70986 Tue Jul 05 00:25:53 -0700 2005 0 2 Los Angeles Area 0 388494 So, Saturday was the EE's and my first wedding anniversary. We toyed with the idea of returning to our wedding lunch location -- Jerry's Dogs in Santa Ana. But we felt a little more upscale, so hied ourselves to King's Fishhouse in Orange. As always, it was dependably good. I had the pasta with fresh tomatoes, basil and shrimp preceeded by a bowl of their Boston-Style chowder. The EE had one of the seasonal specials -- sea bass with a crust of lemony almondy crumbs. It was yummy with a lemon butter sauce. He always orders the corn as a side and I think they make it fresh. At least it had a few strands of silk in it. Total tab including tax and tip -- dinner for two with no alcohol: about $57. Yesterday we wanted an early dinner. I tentatively suggested Clearman's Northwoods Inn in La Mirada since the EE wasn't terribly hungry. I figured he could get an appetizer, then share my dinner. This turned out to be an unexpectedly good idea. Well, he ordered the shrimp cocktail and I mean to tell you, it was the best I've ever tasted. It was five ENORMOUS shrimp -- there was easily 6 or 7 oz of shrimp -- beautifully shelled and deveined, served with a conventional but tasty and tangy cocktail sauce. Yum. I had ordered the broiled shrimp as my entree. They were the same shrimp, perhaps a shade smaller. I think I got 6 of them. Again they were beautifully shelled and deveined (they don't leave that little "cuff" of shell on the shrimp -- the only remaining shell was the tail). THey were perfectly and simply grilled over wood and they were great. Along with the old familiar Clearman's sides, it was a surprisingly good meal. Incidentally, I've had a couple steaks at Northwoods Inn in the last few months that were surprisingly good, and cooked as ordered (medium rare). Tab for the meal as described, about $50 including tax and tip. All in all, a couple of nice meals to kick off our second year together. Tue Jul 05 00:25:53 -0700 2005 0 Dorothy