Happy 4th of July!

I wish I could be chilling like a villain. Unfortunately... I will be ROASTING in Vegas! ^_^ It's a double edged sword. Sorry that I haven't been able to post because Ms. Lin just came and has been bothering me, I mean keeping me busy. I also have an exam today @_@ so I am typing one last message before I head out to my exam. Did I mention that as I am typing this, information is vacating my brain! lol We will be gone until Sunday night, so I won't be doing any posts probably until Monday. I wish you all a HAPPY 4th of JULY! Stay in a cooler place than I will be! ^_^

Trying Out Their Lunch Specials!

Not surprising but here I am again. This is the first time I have come here for lunch. I definitely like the prices better at lunch and it seems to be the same size as dinner. They don't have as many choices for lunch, but I found a new dish to try. MBA wanted to go to Nordstrom and I didn't feel like going to the mall on Saturday since it's SO crowded. Good thing I didn't because I ended up meeting Tiramisu later that day and took her to the mall! ^_^ So thank goodness I didn't have to go twice! At first it didn't even seem like Sabatino's was open for lunch and I never saw a real server. A guy from the kitchen came out and serviced, he was friendly but they probably needed a little bit more people to help out.
Today they surprised us with a new bread and we were starving so we gobbled it down in a flash. It was buttered with garlic and toasted to give that crisp texture. We debated on which bread we like better... dinner or lunch? We both agreed that dinner was slightly better. Then I wondered if they got rid of the other bread???? I was able to get that answer on Monday night, which I will post later. ^_-
MBA got her signature dish of Rigatoni with Sausage and Peppers in a Creamy Tomato Sauce. Just the way she likes it! ^_^ Of course she had to dip the yummy bread in her pasta sauce. As for me, I decided to try their Chicken Penne Gorgonzola. It's chicken breast & broccoli tossed with garlic, white wine, & Gorgonzola cream sauce and served with penne pasta. MBA tried my pasta and she really liked it. I asked for a minimal amount of broccoli and it was tasty. If I get this next time, I will ask for extra sauce because I like a thicker coat on my pasta. With penne it's harder to retain the flavor of the sauce. Still, it's a good new find.
This was the first time that I saw that they offered paninis so of course I had to give it a try. I ordered the Chicken Panini Sabatino. It's chicken breast, roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato, avocado, caramelized onion, Mozzarella cheese, & house spread on sourdough. On paper everything sounded really good, but it fell short in real life. The sandwich was a little dry for my taste and it needed more avocado to smooth out the texture. I still think Nordstrom Cafe has better paninis. Stick with the pastas or the pizzas instead!

A Truly Nice Chirashi

This is a back post from my trip in SF. One day I went down to work with her in SJ so we can try some different places. Ms. Lin went to the Ocean Blue Sushi Club with Ms. BumbleBee and their other friend, which I have not decided a cute name for. Before I left, Ms. Lin wanted to take me here to try their Chirashi at lunch time. From the outside you would not think that this would be a nice restaurant. The name threw me off too, but as you walk in it looks very nice. This place must be owned by Korean people because it only recently opened and the flowers/gifts sent were all written in Korean.
There wasn't a lot of people there when we went. They have very nice Kimonos displayed on the walls and it was very well air-conditioned. Following Ms. Lin's recommendation, we both ordered the Chirashi. Their menu was generally very expensive. They have a wide variety of rolls/maki to choose from, but at a hefty price. Ms. Lin said to stick to the Chirashi because it's the best value there. Keep in mind that it's still about $20 for the lunch Chirashi.
They brought out the Miso Soup and the Wasabi Paste in the shape of a leaf. I didn't even notice until Ms. Lin pointed it out. At first I was very skeptical about the food since the name's kind of weird and the prices were so high. The service was friendly, but sometimes hard to find since there wasn't a lot of people there and they were at the other side of the restaurant.
Our Chirashi bowl was presented beautifully and filled to the brim with fresh fish and tons of different fish eggs. I've never had so many types of roe in one sitting. ^_^ Generally I don't like all types of fish eggs but the ones they served were fresh, unique, and varied in texture. There were a lot of sashimi that I do not generally eat inside, but they presented a huge variety. I liked that they had Hamachi inside. There was even Spanish Mackerel, Scallop, and more. It was a very colorful and delicate presentation. I thought it was tasty and I agree it was the best deal there considering the pricing. It's definitely the most bang for your buck.
All in all the food was good, but a little pricey. I have to give them props for the decor and the funny fact that there's a Bidet in the bathroom. It was getting late that day and they were closing down so I didn't get a chance to test out the toilet. I know this might sound weird, but they had this high-tech toilet that has a variety of functions and heated seats. If you do try this place out, be sure to get the Chirashi at Lunch time and not night time because it's probably more expensive. Don't be fooled by the name or it's strip mall surrounding. It's actually pretty descent sushi. If only it was at a decent price. I wonder how long this place will last in that location because it doesn't seem to be located in an area where people would spend so much on sushi. Still, I hope it will still be there when I come back again. ^_^

Expensively CUTE Items! ^_^

Zinc Details is the shop near SPQR. They have a wide variety of very unique items. There were so many cute items that cost you an arm and a leg, but well worth it! The people there were super friendly and sweet. They were so nice that I would go back just to visit them! All the items there were designer items with a unique twist. They carry many items from diALESSI that you find displayed in Pinkberry's. I could NOT resist leaving the store without buying something cute for home. Even though I am not working now and have no income coming in, I had to splurge for an item. Ms. Lin bought these adorable spoons that are heart shaped. Maybe ONE day she will use them. O=P lol I bought the Plastic Bunny Chasing the Carrot Paper Towel Roll. This one thing alone was over $50 and YES it's plastic! Still, it's so cute! I tried to embody the cuteness in a minute by taking photos as the bunny gets closer to the goal. It's a simple design, but cute! So imagine a full roll of paper towel between the bunny and the carrot and as the paper towel starts to run out, the bunny gets closer to the goal. Until he gets the prized carrot! Yummy! ^_^

SPQR Does NOT Live Up To The Hype

Since A16 and SPQR are sister restaurants and I thought A16 was not bad, we decided to check out SPQR. Ms. Lin had wanted to try this place since it's highly rated. Maybe we had too high of an expectation? I thought this place was WAY OVERRATED! It's really interesting how one restaurant can be so much better than the other when they do serve some similar items! @_@ Arrive early if you don't have reservations so you don't have to wait long. SPQR is a lot smaller than A16. We arrived early and shopped around... and bought something very expensive that I do not need. O=9
The food here was not very good, but the service was very very friendly. It was much better than A16. Ms. Lin ordered red wine and didn't like the taste, the server brought different red wines for her to try until she found one that she'd like. I felt really bad about it and commented that I liked my Moscato d'Asti! ^_^ Yay, I caused less trouble!
At SPQR they have a bunch of Antipasti to choose from. They are $8 each, 3 for $21, or 5 for $32. Since we always want to try everything possible, of course we chose 5. I will start by commenting on the only one I liked. We ordered the Bay Scallops with Meyer Lemon. What I really loved about this dish was the FRIED Meyer lemon pieces among the fried scallops. As I have mentioned time and time again, anything fried gets bonus points. I have never had a battered and fried lemon. I also don't like Meyer lemons but they did it in a way where I loved it, which is why I really like this antipasti. It was simple and tasty with a nice texture.
Sorry to rain on the parade, but the rest of the antipasti we chose was horrendous! Ms. Lin read that the Chicken Livers were a crowd favorite and she has to try it. I warned her before she ordered it that she would eat this ALONE. The most I would do is take a nibble. It was not that good. The portions were generous, but this was bad news for Ms. Lin. I felt so bad for her having to eat the whole plate of liver that she didn't quite like. Then again, I warned her. ^_^
We both like sweetbreads so we ordered Sweetbreads with Celery, Garlic, Lemon, and Oregano. It was not the type of sweetbread I am use to, so I stopped eating it shortly. I tried to shove as much down without gagging, but unfortunately for Ms. Lin I gave up. She had to eat most of this plate as well. Poor Ms. Lin! Darn the Asian within us that can't waste food! The sweetbread was flavorless and the celery flavor was overpowering, which made me nauseous.
One dish I wanted was the Lobster Brodo with Shrimp, Spigarello Greens, and Ceci Beans. I was mislead when reading this dish. It was just a dish of tiny shrimp in a lobster broth that was very salty and overpowering. If you dip the bread it will lower the salty taste. I actually tried to eat most of this dish since it was my fault, but of course Ms. Lin helped a lot since I don't eat beans.
We also ordered the Grilled Pork Ribs with Fennel and Rosemary. Most of the time I can tolerate any dish full of meat, but this fell short. It was bland, dry, and a little tough. Overall all the antipasti dishes were disappointing except the fried Meyer lemon and scallops. After we got all our food, Ms. Lin's eyes started wondering over to other tables. We should have ordered the Mozzarella sticks, even though it's not really worth the price. What we ordered was so bad, we both regretted not ordering that dish. **sob sob**
Luckily for me the main course was not bad tasting or I would have gone starving for the night. Ms. Lin was very full after the antipasti since I barely touched them. We ordered the Heritage Pork Saltimbocca with Giardiniera. The presentation was lacking and the meat seemed a little dry, but looks are deceiving. This dish was actually decent, probably because it tasted much better than the antipasti.
All in all the food was extremely disappointing, but the service was very nice and much better than A16. Food wise, I would try A16 again but the service was very bad. They should switch the servers at SPQR and A16 would be perfect! ^_- The food here at SPQR are definitely not worth the effort or try, although I loved a store nearby where I spent a fortune! ^_^