The Xmaskaties And The Hawthornes Go Out For Lunch. Katie Acts Really Cute. I Videotape An Approaching Storm. And That's My Exciting Life.

Xmaskatie, Mr. Xmaskatie, and Katie came out to the beach for a short visit Sunday. Dixie's Cousin Katie loves listening intently to her mistress. In fact, she hangs on her every word. Please enjoy this video of Katie and Xmaskatie. And this one. And this one too. (And that would be me sounding like Tickle Me Elmo in the background.)

Xmaskatie just sent me her photograph of Katie.

Apparently this is what I was supposed to get of her smiling.

She smiles with her lower teeth.

I was trying to get how Katie cocks her head

at Xmaskatie's every word.

Since the Xmaskaties were in town,

we all decided to go out to eat. We settled on Kill Devil Grill, on the beach road, another one of the few places I like down here. (The others being Lucky 12 Tavern, farther south on the beach road, and Darrell's in Manteo, if you're jonesin' for a fried fix.)

I ordered the house salad with the house dressing which was light, refreshing, and skimpy, as usual, on croutons. Before, when I've had the house salad, it came with tiny dices of tomatoes and cucumber, but this one didn't have any. The greens were very delicate and green-tasting and I've always liked their fresh and flavorful vinaigrette.

Xmaskatie had the Beef Caesar Wrap, with strips of medium rare rib eye steak, with romaine lettuce in a Caesar dressing (I've had their Caesar dressing and it's quite good, although it doesn't match up to ours.), in a jalapeno wrap I believe. It looked really good, so I was beginning to experience "entree envy" once again.

Mr. Hawthorne had the fresh and crisp "Big Salad" with assorted greens, feta cheese, candied pecans, dried fruits, and bits of chicken with a Champagne Vinaigrette. I had a bite and it was quite tasty.

Both Mr. Xmaskatie and I ordered the tuna sandwich. And we both requested our tuna medium-rare and were quickly assured by our waitress, "Oh, don't worry. He knows how to cook tuna." And we all asked for "extra-crispy fries." The tuna was served on a toasted bun, with shredded lettuce, tasteless tomato, (Hey, all tomatoes are tasteless now, so I don't hold that against them at all.) and a seasoned mayonnaise. Seasoned with what, I'm not quite sure. Or it may just have been a mayo I'm not familiar with that has a different flavor. Let it be known here and now that I am not at all a fan of mayonnaise. In fact, I've been known to have to stifle a gag reflex when looking at a jar of Hellman's. That said, I don't have a problem at all with my own homemade mayonnaises, but they neither look nor taste like Hellman's, which is Mr. Hawthorne's mayonnaise of choice. Now to the sandwich. Sorry, but my tuna was overcooked and dry. I wasn't happy with it at all, but I don't think the waitress told the cook to cook it medium-rare. She didn't write down our orders at the table, so I don't know whether she wrote them down later then handed them to the kitchen or just told 'em "2 tuna sammies." Most people would probably eat tuna this way, since that's how it's usually served and they don't know the difference, but medium-rare tuna is a totally different animal. It's like filet mignon. Overcooked tuna is dry, crumbly in texture, totally different in flavor from the rare, and unappetizing to me. Mr. Xmaskatie's piece wasn't as overcooked as mine, but his was a bit thicker. It was still overcooked though. I was disappointed in the tuna. But, when I go back and order tuna again (And I will be back.), I'll make sure whomever's cooking my tuna knows I.Want.It.Medium.Rare. The fries were good, but not necessarily extra-crispy. Again, I don't think our waitress relayed this to the kitchen. On the way home, I made Mr. Hawthorne pull over so I could get a picture of the Wright Brothers National Memorial Monument. I liked the way the light played off the pylon and I liked the storm clouds in the background.

I've always wondered what that little structure at the base is.

Here's a video I shot on the way home of a fast approaching storm. And another. We got home just as it started pouring and Mr. Hawthorne and I spent the rest of the afternoon bitching about how much we had spent on lunch that day, how mediocre and disappointing my tuna was, and what kind of meal we could have fixed ourselves for a fraction of the price.