Delicious Hummus!

Hi ladies,

This post has been a LONG time coming, but I'm finally posting these pictures.

I think we all enjoyed this new restaurant, though it's hard to remember what we ate! :)

It was rather inexpensive and the hummus was tasty. The salad and falafel were yummy as well.

Until next time!
taylor

Here are some shots from the evening:

Step 1: Rip

Step 2: Scoop

Step 3: Eat

And then we saw the girl in the photos at the restaurant!

All the girls!

Marisa, Lauren, Holly...

Katie and Kathryn...

Kathryn's new ring... look out!

Jennilyn, Cindy, Alison,Taylor...

Is it too late for December?

Ladies!

I dropped the ball and I sincerely apologize! It was my turn and I am just getting around to it. I have two thoughts:

#1- We get together next Tuesday for a bit, though I know it's getting so close to Christmas, it may just be too much! But, if it sounds good to get a break from it all, we could meet up.

#2 We/I set a date for January and we have something to look forward to in the new year.

Let me know your thoughts!

Marisa

It's been too long

Hope everyone had a great summer! The last time Let's Dish officially met was way back in May! And I say it's time to kick our dinner group back into gear! So here's my suggestion:

Where: Oren's Hummus Shop, 261 University Ave
When: Monday, September 26th, 8pm (after FHE)
Who: Anyone who wants to try this new restaurant out.
Why: Because it's a good excuse to get out.

Oren's Hummus Shop opened in June and as quoted by the Palo Alto Weekly, "is a casual, sit-down eatery whose menu centers on a key ingredient of Middle Eastern cuisine: hummus." Sounds fun! Please RSVP so we can make an accurate reservation count.

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

This has been a favorite of ours since we found it a few years ago in the "Real Simple: meals made easy cookbook" under 30-minute meals (that's my favorite part!)

Here goes, word for word from the book:

1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons milk
1/2 tsp  ground cumin
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 limes, quartered
1/2 tsp kosher salt
8 6-inch corn tortillas
3 cups shredded green cabbage
1 14- to 16-ounce jar green (tomatillo) salsa

Wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, milk and cumin; set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine the butter and garlic.  Heat a grill or broiler. Rinse the shrimp and pat them dry with paper towels. Place the shrimp and the line wedges on the skewers.  Brush the shrimp with the garlic butter. Grill or broil until the shrimp are cooked through and the limes are browned, about 3 minutes per side.  Season the shrimp with the salt.  Transfer to a plate.  Grill or broil the tortillas until warmed, about 30 seconds per side.  Place them between clean towels to keep warm.  To serve, remove the shrimp from the skewers, divide them evenly among the tortillas, and top each with the cabbage, sour cream mixture and salsa.  Serve the lime wedges on the side.

...Tip
Skewer your shrimp twice- that way, they'll lie flat on the grill and won't spin when you turn them.  First spear the shrimp through the tail, then bend the shrimp and spear it through the head.

-------------

We also like to serve these topped with cilantro, mangos, pineapple or both and you HAVE to eat them with the sauce-- sooooooo yummy and happy summer grilling!  - Melanie

                                                                           

Calafia Review

We had a great time at Calafia last week! They don't accept reservations, but when I called ahead of time they were nice enough to set us up a table in the take out area. So we had our own private dining area. Please excuse the blurry photos.

Becca, Suzi, Holly...
Marisa, Taylor, Katie...
These cute appetizer plates speak to the great ambiance in the restaurant.We loved the delicious tempura fried vegetables. And we were all pleased with our main dishes. We ordered pizzas (Goat cheese, Beats & Walnuts and Chicken Zucchini), burgers, the lamb gyro special and the New Bohemian Pork Salad.

These lovely desserts hit the spot after our main courses. Some liked the flour-less chocolate cake better than others, and all agreed the pastry with ice cream was heavenly.

Thanks, Calafia! Deelish!

La Bodeguita del Medio

I really feel the Bay Area and especially Silicon Valley is top notch when it comes to restaurants and variety. I'm not a fan of chain restaurants and I feel so fortunate to live so close to many small, unique places to eat. And I feel the competition is so fierce here, you have to be good to survive. Since we know our time in Palo Alto is somewhat limited, Marc and I have made a deal that whenever we go out to eat, we will try someplace new. The sad part is, since we don't get to go out often, when there is a place we really like, I know we probably wont be going there again. A small thing to complain about: too many good places to eat.


This past week we went out for our 10-year anniversary! Whoop whoop! Thanks to Taylor for stepping in last minute to watch our sweet new baby and two sleeping children. We went to a Cuban restaurant on California Ave, La Bodeguita del Medio. I didn't take any pictures, but I found a pic of what I got on the internet. It's not the best picture but probably better than I could take.

I ordered the Tierra Y Mar which was skirt steak and cocunut crusted shrimp drizzled with a cilantro/avocado pesto. Oh boy! Was this yummy. Disclaimer: I'm in love with cilantro so that could bias my opinion, because I generally devour anything with cilantro involved. But the steak was cooked perfectly and was so yummy tender. The shrimp was not overly battered but had that subtle sweet cocunut taste. And the pesto (the part that had cilantro in it), well, if I was not in public, I seriously would have licked the plate clean.

Marc ordered the Ropa Vieja, a traditional Cuban dish of shredded skirt steak, peppers and tomatoes served over rice and fried plantains. His was good. But, we both agreed, mine was better. I always feel guilty when I order the better dish, but I also was a little happy inside. Is that bad?

Enough said? Try it out. I don't think you will be dissapointed. We weren't. But, we also hadn't been out to eat in two months and were starving for some time away from the kids. You are an angel Taylor.

Better late than never, right?

3/21/11
Good thing we have great friends and LOVE talking, otherwise, this night could have been a bust. I'll review the positives and negatives later of Sliderbar Cafe. More importantly, we celebrated Ronna and any time Ronna is around, you know you'll laugh and be entertained by this fun gal. We hope you had a fun birthday and loved celebrating with you!
Cindy, I know you'll love the personal shot, but I had to document that you were up and out on the town, without your newborn of only 10 days or so, looking fabulous. Way to go!

Now for the food:

Positives:
1- Presentation was nice, we liked how the fries were served in the tin bucket. I personally liked the sauce for the fries.
2- In theory, sliders are fun and it was good to go as a group and try so many different ones.
3- The barbque pork was the hit of the night.

Negatives:
1- This is a tiny restaurant and we had to wait forever to get a table. Next time, don't come with more than 2 if you want to be seated sooner than 45 mintues.
2- The fries were cold! The sweet potato fries had potential, but could have been better.
3- The burgers were just so, so. The pulled bbq was a favorite, the orginal was also a close second. The serrano chili southwestern slider was too hot, the California chicken slider needed more flavor, and Mediterranean was fine but nothing to get super excited about. Overall we thought their sliders needed more personalality, punch, and pizzaz.
4- The lava cake, although nice to look at, could not be considered a "lava" cake since there was no lava. Luckily Ronna's came free for her birthday.
5- Service was lacking and I'm not a tough critic when it comes to waiters. Maybe I had lost all patience after waiting over an hour for our table, but the guy seemed a little distracted, not interested or attentive to the basics, like making sure we had enough plates, waters, etc.

Sorry, Sliderbar Cafe, I think if I want a fancy burger I'll go to the Counter next time.

Quick, Easy, Fresh Pizza/Pasta Sauce

My favorite way to do a quick marinara is this:

2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil

2 minced garlic cloves

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil and garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the garlic is sizzling, about 1 1/2 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes and simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Recipe is from America's Test Kitchen.  

Calafia Cafe!

Hi ladies,

I've been to Calafia Cafe once, had a great experience, and have been dying to go back!

Let's all dish there together!

When: Wednesday, May 18th, 8 p.m.

Where: Calafia Cafe: Town & Country Village (855 El Camino Real at embarcadero Road)

Who: The more, the merrier! Please leave a comment on the blog to let us know you're coming!

You can look at their reviews on Yelp, and their menu has two sides: vegetarian and one for meat eaters. Both have great, delicious options!

Please let me know if there is a huge conflict with this night that I didn't know about (besides the fact that American Idol is on--but you can all come over to my house and watch after we chow down!).

Looking forward to it!

taylor

P.S. The owner and chef, Charlie Ayers, was the former head chef at the Google Cafe, so it has to be good, right?? ;)

Tamarine

Sea bass

I've wanted to try out Tamarine for years and Matt and I finally splurged and went there for my birthday.  We LOVED it!  They had the best calamari we have ever had.  We also loved the sea bass, shaking beef, and clay pot pork.  Desserts were delicious as well - we had the lava cake and the sticky toffee pudding and loved them!  I don't have much else to say - just, that if you're looking for a great place to go and you don't mind spending a bit more than usual, go there!! 

Lava cake

Celebrate Ronna's Birthday

Whether or not you are pregnant you might be craving some meat. Don't we all need a little IRON boost to our diet? At our next "Let's Dish" night we will celebrate Ronna's Birthday at a fairly new hamburger place on University Ave called Sliderbar Cafe. Check it out at:

www.sliderbarcafe.com

WHEN:
Monday, March 21st

LOCATION:
324 University Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301
(between Bryant & Waverly)

TIME:
8:00pm (after FHE)

Please RSVP by leaving a comment on the blog.

Opening Night: The Crepevine

The Crepevine was a great place to meet for our first-ever-of-hopefully-many-more Let's Dish evenings.  It was casual, tasty comfort food served in a bright, clean, and friendly space.  Fairly fresh ingredients (as fresh as berries can be in February), large portions, and accommodating service made this a great place to hang out!  The Tri-Berry crepe (strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries served with nutella) was the most popular - but the Californian and Sante Fe were great savory options that also came with delicious roasted potatoes!  I forgot to add that all of the sweet crepes come with whipped cream and ice cream - YUM. 

The Tri-Berry

The Californian

 Sadly, not every crepe was a success.  Suzi and Holly ordered the Santorini which had walnuts, pistachios, brown sugar, mascarpone cheese, cinnamon, and coconut.  The chefs at Crepevine were skimpy on the coconut and overcooked the crepes, creating a crispy, dry, and nutty experience.  Everyone who tasted this agreed that the crepe was an enormous failure. 

The Disappointing Santorini

While the crepes were good, April mentioned that she has a crepe recipe that is better - April, feel free to post it on the blog! I'd love to give it a try.  And as long as we're talking crepes, Heather, you should get Dave to post his famous recipe. 

All in all, we had a great time and can't wait to see where Holly takes us next month! 

P.S. I took my kids back here this past weekend - it is a great place for kids.  They loved the food and they each received a small pack of Wiki Stix to play with while waiting. 


P.S.S. I'm sorry about the weird blurry picture and lack of more fun pics - I didn't check my camera settings before giving the camera to our nice waiter.  And, I meant to take more pics and just forgot because I was having way too much fun!

Save the Date

Alright. I know I said that we would be meeting on Friday nights, but I quickly realized that Fridays can fill up quickly in a month.  So, sometimes we will meet on other nights.  Which brings me to the announcement you have all been waiting for . . .

First Tasting:  Crepevine 367 University Ave.
Time: 8:30
Day: Monday, February 28 (after FHE)

Invite who you want.  If you're coming, leave a comment on the blog by Saturday, February 26 so I can make reservations.

Can't wait!

"So Much Better When We're Together"

Today as I made my family dinner, I found myself mmming. I was all alone, stirring my pot, and I actually mmmed out loud to myself. I enjoy food. I wish I could say that I am a foodie, but, I don't like goat cheese or mussels. I even use an occasional can of cream of something soup (gasp!). So no, I am not a foodie, but I do love food.

This fact does not make me unique. Most of us do. The pleasures of food bring us together. Delicious food is always going to taste delicious . . . but isn't it even more delicious when you're sharing it with someone?

In the last year, I have gone out to eat with girlfriends several times and each time someone says, "We need to do this again." We have so much fun tasting each other's food and even more fun talking and laughing the night away. This is my attempt at making sure that we actually do what we say we should do.

So let's do it. Once a month. Take turns picking the place. Open invitation. Friday nights. I've started the blog, but I want everyone to post your favorite recipes, restaurants, and food sites. Stay tuned for our first date in February.

In the words of Julia Child, "Bon Appetit."

P.S. Thanks to Holly for the whole "Better Together" concept and to Jack Johnson for writing such a cool song that actually has nothing to do with food. Well, except he mentions a mango tree. Still . . .