Blasphemy and Other Fun Vacation Activities

Are you ready to hear my dirty little secret? I don’t like most vegetarian restaurants.
There. I said it. The cat’s out of the bag. (Though admittedly, the bag was pretty flimsy to start with.)
Case in point: The Ravens Restaurant, at the Stanford Inn in Mendocino. I love everything about the place…except the food.*
My partner and [...]

Haiku for RNM

Not feeling the long format love today, so let’s kick it 5-7-5 for RNM.
Perfectly good meal
But didn’t knock my socks off
(Grit on the mushrooms)
Grilled Romaine, smoky
Well-balanced, this I adored
Whore for Blue Cheese, me
Fried Green Tomato
Napoleon— what the fuck?
Twice in the same week?
No veggie entrée
But the chef made one for me
I was glad I asked
Fresh corn [...]

The Blue Plate

My friend Julie is a walking, talking lucky charm. Like pink hearts, orange stars, yellow moons, green clovers and blue diamonds lucky. Every time we dine together, we have a good meal.
Last night, we chose The Blue Plate, out where Mission hits Valencia. It’s a quintessential neighborhood place, far from the crowds of the Inner [...]

Canteen…let’s renew our vows.

Finally, I’m feeling better. I was Bizarro-Me all week—a scary me that didn’t have any interest in food. Yikes. So what better way to celebrate my newly renewed appetite than brunch at Canteen?
I’m gonna cut to the chase here. Y’all know how I want to be Chef Leary’s love slave. You can read my original, [...]

Manresa. Finally.

7-7-07. Lucky day for a birthday, right? Everything was going according to plan. We drove down to Monterrey to check out the otter exhibit at the aquarium. (Turns out, I am “Wild About Otters”.) Lovely. Walked along the waterfront. Fabulous. Drove to Los Gatos and checked in to our hotel. Okey dokey. Started feeling feverish, [...]

Manresa soon…

Such a story to tell, people. But it’ll have to wait. Work is kicking my newly 36-year-old ass right now. I promise to give the tale-telling my full attention when I come up for air.
(Deep breath. Going back under.)