QUEEN'S CORONATION & A SIDE OF RAVIOLI

The Italian American Federation of the East Bay (I.A.F.) holds a Queen's Coronation once a year. The Queen is elected and reigns with her court at parades and other functions. The Queen is choosen from candidates who must be Italian and a member of one of the East Bay Italian Clubs. The Queen also rides in the popular Colombus Day (no-longer called Colombus for some woke reason) parade in San Francisco. The Coronation dinner was held at the Galileo Club. This pomp and circmstance is an old fashioned ceremony that frankly is a lot of fun. The ceremony was finished and we proceeded to have a dinner which included ravioli.

This was a fun event for the participants and their families. These young women get to experience a year long journey that they will remember for a lifetime. I was only there for the ravioli.

 

12 BRIDGES RIB COOK-OFF

We brought our judges badges to Lincoln California for a KCBS rib cook-off. These days a KCBS one meat competion had become the norm. The larger 4 meat competitions may be an event from the past. The smaller competitions are popular because of costs and usually it is more public friendly. The competitors cooked ribs for the public to sample. 

It was perfect bbq weather with the thermometer hovering in the high 80's. The gates opened at 300pm and the public poured in to sample ribs and listen to a band. It does not get any better than this.

 

 

Another fun day of judging bbq. It never gets old eating great ribs and hanging out with friends.

 

 

EAGLES RIB COOK-OFF & CAR SHOW

 

Once a year the local Eagles Club has a rib cook-off and car show. The club is located nearby and the public is invited. Ms. Goofy and I like to attend and leave our judges badges at home. This contest brings out some of the best local backyard cooks in the neighborhood. This is a local gathering that is just plain fun. It is more of the event than an actual contest.

I went and checked out some of the competitors. I asked the gentle-man if he had any bbq secrets. His reply was; I have been drinking all day. That worked for him, I guess. The mood was festive. There was a band playing in the dinning area. It is a little ironic or we are just too old but it was too loud for us and we went to the bar area to eat our meal.

I did find the home made sweets table. This was one fancy display. I tried several of the offerings and was happy. I was not so happy about my brisket plate. The brisket was so tough that I should of brought a sawzall reciprocating saw to cut. The sides were decent. This was the only low point of this fun event. We hope to return next year. I probably will stay away from the brisket.

PENINSULA ITALIAN AMERICAN SOCIAL CLUB

 

We received a hot tip of a Italian American Social Club that served lunch to the public. Normaly eating here is for members only and this was an oppurtunity to sample their food offerings. This club is located in San Mateo which is an hour away if you are lucky. (traffic). We were semi-lucky and hit light traffic in the congested Bay Area freeways. I did find a metered parking spot two doors down. Parking karma was with us today.

This was a Thurdsay afternoon at 12:30pm. The place was packed. The hostess (snooty) asked us if we had reservations. We did not. She rather abruptly said we would have to wait. After a few moments a waitress came to our rescue and informed us we could sit in the outdoor back dinning area. It was a pleasant afternoon and the back area was very nice. There were all ready some people dinning and it puzzled me why the hostess did not give us this option. Our waitress was very nice and made up for our dismal start.

The menu was fairly small and had some traditional Italian faire. Ms. Goofy ordered the Osso Buco, and I a grilled pork chop. We had salads and split an order of ravioli. 

The raviolis were just what the doctored ordered. It came with a little bowl of parmesan cheese. I did forget to mention we were served little tiny freshly baked rolls. They were small but big on flavor. Ms. Goofy swooned on her Osso Buco. It was tender fall of the bone yummy. It came with a decadent mushroom rissotto. My grilled pork chop was served with a red wine sauce and melody of vegetables. I did not sing along with the melody but I did knaw on the bone of my fantastic chop. The waitress asked us if we wanted dessert. She describe a spumoni chocolate covered ice cream treat which we/I could not resist.

This was a fantastic lunch. The Peninsula Italian American Social Club is a step back in time with a lot of our favorite old time Italian dishes. The only hiccup we had was a not so pleasant greeting by the hostess. Once we had bypassed her the rest of the meal and waitstaff was stellar. I reccomend sitting in the outside back dinning area. It is a lot quiter and very pleasant. Sadly, I do not think we will be returning for the only reason of logistics. A fact of life, living in the Bay Area is traffic. This restaurant is an hour away if you are traffic lucky. We have options that are closer. 

SUMMER Q

It has been a relativly mild summer here in the Bay Area. The thermometer has been stuck in the high 70's and we get a refreshing cool breeze in the evening. The fog is our natural air conditioner. We do get possibly 10 days or so when it heats up to the 90's. Everybody complains at this time. When it does get hot we like to cook outdoors. Who am I kidding we cook outdoors in the dead of winter. I just wanted to show you a wonderful pizza made with from scratch dough and sauce made from home grown tomatoes. The other grilled/baked item is bacon topped meatloaf. What summertime fun!