Dining In n’ Out Dates

Posted by Lauren

When it comes to great date ideas, Kyle and I have been pretty creative:

• kayaking McCovey cove
• skydiving over Monterey Bay
• cheering on the Giants
• brewing beer

Although we are at our shortest “distance” apart since college at a mere 30 miles, it still feels like we have to “make the most” of our time together. Does that make sense? We see each other 2-3 times a week and while it is fun to go on exciting dates, I really truly relish the nights where we get to COOK or GO OUT TO EAT.

Kyle has mad skillz in the kitchen (hello, seared ahi bliss), we have similar tastes (which makes the whole process a lot easier), I enjoy learning tips and tricks from him (especially things he learned while working at Splash Cafe for years), and I’m sure he appreciates it when I bookmark restaurant after restaurant on Yelp. ;)

Saturday night we dined in:

Grilled pita pizzas, one with jalapeno hummus as the sauce (left), the other with marinara pasta sauce (right). Toppings include: salami, mozzarella, onion, green pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, summer squash

While they grilled away, we sipped on some red wine and ate carrots + pita with the jalapeno hummus I made earlier (garbanzo beans, lemon juice, tahini, jalapeno pepper, vegetable oil < < he was out of olive oil).

The pizzas were perfectly crispy on the bottom. I assembled the one on the left and he constructed the one on the right… it was a toss-up which one was better :) mine! ha ha

Sunday morning we dined out:

A short walk to Crepevine (367 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301) brought us face-to-face with the massive menu pictured above.

So, I LOVE sweet crepes, remember?

Well, this guy had a different brunch dish in mind. He isn’t a big fan of the idea of a scoop of ice cream + dessert crepe for breakfast (crazy, right?). So, between the two of us, we made a more sensible decision and chose a savory crepe to share along with an additional side of breakfast potatoes.

We spotted a prime spot at the bar in front of the huge tv playing the Giants game and hightailed it over there right in time to catch Ruinzler — oops I mean Runzler — ruin the second inning.

Sadly, it gave me a prime view into the kitchen’s PRE-MADE stack of crepes!! The horror.

The California crepe ($9.50) – avocado, bell peppers, tomatoes, sauteed onions and cheddar topped with salsa fresca and spicy chipotle, with house potatoes & mixed greens with vinaigrette.

While tasty, the pre-made crepe stack was off-putting, Kyle’s half had all of the avocado, and, worst of all, it was missing a scoop of ice cream ;) The breakfast potatoes were good, but would have been better with more crisp.

I experienced definite plate envy with the lady sitting next to me. Her french toast looked SO good (homemade french bread dipped in a yogurt-vanilla egg batter, topped with cinnamon) and the menu’s New Orleans benedict plate (crab cakes on an english muffin with poached eggs and spicy Cajun hollandaise) seems worthy of another Crepevine visit.

Question: What’s your favorite laid-back thing to do with your significant other OR best friend when you get one-on-one time?

A few examples:

• Nicole – I loveD our fro yo outings. Since the vegan thing took over, vegging out in front of the TV/our computers became the new favorite.
• My mom – walking around the neighborhood
• Kerry – back massages, ooh la la!
• Katie – Other than talks on the phone (call me, woman!), I think one of my favorite things to do is eat her dad’s M&M’s and sit on the couch at her parent’s house, just hanging out. Katie, would it be weird if I did that even though you’re in Portland??

And so on… and so forth… now it’s your turn!

-Lauren