What Did We Eat?

Nola Restaurant and Bar in Palo Alto

   

On Halloween night, our extended family treated us to a News Orleans dinner at Nola in Palo Alto downtown.  It was quite a busy night, good thing we had a reservation.  The decor of the restaurant totally fits the "Halloween" theme and the servers were dressed in costumes. 

    

For appetizer, we ordered the fried crawfish and calamari (not pictured).  Then Joe and I each got a huge bowl of gumbo, served with a piece of cornbread.  The gumbo tasted ok, I just wish they had put okra in it. For entree, I ordered the Crawfish, Shrimp and Scallop Etouffee while Joe got the Cajun Chicken Penne Pasta.  The etouffee came with two big shrimps but it tasted too much like the gumbo.  I remember I had the best etouffee in New Orleans many years ago when Joe took me there.  For desserts, we had to have the "Beignets Du Monde" with three sauces: maple brandy, chicory chocolate, and raspberry.  I think the beignets tasted best with the chocolate sauce.  The second dessert was the brownie sundae and it was quite good.  I mean, who could turn down desserts!?

555 Steakhouse in Long Beach

  
This week my coworkers and I went to Long Beach, CA to attend the Women's Conference.  At the end of the event, we had dinner at the 555 Steakhouse.  I ordered the 8oz filet mignon medium rare with peppercorn sauce.  The steak came out just perfect!

Fume Bistro and Bar in Napa

     

Our Napa hotel staff recommended us to try "Fume" for dinner.  It was our first time there and we were glad that we went.  To start, we got fried calamari as complimentary appetizer (because we got a coupon from our hotel).  Then we had very yummy baked oysters.  For entrees, we ordered baby back ribs and pork chop. Joe said that was the best baby back ribs he had - the meat was extremely tender and the sauce was unique.  I ordered a mac and cheese as a side dish as well (I always like mac and cheese!).   For dessert, we had the refreshing peach sorbet and creme brulee trio.  We went on a Friday night, the place was very busy.  Reservation highly recommended. 

        

Brix Restaurant in Napa

   

When Joe and I go to Napa, we always stop by the Brix restaurant.  It is one of our favorite places for a leisure, yet casual lunch.  A couple of weeks ago, we took a friend to Napa to attend a special event and we dined at Brix again.  At Brix, you can choose whether to dine inside the restaurant or outside at the patio. We choose the patio every time.  You can look out to the restaurant's "edible garden', vineyard, and even catch a glimpse of the wine train when it goes by.   

    

This time, we ordered a simple salad, ham and cheese sandwich and a baked pasta dish.  How's the food?  It's ok.  Not bad, not outstanding.  Well, to be honest, we don't go to Brix for the food, we go to Brix for the surrounding.  To us, there is just something special about that garden. 

Palace BBQ Buffet in Sunnyvale

Last night, Joe and I got treated to a Korean BBQ buffet dinner (thank you Auntie!) at the Palace BBQ Buffet Restaurant on El Camino Real, Sunnyvale.  This restaurant is very popular especially on weekends.  We arrived before 6pm and it was already full with patrons and we had to wait for about 10 minutes for our table.  After we finished dinner at around 7:30pm, there were quite a number of folks waiting both inside and outside of the restaurant for tables.  So our recommendation is, go early if you can.  Oh, another thing, don't wear nice clothes to dine in there, because after your meal, you will find yourself wearing the BBQ perfume from head to toe.  : )

This is an all-you-can-eat and cook-it-yourself restaurant.  They offer a wide variety of raw meats and seafood - BBQ beef, ribs, spicy pork, chicken, shrimps, octopus, etc.  You take what you want at the buffet line and bring the raw food back to your table and BBQ them on your grill.  The Korean way of eating the BBQ is to wrap the meat with lettuce.  At the buffet line, there is also a variety of cooked food items such as fried chicken, tofu, vegetables, hot and cold noodles, etc, plus three different kinds of rice and four different soups.  My favorite soup is always the Korean seaweed soup but they also have "western" soups such as clam chowder and pumpkin soup.  The most popular meat is the ribs (the meat is still attached to the bone).  The ribs are only available at dinner buffet, not at the lunch buffet.  The dinner buffet is quite pricey at about $26 a person (not including tax and tips).  You should go in really hungry and eat as much as you can to get the money's worth.  Enjoy!

Sunday Brunch at the Lodge at Pebble Beach

Yesterday, Joe and I took a special friend from Hong Kong to the StillWater Bar and Grill Restaurant inside the Lodge at Pebble Beach for brunch. The Lodge resort is where the world famous Pebble Beach Golf Course is located.  There was a golf tournament in progress and we got a front row view of the golf players at the 18th hole!  The brunch was relaxing.  We were looking out at the ocean and eating seafood... The crab claws were great.  The weather was great.  What a nice Sunday.

Never Ending Pasta Bowl at the Olive Garden Restaurant

Once in a while, the Olive Garden Italian Restaurant offers an all-you-can eat "Never Ending Pasta Bowl" promotion.  For a limited time and only $8.95, you get to choose up to 42 combinations of pasta and sauces.  It also includes all-you-can-eat soup or salad and bread sticks.  Joe saw the promo ad on TV and told me about it. And so we went.

One tip - they give you HUGE portion of your first pasta order.  If you really plan to try out other pasta and sauce combos, ask your server to give you a small portion of your first pasta (or else, you would be so full and would not be able to enjoy the "never ending" benefit).  I really like their Five Cheese Marinara sauce so my first order was Fettuccine in Five Cheese Marinara.  My second order was Angle Hair in "half and half" Marinara sauce and Creamy Parmesan Florentine sauce.  High calories?  Yes.  Do I care?  No.

New York Style Pizza at the Village Pizzeria in San Francisco

A few weeks ago, Joe and I had lunch at the Village Pizzeria in San Francisco.  If you like New York style made-to-order pizza, this is a good place to go.  We ordered a medium size pizza with "half and half" toppings.  Joe picked BBQ chicken with roasted red peppers, I picked sausages with pineapple chunks.  We had to wait for some time for the pizza to arrive because it was made-to-order.  But the wait was worth it.  Our first bite?  Heavenly!!!

July and August Birthday Celebration at Dynasty Restaurant

On August 1, Joe and I hosted a dinner party at the Dynasty Restaurant in Cupertino, CA.  It's our annual event to celebrate our family and friends' July and August birthdays (Joe's birthday is in August).  We picked Dynasty because we like their private rooms and their great service. We had a total of five tables - four for adults and one for kids.  For the adults tables, we customized and pre-ordered a special dinner menu.  For the kids table, we offered a selection of food items for the kids to decide and create their own menu.  At the end of the dinner, we played a couple rounds of bingo, giving out presents and gift cards to many happy winners.  

What did we eat?  Our menu...

1. Appetizer plate with roast suckling pig, BBQ pork, octopus, and jelly fish.
2. Double boiled shark's fin soup with conch, chicken, lean pork meat, and Chinese herbs.
3. Steamed fresh jumbo prawns.
4. Chinese mushrooms and dried scallops over veggies.
5. Lobster and scallops with macadamia nuts in a taro "bird nest".
6. Fried stuffed chicken with Chinese sticky rice.
7. Whole abalone and sea cucumber over veggies.
8. Steamed fresh fish.
9. E-noodles - gonna have noodles for birthday celebration for longevity.
10. Dessert 1. Walnut sweet soup.
11. Dessert 2. Baked tapioca pudding with red bean stuffing.
12. Dessert 3. Mixed fruit plate.
13. Dessert 4. Mango pudding "Koi fish".
14. Dessert 5. Chinese birthday buns with red bean stuffing.
15. Dessert 6. Birthday cake.

Where to go eat in Tucson?

Where to go eat in Tucson?  Lots of great places!  Let me take you there...

First stop: Zemams Ethiopian Restaurant, the one and only Ethiopian eatery available in Tucson.  Ethiopian food traditionally consists of spicy vegetables and meat dishes (but no pork) served atop injera, a large sourdough flatbread.  Also, patrons are expected to eat with their (right) hands, not with utensils. Similar to Chinese food, the dish is served "family style", meaning everyone share and eat from the same plate.  So, be sure to wash your hands before dipping in!

Second stop: Taqueria Juanitos Mexican Restaurant for authentic Mexican food. It is a small, casual restaurant.  The picture shown here are two different pork tacos with two different kinds of hot sauces. While you are there, also order the "Horchata" Mexican drink.  It is an iced milky drink with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla taste.  Very refreshing to drink, especially during summer time. One of my Mexican coworkers (thank you Maria!) introduced me to it a while back and I have loved this drink ever since.

Third stop: El Cubanitto Restaurant for Cuban food.  It is another small, casual restaurant. Here is a picture of black bean, plantains and pork.  The pork was a bit too dry for me but the plantains were excellent - soft and carmalized just the way I like it.  What's interesting is the restaurant's decor.  On the right is a long wall of baseball bats, on the left is a life-size skeletal of Fidel Castro!  

Fourth stop: Athens on the 4th Avenue, a spacious, classy restaurant serving Greek food.  Be sure to order the flambeed cheese.  It is a bit salty so you should eat it with the accompanying pita bread.  Do try out the appetizer plate with olives, feta cheese, eggplant spread and cucumber with home-made yogurt.  I especially liked the yogurt, so creamy and refreshing.  Got a sweet tooth? Also try the desserts.

Fifth stop: Takamatsu Japanese (and Korean) Restaurant.  This restaurant offers Japanese sushi, teppanyaki, and even Korean food.  The teppanyaki offering is very similar to Benihana.  They start you off with soup and salad.  Each patron gets a dish of ginger sauce and mustard sauce.  Then the chef cooks in front of you, occasionally entertaining you with some showmanship (the regular fire, volcano, etc).  The teppanyaki food at Takamatsu is all right.  I personally like the Benihana  better because Benihana seasoning is not as salty.  But if you like rich, soy sauce taste, you should try Takamatsu.