“Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged lightly.”
—MFK Fisher
In the last two years, Cecile and I have grown less cynical of eating out for Valentine’s Day. Back in the day, we grew tired of the overblown expectations, underwhelming prix fixe menus, and price gauging by restaurants on this Hallmark holiday, who spin love into gold for their coffers. The truth is, it is still possible to dine out well on Valentine’s Day without feeling the whole thing is a scam. It is better than laboring romantically over a hot stove and even better to dine out with friends whose company you enjoy.
Those friends this year and last were Nelson and Susan Bye whom we have traveled with and have shared many a meal in diverse and notable restaurants in the Bay Area and on a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi awhile back. This year, my beloved wife Cecile recommended the restaurant: Portola Kitchen in the Ladera County Shopping Center in Portola Valley, minutes away from the hustle-bustle of Palo Alto. “Everyone says they’re farm-to-table, but we have a unique opportunity up here, being so close to the local purveyors,” Mike Wallau, once told a reporter from the Palo Alto Daily Post that also covers the mid-Peninsula area of Silicon Valley.
The tone for the evening was set when the hostess gave Cecile and Susan a long stem red rose before we were all seated.
We began our gastronomic adventure with a housemade thin-crust pizza with imported mozzarella from Italy and layered slices of prosciutto. Nelson and I had enjoyed our favorite Belgian-style Allagash beer served in many Bay Area restaurants.
For our entree’s Nelson and I had the Valentine’s Day special, a mouth-watering filet mignon with mashed potatoes and broccolini. Cecile had an over the top freshly made Gnocchi with gorgonzola cheese and beets. Susan ordered a delectable dish of lasagne.
The dinner was paired with a bottle of vintage and rather pricey Amarone Della Valpolicella red wine that Nelson and Susan were nice enough to bring from their wine collection. We had a friendly and engaging waiter named Ernesto. Nelson offered Ernesto who was familiar with wine to enjoy a glass and gave him the rest of the bottle.
To cap offer the evening we shared two orders of the mixed berry crisp dessert with a chocolate heart flourish on top. Perfecto! During dinner one of Susan’s sons whom we knew as a young boy, his wife and children who happened to be eating at a sushi restaurant in the same center stopped by to say hello. You gotta love those synchronicities in life.
So impressed with Nelson’s charm offensive, when the bill arrived we discovered our waiter, Ernesto, waved the $25 corkage fee for the Amarone wine. As they say kindness breeds kindness. Thank you, Ernesto, and thank you, Nelson and Susan, for joining us for a wonderful evening.
Buon Appetitto and Happy Valentine’s Day to all the lovers out there however you chose to celebrate!
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be at peace.
