Out and About on a Thursday

Well we had a one day temperature break, it hit the low 30's that is a heat wave for this winter. Linda and I decided to head out and check out the fare at our "not so usual places". So we started on the east side and stopped at the Alchemy Cafe.

A nice neighborhood joint that is run by a group of young up and comers. The place has refurbished wood interior with wood floors - it has a worn feel like a pair of comfortable jeans. We elected to have a cocktail a nice scotch on the rocks - we sipped on some Oban, one of our favorites. We looked at the menu for a little nosh and decide on some hand-battered onion rings because the sauces sounded good. We had a large plate of thick cut onion rings with a wonderfully crunchy batter not too greasy. The dipping sauces where a chili arbol sauce that was kethcup like with a little heat on the back end the other was a buttermilk herb aka Ranch. Both of these were made in house with love and you could taste the freshness that went well with the rings. We relaxed had great conversation and then decide to forge west to our next stop.

Magnus the next stop on places less traveled. We remember why we had not been to Magnus in 2 years. The menu is just not that appealing we have never been impressed with the combination of tapas items. Tonight we settled on a glass of wine - one we had not had before. The service was stellar - we asked to taste a couple of wines before selecting and the bartender cheerfully accomidated us. We really wanted a Zinfandel but they only had these by the bottle. Our bartender guided us to a Spanish blend - 2006 Montsant, Acustic, Spain. This wine had a wonderful quality similar to a Ripassa with notes of raisin and prune with an under tones of port. We really enjoyed our glass of wine and listened to a pianist start his first set. Since we did not find anything we loved to munch on, we decided to head further west.

We needed to find some protein to round out the evening - how about sushi - we head to Murimoto Sushi at Hilldale. We love to come here when we can, the fish is fresh and the sushi chefs do a very nice job. Tonight it was a light crowd at 8:30 also for the first time we noted a bit of fishiness in the air. Typically this place just has a wonderful combo of fresh food and sea air but tonight something was suspect. We still ordered a couple of rolls - the Ecuador roll and traditional California roll. Both were tasty - the Ecuador is an inside out special roll with yellow tail, tuna, fresh jalapeno, nori and crusted with tempura crumbs. It is served atop a masago sauce with siracha - a taste explosion that was topped off with the spiciest pickled ginger. The California was classic rock crab, avocado and cucumber both rolls just fit the bill. It was just a great way to fill that void or so we thought. We packed up and head out of Murimoto and walked by David Bacco's chocolates - they were still open.

We had to duck in and look at the beautiful hand-made chocolates - some of the best and most creative in the world. The unassuming master himself was behind the case filling orders. We elected to put together a four piece box of some of his best flavors. In order of our favorite - we selected some of his seasonal flavors - first the Fromage Blue - with hooks blue, balasamic syrup, fig and pear notes wrapped in chocolate - a stunning and complex flavor that was simply the best. Second favorite was the Pomegrante with malbec ganache wrapped in chocolate it was complex and you could really taste the wine. Our third favorite was the Thai Peanut Butter one of his classics from the Air selection it had subtle hints of curry with peanut and a little heat on the back what a wonderful combination. The final sample was good but did not live up to my preconceived thought - the Chardonnay Smoked Bacon was nice - smoky with notes of chardonnay and oak - it was good but I expected more flavor complexity and notes.

What a nice way to spend a Thursday evening - good food, good drink, good conversation with the one you love. So take a trip out and about and see what is shaking in the real world less traveled!