prime rib dinner in Fullerton

Actually, the most important thing here is that I had dinner with Ed and Denice. 

I'm getting to see a lot of Ed this year, which is nice.  In New England in the spring, in Chicago in June, and tonight in Fullerton.  It's becoming a somewhat annual tradition whereby he and Denice come to Orange County for Disney related activities, and we (only me tonight) meet them for dinner in Fullerton.  Summit House has become our place,

and we always always go for the prime rib. 

I mean, come on:  Yorkshire pudding!!  I have to say, though, that I especially loved the creamed corn and creamed spinach tonight.

It was a good meal, though.  So nice to catch up.  I loved hearing about their Hawaii trip with their sons earlier this year, and it was great to talk about trips to come and looking down the road toward retirement and more.  Well worth the drive down, and whoa, quite the drive.  I really saw a lot of suburban SoCal!

One more day here with Olive, and then Conrad and Van come home on Wednesday.  I can't wait.  I miss them.

Bed time!  Night! 

first weekend in August

How about I check in on things from a week ago?  Sounds about right for the way this blog goes most of the time lately, right?  It's been a very easy, lazy Saturday, and even then, I've only just found the wherewithal to get some things written and posted.  Nicely done, Peter!

Alright then, a week ago yesterday.  Starting out with a good long walk since I didn't have a morning commute to be mindful of.  Over 11 miles that morning.  Yep, a great way to end my July step count.  I was pretty pleased with that.

The workday at home proved uneventful, and before we knew it, it was done.  We weren't at Maestro right at opening as we sometimes are, but we were seated at the bar not long afterward. 

I haven't been indulging in Mezcal Campfires much lately, but I did have one that evening. 

Calamari

and the chicken mole

for me and Conrad to share.  Nice, easy evening, and home after that to watch a little television and wind down.

Saturday was a little fuller.  The middle part of the day included housework and errands, but we also made time to go see a condo at an open house.  A really good and promising unit were we in a position to buy right away.  But we aren't.  Still, that was impetus for us to begin getting financial ducks in a row.

Framing the midday activities were the morning walk and breakfast at Amara (shared burrito for us)

to start the day, and then a jaunt down to San Pedro early in the evening.  We were invited over to Lessa and Christian's home for drinks

before heading to dinner with them at Trani's Dockside Station. 

It was nice to come down their way - they've come up this way a few times now, and it really is a drive.  Plus, how nice to see their home (I love to see what books people have on their shelves) and meet their chickens. 

Van is such an animal lover!

Dinner was a great recommendation.  I struggled with the menu because there was a lot I wanted to try.  Lessa, Conrad, and I shared oysters, and then I had a swordfish special. 

Lightly breaded, which was interesting, and I liked it.  Some greens on the side. 

The chocolate gelato dessert was fine

- I preferred the brown butter cake that landed at the other end of the table and that I couldn't readily finish.  The restaurant had a good bar as well, and the Saging Grace cocktail was refreshing. 

A nice night with local friends as the highlight of the weekend.

As is often the case, I have no Sunday photos.  I recall spending a very good deal of the day reading old XMen comics on my iPad, and what a delight that was.  Such an easy day.  I put together a board of easy nibbles for dinner so as not to cook on a hot day.  Television, to bed, and then... Monday. 

Chicago loose ends

Wherein I share photos of folks who are not strictly ALA folks and I share photos of meals outside of the major meals I wanted to spotlight.

Loose ends.  Oh, Peter.  I have a general practice of just writing what I write and not worrying about whether the prose is all that good.  I have no illusions of this blog being optioned for publishing deal or a film or television series.  Can you even imagine?  So I write what I write and look back and cringe and laugh.  But it does remain true to at least part of me, so I keep it all.  The loose ends it is.  That will teach me to write placeholder titles days in advance!

Friday morning in Chicago, and it was breakfast with Matt and Kim at a place we could all walk to, a Chicago Waffles location.  So much on the menu to choose from, but I opted for an omelet, something I rather like but seldom have.  Broccoli and cheddar in this one, and it was enjoyable. 

I liked the potatoes on the side as well.  That was a filling start to the day.

Friday evening, and we met up with Courtney and Robert along with Courtney's sister, Chelsea; Chelsea's husband, Andy; and their two daughters.  The family had driven down from the Madison area, and we were supposed to be joined by Courtney and Chelsea's parents as well.  They couldn't make it up from Indiana, alas, so it was just the eight of us at Eataly in downtown Chicago.  A fun time!  I hadn't seen Chelsea and Andy in at least a dozen years or more, and I had never met the girls.  Conrad had never even met Andy!  We shared some light bites and pizza, pasta, and wine.  Conrad and I also enjoyed their version of Last Words. 

After dinner, we headed over to the Langham Hotel with Courtney

and Robert

and shared a bottle of wine at Tavelle, looking out at the river and catching up.

Saturday lunch was with ALA folks whom I like very much.  Five of us had a leisurely (very very leisurely) lunch at Southern, not far from the convention center.  Great company.  Maybe a little pokey there, but the food was terrific.  I had a Hugo Spritz to start

and settled on two appetizers for lunch:  deviled eggs and fried green tomatoes. 

Oh, and we all shared a cornbread that Kathy, the southerner at the table, refused to accept was proper cornbread. 

Whatever it was, she liked it.  We all did.

Sunday lunch was with Robert (not the same Robert as above) at Apolonia.  Conrad was there for that one.  I thought my blue crab eggs Benedict were nicely done - I always appreciate it when the yolks are still runny, and these ones were. 

We shared pastries that looked lovely but were honestly kind of dry.  Ah well.  I really did like my eggs a lot.

I have no photos of my sandwich from Danke in Sterling Food Hall from my lunch with Michael on the Monday.  It was a good sandwich, and the food court was pretty cool (and pretty busy).  Just so great seeing Michael, though. 

It's been far too long.  We met years ago through our work at each of our libraries in Chicago on digital collections and hit it off - he became someone I would go for occasional happy hour drinks with.  Good guy.

That brings us to Tuesday lunch and a reunion with Rachel and David. 

We met up not far from Rachel's work, dining at The Gage.  It's such a reliable restaurant, especially since it's in such a touristy spot on Michigan Avenue.  There's something of a classic bistro feel to it.  I've enjoyed cocktails and food there several times, and this one was no less good.  A gin and tonic on a hot and humid day was sweet relief, indeed. 

I opted for a cold sandwich as well, a lobster roll. 

No, not a typical thing for Chicago, but it sounded so good.  It was tasty, a little wet.  I devoured it happily.  Rachel and David were such excellent company, too.  It's always a treat to see the online happy hour folks in person, and I will see all of them in person this calendar year!

Conrad and I also had a very nice dinner at The Publican with his colleague, Nate, and Nate's wife, Allison.  I didn't take photos of that meal, but we did enjoy it.

That, friends, wraps up Chicago.  I hope it does.  It was quite the ten days away, and although there was a lot about the time away that just sort of off, there were great friends and wonderful meals throughout.  I'm glad we had those. 

SHŌ Omakase with Nobuko and Laura

As you can tell from even the most cursory glance at this blog, dining out has been a very very big part of my life.  Of our lives.  We can go back decades to when I cooked at Don Diego's for a handful of years in between undergrad and grad school.  We can attribute things to my love for food and exploring it.  And we can credit the memories we've made that are set in restaurants and in dining situations.  For me and Conrad, the most seminal food and hospitality thing remains Sunday night at Yoshi's.

Yoshi's Cafe was a mainstay of Boystown in Chicago.  When I moved to Chicago in August 2000, I spent a handful of days staying with Medgar at his place across the street, not even suspecting that the fancy and (for me and him at the time) pricey restaurant would become a second home for me (and Conrad) within years.  It took at least a few months of dating Conrad for him to let me into his world there, and I was embraced.  We went to Yoshi's every Sunday night, or so it seemed.  We missed an occasional one, we sometimes showed up for Sunday brunch or a different night.  But Sunday at the bar was our regular thing, and we loved it.  We did all of our major and minor celebrations there.  And we got to know the other regulars as friends as well as Yoshi and Nobuko.

But 2013 happened.  Conrad and I moved away.  Oh, sure, we came back, but within a few years, Yoshi had passed away.  Nobuko kept the restaurant going, but it struggled through Covid, and in late 2021, she closed it and sold the business and property.  Yoshi's was no longer.  The friendships remained.

Conrad and I reached out to Nobuko and to Laura and Michael, friends who were regulars at the bar with us, and asked the to join us for dinner while we were in town at the end of last month.  They readily agreed and, even better, suggested that we go to SHŌ Omakase

where Nobuko's daughter, Mari, is the executive chef.  Heck yes, we said.  Mari has followed in her father's footsteps and, arguably, surpassed him, earning a Michelin star at a previous restaurant.  I was greatly looking forward to seeing our friends and to enjoy her food equally.

We all arrived at nearly the same time, and before heading to our table, we had a drink each at the bar in the front of the restaurant.  The staff all knew Nobuko well and greeted her warmly.  That was so nice to see.  We were taken back to the small dining room, seated, and the meal began.  Nobuko ordered wine for us - and, in fact, she treated us to the entire meal, for which we are grateful - and then, as we chatted and got caught up, the food came out.  And oh, what food it was!

A little cone with salmon roe, beautifully presented, fresh and light.

Small bites:  Okonomiyaki croquettes and milk bread teas sandwiches with Japanese egg salad.  Those sandwiches were such a delight.

Sea bream with fennel and strawberry.

Green pea chawanmushi with pancetta to be dunked in.  Oh, I loved this one.

Nigiri:  Alaskan king crab, sea trout, and chu-toro (tuna). 

There was also a raw oyster,

and the chu-toro and the raw oyster were a tribute to Yoshi's tuna tartare with oyster shooter.  Conrad cried at this point, he was so moved and enjoying it all so much. There was also some urchin served.

More nigiri:  sea eel and lamb. 

Lamb!!  What a surprise that was, and how very good.  Oh, and with all the nigiri, we each had a plate of citrus maple leaves to use as edible wraps,

and I was so very intrigued and delighted with those!

A small break in the service for some omelet, but not the rolled omelet we all know.  Silkier.  Excellent.

Somen

with caramelized soy milk broth. 

THIS!  Hands down the best thing I ate in Chicago, and I ate VERY well while I was there.  I loved that broth so much.

Strawberry soft serve with buttermilk shave ice, condensed milk, and lemon verbena. 

More fresh and light flavours to cap the meal.  But wait...

Mignardises. 

Mari has a background in pastry and breakfast, so we should have expected something so nice.

And then... compressed pineapple and (best of all!) carbonated cherries. 

Such a joyful end to the meal.

I really did eat so well in Chicago, but take a situation where we know the chef and we're dining with two such dear friends, and add in terrific food and drink, and, well...  How could this not be the best of our time in Chicago.  Oh, and it seems we might all be on vacation next spring at the same time in Japan.  The plotting is starting.

Mari is doing fantastic work, and I do wish her dad could be retired and coming to enjoy her food.  Not to be, alas.  But we kept the spirit of sharing great food and drink and conversation with friends alive that night, and I am so happy we got that.  An exceptional meal, and one to remember.