St. John's Bar & Grill

A bunch of us went to Happy Hour at St. John's Bar & Grill. I really liked the place. There was a large outdoor area, and a maze of tables utilizing all the interior space as well. We had our own little corner, and all appetizers were half-price from 4-10pm! This made for a great deal on great food. There were a bunch of us there, so the appetizers just kept coming! We didn't finish everything (I don't know that we even came close), but I'd definitely recommend most of the stuff that we tried.

- the bacon and cheese fries were fantastic. Cheddar & jack cheeses, sour cream, green onions, fresh crispy bacon, good deal all around. I loved them.
- deep-fried zucchini was pretty average. you kinda hafta like zucchini. I also don't care for hot cream cheese, which is what accompanied the veggie.
- jalapeno poppers were stuffed with cheddar instead of cream cheese, and they went fast (and there were multiple plates of those!). Jonathan enjoyed them, I didn't give them a try.
- calamari strips were the new item that week, and were really large pieces, instead of the small ones that you usually get. They were served with lemon (which they needed) and cocktail sauce, no tartar (is tartar just an east coast thing, or was I just spoiled when I ate them, LoL?).
- my personal favorite was the chicken quesadillas. Cheese, onions, chilies were inside. Salsa and sour cream were available in large portions, and the guacamole was among the top 5 I've ever had. AND they were only like $4.25 during the special, and you get a HUGE plate of them!!

There were probably a few other things on the table, but these are what stand out in my memory. As we left, I remarked that it was too bad we found the place so late in our stay, I would've liked the chance to go there again.

In-n-Out, Take Two

Now, we've been to In-n-Out before. But it's been a while for me (although JB had some while I was away), and I've been dying to order by the secret menu.

We went through the drive-thru and took home our meals this time, which was interesting. They actually have a live person with an electronic tablet taking orders instead of a speaker box. This is rain or shine, as we've learned. We each ordered cheeseburgers "animal-style" (JB had a double, I had a single), JB got regular fries, I got fries "well-done," and I ordered a vanilla milkshake.

We both liked the animal-style, it was great. In case you've never seen the secret menu, it's basically mustard-cooked beef, and has extra pickles, secret sauce, and some grilled onions. I liked it a LOT (pickles are probably in my top 20 favorite foods if you didn't know), JB thought it had way more pickles than necessary but enjoyed it. Next time, I'd get "no lettuce" and maaaybe "extra toast" (meaning the buns are crispy). The "fries well" weren't that special... especially since they forgot to give us ketchup. I might give up on their fries altogether, since it's not like they have honey mustard or bbq or anything. The milkshake was soooooo cream-heavy it was ridiculous. Never again with a meal. And only maaaaybe as just a dessert.

Word to the wise: don't take an "animal-style" out of the wrapper, it's a mess if you do!

Roundtable Pizza

Roundtable Pizza is a much bigger place, and is a chain. We had seen many commercials for them before we actually gave them a go. Our local branch is in the same plaza as Safeway (the grocery store), so while it's close, we don't get them often... they're kinda pricey. But, they do make a very good pizza. We first tried the Meatball Marvel. It had a great crust, one of those mid-rise crusts with handrolling pinches along the edge.... yum! They put seven cheeses on it (seriously!), meatballs, tomatoes, garlic, and caramelized onions. I picked off about half of my meatballs (just not as big a fan as Roundtable is, LoL), but Jonathan liked the flavor combination quite a bit. That was the only specialty pizza we've tried from them, and I honestly don't remember what else we've tried... probably just pepperoni, LoL.

Fast Pizza

Fast Pizza is a mom-and-pop place, located in a plaza maybe a quarter mile from our place. They take about fifteen minutes (great, we have enough time to finish what we're doing, then head down there), and are very good. We've had them several times, both pick-up and delivery. They were the first pizza we got while we were out here, and quickly won us over. We've had two or three of their sauces, and many of their toppings. Our favorite combo is pepperoni and green peppers, with a side of garlic cream sauce. It's fantastic. The only thing I wouldn't recommend: the breadsticks. too blah.

The San Jose Greek Festival

Having been to several different Greek Festivals in the past, Jonathan and I were looking forward to trying out another in a big city (we went to the New Orleans Greek Festival in 2006, and it was fantastic).

We were able to park about four blocks away, which was much better than most, since we saw people walking for quite a while. I had printed out free coupons for the Festival, so we weren't charged the $5 each entrance fee. When we first walked in, the place seemed huge, but it wasn't that big, surprisingly. We went to a booth and bought some tokens (poker chips that had the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church name and logo on them), since the booths are all cashless. Very good system.

We headed for the food, and while I was originally excited about getting some calamari (the very best I've ever had was at the New Orleans Greek Festival), we decided against it because of the price, and there was no feta or tartar sauce. Instead, I had the Loukaniko and Jonathan had a lamb platter. Loukaniko is a Greek sausage (spicy) that's grilled and sprinkled with lemon juice, then put in a pita with tomatoes, onions, and tzaziki sauce. It was pretty good, and I couldn't finish it. Jonathan really enjoyed the lamb as well. We got a side of Fried Potatoes (but they were little more than plain french fries with no seasoning) and a side of tzaziki (which was the best I've ever had... it had a lot of onions in it), too.

Frozen Yogurt

Driving back through downtown Palo Alto on our way home from dinner, we saw a frozen yogurt place having a grand opening. L'Amour is a non-chain, and really uninteresting. It's your standard California FroYo place, meaning you get a cup and fill it yourself, then they charge you 47 cents per ounce. Yeah, that's high. But the flavor choices were so boring, I didn't even sample any! JB tried the Butter Pecan, and said it was the worst he's ever had. They had 10 flavors... all nonfat except NY Cheesecake. Vanilla, Chocolate, Eurotart, Organic Plain, Peanut Butter, Strawberry, Pomegranate, and a few others. It may be the very first time I've ever walked out on a dessert place. And to add insult to injury, their frequent buyers card cannot be shared, and you have to purchase $4.50 to even get a stamp! booo all around.

Downtown Palo Alto for Pizza

The first time that Jonathan was out in the Silicon Valley area, he had this "great Chicago-style pizza" that he talked about on multiple occasions. Well, after much ado, we figured out what it was called, and headed down there for dinner on a Saturday night.

We got into downtown Palo Alto pretty easily, and traffic wasn't too bad. Parking was a little hard to find, but there were a few spots available within a block or so of our destination: Patxi's Chicago Pizza. It's pronounced "pah-cheese" in case you were wondering... it took me a while to understand it, hehe.

We ordered a pepperoni and red bell peppers pizza (Chicago style, although they also have NY available), and it took about half an hour to make (they tell you in advance to expect it to take 30-40 minutes for Chicago, and 20-30 for NY). In the meantime, we shared a small caesar salad, but it was pretty decent size. Jonathan enjoyed it quite a bit... I thought the croutons were too "airy" if that makes sense, and the dressing was a little light (no anchovies in the dressing, so that changes the flavor).

When the pizza arrived, I was a bit let down. Mostly because all you could see was sauce and crust, and I had my camera ready to take a sweet picture of the crazy-deep pizza. In case you're unfamiliar with Chicago pizza, it's a thick crust, then the cheese and toppings, then a regular-thickness crust, topped with (sometimes cheese and) the sauce. It's not my preferred style of pizza (and as my mother will tell you, I've never been a fan of sauce. when I was a small child, my parents would order pizza without sauce, and this was a good decade before "white pizza" was cool), but Jonathan loves it. He thought this specific pizza was pretty amazing. After I scraped the sauce off of mine (there were a few tablespoons' worth on just one piece!) and added some parmesan, I liked it too.

The place isn't too big, and the seat-yourself atmosphere means that sometimes a couple with a preschooler will choose a large booth instead of a small table, and a wait line soon forms. The tables are also very close together, and we heard every word of the conversation that our neighbors had... they were weird. The service was kinda hit-or-miss... our waitress wasn't the most attentive, but many of the other servers were more than friendly, and recognized repeat customers. Overall, I'd recommend the place.