After sailing we decided to go ahead and get an early dinner in Santa Cruz. Steph looked on Yelp to find Lillian’s and it was fantastic. They had a wine special for a gewurztraminer that was crisp, but not sweet. They also had some stuffed pesto gnocchi, which was really good. I’d still say that Cafe Moulin is better, but not by that much.
After diving 8 of us went to a restaurant called Hula’s (Yelp). They had something called ‘Mac ‘n’ Cheese ‘n’ Cheese’ which of course Stephanie and I had to get. We also shared a Tofu Taco. Since we had already eaten lots of bonali we didn’t need to get too much to eat at the restaurant. I think it is a good plan that I at least should continue, by eating beforehand on something healthier and tasty, then getting something small and healthy at the restaurant itself. To drink I got a Mai Tai, which was a little too sweet for me, but not bad.
After that we went to Otter Bay, a company that makes custom wetsuit parts. Stephanie decided to get a custom hood made that is thicker and a set of cat ears. The cat ears are red on the front and purple on the back.
We then went to a BBQ with some of the dive community from Diver Dan’s. I saw Jim, Tommy, Aaron, and some others that I should remember their names but don’t. Aaron was a great host and we had some really tasty things. There was something called a pink greyhond that was a tasty drink, and a lot of really nice foodstuffs.
Bo and I talked a lot last night at the Holy Grill, a little burger place just next to Zynga. I got the diablo burger, which was nice, but a little too fatty. Bo and I had two beers each and had a pleasant conversation. It was an interesting conversation where we talked a lot about where we wanted to go with the next stage of our lives. He is in a pretty tough spot and need to find something relatively stable. The biggest problem is that he still sees finding a job as giving up on his dreams. He doesn’t allow for the possibility of going after his dreams while working. I think once he does have a real job, since he hasn’t held one for any significant time before, that he will see that you can work towards your dreams and work a normal job. I hope he finds something that allows him to do that, but he may just have to settle for something stable to start out and then work towards the job that supports his dreams.
This evening I biked to the Chocolate Garage and had some tasty chocolate. The one I liked the most was a milk chocolate with nibs that I had already bought called The Boss. I didn’t get any, and after tasting some Riley and I went to Philz Coffee and I got a Chai Tea. The Chai there was fantastic.
After coming back Stephanie had already been joined at the Chocolate Garage by Candice and Brian. All of us then went to a pretty tasty place called Curry Up Now. I liked it, but not sure I’d want to go back. I’d prefer Umami over Curry Up Now.
This morning Stephanie and I went to the Chocolate Garage in Palo Alto to do some chocolate tasting and buy the ones we liked. I got some really nice ones including: 2 different makers using the same bag of beans from Piura region in Peru, A dark chocolate with salt and nibs, a pastatio chile salty dark milk chocolate, and a malted milk chocolate. I used the Easter money I got from Mom and Dad for the chocolate, which I think is incredibly appropriate.
This is a nice little place. When I say little, I mean little. It is much smaller than I expected when I saw it from the outside. I was expecting a full 2 story place with mostly chairs and tables inside. What is actually there is a set of wine racks and a gigantic bar with tables and chairs only along the wall. There also isn’t a second story to speak of. That said it was a nice atmosphere, and I’d like to go back to get some food. There was an artichoke, jalapeño dip, which sounds really good. I got their Sauvignon Blanc, which was light and very nice.
Steph and I had dinner with Bo at Umami. Alexey, a guy bo met at the meteor presentation, met us there as well. I got the palo alto special, late nighter, and it was OK. The beer was really good, Brother Thelonias. It had a really rich and unique flavor, with no bitterness. The bike ride from work was really nice as well, it took about 45 minutes to get to Stanford, but it was a wonderful day.
Nick, Steph, and I went to Shezan for dinner today. We stopped by tea era beforehand because we got there 10 min early. Shezan opens at 5:30 not 5. I pointed out to Nick that there is a lunch buffet, and he things it would be great to meet up for lunch. I really just realized that I can meet people for lunch now that I am working in mountain view. I can even bike to lunch and bike back without too much issue.
We went to the farmer’s market yesterday and got a ton of stuff. All of it so far has been tasty. I got a honeycomb there and for some reason I expected it to be crunchy. Of course it wasn’t at all crunchy it was waxy and tasted exactly like honey. I feel kinda stupid for expecting it to be otherwise, but what can you do? I got 10 avocados since they were only $1 each and served 5 of them for the game of thrones watching night. I also got some spicy yuba strips that were sooo tasty. There was a new butternut squash based sauce at bolani, and I ended up getting it. While it is really good, the tomato still goes better with the bolani bread. The pesto is still fantastic with cucumber. A lot of the stalls were missing since it was forecasted as being rainy. Two of the stalls we wanted to go to, the Miso Suke and candied nuts, were among those missing. We got a great haul and I’m looking forward to having some more of the strawberries tonight.
It's an Exciting World 