Try new restaurants

Sit in the Bar! the menu is a bargain. I had wonderful swordfish and my daughter had amazing pasta with a haunting meat sauce. I loved the smaller portions and the modest amount of starch. I left full, but not stuffed. I want to go back for the organic burger with Maytag blue.

Really good. I’m going back soon and often.

This is the deli from When Harry Met Sally. It was terrific. The green tickets was confusing. They hand a ticket to every adult entering the place and write down what you got, then you line up to get out and every adult must turn in a ticket and pay. And they only take cash. It was a bit like going onto the Mass pike and wondering if there is enough cash in the car to get off 50 miles later.

I had an exceptionally tasty cheese steak at Chickee and Pete’s in the Philadelphia airport. The tabletop add said “try our seasonal lobster cheesecake”. What could that be like? Then I realized that it was lobster cheesesteak.

Carefully crafted high end chain restaurant. Food was tasty. Safe place to meet the In Laws.

The appetizers were great. The entry, which was recommended by the server, was only OK. The decor was slick and it was a bit pricey. I will continue to search for the chef owner lunch place with great food and seasonal menu.

You’d be surprised how difficult this goal can be. We’ve eaten at a few new places lately, one last week and one the week before, but it’s pretty tough to say no to our old haunts. Sometimes the choices can just be overwhelming! I’m trying to keep a running list by neighborhood so we know where to eat wherever we are. I also have this bad habit of just wanting junk food when we go out, which means I only ever want to go places where every dish comes with a side of fries.

1. byblos (lebanese/middle eastern in the ‘hood)
2. merge (new vegetarian restaurant)
3. seabar (sushi!)
4. wasabi (more sushi!)
5. natalie’s cafe & deli (mediterranean)
6. romeo’s bakery & juliet’s cafe (italian)
7. palace of dosas (indian)
8. just pizza (more of a takeout place, but 75+ varieties of pizza!)
9. mel’s crow’s nest (super divey looking place that i pass every day)

this should keep me busy for a while.

For WN’s significant birthday, we stayed in Sonoma for a couple nights sans the chum. The first night we went to The Girl and the Fig, which was wonderful as always (makes me fondly remember emelle and family’s visit). The second night we went to Estate, a new sister restaurant to the previously mentioned.

Whereas TGATF is french influence cuisine, Estate is Italian influenced-and decidedly as good. We started with the Appetizers for the Table – an assortment of six appetizers selected by the chef. All were delightful and not otherwise listed on the regular menu (anchovy and buffalo mozzarella, tuna, fried parmigiana cheese balls w/pea pesto, roast onions with balsamic vinegar, garbanzo spread with bruschetta, cured olives).

With that, cocktails- a Bellini for her and a Sazerac for myself.

For entres, she had the sweet potato gnocchi and I had the marscapone stuffed chicken-at least that’s what I think cheese wise.

While the space was a little noisy, the food was fantastic.

Over the last year, I tried:
- Pizza
- Italian Restaurant
- Indiana
- Paradis du Fruit
- A 6 au 9
- Japanese Restaurant
- ...