Michael "What wine pairs best with bacon?" W.'s Profile

My goodness I drank enough to tame a mere mortal. But I'm not. I'm PLUS ONE so I kept it coming... the Don Julio (4-Stars), the Wisconsin vodka Deadwood(?) or Dead-eyed or something, that ass-hot jalapeno-infused tequila from the pale-legged, tattted-up WNBA chick, the Wente wines from Livermore, the Lagunitas, the Sierra Nevada, that dude pouring from what looked like his picnic cooler and that row of different labeled wines all from the same producer ;/ (yes, I also drank that Cupcake Vodka because it was there).
Only now exiting the haze of the evening that I realize the pisco was on the boat. What?! Why? Just to deny me pleasure? Jesus, it was so windy outside I thought Mary Poppins was flying in bring Yelp! a few spoons full of sugar.
Speaking of which, did you have those cupcakes with the imperfectly square bacon strips on them. If not, it's cause I ate them all. Sorry...sort of.
What a great event!
I made new friends, which was easy given the level of alcohol and tassled pasties swinging around. Hi Josh L. & Lauren F. who also want to know, "If you are a burlesque dancer, why cover your tits when taking a picture. What's the point? Are those 'extra'?"
Speaking of "extras," it was awesome seeing MR.CHICAGO, Johnny T., make an impact on the festivities. (Though I know there's video of us out there that will hit YouTube soon.)
On one sad note: I didn't get my High Five from Monica S. but I will...when she least expects it, like on All Saints Day or Pearl Harbor Day.
Speaking of which, what was up with that wind off the water, I thought we all were going to turn into human kites.  
Speaking of which, I left "sky high" after a wonderful event. Thanx to everyone. Now make me Yelp Elite! again so I can further dazzle you.

1st of all, the Bovine Bakery is delicious and feeds your body & soul. That's important to know.
2nd, I am a total pizza snob. (I had Little Caesar's once. I was in college & very hungry. A mistake of youth.)
3rd, the location is wonderful within downtown Petaluma with so many benches along the sidewalk just outside their doors.
4th & Final, I wish I was eating their pizza right now. I shared a slice with my only child...reluctantly. It was cheesy & firm & light & gracefully danced in my mouth. The next time he gets some he'll be buying it himself. He's four. That might be a while.

Jesus, WTF are you doing to me?! I can't be driving down these winding-ass country roads in morning after a rainstorm to hope that the weather is keeping fools away so I can eat up all those biscuity things with the tasty pieces of ham stuck inside that are making my drool thinking about.
Are you trying to turn me out?
I didn't notice your blingy pinky rings and shiny lime green silky suit on when I got out all doe-eyed thinking this was just gonna be a lunch time thing.
Now, I find myself longing for you at inappropriate times: in the morning, at work, and even when I lie down in bed at night. I eat other meals and somehow I find myself thinking of you, wanting to make both of us happy again.
Somehow I knew the chicken was fresh, but then going out back and seeing them run around, peck-peck-pecking, made me want to hop a fence and crack some necks for more. I'd do that for you, The Fremont Diner. I'd kill chickens for you, if you asked me...

Crazy tasty cookies. Made a pit-stop here the other day and crunched on semi-sweet & milk chocolate cookies savoring the flavoring differences of both. You sure can be complex chocolate. Maybe that's why i love you so. Milk, butter, eggs, cocoa equal yum.

Yeah. This is the one w/ "The Beer Lodge."
They also feature a decent pizza selection though I'd pass on the Chick pizza (as in Chicken). Meat lover's shouldn't be missed.

Unlike some other shoppers, this isn't the biggest Whole Foods I've ever seen. I used to work down the street from the Chicago (Lincoln Park) store, about 8-times as large as this add-on to a wretchedly bad dying mall in Northern Santa Rosa. Easily the nicest thing in Coddingtown, one wonders how this store ended up in this hellhole. Anyway...voila, great organic food that will cost your Whole ... (wait for it) Paycheck. How unoriginal right? Except totally true until you compare it to Safeway which is like having a police flashlight rammed into your anus with no vasoline. Of course, maybe you're into that. I'm not. Then that's not so fair either.

Probably the best thing is to compare Whole Foods to like entities like other Whole Foods.

So here goes...

1) WF - Coddingtown (Quick. Good selection. Oh yeah, they have a Beer Lodge.)

2) WF - Mill Valley (They had duck sandwiches. Enough said.)

3) WF - Oakland (Hola, burritos.)

4) WF- Yulupa Ave. (Nice people.)

The Whole Point to Whole Foods, for me, is to have a good hot/cold bar, decent seating & 2 for $5 pizza. OK, maybe it needs some random beer I've never heard of, and that's it.

At Coddingtown: Check. Check. And check.

Still, I miss the BBQ bar at the Chicago (South Loop) store. Meaty dry-rubbed ribs. Turkey legs. Ok, now I'm hungry.

Upon seeing a familiar spiked blond Santa Rosa chef, my 4-year-old said: "He looks ridiculous. He looks odd."
Pause. Then it hits him.
"He looks like The Food Network."
Yes. Even my little guy knows this other Guy.
Mr. Fieri is en fuego. Especially in his own restaurant where "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives" runs in a continuous loop on one of a couple of tvs at the bar. Branding and merchandise is king here. Of course, when it's news that your Lamborghini gets stole "Oceans Eleven" style, you're a bit more than well-known. It's hard to ignore his celebrity that have people calling him a lucky average joe to a complete douchebag, but I'm going to try.
This is a review about food, not Food Network.

First, the staff here is attentive and friendly. Watching interactions between waitresses and other tables let me know that this is a casual spot. It is somewhere I'd feel comfortable eating.
Secondly, the food was pleasing on the most carnal level. Me want eat meat. The menu was like Applebee's meets Trader Joe's. Higher quality sources of meat for burgers and b-b-q, but not all "double-biodynamic-compostable-dehydrated-chlorine -free" like Whole Foods. There's still needed attention given to how things taste & I appreciate that.
Finally, I'd come back here to eat - especially during a Happy Hour - this is a cool place to watch the Giants (or my White Sox) break your heart knowing you can find solace in a cold one and a nice hunk of meat.
Thanx Guy.

Screamin' Mimi's is an incredible find on the way to Bodega Bay. I had never heard of this cozy downtown Sebastopol spot until passing by with my 4-year-old son. Since's he's a boy & not yet reading, the references to one "Judy Moody" were lost on me. What I could understand was the freshness of the fruit in the sorbets and the creaminess of the ice I tasted. Wow. Love the fresh strawberry ice cream & revolving array of new flavors to savor.
Along with the actual ice cream - in a cup with a cone on top, please - there is the ice cream pricing that delicious in its own way. I like paying by weight because it can allow someone to be more curious about tasting new flavors. Yes, they will give you tasters but for a true trip around the cold case, put different delights in your cup. Let the little kid in you have some fun.

Oh My God! You can't imagine how excited I was just to find a place so far from Chicago that had Italian beef & giardiniera on the menu. Having moved from the City of Big Shoulders to the North Side of the Golden State I was sure I'd had my last beef w/peppers.
Yes. I do know that there's a Portillo's in SoCal but that's a hecka long drive for a hella good sam'mich. In hindsight, I should've hit the freeway.
First clue should've been the Steelers logo in the window. Whaa? My BS detectors lit up but I ignored them, just like Roy's ignored and then violated basic common sense in opening a semi-themed Windy City restaurant. Can you say "Bears"?  Seriously. It is the only team everyone there can agree upon in a Cubs/Sox city. The Bears only won one SuperBowl and it is still talked about ad nauseum. That's why you've heard of Mike Ditka. But I digress, back to the inferior food at Roy's.
First of all, any real Chicagoan will tell you a "combo" is an Italian beef & Italian sausage. That's what you get at Portillo's or Al's or Tony's. At this overhyped Petaluma joint, be careful, a "combo" is some beef & hot dog creation. For a place fixated on not serving ketchup on dogs (a faux pas) they are missing some obvious mistakes. No sweet peppers? Where are you from? "Oh, they don't sell in California." You mean there's a quota on flavor and deliciousness in Cali. I appreciate that you appropriated some Chicago lingo and you understand what a "wet" sandwich is, but don't tell me you changed some fundamental thing because it didn't sell. I'm sure that Dick Portillo would never commit such a travesty and I'm pretty sure he's a Cub fan.
So I order carefully & get Italian beef and sausage, you know, a combo and finally -after being forced to order drinks first - this thing arrives with, I swear to God, cut up pieces of sausage. Are you high? And they're not even cut in circles; they are in semi-circles. So may they used about 1/3 of a real sausage. Really? I've been to dozens of Italian beef joints and I've never seen anyone do this trick. How cheap are you?
Oh, i can answer that. You so cheap you drizzle my cup of ice with root beer and call it a pop.
So after injury upon injury I have to ask: "Are you even from Chicago?" The answer is the couple lived their for 12 years. Unlikely. People love to say they are from Chicago when they may have lived up to 50 miles outside the city. Are you from San Francisco or Oakland if you live in Petaluma? Stop fronting. Tell the truth. Anyone with enough money to pay a Vienna Beef contract shouldn't get to lie because they can afford to lie. Tell the truth. Sorry. Your food is wack.

Thanx Pump It Up for having a Santa Rosa location. My son missed you from our Chicago days. You are a rainy day ray of sunshine fun time to run off toddler energy. Went to Funky Monkey early in the day. Neat but just not the same. Pump. It. Up! I'd rather spent my time & $7 here than walkabout a mall any day.

If your idea of ice cream is Baskin & Robbins, give Loard's a try.
If you like Humphry Slocombe, this isn't even the same kind of food. Seriously. And I liked Loard's.
Any place with Ube & avocado ice cream gets it. You don't have to be sugary sweet to satisfy. Savory is an art unto itself. Unfortunately, Loard's is kind of in the middle, like a stay in purgatory for your pallate,  
Here's the crux of my comment: not enough cream (butter) , a bit too much sugar. There, I said. Now I deserve to be flogged. I heart sugar. Yet, there is a time and a place for too much. Those times include strawberry syrup at IHOP or hot chocolate with extra marshmellows. They shouldn't include ube ice cream or champagne sherbet.
Also, ice cream shouldn't be literally freezing cold. This isn't Breyer's at Safeway I'm ordering. Cold but not brain-chilling please. Then I start to wonder how you got "cream" so cold.
Still, overall the tastes were welcoming. If I'm in El Cerrito again, I might come in for a scoop.