Restaurant Review: Mas (in Charlottesville)

My dad and step-mom took us to experience the restaurant Mas (a tapas restaurant) while we were staying with them last week. Mas Tapas is located in a quiet neighborhood south of downtown Charlottesville. It was a neighborhood that I have never been to, so it was fun to experience a new area. When we arrived it was drizzling outside, but inside the restaurant was bustling with people and food. Even thought we arrived at 7pm on a Wednesday, there was still a wait for tables. After we put our names on the waiting list, we promptly ordered some of their exciting cocktails and decided to brave the weather on the outside patio.

The sky was dark grey and it looked like it may open up at any minute, but we lucked out with our drinks on the patio. The rain waited. The girls ordered basil gimlets and the guys ordered classic mojitos and margaritas. We were all very impressed. I particularly liked the fluorescent color of my gimlet along with the not-too-sweet flavor. It was just right.

Just about the time that we finished our drinks, our table was ready. It was the right amount of waiting and we were definitely ready for food. The restaurant was dark, candle lit, and well decorated. We were sat at a huge table, but there was no complaining from us since we were happy to get a table before the rain came.

The menu was paper so that we could check off our tapas selections. We had fun eating olives and making our selections while getting excited for food. After turning in our menu, the food came quite quickly. First one tapas dish, then another, and another. Soon our table was full. With each item came more bread. We had a nice bread pile in the center of the table, and unfortunately we did not eat most of it due to an abundance in everything else.

I was surprised at the amount of seafood on the tapas menu. In fact, I feel like we ordered most of it. I love tapas and have been to quite a few tapas restaurants, but this one definitely exceeded my expectations in the seafood department. Along with the seafood that we ordered, we had a variety of roasted vegetables, cheeses, and breads. We could have done a better job with balancing they types of foods that we ordered, but the seafood all looked so good.

By the end of dinner we were stuffed. We even had to have our waitress hold off on the last group of tapas because we were just too full. Unfortunately because we were so full we also did not order dessert. The dessert and wine menu looked fantastic, so I am thinking that will be a separate trip on its own. All in all Mas was a wonderful delicious experience. I would recommend it to anyone in the Charlottesville area.

Brunch Review - Doyle Street Cafe

A few weekends ago Andy and I had brunch at Doyle Street Cafe in Emeryville. We discovered Emeryville fairly recently and have had fun exploring what it has to offer. From the outside, the neighborhood appears to be filled with chain stores and restaurants. Once you take the side streets though, you quickly realize there are fun unique little spots that only the locals know about. Doyle Street Cafe seems to be one of these spots.

When we arrived on Saturday morning there was already a line out the door. Families and groups of young people were mingling outside the entrance waiting for their tables to be ready.  We groaned at the idea of waiting, but also realized that the food must be worth it. When we put our names in to be seated the host sat us immediately. It was our lucky day! Most parties waiting had over 4 people, so Andy and I being only two people, were able to get a table right away.

Hot delicious coffee was delivered immediately. We contemplated between ordering off the brunch menu or the specials board. Despite the mouthwatering items on the specials board we decided on the menu. Andy ordered eggs Benedict with salmon and I opted for the goat cheese and spinach omelet.

While we waited for the food our coffees were repeatedly filled, and a low hum of voices could be heard. The ambiance was simple, almost homey. The host was very friendly with people who came in, and when he wasn't busy he helped everyone else in the restaurant. He had his hands in everything, which made me think he might possibly have been the owner. Either way, he was a friendly presence and made sure that our waters and coffees never went dry.

Our meals came after a short wait and we dug in. It was delicious, though I must admit Andy ordered better than I had. Lucky for me, he was willing to share. Our food was scarfed down with the intensity one has when something tastes so good you think it may vanish. Unfortunately, our food did vanish after a short while. We came up for a breath and were greeted with yet more coffee.

Overall, the experience we had at Doyle Street Cafe was a pleasant one. Later in the day though, both Andy and I had horrible stomach cramps. We are still not sure if it was the food from our brunch, or something else. At this point, I will just remember our Doyle Street Cafe as a delicious experience and leave it at that.

If you feel like checking it out for yourself, here is the website: http://doylestreetcafe.com/, and if you haven't figured it out already, it is located on none other than Doyle Street.

Ellie-Style, Restaurant Week SF

It has been quite a while since I've done an Ellie-Style post. Last weekend Andy and I headed into San Francisco for Restaurant Week, so I took the opportunity to snap some outfit pictures. Restaurant Week is a tradition of ours. It goes back to the years we lived in Washington DC. We had a wonderful, knowledgeable friend who always picked the restaurant for us. Twice a year when Restaurant Week was held we would all dress up and enjoy a wonderful 3-4 course meal together at a restaurant that we wouldn't normally go to. It was something I always looked forward to.

Now that we are living in the Bay Area we have decided to continue the tradition. Restaurant Week popped up on my radar so I started researching restaurants. Let me tell you, it was a chore! A fun chore, but a chore none the less. With so many restaurants to choose from in an area that I hard know, I had no direction. I decided to start with the neighborhood that we have visited a few times- The Mission. From there, Andy and I narrowed it down to the kind of food we wanted. We decided on California Fusion...whatever that is. When in California, eat the Californian food, right?

blazer (similar)-JCrew, dress-Target, tights-ModCloth, shoes-Target, belt-clothing swap, purse-Etsy Vintage

So we made reservations at Luna Park. The food was great, like melt in your mouth amazing! Unfortunately it was too dark in the restaurant to take pictures, so I didn't get to document the experience very well...next time. It was a fun first time doing restaurant week in San Francisco. I eagerly await the next time it happens.

 The only picture I have of dinner. We started with goat cheese fondue- amazing!

Au Coquelet Cafe

Last week Andy and I were in Berkeley to get the oil changed in our car and we decided to grab lunch while we waited. We walked up the main street, University Ave., which we are becoming very familiar with, and found Au Coquelet Cafe.

The first part of the restaurant is a walk-up cafe where you can order cappuccinos and decadent pastries. Oh the pastries, they looked so good! How could a person choose only one? But alas, we were there for lunch, so we continued past the cafe into the restaurant.

The restaurant was very casual and decorated with plenty of fresh greenery and plants. We felt like we were sitting outdoors, it was lovely. Since it was a French restaurant we couldn't pass up the french onion soup as a starter. And let me tell you, it was amazing french onion soup! The cheese was full and stringy, the broth warm and filled with soft onions, and it was served with hard crusted french bread for dipping. Amazing.

For the main course I had a salad and a pastrami swiss on rye sandwich. I wish I had taken a better picture of the sandwich because it was chock full of pastrami and swiss all melted together. It was delicious, and far more than I could eat, so it was a win for leftovers!

We enjoyed Au Coquelet for a drop-in lunch. The service was quick, the food was amazing, and the location is convenient in downtown Berkeley. We have been enjoying Berkeley a lot these days, it seems to fit us better than Oakland. We live in Oakland after all though, so we'll just save Berkeley for occasional weekend visits.

If you find yourself in the area and want to check it out: Au Coquelet Cafe, 2000 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA 9470.