TBA
Brunch and Dinner
Bunch at Zengo in Santa Monica, then Frances and Patrick's (early) Thanksgiving dinner.
A bunch of us didn't really RSVP to brunch (oops!), but our hosts must've planned in advance for slackers like us because they had the entire upper dining area reserved.
Things were off to a leisurely start, but that was okay because we got to socialize with everyone, chat like we actually knew each other, and let all the stragglers show up (aka, most of us!). Coffee was excellent, orange juice only slightly less so, in fact the only real disappointment was the bacon bloody mary (extremely disappointing!).
Then the food started coming. Sushi rolls were just okay (it's an Asian fusion place, they're forgiven), the thai chicken empanadas were quite well presented, the achiote hoisin pork arepas were crunchy interesting things. The salmon omeletes were okay, the eggs benedict were a modern vegetarian take (crunchy bread, almost too crunchy), the bacon fried rice was lovely but needed twice the bacon it had. The pan dulce was french toast (and not pan dulce), but holy crap, the plantains were good. And so was the company!
Wandered the rest of Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade afterwards, even making it down a few blocks on Wilshire to Vanilla Bake Shop for icebox shots. (YYYUUUUMMMM!!!)
Then...
Wrapped up the day on a totally separate event, Frances and Patrick's early Thanksgiving dinner. Frances made a turkey, stuffing, broccoli casserole (mmm!), and mashed potatoes, plus everyone else brought food too, including homemade mochi. (more nom!) Finished off the night watching Oregon beatup on Stanford (NCAA football), being our usual weird selves in Apples to Apples, and watching Arnold Schwarzenegger clips. *grins*