Vincenzo's pizza & pasta in Santa Clarita Valley, CA

Vincenzo’s Pizza & Pasta

Two locations Saugus & Newhall

It was the last preseason football game and the 49ers and Broncos were playing, after driving around town and seeing everyplace overloaded with people. We stopped and thought about the places in town and said, let’s go to Vincenzo’s they have great food and tv’s to watch the game. We got there and to our surprised we walked in and there were a few tables. They had a steady business that day, but we still were able to get a table right in front of the tv.

After reading the menu board, we decided on cheese ravioli, garlic bread,  an anti-pasta salad (small) and spicy chicken wings.

The first thing that came out to the table was the anti pasta. I am glad that we ordered a small, because this is a huge salad, but very rich in pepperoni, ham, spicy banana peppers, onions with Italian dressing.

Next came out the Raviolis, wings, and garlic bread with cheese nun the less, wasn’t expecting that, but I liked the idea.

Cheese ravioli, piping hot, medium size pockets full of cheese along with marina sauce. The sauce was fantastic, sweet and tomato-ie just the way I like it. And for the price there were about 15 ravioli’s on the plate.  As I ate the pasta I started dipping the garlic bread in the sauce, what a great combo, the bread with the cheese and nice hint of garlic, perfect!

The chicken wings, they were advertised as spicy and they did have a decent hint of heat to them, so if you are a fan of spice at all, these are not for you, but myself being I fan of the heat, I really enjoyed them. They came with either ranch or blue cheese.

I didn’t get any pizza, but I would like to return and try some soon!

Locations:

Sagus

20701 Plum Canyon

661-296-9119

Newhall

24504 ½ W. Lyons

661-259-6733




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The County Fair and all the food

Clark County Fair, Ohio

Fair food, I only get this type of food once a year. It’s probably better that way, since most of this food is not part of the food pyramid as good nutrition, LOL Fried, Fried, Fried, if it’s fried it’s at the fair and let’s face it doesn’t anything fried taste good? I thought you would agree. I walked around the fair and saw many tempting treats, but there was one thing I was looking for, an elephant ear. This thinly fried dough, covered in Cinnamon / sugar,  a simple dessert paradise, yum, yum, yum. We ordered and it took a few minutes, but it was well worth it! I shared it with my mom and we had a grand time people watching and chatting about life. Nothing like sharing one of my favorite treats with my favorite person. Seems the elephant ear is getting harder to find, so if you see a stand offering them, I suggest getting one!


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Braised Swiss Chard with Currants and Feta - recipe

yield: Makes 4 servings

active time: 15 min

total time: 20 min

The red stems and green leaves of Swiss chard may hint at Christmas, but once you taste them with feta and currants, you'll want to cook this dish... more ›

Ingredients

• 1 (1-pound) bunch Swiss chard
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons dried currants
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/2 ounces feta, crumbled (1/3 cup)

Preparation

Cut stems and center ribs from chard, discarding any tough parts near base, then cut stems and ribs crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Coarsely chop leaves.

Cook garlic in oil in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add chard stems and ribs, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes. Add currants and cook, stirring, until plump, about 1 minute. Add chard leaves and water and increase heat to moderate, then cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until leaves are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in feta.



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Alfredo's Mexican restarant on my road trip

 

After visiting Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, we drove 50 miles southeast of the Caverns is a small town called Pecos, TX. Starving for what I call real food, we drove into town looking for something, almost anything. I looked up ahead and saw Alfredo’s Mexican Restaurant.  The parking lot was FULL, so I had to stop to see why it was so busy. The menu had a lot to choose from. I ended up ordering 3 cheese enchiladas with onions and 1 pork tamale. I have been on a tamale kick lately, so ordered 1 every time I go out has given me a taste of many.  Now back to the enchilada plate, I came piping HOT, I mean to the point of crazy! Just what the doctor ordered, real Mexican food. The enchiladas were very tasty, the red sauce was very nice, the tamale had a nice, strong smoky flavor. They were a busy place so I can se that they would get the food out as quick as possible. I have to say that both of the items were top notch, that’s why there was a line of people waiting out the door to eat at this place!!! Any ladies in Texas want to find a man? You should go hang out here, 95% of the patrons were men! All those cowboys know where to get a good Mexican meal for a good price, because the plates are as big as Texas!

Brophy Bros Purveyors of fresh seafood Santa Barbara, CA

 

Brophy Bros. Clam Bar & Restaurant

As my second time visiting this great restaurant sitting right on the waters edge, it was still standing room only. After waiting about 30 minutes for a table, it was out turn!

 The menu:

For appetizers, you have a selection of either hot or cold items to choose from, items like, (cold) peel and eat shrimp, ceviche, little neck clams, oysters and a few others (hot) beer boiled shrimp, steamed mussels, garlic backed clams, oysters Rockefeller, just to name a few.

Our choice Oyster Rockefeller, there were six, half shells to the plate, the flavor was nice, with a hint of onion, cheese and spinach. The oysters were very fresh and not over cooked.

For the main courses:

We made two choices, Scampi and Crab Cakes.

Crab Cakes, made with Chilean snow crab, breaded, pan seared and served with a roasted red bell pepper aioli sauce. This dish also can with a salad, rice pilaf and coleslaw. I think I picked the best entrée off the menu. Being pan seared, was a great way to preserve the flavor of the crab, the mix for the patty, was just right, very flavorful and with the red pepper aioli sauce it just topped it off. The rice and the coleslaw were a nice accompanies to round out everything.

 

Scampi, plump extra large shrimp is what was delivered to the table. Sautéed with white wine, lemon, garlic and tomato butter, the soft spices, were just enough to still taste the freshness of the shrimp. I was amazed by the size of the shrimp. This dish also came with rice pilaf and coleslaw.

They also have a full bar and inside or outside seating. But you better get there early if you want to get right in or you will have to wait. This is a very popular spot.

The location that I visited was:

119 Harbor Way

Santa Barbara, CA 93109

805-966-2535

www.brophybros.com

https://www.facebook.com/brophybros

5 Elements Ventura Blvd. Tarazna, CA

 

5 Elements

If you have never had Vietnamese food, you should give it a try. And here is a great place to do so, 5 elements, located in Tarzana in the Capri shopping center on Ventura Blvd.

Although they have many dishes to choose from on their menu, I really like the Vermicelli bowl with shrimp and pork. The Vermicelli bowl consists of soft rice noodles, shredded leaf lettuce, bean sprouts, carrots and cucumbers. If you are gluten free of watching your calorie intake this bowl is great for you. It is fresh, low calorie and packed with flavor.

 

5 elements had a surprising twist to the Nuroc Cham sauce that accompanies this fantastic fresh bowl. The twist you ask, just the right amount of spicy heat. Most of the  places I visit for this dish, I have to add the spice to it, but this was prepared that way. I was a nice switch to one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes. I want to talk about the shrimp and pork for just a second. The pork was very tender and juicy with a nice smoke flavor. The shrimp had the taste of being freshly grill, with a charred, caramelized side.

They have seating outside and the interior was very modern. They also serve adult beverages.

This dish was really refreshing, I think I will go back and try some of their other dishes.

19548-50 Ventura Blvd
Tarzana, CA 91356

http://www.5elementsrestauranttarzana.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/5-Elements-Restaurant/162466924403

Cold Spring Tavern Santa Barbara, CA

As we drove to Santa Barbara my friend, says he knows of this little place tucked way that he has always wanted to stop at, I agreed and as we got into Santa Barbara we got off the exit and went up state street to Hwy 154. It was a winding road and the marine layer was thick that day. Once we got to the summit of the hill, the sky’s clear and we found our turn onto Stagecoach Rd.  As we go down the hill we come up on these old buildings, very charming, but I had no idea that we were getting ready to have one of the best meals of the weekend.

 Here is some history:

Over one hundred twenty five years ago, dusty stagecoaches stopped here…The stop was known as “Cold Spring Relay station” they would stop here to change out teams of horses and allow travelers to rest at this stagecoach stop and enjoy one of the most delicious meals in the Olde West.

We walked around to see the history of the place and then we went in for some grub. I was listening to the other people around us talking about the tri-tip being so good and suggested to my friend that one of us get some of the tri tip to try it.  I started looking on the menu and noticed they had a quiche of the day, as our waitress comes over I asked what the selection of the day was and quickly made up my mind. My friend ordered the French Dip Sandwich, roasted tri tip on a French “au jus” and apple horseradish sauce. My selection, the quiche, which consisted of mushrooms, artichokes and broccoli, they both came with salad.

My quiche can we say fantastic! The crust was flaky and the right amount of butter and salt mixture, this type of crust is my favorite; it’s just the perfect balance. The quiche had great flavor, it was a really good choice and the piece I was given was a good portion.

The tri tip, was just the right amount of smoky flavor, tender and the French roll was fresh and soft, it was topped with apple horseradish, which brought all the flavors together. As you can see in one of the pictures the tri tip is being cooked on a BBQ grill right outside like you would do it at home.

The “Cold Spring Relay Stop” also houses a tavern (bar) and an old jail along with this great little restaurant. The inside of all of the places are still the old barn rafters and wagon wheel chandler’s, and oil lamps on all the tables, very charming. This stop really takes you back to the Olde Wild West.

If you’re ever in the Santa Barbara area you should drive the extra 10ish minutes up Hwy 154 to Stagecoach Rd, go left and follow it to this great spot! It will be worth the drive!!!

Cold Spring Tavern

595 Stagecoach Rd.

Santa Barbara, CA 93105

Facebook- Cold Spring Tavern