Forbes Mill - Los Gatos

Amuse bouche - tomato bisque

AJ's brother is a huge meat eater. His favorite meal is easily a cheeseburger - which I have seen him consume multiple patties over the course of one day. If he can't have a cheeseburger, well a nice steak will do. We headed to Forbes Mill per Uncle Peter's recommendation in search of meat (well except for the pseudo vegetarians).

Oysters on the half shell.

Forbes Mill is an elegant steakhouse, the dining area was dimly lit adding to the ambience. While I am a fan of mood lighting, sometimes I feel like I am sitting in the dark, squinting across the table to see my dinner companions. I would have increased the lighting to avoid that feeling. To warm us up, we were served an amuse bouche of tomato bisque. This creamy, sweet, yet slightly acidic soup was delicious. It certainly had us wanting more.

French Onion soup.

Jeremy started off the meal in style with a platter of oysters on the half shell. Heather started with the french onion soup and myself, the lentil soup. The french onion was declared the favorite by all, full of rich caramelized flavor.

Jeremy digs into his New York Strip.

Spinach and stawberry salad with humboldt.

The spinach and strawberry salad with regional humboldt cheese was amazingly fresh. The tender leaves of spinach paired well with the sweet, tart strawberries, and the creamy goat's cheese. Humboldt comes from Humboldt County, CA and has a distinguishable line of mold that runs down the center. The texture is creamy, with a little more structure than your chevre.

Prime Rib.

Aunt Lou went with the prime rib - an extremely tender cut of meat. The quality of the new york strip can be measured by the absolute silence of Jeremy and Cammy until they had finished their meal.

Portabello Ravioli with swiss chard in a masala sauce.

To round out my soup and salad I ordered the portabello ravioli with swiss chard. I know that ordering pasta in a steakhouse can be a risk, but it was well rewarded. The masala sauce was rich and earthy, pairing well with the sauteed portabellos, swiss chard, and delicate ravioli.

Eating up my leafy greens with some awesome goat cheese!

Sole Almadine with asparagus and macaroni and cheese.

The sole was rather bland, and a tad overcooked. The macaroni and cheese, however, was another story, Rich and creamy, with excellent cheddar flavor. Dusted with breadcrumbs, AJ wished he had ordered a plate of it.

Dining in style.

Bottom Line: Forbes Mill is an above average steakhouse with an elegant decor. While it certainly caiters to meat eaters, their salads, soups, and pasta dishes prove to be worthy of any veggie lover.

Icing on the Cake - Los Gatos

A mouth-watering display of cupcakes

One of the first places I went to in Los Gatos was Icing on the Cake, which I reviewed previously. With AJ's family in town, we felt another trip was necessary. AJ's uncle is a huge fan of this quaint bakery, purchasing a cake every week. We ventured over to the bakery on a lazy Sunday, hoping to grab some treats for after lunch. The bakery closes on Sundays at 2pm, so get there early if you want to serve something after dinner.

From top left (clockwise): swirly cakes, mint chip cupcakes, and chocolate cake.

I love cupcakes and had been delighted with the light and creamy caramel cupcake I ordered the last time. It was feeling like a cupcake kind of day yet again. The cupcake choices were almost overwhelming: pumpkin, lemon, very berry, mint chip, among others. What was a girl to do. I decided to go with the mint chip. AJ chose a banana and a swirly cake. With any luck I would get a nibble out of both of his.

Raspberry truffle, mint chip, and banana cupcakes.

With much restraint, we stashed our cupcakes in the car, and headed off to lunch. With a minor mishap in the car, we retrieved our cupcakes mostly unscathed (One of the mint chips resembled more of a pancake than a cupcake). Heather got a flourless cupcake - the raspberry truffle. This rich and dense cake was definitely more reminiscent of fudge than cake. Extremely rich, it could have used more depth of chocolate flavor.

Mint Chip - chocolate cake with mint frosting and chocolate chips.

AJ's banana cupcake was light, moist, and fluffy. The banana really shone through, and the cream cheese frosting added a nice tang, with a subtle sweetness. I must say this was probably my favorite. The mint chip consisted of chocolate cake with mint frosting dotted with bittersweet chocolate chips. While the cake was moist, with excellent chocolate flavor, the mint frosting was piled on in excess, often overpowering the cake. While I liked the flavor of the frosting, I would probably have used half the amount. The addition of the chocolate chips added a nice textural contrast to the fluffy frosting - mimicking the mint chocolate chip ice cream experience.

Jeremy and AJ both tried the "swirly cake". This homage to a childhood favorite was absolutely adorable, and certainly blew away the hostess cupcake in terms of taste. The moist chocolate cake is piped with a cream filling. The almost marshmallow like cream contrasts nicely with the rich ganache frosting. While I prefered the lighter essence of the banana cupcake - the swirly cake is the perfect choice for the chocolate lover.

AJ asked if I prefer these to Georgetown Cupcake, my hometown favorite. These cupcakes certainly win in terms of size and frosting - with probably 2x the amount of cake, and 3x the amount of frosting. However, I am more of a frosting minimalist. While I think some of their cupcakes reveal a knack for showcasing unique flavors and the perfect amount of restraint with frosting, some of their chocolate cupcakes play to the desire to indulge.

Bottom Line: If you think cupcakes should go big or go home, go with a swirly cake. But if you are looking for a lighter touch, go with a banana or caramel cupcake.