Tan Choy Tasty Chow

Salada Beach Cafe, Pacifica

January 12, 2009

Reading Captain Bluebear during brunch

Last Sunday morning, JT decided she wanted to go out for brunch, so I got a day off from making pancakes or waffles like I usually do on Sunday mornings. We stumbled upon the Salada Beach Cafe in Pacifica, across the street from Oceana High School. The friendly gentleman who took our order at the counter sensed it was our first time there so he patiently walked us through their system. JT was touched that he offerred to steam the milk for her Earl Grey tea. I was about to order a “Bacado”, a pile of bacon, avocado and eggs, topped with cheese and salsa, and accompanied by a pile of crispy homefries, but JT beat me to it! Instead I had a delicious Denver omelette with gigantic chunks of ham. The atmosphere was super cozy, it felt like you were eating in someone’s living room rather than a restaurant, mostly because of the large bookshelf that took up one wall and was filled with paperbacks, etc. There were both tables and comfy couches, and in the back a group of older gentlemen were gathered around a large map planning an expedition. It reminded us of Gandalf, Bilbo and the dwarves preparing for the adventure to the Lonely Mountain. We got some banana bread to go that we shared with the LTs, it was tasty and moist. We will definitely go back to the Salada for brunch!

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Bottega, Napa Valley

January 10, 2009

January 2, 2009

Erino gave us a tip on Bottega, Michael Chiarello’s new Napa Valley spot (her friend is a pastry chef there). Since we were heading up to Calistoga for the weekend, we stopped by for lunch.

I started with the most tender grilled octopus I ever had (and I tried a lot of them when we were in Greece), then went to some delicious grilled scallops. JT started with a hearty minestrone topped with wood-oven toasted bread: you could just taste the fiery, crunchy goodness! For an entree, JT had roast chicken with PANETTONE STUFFING!! As you can tell from the ALL CAPS, the stuffing was the revelation of the meal. A week earlier, we took some panettone from Mazzetti’s over to my folks’ house as a dessert. It was good, but panettone by itself was a bit too dry and didn’t do much for me. But as a stuffing, it was amazing! The bread just soaked up so much chickeny-goodness, yet retaining its sweetness thanks to the dried fruits.

Erino also tipped us on the molten chocolate cake, WELL worth the 25 minute wait while they make it fresh for you. If you’re heading up to Napa, don’t miss Bottega!!

-RC

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Pomelo, San Francisco

January 10, 2009

October 28, 2008

For our one-year anniversary, we went to Pomelo, our favorite neighborhood restaurant (Robert’s old neighborhood, that is, the inner sunset).

Every dish is always good. Jenny usually gets the lanzhou (top right) because the fresh noodles are her favorite and the ahi is seared to perfection. Robert opted for a seasonal special that he still claims was “hella good.”