I’ve been eating out rather a lot lately. On Friday, the family all got together and went to Left Bank for a very nice meal (read my mom’s review). I am really quite fond of that restaurant. On Saturday, I went out with Rob and Jer to Sue’s Indian Cuisine in Mountain View. On Sunday, I went over to the East Bay to hang out with Lydia. We watched a bunch of Yakitate!!, bought fabric for our Katamari costumes (and Lydia is the sweetest and best person ever because she’s making my dress and gloves for me- can you feel the love?), and ate cheesesteaks of random quality and sushi of better quality. I tried umeboshi for the first time. That’s some very salty stuff. But tasty.

Monday was the traditional Mountain View weekly dinner. Ryan came along with us for the first time, yay! We went to an Italian restaurant called Zucca (and bravo, you have the most annoying Flash intro EVER). I really liked my dinner (hangar steak with mashed potatoes, a red wine reduction, and fried onion strings), but Ryan chose a pizza which, in her words, “sucked.” Also, it’s kind of on the pricey side, so you have to be careful what you choose. Based on that, I’m not sure I actually recommend it, even though my meal was quite good.

The bar at Zucca had some interesting drinks, including an entire menu of “martinis.” And now a time for me to rant on the term “martini.” I’m not a fan of martinis. Gin’s really not my thing. However, nomenclature is my thing. It pisses me off when people attach the word “martini” or the suffix “-tini” for a drink that has no relation to a martini. A martini made with vodka instead of gin? Is NOT a martini. I mean, if the mere act of using an onion instead of an olive changes the name to a Gibson, then changing the other ingredients should also change the name completely. Just because you put it in a martini glass does NOT make it a martini. It’s… some other drink… served in a martini glass.