Danville Good Eats
Dinner tonight at Lotsa Pasta in Danville. We joined Jack and Lisa and BJ for a very, very casual dinner, and had a good time for not many dollars.
Lotsa Pasta is a classic mom and pop operation–mom is at the cash register, pop is in the kitchen. The place is tiny; they do at least as much take out business as eat in. Whichever you are doing, you stand in line until you get to the front and them mom takes your order–there is only 1 cash register, you just wait your turn and don’t complain.
The “dining room” is tiny–a few tables up front, and a long, narrow hallway with one row of very cramped tables.
No expense was expended in the fine surroundings.
The food here is pasta. Lots of it. Angel hair or spaghetti or penne or fettucini or linguine or orichiette, with meat sauce or marinara or pesto or aglio e olio (oil and garlic) or a half dozen others. You can start with a salad, but don’t expect fancy–you’ll get a plate of lettuce with some dressing and shred of carrot or two. Toasted garlic bread comes to the table automatically, and it’s good.
Fettucine al pesto
Orrichiete (ears) in a cream sauce with chicken and peas.
There are a few specials, too, like chicken piccata or saltimboca or salmon.
Chicken saltimboca with vegetables instead of pasta. BJ making the healthy, lo-cal choice.
Lotsa Pasta is the most unpretentious of places. The waitress brings your food to the table and refills your iced tea, but you can’t really talk about the high class service. No tablecloth, paper napkins, you aren’t encouraged to linger over your fine dining. The food, however, is just fine–solid and hearty, it comes out of the kitchen quickly and makes it to the table hot.
Lotsa Pasta is not the place to take your sweetie for your anniversary, but if you want a quick solid Italian dinner it’s pretty hard to bead.
The future is here
Last night, dinner at a chain restaurant was a controlled disaster. Tonight, we went to Seasons 52, across from the hotel in Arden Fair mall, and it was a smashing success.
Seasons 52 is new, at least around here. They just opened 3 weeks ago, and already they are booming. I think they have found the perfect formula for today, and fully expect to see other restaurants following in their lead.
The facility is beautifully designed, with lots of wood and warmth, a full bar area, private dining rooms available for meetings or functions, and a design that artfully conceals how large the operation really is–each table seems like it is in a relatively small, intimate area. Lighting is pretty dim, the noise level is moderate but not excessive.
Every dish on the menu is 475 calories or fewer. There is no butter in the house. Bread is not served. You can have an excellent meal and not have to worry about overeating or not eating wisely.
This is no hole-in-the-wall start up. Seasons 52 is owned by the Darden Corporation, a food service behemoth which owns Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Longhorn Steakhouse and a half dozen other national brands. These people are experts in every possible area of food service operation, and it shows. This three week old business already runs like a well oiled machine.
A re-imagining of the gyro, served on flatbread
If you want to hold each item to 475 calories, you have to be creative. This is their version of the gyro, the Greek lamb sandwich. It is served here on flatbread, with very little meat and more tomato. Gail had this and loved it–it’s hardly the classic presentation, but it was fresh and tasty while still being health-conscious.
Vegetarian Tasting– quinoa-citrus salad, soft taco, chili relleno, vegetables, cedar roasted tofu, mango chutney
Bruce Tuttle had this dish–it looked so good I had to take my fork over to his table and try the quinoa-citrus salad, which would be very good with a little salt on it. It didn’t look like quinoa, so we asked and found out that it was largely farro, which they for some reason don’t bother to mention on the menu.
Goat Cheese ravioli
Yes, it’s possible to make a low-cal pasta dish. Use broth for the sauce and low-fat goat cheese for the filling and you’ve got a great dish.
Maui Tuna Crunch sushi-grade seared tuna, organic greens, pineapple, toasted almonds, miso vinaigrette
This was my entree, and it was fabulous. Again, little or no oil in the salad dressing and you have a very lo cal dish with great flavor and texture. The tuna was perfectly seared and seasoned to a fare-thee-well. The dish arrives with the salad in a large, clear, plastic tube which the waiter then pours out over the plate–a little theatrics to improve the dining experience and provide perfect portion control at the same time. I said these people were experts.
You can’t have a great meal without dessert, and Seasons 52 has come up with a great innovation here, as well. They bring a tray to the table with nine separate tiny desserts, each created in a 2 ounce shotglass and priced at a picayune $2.50.
The dessert tray, downsized.
At this size and price, everyone can have at least one, and you can pass them around the table and share with your friends. We chose these:
Our trio of gooey goodness.
That’s a Belgian chocolate Rocky Road, a Mocha Macchiato and a meyer lemon meringue.
In short, we loved this place. We’d come back anytime. They serve good food at a good price in a professional manner. Seasons 52 is everything a restaurant should be.
A sad decline
I’m in Sacramento this weekend, because the Chris’ Birthday Regional, which was in Santa Rosa when I started playing, moved to Palo Alto, then Santa Clara, and this year is in Sacramento. Next year, maybe Fresno, maybe Oakland. The Doubletree here is like an old girlfriend you can always call on when you can’t get a date anywhere else.
Dinner tonight was at El Torito, which is just a short walk from the hotel. We got there super-early, of course, and were seated immediately because there was nobody else there. People in Sacramento don’t eat dinner at 5 pm, either.
I’ve eaten here quite a few times over the 40 or more tournaments we’ve had in Sacto, and always thought it was pretty decent for a cheap chain eatery. I don’t think that anymore.
As usual, I looked at everything on the menu then ordered the fajitas. I asked for the fruit salad, and go heavy on the sweet corn pudding, the best thing about El Torito.
My iced tea arrived, and the first thing I noticed is that the orange slice they used to top the drink with is gone. There is no sugar/sweetener on the table, so I asked for some.
They promise that the fajitas arrive sizzling or they are free, and sizzling they indeed were. Unfortunately, the tortillas did not arrive for quite some time, and there was no sizzling happening when it finally became possible to enjoy the meal.
In years past, the plate of accompaniments included a good portion of guacamole, some sour cream, some salsa fresca, your rice and your beans. Today, there is no sour cream, no salsa fresca and damn little guacamole. The fruit salad I chose instead of beans was dreadful.
The good part was the two extra bowls of sweet corn pudding the waiter brought.
The fajitas themselves weren’t very good. The tortillas were thin, packaged junk, not the rich, thick, fresh, housemade type you would hope for. The meat was dry, the rice was tasteless. In an orgy of cost cutting, El Torito has downsized portions, eliminated niceties and decreased quality.
My sweetener finally arrived–after the third time I asked. Fortunately, Linda Gross was with us and she had some in her purse.
Linda G. had an enchilada, and commented that it needed some sauce, since it had essentially none.
The bill came, and my estimation of the waiter went down when I noticed that the extra corn he brought us cost $2.50 a bowl.That isn’t an unreasonable price for the best part of the meal, I was just surprised.
So what was once a pretty good place to get a plate of semi-real Mexican food is now serving the low-cost alternative, with mediocre service to match the food. It makes me sad, and I can’t say I understand it–no business ever succeeded by lowering standards, the winners always reach for the highest quality they can provide.
Que lastima.
The perfect meal
The meal I have dreams about.
Yesterday was my birthday. I’m now old enough to apply for Social Security. Since I’m still working it makes more sense to wait, but it’s nice to know that I can retire and never work again, as long as I can live on $658/month, which is what I’d get today. Maybe I could live on that in Guatemala or somewhere……….
We don’t celebrate birthdays much around here. I have a party every 5 years or so, Gail doesn’t have birthdays at all. So last night, Gail was out to dinner with the girls, and I celebrated in my favorite way–reading, watching TV, checking Facebook (all at the same time), and enjoying my favorite meal–Lamb chops, noodles and broccoli.
Not everyone likes lamb, but I think that’s largely because their mother overcooked it. If your only memory is of a dry, hard, tasteless roast I can understand, but you should really try some medium rare chops before you write off an entire type of meat. There just isn’t anything tastier.
This is an easy meal to cook– just throw the broccoli in the pot with the boiling noodles a minute or so before they are ready. Pour everything into the colander, add some butter, put the broiled chops on top so the juices drip down and flavor the noodles and enjoy.
So rich meat and butter covered noodles may make it seem like a heart attack on a plate, but anything with broccoli is healthy. Or that’s what I tell myself. And if it kills me, what better way to go than eating your favorite meal on your birthday?
More musical instruments
I’ve known Peggy Moffet for close to 40 years, and I still call her Miss Moffet. Okay, that’s because she was a kindergarten teacher and it just seems right.
In any event, last week she asked if I still wanted musical instruments, and I said sure, the Oakland students have a pretty much unending need.
Miss Moffet then produced a ukulele for them, along with a brand new guitar case.
I gave both to John Harrington, our friend the Oakland Schools music teacher, and he was quite pleased. It turns out that ukuleles are much prized because they are small enough for youngsters to hold and relatively easy to learn.
We, the united readers of this blog, have now donated two ukes, a guitar, a trumpet and a keyboard to the schools. Thanks to everyone who has contributed, and everyone else, please look in your garage and under the bed in your guest room. I know that there’s a clarinet out there just waiting to be put to good use.
Lunch in Danville
I know, it’s a boring title. We ate at Esin, and I had to struggle not to title the post something corny, like “Esin-tially a good meal”. Boring is better than corny.
Esin has been around for 15 years, first as Cafe Esin, near Crow Canyon Road, now just as Esin Restaurant and Bar, in The Rose Garden, just off Sycamore Valley Blvd. in Danville. Esin is a white tablecloth kind of joint; heavy silverware, good glassware, you feel like a grownup in here. It was Mike Katz’ favorite place, and we can’t go there without raising a glass to his memory.
Yesterday, we dropped in about 3 pm, when they were serving from a short menu between meal services. Not a large selection, but enough to give us a good lunch. I was intrigued by the gravlax plate, but the waiter said it was a light appetizer and I wanted more than that. If we came with a group I’d certainly order it to share, along with other small plates they feature on the menu.
We both started with the onion soup:
Notice the classic French crockery the soup is served in.
French Onion soup varies, as some places use a strong beef stock and some more of a sweeter, apple cider type of base. Esin is in the latter category, and they don’t overwhelm the soup with the melted cheese on top. It’s a flavor more delicate than hearty, and an interesting take on a classic starter.
I had the grilled chicken breast salad:
Presentation is always important
A warm chicken breast is presented on an excellent salad with a light dressing. Apples, almonds and raisins add to the enjoyment, and I finished it all.
A medium rare burger properly cooked.
Gail had the burger. They brought it with the wrong cheese, and then fell all over themselves apologizing and trying to make it right. Anyone can make a mistake, it’s how you try to correct it that counts, and Esin did a good job.
The burger itself was fine. Gail likes her fries crispier than most, and these didn’t really make it for her, so I ate them. Works for me, at least.
They had a cheese I’d never seen before on the menu, Seahive Beehive, from a creamery in Utah, of all places. I had to try it just for the name.
Seahive Beehive cheese, figs in port, walnuts and bread.
It turns out to be a hard, cows-milk cheese. Mild in flavor and right on the borderline between creamy and hard in texture. Add a bit of the fig and it’s wonderful, add some walnut and it’s rich and deep. We liked this cheese.
Eating in the middle of the day can be a crapshoot–the chef is often on his break and your meal is made by the third assistant line cook. That sure wasn’t the case here, everything (except the cheese on the burger) was first rate.
We’ve always enjoyed Esin for dinner, and now I can recommend it for a mid-day snack. Be sure to try the cheese.
I want more winter
The first robins of spring
The east coast may be inundated with snow, but here in Sunny California it’s spring. The trees are in bud, and my backyard is full of robins gorging themselves on the berries of the privet trees.
What happened to winter? Where did it go? We had one tiny week of wet and cold, and that just isn’t enough. I like rain. I like to be out in it, I like to sit inside and listen to it on the roof. I even like to drive in the rain.
Maybe this is just a false spring, and the winter weather will be back with a vengeance in a couple of weeks. Yeah, that’s probably it. I’d better get some more wood stacked up to be ready.
I keep learning
Smuin Ballet performs Starshadows at the Lesher Center
It’s ballet time again, and once more the Smuin Ballet delivers a smashing performance at the Lesher Center.
Last night’s program started with the only piece they dance to classical music, Starshadows. Three couples, very sexy. Music by Ravel, a composer who knows from sexy. Dark, stark stage. Dark stark costuming. It gets your full attention and holds it.
Then, after only about 18 minutes, there is an intermission. I don’t know why ballet companies have these early entr’ actes, but I don’t like it.
Once we came back to the ballet there were two more performances, modern non-narrative pieces we greatly enjoyed. Then the intermission you would expect.
Now comes the really interesting part of the evening. A piece entitled Cold Virtues, with music by modernist composer Phillip Glass. I can’t remember any ballet where the dance moves so closely matched with the music–not the tempo, but the style. This dance was composed of sharp, angular, staccato moves that fit perfectly with Glass’ sharp, angular music. I feel like I got to watch a master class in choreography last night.
Finally, a Smuin favorite, Oh, Inverted World. A wonderful piece in 8 parts, with bright happy costuming and music and dance that will make your heart sing.
Watching this last piece, I got to thinking about the acting that is part of ballet, and how the dancers were changing from one character to another with different parts of the piece. I’d never thought of characterization in dance before.
After the Friday night performance, the Smuin holds a reception for the cast in the lobby. They pour a few glasses of wine and the cast members all get dressed and come out to greet the audience. We always stay for these because it is so interesting to talk to the dancers.
We got talking with Jonathan Powell, one of the newest members of the company, having just joined last Halloween. He told us he started taking ballet when he was 18, which is quite old for a beginner. He’s clearly a fast learner. On the subject of characters, he said he indeed creates characters for each of the dances, a process which informs his dance and makes it more emotional and less mechanical. I’ll be watching dance with different eyes in the future thanks to that discussion.
The Smuin performs at the Lesher Center Saturday night and Sunday Afternoon. Don’t miss it.
Repairs on the Bridge Club move along, slowly
I believe I mentioned that contractors can only be trusted to do things behind schedule. That continues to be true.
Almost 3 weeks after starting the simple job of replacing a couple of sections of wall, here is what the club looks like:
The front door area
Some basic framing is in place, but no door. I was there Wednesday and the building maintenance man, Ken, said that the door had not even been ordered yet (it isn’t his job, it’s the contractors job). On Friday, Iris told me that they now say it is ordered, but won’t say when they ordered it.
The side wall. Same situation.
Ken has been very busy doing his job, removing the wet and weakened dry wall from the north side of the room where it was flooded, cleaning and priming the interior framing and replacing everything. His part of the job looks excellent, and is finished.
A long shot of the whole room.
The carpeting has been ordered, they say. Bonnie and Barbara have both noticed that they aren’t having allergy problems in the temporary facility, and they have some significant hope that the new drywall and carpeting may alleviate the allergy problems in the old place.
How soon? Who knows? If the door and windows and carpets are indeed ordered, they should arrive in a few days and it will still be perhaps 10 days before the club can re-open. If there is another delay, for whatever reason, then………………
One thing we should not have to worry about in the future is the outside drainage issue that caused the floods. Here’s the part that was the problem:
The large Y joint that caused the backup
This has been replaced with one that works, we will be staying dry in the future.
And that’s the news. The tide comes in, the tide goes out, contractors run late.
Sibling Revelry
What better to do on a sunny Sunday than take a ride up to Sonoma and go to an opening at your favorite art gallery?
A New Leaf Gallery is the place where we have purchased the largest part of our collection. They started on Gilman Street in Berkeley, were in San Francisco for a while, and now have a spectacular installation at Cornerstone on Hwy. 121.
The opening today was in honor of the Burton sisters, Jane and Tyler. Jane lives in Walnut Creek, and we have a couple of pieces of her ceramic art. Tyler lives in Santa Monica, and until today we didn’t even know she existed, which is a shame because she’s an excellent artist just like her sister.
Jane and Tyler Burton. The sculpture is Jane’s piece “Sisters”
Sister
Tyler’s work
Jane made this dress, I don’t think the skirt is real comfortable
Besides the new work for the opening, there was the regular work on display. Gail was particularly taken with this table by Gale Hart.
Is it a table if you won’t be putting anything on it?
Then I saw these:
“Three Torsos” by Carol Schwartz
I guess you can’t win them all. I bow to no man in my appreciation of boobs, but these left me cold. Gail thought the nipples looked “painful”, and I don’t argue with her on that subject.
Jane Burton on the left and gallery owner Brigitte Mickmacker on the right
Art is business, too, and the gallery has to sell to stay open. I enjoy watching the owner, Brigitte, schmooze the customers. She’s good at what she does, which is why the gallery has been successful for so long–picking the right artists, then working the customers to move the goods.
Art galleries are like free museums, where you can even get a glass of wine and some cheese and crackers and nobody tells you not to touch the sculpture. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Totally Unauthorized 