Hot Brunch at Playa

The promise of a free pitcher of Julian Cox's cocktail during brunch was all I needed to try out the brunch at Playa, John Sedlar's newest restaurant (thanks, BlackboardEats!). And I was glad I did.

Now, being a Latin restaurant (they call it "urban Latin"), you can expect a lot of kick in your egg dish. Spicy sauces abound, though not everyone.

I love tamales so obviously went with the Tamal (Cracked Corn Masa, Pulled Pork, Sunnyside-Up Egg, $12)

Yes, that is Clockwork Orange on the plate (part of his changing Reflexiones series). The sauce was pretty spicy for me but the egg yolks helped with that. A hearty and satisfying breakfast plate!

Oh, and make sure you get the Blue Corn Muffins made with Anson Farms Organic Cornmeal, served with a side Almond Butter ($6)

Not only were they cheap at $6 for 4 pieces, they are incredible. I have never had an unfilled muffin so moist with such a distinctive flavor. I'll be back for these. Over and over.

(Look, it's really blue inside! Or more like purple?)

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The ABC's of Cecconi's: Aperitivo, Bone Marrow, and Ciccheti

I hadn't been back to Cecconi's since my brunch two years ago, but after a recent visit to try out their new aperitivo and ciccheti menu (and a feast of everything else), I wondered why. Oh, right, it is on the pricey side, but the recently launched Ciccheti menu (small plates/appetizers) you can dine here for less. (On another note, on Sundays Cecconi's have quite a deal: family style dinner for $50, up to 4 people. That's less than $13 per person!)

Scallop, pancetta, rosemary ($15)

They recently invited a number of bloggers for some ciccheti, aperitivos, and dinner. We started the night at the bar, where Creative Bar Director Chris Ojeda made some aperitivos and cocktails for us.

Since we're talking Italian aperitivos, there were naturally a lot of Aperol, which is an Italian aperitif similar to Campari (in fact, it is now produced by the Campari company). Cecconi's was never on my radar for cocktails, but the drinks Chris had made were surprisingly good.

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August is Garlic Galore at Chaya Venice

Garlic lovers, did you miss Gilroy Garlic Fest this year? If you did, you can still go a little garlic crazy at Chaya Venice this August, where they're offering special garlic dishes during their month-long Garlic Fair.

They have about ten garlic dishes, most of them not overly garlicky (except for the rib eye steak with 40-clove garlic sauce, or so our server told us. Mmm 40 garlic cloves ...)

After an amuse bouche of beets with orange and arugula, we started our garlic feast with Heirloom Tomato with Garlic Ice Cream and Fourme d’Ambert cheese ($13)

Overall good, but the heirloom tomatoes were overshadowed somewhat by the smaller, sweeter tomatoes. I liked the garlic ice cream with the tomatoes, but the possibly even stinkier blue cheese masks the garlic a bit.

Next: Grilled Shrimp, country bread ($12)

It's a simple dish, with crisp shrimp. After you finish the shrimp, soak the bread in the garlic butter.

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