Silverman's

This has been a busy week so my post is actually from last Sunday night. We had dinner at our friends, the Silverman's, home. It was an amazingly clear night and we enjoyed a Matanzas Creek chardonnay on their deck... which has astonishing sunset views from the city across the bay to Mt. Tam. Victoria made her famous creole shrimp with Louisiana hot sauce and homemade ice cream with fresh fruit. Lots of laughs accompanied by great food and wine is the ideal way to end a weekend!

Anchor & Hope

The girls wanted to come into the city Friday night for dinner. It was a beautiful evening so I walked down to meet them at the ferry. We then walked along Market street and eventually went to Anchor & Hope for dinner. It's a place I go to for lunch fairly frequently. They recognize me but don't yet know my name... It has a cool vibe and good seafood. I must say that it seems like the same menu and same portion size as lunch but for more money. That said the appetizers are what I like most. We had the calamari with a spicy honey sauce and oysters wrapped in bacon. Mmmmmm.

Boulevard

Annika had another game yesterday... which has nothing to do with our dinner at Boulevard but it gives me an excuse to throw up a photo of her in action. Dinner was with the Caplan's who were in Sonoma for a wedding. They live in Ridgewood New Jersey now and were commenting that half the stores seem to have closed in the past few months. Anyway, they wanted to go somewhere special so I chose Boulevard. We had a wonderful time and the food was, once again, excellent. I had the heirloom tomato salad, rack of lamb and one bon bon. The rack of lamb was perfectly cooked and made me feel like it really is Fall here.

Ravenous

Annika had a game at Ukiah yesterday. A long ride after lots of travel. Ukiah is about 45 miles north of Healdsburg. On our way home we stopped to see an old friend of Carol's, Bill Rosensweig, who she had helped publish and market a book about his company, The Republic of Tea. He suggested we head over to a locals place called Revenous. It's in a charming old house just off the square. Aside from service that was pretty slow and inattentive the food was great. I especially liked the crab cake. It was crunchy and had a sauce with a hint of curry. The portions were huge... so I have nothing to report on their dessert.

Frantoio

At cooking school, last weekend, one of the other students recommended to Carol an Italian place in Mill Valley called Frantoio. I must say that because the restaurant is attached to a Holiday Inn I was more than a little skeptical. Cool place though. They make there own olive oil there in a giant press which gives some justification for the cavernous feeling. I ordered the rigatoni with lamb sauce but our waiter said that the rabbit ragout was outstanding so I switched. He was right. Annika was home with two other girls for a sleep-over so I was relieved to find the house in one piece when we returned.

Noto

Annika had a game in Windsor today. A 5-1 victory in which she scored a goal by the way! Carol was a cooking school so I ventured, by myself, into the town for a coffee during warm-ups. I found a cool place called Noto... that sits across from the village green. Nothing like good cap and a paper before the big game. Annika played the best game of her life yet and I was very well caffeinated for it!!