Feb 22 2009
Birthday Grand Slam!
iChef serving up a TWO-FER, back-to-back GRAND SLAMMA JAMMA birthday!
I recently found myself turning a little older on a surprise-end-of-the-weekend-adventure as a guest of my fiancee. I didn’t know where we were going, but I did know that it was necessary to take 2 cars and that we would be staying overnight and having dinner. For me a surprise is just as exciting as the actual event. So you can basically stop after telling me there are plans and a surprise (—that alone is pretty special in my book!) let alone going on a secret getaway—OVERnight, and eating at a special place!
But now we’re in separate cars, going I-don’t-know-where, in the rain, I’m wondering how far away that we’ll be traveling and how early I will have to get up to get to work on time… But I don’t care because this is special, an adventure, and I’m excited!
So, we’re traveling through Los Gatos and I figure we’re going to Capitola where my fiancee’s parents have a beach house just a couple of blocks from the water. Great! I love Capitola! What if the traffic is bad in the morning? I’ll have to get up at 4am… What if we have a really good time and don’t go to bed until very late/early… Been there, done it, will survive—again!
As we’re about to get on 17 south, we suddenly make a left—into Hotel Los Gatos! Very Fancy! We’re not staying in Capitola. The morning commute will be the same as usual—Yay!
The room at the Hotel Los Gatos was super delicious!—cozy comfortable, roomy—could have been a bedroom in a very nice home… Nice, clean, warmly furnished bathroom. A bed so snugly you would die in it if you had the choice. TV, DVD player, stocked bar, free T1 Internet service. All this with the gentle spatter of much needed rain. Very romantic…
They have a great comfy living rooms—relaxing reading areas all around the hotel.
My favorite one was off of the lobby area with a fireplace roaring. I found myself there just before dinner relaxing, sitting with my feet up on an ottoman, in front of the fire, with a newspaper and birthday Guinness—perfect!
We had dinner reservations for 6:30 at Dio Deka, the hotel restaurant—we’ve eaten there before. Dio Deka is a Greek Mediterranean restaurant. The menu items are all written in Greek so you have to read the entire description to know what it is. (It all seems Greek to me…)
We did ask to change the original table we were sat at (with little fuss they accommodated us)—we were seated by the kitchen, around a bend so that one diner felt like you were sitting in the middle of an isle, and one of the chairs was like a sink hole—”you would like to move—no problem.”
I love that attitude!
Our waiter, Conan, was right on target all night long. His food and wine recommendations were spot on! He was knowledgeable about the menu items and wine selections, he was friendly with good welcomed conversation. When he was at our table he was like another one of our dinner guests. He knew when to be there when not to be nosing in.
Our custom menu, built for two, went something like this:
O R E K T I K A
Dolmathakia … Metaxa-braised beef short ribs and creamy rice, wrapped in grape leaves and finished with a truffle scented wild mushroom citrus foam. (I think it’s time to let the foam go—why this became a big hit in the culinary world is beyond me…)
I do love grape leaves and these were spectacular!
Octapodi Scharas … Mesquite grilled Greek octopus, warm citrus olive oil, oregano and micro-green.
Tender like filet Mignon—A treat beyond belief!
Trilogia… Crispy Monterey bay calamari, clam-oregano fritters and fried organic asparagus.
Wonderful combination’s of seafood and vegetables!
S O U P E S K E S A L A T E S
Ntomatosoupa … Fire-roasted tomato and country bread soup, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil.Pantzaria Salata … Chilled slow roasted beet salad, candied walnuts, goat cheese, citrus-olive oil and chive vinaigrette.
W I N E
Nemea, Agiorgitiko, Gaia Estate, ‘Gaia Estate’, Peloponnesus, Greece, 2005(We had the label… the very nice waiter mounted it on restaurant stationary… it’s a long story—we lost it!)
K I R I A P I A T A
Paithakia … Mesquite-grilled, premium rib-cut, grass-fed
lamb chops, with traditional seasonings lemon-oregano crusted potatoes and spinach
tender, cooked to perfection, and delicious!
E P I D O R P I O
Greek desserts are typically enjoyed alongside a cold glass of water and a strong coffee.Yiaourti … Greek yogurt with rare wild thyme-scented Greek honey and honeycomb, toasted Macadamia nuts, seasonal fresh fruits
Milopita … Warm honey crisp apple tart tatin, vanilla bean gelato and sauce caramel
D E S S E R T W I N E (complements of our waiter)
Kourtaki, Samos, Muscat
Funny, I observed our waiter at times, when he was at other tables and I almost felt like he was cheating on us—giving equally good service, information and conversation to all his diners… I thought we were his favorites—NICELY DONE!)
We said we wanted to take our time and take our time we did… We were not rushed or neglected or anything other than treated like guests of rich family or friends! (RICH: in spirit, in hospitality, and in understanding the point…)
Conan brought us two beautiful and delicious desserts one with Happy birthday written in very good quality chocolate on the rim of the plate—Conan also brought us two complimentary glasses of Muscat! Very nice! Everything was fan-dabey-dosey-tastic—Very delicious!
A very perfect birthday!
Thank you Honey!
We even took some time on the way back to the room to sit by the fire and critique some art—we did it all…
[...] iChef var varsarray=[]; varsarray[0]=’10649′; if(!token) {var token=’0′} else {var [...]
[...] The Irascible Chef wrote an interesting post today on Birthday Grand Slam!Here’s a quick excerptMilopita … Warm honey crisp apple tart tatin, vanilla bean gelato and sauce caramel… [...]
[...] Ralph Marcus (MarK) Maupin’s Blog placed an observative post today on Birthday Grand Slam!Here’s a quick excerptBFunny/B, I observed our waiter at times, when he was at other tables and I almost felt like he was cheating on us—giving equally good service… [...]