Stark's Happy Hour

Starks has a nice Happy Hour. It's Mon-Sat 3-6pm and all food on the Happy Hour Menu is $6.

Starks is located at 521 Adams Street in Santa Rosa.

The Lucy--$5. Vodka, lime and simple syrup. It's so good.

BBQ Oysters--3 for $6. Garlic butter and cocktail sauce.

Tuna Tartare Tacos--3 for $6. Miso, truffle and pine nuts. The tuna is a thin layer but it is tasty. The rest of the taco is filled with lettuce.

Buttermilk Onion Rings. These were huge but 4 rings for $6 was on the pricey side.

Crispy Calamari with Orange Chili Sauce--$6. This was very good.

2018 08 10

Tomi Thai

Tomi Thai is located at 426 Emily Rose Circle in downtown Windsor.

Rad Na--$11. Wide rice noodles, Chinese broccoli, white pepper, fermented soy bean gravy, garlic, egg. I ordered it with chicken. Other options include beef, pork and veggies. You can even ask for tofu.

Roast Duck Over Noodles--$13. This is served only at lunch. Soy roasted duck, five spice broth, bean sprouts, spinach, egg noodles, fried garlic. My husband thought it was just okay and it wasn't a large portion.

Pad Kra Pow Rice Plate at lunch--$11. Stir Fried Thai bird chili, garlic, onions, Thai basil, ground pork/chicken/shrimp. Shrimp is $2 extra. 

Eggplant Delight Rice Plate--$11. Eggplant, button mushrooms, zucchini, Thai basil, peppers.

2018 08 09 & 31

The Shed, Healdsburg

The Healdsburg Shed is a market, cafe, larder bar, coffee bar and fermentation bar, located at 25 North Street. It's open 8am-7pm daily.

Love the handles.

Housemade Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage Grave--$15. This was okay. It needed more sausage.

Anson Mills Stone Ground Polenta, Sous Vide Egg, Roasted Mushrooms and Sweet Onion Conserva--$19. Expensive for polenta but it was quite good.

Passion Fruit Truffle--$1.50 each. It didn't have much passion fruit flavor.

2018 08 02

Pho Vietnam

Pho Vietnam is located at 711 Stony Point Road in Santa Rosa.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls--$6.25. Fried tofu, vermicelli, mint leaves, lettuce. Served with peanut sauce.  The peanut sauce is good but I prefer the shrimp over the tofu.

Pho with Eye Round Steak and Tendon--$7.50 for small, $8.25 for medium and $8.75 for large.

2018 07 30 & 2018 08 17

Kong's Tofu

Kong's Tofu is located at 19626 Stevens Creek Blvd in Cupertino. It's my favorite Korean tofu restaurant in the SF Bay Area.

Banchans--kim chee, fish cake, bean sprouts, zucchini, chap chae, marinated radish, potatoes. My favorites are the fish cake and chap chae.

I always get the Clam Tofu Stew, mild--$13.49. Purple Rice--$0.49 extra.

This time, we were served a Steamed Egg Dish--complimentary if more than 3 guests. It tasted like Chawanmushi, a Japanese steamed egg custard, but it was not as soft.

2018 07 28 & 09 29

Tabbouleh

I make tabbouleh to serve with the falafel balls and baba ganouj. It's Ina Garten's recipe.

Tabbouleh

1 cup bulghur wheat

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

1/4 cup good olive oil

3 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (1 bunch)

1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (1 bunch)

1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced

2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the bulghur in a large bowl, pour in the boiling water, and add the lemon juice, olive oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Stir, then allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Add the mint, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper; mix well. Season, to taste, and serve or cover and refrigerate. The flavor will improve if the tabbouleh sits for a few hours.

2018 07 28

Falafel Drive-In

My favorite place for falafels in the SF Bay Area is Falafel Drive-In, located at 2301 Stevens Creek Blvd. in San Jose.

You can buy the falafel to go. They're small but only $0.40 each.

The Baba Ghanouj is amazing. It's so smoky and good. $6.75.

2018 07 28

Tisza

Went back to Tisza to try it again. It's located in a Holiday Inn in Windsor, 8757 Old Redwood Highway.

Cheddar Biscuits at the start of the meal--1 per person only.

Charbroiled Octopus--$14. This was great again. I love the tender octopus with the creamy potatoes.

Russian Kale Salad--$12.

Petrale Sole--$23. The sole was good but the risotto was just so-so.

Pan Roasted Chicken--$23. The spaetzle was good as was the mushroom wine sauce.

Wiener Schnitzel--$24. This was quite good, especially when you eat it as directed. Eat a piece of the wiener schnitzel with a little of the potato, dipped in lingonberry sauce and the cucumber sauce.

2018 07 27

Himilayan Restaurant

Himalayan Restaurant is located at 810 McClelland Drive in Windsor.

They have Express Lunches 11:30am-2:30pm Tue-Sunday. This is Tofu Tikka Masala, served with a salad, rice and lentil soup--$11.99.  Order online for pickup and get 10% off.

2018 07 27

Thien Hong

I had read that Thien Hong is known for its pepper salted squid.

Thien Hong is located at 6749 NE Sandy Blvd.

Hot Sour Soup--bowl for $2.75. This was neither hot nor sour. Disappointing.

Pepper Salted Squid--$16. This was well fried and not greasy but it was sweet. I couldn't tell if it was sugar or MSG. In any event, I didn't like it.

Fried Vermicelli with Curry (with pork & shrimp)--$10.25. This needed a little more curry flavoring but wasn't bad.

2018 09 16

Nong's Khao Man Gai

Nong's Khao Man Gai is another Portland favorite.

Their main location is at 609 SE Ankeny Street. Another outpost at 417 SW 13th Avenue. Sadly, their food cart on Alder closed.

Order at the counter and your order is brought to you when it's ready--takes about 5-10 minutes.

Their specialty is Chicken & Rice. It's $11. They have a large for $16 and it includes liver (and/or gizzard)--highly recommended. The sauce is what makes this great.

If you come for Happy Hour, daily from 4-6pm, 1/2 orders are $5 with the purchase of a Happy Hour Beverage--$3 beer & wine, $5 cocktail.

2018 09 16

Pok Pok

Pok Pok is another favorite. It features Thai street food. Pok Pok is located at 3226 SE Division Street.

Spicy Peanuts with Basil.

Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings--$15.75. They're expensive but worth it. You get 6 wings.

Kung Op Wun Sen--$16.75. This is served dine-in only. I loved this dish--make sure to mix it all up and scrape off the coating on the bottom. It's wild caught prawns baked in a clay pot over charcoal with pork belly, lao jin, soy, ginger, cilantro, black pepper, Chinese celery and bean thread noodles. 

Cha Ca La Vong--$15.75. This is a Hanoi specialty. Catfish marinated in turmeric and sour rice, fried in turmeric oil with scallions and dill, served on rice vermicelli with peanuts, mint, cilantro and mam nem.

2018 09 16

Jacqueline

It's a tradition for us to visit Jacqueline for their Happy Hour. Jacqueline is located at 2039 SE Clinton, just a block from Fifty Licks.

Their oysters are $1 each during Happy Hour, Mon-Sat from 5-7 pm. You can even make reservations.

This time, we were served Hammersly & Pickering Pass. They were great with a glass of Cote de Gascon--$7.

2018 09 15

Fifty Licks

I used to like Cool Moon Ice Cream but they changed owners. Now, my favorite is Fifty Licks.

Fifty Licks is located at 2021 SE Clinton Street.

A classic scoop is $4.25. A mini scoop is $2.95.

My favorite is Blackstrap Gingersnap. It even has pieces of ginger snap.

Thai Rice--creamy but the flavor pales after you have a bite of the Blackstrap.

2018 09 15

Olympia Provisions

We had a mid-day snack at Olympia Provisions. They have a Happy Hour menu from 3-5 pm daily.

There are several locations: 1632 NW Thurston Street and 107 SE Washington Street.

The sign says it all.

Mid-day Chef's Choice--selection of 3 meats, bread and pickles--$9. We got Sweetheart Ham, Andalucia Chorizo and Salami Nola.

Steak Tartare, Olives, Parsley, Shallots & Egg Yolk--$13. This needed some dijon mustard.

2018 09 15

Life of Pie

One of my favorite places in Portland is Life of Pie. They have a happy hour from 11 am to 6 pm.

Mixed Greens with Balsamic Vinegar and Parmesan Cheese--small for $4, large for $8. This can easily feed 2-3.

Margherita Pizza--$5 during Happy Hour. Otherwise, it's $12 for the same pie.

Next time, I'll try their spaghetti & meatballs.

2018 09 15