Meal of the Month: January

January was one of those gray and gloomy months. The holidays were over. And back to work. Back to ‘normal’ life. So how did I get through the month? Lots and lots of comfort foods. And some really good friends.

Let’s see. How did it all start? The new year started with a special and fun New Year’s Day brunch at my house. And brunches at Starbelly and Out the Door Bush Street—DELISH!

Then a special dinner (and party!) for my sister’s birthday. Love birthday’s—there’s always so many chances to celebrate.

Then Yosemite happened. I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Chef’s Holiday event at the Ahwahnee Hotel. It was an amazing weekend. Filled with lots and lots of good food, good wine, and good people. We kicked off the weekend with some pizza at the hot spot in the park (good luck finding it!) We had a great meal in the beautiful Mountain Room at the Lodge in Yosemite the second night, and ended our weekend trip with the fancy Chefs’ Holiday dinner.

I had a lot of repeats. I was lucky enough to have dinner TWICE at my friend Michael’s house (talk about a sweet grill!) Beretta TWICE! Once with my friend Chip who was in town and once with my pal Defne. A new neighborhood restaurant, Tuba, was so good, I went TWICE! The second time we were even lucky enough to have a secret off the menu Turkish dessert. YUM! And then there was Nopa TWICE—delicious both times. And noodles, dumplings and Chinese comfort foods…THREE times. Twice at San Tung and once at King of Noodles…so good!

I dined at Incanto twice—once right after the Incanto refresh with my pal Wendy. And the second time for the 7x7 Flash Mob Friday (read all about that FUN FUN experience here.)

There was a great night at Nopalito catching up with my friend Joe. And a very special night of pizzas and beers at Pi with some of my favorite peeps- T, Shawn and Mark. There was the meal that pleasantly surprised me at Flour + Water with Sarah, Evan and Josh…oh, and did I mention? Boar six ways.

I had friends over for dinners…and lots of home cooked meals in. And there were drinks. Drinks at Beretta, Lucky 13, Lone Palm, Fish & Farm, Alembic, Heart, and at home. Lots of drinks at home. So if ALL of those meals weren’t my meal of the month. Than what was?

A late night meal at Nopa, at the end of a very long week, and with a special friend. The food was simple and perfect. The cocktails hit the spot. And it was one of those special experiences and special nights. People come into our lives for a reason. Sometimes you just have chemistry with someone and special friendships. This night was proof of that.