On A Misty Evening In October And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #19

 

"Night, which in Autumn,

 seems to fall from the sky so suddenly, chilled us... ."

 

~Jules Burber D' Auervilly

 The Crimson Curtain

 

Forgive me, but it was a beautiful evening at Woodbridge. Life is very good when I am there. I feel like I can breathe when I am there. But happily, today, if all goes well, I won't be in Woodbridge, I will be in Bodega Bay, and points south along the coast, such as Point Reyes Station and Lighthouse, and if we decide to stay along the coast, we could spend some time in Terra Linda, where the best canolli in the world can be found. Cannoli from Gaspare's Restaurant can fix any bad day, like an old friend who drops by for a visit and a meal. Only I guess I am visiting their house. I have loved that restaurant since Woody Allen filmed a scene from Blue Jasmine there, and we decided to try it out. Delicious. But if we don't end up there, we will soon. It's autumn after all.

 

Gaspares Restaurant

San Francisco

~Me

Autumn, Alan, October, Pumpkins, Sunflowers, Roses, And Pizza

"This is October for me: Withdrawing into my own world, blocking out everything except the beauty of the season, my reflections and my relationship with God, I find that this is enough to sustain me through the long, cold, winter... and beyond... ."

~Peggy Toney Horton

Somewhere In Heave My Mother Is Smiling

Half Moon Bay, California, is beautiful every single day of every year, but it is especially beautiful in October of any year! The town's claim to fame is being the, "World's Pumpkin Capitol!" Which I have to admit there may be one or two other towns in the world who also claim that title, or at least "Pumpkin Capitol Of The World." It doesn't matter to me, I love the town so much, that I simply call it Heaven on the San Mateo peninsula! 

But I have to admit, I love coming down the steep hill, of Highway 92, turning a slight corner, and suddenly seeing, on my left, pumpkin patches as far as the eye can see! There are also a few patches that have roses, and sunflowers! My favorite stop in Pastorino's Pumpkin Patch!

Beautiful pumpkins, a petting zoo, sunflowers, a gift shop, and a bake shop, definitely puts a person in, not only an autumn euphoria, but in the mood for the upcoming holidays of, Halloween, and Thanksgiving! It's an enchanting autumn world, and Alan and I have been enjoying our Half Moon Bay visits, since we first visited Pastorino's, while we were on our honeymoon! I still remember the date, October 23rd, 1990!  

We had such a good time that day, that we named the day, Family Day, so that if we started a family, and wanted to spend our anniversary alone, which is October 13th, we could give the kids a special day for all of us, just ten days later! We chose that, because 49ner's quarterback, Joe Montana, and his family, were visiting Pastorino's that day in 1990 also! It was the first time, that year, they had a chance, to take a day off to be together for choosing their pumpkin! They seemed to be having so much fun together, that it sparked the idea for Alan and I to create the tradition!

As it turned out we never had children. We just didn't, but it didn't stop us from celebrating that special day anyway! We still have a ball, visiting Pastorino's! After we choose our pumpkin, we always head up the coast highway, to San Francisco, and enjoy the best of the city, and after that, it's onto Marin County, for dinner at Gaspare's Italian restaurant! A pizza, and two orders of their heavenly Cannoli! Life is good! Love is good! Autumn makes it all magical! 

We had to celebrate our Family Day, a bit later than usual this year, because I was a little under the weather on October 23rd, but it was okay, October 25th was a glorious day! Warm. Beautiful. And best of all, it was a completely happy, fun filled day! No stress. No politics. Just Alan and I! I only wish our kitties could have come with us. They are our children, and I just know it would have been fun having them choose the official pumpkins of Halloween 2018! Believe me, as silly as that sounds, my Dylan has very definite ideas about pumpkins! Each year we bring several home, and he always chooses one he likes to chew on the most! LOL! 

Alan and I have the life we wanted!

And our life is good!

#39 Leaf Of The Day

October 29th 2018

Photographed October 25th, 2018

Cull Canyon

 

~Mood: Happy

~Me

 

My Culinary Bucket List

"Every restaurant is a theater, and the truly great ones allow us to indulge in the fantasy that we are rich and powerful. When restaurants hold up their end of the bargain, they give us the illusion of being surrounded by servants intent on ensuring our happiness and offering extraordinary food. But even modest restaurants offer the opportunity to become someone else, at least for a little while. When you walk through the door, you are entering neutral territory where you are free to be whoever you choose for the duration of the meal."

~Ruth Reichl



I had planned to write a restaurant review for this post, but alas, it was not to be! Gaspare's Italian Dinners have been on my culinary bucket list since last summer! It was one of the places featured in Woody Allen's film, Blue Jasmine, although you probably wouldn't know it from the scene it was in. There is no shot of the outside of the restaurant, no tell tale signs inside, but prominent are the dark green leather booths, and the fun little mini- jukeboxes that are affixed to the walls, just above each booth table. 3 musical selections for a quarter, according to a Yelp reviewer! The pizzas themselves have mixed reviews, apparently they are considered "old school" Brooklyn or New Jersey style, which might mean that Californians simply don't get it! One thing is for sure, one likes what they like, so I was planning to make up my own mind.

Now, if I can only find a place to park.

The parking on Geary Boulevard leaves a lot to be desired, so as such, Friday was not the time to try and eat there! In fact, every time I have tried to eat there, I have been unlucky about finding a place to park. It's typical of San Francisco, so we always go prepared to have a Plan B. On Friday our Plan B became Plan C! But first things first. Our second choice was to grab a couple slices pizza at North Beach Pizza, on Grant in North Beach. The parking there was worse than Gaspare's. At least Geary Boulevard is a nice wide road, lol, Grant is very narrow, and yes, one wrong turn and you find yourself on the hill from HELL!

On to Plan C!

Our Plan C, is usually our Plan A. Hunan Cafe #2, in the Outer Richmond, is our favorite Chinese restaurant in San Francisco! The food is always delicious, I haven't had a bad meal there yet, and freshly cooked when you order it! No steam tables. It is close to Golden Gate Park, and Ocean Beach, so when we are in the park, it's our go-to place for a reasonably priced meal in a hurry. Lily, the owner, always greets you with a big smile, and her husband cooks the food. I swear, his hands have been touched by God! The food is just that good! And it's just this little spot, in the middle of the neighborhood, that you might miss if you didn't look closely. It is a cute little San Francisco gem to be sure!

We found Hunan Kitchen #2 last year, when we got to the filming at Gaspare's too late to see Woody filming! The "No Parking" sandwich board sign was still there, but there wasn't a Woody Allen in sight! We were disappointed by not seeing him, and hungry, but Gaspare's was closed! So we checked things out on Yelp and came across the delicious Hunan Cafe #2, right in the neighborhood! I am not very brave when it comes to trying new restaurants, but on that day it just seemed like fun. It was cold, we were disappointed, and starving... not a good combination... and I am so glad we gave it a try! It was delicious! Since then, we have tried a couple more places in the neighborhood, Gordo Taqueria, also on Geary, and Sushi Bistro on Balboa. And just last week we found a fantastic little yogurt shop near the corner of Geary and 33rd... Happy Yogurt! The Peanut Butter Cookie yogurt is AMAZING! I have a couple more places I want to try soon, and when I do I will do a proper restaurant review of those places both here, and on Yelp. It's the thing to do, if you want to keep your favorite place in business! Right?

Oh, that and "Tip big boys" as Jasmine would say! :)

Maybe someday I will get to eat at Gaspare's. At this point, its not just a goal, it's a QUEST!

I am going to do a more in-depth review of these restaurants as we move through autumn. Alan is taking his usual 5 weeks off, and we plan to be in San Francisco a lot, so STAY TUNED!


Mood: Hungry

~Me :)

Yelp Reviews...

Gaspares Italian Dinners

North Beach Pizza

GordoTaqueria

Hunan Cafe #2

Sushi Bistro

Happy Yogurt