A Beer Hall You'll Love, Out in the Countryside

Occasionally you run across a totally unexpected pleasure.  Two Henry's Brewing Company is six miles north west of Plant City, FL at the corner of Thonotosassa Road and Branch Forbes Road.  Six miles of two lane country roads lined with farms and strawberry fields, the occasional house and a few residential trailers. The drive is worth it.  The brewery beer hall is a hidden gem,  And if your drink of choice is wine you should know that the beer hall is also a wine hall for the Keel and Curley Winery.  The picture shows the outside bar where we sat and the view of the pond from the outside bar.

On a Thursday late afternoon there was plenty of parking spaces for the few customers.  However, the size of the parking lot and the seating spaces in the hall and their outside patio suggest the brewery / winery is a popular place to visit, probably at weekends.

The web site http://twohenrysbrewing.com/ says that Two Henry's produces "Great Beers inspired by two of Florida's greatest pioneers. Two Henrys" The two Henrys are Henry Flagler and Henry Plant, read about the two Henrys here and here and the competition between them and their railroads here.

I drank a 7 Mile Bridge English Style IPA, which the website describes as "A malt forward take on the IPA, biscuit and crystal malts combine with spicy English hops and some fruity Simcoe dry hop on the nose. Six different hops give a complex, robust herbal and cistric hop flavor. Medium bodied with a reddish amber color. ABV 6.5%" Translated into English I can understand, this means that the beer had a nice body and the hops and malt were nicely balanced so the hops were present but not overpowering.  

Patricia drank a Two Henry's Blueberry Cider which the web site describes as "A traditional hard apple cider blended with 100 percent blueberry juice pressed from our own blueberries.  6.0% alc by vol. Gluten free" 

I enjoyed the beer and Patricia enjoyed the slightly sweet cider a lot as we talked about our day and our new client while watching a pretty duck play on the pond.  This is a good place to visit and while away a few hours.

Excellent Florida Draft Beer at a Great Price in Pelicans Bar on Cocoa Beach Pier, FL

It is such a joy to be able to find Florida draft beer in bars and restaurants around the state. It is even nicer to find those draft beers at a great price in a very nice location. This was the situation this afternoon.  Pelicans Bar on Cocoa Beach Pier sold a large plastic glass of Florida Brewery Lager for the princely sum of $2.50.  Then just to add a sweetener to the deal, the beer acted as the entry fee to the observation and fishing section of the pier, an entry fee that without the beer in hand would have cost $2.00.

The beer was a lovely light brown color with only a slight head when poured through the tap.  The plastic cup didn't add anything to the presentation but then what else could I ask for when I was going to take the beer onto the pier over the Atlantic Ocean so we could sit and watch the surfers (some of whom were quite good) tackle the waves rolling onto the beach from the Atlantic.

The weather was perfect.  A slight breeze kept us cooler than the 80 deg F temperature and the only clouds in the sky were vapor trails from planes on approach to Orlando airport.  The pier was not very busy so we were able to find seats in a couple of the wooden rocking chairs someone in the Cocoa Beach community has thoughtfully provided for visitors to the pier. 

What a great way to spend a couple of hours before heading home. The beer added to the occasion.  It was a very pleasant drink.  The hops and malt were very well balanced, there was a slight citrus taste to a nice beer that had body and flavor.  A lager worth drinking.  It provided sustenance and quenched the thirst and I'll search it out again.

Marriott Waterside Hotel Grill, Tampa, FL

Mouth-watering steaks, fresh local seafood, excellent service and a beautiful view on the Tampa Riverwalk.

As our hostess opened the door from the dining room to our table on the patio we marveled at the view of the river and the luxurious boats docked at the hotel’s marina.  We are in the heart of the city of Tampa, a short boat ride from Tampa Bay, and the gentle wind from the south west brings the clean smell of the ocean. Green plants, palm trees and a white picket fence separate the raised patio dining area from the Riverwalk below. Across the wide channel we can view the condos of Harbour Island and the bright sign advertising the location of the Westin Tampa Harbour Island

This is the perfect place, on a warm evening, for a comfortable business dinner or a romantic dinner with your partner.  The tables are spaced well apart so you do not hear the conversations of the other diners and the dress code is casual so you and your guests can relax. The few people walking their dogs on the Riverwalk are out of sight behind and below the greenery.

Our server, Charles, was attentive, knowledgeable and efficient.  He appeared promptly when we were seated and offered us drinks.  It was a delight to find the restaurant had several Florida beers available and I chose the Jai Alai IPA on draft from Cigar City brewing.  To start we shared the Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Flatbread topped with Arugula and Caramelized Sweet Onions.  This was the perfect size for sharing, we had two generous slices each, mine had all the onions, my wife’s had all the arugula – a perfect arrangement.

For the main course my wife chose the fresh Salmon “Catch of the Day” served with a side salad and mushrooms.  It was delicious, grilled to perfection so it flaked using a fork.  I ate the Wood Grilled Delmonico, a prime rib eye steak grilled, then served with herb butter.  It was delicious.  This is rather a pretentious name for a steak, especially as there is some dispute over exactly what the name signifies. The history of the name “Delmonico’s” is quite interesting and can be read at www.steakperfection.com/delmonico.  With my steak I had an excellent glass of house Cabernet chosen and recommended by Charles. 

Including tip the dinner cost $100.  Excellent value for money given the perfect weather for eating outside and the magnificent view.  After dinner we took the few steps down to the Riverwalk and walked to the Tampa Bay History Center and back. A pleasant 30 minute stroll.  Then we retrieved our car from the Marriott valet for the discounted price for diners of $9 and drove home.

Cool Beans and More, New Smyrna Beach, FL

Finding a hidden courtyard rewards with great coffee

One of the inestimable pleasures of a vacation day is that you can take your time to do things that might otherwise be rushed on a work day.  We had spent a good part of the morning and part of the afternoon taking our time to walk the boardwalk at Smyrna Dunes Park, then availing ourselves of the free street parking in New Smyrna Beach to walk along the beach to Toni and Joe’s Patio where we lingered over a late lunch. 

Now it was time to loiter over an espresso.

Toni and Joe’s do not have an espresso machine.  Our waitress recommended Nichols Surf Café on Flagler Avenue but when we got there the hand written sign on the door said closed at 2 pm.  Must be a winter thing.  An enquiry of Google said the only other place in New Smyrna Beach with espresso was across the causeway and we knew that once we got in the car we would just keep on driving back to our hotel in Altamonte Springs.  So, rather downcast, we made our way west on Flagler Avenue towards the car.

We hadn’t gone 50 yards when we saw a three 12 feet tall vertical flags – one of which shouted “espresso” - lining a pathway that led around and behind Nejma’s Boutique.  Intrepid explorers that we are, we followed the path to a delightfully secluded sunny courtyard and the Cool Beans and More Italian Ice and Coffee Company.

Needless to say the espresso and a caramel latte were excellent.  We briefly eyed the selection of ice cream available but decided to stick with the coffee.  The sunny patio was a delightful place to sit and talk and dally over our coffee.  It was the perfect cap to a delightful day in New Smyrna Beach.

The Olive Garden, Altamonte Springs, FL

Predictability is a virtue

After five hours sitting in the hot sun and being rehydrated by Busch beer while watching a rather boring Daytona 500 that was only enlivened at the end by the photo finish; we were ready for the predictability in taste, service and price that comes at the better casual restaurants.  A quick search on Trip Advisor found the Olive Garden restaurant close to our hotel in Altamonte Springs.  An Olive Garden close to Orlando should be on top of its game since the Olive Garden parent company head office – Darden Restaurants - is a few miles away in Orlando, FL.

We were not disappointed.  Luckily a table was available promptly and Naome, our delightful waitress took our orders for drinks.  One slight disappointment was that no Florida draft beers were available so I opted for Yuengling, which at least used to be a craft beer in the not too distant past, and they do have a brewery in Frorida.  We chose the Stuffed Mushrooms as an appetizer to share.  These are baked with clams and several cheeses and are delicious.  Our breadsticks were delivered at the same time and the combination was delightful.

For a main course my wife ordered the Ravioli di Portobello.  This is ravioli filled with Portobello mushrooms and topped with a creamy cheese and sun-dried tomato sauce.  I ordered the Cucina Miai, a concept where you choose a pasta – I tried Wheat Linguine – then add a sauce – mine was five cheese marinara – finally finish with a topping – I couldn’t resist the Italian sausage.

While we waited for the main course to be prepared we enjoyed the mixed salad with lots of added Parmesan cheese, that is part of every meal at Olive Garden.

Our food was tasty and filling, we enjoyed the meal a lot. I enjoyed a glass of Robert Mondavi Cabernet with my pasta and the bill, including tip was $64 for the two of us.  We paid our bill using the Tablet that is on every table and received a copy of the bill by email.  The tablet is about the size of an iPad and can be used to order desert and drinks.  There are other functions including games for the kids which we didn’t explore.

Panera Bread, Café 3351, Valrico, FL

Clean, Efficient and Wholesome

I believe there are over 1,900 Panera bakery cafes across the USA.  I’ve been to several of them at lunchtime or dinnertime and one of the things I like is that I know I’ll get a nice sandwich and a hot bowl of soup – always piping hot - for a reasonable price. Other benefits from my point of view are that the restaurants are always clean even during the rush periods, empty tables are kept clear and wiped, floors are swept, the restrooms are clean and well equipped and they have free WiFi for customers.

We were three on this occasion and we all chose a different “You Pick 2” where you combine a cup of soup and a baguette with a half portion of a sandwich. 

My Mother-in-Law chose a cup of Clam Chowder which she enjoyed a lot, with a half Roasted Turkey and Caramelized Kale Panini, served on Black Pepper Focaccia bread – which looks like a rectangular English Muffin.  MiL enjoyed the sandwich but thought the half portion was quite small, so she made up for it by eating both her and my wife’s Baguette with her soup. Cost $9.35 for soup and sandwich.

My wife chose the cup of Creamy Tomato Soup and combined it with a Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich served on Sesame Semolina Miche – which looks like a chewy slice of white bread with sesame seeds on the crust. My wife enjoyed the sandwich, the size was half as big again as the Roasted Turkey sandwich. Cost $8.55 for soup and sandwich.

I chose the cup of Broccoli-Cheddar soup along with half of a Bacon Turkey Bravo Sandwich served on Tomato Basil bread heated in the Panini press.  The bread looks like a slice of wheat bread with tiny specks of tomato embedded.  Another reason I like coming to Panera is that I can substitute the baguette served with the soup for Panera’s brand of kettle cooked chips, which are as delicious as Kettle or Cape Cod branded chips.  Cost $8.65 for soup and sandwich.

Given the care that Panera takes with everything else, I’m sure that each bread is chosen to compliment the sandwich ingredients and now that I’ve been to a few Panera’s I’m learning what breads I like and those that I don’t.  This dictates the filling I have in my sandwich.  I just wish they would serve the Steak and Arugula Sandwich or the Steak and White Cheddar Panini on Whole Grain or Rye bread.

Chili’s Grill and Bar, Aventura, FL 33180

A chance encounter in Aventura provides respite

Sometimes the pleasantest experiences come from a chance encounter.

And so it was on this occasion.  We were stuck in rush hour traffic after leaving Aventura Mall and spied the inviting Chili’s sign at exactly the right moment to turn into their parking lot.

In the main, it was a good decision.  We relaxed for an hour or so while traffic dissipated and we ate well in a strange city.  Rob, our server was attentive and competent, he bought our first drinks quickly and then gave us time to peruse the menu and decide on a main course.  We’d grazed and drank Starbucks during our afternoon at the mall, so we passed on appetizers and chose the Ancho Salmon (for my wife) and loaded Texas Cheese Fries (for me) as our main course.

We both enjoyed our choices.  The Ancho Salmon was flavored with a spicy citrus-chile sauce and topped with chopped cilantro and queso fresco.  It was served with rice and steamed broccoli.  The Texas Cheese Fries were delicious – as definitely not “light.” French fries, topped with Monterey, Pepper Jack and Cheddar cheese, bacon bits, jalapenos and green onions and served with ranch dressing for dipping.

My one complaint is on the selection of beers available at this Chili’s.  The usual selection of lager type beers were available, some from the larger craft breweries, including one from Yuengling, but there wasn’t a single beer available from a local craft brewery, and there are several of them within 50 miles.

We survived this disappointment when we were told it was happy hour and I could get two Yuenglings for the price of one to wash down the Texas cheese fries.  This worked for me, so I enjoyed my fries and beer and the excellent company.

Denny’s Restaurant, Cocoa Beach, FL

Lessons to make customers return

When writing about a new restaurant or hotel or bar or attraction I’ve recently visited, I can always find something positive to say about a place or the people or the food.  After all, in most cases the places we choose to stay, dine or drink are staffed by people just like us, and we are certainly not perfect.

We also must temper our expectations to match our wallets.  The standards we expect from a hotel charging $500 a night are vastly different from the amenities anticipated at a hotel charging $60 a night.  Similarly, we expect a different level of service, presentation and taste from a dinner costing $200 a person than we are going to get from a fast casual restaurant charging $10 a meal.

Even so, there are some minimum standards to be followed for all places frequented by the public, whatever their charge per person. 

So, rather than criticize the food, service and cleanliness of the Denny’s restaurant in Cocoa Beach, FL let me offer some suggestions for improvement at this restaurant.

1         .   If you don’t have enough servers to handle the number of patrons entering the restaurant, tell us that there will be a wait time when we enter.  Don’t take us to a table and leave us twiddling out thumbs for 15 or 20 minutes.

2         .   If you don’t have enough cooks to handle the seated customers, tell us there will be a wait time after when we are ordering our breakfast.  Don’t take our order then leave us wondering what is happening for another 15 or 20 minutes.

3         .   Please serve all the people at the table at the same time.  The server should not need to be reminded when one of the seated guests has not received a meal.

4         .   Please ensure the toilets are clean and usable.  It is not acceptable to expect patrons to use bathrooms with dirty sinks and with paper towels and toilet paper littering the floors.  My mother, along with countless other mothers always said that “cleanliness is next to Godliness.”

5         .   Please ensure someone on the staff knows how to use the cash register.  We were snapped at and made to feel really stupid for requesting they split the bill into two. This is the one and only time in a restaurant when my friend and I were unable to pay 50% of the bill each using two credit cards.

We will never return to this Denny’s and it will be a long time before we frequent any Denny’s restaurant.  This experience left us with a bad taste in our mouth.  We don’t expect to have a great meal when we go to Denny’s, but we do expect a pleasant experience with a nice meal of food similar to what we can prepare at home.  This experience wasn’t pleasant on any level. 

The Lion and Eagle Pub, Boca Raton, FL

An English street pub in Boca!

http://thelionandeaglepub.com/

It used to be difficult finding a nice bar with good draft beers in a strange city on a Sunday evening.  

Then smart phones with Google Maps came along and voila, we have a list of pubs in Boca Raton.  

The Lion and Eagle English Pub was close to our current location in the Cinemark parking lot, so off we went.

We weren’t really expecting an English pub, but what we got was very close to a city pub in Clapton or Bermondsey or Camden or any of the other inner suburbs of London, UK. These are essentially a shop (store) in an otherwise non-descript strip mall.  In London the shop would open directly onto the sidewalk on the street, at least here there was a parking lot fronting the highway.

There were a few tables outside on the wide sidewalk with perhaps a half-dozen customers drinking, and inside on the right a bar, with seats, of which three were occupied.  Behind the bar were a dozen or so taps for draft beer. On the left against the wall were tables, benches and chairs for small groups.  It was cozy and comfortable, a nice place to sit and have a drink, especially when there were few patrons, like tonight.

The bartender asked what beer I liked, I said IPA and he recommended a recent arrival called Due South Category 5 IPA that was only brewed when the right hops were available.  I knew it was going to be strong when he served it in a 13 oz. stemmed goblet.  It was strong, 8.5% ABV, with a big surge of hop flavor bursting through on the palate.  This is a sipping beer that is not for everyone, I loved it.

Perhaps the beer tickled our taste-buds, and we suddenly decided we were hungry. Unfortunately the kitchen at the Lion and Eagle closed at 10.00 pm on Sundays, so the bartender recommended we visit the Dubliner Irish pub, a mile or two up the road, where the restaurant was open to 1.30 am.

I liked the Lion and Eagle pub, even though we were only there a short time and will make a point of returning the next time we are in Boca Raton.

The Dubliner Irish Pub, Boca Raton, FL

Open late and a Florida beer

It wasn’t easy finding somewhere to eat late on a Sunday evening in Boca Raton, we eventually found the Dubliner through the recommendation of a bartender at another pub, whose kitchen closed at 10 pm.  He told us the Dubliner’s kitchen stayed open until 1.30 am.  He was right.

Even though it was late, the pub was well patronized.  A very loud Irish(?) Rock band played music on the stage at the back of the pub and the noise had driven most of the patrons outdoors.  This appeared to be planned by the pub as there were tables three deep on the wide sidewalk, several of which were occupied even at 10.30 on a Sunday night.  With the help of the hostess we chose a table where the band’s sound would be minimized, though we could still hear the music through the windows and wall, it didn’t drown out our conversation.

The menu had several interesting sounding items including Bangers and Mash, Shepherd’s Pie and Fish and Chips, however, since it was so late we decided on substantial appetizers of an Irish Fondue and a Honey Baked Brie.  Hidden in the draft beers was a Funky Buddha Floridian – a light and refreshing Hefeweizen brewed in Oakland Park, FL - that would go perfectly with our food.

We were not disappointed.  The food and beer were delicious and Ariel, our server, was a delight, providing water, drinks and our food promptly and with a smile. 

The melted cheese for the Irish Fondue bubbled in a fondue pot over a flame and the raw cauliflower, broccoli, apple slices and pretzel pieces made perfect dipping material.  The Honey Baked Brie roundel was served with a small loaf of crispy bread that was the perfect accompaniment.

The perfect way to end an evening and all for less than $50 including tip.  We will be back the next time we are in Boca Raton.

Brisbane Marriott, Brisbane, Australia

Great Check-In Experience

The first impression was amazing, the lady at the front desk (I wish I was better at obtaining and remembering names) calmed by frazzled  nerves because I couldn’t find the vehicular entrance and took my car keys and arranged to move the rental car from the street in front of the hotel to the parking garage.  She made me feel welcome in Brisbane and at the Marriott.  

The room on the 16^th floor was large and comfortable and had a great view of the Brisbane river and one of the older bridges crossing the river, the executive lounge had an even better view of the river.  

The location of the hotel is superb, the concierge entrance is 50 feet from the river-walk where there is a plethora of restaurants and bars with food and drinks at all price ranges.  

The exercise room was excellent, with treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bicycles and a weight area.  It was great to exercise in the early morning with the eastward facing windows open and the sun streaming in and lighting up the whole gym and a pleasant breeze blowing off the river.

Sydney Courtyard Marriott North Ryde, Australia

Nice hotel on outskirts of Sydney

I chose to stay at the Courtyard North Ryde rather than the Marriott downtown because this hotel was equidistant from our office in Parramatta and the Sydney Motorsports park which was hosting the Top Gear festival.  

It was a good choice.  

The staff were, as usual at Marriott hotels, exceptionally nice, making me feel welcome when I checked in and providing a pleasant option at breakfast when all I wanted was a bowl of fresh fruit from the buffet.   

My room was large and comfortable and had two large windows, one of which opened to let the fresh air in.  

It was also a pleasure to have a large well-appointed exercise room in the hotel with treadmills, an elliptical, stationary bicycles and a other equipment.

Sydney Marriott, Sydney, Australia

Excellent stop for a night

Another great stay, though this was only for one night. As usual the staff at check in made me feel welcome and my luggage was taken from the hire car and delivered quickly to my room.  The executive lounge is excellent, though it was a little crowded in the evening but it was quiet for a late breakfast the next morning.  The gym was excellent, with a plethora of machines, a weight area, and other activities.

Mercure Grosvenor, Adelaide, Australia

Good value for money if you can ignore the annoyances

The Mercure Grosvenor is a pleasant mid-tier hotel located in an enviable spot in Adelaide.  It is opposite the railway station and the Adelaide casino, a block away from a metro tram stop and close to the main shopping area and restaurants.  

The staff at the hotel were pleasant at all times and the night manager went out of her way to return to the hotel to open the room safe that held my passport when, presumably, I had mis-entered my lock code.  

My room was large and had plenty of room for working and had a nice large shower in the bathroom (but no bath).  

Four rather minor complaints that may not affect the majority of guests.  

• First was the small amount of shelf / closet space in both the bedroom and bathroom.  This is a European trait that we do not need to extend to the USA.  There was little space to put my toiletries in the bathroom and the closet was only big enough for a gnome’s clothes.  
• Second was the poor effort at providing a gym.  The exercise room contained two machines, a stationary bicycle that was on its last legs (wheels!!) and essentially unusable and a treadmill that worked with a lot of noise.  The TV in the exercise room did not work even after I requested it be fixed.  
• Third was the lack of natural light in my room.  The windows were perhaps a foot deep from the ceiling, I could only look out by standing on a chair.  
• Fourth was the very annoying wifi service.  The basic service for email was free, but it was very intermittent.  Some of the time it worked well, some of the time it did not work at all.  I use Viber and WhatsAp to communicate regularly with my wife in the US and the continual breakdowns in service were very annoying. 

Despite these minor annoyances, I would stay again.  All the staff I met made the difference, they were smiling and helpful at all times and I particularly liked the option they have of not using maid service to change sheets and towels during your stay, I strongly support the conservation efforts, though it would be nice to get a discount if you refuse room service for a day or two.

CA, Westlake Village, Wolfgang Puck's

Wolfgang Puck’s LA Bistro
30990 Russell Ranch Road,
Westlake Village, CA, 91362.
Phone: (818) 597-1902
Web: http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/bistro/


Here I am back in California again for two nights and one day on personnel issues. But at least it gives me a chance to try out another of the restaurants in the area and this time it is a late evening stop at Wolfgang Puck’s. Mr. Puck has taken his culinary expertise and morphed his image and his reputation into an mini-empire that now contains more than 90 restaurants. His newest concept is “the Bistro” an entrepreneurs franchising opportunity to cash in on the Wolfgang Puck name, with an investment of say, $2.5 million.

There are four Bistro’s around the country, three in California and one in

CA, Thousand Oaks, The Wine Yard

In a converted Taco Bell next to the Civic Arts Center in Thousand Oaks, young professionals gather at a wine bar to sip the nectar of the Gods and wax lyrical about the tribulations of the drive home from nearby Los Angeles, or the latest game of the Lakers, or plans for the house party this weekend at the Jackson’s.

One man, of age with many of the men In the bar but much older than most of the ladies, sits on a bar stool in the corner by the door and watches the well-dressed patrons sip wine and talk animatedly. The noise level is high, and all conversations blend together as they rise from the bar and the small tables so it is difficult to pick out sentences from the individual words and phrases that fly around the room.

http://www.wineyardinc.com/

Firestone Vineyard, Los Olivios, CA

Approximately 40 miles north west of Santa Barbara on Highway 101 or via the more direct route of Highway 154 is the Santa Ynez grape growing region. There are a dozen or so wineries in the area and wine tours are offered by several operators in Santa Barbara, but on this trip we elected what is arguably the most famous winery in the region – The Firestone Winery and Vineyard.

The drive to or from the winery is through beautiful country on either road. Highway 101 is the Pacific Coast Highway and for almost two thirds of the drive the road hugs the coast with spectacular views of the ocean and beaches. At Gaviota highway 101 turns sharply north and winds through pretty mountain scenery. The drive down highway 154 winds through mountain passes and across valley floors, reminding Patricia of the scenery around her home town in Cali, Colombia. We drove to the winery on Highway 154.

The Firestone family did an excellent job of building a winery that architecturally fits with the surroundings. The Firestone family (of Firestone tire fame) no longer owns the winery having sold it to a title company magnate a couple of years ago, but there are still many pictures of the Firestones in the tasting room and small museum.
As with many wineries tasting is no longer free. At Firestone, for a $15 charge you get to taste three white and four red wines and keep the large engraved wine glass. My palate is not good enough to discern the nuances of blackberry and apples and tannins in the wine that the tasting notes described, but we agreed we liked the Sauvignon Blanc white and the Cabernet Sauvignon red and bought a bottle of each to bring back to Houston.

Since there was little going on at the winery because of the season, the winery tour was short and succinct, but still quite interesting. The tour guide was knowledgeable and personable and gave out lots of facts that kept the tour interesting.

We drove back to Santa Barbara on Highway 101 with a stop at the Firestone Walker brew-pub and restaurant.

CA, Buellton, Firestone Walker Taproom and Restaurant

Just off Highway 101 in the little town of Buellton is the Firestone Walker Brewing Company tap room and restaurant. Unfortunately we arrived in mid afternoon having spent an hour or two at the Firestone Winery only to find the restaurant was closed, (regular opening hours are 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm weekdays, extended to 9:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays) but they were serving meals in the bar so we stayed. I sampled a flight of beers, four small (4 oz?) glasses of beer, that were all excellent.

· Pale 31 is aromatic California pale ale, the body was a little light for my taste.
· DBA (Double Barrel Ale) is a barrel fermented British pale ale, a little heavier with a nice flavor
· Union Jack India Pale Ale was excellent, nice taste and smell of the hops and god full body
· Walkers Reserve is a darker, chocolate malt porter, a little chewy

It was a delight to find a pub serving a ploughman’s lunch, cheese and cold meats with pickles and French bread, so we tried one of these and a bowl of chili. Both were very good, though raw onion substituted for the pickles in the ploughman’s. The chili was flavorful and filling. It was worth stopping to sample the beers, I would like to go back and eat in the restaurant and try one of the specialty ales they also serve.

The bill was reasonable, $26.00 including tip and we received a free pint glass as part of the cost of the beer sampler.

http://www.firestonewalker.com/index.php?s=in_search_of_pale&c=taproom_restaurant

CA, Simi Valley, Pho So 1

Pho So 1
2837 Cochran Street, Ste E, Simi Valley, CA 93065 phone:( 805) 306-1868

Just off the Ronald Reagan Freeway at the eastern end of Simi Valley is a Vietnamese restaurant serving excellent bowls of noodles. I have not eaten a lot of Vietnamese food before, in fact my only experience was from a lunchtime eatery on the edge of Market Square in Houston. A place I’d visited two or three times before it closed.

Pho So 1 is bright and clean and airy. A fairly large place in the corner of a strip center. We arrived at 12;30 pm and were seated straight away and within five minutes orders had been placed and water delivered to the table. I relied on my companion diner to order and ended up with a large bowl of soft noodles, with rare sliced beef, flank steak and tripe. She had a small bowl of soft noodles with prawns which looked much better. We also had two side plates one of crispy noodles and sprigs of mint and the second with egg rolls stuffed with meat and vegetables.

The noodles and broth were excellent, the lean beef was very good but the fatty flank steak and tripe were not to my liking. The crispy noodles were also good when added to the broth. The egg rolls were thick and packed full of indeterminate filling, but the taste was OK, especially when dipped in sweet sauce.

I need to return to the restaurant to check out other items on the menu. I think if I studied the menu a little more and chose more wisely, then I would enjoy the broth fillings a little more.

The meal was good value. $22.15 for two including a 15% tip.

CA, Thousand Oaks, Galletto Bar and Grill

Galletto Bar and Grill
982 Westlake Boulevard, Westlake Village, CA 91361 Tel. 805.449.4300

http://gallettobarandgrill.com/

There are a number of restaurants in the shopping center across the road from the Hyatt Hotel in Thousand Oaks. We chose to eat at Galletto Bar and Grill since none of us had eaten there before and the signs outside advertised the restaurants inclusion in the Zagat restaurant guide.

The signs outside promoted the Brazilian and Italian mix of offerings on the menu.

Unfortunately our experience wit the restaurant started off poorly and went downhill from there.

The sign just inside the door asked us to please wait to be seated and wait we did. And wait and wait. Eventually a lady appeared and we requested a seat on the patio outside. She said sure and disappeared for an interminable amount of time. When she returned she said there had been a mix up and there were no longer any tables outside, so we chose a table at the back of the restaurant next to the wine racks. The five tables between us and the bar were vacant an remained that way all evening as new parons came in and were seated outside.

The menu is very difficult to read, the type is small and many dishes are crammed onto each page. In the end I decided to play it safe and ordered stuffed pasta with a cream sauce. My companion, being somewhat more adventurous ordered Osso Bucco. I was in the mood for a light wine with character and ordered a California Gewürztraminer. It took some time for the waitress to return and tell us they were out of Gewurztraminer and offer us a bottle of Orvietto instead. “It’s $2 cheaper” she said. Then she told us the Osso Bucco was not available this evening.

When it arrived my pasta was excellent perhaps because it was smothered in a delicious cream sauce, but the service did not improve and there appears to be no reason why we would ever return to this restaurant