Tea Stands for Tuesday 6/7/16

I recently drove to Napa to join a friend from Tahoe.  We only get together a few times a year these days so we spent the night there to give us time for a good visit.   We did some shopping and went to Morimoto's for dinner.  Morimoto's is a very high end place with restaurants in a few cities including New York.  The chef has written books and I believe had a TV show although I never saw it.

Entrance

You walk by the chefs working area on the way to be seated.

We started with martini's

and later switched to wine

The waitstaff was very helpful.  We had a number of dishes but here are a couple of my favorites.

Rock shrimp done two ways

salmon roll

Everything about the restaurant and the meal was fabulous. It was really a very special experience.  It was also very expensive - almost shockingly so to me.  My friend had been given a gift certificate over the holidays so the dinner was her treat.  

I'm hoping to link this to Elizabeth's blog for Tea Tuesday but since I'm preparing the post ahead of time I don't know if it will show up.  I hope so. 

Lunch with friends

This is the time of year the calendar gets very full, lots of scheduled meetings with friends.  I'm always happy to see them and wonder why we wait until the holidays to do this.

A few of us met recently met for lunch at Riva Cucina in Berkeley.  It was a new spot for me and very nice.  It was cozy and warm on a rainy day.

photo from their FB page

Riva Cucina bills themselves as serving Northern Italian cuisine using sustainably sourced ingredients from nearby farms and waters.

I had the Panino Con Pollo.  Grilled Petaluma Farms free range chicken breast, avocado, wild arugula, roasted pancetta and aioli.  

You can find the lunch menu here.  I recommend it if you are in the area.

Do you find yourself getting together with friends more often during the holiday season?