Just got back from a weekend in San Fran. Flew out last Wednesday night and came home yesterday (Sunday). Short, but fun trip. The preface was checking in on Brady's parents after their respective kidney surgeries (dad as the donor, mom as the recipient). They were doing so well that we were able to get out and see the sights during the day - quite a treat! It was good for Brady after being there for week prior to my arrival - I think he needed to get out and about with that restless spirit of his.
Wednesday night was a humorous disaster. I got to Oakland at 8:10pm - after a long day of flying. We decided to go try Scott Adam's restaurant in Pleasonton called Staceys Cafe. Unfortunately after a couple wrong turns we arrived too late for dinner. Onward we went - very hungry at this point we made a few more wrong turns - trying to follow the iPhone 'Around Me' app and ended up eating at IHOP of all places (maybe iPhone thought iHOP was another apple product - it is NOT). Won't do that again anytime soon - blah - not good. We finished the evening off in a much better fashion - sitting on the back patio drinking some nice wine Brady had found while in the city called Tormaresca Neprica - it was a 2007 and I thought it was very smooth with a nice bold flavor and great value at $13/bottle. Online it shows the 2006 as really good - would like to try it and we are planning on hanging on to a bottle of the 2007 to see if it gets better with some age.
Thursday, we headed to the coast. Took a beautiful scenic drive - mostly one lane roads/two way traffic! Great redwoods. Stopped in Santa Cruz for lunch and had the best ever fish taco & a Pacifico. Next we went on to Wilder Ranch State Park - the hike was awesome - we saw tons of birds, seals, and even a few dolphin. I don't have pics that do it justice, but it was great - highly recommended for an easy, beautiful hike or bike ride. After leaving Wilder Ranch we continued to drive along the coast - saw a sign for a winery and decided to give it a try. We turned on Bonny Doon road to get there - the name sounded familiar to both of us - Brady deduced it must have been one of the roads the Tour of California was on - sure enough! Getting there was up, up, up hill with lots of switchbacks and beautiful scenery.
After the winery we stopped off on PCH at a public beach and walked along with our toes in the sand and picked up a few cool rocks for the kiddos.
Next up, we continued on PCH to Half Moon Bay - stopped by a micro brew that Brady and Drew had checked out the week before. We did the beer sampler - 10, 1-oz micro brews - only $1 each - not a bad deal. Started off the meal with the smoked fish platter - it was great - smoked salmon and tuna rolled with onions & capers served with brie, rye bread, & grapes. I had the clam chowder for dinner (b/c I was already pretty full from the fish and beers) - it was served in a bread bowl and very tasty. Brady went out on a limb and tried the calamari steak sandwich - not my cup of tea - or his I don't think. It was good to try it, but it tasted (actual taste and texture) like fried egg whites, but not in a necessarily good way. After that we headed back to Tracy and crashed shortly thereafter.
Next up, we continued on PCH to Half Moon Bay - stopped by a micro brew that Brady and Drew had checked out the week before. We did the beer sampler - 10, 1-oz micro brews - only $1 each - not a bad deal. Started off the meal with the smoked fish platter - it was great - smoked salmon and tuna rolled with onions & capers served with brie, rye bread, & grapes. I had the clam chowder for dinner (b/c I was already pretty full from the fish and beers) - it was served in a bread bowl and very tasty. Brady went out on a limb and tried the calamari steak sandwich - not my cup of tea - or his I don't think. It was good to try it, but it tasted (actual taste and texture) like fried egg whites, but not in a necessarily good way. After that we headed back to Tracy and crashed shortly thereafter.
Friday we went to Lodi - LOVED IT. So different from Napa and Sonoma. It was much more of a relaxed, personal experience.
We got there around 10am and I was starved. So, we headed to the center of town - where there were three tasting rooms - and began to scope out cafes to grab a quick bite. The first one we saw was called the Dancing Fox Bakery AND Vineyard - score! So, we went in and I ordered us a ham & cheese croissant, bread pudding, and specifically for me a raspberry, decaf, no-fat, cappuccino. Everything was great, but the bread pudding was exceptional. They bi-passed the need to add raisins and instead topped it with fresh fruit - peaches, blueberries, plums - oh, so good! The winery was in the back so we went back to check it out and see when they opened up for tastings. They didn't technically open till noon, but the guy said he could go ahead and get us started if we wanted - we did! :-) We went through the tasting and ended up finding out it was being done by the son of the winemaker and the baker (dad makes wine, mom makes bread). He was very knowledgeable and gave us some recommendations on where to go next. They had three bubbling wines - one 'plain', one with raspberry, one with almond (think amaretto). They were all very subtle - dry and not too sweet - I loved them and had to take home a bottle of the Grand Cuvee (plain). I don't remember all the other kinds we tasted there, but we ended up taking home 5 bottles. One was the late harvest petite syrah - it was a very nice, not too sweet port. Once our wines are shipped home I'll add names of the others we bought for reference. There website does not list them yet: http://www.dancingfoxwinery.com/.
Next up was Berghold winery - it was recommended by the wine maker at Dancing Fox because of it's beauty and it was that. We were greeted by the owener at Berghold. He showed us around the tasting room that was filled with antiques. Again, will have to get back to the wines we bought.
We went to the Lodi Visitor's center next - per the suggestion from Berghold. It was a good idea - good way to try some wines from wineries we were not going to make it too. There were a few decent one's, but nothing fabulous that we had to buy.
That was followed up with lunch at Revolucion 1910 - it was a Mexican restaurant with a very authentic take on some things (ie no chips and salsa, they serve beans, rice and tortillas when you get there) and they add more of a modern flare on other things - like my chili rellano en nogada (Poblano chile stuffed with yucatan-style black beans, hummus & white pecan sauce). It was so good we tipped the chef. They also had some normal things like the fresh guacamole which was fabulous. http://www.rev1910.com/live/ Don't let the fact that it is housed in a shopping center fool you - it's good atmosphere and great food.
After lunch we were refreshed to go again. Off to Lucas winery. It was a very small winery, but they had a great tasting that included a nice little tour of their facility and vineyards. One of the winemakers there used to work for Mondavi and it showed - Heather Pyle Lucas (just googled it). We bought a bottle of the Zinstar reserve - at $50 - the most we spent on a bottle the whole trip, but it will be used for a special occasion and we will remember our trip to Lodi! :-)
That led us to Jesse's Grove - what a fun tasting - one of the wine makers came in while we were there as well as the owner who came in off his horse. Really laid back place and had some good wine's that we liked.
So, just realized I never finished or posted this - so I'm posting it now to remind me to finish it later - we'll see if that works...
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