A GREAT DAY FOR DOG FEST

It's been raining all day today...not all the grapes have yet been harvested in the Napa Valley so this is not a good thing for grapes but it is nice for those of us who have done some fall planting.

But, today, from Noon until 6 p.m., it is Dog Fest at Sports Basement in Walnut Creek.

Until 4 p.m. there are adoptions, vendors, dog photographs, a best Halloween costume contest, an agility course, and even a substantial discount on purchases. At 4 p.m., they will be screening Sniff, the Dog Movie, with a discussion with the producer afterwards.

By the way, Sports Basement is our favorite place for gear for all sports as well as for casual clothing. A Bay Area local chain of just 4 stores, Sports Basement offers discounted prices on first quality items...everything from running shoes to yoga gear, to bicycles, to snowboarding equipment, to energy bars and supplements, and on and on. And, they are good neighbors to their community, helping out at local sporting events, hosting in store parties for just about any local group, offering free classes in everything from CPR to yoga to running.

So, we packed Louie up, with his Halloween Jester Collar on, for a photo and some fun.

Fun he had...in fact, a bit too much fun as he was the first to pee on the floor, although others followed suit, so I guess that just does with the territory. The Sports Basement staff was very gracious throughout.




Local vet techs, who also moonlight by pet sitting, took photos of the dogs. The first 50 dogs got free photos...very nice.







Here are a few more pictures of dogs in costume, enjoying the party.

This ladybug was very well behaved and very popular.




Fairy Princess held court wherever she could.



And, this guy really does go out backpacking with his owner and this is his real gear.


This young lady was a vision in pink while her mom shopped.

BREAKFAST AT PASCAL

Had breakfast today at Pascal French Oven in Danville with Jeremy. Over yummy food, and enjoying weather a bit warmer than the past few days, we spent a few hours talking about computers, his web development projects and video work, summer plans, and life in general.



It's been awhile since I last ate at Pascal. Happily, I found it as good and friendly as I remembered. I had one of their memorable Orange Currant Scones. Jeremy indulged in the French Combo of Scrambled Eggs with Mushrooms, French Toast, and Hash Brown Potatoes.



Pascal serves breakfast and lunch every day.

By the way, Jeremy's current big web project is a 'tweens web site called Girl Ambition. Take a look at it. You can try it out for free.

PIZZA, WINE, & FRIENDS

Saturday night, J and I celebrated Ted's birthday with a few special people from his life. Unfortunately, Ted is no longer with us to celebrate.

J, Louie, and I always celebrated Ted's birthday with pizza...Usually, pizza at Skipolini's in Clayton where dogs are welcomed on the large outdoor deck. Since Ted's birthday is close to Mother's Day, this also gives Louie the opportunity to take me to dinner for that occasion, at a restaurant where he can join in on the festivities.

We did not want to let our tradition go, so we invited Ray, Al, and Liz to join us as we continue to savor memories of our connections with Ted.

J & I go way back with Skipolini's. When we came to California in the 70s, Skip's only had the Clayton location and Clayton itself was a tiny rustic community. Early on, we "discovered" it because we kept seeing the bumper sticker "Where the Hell is Skipolini"s" on cars. It remains our favorite pizza place, both for its pizzas and its ambiance. And, while, the Clayton Skip's has expanded a bit, it pretty much remains the same, maybe with a few extra pizza combinations, a few other salads in addition to their Traditional Italian salad, and a few more wines and beers from which to choose.

Today Skip's also has restaurants in Antioch and Walnut Creek. And, Clayton's population has greatly increased and there is a new, more modern part of downtown, around the corner from the old old-West downtown. Skipolini's was opened in Clayton in 1974 by Bev and Skip Ipsen. Today, their son, Kent, is president of their small restaurant group.

Skip's remains a popular gathering spot for people of all ages. When we arrived before 6 p.m. almost all the outdoor tables were taken. Fortunately, we were able to share one with some other people...it's that kind of place.



As you can see, there is nothing like pizza and wine or beer, especially when it is shared with friends.



As I have done in the past, I brought a birthday cake, this year a Chocolate Decadence Cake from Whole Foods.



It was a wonderful evening.

Ted, we miss you achingly and hope you were looking down on us Saturday night and smiling.

AN OLD FAVORITE IN BERKELEY'S ELMWOOD DISTRICT

Last weekend, we went to the movies at the Elmwood in Berkeley. It's been a long time, but in the good old days, we were regulars at the Elmwood and at the shops and restaurants along the few blocks of College Avenue that make up the Elmwood neighborhood's business district.

After the movie, we walked down college, in search of dinner. Our choice? La Mediterranée, which has been one of our favorite places since we moved to California in the '70s.

At 6:30p.m., there was a line waiting for tables. We waited about 20 minutes, getting hungrier and hungrier as we watched all the beautiful plates of food pass us by.

We both ordered the Middle East Plate, a sampler of many of Mediterranée's specialties. It includes Chicken Cilicia, Grecian Spinach with Feta, a Levant Sandwich and two choices: Either Lamb Lule or Chicken Pomegranate and a choice of Green Salad, Armenian Potato Salad or Soup.



I had mine with the Lamb Lule, a ground lamb meatball in a spicy tomato sauce over rice pilaf. J chose the Chicken Pomegranate, a baked herbed chicken drumstick which has been first marinated in pomegranate juice. I had the Green Salad and J had the Armenian Potato Salad. The Chicken Cilicia is a mix of chicken, almonds, chickpeas, raisins, cinnamon and spices, wrapped and baked in fillo dough. The Levant Sandwich is an Aram (rolled) sandwich filled with cream cheese,herbs, cucumber, lettuce, feta, and tomato. Also on the plate was a selection of fresh fruit and a slice of cheese.



While we were waiting, I saw several tables enjoying a fruit and cheese plate and had thought I'd order a small one for dessert, but that was before I realized that my Middle East Plate would include a mini version of the fruit and cheese.

The Middle East Plate costs about $11, a true bargain for the quality and quantity. J's glass of house wine, was decent, and less than $4. My lemonade cost $2.50. This is why Mediterranée has endured all these many years.

In addition to its busy dining room, Mediterranée has a heated outdoor patio and, for those with dogs, a few sidewalk tables.

By the way, Mediterranée also has locations in San Francisco on Fillmore Street and on Noe Street.

Another note: We walked past Ici several times on Saturday, late afternoon and evening, and there was always a very long line of people waiting patiently for a scoop or two of their handmade, organic, ice cream and handmade ice cream cones. Next time!!

OUR NAPA VALLEY NEW YEAR TRADITION

Today we indulged ourselves in another of our New Year Traditions, the Annual Sale at Vanderbilt and Company in St. Helena in the Napa Valley.
We left home a little before 8 a.m., to assure that we'd be there for the 9:30 a.m. opening on this, the first day of the sale. It was a clear but very cold early morning with temperatures in the low 30s...very cold by Northern California standards.

We had an easy drive up which left us with plenty of time to get tea/coffee and pastries at the Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company around the corner from Vanderbilt.


We had Louie with us, so all our dining for the day was outdoors. We found a sunny spot on the deck at the Roasting Company and spent a pleasant half hour sipping our drinks with our pastries. It was tea and a Morning Bun for me and coffee and a toasted Bagel with Cream Cheese for Jim. Louie ate scraps from our pastries and sipped water from the communal dog bowl on the deck.



My personal tradition at the Vanderbilt Sale is to be the first one in the store when the doors open. Curiously, this is an extremely civil sale where loyal customers like me do not storm the doors and have fights over merchandise...nothing like one Saks after Christmas Sale where I witnessed well-dressed women fighting on the floor for possession of marked-down purses!





So what's so wonderful about Vanderbilt's Sale?...by the way this is the 24th Annual one. Vanderbilt and Company sells the most beautiful of table top items and other home furnishings such as linens, towels, soaps, and lots of gift items. They have one of the largest selections of Vietri ceramics from Italy that I know of in the Bay Area. The store is friendly and attractive. AND, for the sale, which goes on for a few weeks, lots of items are marked down 50%...remainders, discontinueds, odd pieces...and everything else, including special orders, is 20% off. Of course Louie is welcome here too which means that Jim is not left standing out in the cold. We spent over an hour here and came away with two bags of "stuff," including a marvelous wedding present for some special friends, new cloth napkins and placemats for me, a glass serving plate, and miscellaneous towels and other gift items.

After that, we walked up and down the main street in St. Helena, checking out other favorite shops.

By now it was just about time for lunch and we headed to Yountville for lunch on the patio at Bouchon, one of Chef Thomas Keller's several restaurants in Yountville. Bouchon is Keller's French Brasserie..yes this is the Thomas Keller of French Laundry just up the street.


At noon the temperature was in the 50s and it was delightful sitting outdoors.



Louie had his own bowl of water and also snatched things off our table.






We shared a salad of red and white endive, Roquefort, walnuts, and apples...very tasty, but they forgot the apples.

We both decided on the day's Tartine...an open faced sandwich with Fries. Today's Tartine was braised pork..sort of pulled pork...with pickled onions and pickles. Our server advised us that the serving of Fries is very large and suggested we choose another side dish for one of us. We chose the sautéed Butternut Squash with currants.




We passed on dessert but lingered over coffee, enjoying the beautiful Napa Valley day and chatting with others who were dining on the patio.




For one final stop, we went into the Bouchon Bakery next door to buy a loaf of bread to take home to a neighbor. He's happily enjoying Olive Herb Bread as I write this.




It's a day like this that makes everyone want to live where we do.

Napa Valley...Day Five...and there were Balloons!

Up at 6 a.m. to clear skies...by 6:30 a.m., I was rushing across the Vintage Inn parking lot, heading for the two balloons that were ready to take flight from the V Marketplace parking lot. Already, the sky was filling with hot air balloons, a sight that always makes my heart race a little faster.



Within minutes, the second of these two balloons was up into the air.

Almost immediately, another truck arrived with another balloon. As I mentioned the other day, the balloon companies are in a race against the rising sun and heat that create air currents that won't allow ballooning. It is in the calm of very early morning is when it all takes place.

The following sequence of photos shows the 10 minutes or so, from the arrival of the truck with the balloon packed up in a bag to the actual takeoff.

The balloon arrives all packed up in a not very big bag




First it is layed out on a tarp.


Then, it is unfolded.


Once unfolded, one of the balloonists starts a fan to start filling it with air.



Next, they start heating the air to the point where the balloon goes upright, along with the passenger basket.


Then, the crew and passengers climb into the basket. There are a few holes on one side of the basket on which to climb into the basket.


And, they are ready for takeoff.



Within seconds of takeoff, the balloon is high above the buildings and trees.



Hot air balloon rides in the Napa Valley last about an hour. The truck and crew follow the balloon and pick up the passengers, crew, and balloon where ever it lands...when you are at the whim of the air currents and a bit of fire, you could wind up in Farmer Brown's pasture!!! Most balloon rides end with a champagne breakfast. As the story goes, in France, balloonists used to carry a bottle of champagne in their basket in case they did, in fact, land in Farmer Brown's pasture or tree...it would be a peace offering.

Having balloooned but once, I will never forget the wonderful, weightless, peaceful feel of it.

After this early morning excitement, I was famished! So it was breakfast back at the Vintage Inn and then a run across the street to Bouchon Bakery..one of Chef Thomas Keller's Yountville ventures...


for several loaves of bread and some pastries to take home as memories of our wonderful week.

The rest of the morning I spent swimming, sunning, and packing...so sad, the latter.

But, there was one more wonderful treat before the drive home: Lunch at Angele in Napa, on the patio overlooking the Napa River. When we walked by Angele after our breakfast at Sweetie Pies on our way to Yountville at the beginning of the week, I noted that Angele looked like the restaurants on the French Riviera. Angele has been open for a few years, but today's lunch was my first meal here.

We ordered our South of France favorite lunch dishes: Croque Monsieur for J,

Salade NIcoise for me,






and a side of French Fries for all of us, including Louie who tasted his first frite when I dropped one on the patio floor.




When we asked our waitress about the Banana Gratin,


she told us that it is Angele's signature dessert. We were not disappointed with what is a sort of Banana Crisp made with creme anglais and topped with a crumbly crust and ice cream. One serving is enough for two to share.

I always say that being in the Napa Valley reminds me of my time in France. Lunch at Angele brought me back to Nice, Cannes, and St. Tropez.