Restaurant Reviews
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Rue Lepic
As you all surely know by now, what with the duo Anniversary Posts and all, Monday was our 13th Wedding Anniversary. We had some different ideas as to what to do to celebrate…we thought of going to Napa, or to a play, etc. We finally settled on taking Maya with us, and going into the city to one of our favorite restaurants, Rue Lepic. We haven’t been there in perhaps 12 years or so, but nothing has changed. I don’t know if you would consider that a good thing or a bad thing, but we considered it a good thing. The story as I remember it is that the chef,…
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Katy’s Kreek
Last weekend, we went to one of our favorite breakfast restaurants, called Katy’s Korner, in San Ramon. They are located in a little strip mall, and it’s kind of country kitchenish, and they have very yummy breakfasts. Ted loves the California Benedict, which is eggs benedict with avocado and turkey instead of the usual Canadian bacon. They have 9 different benedicts, some for vegetarians, some with crab or shrimp or smoked salmon. Mmmm. Tasty. They also have wonderful banana pancakes, and great omelets. Last weekend, I tried the Huevos Rancheros, which was a first for me. Tres’ Yummy. So, it turns out that Katy’s Korner has a new sister restaurant,…
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Weekend Wrap-Up
For some reason on Friday, I woke up at 4am with Ted, and couldn’t go back to sleep when he left for work. I usually sleep until about 5:30 or 6:00 lately, so this was odd. Well, that all caught up with me at about 1:00. Luckily, since I work from home, I could take a 30 minute power nap after eating lunch, and see if that helps. It didn’t. I woke up grumpy and feeling like I had a nap hangover. So when Ted came home and said he wanted to go somewhere nice for dinner, somewhere in the city with French food, I was bitchy. I didn’t really…
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Friday Night…
Maya was supposed to go camping with her girl scout troop this weekend, leaving Friday and returning on Sunday. They were going to hike and ride horses and cook their own food, sleep in tents in a regional park, that kind of thing. She was looking forward to it. Sort of. Eventually, she decided she didn’t want to go. I know several of the other girls were also somewhat apprehensive. So she bailed, and is staying home this weekend. Which is perfectly fine and wonderful, except we had taken the opportunity to plan a grown-up dinner in San Francisco, sort of a celebration of Ted’s birthday, sort of a date.…
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Misc. Weekend Thoughts
It’s Sunday evening, downright balmy (almost 90 degrees) here, and we just finished dinner. Ted made cheese tortellini with a tomato sauce, and salad with lettuce, spinach, and pears. Mmmm. So, here’s a sort of weekend wrap up, mixed with a couple of thankfulnesses, and so on. On Friday, we went to our Parent Teacher conference at Maya’s school. The news is that she is a very good student, works hard, no problems. Good at math, good at science, good at reading, good at writing. I’m thankful for that. We know several people whose children have trouble with one subject or another, or many. Or behavioral problems, which Maya also…
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Command Performance
It has been suggested by an anonymous reader that perhaps I should be getting back into the business of restaurant reviews. This reader isn’t anonymous to me, but as he is kind, has had my family and myself to dinner at his home, supplies my coworkers and me with champagne and cake and sometimes eggplant, AND is one of my most devoted readers, I will comply with his request. Those of my 7 loyal readers who don’t live in the East Bay, move along. Nothing to see. The other night we decided to go out for dinner, and our objective was simple. Pie. Pie for desert. So we went to…
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You Can’t Go Home Again….Well, not completely…
Yesterday I went to San Francisco with my friend Neva for the day. We both took the day off of work, and went in to play hooky. What fun! First stop was Macy’s, because I wanted to bask in the glory of the Union Square Macy’s, which has at least 10 times the offerings of my local suburban Macy’s. Breathed it in. Loved it. It reminded me of being a teenager and coming in to the City to shop there, and also how I used to go there on my lunch break when I worked at a nearby hotel. We had an early-ish lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, which was…
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Car Shopping & Left Bank
Last night, since Maya was out of town on business, Ted and I decided to go crazy and do those things we can’t do when she’s around…that’s right, we went car shopping and then to dinner. 🙂 We are a two car family, one of which is a 2005 Camry, complete with car payments, while the other is a 1986 Volvo (It’s a classic, right? At 20 years, it’s a classic? Why would anyone call a Volvo a classic? It’s a box!) Anyway, we went looking at cars to perhaps replace the Volvo. Sigh. It’s probably a good idea, because the car is wearing out. But we went from no…
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Car Shopping & Left Bank
Last night, since Maya was out of town on business, Ted and I decided to go crazy and do those things we can’t do when she’s around…that’s right, we went car shopping and then to dinner. 🙂 We are a two car family, one of which is a 2005 Camry, complete with car payments, while the other is a 1986 Volvo (It’s a classic, right? At 20 years, it’s a classic? Why would anyone call a Volvo a classic? It’s a box!) Anyway, we went looking at cars to perhaps replace the Volvo. Sigh. It’s probably a good idea, because the car is wearing out. But we went from no…
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Weekend Wrap Up
This was a lovely weekend, which started with a brand new Sofa and Mattress set on Friday afternoon. Yay! The sad story of our old mattress is that it was a King, but to get it up the stairs of our low-ceilinged townhome, you had to kind of bend it…which may be part of why it was hurting our backs, that it got damaged somehow when we moved in. Or, it could just be that it was about time for it to die….it was about 9 years old. So, new mattress came, King size, a week ago, but it couldn’t fit up the stairs. 🙁 So they took it away.…
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Welcome to Good Burger
Thursday nights are yoga nights for me…which means that sometimes Ted cooks, but usually he takes Maya out to dinner, and then comes home and brings me something to eat from wherever he went, and I eat it when I get back from yoga. Mmmm. Dinner, yoga, and Lost on TV (recorded from Wednesday night)…my favorite night of the week. Well, this week he brought me back a burger from Mel’s on Main Street (sounds like we live in Happy Day’s land or something). I have to tell you, it was the BEST BURGER I’ve had in FOREVER. Sooooo good. Still hot, which means they must have gotten home right…
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Pasta Primavera Cafe
Every once in awhile, I find myself dining at Pasta Primavera Cafe. If you haven’t tried PPC, it’s a small chain with 5 locations: San Ramon, Walnut Creek, Concord, San Mateo, and Dublin. There are two locations within a block of one another in Walnut Creek, on North Main near Treat Boulvard. One is Pasta Primaver Cafe, and the other is Pasta Primavera Too. Not long ago, they took the original Cafe and converted the second dining room into a sports bar type atmosphere. There is a big, flat screen TV, and a large full bar. I don’t like the change…it seems to go against open, semi casual atmosphere, and…
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Dining near Shadelands? Here’s how….
My last 3 jobs have all been in the Shadelands office park, in Walnut Creek. I’ve eaten a lot of lunches around here, so I thought I would write a guide to help you out, if you’re in the neighborhood looking for lunch (or dinner). Pizza Places: Mary’s Pizza Shack – Mary’s is a chain, but a small one. There are 15 locations, all in Northern California, most in Sonoma County. The service is usually pretty good, the bread they bring out is warm and crusty, and they serve a pretty good salad (good dressings, too). My choices for best lunches: Soup and Salad lunch special – Especially if the…
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Milano’s Pizza in Livermore
If you’re like us, you don’t really go for Dominos, Straw Hat, that kind of pizza. If you’re like us, you would prefer to find a locally owned and operated kind of place, with really yummy crust, great toppings, and a family friendly (but not insane) atmosphere. If you’re in Pleasant Hill, that place is Melo’s. If you’re near Shadelands in Walnut Creek, that place is Rocco’s. But, if you happen to find yourself in Livermore, that place is Milano’s (No website, but here’s a map). Did this place used to be called Stromboli’s? The address and phone number are the same… Anywho, it’s a neighborhood joint in a strip…
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Comfort Food / Breakfast
So our latest excursion into Restaurant Land (I’m getting the idea we eat in restaurants WAY too often…) was Sunday morning, at the Alamo Cafe. It’s been there FOREVER…Ted grew up in Danville, and remembers driving by it for years and years. Anyway, it’s a TINY little greasy spoon place, with one waitress, one cook, one grill, and a guy who does the other stuff, like clean tables and such. Maybe he’s a dishwasher/bus boy, who knows. We went for breakfast, and I got something I’ve never had before…pork chops and eggs. I don’t think I would go for that again…the pork chops were OK, but kind of tough. The…