Celebrating Ted's 70th

Our good friend Ted would have turned 70 this month. Last night, with Ray and Liz, we celebrated this landmark with Pizza at Skipolini's in Clayton, just as Jim and I had done with him for many birthdays.

 Unfortunately, the fifth member in our "Always Remembering Ted" group, Mary Ann, had other obligations and could not join us this year.

 It was a balmy northern California night so we could comfortably dine on their outdoor patio.

 The menu was the usual: Salad, a few Pizzas, wine, beer, lemonade

and, for a birthday cake, some mini cupcakes that we brought along.

A relaxing evening with good friends and good memories.

Ted, we will always miss you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TED!

Ted would be 68 today. I still think I am going to see him on Sunday mornings at Farmer's Market and, later, for coffee at Whole Foods.

Last night we carried on our Ted Birthday tradition with a pizza dinner at Skipolini's.



Ray and Liz are now part of our celebration of Ted's life and his memory.



Ted, you are always part of our lives.

FATHER'S DAY AT SKIP'S

Last month we combined our traditional Mother's Day pizza outing to Skipolini's in Clayton with Ted's birthday, albeit without Ted.

Last week on Father's Day, Frank was visiting us, so Louie included him in the Father's Day pizza night at Skip's again. Louie has been dining at Skip's since he was a pup...he's always welcome on their outdoor deck.

We shared a big salad and a Mushroom, Olive, and Artchoke Pizza.







Since Frank hadn't been in Clayton in awhile, we walked down Main Street after dinner. This part of town still looks like the old West Town it was when we first discovered it in the 1970s. But, the town is a bit more gentrified now. In the good old days, I would not dare to even walk by the Clayton Club Saloon unescorted.



Today it is still something of a gungy hangout, but now, they even greeted Louie as we passed by. The Clayton Club Saloon dates back to 1873.

For those who find themselves in Clayton over the 4th of July, there are all kinds of festivities going on pretty much all day, starting with a big parade.

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.

CHRISTMAS PIZZA PARTIES AT SKIPOLINI'S

We walked into Skipolini's in Walnut Creek last night, expecting it to be a quiet night.

After all, who goes out for pizza a week before Christmas Eve?

Turns out, most of Contra Costa County had to be there.



There were no empty tables in the main dining room at 6:15 p.m. It would be at least a 45-minute wait. And, given that a local Police Department had 60 people there celebrating the Holidays with their annual party (who was guarding the town? We thought) and showed no sign of rushing, we considered walking a few blocks to The Counter for a burger.

But, we really wanted Pizza and were offered seating on the outdoor patio. With temperatures heading down to the 30s, this seemed absurd but the hostess assured us that it was nice and cozy out there. So, we walked out...and cozy it was...lots of heaters and a good portion of the seating area was enclosed with soft walls.





We were fine and by the time we finished our Sausage, Artichoke Heart, and Mushroom Pizza, a Spinach and Bacon Salad, and a few glasses of wine, even the patio was filled.

Sorry about this pathetic pizza picture...this is what was left to take home...I was hungry and ate before even thinking of photos.



Looks like Pizza is a good Christsmas dinner!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2008

Today is Thanksgiving and I will say that I am most Thankful for the special people in my life.

Jim & I started our Thanksgiving last night with Pizza at Rocco's with our friends the Harpers. Two of the Harpers were home from college and this was a nice way to get together for a visit.





Today we cooked at home and our friend Ted joined us. Ted brought a steaming Persimmon Pudding which was our dessert. You can even see the steam rising from it here.




Our meal started with drinks and veggies, white bean hummus, cheese & crackers. Would you believe that these two were drinking Navarro's Gerwurtztraminer Juice and not real wine with alcohol?



Our meal was a Spinach & Pear Salad, Rolled Turkey Breast, Sweet Potatoes with Maple Glaze, Sausage Stuffing, Two kinds of Gravy (Apple Cider Gravy made by me and Whole Foods Gravy from a jar), Cranberry Orange Relish, and Whole Wheat Rolls. Ted's Persimmon Pudding, with a dollop of crème fraiche was a lovely end to a delicious meal and visit.




A good part of today's meal was made by Trader Joe's...The Trader certainly knows how to cook!



Give thanks for those things that enrich you life.

IT'S MORE THAN CHICAGO DEEP DISH PIZZA

I'm a regular at Zachary's Chicago Pizza...I usually go to their College Avenue location in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood. Occasionally, I stop at their Solano Avenue shop in North Berkeley. And, I'm going more and more to the newest location in San Ramon, which is the easiest drive from my house.



Prior to Zachary's, I'd had limited experience with Chicago style deep dish pizzas. Zachary's spoiled me with their amazing pies, laden with fresh tomato sauce, lots of cheese, and whatever fillings I chose. The deep dish (stuffed) pizzas are so substantial that I can barely consume more than one piece of a small pie at a meal...believe me, I can eat a lot more of the traditional flat pizzas at any other pizza parlor.

A few weeks ago, when I hosted my MacManiacs group of Apple computer lovers, I chose Zachary's San Ramon for our meeting. For most of the day before the meeting, I was envisioning whether to order the Spinach and Mushroom stuffed pizza...my favorite...or to go with the Zachary's Special, a combination of Sausage, Green Pepper, Onion and Mushroom.

Well, all my dreams were squashed when one of the members declared that he does not like stuffed pizza and that he wanted a Thin Crust Pizza. After much debate over how to order, the rest of us decided that, just this once, we would all share a Flat Pizza in a place famous for its deep dish pizza. We mutually chose toppings: Pepperoni, Mushrooms, Zucchini...and started with a Caesar Salad to share.

To my amazement, the THIN CRUST PIZZA is every bit as good as, if not better than, the Deep Dish!!! When I got my first look at it, I wondered what the layer of white sauce on the top was...as our waiter began serving us individual slices (how many fancy restaurants do that?), I realized that the white stuff was a rather thick layer of cheese! Oh yum, or, as Rachel Ray would say, "YUMM-O!" The crust is not cracker thin...just the right thickness...the tomato sauce is Zachary's same fresh tomato sauce that is used in the Deep Dish version. Zucchini, instead of being sliced is diced and layered on the top. All told, a fabulous pizza.

So Deep Dish or Thin, Zachary's is a satisfying pizza experience. And, their salads are always delicious...your choices are Caesar, Garden, or a wonderful Spinach with Feta Cheese, Toasted Walnut, Red Onion, Tomatoes, and Bacon (or not bacon, if you wish).

Zachary's can make all their pizzas Half Baked so you can take them home and cook them to your order later that day or, if you keep the pizza refrigerated, a few days later...almost as good as eating at the restaurant.