For those of you paying attention to this blog, you may have noticed there was no NorCal6 blog entry for February. That's because a couple members of the group (Missy and myself) ended up contracting COVID at the end of January. So we took it easy, worked our rehabilitation grooves and applied our energy-less efforts into getting as well as possible. (Update: A month plus later, there's still some lingering fatigue and I'm not certain my taste buds are quite up to snuff ... but we're back in the saddle again.)
Anywho, as threatened in the previous NorCal6 blog entry, Soriano's Restaurant in Diamond Springs was our next venture. A Salvadoran / Mexican mix awaited us, something I was ready to explore. Not the least reason of which was because I was rather hungry that day having only eaten breakfast.
The staff was friendly enough and greeted us warmly on our arrival; they were genuinely happy to see us and thanked us for coming in as they seated us. Chips and salsa were served and Missy and I chatted and looked over the menu while we awaited Grant, Kelly, Pete and Laurie. Missy ordered a wine margarita and I kept things light with a Coke.
Shortly, Grant and Kelly walked in. (Funny little aside here: As Grant sat next to me, he put his wallet down on the table and skewed his cell phone atop it, I assumed so he could access it if need be without picking it up. More on this shortly.) Pete and Laurie we're a few minutes behind them. Then it got down to the business of ordering ...
With the orders taken and concluded, the conversation rolled out. And at one point Grant shot back in his chair and called himself an idiot for forgetting his wallet at home. I didn't say a thing, knowing his wallet was practically beside me and out of his purview blocked by his phone. That exasperation lasted a bit before he realized he did, in fact, have his wallet as I picked up his phone and asked "You mean ... THIS wallet?" I was accused of harboring knowledge of it without telling him and I freely admitted to being guilty. The looks and laughs around the table were more than worth it.
Mine? The "Borrego y Mas": a lamb shank entrée (the "borrego") with your choice of an enchilada, tamale, or taco filled with the protein of your choice (the "mas"). It came additionally served with marinade sauce, pico de gallo and sliced avocado along with rice and beans. Others in our party weren't as "experimental" as I was, leaning toward the more traditional Mexican fare ... and there's nothing wrong with that in the least. I also request an appetizer, some "chiles" which were Soriano's version of stuffed jalapeños.
The outcome, from my perspective, was delicious. The borrego was fall-off-the-bone tender and flavorful, definitely a different take on how I've had lamb previously. It wasn't quite the same for everyone else, however. Comments ranged from "okay" to "meh" on the tastiness scale so it appeared I got the better end of the dinner experience.
The caveat, however, was the staff forgot my chile appetizer. I didn't squawk about it however because, as it turned out, it wasn't included on my bill. And I wasn't upset in the least being I was pretty well stuffed from my dinner.
At the conclusion of the meal, a dessert flan was brought out for "the birthday boy" Pete whose birthday was nowwhere near the date of Saturday, March 11th. I interjected rather loudly while looking at him with raised eyebrows "I had no idea it was your birthday, Pete!" but he didn't catch the clue and pooh-poohed the dessert away, stating matter of factly it was NOT his birthday. The staff noted someone had called ahead to make certain the celebration was observed but no one at our table was the instigator. It was surmised the waiter had gotten it wrong ... and the flan was hurried away. I glared at Pete and told him he just lost a free dessert. But ... a flan was saved that evening so no harm, no foul.
You need to understand: During these little dinner get-togethers there is lots of talk and storytelling and cajolery and laughter among other things. At one point Kelly was practically in tears over something I said (I forget what), Missy was adamant about some hefty subject she was on about (something I had done, no doubt), Pete waxing poetic about some such and a straw was even thrown at Laurie because her memories about past events had come into question. (She's kind of known for this which is half the fun.) In other words, we usually have a pretty good time when we do our monthly "swingers meet up" as most of our kids like to call it.
As it turned out, we were the second to the last group to leave the joint that evening. But, as we did so, there was the late Saturday night wave of people who began to shuffle in.
Next Up: The end of April sees us attending the Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival.
.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )
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