SAN DIMAS — OK – this is going back to a few weeks ago…I want to jot down some thoughts on the places we ate at…why not?
First stop – San Miguel and the San Miguel Bakery – just off the 101. We needed a place to pee and we had a case of the munchies. We didn’t want to stop at the chain gas station and pick up junk food. I know, a bakery isn’t much better…but it’s something different.
Now, Mark almost always has a sweet tooth. For myself, I prefer to snack on something savory. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. So the bakery gave Mark plenty of options – he got a yummy danish. As for myself, I settled for bread stuffed with jalepenos. It sucked to settle….and that bugged me. Then I saw a sign for tamales – $1.50. Yeah! So, I ordered a chicken tamale. For some reason, I just want to believe this little independent bakery had a healthier product then Taco Bell. It tasted better.
We went to San Francisco for dinner. Had drinks at Vesuvio….next to the best bookstore in Cali – “City Lights.” I remember my bro asked me about ordering drinks, on one trip to Vesuvio. He just turned 21. I told him to make eye contact with the bartender and to know what he wanted – before he opened his mouth. I also told him to get rid of any drink straws and do his best to avoid drinks served in a stemmed glass. I didn’t want him to look wussy.
We had dinner at Calzones. In North Beach – it’s all about the Italian food.
I ordered the chicken and mushroom orzo dish. It’s a hearty Italian rice entree, but not as creamy as risotto. I typically order a mushroom risotto. Orzo is just as filling as pasta. The chicken gave it a nice woody flavor and the sauteed mushrooms were perfect.
It’s tough to screw-up Italian food.
But it’s easy to fuck-up atmosphere. One bus boy scooped Mark’s plate and silverware before I got through half of my dish. Grrr….that put him in a foul mood.
And another thing about the wine….a pretty picture of Chianti, no? The house Chianti was by Placido. It’s the worst wine I’ve ever tasted. It tasted like it came from a rotten wood casket and it left a bad medicine taste in my mouth.
Before we left Berkeley and the Bay Area – we stopped by the Homemade Cafe at Ashby and Sacramento. They have scrubbed up this little dinner, since our last visit. No more grease-stained counter tops and windows. Bright pastel colors are now the order of the day.
Like most diners in Cali – there were healthy options (egg whites, etc.) I had the spinich and feta cheese omelete. I think it was healthy. The feta cheese had a fine creamy flavor and complimented the spinich.
This place is also quite affordable. The check came out to about $15.00 for the both of us.
On our way back to LA – we stopped in Big Sur for lunch/dinner. It’s off of Highway 1. The Inn had a mega-pricey menu. This Highway1 Pub had pub food in our price range. I enjoyed a juicy philly cheesesteak sandwich. The menu also had veggie options – like a veggie burger. It was something like “Cheers” – where neighbors dropped in and said what’s up. Big Sur is nestled among pine trees and nature-stuff. Very peaceful.
We got tired at our meandering pace on highway 1. So we switched over to the 101 – when we hit San Luis Obispo….we got back to LA before midnight.