Johnny Garlic's Pasta Grill

We are huge Guy Fieri fans over here, as I may have mentioned before! We've been to Tex Wasabi's twice, so we decided that Johnny Garlic's was a great place to go for my husbands birthday lunch yesterday. Its a bit of a hike, took us about 45 minutes to get there. Its in a suburban area, not downtown like both locations of Tex W's.

We were greeted right away and seated in the covered patio area. It appears as if on a beautiful day, the plastic panels could open up, but yesterday was wet and cold. It was a little dark in the back; they could have used some light or at least opened up the blinds more.

We ordered the Key Lime Calamari to start. It seemed undercooked to me, so I had just the one piece and left it at that. The marinara sauce was "on point". :) My husband and youngest daughter enjoyed the curly part of the squid with delight, as me and my oldest daughter sqeamishly looked away. ;) The menu was large and very diverse, but I decided right away on the Johnny's Dip, which was a large portion of roast beef, melted pepper cheese (I saw no peppers...), and served on a nice soft roll and with a ramekin of au jus on the side. It came with chips, but I ordered a green salad instead, which was just ok. It looked pretty, but the veggies seemed kind of old. My sandwich was pretty good and very filling--I wasn't able to eat all of it.

My husband had the pasta and salad combo, in which he chose the Volcano Chicken Penne & Caesar. He said it was delicious, and it sure looked good! My daughter Rory had the same, but she opted for the Penne Pomodoro. She said it was good, but complained that the portioned seemed small.

Bella, the youngest, had the kids chicken tenders & french fries. The chicken was breaded and fried and looked way over done.....but she said it was really good. She couldn't even finish her dish.

Overall, the food was fine, the service was great, but I'm not sure we would make a special trip up there again. If we happened to be in the area, then yes, we'd dine there again.

We still love Guy Fieri! Can't wait for all the new Food Network shows to begin next week. I need to make a trip into Mill Valley to check out Tyler Florences new place.

Ca Bianca

This past weekend was our girls spa getaway for Melissa's birthday. I pretty much planned the whole thing and it was kind of stressful! I mean, how hard is it to decide between a facial, a massage, or both? I personally went for a facial and a pedicure and it was pure bliss. My complexion is glowing and my feet are sooo soft and my toenails are Tangerine Scene. I don't really know these girls too well, but I've been invited to hang out with them on occasion. I met a few new ladies and we all had a blast.

The birthday dinner was held at Ca Bianca in Santa Rosa. It's in a gorgeous white Victorian House with the most beautiful garden in the front yard, which is surrounded by a white picket fence. We had a reservation for 9 since 3 ladies missed spa day and were just meeting us there. We were greeted and seated right away in a small room located near the back of the house. Our waitress was great, the service was excellent, and the food was delicious. Now, I had not eaten all day and I was famished, so it may be that reason that I felt that the portions were small, but in retrospect, I still do think they could have been larger. Especially since we had 9 people sharing appetizers. We started with Beef Carpaccio, Caprese Salad, Eggplant, and Polenta. They were all amazing and delicious! For my entree, I had the Chicken Picatta. The chicken itself was delicious, but the sauce could have been more lemony and the side was a tiny portion of salty, diced potatoes & bell peppers--it reminded me of a breakfast hash. Again, the portion of the entree was very small for this ravenous girl. The waitress brought out a trio of desserts with a candle for Melissa: Chocolate Mousse w/ mini Biscotti, Apple Tartlette w/ Vanilla Ice Cream, and Tiramisu. Delicioso!