Palo Alto: Max's Opera Cafe and fridge emptying

Saturday brunch: french toast with sliced apple, yogurt and jam

On Friday evening, after a dash around the Shopping Center to round out my interview wardrobe (sadly, the red JCrew button-down I bought on Thursday night had a strangely loose collar that looked messy under a suit jacket), I had dinner with a friend at Max's Opera Cafe.  I've always found Max's to be an interesting place: the atmosphere is dim and somewhat elegant, the noise level tends to be high, and people are equally comfortable dining there in evening gowns as they are in shorts and flip-flops.  Also, considering the size of the menu, I think it's remarkable that the food is as consistent as it has been during the 5+ times that I have been there.  Their warm bread basket is also worth mentioning - the raisin roll is particularly good.

This time, I ordered the mojito skirt steak, which was a very large, wide ribbon of steak, served with a mint-lime-rum sauce, potatoes, caramelized shallots, green beans, and corn bread (which was initially left out, but was then brought after I asked about it).  The skirt steak was a little uneven in the degree of cooking, and there was more char on the ends than I would have liked, but the flavor of the meat and of the sauce was great.  My friend ordered the french dip sandwich, and said that the jus was too sweet, but otherwise he seemed to enjoy it.  The accompanying fries were, as always, large and perfectly golden.  No pictures, because I didn't have my camera with me.

Roasted tomatoes, zucchini-and-corn curry stir fry, egg fried rice

On Saturday, I remembered that I needed to clean out my vegetable crisper.  After throwing out some rather old vegetables that had succumbed to the ravages of time, I was left with a few onions, zucchini, and some corn.  I diced an onion, sauteed until partly brown, then added the sliced zucchini.  I mixed some green curry paste with the leftover chicken stock from the butterflied chicken, added this to the vegetables, and finally added the corn (which I had boiled and then sliced off the cobs).  This stir-fry was a nice complement to some leftover roasted tomatoes and some egg fried rice, one of my favorite comfort foods.

Almond croissant, peach, and yogurt

At the Farmer's Market this morning, I picked up a three peaches, two of which (along with a croissant) will hopefully not get squished inside my bags.  I also discovered today that the Indian prepared-food stand sells tasty samosas for $1 each, and that said samosas can be liberally topped with the curries and chutneys placed in front of the stand.

My next post should include some mention of Chicago deep-dish pizza ;-).