California Take 2 - AQ

The last night in California, we headed up to San Francisco for dinner with Bill's cousin Ay Ay and her husband Dane.  We went to AQ and it was phenomenal.  The restaurant itself was light and airy with a definite feeling of Spring.  While Bill and I sat and waited for Ay and Dane, we struck up a conversation with our server about scotch and wine.  He knew we were interested in eating and drinking well that night. 

Dane brought a bottle of Mumm Blanc de Blancs to start dinner.  It was the first time I had ever had Mumm and I am now a huge fan.  We went right to the store and bought a bottle of their Brut when we got home!  Anyway, by now we were good friends with Eric, our server, who we found out worked at one time for Tyler Florence.  Eric was awesome but also realized his money making potential in our table.  That said, he got us to buy amazing wine so it was really a win-win.  Throughout the night we had Dane's wine, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc Sancerre and a bottle of a 1983 Catherine & Pierre Breton Chinon "Beaumont".  At 30 years old, it's the oldest wine I've ever had and it was fantastic!  We each had three wine glasses going on our table plus the decanter. 

Dinner was 9 courses of awesome deliciousness.
Course 1 - an asparagus "cloud" (it was almost like a firm custard) over crumbled pistachios
Course 2 - warm consomme of raw lamb and mint "snow"
Course 3 - strawberry gazpacho with raw halibut and dill oil
Course 4 - beef tongue
Course 5 - skate wing (fish) with pineapple and gnocchi (best gnocchi I've ever had)
Course 6 - veal with smoked foam (best veal I've ever had - they cut it so it resembled pork belly)
Course 7 - cheese plate of hard goat's milk
Course 8 - white chocolate and rhubarb
Course 9 - chocolate, lavender ice cream and honey

Here's how they describe the tasting menu in their menu and if you can believe it, it's only $68 per person (beverages not included).  An absolute steal if you ask me.

As we were paying the bill, Eric brought us macaroons, as if we needed more food!  But of course, they were delicious.  He then took us downstairs to their wine room to show off their extremely impressive collection.  They will soon have the largest collection of unique wine lables, as well as the largest collection of Loire Valley wines, in the entire world.

After dinner, Ay and Dane took us to the Bay Bridge where a local artist was putting on a light show.  The lights were constantly moving and it looked very cool.  It was so nice to stroll down the pier and relax.  It was really a perfect ending to our night.

All in all the night was amazing - amazing food, wine, family and conversation.  We can't wait to go back to see everyone and I'm hoping we can make it back to AQ.  I am seriously in love with this place and am so sad it's so far away.  It's definitely near the top of the best meals I've ever had.

California Take 2 - Photo Booth

We took a lot of photo booth pics at Marie's wedding so here are some of the "best of"....

Noah pushed the "Take Picture" button and ran!

Lola!!

California Take 2

We were in California last weekend for Bill's cousin Marie's wedding and had an absolutely fantastic time.  Most of our time was spent in the San Jose area but we were able to sneak up to San Francisco for dinner on our last night there.  Aside from a 4 hour flight delay on the way there and a small glich with our luggage (we were in San Francisco on a new flight since we missed our connection in Chicago but the luggage was at our original San Jose destination), the trip was wonderful and we were so sad when it was time to leave.

Wasting time in the airport:

Finally here!

Waiting for our lunch table at Santana Row in San Jose.  Audrey threw her first coin and made a wish in this fountain.

Wedding rehearsal:

Vivian was such a trooper the whole weekend.  Never fussed when being passed off to twenty different people in as many minutes and was quiet and patient during all of the festivites.  We love her!!

Cousin Noah:

Noah and big brother Isaiah:

Poor Viv was asleep in the corner at the rehearsal dinner:

Cousin Cy is the photo bomber in the back!  :)

Cousin Lori Ann:

Bed head!!  Using a "real" phone and calling Lolo and Lola to see if they're awake yet.

First time in curlers!

Here she comes!  She did such a GREAT job.  Didn't cry or hesitate.

Bowing to the altar:

Our gorgeous girl!!

With Marie, her new Uncle Chris, Isaiah and Noah:

With Auntie Lori:

Vivian destroyed the flower that was on her dress but luckily we had a replacement....until she destroyed that one too:

With Ninang Ay Ay:

Fun shoe shot but unfortunately you can't see how Audrey's shoes sparkle:

At the reception:

Cy took our camera and got some great shots of Audrey:

The kids comandeered the dance floor and these are just two of many shots of the night where Audrey was in the center of it all.  That girl did not stop and danced her little heart out for hours.

Ay Ay and Dane:

Cousin J.R.:

The day after the wedding, Marie hosted lunch at her condo and Audrey was able to spend the day swimming.

I know I've already said this but we really had an amazing weekend.  It's always so fun to see everyone and the older Audrey gets and the more interactive she is, the better the trips are.  Another cousin is getting married in June 2014 so that will likely be the next time we see everyone.  It's really too bad that so much time will go by between visits but we're hoping to video chat more to keep in touch.  That will help Audrey (and eventually Vivian) feel in the loop too.

I'm going to scan photo booth pics for another post and will write about the phenomenal dinner we had with Ay and Dane in San Francisco.  It's among the best meals I've ever had.