Home?

Hi all,

We've made it to San Mateo and have been living in our apartment for the last three nights. The bulk of our belongings won't arrive until late next week, so we're 'roughing it' on the floor, and cooking with only 1 pan.

The last three days have been a spending bonanza, as we stock our pantry, buy needed furniture, and pay all the registration fees necessary to become a California resident.

Our last night on the road was spent in Reno, NV. This city is a pure gamblers town - devoid of the hoopla that is Las Vegas. The culinary experience there was eating at an old 'Basque' restaurant. Served family style on a table of 10, the meal covered 3 starters, 2 sides, a main course, dessert, and red wine for 22.50.

To start, we had a vegetable soup, tossed salad and braised oxtail. The vegetable soup and oxtail were again, a little too salty for my taste. However, once you get over the saltiness, the oxtail was superbly done. Braised like a beef stew, with carrots, celery, tomatoes and herbs, the tail meat was tender, and the collagen/connective tissue had a butter like consistency. Given that oxtail costs at least 3.99 a lb, this was a treat. Our dining companion didn't eat his portion, so I had double the amount of tail!

I chose a 10oz sirloin as my main, and Sandra chose roasted lamb. I only ate 1/3 of my sirloin because I preferred the oxtail. Sandra's lamb was well seasoned and pleasantly garlicy.

All of this food was served next to a large plate of fries, a tub of beans and bread.

The red wine was not worth mentioning.

At the beginning of the meal we introduced ourselves to a gentleman who was dining by himself. A Vietnam Navy Vet and Massachusetts North Shore native, we obviously connected by talking about the Red Sox. Unfortunately, over the course of dinner, it became more and more apparent that he was completely there. He insisted that he was still on 24 hour notice with the Navy, and that he was going home Labor Day weekend to have Thanksgiving dinner. Later on, as I described my interaction with him to friends in the medical industry, they suspected that he had dementia. I hope his family will catch on and help him when he does return to MA. It's so bizarre because he could remember the scores of every playoff game during the 2004 playoff run and players on the roster, but did not remember that Thanksgiving and Labor Day are different holidays.

That's it for tonight.

I will continue this blog as I have a number of entries running through my head that I want to write down. This blog will eventually evolve into documenting our experiences as new San Mateo/ Bay Area residents.

Aloha