Snapshot: Powell's Sweet Shoppe, Windsor

One of the best things in small towns is old fashioned sweet shops, or milk bars as I'd have called them. Powell's is a fantastic example in Sonoma which offers huge ranges of themed candy and gifts. Powell's have several locations around the Bay Area but since these days I only eat sugar on vacations it's best that I don't visit any of the others!

Kids delight candies abounded everywhere like cheap chews, gum, lollipops and chocolate bars. Many old fashioned selections were available and an entire wall of jelly bean flavours.

Big sections of themed sweets can be found like this explosion of pink. There were Hello Kitty, My Little Pony and romantic gifts a plenty. Super hero and less pinkified options also available.

The chocolate cabinet included selections like hand filled chocolates, truffles and dipped confections like turtles, pretzels and toffees.

The ice cream / soda bar included options for all the treats you might want from an old fashioned soda shop like ice cream sodas, milk shakes, ice cream and sundaes. The soft drinks included an array of original and natural flavours

 We settled on some simple gelato cups with an included chocolate straw, great for sharing in the park opposite the sweet shop.

Powell's Sweet Shoppe

http://powellsss.com/go/ 

720 McClelland Dr
Windsor, CA 95492

Old fashioned sweet & soda shop
Great for kids and families

Snapshot: Gott's Roadside, Palo Alto

One of the catch cries of Silicon Valley is "You always have email, there's always traffic on the 101" so there's little point in checking the notifications on your phone, tablet, smart watch or whatever gadget you happen to be obsessed with this week. 

Sometimes when the Valley gridlock gets too much we pull over for some peninsula eats instead of cursing the traffic and on one such evening we discovered Gott's Roadside. This isn't a super fancy fernickity place just great diner food done really well (though admittedly with a Bay Area price tag). 

A modern Californian take on the diner with polished concrete floors, exposed beams and industrial tech metal furnishings are to be found everywhere. Still with all that classy Palo Alto interior decorating it's still one roll of Formica away from being Mel's Diner in spirit.

Western Bacon Blue Ring Burger $11.99USD

Onion rings, blue cheese and bacon make this South Western style burger one of my favourite combinations. With good quality fresh beef and a crispy chewy brioche style burger bun this is easily the best burger I've found in the Bay, beating even Counter Burger for deliciousness. Many options are available for burgers including Patty Melts, Sourdough Mushroom, Green Chile as well as Hot Dogs and hot Chicken sandwiches.

Looking for something not in the form of a sandwich? Try a salad, chilli, tacos or fish and chips. Great quality casual road stop food, morish and filling! All hot dishes other than the hot dog range from $10 - $15 and do not include sides so beware sticker shock, this is no dollar menu burger stop.

Sweet Potato Fries $3.99USD

Fries are delicious with no hint of stale or cold oil, crisp hot and made to order. Standard chips, onion rings and garlic fries are all available or for a true indulgence try the Chili Cheese Fries ($5.99USD)

I especially love the organic Mustard and Ketchup on hand. As well as the cute Sir Kenningston's logo these condiments are ethical and free of high fructose corn syrup giving them the real taste of non-US ketchup without that high fructose aftertaste. 

Gott's Roadside

http://gotts.com/

Town & Country Village
855 El Camino Real #65
Palo Alto, CA 94301

High end diner food and delicious burgers

Snapshot: My first Thanksgiving Dinner

It turns out one of the problems with travelling on Thanksgiving is that Americans all go home for the holidays making dining options extremely limited. Thankfully we happened across a country hotel just as cute as a button.

The dining room was exactly as you'd imagine an older country proprietor thinks is elegant. White table cloths, silver cutlery, heavy scrolled paintings and Autumn accents.

For $39 for a 3 course prix fixe Traditional Thanksgiving dinner it was a bargain of heavy calorie laden delights.

Autumn Harvest Soup

Turkey with all the trimmings; cranberry sauce, gravy, green bean casserole, potato gratin, sweet potatoes (with marshmallows... oh America) and stuffing.

And of course Pumpkin Pie

We waddled home very satisfied and feeling like we'd tasted a true piece of American culture.

Snapshot: Wolfgang Puck at Universal Studios

I recently went to the Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, afterwards we decided to stop and eat at the City Walk Hollywood complex next door.

Wolfgang Puck runs a bistro there with casual dining options such as pizzas, salads and family favourites.

Roasted Beet Salad, goat cheese, oranges, pecans, fresh greens, balsamic vinaigrette   $7USD

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, port wine sauce, crispy onion rings   $14USD

Now doesn't that look better than hot dog on a stick and hamburgers? Definitely recommended for theme park dining at its best.

Wolfgang Puck Bistro - Universal CityWalk

http://www.citywalkhollywood.com/dining/wolfgang_puck.html

100 Universal City Plaza,
Los Angeles, CA
(818) 622-4455

Casual dining, family friendly


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Snapshot: Katana-ya, San Francisco

So the good thing about moving cities is a plethora of new restaurants to try out! Feeling a little down and homesick one day I treated myself to a "girly day" of movies, nail salons and what better comfort food but ramen?

A quick review of the local eateries online recommended Katana-ya and it turned out to be just around the corner from where I was staying. So I dashed out just as they were opening.

Any restaurant that has a line out the door waiting for it to open is usually worth a look, the fact that they were Japanese grandmas made it all the more promising. 

Like a real noodle bar in Japan the place is low on seats and high on shouts in Japanese, there's sushi and noodles and not a lot else on the menu. Mostly the place is packed with single eaters and couples wolfing down food. Like many popular ramen joints staying to talk is not encouraged. 

Mapo Tofu Ramen

I spotted a mapo tofu ramen on the menu and ordered it since it's not easy to find. The result? The noodles are not made fresh, but they're pretty good. Sadly there's no tonkotsu broths on the menu so I order this with a miso base. The meat and tofu are nice, and it looks as though they make their tofu on site. All in all it was pretty damn good, not up their with the best ramen I've ever had but definitely better than I was expecting to find in the US. I'll be going again. 

Katana Ya

Casual noodle dining

Very few seats, no reservations, expect to wait and eat fast

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Snapshot: A Fish Called Coogee

Lets face it I like the good things in life and I focus more in this blog on expensive Tuna and Champagne than down home old fashioned food. Sometimes, even a posh girl just wants to have something fried by the seaside and when you get that feeling, head straight to A Fish Called Coogee and do not pass Go!

When we arrive it's around 4pm on a warm public holiday. The crowds are thinning but the tired sandy swimmers are starting to come out of the surf and the early dinner crowd is also starting to come in. This is a place with no airs and graces, half the people ordering have no shirt or shoes on (and still get service!)

There's the usual Traditional Fish and Chips ($11) and some potato scallops ($3) but the real star here is great seafood in delicious marinades. This is no hefty spices to cover dodgy seafood, everything is fresh, delicious and the highest quality. Also it must be mentioned how damn clean the place is all I can smell is the marinades and not the oil or the fish, impressive to say the least. 

What you don't do with Fish and Chips is eat them in the store! We picked this cliff overlooking Coogee Beach, grabbed some soft drinks and some sauce and sat in the fading sunlight chatting and enjoying our haul. 

The fish and chips themselves were just excellent. The Fish was fresh as fresh can be and excellent quality, the batter light and not greasy. The chips the right mix of soft and crisp, the aioli ($3) and home made tartare sauce ($3) just delightful. 

The potato scallops had a similar light but crisp and slightly spiced batter, the potatoes were thinly cut and took on the batter perfectly. Sadly what isn't pictured was the thai fish cake ($3) which was so damn good I ate the damn thing with much eye rolling and thigh thumping before I could get a picture. Worth a drive to Coogee that's for sure! The fish cake was fresh fish pressed together with Thai spices, no milled steamed fish here just pressed sweet delicious seafood. In fact I could really go for one right now... 

Be aware we ordered way too much food, a serve of Fish and Chips without extras would be more than enough. If you want 'sides' then order 1 main meal between 2. 

A Fish Called Coogee

Fish and Chips takeaway and dine in

Super casual, no shirt, no shoes, straight from the Beach OK!

BYO if you eat in (but don't when there are such views to be had!)

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Snapshot: Steerson's Steakhouse

I tend to eat at more places than I get a chance to review so I'm going to start  posting "snapshots" of meals I eat between full reviews.



Chicken Terrine with cornichons and grilled leeks $17.50



220g Eye Fillet Steak and Frites $38

Matching wine: Grant Burge Holy Trinity Grenache/Mourvedre blend $78

Steersons Steakhouse

www.steersons.com.au



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