6.27.2007

The Little Family Big News

My big brother Dave is Engaged!

Yes, with a capital E. Dave asked Julie to marry him on Saturday, just before they went to the Police concert at Dodger Stadium. And I'm so excited for them! The wedding will be on October 13th in the evening. And I get to be a bridesmaid! Or matron, I guess. I feel so honored to get to be a part of the wedding in that way, it's gonna be great.

Congratulations, you guys, and welcome to the family, Julie! Are you still sure you wanna be part of it after the dinnertime conversation on Sunday? :)

In honor of the newly affianced couple, here is their list of the five best restaurants in the area, which Julie emailed me quite a while ago and I never got around to posting.

Del Taco
Lomeli's
Las Brisas
El Cholo
The Melting Pot

6.03.2007

I'm it

Barbara tagged me for this one, and I'm a sucker for these, so here we go. This is a little bit hard for me, though, because there are so many good places to eat around here!

1. Add a direct link to your post below the name of the person who tagged you. Include the city/state and country you’re in.

Barbara (Pretoria North, South Africa)
Kristy (Placentia, California, USA)

2. List your top 5 local eating places.

Roy's (Newport Beach): I know it's a chain, and I somehow feel like I shouldn't include chain restaurants, but I have to anyway. Nathan and I go there every Valentine's Day. Their food is delicious (it's all in the sauces), and the best part is the flourless chocolate lava cake dessert.

Trastavere (Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica): This one's a lot about atmosphere, because it's fun to sit at the tables outside and watch the crowd go by. But the food's good too, especially the oil and garlic dip stuff they give you with bread as an appetizer. Yum.

Roman Cucina (Sunset Beach): We owe Christi big time for introducing us to Roman. It has, hands down, the BEST chicken parmagiana I've ever eaten, plus kitschy Italian atmosphere. Also, a lot of the time they play a video on the TVs of a fireplace, and it makes it feel cozy. Although Dean and I sometimes get fixated on watching for the hand with the poker to poke the logs in the fire.

Star of Siam (Long Beach): I love Thai food, and this is really good Thai food. Everything I've ordered there I've liked: they have especially good satay with peanut sauce, and the spring rolls are great and the chicken curry...and all of it. Oh, and their mango sticky rice is awesome. If you get the chance to go there, insist on sitting outside on the patio. So much better that way.

Stubriks (Fullerton): I've discovered that it's nearly impossible to get a really good steak outside of an actual steakhouse, so I just don't order steak anymore unless we're at Stubriks (or possibly the North Woods Inn, but that's another story). I love their filet mignon, and I've recently discovered their black and blue steak, which is incredible. Oh, and they have really good squaw bread too.

3. Tag 5 other people and let them know they’ve been tagged.

This one is hard, because a lot of the people who I know read my blog don't actually have blogs of their own. I'm gonna tag them anyway! :) Email me your picks and I'll post them, okay?

Ashlee (you can talk about either Phoenix or Orange County...)
Dave and Julie
Steve and Arla
Cara
Riva