There's no place like home

As much fun as San Diego was, it was so nice to come back home to familiar surroundings. I love SoCal, and every time I go down there, I envision myself moving there someday. But when I arrive back in the Bay Area, I realize that this is truly where I belong. My style is completely NorCal, and I don't know that I'd ever be able to change that. And then there's the whole baseball thing. Me, a Dodger fan?! Or even worse, rooting for the Padres? Que horror!

My first morning back was extremely dull and unspectacular. Jim slept in until after 12 because he had to work tonight, and I busied myself with the whole unpacking ordeal. I straightened up the house a bit, worked on reorganizing the kitchen shelves, recycled a ton of cardboard, and ran two loads of laundry.

I also managed to work on dinner. Jim's fridge is pretty empty right now, and other than the chicken breasts I put in there last night to thaw, there wasn't much in the way of food. I planned on marinating the chicken to make Giada's roasted balsamic chicken, but after I whisked together lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and minced garlic, I searched the fridge for some Dijon. Unfortunately, that resulted in a jar that had March 2007 stamped across the top. I am not a mustard fan at all, but when I smelled it, it smelled plain bad, and not from my dislike of mustard. Just to make sure, I ventured to taste a smidge and was horrified at how awful it was. I'm pretty sure the stuff was rotten, especially with the expiration date. I didn't think that mustard could go bad, but then again, this was no preservative, 100% natural Dijon, so I guess that's what happens eventually.

Because there wasn't any extra in the pantry (only regular and Spicy Honey), I was a bit at a loss as what to do next. So I ended up peeling and dicing the butternut squash in order to make risotto instead. The chunks roasted at 400 degrees for 30 minutes after being tossed with EVOO, salt, and pepper. I turned them over once during the baking.

In the middle of the roasting, Jim woke up and we headed out to Yountville after the squash was done. I couldn't remember the name of the restaurant I wanted to go to, but Bistro Jeanty fell into my brain, so that's where we went. It ended up that I was wrong (I wanted Bouchon or Bistro Don Giovanni), but Bistro Jeanty happens to be both a Top 100 place and has been awarded a Michelin star, so that's where I had heard of it. And I was by no means opposed to Bistro Jeanty--it just wasn't what I had originally planned on.



Bistro Jeanty isn't all that far away, even though psychologically it is. It was an absolutely gorgeously mild and sunny day today, so we took full advantage of it. We walked into the restaurant around 2 pm and were seated after a minute. Even at the odd lunch hour, there were plenty of people in the place, which raised my expectations.





After I looked at the menu, I realized why Bistro Jeanty wasn't on my priority list--it's not very vegetarian friendly at all. I ended up getting two appetizers for my meal, the Cream of Tomato Soup in puff pastry and the crudite. Jim ordered the beef stew, and we shared the french fries. He had a glass of Cabernet and I had a Paradise Iced Tea. We were given a platter of bread and butter while we waited. The sourdough baguette was very good, and Jim couldn't stop eating it. There was also a wheat sourdough bread, which I preferred. We certainly are carb-a-holics. The busgirl promptly brought us another platter when ours ran low without any prompting. Very impressive.

Our meals came out with very little delay. My tomato soup was served in a lion's head bowl. I took the top off to let the soup cool, and it was absolutely crazy hot. Jim's stew was gorgeous. The beef looked perfectly fork tender, the mashed potatoes fluffy and white, and the peas and carrots glistened with melted butter. My crudite came in six mini ramekins--we're talking probably about one ounce each. The fries were in a cone and that was the first thing I tried. They were light, crispy, and not too greasy. They were topped with a sprinkling of parsley. I know it's sacrilege, but the first thing I thought of was how much better they would be with ketchup. There was not way I was going to even try them with mustard or mayo, so I suffered. Jim agreed with me on the ketchup front. Americans, I tell ya.



While my soup cooled, I tried my crudite. The carrots were slightly pickled but nice and crisp. The shredded red cabbage was very wilted, but it was better that way. There was also cucumber slices in a yogurt raita-style sauce, lentils in what I think was balsamic vinegar, and there was also a cold noodle salad-type deal. I liked the carrots and lentils best, but all were pretty decent. It was definitely different, and had I not seen it on our neighbor's table, I would have been totally surprised to see the dish. Overall, I liked it, but it wasn't love by any means.



Jim really liked his stew. He said there was no fat for him to cut off and it was very tender. I sampled his mashed potatoes, and they were very good. They weren't overly rich and were actually slightly on the dry side. He was so hungry, he finished before I was even halfway done. That's extremely rare that he finishes so far ahead of me. I am definitely the faster eater of us two, and I eat way less on top of it all. Today I got housed.



My soup was cool enough to eat probably close to 10 minutes after they brought it out. It was delicious, but I could tell from the glistening surface of oil that it was going to be uber-rich. That it was, and then with the puff pastry . . . okay, when the puff pastry takes down the richness taste a notch, what does that tell you about the soup? Yup. Crazy. I think it would have been better with a little less butter and oil. It just wasn't necessary. Jim finished off my soup in record time as well.



We decided on an apple Tarte Tatin for dessert, which was absolutely amazing. I believe it was a phyllo crust, and the apple on top was slightly caramelized. It was sooo nummy. I really enjoyed the creme fraiche it came with, and Jim kept added more to his plate, too.



Overall, it was a nice dining experience. I don't see what all the fuss is about (they've won plenty of awards and have been on Gourmet magazine's cover twice). Of course, I don't eat the meat, so that may be what the problem is. Jim really liked it.

After lunch, we walked up and down Washington Street, stopping for a wine tasting. It's more accurate to say that Jim did the wine tasting. I sampled a few, but pretty soon I was feeling queasy and gross. Jim ended up buying a Chardonnay for his mom's birthday this Sunday.

On our way back to the car, we stopped by the Bouchon bakery and got bread, a chai iced tea, and a nuter butter cookie. That may have been the best cookie I've ever had. The nutter butter filling was ridiculously creamy and rich. And the peanut butter cookies weren't at all dry, but were soft and sugar crispy all at the same time. I loved it. It put those scat Girl Scout cookies to shame.

For dinner, I made Ina's Butternut Squash Risotto. This was my second time making risotto, so it's still a learning process. I actually ended up using Giada's risotto directions for the most part. Because she's Italian, I trust her a little more. Anyway, I sauteed diced shallot in butter before adding the Arborio rice to toast it for a bit (a step that Ina didn't call for). Then I put some white wine and saffron in and stirred the mixture until it absorbed into the rice. Then came the ladling of the broth and constant stirring. I used a mixture of vegetable and chicken broth. Even though it was a ratio of 5 cups of veggie broth to 1 of chicken, the flavor of the chicken broth really came through for me, which is why I couldn't really enjoy the dish. It's so much stronger and pungent tasting. I know Jim probably can't taste the difference, but my taste buds are a little more attuned to meat than his. I really should have just used all veggie broth, but he had a cup of chicken to use up. Back to the risotto--I stirred in a cup of parmesan and the butternut squash at the end and dinner was served. I omitted the pancetta, one because I didn't have it and two, so I could at least sample the goods. A teensy bit of chicken stock isn't going to kill me or my opinion of the dish, but eating a bit of pig? Never happen.

I was pretty happy with the result. The saffron turned the risotto a beautiful yellow and the bright orange of the butternut squash contrasted nicely. The rice was super creamy and al dente. Ina uses 6 cups of broth and Giada 4, and while I used all 6, I don't think it was quite necessary. Four would have been plenty, so I've learned for next time. However, for leftovers, it may have been a good thing to use the extra broth.



To me, risotto is one of those impressive dishes that really aren't too hard to make. It just takes some time and attention. Rachael Ray says you don't need to constantly stir the pot, but I think it can only help with the creamy texture of the rice, so I try to do it for the majority of the time like Giada does.

So it's back to the old routine. And I'm happy to do it.

Goodbye San Diego

We checked out of our hotel with plenty of time to spare this morning and headed out for Sunday brunch at Crest Cafe, which actually was in a more ghetto area of San Diego. Not that it holds a candle to the Crest in Vallejo. Anyway, this was definitely more of a local spot, and the only way we knew about it was because it was a Passport deal. Although the place was hopping, we were immediately seated in a corner booth for two, which was pretty tight on space.



The place is full of bright, clashing colors that seem to work together anyway. Even the coffee cups and saucers are intentionally mismatched. It definitely had a diner feel to it, and I was quite excited to sample their fare. We don't get out to breakfast all that often, so it's a treat when we do. It was also very nice to eat breakfast at a non-chain restaurant.

We ended up ordering a blueberry Belgian waffle to share and each of us got an omelet. The waffle was definitely a compromise, since I really wanted to try the lemon ricotta pancakes or the pumpkin gingerbread pancakes. I'm actually more of a waffle fan, but they were so unusual that I was curious. But Jim wasn't going to help me out if I ordered either, so a Belgian waffle it was. I also ordered the veggie omelet with egg beaters sans cheese and fruit and Jim got a Western Omelet with hash browns and wheat toast and fresh squeezed OJ.

Our food came out reasonably quickly, and I was pretty happy with the meal. My omelet had avocado, mushrooms, and tomatoes, and it came with a decent amount of fruit (which was extra $). Jim's hash browns were way overdone and practically black, which was a bummer, but the four egg omelet was declared yummy by him. The western omelet came with ham, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheddar cheese, and he added Spanish sauce, which was surprisingly spicy. I sampled some of the sauce and preferred Buttercup's. Not that theirs wasn't good; it was simply a preference. The wheat toast was awesome--it was more of a wheat sourdough baguette and super flavorful. The waffle came out plain, but the waiter brought a side of blueberry sauce to make up for it. Neither the waffle nor the blueberries were spectacular, but the waffle was pretty good. I can't remember the last time I ate a waffle, so it was nice.









Overall, it was a pretty good meal, but I think it was way overrated--for whatever reason, there was a massive line out the door waiting for an open table. And I didn't like that they charged for every single addition or substitution. I got charged for the use of egg beaters and subbing fruit cost $3. Jim was dinged for adding Spanish sauce. Even so, with the passport discount, breakfast was a very reasonable price.



After breakfast, we stopped by Starbucks for an iced tea and then headed out to the Port of San Diego, where we walked around for the next couple of hours. We parked in the USS Midway museum lot and ended up walking to the very touristy Seaport Village where we shopped around, buying fudge (way too rich for me) and a Ben and Jerry's waffle cone (way too much money). The creme brulee ice cream was a serious letdown. I was so disappointed at how not good it was. I was expecting amazing, so anything short of that was eh.



We soldiered on to the Gaslamp Quarter, which was way closer than I expected. After driving around a bit, we found FREE parking right outside of Petco Park. I was so excited to see the ballpark and it was absolutely gorgeous. I loved the fact that it was so open to the public in that you could see the field outside of the actual stadium itself. We walked to the Quicksilver store, where I continued my tradition of picking up a Roxy t-shirt and then went to the Hard Rock Cafe for Jim's beer glasses, which he collects.





I was nervous about making our flight, which was at 7 pm. We had 5 pm dinner reservations for Fleming's, a chain steak house that happened to also offer a passport discount. We arrived at 4:45 to try and get through dinner faster and were the only ones in the restaurant for quite a while. Even though the kitchen didn't open until 5, they were very accommodating and still served us. I was impressed.





Instead of bread, we were given a crudite platter with a couple of dips and vegetables. True, there was crostini, but the dips were the centerpiece. One was an olive tapenade-esque dip and the other a creamy cheese-based dip. Neither was super memorable, but both were good.



I ordered the mixed veggie platter steamed and Jim got his filet mignon. We shared the chipotle mac n' cheese, which Jim's co-worker absolutely raved about. The food was brought out surprisingly quickly, and we got down to business. My veggies were veggies. I'm sure they would have been super yummy had they been grilled with EVOO and butter and all that other crap, but I was going for healthy. Don't get me wrong--the veggies were good. They just weren't something to write home about. I had bok choy, button mushrooms, portabello mushrooms, asparagus, parsnips (which I learned I don't like by themselves), and tomatoes (the best out of all of 'em). Combined with the mac n' cheese, I was fine. And the mac n' cheese was really, really good. It had just a hint of smokiness from the chipotle, and it was quite creamy and cheesy with white cheddar. Definitely a roux-based sauce. I want to try and recreate it just for fun. And it came with a panko bread crumb topping that was very nice.





Jim's filet mignon was a little overcooked and came out on the plate completely devoid of any ornamentation whatsoever, even parsley. It was UGLY and quite forlorn sitting by itself on the white plate.



We struggled with whether or not to order dessert, but ultimately caved in to get the creme brulee, which came with strawberries and whipped cream. It was definitely good stuff. I absolutely adore creme brulee. Soooo good. The whipped cream was a very nice added touch.



I think we're going to have to go back to Fleming's sometime soon, even though the one in Walnut Creek doesn't offer the passport discount. I was very impressed with the service. Our waiter was super helpful and friendly without going overboard. He even offered to call a cab to take us to the airport.

Being on time for our flight ended up not being a problem at all. Our flight was delayed, first to 7:30 and then 7:45. And when we landed, we had to wait in line for our turn to deplane. We didn't step foot onto solid ground until after 10.

Later on, Jim discovered that he left his Hard Rock glasses at Fleming's, which absolutely sucked. I guess we're going to have to go back to SD sometime soon.

Call me Grandma

We arrived on time for B's wedding, which was a total waste on our part since the thing started about an hour late! So we took the time to check out the church from our rock hard pews (technically wood hard pews, but that just doesn't sound at all church-appropriate). B's fiancee L apparently loves purple, since the invitations and programs were all varying, clashing shades of it. Even the pew decorations were these wrought iron hearts painted a metallic lavender with uncomplimenting purple ribbons dangling from them. The bridesmaids were of course wearing purple, and their dresses were actually quite nice, in a flattering muted shade of silvery purple. Unfortunately, they carried bouquests filled with several types of bright purple flowers which ruined the entire effect. The flowers in their bouquets clashed badly with the dresses.

Anyway, it was surprisingly a very nice ceremony, if a little on the long side. I didn't check the time when it started, but it was set for 10 am and we left for the reception practically at noon.

The reception was at the Bahia Hotel on the fifth floor, which meant that we were treated to gorgeous views of Mission Bay. The ballroom had one wall that was entirely windows that overlooked the beach--so very pretty. Since we didn't get breakfast, I was absolutely famished. They had hors de'oeurves of various cheeses, crackers, fruit, and bread at a couple of buffet-style tables and had a couple of hot selections passed around. They were all carnivore friendly, so I didn't get to sample them. I did, however, stuff my face full of strawberries. I happen to love them more than any other fruit, so every chance I get, I nosh on 'em. I don't think I could ever get sick of them. That and peaches and plums. Good stuff. I pretty much like fruit in general, but one of the best things about summer is the strawberries, peaches, and plums.

Because the ceremony was so late, the reception was likewise late. I knew the times would be off, this being an Asian wedding and all, but this one was particularly bad. Thankfully, they started serving pretty quickly after the wedding party was introduced.

Jim and I were seated at Table 13, named "Apollo 13" (all of the tables were named after movies, bands, etc. coinciding w/ their numbers --to be expected with both of them wanting to be in the entertainment business). We were with B's friends, and they were all very nice. And married. A bit awkward, but oh well.

Our salads came out quite quickly, and from the menu description, I was excited to eat them. Unfortunately, they were wilted and not so very good. It was a greens, gorgonzola, candied pecan, and cranberry salad--very similar to Marie Callender's, or so I thought. The pecans were not candied, but rather coated with something spicy that didn't go at all with the rest of the salad. The champagne dressing, that was served in bowls meant to be shared, wasn't bad, but quite frankly, if your lettuce is wilted, there's nothing that can be done to rescue the salad. I ate Jim's, and he ate my bread, which was an unremarklable stale roll.



The entrees weren't a whole lot better. I had a grilled veggie plate with mashed potatoes that could have been amazing, but somehow they managed to overcook my portabello mushroom into a tough, chewy mess and the rest were underdone. I really shouldn't have eaten it, but I was still hungry, so I gave it my best effort. Jim ended up eating most of my mashed potatoes, which were entirely unspectacular. His entree was salmon and filet mignon with veggies and mashed potatoes, and it was visually just a mess. The salmon looked anything but fresh and the beef looked like it came from Sizzler.





Of course, we were among the lucky ones who actually got our meals. If I was the bride, I'd have been pissed at the service because it was horrible. They ran out of entrees and there were literally tables of people who had to wait 30+ minutes for their meals! Our table's plates were completely cleared and they were still serving lunch at that point. I would feel sick at the thought of paying $30 a head for that kind of crap. I mean, it's wedding food. For the most part, you expect sub-par stuff, but at the service should at least be good. There IS a reason why you give a head count list to the caterer, right? The upside to those who had to wait for their food was that it was at least fresh, which ours wasn't.

Thankfully, there was some redemption in the dessert, which I really enjoyed. It was called a truffle, but I've never seen a truffle like that before. It was a white chocolate heart filled with cream and drizzled with raspberry sauce. Sooo tasty! I could have just eaten that for lunch. Plus it was way prettier than anything else that we had been given.



I know I'm probably going to fry for what I did, but we left early. I know! I'm a terrible person. The thing is, I'm not all that close to B and I've never even met L. In fact, other than B's cousin P (who didn't even remember my name even though we were surfing buddies back in Hawaii), I didn't know anyone else there. I was hoping that there would be some old kung fu people at the wedding, but it didn't happen. So I really wasn't feeling the whole using up the entire day for his wedding. We stayed until 3, and they hadn't even started the party part yet--no cake cutting, bouquet tossing, or anything. They were setting up for some sort of video of the couple and I saw a good opportunity to duck out because people had gotten up and were milling around. I take full responsibility for our rudeness.

After we left, we went back to our hotel, which we learned was the Bahia's sister hotel and changed. We decided to walk down Mission Beach, which was fun. The weather wasn't ideal, but bundled up, I was fine. Jim stripped down to board shorts for some of the time, but it didn't stay warm for too long. We made it to the park and walked around for a bit just taking in all of the sights. I've never been there before, so it was special for me. We went past this pizza place that looked and smelled amazing, but neither of us was all that hungry. If I had known about that pizza, I never would have eaten the wedding food! Jim was on a mission for shave ice, which we ended up not getting, because he couldn't find the place he used to go to.

We got back to the hotel in time to watch the sunset from our balcony. The clouds partially cleared up, so we were able to get a decent view. Afterwards, we dressed for dinner at the Paradise Grille, a place that citysearch named one of the top 10 restaurants in San Diego.







We found the restaurant with no trouble at all and were promptly seated near the bar. Jim ordered a martini made with Midori, hoping that I would like it. I did not. It was very strong and not at all tasty. But their bread, which was lightly toasted foccacia, was amazing. Jim ordered a bowl of soup, which I sampled and liked.









For me, I was all about the polenta entree, which sounded so yummy. Jim went with a burger and fries. Service started out terrible, and that put me in a not so good state of mind. But all was forgiven when I sampled my dinner. The polenta was nothing special, but combined with the pesto and veggies and cheese, it was amazing. The downside was that it was also really, really filling, so I didn't quite finish my plate.





Jim's burger was "nothing special." He felt that the restaurant was overrated, and I was inclined to agree. I gave it extra points for the creative vegetarian entree, but it's not a place I could really rave about. Besides, the entree was way too decadent for anything other than a special occasion meal.



By the end of dinner, I was so exhausted from the last couple of days that all I wanted to do was go home and sleep. Just call me Grandma.

Shamu

We woke up before 5 this morning to catch our flight to San Diego. Although we left a little later than we planned, we still got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. After picking up our (upgraded) car, we went straight to SeaWorld to spend the day with Shamu.

SeaWorld was pretty awesome. I've never been before, so it was nice to finally go. I liked that I got to do it with Jim. He's been there before, but he didn't spend most of a day there, so it was pretty much his first time, too.

Jim got some BBQ brisket for lunch, which came with french fries, corn, and bread. I got strawberries. Jim liked the BBQ. I liked my strawberries. Jim saved our seats while I got the food, and that was quite an ordeal. I thought for a bit that I'd miss the show, but I was pretty munch on time. That was our lunch, which we ate while watching the dolphin show. I couldn't help comparing the place to Marine World, since that is what I grew up with. Overall, the place just had more money--bigger stage effects, more theatrics, and costlier sets. What was unique was that we chose to sit very close to the front. We didn't get too wet during the dolphin show, purely by luck. Every section around us got pretty drenched, but we happened to be at a spot where the dolphins didn't splash. Jim had to eat very quickly though, just to avoid his food getting wet. There were these freak whales that I haven't seen since Sea Life Park in Hawaii (which was the name I called SeaWorld pretty much the whole weekend). Supposedly "Dolly" the dolphin was the star of the show, but she didn't do squat. Oh well.



Afterwards, we headed over to go see Shamu. We sat in the second row and got completely soaked. I didn't really want to sit that close, but Jim was all about it, so I conceded. The way the stadium is set up, the people in the front have a view of the tank and those sitting higher up see the stage and surface. It's really a great concept and gives you completely different views of the show. I actually had fun sitting up that close and getting wet. I never really sat that close at Marine World. And it's not that I was being a priss about getting wet. I didn't care about all that--it was the whole issue of it not being all that warm and freezing afterwards, which I did.

We walked through some of the other exhibits and displays as well as the Sea Lion show. We saw the fresh water aquarium, salt water aquarium, sharks, rays, flamingos, eels, and starfish. I touched a ray, which was a little freaky, but it was kind of cool. We had some fun posing in front of the eel tank. We'll call it "guys on vacation." The flamingos stunk so bad. And most of them didn't stand on one leg. There were lots of very cool things to see, but we were both pretty tired from the flight and lack of sleep the previous night.

We did stop for a snack of ice cream. Originally, it was the smell of the waffle cones that drew me to the booth. Turns out, they were all out, so we got a fudge sundae with rainbow sprinkles and vanilla ice cream in a cute little Shamu bowl. Unfortunately, I hate sprinkles, so I wasn't ecstatic. Jim ordered sprinkles instead of nuts because he loves them. I would have much preferred nuts, but my opinion apparently didn't count. I guess since he eats most of it, his preferences should dictate. But I really would have liked it at least plain.



Then we stumbled onto the Budweiser display, which I think made Jim's day. The Clydesdales were so cute but at the same time, gigantic! The horse with the same name as TB happened to be facing away from the stall door, so Jim had me take a picture of it, saying that TB is a horse's ass. He he. My favorite was the little donkey, who was so cute. And there was a dalmation, too.

They offered 2 beer samples per person, and so Jim took full advantage of mine. Then we did the beer tasting, which was pretty much frickin' awesome. I had no idea that beer pairing existed. But we got a plate of food to eat with the different beers. There were something like 20 choices and each of us got four. We shared the table with another couple. Jim and the other guy got 3/4 the same. I got Bud Light, Bud Select, and the two energy drinks. The Select went with smoked gouda, BL with something, and the other two with strawberries, chocolate, and grapes. To my surprise, I learned that Bud Select isn't horrible. In fact, it didn't have a nasty beer aftertaste at all. Not that I'll be picking up the habit anytime soon, but it was definitely tolerable. Actually, it was a step above tolerable. Bud Light is tolerable, but I don't really like it. Bud Select is almost good. I didn't care for the energy drink samples, but again, they weren't horrible.





I actually had a bit of a buzz by the time we left, and my tummy was full of bubblies. I probably had the equivalent of about half of a beer. I feel like such an alcoholic. We went to see the Rock n' Roll Shamu show right after and sat up much higher this time. There wasn't any way I was going to get wet again at 7:30 at night. This show was very theatrical and completely different than the day version. I wondered if the trainers hated doing the dancing and fake happiness.

We rushed out of the show to get to Bar West, our dinner reservation for the evening. Bar West, as Jim observed, is owned by somebody absolutely brilliant. On the one hand, it was a restaurant that served excellent food. But come 10 pm, and it turned into a swanky bar that reminded me of the Matrix in SF. There are actually only a few tables for dining, and it's likely more set up for groups.







Our waitress was absolutely awesome. She immediately made suggestions without being pushy and provided great service. I ended up going with her salad suggestion, which was a chopped chicken salad. I substituted avocado for the chicken as per her advice, which ended up being a fabulous call. It came with jicama, mango, Gorgonzola, and of course greens. It was a beautiful contrast of sweet from the fruit, crunchy from the jicama, and rich from the cheese. The craziest thing was that as good as it was, there was no dressing at all. It didn't need anything!



We split a menage a trois appetizer, which was a choice of a slider, mac n' cheese, ceviche, or tomato soup, and onion rings/fries, nachos, or salad. We got a crab slider, the mac n' cheese, and the onion rings. Jim said his slider was good. All I know is that there was an extremely strong fishy smell to it but that it looked cute. The mac n' cheese was something that I didn't particularly care for, but Jim liked it. The cheese, which I couldn't identify, was super strong and not a pleasant flavor for me. That probably means that it was more Swiss-cheese based. For whatever reason, it tasted fishy to me. I couldn't hang. But Jim, who has yet to meet a mac n' cheese that he doesn't like, was perfecty fine with it. When I got the fries and nachos, I was in heaven. The fries were parmesan and truffle oil, which made them so nice and flavorful. The beer battered onion rings were also really good and on par with Sudwerk's.



For our entrees, I ordered a mushroom, ricotta, and garlic pizza. Jim got the Jidori Chicken. My pizza was absolutely amazing. It was a thin crust pizza but surprisingly big for $11. It had to have been a 14" one. Anyway, the mushrooms and ricotta went so well together. I've never though of ricotta as particularly flavorful, but it was super creamy and rich and paired perfectly with the mushrooms, which were juicy and bursting with flavor. I cannot begin to describe how good it was. Jim's Jidori chicken was also very good. It came with cheddar mashed potatoes which were really, really yummy.





By the time we finished all that, we were stuffed and couldn't even think about dessert. In fact, we had to take several slices of pizza home. With the Passport discount, the meal was extremely reasonable, even with Jim's drink. Strangely enough, Jim bought a Raspberry Cheesecake Martini, probably in hopes of enticing me with it. I didn't care for it, but he liked it.



When we left, there was a long line out the door of people waiting to get into the place. Apparently it's quite the night spot. We were still in our SeaWorld clothes and would have looked completely out of place had we stayed. Besides, it was time to get check into the hotel.

I was so happy with the choice of Bar West. I swear I saw it on the Food Network, but apparently not. I remember the sliders. But I guess I got it mixed up with somewhere else. Oh well. We had a fabulous discounted meal and great service. I woul absolutely come back to the place.