Jun 07 2023

A taste of Greece in Suisun City, who knew?

I look forward to an annual girlfriend’s trip to the Napa Premium Outlets every year for the memorial day weekend sales. I did a big closet cleanout a few weekends before and I was ready to refresh my summer wardrobe. There were only two of us this year because our third girlfriend was busy living her best life vacationing in Greece. After seeing our social feeds packed with her amazing trip photos and all the mouthwatering food she was enjoying, we decided having Greek food for lunch would be a great choice since we missed her being with us. 

A quick map/google search turned up the Athenian Grill, located at 750 Kellogg Street in Suisun City, CA near the old town waterfront. Known for their delicious gyros, souvlaki, homemade tzatziki sauce, and other Mediterranean dishes – it sounded like we found a great spot. Yelp reviews were all favorable and we discovered why – literally some of the best Greek food we’ve both ever had and before you jump all over that statement – no, we’ve never been to Greece and understand from those that have that there is NO comparison to the local food. Totally get it and next time we will try more than just appetizers.

After a bit more research, we learned that the restaurant had been damaged by a fire back in 2019 and luckily they came back after some renovations and seem stronger than ever. I’m sure the community was happy that they returned after that and the pandemic.

The atmosphere had a welcoming vibe – the enclosed patio with glass roll up doors was so nice with the waterfront view. It gave my friend something to look at as I annoyed her by taking photos of our food before letting her dive in – which honestly is typical, she’s used to it and yes, I’m THAT girl. 

We ordered the Mezethakia (vegetarian style)  – A combination appetizer plate featuring spanakopita, tyropita, keftethes, dolmades, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, pita bread and tzatziki sauce. The vegetarian option subbed out the keftethes meatballs with falafel and I’m not mad about it – dang, were those amazing. 

We also ordered the onion rings because we saw our server delivering them to another table and those dunked in the tzatziki were amazing and a treat for both of us. I can’t remember the last time I ordered onion rings at a restaurant. I’ve definitely been missing out. Mental note: I need more onion rings in my life. I tried some cauliflower frozen onion rings a few years back and nope, not the same. A decent substitute, but NOT the real deal. 

Overall, the Athenian Grill was a great find and a perfect stop for a bite to eat on our way back to Sacramento. We got our Greek food – appetizers with a side of pita bread and onion rings and we avoided trying to find a place to eat and park in Napa due to it being BottleRock weekend.

Already looking forward to the next adventure.
-Foo

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=11761

Jun 01 2023

An evening of wine, pizza and live music at Christopher Cellars

We decided to check out the live music event at Christopher Cellars this past Friday. I had heard good things about the venue from co-workers and it was finally time to see what it was all about. It also didn’t hurt that the food truck that night was Uncle Johnny’s Wood Fired Pizza – which BTW was delicious and only fueled our desire to purchase or build a pizza oven of our own. Gimme all the pizza.

Christopher Cellars is a small, family owned winery in Elk Grove, CA on the corner of Elk Grove Blvd. and Bradshaw Road (9654 Bradshaw Road), producing small lots of wines that reflect the land they are grown on and the passion of Chris and Candice Mora. The winery is located in the building behind the beautiful home of Beverly Brautigam and her husband, Hal Bartholomew. I did not know any of this prior to attending for my first time. I’ve driven by the property so many times and enjoyed reading on their website how the partnership came about. 

Last Friday was definitely a popular night to go. Lots of Idle Hour Band fans. Once we found a table and got our pizza orders in, we ventured over to order our wine for the evening. I couldn’t decide, so I opted for a flight recommended by the server after asking me a few questions.

The flight consisted of 2022 Orange Muscat, 2022 Barbera Rosé and 2021 Mother Knows Best. I really liked all of them, Orange Muscat was my favorite. Described on their website as slightly off-dry, exhibiting fragrant aromas of magnolia blossoms, apricot and orange peel. Well-balanced and textured on the palate, zesty citrus notes laced with honeysuckle and pear linger with a crisp and clean finish. The linger is what got me.

My pizza choice for the evening was the NEO – also my standby wood fire pizza order. A Margherita – tomato sauce, basil and fresh mozzarella. I ate the ENTIRE pizza, which is also the norm when it comes to (fresh out of the oven) Margherita pizza. Less toppings = more pizza and winning. Other pizzas enjoyed by my group were the BASIC B – tomato sauce, pepperoni, basil and mozzarella. The DEZI – tomato sauce, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, arugula and parmesan and the SANCHO – tomatillo sauce, mozzarella, chorizo, peppers, onions, jalapeno, mushrooms and crema. Reports were solid. 

On a side note, I was so happy to see dogs chilling with their owners or in some cases – on an Igloo ice chest. If you have been reading for any amount of time, you know that I am absolutely obsessed with my own dogs and pretty much every dog on planet earth. 

We had a great experience and see why so many make attending a regular occurrence. I also saw that they do Sunday yoga classes with mimosas. Yes, please… I’m all in for that. So cheers to supporting local, meeting some new people and spending time with my tribe. Follow me on IG @foogetsfit to see if I make it to yoga.

Look at me posting again. Getting back into the swing of things has been fun. Until it’s not – I’ll continue to show up.
-Foo

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=11740

May 19 2023

Is this thing on?

Two and a half years seems like an acceptable break. Ha-ha. A couple of friends of mine were messaging back and forth on Facebook (Yes, we’re all old now) mentioning how fun blogging used to be and how the connections and friendships we all made through that world (20+ years ago) were some of the best. While I’ve remained in touch with a core group of friends, the daily/weekly writing and commenting on blog posts is what really kept us close and pushed us to explore whatever direction/flavor of the week our everyday lives took us.

Simpler times for sure. I do miss it, so I’m going to attempt to bring some of it back. I loved exploring new places, going on local adventures and trying new recipes… and while the “who shall not be named pandemic” stopped everything and acted as my own personal justification to quit showing up here or basically anywhere, I’ve decided that I’m going to write when I feel like it and see where it takes me.

Hmmm, perhaps a quick catch up sesh is in order. Since some of you have been following along since my weight loss/fitness blog days and others joined when I started highlighting food and less life stuff, I’ll give big picture and not go too far back in time. I’m fast approaching the 4 year anniversary of giving my diet a complete overhaul by upping my vegetable intake and saying goodbye to meat. Yes, all kinds of meat. No red meat, no white meat, no fish, no kidding. I had gotten so burned out eating low carb that just the smell and sight of chicken and turkey was revolting. I’ve since come to a better place where I can be around, smell and even cook/grill meat for others. Hallelujah, the gross factor has left the building – cheers to that. I’ve often thought of incorporating fish back to open up more options when dining out, but I’ve honestly found my groove with vegetables and dairy and my overall health and relationship with food has never been better. So for now, I’m not rocking the boat… or fishing off one anytime soon. Plus, I feel like restaurants have made huge strides in their meat free options and that has helped too. Also living in a very diverse area does lend itself to many different cultures and the amazing food that follows exploring those. I will no doubt share more as I get back into the habit of checking in more frequently.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming – dusting this old thing off.

Last weekend we took an afternoon drive along the river to Isleton, CA and stopped at Manny’s Barzzeria for a late lunch on the patio – which BTW was fabulous with the warmer weather we have been experiencing in Sacramento. It was also a nice break from weekend yard work. Yep, still doing that.

It was my first time trying Newtopia Cyder – the POG (Pineapple, Blood Orange and Pink Guava) was super refreshing. I will be looking for it to have at home to enjoy by the pool.

A girlfriend and I shared the Burrata and then I went full “same, but not” with my Margherita pizza to follow.

I did mention that I was enjoying my veggie/dairy lifestyle. Should have also mentioned bread… all the bread. Cheese and bread, cheese and bread, more cheese and bread. I do go through phases where I cut back on carbs – but right now I’m in a very carb heavy phase where I’m enjoying all the things and have upped my activity and I’m learning that it all balances out. Also, classifying this as a Margherita pizza is a bit of a stretch, but dang, the crust was amazing.

All in all, it was a chill day and much needed escape from our regular weekend restaurants and routine. I’m going to stop right here and hit the publish button before I start tweaking this post a million times over.

I hope to be back soon.
~Foo

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=11716