Weekend Review

Ok here's the review for the last hurrah trip, pictures are two posts below.

Jewelry store: bad news: they don't have the "bargain bin" in the back anymore. The clerk told me I could wait until their big sale next month, but we all know September is likely to be a busy month for me, so no thanks. While the necklaces were stunning, especially this one, I have a lot of necklaces that frankly, don't get enough rotation as-is. Meanwhile, I have about four pairs of earrings that I rotate. So new earrings were in the works. I settled on these; I figure I can wear them to work and for everyday without LG grabbing them. It's a wee discouraging to see that they were 20% more in the store than the website. Ouch.

Next: the Scharffenberger chocolate factory tour. We arrived and were famished, which is dangerous in a place like that. We immediately bought two small semisweet bars and eyed the items we'd be purchasing after the tour. We gobbled up our chocolate, and I had brought almonds to balance out my blood sugar. The tour was actually like a little class; we learned about how they roast cacao beans, and all the various processes they go through. And we got to taste chocolate. The chocolatier is only about 10 years old; despite the name sounding ancient. The actual tour was only about 5-10 minutes, but interesting nonetheless. At the store afterwards, we bought LOTS of chocolate and even THIS for LG.

Next: dinner at Chez Panisse cafe. I say the cafe, because the restaurant is super fancy and has one menu each night. The cafe is well, a cafe. We arrived at 6 for our 7:30 reservation and asked if there's any way they could seat us early (again, famished). Of course they said no problem, and we were seated within a few minutes. Upon looking at the menu, I wanted the quail, but felt torn since the only other time I've been to there, I had quail. So I ordered butter lettuces with baked goat cheese for my appetizer (which was so divine I almost licked the plate) and braised short ribs with sweet polenta and some kind of weird beans. Pete ordered a pizzetta with nettles and pecorino cheese. We had to ask what nettles were, and we didn't feel too embarrassed about it -- apparently they're cousins of spinach. Our appetizers came and Pete ordered the most fantastic wine EVER -- I had a bit. Our dinners came and Pete ordered a handmade pasta with chicken and morel mushroom ragu. It looked different than I thought it would; with clumps of chicken and mushrooms here and there as opposed to a creamy sauce. But he said it was really good. Mine was really good, although the ribs were a wee fatty.

The restaurant itself is very homey feeling; Pete said it smelled like his grandmother's house at Christmas. It's very warm and inviting. It was a special night and we held hands and just enjoyed each other. Fun!