“The best recipe for a wonderful dinner is good friends and family, good food, and good conversation."
Cecile and I and her sister Sherry visiting from South Carolina had an exotic dinner with good friends Sarah and Bill Rothenberg at Urfa Bistro in Los Altos. We were warmly greeted and seated at a comfortable corner table with a colorful view of the outdoor seating with red umbrellas.
Named after a city in South-Eastern Turkey, Urfa Bistro Mediterranean offers an exotic blend of cuisines from the many
civilizations that ruled in Urfa. The dishes span from the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and carry names in Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Syrian, and Turkish, and are prepared and seasoned to perfection. According to legend Urfa is the birthplace of many dishes including Raw Kibbe (CIG Kofta) that was crafted by the prophet Abraham from ingredients he had at hand.
Everybody loved their plentiful dishes and most of us had leftovers packaged to go. One of the things we were grateful for was our ability to conduct a conversation without the echoing noise in many high-priced-restaurants that spin the idea that a hustle-bustle atmosphere is a sellable feature.
For dessert, we walked down State Street to The Penny Ice Creamery, which was founded in Santa Cruz. They craft ice cream from scratch using local, organic and seasonal ingredients grown from farmers they know. Cecile and Sarah had their cones topped with melted marshmallow. It was a perfect evening.
