Dinner Yumminess

Had a nice dinner out with Walker. We went to Paul K, which is located on Gough @ Oak. It was my first time and I enjoyed it.

I had a tasty grilled sardine appetizer with a really tasty Guvirtz (figure it out). I can hardly complain about sardines. Yum. Dinner was a nicely spiced sumac chicken dish. My only complaint was the meat was a bit too fatty for my taste (I confess I'm a boneless, skinless breast woman). But it was overall fine and the greens and fingerling potatoes we perfect. Had a nice Zin alongside that. Dessert was a mint pot de creme. Yum.

Walker had a salad and pan fried char - next time that will be my choice. Way tasty. Great minds think alike on the dessert front.

Of course the company and conversation was the winner for the night. Can't beat being with friends no matter the cuisine.

To Wii or not to Wii

My super kick ass Slacker Bro gave me treats tonight - a Wii remote charging station and a new game - Boom Blox. I must charge and play!

Spur of the moment decision to drive down to Cupertino tonight to join SP, G and the Bro for dinner. Was well worth the drive to spend time with them. Needless to say it beat being at home alone for the evening. This week will be a social one even if I'm tempted to crawl in a dark hole.

Performance is the thang...

Today I had my first performance appraisal with my new boss, our VPIT (pronounced vip-it). Went just dandy and was productive. Now onto building my PMO.

Dinner with LK tonight. This was the highlight of the week. Haven't seen her in ages and miss her mucho. She made me smile. We had a nice dinner at Osteria, which is a nice, basic Italian place not far from work.

Plans for the weekend? Not much yet. I have to start getting ready for my vacation! Woo Hoo! I need yarn for my knitting project or I need materials for my needlepoint project. I need to decide. I've got a bunch of books, but I may pick up a couple more on the way. Can't wait.

A Night out on Tomales Bay

Last night I went to Nick's Cove in Tomales Bay for dinner. Pat Kuleto refurbished the restaurant and several of the cottages there to allow for fine dining and elegant, but rustic, accommodations. The restaurant is located right on the bay and I had dinner in the covered porch area. I arrived early for dinner and the sun was still high in the sky, so I spent the next few hours eating and watching the sun slowly set. I wanted to take my time eating because there was a band performing that night (two guys with guitars and playing some lovely deep river blues) and they weren't starting until 7 pm and I didn't want to spend an hour twiddling my thumbs waiting for them -- I didn't have a book or any thing to write in and, being that I was alone, no one to talk to. So my focus was completely on my food and making the meal last as long as possible.

The food was comparable to what you would get at Kuleto's in SF. I wouldn't say it was excellent food, but it was good and the setting perfect, so I couldn't complain too much. I started off with a glass of chardonnay (Handerly) and the broiled Monterey sardines. The sardines were fantastic. They were served on pieces of french bread with some sort of mayonnaise aioli type spread and some olive tapenade in little bursts around the plate. The tapenade was lovely, but too potent to eat on the sardines, so I just ate it on its own or with some of the table bread. My only negative comment on the sardines was that there was too much aioli on the bread. I had to scrape off quite a bit. But the broiled sardines were terrific and I would order this dish again in a heartbeat.

My main course was salmon served over string beans and cannolini beans along with a butter sauce. The salmon was okay. Nothing spectacular, but certainly fine. It was a little on the bland side, but I suppose the goal was not to overpower the fish with too many other flavors. The problem was the salmon itself wasn't particularly flavorful. Maybe because it was the end of the season? In any event, it was still good, just not spectacular.

For dessert I went with a yellow peach crisp with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream. Again, this was okay, but not anything to write home about. I would have like it to be a bit warmer than it was. The ice cream was barely melting on top of the dessert. I did reaffirm that I'm not a huge peach dessert fan, but I can't complain too much about the crisp part. That was tasty. I gulped my espresso up in 3 sips, but resisted a second, and then had an after dinner drink as well. At the waitress's suggestion, I tried what was essentially a french pear brandy, but it was a bit too intense for me so I sent it back and went with a 10 year tawny. I had meant to go for the 20 year tawny, but for some reason 10 came out. It was a good port, though. A nice, rich burnished red with a great finish. Can't remember the brand, but if I hadn't been driving back to the cottage I can assure you I would have had another.

The only other thing worth mentioning was the service. My waitress was nice, but not in your face, and the young ladies bussing tables were attentive and kept my water glass full. All the folks who assisted me where polite and helpful, which is always a pleasure when dining out.

I returned to Ravensview with a full stomach and a tiny buzz and settled down to the evening with my knitting and some music. It was still early when I went to bed. All in all a relaxing first afternoon/evening in Tomales Bay, though insomnia did plague me my first night. Tonight shall be better. Now I am off to Drake's Bay.