Rainy day, restaurants, and my BFF

I am so predictable! I swear, I could happily go to the same three places over and over again and guess what? Lucky me got to hit all three spots in the very same day! =) It is stinky weather here now, so any kind of out-of-doors activity is pretty much out, but I promised to help my friend w/ her resume, so we had to make it work somehow. The first place we hit was the lovely and delish Thumbs Up (instead of R. Thomas' b/c of the weather)... because it was after 1pm on a Monday, there was (shocker) no wait at all. I was pulled, as usual, toward the breakfast menu, but I have been trying really hard to eat healthy and I didn't want to ruin that. Also, I have never tried their lunch options, so I wanted to give it a shot, temptation be damned. I was not impressed. The food wasn't bad, but it wasn't blow-me-out-of-the-water amazing like their breakfast is. I was glad there was no wait, and I love their cafe, so it was worth it, but I will stick to omelets and sausage in the future. Then we hit our fave coffee joint in Decatur, The Dancing Goat, and had the best latte in town. It was also half empty due to the day and weather, so we made out like bandits space-wise. What I treasure most about The Dancing Goat is that they have multiple huge tables w/ signs that say "please share this table space w/ your fellow customers". I love my Starbucks, but it drives me batty when a "single" is reading a book at one of only two large-size tables, and my big ass is stuck at a tiny table w/ my journal, a notebook, and my Sidekick fighting for space. So we hung at the Goat til it closed at 9pm and headed to Starbucks to finish our pow-wow. Across the way from my Starbucks is The Vortex, a frequent haunt of mine and my go-to late night spot, so we went there when Starbucks closed. I go because I know it will be good and I know it will be open, and what else do you need at 1am? Also, the drunks (read: the regular clientele) don't get out of control at The V b/c they know that they will A: get kicked out, and B: get banned. Furthermore, their hummus is killer, so is the Vortex Fondue, and they have a vast collection of local brews (I heart Sweetwater). So, yeah. The same spots I have talked up on my blog are the same spots I hit on a regular basis. I can't help it: I am a sucker for consistency. I know what to expect at these places... heck, my Starbucks is the American version of an English pub: I know who I'll see on a Saturday at noon, and I know who I'll see there every weeknight, too. Same goes for The Vortex; I don't necessarily know the servers by name, but I know who's new and who changed their hair. Gimme six more months, and I hope to say the same about The Dancing Goat and Thumbs Up, too.