Cupid’s Hot Dogs are a staple in the San Fernando Valley. I had never heard of it myself, but I only started eating hot dogs when I got pregnant with my first baby – long after I’d moved away from the Valley. The now small chain started in North Hollywood back in the 1940’s and been in the family since then. While some of its locations are now run by the granddaughters of the original owners, others seem to be franchises. We visited the Chatsworth location, which seems to be one of the latter.
Cupid is particularly well known for its chili hot dog ($7 after tax) and that’s what Mike got one weekday day last week – I wasn’t hungry enough to get one myself.
He was underwhelmed. The hot dog was utterly unremarkable. The hot dog was standard – it could have been an Oscar Weiner wiener for all he knows -, and the chili was uninspired. It was perfectly fine, but it was as generic as they come.
What was surprising about the chili dog is that eating it wasn’t a mess. He’s not sure if this was because there wasn’t too much of it, or if the chili was more solid than usual, but it was perfectly clean to eat – he barely spilled any onto the container. The hot dog is also normal size – not the extra large ones you get at Costco.
Finally, Mike was quite unhappy that the hot dog came in a styrofoam container. which are now ilegal in LA.
While the menus at the different Cupid’s seem to be the same, I’m not sure if the same can be said about the quality. We might try one of those still in the family next time we are in town.
Cupid's Hot Dogs 9840 Topanga Canyon Blvd. Unit D Chatsworth, CA (818) 700-1729 M - Sa 10:30 AM TO 8:00 PM
Where my craving for IHOP was permanently satiated.
Ever since an IHOP opened in San Leandro, now several years ago, I’d been wanting to give it a try. Even though I’m fairly certain that our last experiences with IHOP had been disappointing, there is something pretty magical about those glossy menus with photos of delicious looking pancakes in all sorts of flavors. Truth be told, I’m not actually that big a fan of pancakes, and I seldom even end up ordering them, but they still fascinate me. Even now, as I think about them, I’m almost ready to head towards the door.
Alas, I’m not a breakfast-eating-person – I’m just not hungry when I wake up – so despite such cravings, I still haven’t made it to the San Leandro IHOP and might not had gone to an IHOP at all, if I didn’t find myself hungry and with low blood sugar as we approached the Grapevine during our last trip to LA. I saw the sign for it as we approached Lebec and there we went.
The restaurant itself, part of the Petro truck stop/travel center which also hosts a Wendy’s, a Baskin Robbins and a mini-mart, in addition to other facilities, was clean and pleasant enough. It seems to have taken the space of an Iron Skillet, so it doesn’t have anything that screams “IHOP” other than the name. It was fairly empty on a Saturday around 1 PM.
While I needed something to eat, I wasn’t actually hungry so I decided to get something light: the fresh berry crepes ($13.50). In the menu, they were shown rolled around some filling, sprinkled with berries and drizzed with chocolate sauce. In reality, the crepes were served folded into triangles, had some cut berries on top and a super-light dusting of powdered sugar. They were an extreme disappointment.
First, the crepes weren’t fresh. I don’t know if they make them there or the buy them in packages and then lightly heat them but they were clearly old and tough – you could barely cut them with the side of a fork. They were also very dry, and with no wet elements on the plate, hard to eat. I did ask for some whipped cream – which I think was probably whipped “topping” – and that helped some. The berries were fine, though not juicy enough to help the crepes. In all, it was a very disappointing dish. If I wanted old packaged crepes with plain berries, I could buy them at the supermarket.
Mike’s meal was more special, at least, by virtue of this being the first senior meal that he ever ordered. We are now officially old. He had the 55+ breakfast sampler ($11.30) which came with 1 buttermilk pancake, 1/2 a strip of bacon, 1 small slice of ham, 1 breakfast sausage, 1 egg (he had his over medium) and hash browns. He substituted the latter for wheat toast for an additional 80 cents (!).
He felt that was the ideal amount of food for his apetite nowadays, and was hapy he hadn’t over-ordered. Quality wise, the food was comparable to Denny’s. He did like his egg, however, probably because he seldom has them.
We had sodas, but they didn’t charge us for them – perhaps because the waiter realized just how disappointed I was with my meal. He did ask me whether he could bring me anything else, but there was no way to save those crepes.
In all, what I learned from this experience is to not go to IHOP.
IHOP Petro Travel Center 5821 Dennis McCarthy Dr Lebec, CA (661) 663-4341 Daily 6 AM - 10 PM
I don’t think it was until I tried this Roasted Garlic & Pesto Pizza with Deep Fried Crust ($6) that I came to the realization that I don’t really like pesto. I always thought I did, though I could never quite get it right when I tried to make it, but I think it might be too bitter for my taste buds – at least at this stage in my life.
In all, I can’t say I enjoyed the pizza. In the areas without the pesto, it was pretty “blah”. It didn’t have much flavor – the lack of tomato sauce was really felt here. In the areas with the pesto, it was too bitter and salty. The one redeeming quality was the crust, which was pretty good – though not out of this world – particularly when dipped in honey mustard dressing .
Trader Joe’s has a lot of frozen pastas – makes sense, pastas are cheap – and this Garlicky Pasta ($4.30) is good, though not my favorite. It was very garlicky, but it has too much of a one-tone flavor. It did feel too oily/fatty, unfortunately. It did need something else, so I tried adding Parmesan cheese, but that made it too salty.
The spaghetti is cut in half, which makes it hard to roll onto a fork, but it’s still too long to scoop with either a fork or a spoon. It’s just a bad length.
In all, I’m glad I tried it but I wouldn’t buy it again.
I have had green onion pancakes at Chineserestaurants over the years, and I have never been overly impressed. Still, when I saw these Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes ($2.50) at Trader Joe’s I still had to get them – don’t ask me why.
My first impression was that they were just OK. They didn’t much in the way of flavor – they were slightly salty. I did like the chewy consistency, which reminded me of Thai roti. While they are quite oily, they still felt pretty dry and screamed for something to dip them into. I tried chimichurri – but it didn’t work very well. They were delicious with honey mustard dressing, of all things. I thought they would be even better with Thai yellow curry, and they might be. But I got some Trader Joe’s yellow curry to try them with, and the curry was horrible.
You heat up these pancakes on a pan, but it only takes a couple of minutes per side and it leaves you with a clean pan that you can reuse without having to wash. I already bought more.
I’ve lived in San Leandro for decades, but it wasn’t until a week ago that I ever thought of trying Bit of Ireland Bakery. That’s mostly because I’m not in the habit of going to bakeries. I will buy the occasional pastry at the supermarket, or get a craving for donuts, and when the kids were little, we would stop at the Chinese bakery in the way from school, but otherwise it’s Mike who gets the idea of bringing pastries home.
Thus he was surprised when I suggested that he go to Bit of Ireland – or rather, “that Irish bakery on that strip mall we always drive by” – and try to get some actual Irish pastries. By the time I suggested it, it was a bit late in the morning, so I’m not sure that he succeeded. But the pastries were pretty good.
He got three pastries. One was clearly a cinnamon roll, another seemed to be a butterhorn, and the other an apple flavored sweet Danish. In reality, they all had a similar flavor profile. They were tasty when microwaved – because every pastry is better when warmed – and dipped on coffee, though that made the apple one lose its flavor. It was $8.50 for the three.
I’d like to send Mike again and try the more Irish stuff, but I guess it’ll have to be earlier in the morning.
Bit of Ireland Bakery 1268 Davis St San Leandro, CA (510) 568-7398 M - W 5:30am – 3pm Th - Sa 5:30am – 4:30 pm
Every Friday, Safeway has a bunch of items on sale for just $5 – and these always include a deli entrée. Sometimes it’s chicken in some permutation, sometimes it’s their sandwich, and sometimes it’s ribs. Lately, they’ve been featuring “rib tips“. They are usually $10.50/lb though I only buy them when they’re on sale for $5/lb.
They are pretty good. Nobody would confuse them with E&J’s, but the rib tips are tasty and not overly fatty. They can be a little tough, however. The BBQ sauce is pretty standard – what I now know is Kansas City style. Even my daughter likes them.
This relaxing Campbell restaurant offers good food and friendly service.
I was excited when my friend Lola chose Naschmarkt to celebrate her 50-something birthday. My experience with Austrian cuisine has been extremely limited. I have never been to Austria or eaten at an Austrian restaurant before, and while I cooked Austrian food as part of my international food project, this was twenty two years ago, and it didn’t turn out that well.
Despite living in the Bay Area for close to four decades, I also don’t think I’d ever been to Campbell. We didn’t end up seeing much of it, but I enjoyed strolling up and down Campbell Ave., seeing the bougie restaurants and stores, and perusing the stalls at the farmer’s market. We even bought a bottle of cider, though I dropped and broke it before we could try it.
It was a beautiful Sunday in early September, and sitting in Naschmarkt’s sidewalk patio was a lovely experience. It’s about a block away from all the buzzle of the street, so it’s quieter, but still allows for some people watching. It added to the European aspect of the meal.
While we waited for Lola to arrive – we were early – I enjoyed a sparkling water (we weren’t charged for the bottle), while Mike had a blood orange cosmopolitan ($17) which he liked very much.
We started by sharing the homemade pretzel with double-smoked bacon, beer-cheese sauce and chives ($16). I’m not a huge fan of pretzels, and while I appreciated that this one was soft, I felt that the flavor was too strong to compete against the cheese – which was good, but very subtle. The cheese sauce was actually better with white bread, or with the interior of the pretzel (though there isn’t too much of that). I don’t think I would order it again myself. Mike liked that the bagel was warm, and he liked it with the mustard rather than the cheese sauce.
We also shared the sausage trio ($36), which came with a smoked pork bratwurst, a spicy paprika wurst, and a “sausage of the day”and was served with red cabbage, sauerkraut, caramelized onions, and Dijon mustard.
I’m not the hugest fan of sausages, and I wasn’t personally impressed by any of these. Mike and Lola liked them, however and in particular the spicy paprika one. Mike thought they were all good, even if he can’t recall what the “sausage of the day” was.
I had been planning to get the chicken paprikash ($25) for lunch, as I’ve made severalversions of this dish and have enjoyed them, but they didn’t have it available for lunch that day. So I settled for the spätzle ($30), which comes with smoked chicken, corn, brussels sprouts leaves, tarragon and mushrooms. I had mine without corn and extra mushrooms. This is listed under appetizers ($20) but you can have a lunch-size portion as well. As it happened, the lunch size portion was too much after having the other appetizer, so I took half of it home.
Overall I liked it, though I didn’t love it. I think the problem was that it was too mildly tasting except for the smoked chicken, and then the smoked chicken was a bit overwhelming in flavor. I think I might have enjoyed this more if it had bacon instead of chicken. I did like the chewy consistency of the spätzle. I don’t think I’d order it again.
Mike had the classic wiener schnitzel ($32) which comes with Austrian potato salad. The wiener schnitzel was a very good, nicely seasoned and very tender milanesa. I think even my milanesa-loving daughter would have approved. Mike enjoyed it, and I loved the couple of bites he gave me. It made me realize that I should make milanesas soon.
Lola had the Hungarian beef goulash ($28), consisting of beef shoulder braised in paprika and served with herbed spätzle, Hungarian pepper, and sour cream. We both felt the dish was quite good. I made goulash before, as part of my exploration of Hungarian cuisine, and this one was comparable. Of course, they nailed the spätzle too.
We couldn’t go to an Austrian restaurant and not have dessert, so Mike and I shared the apfel strudel ($16), described as “apple & hazelnut strudel with whipped cream, toasted almonds & vanilla bean ice cream” – though there was no whipped cream that I could see. I’ve had apple strudel before, but I will confidently say that this was the best version I’ve tasted. It was served warm, which helped a lot, but the crispy yet chewy dough and perfectly sweetened apples, with the occasional crunch of the toasted almonds, was just awesome. I definitely recommend you have it here.
Lola had that day’s special, which was some sort of cheesecake with sour cherries ($15). She liked it quite a bit, even more than my apple strudel – I disagreed, but I’m not fond of cherries.
To celebrate her birthday, they also brought her a complimentary trio of sorbets ($9 otherwise). The passion fruit, blood orange and mango sorbet were all very good, though I found their somewhat chewy consistency disconcerting (I’m guessing they use gelatin). The flavors were very intense and not overly sweet.
Service by a European-sounding gentleman whose name we didn’t catch was outstanding, friendly and efficient, and he was particularly good at seemingly upselling us (that pretzel was not our idea).
In all, we had a great, relaxing time, and I would totally recommend it. Naschmarkt has another location in Palo Alto.
Naschmarkt 384 E Campbell Ave Campbell, CA (408) 378-0335 Su- Thu 11:30 – 2pm, 5 – 9 pm F - Sa 11:30 – 2pm, 5 – 9:30 pm
A perfect day reliving old memories and making new ones
This year, we celebrated Mike’s birthday in the Napa Valley. It was his idea. As we talked about possibilities, he mentioned he’d like to get a mud bath. And that, of course, meant going to Calistoga – the closest place for such experiences. Once that was decided it was a matter of choosing what to do for the rest of the day.
I knew, almost immediately, that we’d start by having sandwiches at Guigni Deli in St. Helena. We’ve been going there for decades and they make the absolute best sandwiches in the world. I can’t imagine visiting the Napa Valley and not hitting Guigni’s. The sandwiches were as good as ever.
I looked and looked and looked for activities to do between St. Helena and Calistoga that didn’t include wine tasting, but it was pretty much impossible. There are a few art galleries in both towns, but wine tasting is otherwise it. So I just went with the flow and decided our next stop would beMumm, the maker of sparkling wines. It was a perfect way to continue our day. The champagnes were delicious and the whole experience very relaxed.
We had some time to kill before our next wine tasting experience, so we headed back to St. Helena to grab some ice cream at A Roman Holiday Gelato. I was luckier than Mike with my ice cream choice, but I was nice and shared with the birthday boy.
We then headed to our second wine tasting experience at Tank Garage Winery. Here, we tasted the worst wines ever – and we have tasted wines in some very iffy places. They just sucked, but the experience was cool.
It was then time for our mud baths at Golden Have Hot Spring Spa & Resort. I’d chosen this place as they had couples mud baths and it was a great experience. While we waited, we had water infused with different fruits that was quite tasty – so even this ended up having a culinary aspect to it.
The mud baths are in a private room which also includes a shower. The bathtubs are laid out in an L configuration with your feet towards the middle – so that you can see each other. The mud was very, very hot, and while you get used to it, it can be a pretty intense experience. It was very relaxing, however.
Showering off the mud, on the other hand, took far longer than we thought. It was our fault – we should have put our hair in a bun and kept if away from the mud. As we didn’t, we spent forever removing it from our heads.
It was then time for a cooler dip in a jacuzzi tub. Mike enjoyed it a lot, but I was still overheated and couldn’t deal with even warm water.
We were then taken to a relaxation room, where we laid on beds with cucumbers over our eyes while soft music played. It was very nice and helped us cool down.
Finally, we got to hang out in the pool, filled with mineral water from the area. It wasn’t at all crowded, the water wasn’t too hot, and it was a very fun experience. They had showers with shampoo and conditioner, so we could get our hair back to normal before we headed for dinner.
Dinner, at the Mustard Grill, was also great. Not my entree, mind you, but the place is a lot of fun and Mike loved his food – and it was his birthday.
In all, it was a perfect day that brought together. I’ll just have to plan more like this one.
This Napa Valley classic has outstanding service and a fun atmosphere.
Mustard Grill has been a staple in the Napa Valley for four decades. Founded by Cindy Pawlcyn, one of the creators of wine country cuisine, it features American classics with Californian sensitivities, and hyper local ingredients. We drove past it for decades, always curious about trying it but never quite making it.
It’d been in Mike’s mind, however, so he suggested it when we started making plans for his birthday extravaganza in the Napa Valley – so I promptly made a reservation.
Dinner there was a lot of fun, and it crowned a wonderful day for both of us.
We were a little late for our dinner reservation, but we called and there was no problem accommodating us. We only had to wait by the bar for a few minutes before we were seated. The area of the bar, which includes a number of tables in addition to the bar itself, was quite busy on that Saturday evening and the atmosphere was very jobial.
The restaurant itself has several connected dining rooms and a semi-casual atmosphere. We saw women dressed up in lovely dresses, and guys in t-shirts and baseball caps. According to the server at one of the wineries we went to, it’s a favorite among locals, though it obviously also attracts tourists and day trippers like us.
We got a corner table on the outer dining room, the one with the windows. Though it gave me a look to the server station, the sunlight in the room (it’s summer, after all), made it jovial. Tables are very close together and the place was quite crowded, but it didn’t detract from the experience.
The menu of “deluxe truck stop classics” was pretty extensive, and included sandwiches in the low 20’s and main dishes priced from the high 30’s to mid 40’s. In addition they have a few daily specials, including a tostada and a pasta. They have, as you’d expect, an extensive wine list, but Mike and I were wined out that day (the perils of being old). Instead I had a coke ($4.50, free refills) while Mike had a River City root beer ($4.50 for the bottle). Mike liked it as much as he likes all those craft root beers you occasionally encounter.
Dinner started with bread, butter and salt. This was a great idea. Salted butter is usually lower quality butter, and not everyone prefers it or can deal with the extra sodium. As it happened, the bread and butter were very good, and adding a little salt made them even better.
I had hesitated a lot about what to order – I wasn’t terribly hungry -, and the waiter had recommended the meat loaf ($30) which came with garlic mashed potatoes, a horseradish BBQ sauce and unadvertised greens. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it. The BBQ sauce, which drowned the meatloaf, was too ketchupy, too acidic, too thin and just unenjoyable. The meatloaf itself, when most of the sauce was brushed away, needed more seasoning. Now, this is a popular dish so I’m going to guess that this is a matter with my taste alone. Mike didn’t dislike it, but thought it was nothing special – he wouldn’t order it either.
The mashed potatoes, however, were delicious.
Our waiter very nicely offered to substitute with another dish – but I wasn’t that hungry and didn’t think it was necessary. He then very unnecessarily took it off the bill, which was extremely nice and definitely makes me want to go to Mustard Grill again. I just wouldn’t order the meatloaf.
Mike ordered the grilled halibut ($39) which was on special that day. It came with new potatoes, rainbow chard and piquillo pepper sauce. Mike liked the fish, it was cooked perfectly, nice and flaky. He liked the sauce, though he wasn’t sure if it enhanced or replaced the flavor of the fish. He’d recommend it.
To celebrate Mike’s birthday, the restaurant gave us a complementary ice cream scoop. Unfortunately for Mike, it was espresso flavored. He is not a coffee drinker, and it’s not because of the caffeine. So I had it all for myself. I thought it was very good, light and flavorful. I did particularly like the fact they brought it as a gift.
Mike ordered the lemon-lime tart ($14), which is described as having “ridiculously tall brown sugar merengue” and I have to say I agree with the description. He loved it. In his words “the pie was absolutely awesome”. It wasn’t just the Alice-in-wonderland look – which did cause stares from other tables -, but he loved the flavor of the merengue, which was quite unique. The lemon-lime curd was also extremely tasty. Really, this was the perfect dessert for him.
I, personally, found the merengue too sweet, but I had just eaten the somewhat bitter espresso ice cream.
As mentioned, service was excellent. The place was popping, but it’s clearly appropriate staffed and the waiters are professionals who know their jobs. In all, I can’t think of a better place to celebrate a birthday. I am totally looking forward to going back.
Mustard Grill 7399 St. Helena Highway Yountville, CA 707-944-2424 M-Th 11:30 AM - 8 PM F-Su 11 AM - 9 PM
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