Mountain View - yes, again (and again)

When visiting a restaurant you have been to enough times to be able to recite the core menu, it can only mean a few things.  Either you have found a meal that is so wonderful you enjoy it over and over, you plan on working your way through the entire menu or it is close to home and convenient for meeting friends and family.  In the case of Mountain View, for me, it is a little bit of all of the above.

I have a few favorites that "go to" meals including the Eggplant Tower appetizer, the mussels in creamy garlic sauce and the lobster ravioli.  

On this cold January night I am meeting a friend at 6:35 sharp and the dining room is fairly busy for a week night.  In fact, the only available table is set for a large group and 2 tables are available in the bar area.  My friend also has a typical order, either the loaded nachos of the Mountain Burger. We look through the menu and specials for a few minutes anyway after I order a cosmopolitan and for her, a glass of Merlot.

Stories and thoughts are exchanged.  Vacations that are adventures versus exotic or simple beach retreats, parenting young adult children, and potential retirement and relocation ideas.

The Mountain Burger

Lobster Ravioli

If success of a meal can be gauged by the amount of food remaining on the plate, ours must have been more than just edible.  I have to say, my vegetables are prepared well beyond al dente and for some that is preferred, but I like my veggies to still have a bit of snap.  Unfortunately, I only sample them with the hope they were mildly crisp and once I confirmed they were "well done" I left them on the plate.

When I ordered my meal, I did spy the vanilla salted caramel cake. I had it on my mind during the main course and enjoyed it with a hot cup of tea.  I wasn't disappointed and love the sensation of the bits of salt with the slightest crunch through the smooth and gooey caramel.

My thoughtful friend recently gave me a book, "Eating my Words: An Appetite for Life," by Mimi Sheraton and I am thoroughly enjoying it!  Mimi has had some exciting life experiences both in and out of famous and fabulous dining rooms around the world and in New York.  

My friend and I will have dinner again.  I will certainly be eating at Mountain View again. Perhaps I will venture out and try a new item on the menu. Either way, I expect I will again feel Fed Well at Mountain View.