Maya

The other day, my husband and myself found ourselves kid-less, so we decided to drive up to Sonoma for lunch. We weren't sure where we were going; we had heard of a place called Mondo, but it was closed, so we ended up at Maya. We have been there several times and its always been good. This time was no different.

We were greeted right away and asked to wait in the bar area for a few minutes. Chips, salsa, and water were served right away by a friendly busboy. After about 10 minutes, we were seated at our table. We weren't greeted by our waiter for several minutes, but when he did show up we were not only ready to order our Maya Margarita, but we were also ready to order our lunch. The food took a little bit, as it was obvious that the kitchen was busy since the restaurant was a full house.

I ordered the house salad, which was green leaf lettuce, jicama, mango, and a chipotle papaya vinaigrette. I opted to add the 5 grilled tiger prawns, and it was a delicious addition. For my entree, I ordered the cheeseburger, which was served on a soft roll, and with yucca fries. It was very, very rare, but I still enjoyed it. The waiter never asked how I wanted it cooked, and I didn't even think to order it medium. I gave half to my husband, and he shared his carne asada tacos with me. The meat was tender and flavorful, and served on top of a corn tortilla, with finely diced red onion and a spicy red sauce. The tacos were served with a side of rice and pureed white beans.

The service was a tad slow, but the food was delicious as always. I will definitely return in the future! :)

Mary's Pizza Shack

Sorry I haven't been doing too many reviews ( all you zero readers out there! LOL), but I haven't really eaten out much. Well, I ate at a great place in Las Vegas last weekend, called Studio Cafe (Excellent!!!!) inside the MGM Grand, and at Wolfgang Puck (Good service, HORRIBLE FOOD), also at the MGM, but I try to keep my stuff somewhat local.

I will be doing a fabulous review of the highly anticipated and newly opened, Nick's Cafe soon, but first I wanted to write about Mary's Pizza Shack in Sonoma, CA.

We had to take a quick trip there on Saturday to pick up The Husbands registration packet for the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon on Sunday. It was about 2:30 and I was starving! The only reason I tagged along is because I had hoped it would involve food! Well, it did. Mary's has been around forever and it's family owned and operated since 1959. This is the first time I ate in the new location; they just moved around the corner recently.

We were seating immediately even though all of Sonoma was packed with pre-racers. We had time to check out the menu and see a few new items before our server greeted us. I can't remember his name! Justin? Austin? Anyway, this was a bad sign because unfortunately, the service never really improved. I mean, it was just slooowwwww. But, like I said, they were very busy and he had tables out on the patio, too. When I was a server, I hated when I had the whole patio and then asked me to pick up another table...you tend to forget about that table! Anyway.

Now to the food! It was delicious, as always. We tried the hot and spicy chicken wings, but it came solo-no bleu cheese or celery, which I thought was odd. So, we asked for the dressing and he actually brought it out somewhat quickly. The wings were hot, spicy, & sticky! Very good. Then I just had to have my favorite Mary's house salad: crisp lettuce, 3 bean salad, salami, eggs, red onion, & mozzarella w/ housemade bleu cheese dressing. Delicious as usual. I always, always get the fresh brewed iced tea and the house salad when I go.

We ordered 2 entree's and shared. The new Vinnie's Meatball Pizza was really good. It had small bits of meatball, pepperoni, onions, a ton of mozzarella cheese, and fresh garlic. Nice thin crust, too. Whole wheat, I think. Then we shared something I wouldn't normally order: a Southwestern Chicken Wrap. It was a tomato basil tortilla filled with BBQ glazed chicken, cheese, corn, & a huge amount of field greens w/a sweet vinaigrette sauce. Interesting, but in a really good way. Would I order again? No. The pizza is what you come to Mary's for! I can't wait to go back. I highly recommend Mary's Pizza Shack. And Mary? If you are reading this (LOL)...why don't you deliver to Marinwood??? Its only a few more exits down from your Novato location!! Just a suggestion.

BTW, The Husband finished 117 out of 1,016 at the marathon yesterday! He placed 9th in his age range out of 75 people. 1:40:06!!!!! Not too shabby! I just really need to get in on the action! This is was his second race and my first one isn't until October 14: San Jose Rock & Roll!! Which reminds me: wasn't I supposed to run 2 miles today???