Luigi's

My favorite stop between Bend and Santa Rosa is Luigi's. It's located at 75 Belle Mill Road in Red Bluff, California.

It's a casual local place. Order at the counter and the food is brought to your table.

Fried Mushrooms with Ranch Dressing--$6.10. Side of Honey Mustard--$0.65. I loved these.

If you order a dinner, you get a small salad. It's big enough for 2.

You also get 2 slices of garlic bread.

Veal Dinner--$9.99, served with Linguine with Meat Sauce. The veal is tender and although it's fried, it's not greasy. The meat sauce is so good.

Pasta with Sauce--$6.85. I chose Linguine with Meat Sauce and Meatballs.

I also got a Pasta Bucket to go--Linguine with Meat Sauce--$11.95. It was enough to serve 4 people.

2019 07 07

A Taste of BIm

It's a good thing I was able to travel last year. Now, that we can't go anywhere, I'm catching up on past trips. This one was a trip to the San Juan Islands. We drove up along Highway 1 then 101 along the coast.

A Taste of Bim got great reviews on Yelp so we stopped to have lunch. It's located at 613 3rd Street in Eureka and serves Caribbean cuisine.

On a Saturday, it was not crowded.

Stewed Oxtail--$22.99. It's served on Fri, Sat and Sun. The oxtail was fall-off-the-bone but it wasn't a huge portion.

Side Salad--$3.99

Cod Fritter--$6.99. These were not good. The interior was too mushy.

We also tried the Home Made Ginger Tea--$3. It was basically ginger brewed in water.

Near Eureka, we ran into a field full of elks.

2019 06 30

Cafe Beaujolais Bakery

Cafe Beaujolais in Mendocino makes great bread. During COVID, they fortunately are still selling their breads.

Cafe Beaujolais is located at 961 Ukiah Street.

Austrian Sunflower Seed Loaf--$5.75. This is a very dense bread but so tasty.

2020 05 10

Noyo Harbor Inn Restaurant & Tavern

Noyo Harbor is located in Fort Bragg, just 9 miles north of Mendocino. There's a beautiful inn, the Noyo Harbor Inn, which is situated on a knoll overlooking the harbor. Onsite, there's a restaurant and tavern.

Happy Hour is daily from 4-5:30pm. There's an outdoor area with high tops so not the most comfortable to enjoy the sunset.

Flash Fried Brussel Sprouts--$8. There were bacon, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, maple syrup and Spanish vinegar. The brussel sprouts had a tiny amount of oil on them but they were well cooked with a crispy exterior and tender interior. The maple syrup added a nice sweet balance. The bacon was undercooked though and I was afraid to eat them.

We stayed for dinner. Crab Salad--$16. Noyo Harbor Dungeness crab, little gems, citrus fruit, avocado, red onion, tomato, lemon Dijon vinaigrette. This was amazing. It was loaded with crab and the vinaigrette was just the right amount. It did not overpower the dish. Would definitely get this again.

Grilled Prime Boneless Ribeye--$35. It was served with Gorgonzola butter, local shitake, fontina Yukon gold mash and green beans. This was disappointing. The ribeye had too much fat (and not the marbled kind) and it was sinewy. Not sure I would have called this prime cut. The Gorgonzola was good but the mash was rubbery and the green beans undercooked.

The special of the night was Lamb Shank--$29. It was braised Tajine style and served with couscous and vegetables. The lamb had good flavor but it was not fall off the bone. The couscous was good.

2020 02 15

Wild Fish

Wild Fish is located at 7755 Hwy 1 in Little River, just south of Mendocino. They had a 3-course prix fixe for Valentine's Day dinner.

Homemade Focaccia

Dungeness Crab Ravioli with Truffle Cream Sauce. The ravioli had nice crab flavor but there was no truffle flavor in the cream sauce.

Grilled Octopus with Green Peppercorn Blood Orange Glaze and Avocado. This was delicious. The octopus was tender and the blood orange glaze gave it a nice sweet taste. I'm not sure the avocado added much.

Whole Dungeness Crab with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Frisee Salad. The crab was boiled and then roasted. The meat was nice and sweet. The fingerling potatoes had a nice crust but were tender inside.

Swordfish with Meyer Lemon Risotto, Broccoli Rabe, Pomegranate Gastrique. This was the star of the meal. The swordfish was so well prepared. It was moist and the gastrique was delicious.

Buttermilk Shortcake, Fresh Raspberries, Champagne Sabayon. The shortcake was too hard.

Chocolate Hazelnut Torte, Candied Blood Oranges with Salted Caramel. This was delicious. The torte was rich and the salted caramel added just the right amount of salt to cut the sweetness.

2020 02 14

PorkChop & Bubba's BBQ

PorkChop & Bubba's BBQ in Bakersfield was recently named one of the best BBQs in the United States.

It's located at 1230 H Street, Suite a.

Order and pay at the counter and your food is brought to you when it's ready.

Fried Green Beans--$6.25, Hush Puppies--$6.25 and Fried Okra--$6.25. The okra was the best--little okra nuggets with a light batter.. The green beans were good but I like Habit Burger's better. The hush puppies were good as well.

The Spring Salad--$10.50. Blackberry Nut dressing. There were apples, craisins and candied nuts. This was a large portion--enough to feed 4.

3 Meat + 2 Sides--$23.50. I chose Double Ribs (1/4 rack) & Pulled Pork. The ribs were tasty but not very tender. The pulled pork was better. The Baked Beans were the best I have had. Tender beans in a nice sauce. The Mac & Cheese had al dente pasta and a good cheese sauce.

1/2 lb Brisket--$12.00. This was the best meat. The meat was so tender--you could cut it with just a fork.

There are 4 sauces on the table to try--Spicy BBQ, Raspberry Chipotle, BBQ, Mustard. I like the plain BBQ sauce. I thought the spicy sauce was too hot. The mustard sauce was also good.

2020 01 20

Luigi's, Bakersfield

We took another trip to Bakersfield and had lunch at Luigi's. It's located at 725 E. 19th Street in Bakersfield. The restaurant is only open Tue-Sat from 11am-2:30pm. There is a delicatessen next door that sells homemade ravioli (frozen), homemade sausages (fresh), deli meats, cheese and all things Italian, including dry pasta, canned tomatoes from Italy, wine and gift items.

My favorite on the menu is the Meat Ravioli with Bolognese Sauce--$15.75 for large. It comes with 1 link of sausage. I ask for it without cheese--I don't like their dry parmesan. It's not freshly grated.

The sausage is delicious. It's lean and flavorful.

The entree is served with a roll (soft or hard), salami, cheese and pepperoncini.

I always order Tongue for One--$4.25. Thinly sliced beef tongue in Italian dressing.

Don't forget the Butterfinger Pie. We got a whole pie to go--$23 (if you have the whole pie at the restaurant, it's $35).

2020 01 18

Village Pizzeria

During the Santa Rosa fire this year, we evacuated to Lake Tahoe. We were starving after the long drive and found lunch at Village Pizzeria, located at 11329 Deerfield Dr. I was not impressed.

House Salad--$5.50. Romaine, Roma tomatoes, mozzarella and garlic croutons. The honey dijon dressing was good but the rest of the salad was ordinary.

Meatball Sandwich--$9.95. Meatballs, ricotta, green peppers and marinara sauce. The meatballs were just okay.

Ciao Pizza--$7.75. Fresh spinach, tomatoes and garlic. There was way too much garlic on this pizza and they were the pre-crushed ones in a jar. Yuck!

2019 10 28

Ledford House

Ledford House is located on Highway 1 in Albion, just south of Mendocino. They have a $30 3-course Bistro dinner. For a light dinner, I get oysters and fish soup.

Baked Oysters--6 for $16. It's a bread crumb and bacon topping and it's delicious.

Soupe d'Poisson--$12. This fish soup is very flavorful and reminiscent of the soup we had in Corsica. The aioli on top is delicious.

2019 08 09

Kitanoya

Kitanoya is a Japanese ramen place in Oxnard. It's located at 1651 Victoria Avenue.

Miso Ramen--$9.50. It comes with 1 piece of chasu pork & bamboo shoots. The noodles are toothy and the broth is good.

Add 4-pieces of Gyoza for $2.50.

We sat outdoors and had a nice view of the marina.

2019 07 27

Moqueca

Moqueca is a Brazilian restaurant in Oxnard. It's located at 3550 S. Harbor Blvd.

It's not your typical Brazilian Churrascaria.

Tapenade--$3. This is a vinegary eggplant & olive tapenade that is delicious.

Shellfish Moquequinha--$13 during lunch, served Tue-Fri 11:30-2:30 & Sat 12-3pm. This has such a nice flavor. I've tried to duplicate it but have not been successful. Alas, I have to wait until I can get to Oxnard to indulge.

I also tried Beef Stroganoff--$14. Beef cooked in a cream sauce with tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, and onions. It's topped with shoestring potatoes. Served with rice or fettucine pasta. This had a nice flavor but if I had to choose, I'd go with the moquequinha.

Salada de Camarao do Chef--sauteed large shrimp over mixed greens, sun dried tomatoes, roasted almonds, fresh mozzarella cheese served with balsamic vinegar dressing--$13.

2019 07 26 & 08 31

Embassy Suites Mandalay Bay

The Embassy Suites in Mandalay Bay is right on the ocean.

There is a large pool and the chaise lounges get taken early in the day.

There are 2-room suites. The living room has a pull-out sofa, a mini fridge and a microwave oven.

Full bathroom in the living room.

We were in Building 2 and had a room overlooking the lawn & beach.

You have a choice of 1 King bed or 2 Queens.

2nd bathroom in the bedroom.

Breakfast is served 6:30-9am Mon-Fri and 7-10am Sat-Sun.

You can get made-to-order eggs. I ask for mine with sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach (spinach isn't listed but you can ask for it). I tried green peppers once and it was too strong.

The hotel has an Evening Reception from 5:30-7:30 daily. You can get alcoholic drinks, non-alcoholic drinks and snacks--chips & salsa, veges with ranch sauce and pretzels.

2019 07 25