Category: California

Restaurant Review - Lunch at Chez Panisse

12/5/2016

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I leave to go home tomorrow after being in Northern California visiting friends for the past two months … yes, my hubby has missed me … or maybe just my cooking. But today, my friend, her daughter (who is also my goddaughter) and I had lunch at Chez Panisse.

Don’t you just love my flip flops? I had already packed my suitcases and neglected to leave out appropriate shoes. Oh well. Nobody looks at your feet, right?

Being the foodie that I am, I’ve wanted to eat at Chez Panisse for awhile now. Alice Waters, the founder and co-owner, helped change the way Americans eat with the farm-to-table movement serving organic, locally harvested fresh, seasonal food when the restaurant opened in 1971. She has several cookbooks. In the Kitchen is my favorite…at the moment.

Chez Panisse is one of the most well-known and world-renown restaurants in Northern California, if not in the whole world!

And Chez Panisse did NOT disappoint!

The Craftsman-style house that is the foundation of Chez Panisse felt fancy yet inviting. It literally feels like you walked into someone’s home.

As I mentioned, we went for lunch so we ate in the more casual café upstairs. If you want something more formal you can go for the three-course prix-fixe dinner. Be sure to call for reservations ahead of time — at least a month from what I’ve heard. I called about a week in advance for reservations and didn’t have any problems getting our preferred day/time.
The menu changes daily based on what’s in season and what’s at the market, so you never know what you’re going to get. Because of my gluten intolerance I had to call ahead to see if there was something I could actually eat. I was told that they don’t make substitutions but there is usually a meal with meat and veggies.

My friend and I both had the Mixed poultry grill, persimmons, fig relish, sage and roasted potatoes.

My goddaughter had the Grilled Preston Point lamb with sweet pepper and cannelloni bean gratin, spinach, and salsa verde.

We all loved our meals and the service is impeccable and our waiter was excellent – very friendly and informative but not stuffy. We didn’t get dessert because I wanted to get ice cream at Smitten, churned to order (I can’t help it, I love that place and I’m leaving tomorrow and who knows when I’ll be back).

Overall, I highly, highly recommend Chez Panisse if you’re in Berkeley or even the Bay Area. I thought it completely lived up to its expectations and was just such a special, yet totally uncomplicated meal. There’s no molecular gastronomy or other crazy stuff – just simple, straightforward food made incredibly well in a cozy yet fun and fancy atmosphere. It was such a fun meal, and I can only hope we can find another excuse to go again soon!

Restaurant Info
Chez Panisse
1517 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94709
(510) 548-5525
Visit their website

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Muir Woods

4/30/2015

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Yesterday, Le-Thu, her mom and I went for Muir Woods National Monument to see the redwood trees. The drive is pretty scenic on a two-lane road.

If You Go

Muir Woods is a National Monument (did you know that the National Park Service turns 100 in August, 2016).

Before it became a historic, national monument, John Muir discovered this fascinating Californian forest where he called, “home.” On January 9, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the land a National Monument making Muir’s dreams of preserving these redwoods a reality.

It is located at 1 Muir Woods Rd., Mill Valley, CA 94941. It’s open 365 days a year but times vary depending on the season, so be sure to check their website.

Parking: $8 fee to park. First thing to know is parking is extremely limited. The lot will usually get full by 8:30 a.m. They open a 8:00 a.m. so try to before there a little before they open.

Le-Thu’s mom walks with a cane, so Le-Thu dropped us off at the Visitor Center and then went to park. Depending on where you park, you could have a 10 minute walk or so.

Fee: $10 per adult and children 15 and under are free. There are also annual passes and senior passes available. Le-Thu’s mom had a pass (I believe it was the Golden Age Pass for those over 62) that allowed an additional two people in for FREE. BONUS for Le-Thu and me!

It’s a good idea to bring water! They do have a small cafe. Everything they serve is local and organic, but a bit $$. There’s a nice gift shop attached to the cafe with really nice staff.

Muir Woods has 6 miles of hiking trails of varying lengths and difficulties. No matter your age or fitness level, you can customize your adventure to fit your personal needs. Wear sturdy shoes and versatile clothing for different weather conditions on certain trails, expect most of the park to be cool and dry.

As I mentioned earlier, Mrs Pho walks with a cane, but we were able to borrow a wheel chair for her. For the most part the trails are wheel chair accessible … but at times a bit bumpy … however, there are some trails that I wouldn’t suggest traversing with a wheel chair.

Muir Woods provides you with the lush escape from the hustle and bustle of life. It’s serene, breathtaking, and sometimes just damn inspiring. There is no cell service in the park, so no worries about people’s cell phones ringing disturbing your solitude.

When you start off, the redwood trees are absolutely massive and you have to look up to see the tops. It was really hard to get the whole tree in the photos.

You can see from the photo (below) how small the people are compared to the trees.

It’s always damp and cool, even on summer days. But, you notice that I wore shorts and just brought along a jacket in case I got chilly.

I love trees. I guess you would call me a tree hugger.

I love how they have their own character with their knobs and growths.

Whether you plan on snapping pics every step of the trail, or silently reflecting … you won’t regret it.

We ended up doing a short hike that circled the inside of the park. Round trip was probably about 3 hours … a great way to spend the day.

It is very close to San Francisco so if you are visiting the area, I highly recommend spending a day there….or at least a couple of hours.

Have you been? What was your favorite hike?

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Visiting the San Diego Zoo

12/5/2012

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Gary and I are on a 2-week vacation in San Diego. And our vacation wouldn't be complete without a trip to the San Diego Zoo.

The San Diego Zoo, founded in 1916, is probably my favorite zoo of all time. It's 100 acres in size and home to more than 3,700 rare and endangered animals representing approximately 660 species and subspecies.

Bears

This guy was fun to watch and he went from the seated position, walked a few feet, sat and rolled a bit...

Birds

Camels

Elephants

Flamingos

Giraffes

At the San Diego Zoo, you'll find a small herd of Masai giraffes within the Urban Jungle exhibit. Take a loop around the Urban Jungle to see the rhinos, cheetahs and other exciting animals.

Pandas

Sadly, China called back all of the giant pandas from the San Diego Zoo at the end of April 2019. We are sad to see the giant pandas leave the San Diego Zoo. However, you can still visit the red pandas at Panda Trek.

Pandas are one of my favorite animals which means that the Red Panda is right up there with the Pandas. Couldn't you just stay there and watch them all day? I know I could because they are just so darned cute!