What did you eat today?
Breakfast: Homemade granola with fresh strawberries
Lunch: Chicken guacamole sandwich. It was looking a little bland, so I actually bought some of the buffalo bleu kettle chips
Afternoon snack: Some peanut-butter chocolate chip cookies from Trader Joe’s. By the time I got to them, the bottom of the bag was all crumbs, so I poured them into a cup and ate them with a spoon
Dinner: Spaghetti with fresh tomatoes and basil
Dessert: Chocolate soda with mint-chip ice cream
Breakfast: Grapenuts with cranberry juice and fresh strawberries
Lunch: Chicken-guacamole sandwich
Afternoon snack: Chocolate chip cookie from Bittersweet.
Dinner: Rice and beans and guacamole
Dessert: Ice cream with home made granola
Breakfast: Leftover waffles
Lunch: Pizza at Gilroy Gardens. In all honesty, the pizza does not have much to recommend it, but in other respects, Gilroy Gardens is an amazing place. If you have kids between about 4-11, it’s a great day. Think of going to the fair, but without the whining for tickets. There is a water play area that is great on a hot day (i.e., most of them in Gilroy) so have them wear swim clothes. Eliza couldn’t believe that they just let her stay on the spinny Mushroom Swing ride as long as she wanted.
Afternoon snack: Popcorn
Dinner: We had promised Eliza a burger, but then ate pizza for lunch. Truly, we thought we’d be home by dinner, but we were having such a good time at Gilroy Gardens that there was no way to make it home in time. Punched in “Burger” into Waze from on the road and selected one that wasn’t too far off the route. It brought up The Counter, which I”d just noticed in an airport last week. What we didn’t notice was that this one was at Santana Row, a fancy shopping mall. Nor did anyone realize what a zoo that would be on a Sunday evening. It turned out to be a 45 minute wait, but it was a gorgeous night. After 15 minutes of waiting, we finally got smart to the fact that we could order to go and sit at a lovely outdoor table to eat. The build your own burger is great. I highly recommend the fried onion strings, both as a side and on the burger. But it’s also a chance to experiment with stuff I wouldn’t normally put on a burger, like pineapple (not bad). Next time, I’ll go when it’s less crowded and check a few more boxes and see what I get.
Breakfast: Super Cinnamon Waffles, courtesy of Eliza
Lunch: Pizza and BBQ beef sandwich at Costco
Dinner: Tomato Tart. Along with a green salad. Fresh garden food never really gets old.
Dessert: Experimental whiskey chocolate bundt cake.
Breakfast: Grapenuts with cranberry juice and fresh strawberries. Have to enjoy this while it lasts, because the crop is running out.
Lunch: Leftover mac and cheese
Afternoon snack: Hummus and pita chips. Also some Hershy’s kisses. And a Coke Zero.
Dinner: Ramen
Dessert: Chocolate milk shake
Lunch: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Afternoon snack: Hershy’s kisses. I’d held out buying candy for a long time, but I was needing something after my trip.
Dinner: Mac-and-cheese. Along with a Caprese salad.
Dessert: Skillet cookie with ice cream
Lunch: Chicken ceasar salad from Carolyn’s Seaside Cafe. Fair, but not great. The service was slow (at the height of the lunch rush) so I had to get it to go. Which meant that the dressing came in a little cup, which means it ended up in blobs. Honestly, the reason I like salads at restaurants better than at home is that they are generally willing to get a big bowl dirty tossing the salad and dressing evenly.
Afternoon snack: Frapucchino sort of thing.
Dinner: Leftover tomato onion tart. This is one of my favorite things to eat in the world. Only problem is that it was a small piece.
Location: San Diego
Breakfast: Jamba juice.
Lunch: Carnitas buritto from Chipotle. I actually really like Chipotle, but I never can remember that I prefer the chicken to the pork. Maybe next time.
Dinner: Grilled Romaine Salad at Karl Strauss Brewery. Honestly, I was skeptical of this one, but it turned out to be pretty good. I’m not a huge fan of warm lettuce, but the dressing was tasty, and the chicken with it was great.
Dessert: I also had a brownie sundae, which was forgettable. It had great ice cream, but the brownie was bland and then they squirted canned whipped cream all over the top.
Breakfast: Grapenuts with cranberry juice and fresh strawberries
Lunch: Leftover pizza
Afternoon snack: Kettle corn
Dinner: Ceasar salad, fried chicken at Casa Orinda. This place has such an old-school feel, it’s incredible it still exists. I mean, there’s a moose head on the wall, plus a bunch of long horn cows. And waggon wheel chandeliers. Plus, if what you’re looking to eat was popular in the 50’s – 60’s (think steak or fried chicken), this place will do it with rare skill.
Dessert: Hot fudge sundae
Breakfast: Doughnuts from Toot Sweet. First time here for doughnuts (though I think I’ve had cake from here). I would probably rate them as mediocre. They were out of the custard filled by 9:00. The saving grace, though, was the buttermilk doughnut with chocolate glaze. This was just a different take on the genre, and I loved it. Suzanne described it like a biscuit, deep fried and covered with chocolate.
Lunch: Leftover pizza
Afternoon snack: Chips, salsa, watermellon, a ham sandwich, and some birthday cake with ice cream. Sweet jesus. Birthday parties are trouble!
Dinner: Baked potato with leeks, tomato, cheese, and salsa.
Dessert: Popcorn (while watching movie)