't decide which meat to order, she disappeared for what seemed days and returned with a complimentary sample plate...which would have been enough to feed the 3 of us for lunch! She was pretty quiet, but came to life when talking about Jamaica. She couldn't believe we had never been. She also wanted to know if we had won our tennis matches. Pretty cute that she even asked. Must give Derrick, our photographer a thumbs up. He was the more outgoing of the 2. He was able to firmly let Sharon know her sweater looked just fine. "You don't need to take it off. No one will see those food spots." He was right. 2 bonus points for observing this casual banter between Sharon and Derrick! 16+ Total Points for our dining adventure at House of Manna!
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The Dining Blog
This is a blog about Dining Adventures. Sometimes, I talk about food. Below, you can read how this started. On July 4th 2011, I set a goal to try 50 culturally diverse restaurants in one year! (I knew that was possible, living in the Houston area) I spent the year pulling in friends and family to join me, on some unusual dining adventures. I met some curious people, tried some scary foods and explored places and cultures I never would have otherwise. Even though I met my goal, I learned too much to end my adventures in dining. I have continued blogging about memorable dining adventures of all kinds, near and far... and all the discoveries and funny things I've learned along the way! Locations and types of dining adventures, are listed further down. Archives
July 2020
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