Return to Lil b's

It's been a few months since my first visit a few months ago with Cathy of mmm-yoso.

Today, TC joined MFH and I to meet up with our former co-worker and his wife for lunch at lil b's in North Park...


In case you didn't know, the sign above ROTATES!!!

You really can't miss this place, with the garishly painted exterior. Turns out our friend and his wife were there already and enjoying their morning coffees. We ended up having to move to a bigger booth...

Our former co-worker retired about 12 years ago. When I was first new at my site, he was one of the first people to take me under his wing and really help me out (along with MFH). Since his retirement, we'd kept in touch and sometimes I would get postcards from far off places from him. My favorite one was from Antarctica, where he and his wife boarded a research vessel. It wasn't like they were on a Princess Cruises line. Totally admirable that they do that. Their latest trip was to New Zealand.

Three folks from our table ordered a couple of the $7.99 lunch specials. One of the owners was there that day. Mr. Cool Hair was also there (he is the guy that greets and seats people). Below, my salad which I'd asked for the dressing to be on the side but it wasn't (at least it was Ranch).

TC and my friend both ordered the Fish 'n Chips with a side of tartar sauce and coleslaw, which she really enjoyed. The portion was just right and the pieces were very light, crisp, and meaty.

Cathy had the Crab Cakes the last time and I liked it so much that I ordered it today.

Our friend's wife's plate was the Chili Burger Special, but instead of being on a hamburger bun, it was open faced on bread. You could barely tell what it was under all that cheese. Love that retro cup by the way. I think she only managed half because the portion was a bit too much for her.

MFH inexplicably ordered Mini Corn Dogs. I was surprised since this didn't seem like something she would usually eat. She was kind of disappointed that it didn't come with any sides. It seemed like an awful lot of mini corn dogs and more appropriate as an appetizer rather than an entree.

Loved the crisp exterior of this crab cake. It held in the crabby  filling nicely and wasn't fall apart mushy like some I've had. I ended up eating just the crab cakes and not the bread.

I would gladly have this again...

The service is really good here and the folks working here are really gracious. The food is not OMG-Spectacular, but it's good ole diner food served in a fun and friendly atmosphere. In my opinion, the food was secondary to the great company we shared. I hadn't seen my friend in five years although we'd been corresponding via email on and off since his retirement. A lot can happen in five years and it's a significant amount of time to experience some life-altering events...

My previous visit to lil b's:
January 2013 (includes review links)

Unfortunately, MFH wasn't feeling it for dessert especially since she had all those mini corn dogs. TC and I ended up doing dessert solo after leaving MFH's house...