Carmen's La Hacienda Taqueria ~ Novato, California

In the quiet town of Novato, there are a few hidden gems! Novato is 30 minutes North of Sausalito and The Golden Gate Bridge. Far enough away to wonder if any of San Francisco's culinary wonder has crept up that far. It has! Lady Music and I spent the weekend up in Novato. After finding an amazing little Italian Pizza place with Neapolitan pizza, we thought that might be about it. Surprisingly, there are quite a few eating establishments in those thar hills! We spent our last day wandering the small streets of the old down town; much like you'd find in a revitalized Texas town like Bowie! A grid of antique shops, boutiques and even a great little record store!  After walking and flipping through some 70s records and plenty of recent reissues, we worked up an appetite and wandered into a cute little place called Carmen's.  Honestly, we didn't expect much (I mean seriously Mexican food in a yuppy area North of San Francisco?) but thought we could get a little something before driving back to San Jose.  This place has such a nice vibe!  It's super small, but very clean. It's arranged like a taqueria with a little counter and a big board with food options listed and photos!

The chips were super fresh! I think they made them there but they weren't greasy at all. The salsa were wonderful! Green tomatillo and standard red. Both freshly made and very tasty. Just a touch of heat. I ordered a couple pollo tacos and Lady Music got puerco in salsa verde. We loved everything. The tortillas (corn and flour) were heche a mana (made by hand) and yummy! The rice and beans were light and delicious. We opted for the healthier fare; frijoles negros, but you can get refritos. The menu touted huge burritos and tortas! I want to try them next time. Oh, the price? under $10 FOR A MEAL!  I was stunned!  We will be back!

- Mr. Music review

Aung's Bangkok Cafe ~ Englewood, Colorado

First visit: Jan 2022

One of our Official Niece's and Nephew-in-Law's wanted to treat Mrs. RJG and I out for a Thai food lunch. Who are we to say no? We used to take her out for Thai food when she was still a teen in both Texas and Denver, and she's been in these pages before. And now she's all grown up, married (she did well too!), and they both have good jobs. Cool! 

Oh wow - look where we are - the old RJG stomping grounds of 1995 to 1997! Rude Dante would approve of the location as well. We're near the original El Tepehuan steakhouse, and we used to also eat along this corridor back in the day. And there was a Thai restaurant here once - across the street. It wasn't for us though. Official Niece knows what we like, and this is their favorite local joint. Can't wait.

Walk in - nice place! This isn't a dive-y Thai restaurant. Ooo, and they have wine and beer too. Colorado Springs - anyone listening? I was going to teetotal, but these two are so corrupting, I just had to imbibe in one Singha, since they did too. Mrs. RJG stuck with water (what's wrong with her? lol). First nice touch: They bring you cold bottled water. Wow, that's different. And they offered the same after we ate and were just yapping away for an hour.

Niece suggest we have appetizers, and so we started with Crab Cheese Wanton and Vegetable Egg Roll. I was a little uneasy at first about the former, as it's usually kinda... gross. But no, I was pleasantly surprised at the crispy fried cheese dish. It was more Greek or Italian than what I associate Asian cheese with. The egg roll was excellent as well, with the bean sprouts providing the nutrients. Super hot temperature too. Yes!

I knew what I wanted for lunch the minute I saw the menu online. Basil Chicken. Ground chicken is the default so you already know they have a clue. Everyone warned me off of Thai Hot, so I got regular Hot. I need to stop listening to all the fear talk. It was hot - not saying different - but oh yea, I could have gone another level. I wanted it with a fried egg, but they don't have that! What? They go to great lengths to be authentic Bangkok Thai, only to fumble the ball at the end zone. Oh well, it was still very delicious, and crave worthy. NephewIL got the Bangkok Fried Rice and Mrs. RJG the Vegetable Delight. Both enjoyed it immensely. Niece went with Drunken Noodle, and she also really liked her meal. Uncle RJG had the biggest appetite as I was the only one to finish my meal. The rest got boxes.

The Kids Know Best! Great suggestion, and a new destination place for the Misses and/or I when in Denver. We suggest the same for you.

1/18/22 (new entry)

Happy New Year 2022!

Ironic that in a year where we mostly avoided restaurants, the RJG had the most posts! Some of those were "bring forwards", but we were more attentive to this blog than we have been for many years.

So what will 2022 offer? We are hopeful for a return to normal. In fact, as far as the RJG is concerned, we would like to get back to a pre-2014 setting. Restaurants had been on the downhill for many years and the pandemic was a huge wakeup call for the industry. Except the Great Resignation came right after that, plunging restaurants to their worst performance in my lifetime. Not to mention hyper inflation, supply chain issues, and the good old pandemic lingering on long past its shelf life. There are signs that things are on the rebound though. People are realizing they need to work, and the supply chain issues - and the subsequent inflation - will likely calm down. The big question mark that remains is the pandemic. Not so much the flu strains themselves, but rather the reaction to it. The data consistently points out that no matter what anyone tries to do to stop it, the severity of it remains the same everywhere. This is one industry that really can't survive by all of us staying home. The restaurants have done their best, and many people (including us) did take advantage of the to-go options to assist. But that's not the "dining experience", but rather getting something to eat. And many people - like us - enjoy eating at home just as much. Here in Colorado, our governor has been very reasonable about the pandemic, especially once the vaccines became available. However, some Colorado counties are getting more strict, especially in the Denver area. And some cities like New York, Chicago, and Boston require "government issued papers" to go out to eat or see a movie - or go bowling. Even though we're both vaccinated (non boostered), we're not going to support that. That's a bridge too far. So that's the X factor that will decide 2022's restaurant pursuit. 

So presuming the "happy path" (as we call it in my real career), and things get back to normal, what can we expect from the RJG? For one, we'll continue the "annual review" process and move forward entries of restaurants and fast food establishments we still enjoy going to. We will now assign a Pass/Fail rating, and for the very best favorites, add a gold star. Mrs. RJG and I are committed to trying more places for lunch this year. And we would also like to bring in the Food Truck, something we've never reported on at the RJG. In 2019, Mrs. RJG and I gave food trucks a shot all of twice, but it didn't take hold with the Misses. The idea would be to go to a brewery for dinner and try whatever truck is there that day. I certainly want to get back to the local breweries, something we've done very sporadically in the last 2 years.

In addition to that, working from home is a privilege, and the RJG has always taken some advantage of that (the pandemic did not affect that for me - I've been working from home since 1999). Now that there are far more Airbnb options than ever, we are going to do some weekly visits to other cities, while working during that week. We haven't done that since Santa Fe (2013-2016) - but back then we needed a hotel. And Santa Fe will likely be our first target, since it's in our comfort zone. But we have other cities on the list as well. So far, the job has been great, and I could not ask for a better team to work with. So that will make these excursions that much more pleasurable.

On top of that, both Mr. Music and Rude Dante provided a smattering of reviews over the year. We can only hope for more from both of them this coming year. And anyone else who would like to join! And then, of course, there's always a possibility of more Baltimore business trips (and this was recently confirmed by Boss Man). And there is our niece's wedding in southern California (near San Diego), if the governor there hasn't already issued Martial Law by then (it's been delayed 3 times already). And probably a family or work visit to the Phoenix area (we have an office there too), and possibly Prescott Valley as well. Also planning on a couple of road trips. Lots of opportunity for the RJG here!