Tag: birthday dinner

32 (part two).

after a much needed day of recovery on my actual birthday, my mom and i flew to the bay area on valentine’s day. we landed a little ahead of schedule, our suite was ready even though we were checking in four hours early and the weather was perfect.

last year, felecia and i spent valentine’s day with kendall and dom. when we realized we would be in the bay again on valentine’s day, it only seemed right to keep tradition alive. my dear friend, nick, wanted to join us for dinner. when i said we’d love that and just needed to make a new reservation, he took the reigns and booked at one of favorite restaurants without even realizing it – telefèric barcelona.

i had only ever been to the walnut creek location but since we were staying in the south bay, nick made the reservation for the one in los gatos. it was my first time going with a larger group so i was able to try many things on the menu i hadn’t previously. we had the best experience – not only was the service outstanding, the food was incredible and the drinks were delicious.

far more food was ordered than what was captured below however i had to include some of our favorites.

spanish meatballs – felecia and kendall were obsessed with these!
catalan tomahawk 40oz. served with dipping sauces and potatoes – one of the best steaks i have ever had in my entire life.
paella mixta (pork, chicken, shrimp and octopus) – we had them double the order since four of us would be sharing it (felecia is allergic to shellfish so she couldn’t indulge in this portion)
gothic mojito (i chose passion fruit however strawberry and raspberry were also options)

as if the top notch dinner and even better company weren’t enough, nick surprised us and treated everyone (including kendall and dom whom he had just met that night) to dinner for my birthday/valentine’s day. my favorite card i received this year was from nick. felecia also nearly died when he handed her a valentine’s day card. i am constantly reminded of how wonderful my friends and family are – it is even better when i get to bring different groups together.

mama bear, me, nick, kennie and dom

if you find yourself in the bay area and in need of delicious spanish cuisine, book a reservation through opentable at telefèric barcelona. there is one in walnut creek, one in palo alto and the one we went to in los gatos (the other two locations are in spain).

xoxo,

k. tap

brigantine at portside pier

i love a birthday celebration and after the last year we’ve had, i would argue that it is even more important to give your people their flowers while they are still here to enjoy them. since i already knew that i would be in san diego for some much needed quality time with hilly, we (hilly, lauren and i) made sure to do a birthday dinner for our girl t. she has been kicking ass and taking names all year as a registered nurse amidst a pandemic and has done it with grace. when we asked her where she would like to go, without hesitation, she mentioned brigantine at portside pier. i have been dreaming about it ever since.

dining with the four of us is easy as we all have similar palettes. we started with the crab and shrimp fondue with garlic toast, a jumbo lump crab cake and fresh steamed black mussels. to say we thoroughly enjoyed our starters would be a gross understatement.

for my main course, i had two oysters and their crab and lobster cobb salad. because i was also strongly considering the shrimp and louie crab salad, i had them bring the dressings for both on the side so i could have the best of both worlds. 10/10 would do again.

the cocktails were unreal. all of us are vodka girls however the three of them enjoyed a few dirty martinis that were made to perfection while i had three different vodka based cocktails. one was more floral (with elderflower), one was more fresh (with basil and citrus) but my absolute favorite is what i am going to call a blackberry smash. i cannot find the actual name anywhere but it had muddled blackberries, fresh lemon and the perfect punch of vodka.

between the great service, the beautiful view and the extraordinary meal, i never wanted to leave. already counting down the seconds until my return to san diego and brigantine at portside pier.

xoxo,

k. tap

p.s. i would highly suggest making a reservation through opentable to streamline the process and guarantee swift seating