Dinner at Chez TJ

For Inna's birthday, I made reservations at the famous Michelin 1-star Chez TJ restaurant in Mountain View for Friday, February 23, at 19:30.

After arriving and sitting at our table, we were provided multiple wine menus. After some discussions with the waiter, we selected a half bottle of Vouvray. After spending some time in the Loire region of France, we had always loved Vouvray.

Chez TJ is a contemporary French cuisine restaurant in one of Mountain View, CA's most historic Victorian homes. Originally built circa 1894, the structure was home to Julius and Fanny Weilheimer. Julius was a Vice President of the Mountain View Farmers and Merchant’s Bank as well as a member of the town Council. In the early 1980s, George Aviet and Thomas J. McCombie acquired the property and served their first dinner on November 26, 1982.

Our Chef's Tasting Menu consisted of the following items:

• Silver Sky Ranch Sweetbread, Burtn Onion Consomme
• Royal Osetra Caviar, Avocado, Barley
• Star Route Farm Red Beet, Hokkaido Scallop, Citrus Lace
• White Asparagus, Razo Clam, Favas from the Garden, Monterey Bay Seaweeds
• Black Bread
• Sacramento Sturgeon, Kalugo Caviar, Hearts of Plam, Oroblanco
• Alphonso, Mango Sorber, Millet Crumble,
• Golden Beet Ravioli, Winter Black Truffle, Marin Roots Chickwood
• Broken Arrow Ranch Quail, Salsify, Morels, Rhubarb
• Poppy Sunflower Seed Pain Levain, Cara Cara Ricotta
• It's Always Sunny: Vanilla, Yuzu, Kalamansi
• Burnt Honey Sesame Ice Cream, Honey Comb
• Nectarine & Cherry Pate De Fruit
• Coffee Caramel
• Cranberry Walnut Mendiant

Executive Chef: Stan Michalski

Executive Pastry Chef: Christine Johanson

We had a wonderful 2.5-hour dinner, enjoying very unique dishes. Our favorites included Sacramento Sturgeon with Caviar and It's Always Sunny dessert/.

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Review: Andrey Makarevich

Last year, Inna purchased two tickets to see Andrey Makarevich for Saturday, February 17th, 7:00 p.m. concert at Fort Mason, San Francisco.

 

We left early to eat dinner in San Francisco before the concert. After parking in Fort Mason, we learned that our favorite local German eatery, Radhaus San Francisco, was packed. After paying $16 for all-day parking, we decided to grab an UberX and drive to our favorite Napizza Restaurant. We had limited time, and it was raining, so getting an early dinner made a lot of sense.

After arriving on Chestnut Street, we were greeted with the friendly "Buona Sera" as we sat inside Napizza. After looking at the menu, we decided to be adventurous and order different items (we usually order Pizza Mortazza)

• Appetizer: Polpette al Tartufo (Meatballs)
• Entree: Pizza Capricciosa
• Drinks: Hot Green Tea
  

Our waiter quickly brought out the Polpette al Tartufo  (3 meatballs in a delicious sauce), which we devoured as we waited for our entree. A few minutes later, the freshly baked Pizza Capricciosa arrived. I loved the dough and the fresh toppings.

We liked the atmosphere and the loud Italian Pop music blaring on the sound system. It was almost like being back in Italy. We didn't have time for dessert, though Inna had her eye on an Affogato (or Tiramisu).

She ordered an UberX to take us back to the concert. After waiting for 7 minutes in heavy rain, the UberX driver canceled the ride, but Inna managed to secure another ride.

We returned to Fort Mason with 10 minutes to spare, though slightly wet from the unusually heavy rain. We met up with our friends and sat down in our designated seats.

Andrey Makarevich came out on stage. It was just him and his new Yamaha acoustic guitar. He played many songs and frequently read poetry. It was a somber occasion, with the recent murder of Alexei Navalny by Putin's thugs.

Spotify Tracks:

• Я расскажу вам про страну

Я расскажу вам про стран

The concert lasted about two hours (without any breaks). After the concert, we returned home because we were pretty tired.

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