Philz Coffee - Palo Alto, CA

Iced Mint Mojito Coffee

Coffee shops are everywhere these days and sometimes its hard to distinguish one from the next. Philz Coffee is anything but your average shop. Every cup is handcrafted - that means they brew it, they add milk, and they add the sugar. You tell them what you want and they do it for you. I'll admit the first time I walked in the door I was very overwhelmed. They offer a plethora of special blends, customized by Phil himself, and as someone who loves coffee but knows little about it I was unsure what to order. Don't be afraid to ask the staff for help in figuring out what you want.

Bluberry Cobbler Muffin

With Malia in town, I knew I wanted to take her to Philz Coffee. Now we could have tried one of their delightful blends such as Ambrosia or Philharmonic, but I wanted to experience the Iced Mint Mojito Coffee with Malia. We are huge Mojito fans. Now these coffees don't have any light rum or lime in them, but they were so refreshing on a hot morning. The mint was so fresh and went wonderful with their house iced coffee.

Nectarine Cobbler Muffin

We weren't sure what kind of pastry would go well with a iced mint mojito coffee, so we picked ones that looked the tastiest - a blueberry and a nectarine cobbler muffin. The muffins had that lovely crumb topping and the fruit was really fresh. The muffins were rather dense - indeed more biscuity like a cobbler topping. We both agreed that we could make better muffins.

But let's be honest the coffee is the star at Philz. With 7 locations in the Bay Area you can be sure to find one close to you. So head over and try a cup, I guarantee you'll like it.

Pro Bono - Palo Alto, CA

Merlot and candlelight - what a lovely ambience.

I have had trouble with Italian restaurants recently. I love pasta, but lately the meals I eat at Italian restaurants have fallen flat. Paying $12.95 for a plate of spaghetti, that I could make at home for a fraction of the cost, seems absurd. However, when my coworker recently raved about Pro Bono in Palo Alto, I decided to give Italian another shot.

Two friends, AJ, and I arrived for a late dinner on a Saturday night. This small, cozy restaurant was packed at 8:00pm. The candlelight tables evoked a warm and homey feeling. We were seated fairly quickly even without a reservation. Unfortunately it took quite a while for the waiter to bring by a basket of bread. Incidentally, the waiter tried to makeup for this inconveniecnce by continuing to bring baskets of bread to our table throughout the night. While I appreciated the gesture, it was a bit of overkill.

Penne with mushrooms, arugula and tomatoes.

We ordered some merlot to start off the evening. Sometimes I love a nice mellow merlot. It goes great with pasta. AJ ordered a penne dish with mushrooms, arugula, and tomatoes. Simply prepared with a little garlic and olive oil, the dish was tasty, but nothing extraordinary.

Susan's Downfall - ravioli in a cheese and toasted almond sauce.

Being a fan of appetizers for dinner (it allows you to sample more of the menu), I order an arugula salad and Susan's downfall. Susan's Downfall is aptly named for its rich gorgonzola and toasted almond sauce. This divinely creamy sauce drowns the cheese and herb raviolis it is paired with. I love how the dish was run under the broiler before presented at the table, giving the sauce a delicious golden top.

Most of the fair is good, but not great. However, a trip to Pro Bono is worth it, if just to sample Susan's downfall.

Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers and Lulu Noodle

The view from the Hoover Tower at Stanford University.

Last Saturday was another beautiful day in the Bay Area, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and Stanford students were graduating. I hit up the "Last Lecture of the Year" with some friends from work. Reknowned neurobiologist, Robert M. Sapolsky, gave a talk about the differences and similarities between humans and primates. I am certainly interested in reading his book, "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers".

The Bells.

After the lecture we walked around Stanford's campus and caught the view from the Hoover Tower. You can see San Francisco in the distance! All of that thinking and walking made us hungry. One of my friends is more familiar with the area than I am, having gone to Stanford herself. She suggested a noodle place in Mountain View, Lulu Noodle.

Spicy beef noodle soup.

Lulu noodle is a casual eatery with noodles galore and a number of boba drinks. I am always up for a bowl of noodles and some boba, so I was pleased with the lunch choice. I usually go with pho ga at noodle places, but decided to try the spicy beef noodle soup. The broth was rich and spicy, but not spicy enough in my opinion. I added some sriracha for an extra kick. The beef was fairly tender with large pieces of fat swiming in my bowl. The broth was flavorful, but a little too oily.

Mixed Combination Chow Fun

My two friends ordered the mixed combination chow fun with chicken, pork, shrimp, and mixed vegetables. While the service wasn't always the most attentive, they sure are serious about their food. A stray shrimp fell off the platter and was promptly replaced with another shrimp on a small serving platter. You have to respect that kind of service!

Replacement shrimp.

I ordered the thai tea boba, a slightly bitter, extremely creamy beverage. My favorite part is the tapioca bubbles. I love the chewy texture. The jelly grass and bean beverage was order by my adventurous friend. The extremely sweet drink can almost serve as another meal, filled with sweet red beans and jelly sliced into thin strips.

Boba Tea.

I love dining out with friends with adventurous tastes. I never would have ordered the fried taro with egg and peanuts on my own, but was delighted to share this dish. The taro almost tasted like silken pieces of tofu. The fried egg and peanuts added depth of flavor. Dipped in soy sauce, this salty treat is the epitome of simple comfort food.

Taro with fried egg and peanuts.

Lulu Noodle serves up some cheap, large portions of asian comfort food. If you're strapped for cash and looking for something filling, you know where to go.

Lulu Noodle

Located off of El Camino between Showers Dr and San Antonio Rd,

in the Shopping Center with the Trader Joe's.

Organic Cupcakes?!

Banana cupcake with cream cheese frosting.

AJ and I have talked about turning my love of baking into a career. If I were going to open a bakery it would be a cupcake bakery. But my cupcake bakery would differ in that I would try whenever possible to use organic and locally sourced ingredients. What a brilliant idea. Too bad someone has already thought of this and turned it into a reality. It's not all bad news though, I still get to eat these cupcakes.

Kara's Cupcakes all started with Kara Lind, the executive pastry chef. A former ad sales executive turned her love of home baking into a career with a small cupcake catering business. The high demand led to the opening of her first store in San Francisco. Four other stores opened up in the Bay Area shortly thereafter. We headed to her Palo Alto location.

Kara's premium, fresh, local ingredients are translated into unique flavors such as fleur de sel and raspberry dazzle. I always have a hard time choosing a flavor. I usually would like to try them all. On this particular occasion I was in the mood for something light (as light as a cupcake can be). The banana cupcake with cream cheese icing seemed like the perfect fit. Moist and fluffy with excellent banana flavor, this cupcake was a winner. The cream cheese frosting was creamy, tangy, with the perfect touch of sweetness.

AJ chose the fleur de sel and the vanilla chocolate. The fleur de sel, certainly piqued my interest. The popularity of the fleur de sel caramel has been sweeping the nation, and so it seems natural that Kara's cupcakes would create a cupcake in its honor. Fleur de sel is a sea salt that is scraped off the top layer of salt before it sinks to the bottom of the salt pans. It is rare and thus rather expensive. A dark chocolate cake is filled with a creamy, thin caramel filling. Topped with chocolate ganache and fleur de sel, this cupcake is the epitome of decadence. The caramel, chocolate, and fleur de sel work very well together. If you're in the indulgent mood, this one is for you.

Pretty pink boxes to house these lovely cupcakes.

The vanilla chocolate is a nice yellow cake topped with chocolate frosting. This classic pairing was done very well. The chocolate frosting had excellent cocoa flavor and wasn't too sweet.

If I were to compare these to some other cupcakes I have had recently, I would say they are smaller in size, but cost the same as larger cupcakes sold at places like Sprinkles and Icing on the Cake. If you've ever been to Georgetown cupcake, these cupcakes bear a similar resemblance, in size and in appearance. I enjoyed these cupcakes, and especially their mission of using local and organic ingredients. However, the cake wasn't as fluffy as some cupcakes I have eaten at Sprinkles and Icing on the Cake.

Bottom Line: If you are all about supporting local/organic farmers, and love cupca kes, head on over to Kara's cupcakes.

Sprinkles Cupcakes - Palo Alto, CA

Chai and Strawberry Cupcake

AJ and I took a trip over to Sprinkles to try out the famed West Coast cupcakes, which may have started the whole cupcake craze. The story behind Sprinkles is pretty interesting. The husband/wife team left their jobs as investment bankers to make cupcakes! Apparently they work more hours now than when they were working in banking. You can read more about their story on their website.

Suffice to say, their hard work pays off, the cupcakes at Sprinkles are moist and fluffy, with the perfect amount of frosting. They offer a plethora of flavors, which allowed us to indulge our sweet tooths by getting four cupcakes, instead of two. I mean we had to try a couple different flavors, right? Plus their chai cupcake is only on the menu once a week - what luck! Don't worry we spaced out our consumption.

Chai Cupcake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

After a couple minutes of scanning the long menu, we decided on the pumpkin, strawberry, chai, and chocolate marshallow. Each cupcake comes with a decorative sugar button on top. The colors distinguish one cupcake from the next. While cute, these buttons were not tasty.

After discarding the button, a bite into the chocolate marshmallow revealed an intense dark chocolate frosting - with a slightly bitter taste. Fans of dark chocolate will be pleased in that the ganache isn't cloying. The chocolate cake was moist and filled with a marshmallow creme. While enjoyable, this homage to the hostess cupcake wasn't my favorite. Again, diehard chocolate fans will be pleased.

The strawberry and chai cupcakes were similar in that they were extremely light. The flavors were somewhat muted. I enjoyed the strawberry cupcake, but would have liked a more intense strawberry flavor to the cake. Again the chai spices were toned down in the cake.

The hands-down favorite was the pumpkin cupcake with cinnamon cream cheese icing. The cupcake was bursting with pumpkin, like cinderella's carriage after midnight. The cream cheese frosting had the perfect balance of sweetness and slight tanginess.

Bottom Line: At 3.25 these cupcakes are rather large, but the cake is so light, you won't feel bad eating another. And trust me, you won't be able to eat just one.

Sprinkles
393 Stanford Shopping Center
Palo Alto, CA