koko's corner

Dining at Casa Nicola, in the Las Vegas Hotel, was the perfect choice for our last night in Las Vegas after the B2V Relay Race. 

As soon as we sat down, we were presented with a basket filled with three different, hot, artisanal breads, with wedges of butter stab garnished with a sprig of rosemary. 

I also had a glass of pinot grigio.

Let me share what other wonderful things we had to eat... 

I know I'm a little late with the rest of the Vegas trip, but I'm still fighting a cold and have been super busy since I've been home, so here we go...

Shelly and I showed Marit around Vegas on Friday. Not only was it Marit's first Baker to Vegas (B2V) experience, it was her first trip to Vegas, ever.

I think that deserves a toast. 

Marit toasted with water as she abstains from imbibing alcohol. She would have been the perfect designated driver, but we found the joys of an all day monorail pass and got around town in comfort and ease. 

Keep reading, you have to see our lunch, it was f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s

Last weekend Stan's daughter and her husband were in town visiting. Of course when landlocked people come visiting we head toward the sea. 

No, that's not us out on the boats

We were cozily ensconced inside a bay side restaurant watching the boats while imbibing in a few cool ones. 

Come see our delicious lunches. 

Last weekend I ran up to Laguna Niguel to visit with Squeaks for the weekend. She told me about a couple of craft fairs in the area and thought we should hit them up to hopefully find some Christmas gifts. 

Aaaand...that Bill was having some Maryland Blue Crabs flown in Sat. for our dinner that night. Oh, happy, happy, happy,  yummy, yummy, yummy. 

As usual I ate like a king while I was up there. 

We did our usual shopping and running around, dang, that makes one hungry. Knowing we were in for a crab-fest for dinner, but needing to stave off our hunger, we stopped by the Surf and Sand for a little snack and drinks. 

We ordered from the appetizer menu and it was the perfect amount to hold us over. 

 I had the fried calamari that was served with a creamy dipping sauce and red cherry pepper rings, 

Come see what else we had. 

I'm a happy girl. 

Today after my hair appointment, my friend/beautician Bonnie and I had a rare treat, we got to have lunch together. 

We went to Alpine Beer Company for some wonderful BBQ. 

I had the pulled pork sandwich on a grilled bun topped with cole slaw and a side of green beans cooked with bacon and onions. 

The pork was cooked to perfection, smoky and moist. I ate the whole thing, I really did. 

The cole slaw played a great supporting role, not "too" anything, just a great basic slaw that complimented the sandwich. 

Good good green beans too. 

I love a hoppy beer so I had a glass of their Pure Hoppiness, it was great. I'm so hoppy I tried it <groan>

I should have bought a growler, I'd sure like a glass of it about now. 

Bonnie had the beef brisket. Deeelicious, nice and tender big ol' pieces of beef. 

The sweet potato fries were crunchy on the outside and moist and tasty inside. 

It's a small place with about 10 tables and counter seating. 

Very friendly and efficient staff. Definitely a do-again. 

And that's that. 

At work most of us don't have a lot of time to visit with each other, so during the little snippets of time we do have with each other, we talk fast, share information fast, but can't get into the "juicy" details that we girls like to do. 

That's why being able to meet with a co-worker after work, to visit over some wonderful food and drink is a such a treat for me. 

We met at Cafe Mediterraneo in Alpine. for appetizers, wine and lots of visiting. 

We started by ordering a bottle of Laird Pinot Grigio. What does it taste like besides wonderful?

Here's what I snagged off the Artisan Wine Depot website. 

"Made without oak, it is has exotic aromas of lemon zest, pineapple and orange blossom lead to a juicy, complex palate of honeysuckle, tangerine, lime and kiwi fruit and wet stone minerality in the pleasingly long finish. Featuring the sleek and elegant new "Wak" twist-off closure from Italy."

I am definately getting some of this. 

Come see the goodies the wine accompanied. 

As you know, my friend Squeaks was in town for our chocolate candy making class.  Last Fri night we decided to have dinner at Dobson's. 

We started with wine and hot sourdough bread with butter. O .K. I'm happy already, but it only gets better from here. 

After eating hospital food for three days, Stan was listing off his cravings; tamales, hamburgers, Italian food, orange chicken, or just about anything that didn't come on a tray. 

We had to go to Alpine Monday so we stopped by Panda Machi in Alpine, one of our favorite quick and inexpensive eateries. We've been going to Panda Machi for years. It has come into new ownership this last year and it is just great, much, much, better. 

One new thing on the menu is the lunch combination plate. Your choice of at least 10 entrees that come with soup and salad, all in the six and seven dollar price range. Each plate also has a potsticker and a cream cheese wonton. 

Let's start with the soup. 

The first word that comes to mind is creamy. It's a rich broth with swirls of egg among pieces of corn, peas and finely diced carrots topped with chopped green onion. Deeeelicious, I ate mine and Stan's. 

Want to see what else we had? 

Last night we me friends for dinner at the Campo Diner. 

Tuesday night is Mexican food night and it was pretty darned good. 

We had a great late lunch here yesterday before going to the La Mesa Farmer's market. I last wrote about this restaurant a couple of years ago when we went to the La Mesa Oktoberfest.  

Our meal was started with hot crusty bread and a dish of olive oil with some balsamic vinegar drizzled in for dipping.

This was accompanied by,

a glass of Sicilian wine, Fiano, Carraia. I wish I had the proper wine language to describe this, that's why the link. All I can tell you is it was the perfect wine for my meal.

C'mon, lets eat.