Velasco's

Every year Bryce's small, one room school has a couple of fund raising events and Wednesday night, 10% of all sales at Velasco's Mexican Restaurant in Petaluma went to his school.  They are very generous in donating and have always worked with local schools for many fundraising events.

I love Velasco's.  I love Mexican food.  I was a happy girl Wednesday night.

A basket of chips are immediately brought to the table.  Little hands immediately go for the basket of chips

And the basket soon looks like this...

I asked Paige "Where did all the chips go?!"  Paige had no idea.

Coors Light for me and Dominic.

Milk for Paige.

Bryce is thinking:  "Gosh, I never get lemonade. This is SO good!"

His plan:  "Maybe if I drink it all before dinner comes, I can have a refill.  I know Mommy sneaks maple donuts for herself when we're in school, I've gotta get my sugar when I can!"

Bryce had a chicken burrito with a side of fries for dinner.

Paige ordered a cheese quesadilla with a side of fries.

Dominic went for the Grande chicken burrito.

And I had the fajita chicken tostada salad with dressing on the side.

Some yummy pinto beans hidden under the lettuce.

A water refill for Bryce.  His plan didn't work.

But they did get lollipops after dinner.

Velasco's is such a kid friendly place with great food and service.  We can't wait to go back!

Happy Friday!  Cheers!

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A Mission to Find Spring Hill Old World Portuguese Cheese

Ever since my girl's wine tasting day a few weeks ago when I found that Old World Portuguese Cheese made by Spring Hill Dairy at a little market in Sebastopol, I've been on a mission to find it in my home town. 

I've tried four or five different grocery stores including Whole Foods, with no luck.  The closest I came was Whole Foods.  They had Portuguese cheese but it was made with raw milk and by a different brand, not what I was looking for.  The manager at the cheese counter told me he was placing an order with Spring Hill later on in the day and if the Old World Portuguese Cheese was on the Whole Foods list of items that can be ordered, he would order it.

I felt good about making some progress in getting Portuguese cheese retailed in Novato.  Our Whole Foods is new in Novato, it's only been open a few months, this was only my second time in the store so Paige and I decided to buy something for lunch and eat it out on their patio.

Paige wanted pizza.  The slice was HUGE for $2.99 so I cut it in half for her.  She was super hungry after her gymnastics class and ate the entire thing.

I got a freshly made avocado and cucumber roll made with whole grain rice from the sushi counter.  It was really good and I ate the entire thing as well.  I guess I was super hungry after watching Paige at her gymnastics class.

As we were leaving the patio area, Paige asked to borrow my camera to take a photo of the "pretty flowers".

And the "painted birdhouses".

I still had that Portuguese cheese on my mind.....it is just that good!  If you haven't had it before, it's a hard table cheese with a nutty flavor.  I can eat an entire block of it with some crusty, whole grain french bread if I let myself.

I decided to go directly to the source, something I should have done to begin with.  The Petaluma Creamery is owned by Spring Hill Cheese Company.  They produce some of their cheese at this facility as well as on their dairy with the milk of their Jersey cows, west of town {Petaluma}. 

So now I know I can just head on over the the Creamery when I run out of the chunk of 'Portuguese gold' I just purchased!

Another bonus to visiting the Petaluma Creamery is, they also make ice cream right there at the creamery.  Paige and I both ordered a 'kid's size' to sample.....hers, chocolate and mine, lavender.

Creamy and delicious.

This was the first time I tried lavender ice cream and I really liked it!  I was expecting it to be a lavender color but it's white with a very apparent lavender flavor.  I will definitely order it again.

On the walls inside the creamery hang some historic photos that date back to 1913 when the Co-Op Creamery was founded.

So if you're ever in Petaluma, the Petaluma Creamery is a fun place to stop by to get a feel for some of Petaluma's dairy farming history.

Happy to report, my mission accomplished.

Happy Thursday!

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Stumbled Upon

Don't you love it when last minute plans come together and actually happen?  Last night I met my friend, Debbie in Petaluma for dinner.  We decided on Tres Hombres which is a Mexican restaurant with  great atmosphere.  It's located in the 'Theatre District' of Petaluma and they have indoor and outdoor seating.  The place was packed for a Tuesday evening.  Upon entering, we didn't realize what we stumbled upon.  The hostess asked us if we knew it was 'Taco Tuesday Night'

Can I just say, Score!

I love tacos.  I don't know if I would have ordered them if it wasn't Taco Tuesday but since it was, I couldn't resist.  You can have your choice between Baja fish, chicken, and/or carnitas.

And get this.....for $2.50 per taco!

Margaritas were $3.00 each.  I had a raspberry, my favorite.  I really enjoy that sweet-tart taste a raspberry margarita gives you.

We both ordered the Baja fish tacos, two for each of us.  When I ordered them I didn't realize the fish would be crispy, but I wasn't too disappointed, they were delightful!  Plus food like this, is the reason I exercise.  I'm definitely going back for Taco Tuesday Night......with the kids and Dominic next time.

After dinner, we weren't ready to go home just yet.  It was only 8:30.  So we walked past the outdoor fountain, across the courtyard to this place...

La Dolce Vita is a wine lounge that has quite the extensive wine list where you can order wine by the glass, half carafe, bottle or tastings and they have a light food menu as well.  With the recommendation of our waiter, we decided on the Bacchanlia Zin.  Sticking with my raspberry theme, this wine has raspberry and jammy black cherry flavors with a sweet tobacco finish.  Only 8 barrels of this zin was produced by the Dry Creek Valley winery. 

The atmosphere is quite swanky.  You can enjoy drinking your wine at the wine bottle lined wall sitting at little tables or on the cozy sofa and chair area along the front window or in the bar area where they run foreign films projected onto the wall behind the bar. 

It was a fun evening.  Thanks Deb!

The only problem with drinking some wine on a Tuesday evening is getting motivated at 5 the next morning to get to my Boot Camp class at the gym.  It's still dark out and it feels too comfortable in bed at 5 in the morning.  But I hauled myself out of bed to get to my 5:30 class.

And I'm glad I did.  I was the first person to class this morning.

I turned the lights on and waited for everyone to arrive.

We didn't use these in class this morning.

But we did use these.

And oh, did we ever use these.

We also did some running and sprints outside.  The class is an hour long and it's a great workout.

And this is why I refuse to feel guilty about eating fried fish tacos!

Happy Wednesday!

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A Petaluma Night Out with High School Friends

Last night I had the pleasure of getting together with some friends that I haven't seen since high school (25 years ago!) My Petaluma high school best friend, Mary, was in town from Florida visiting family. We have just recently gotten back into contact with one another via FaceBook but it's so much better visiting in person. Her visit called for a Petaluma night out on the town. Our first stop was Old Chicago Pizza which is located in historical downtown Petaluma in the Landmart Building, that at one time was one of the town's brothels in the mid 1800's. The serve up the VERY BEST deep dish pizza! Our second stop on the agenda was the old 'watering hole' and Petaluma favorite, Andresen's. Yes, they really do sell liquor to go by the bottle..... Andresen’s tavern has been in existance since 1934 Andresen. Time has definitely stood still in this bar....from all the wildlife that hang on the walls to the sepia toned atmosphere. Along with a display of antique pistols and rifles, Andresen’s is a museum of hunting trophies in it's own right. The majority of the animals have come from three generations of Andresen family hunting trips. The sable, kudo, impala were brought back by a brother from an African safari. Other heads, such as the buffalo, were bought or traded, and the last addition to the collection, a wild boar, came from a devoted customer. Our last stop was the good old Hide-Away which is another long time Petaluma bar. Sorry, too dark to take photos inside...... I'm already looking forward to Mary's next visit. It's great getting together with a friend that you can go right back in time with to cherish precious memories (and be reminded of some as well) even with all the years traveled in between time :) Happy Saturday! Pin It