Suzy Says

The main reason for this little expedition to the beautiful South Coast was to have dinner at Gama, a Japanese restaurant which everyone was raving about. It is conveniently located right next to the beautiful motel where I was staying.

I had a reservation, and was warmly greeted by the friendly and knowledgeable staff. The interior is light wood, and feels more spacious than it is. The table was set with beautiful flower-shaped dishes, a carafe of still water, a lovely, heavy glass tumbler with swirls of pale blue in the glass, and wooden chopsticks. Sake and beer are available, but not wine, so I stuck with the water. The server brought me a hot towel with the menu:

It is the Japanese version of tapas, with a lot of little plates of delicious bites, which is my favorite. I always think having a lot of little nibbles is more fun than having a big dinner.

The fried chicken came with yuzu aioli:

The pork gyoza were light and crispy and came with a soy-chili dipping sauce:

The service was wonderful, and I felt cared for but not pestered. It can be hard to walk that line. It was a lovely evening.

The next day, I walked (!) up the street:

to Franny’s:

Even though it was early, I had to wait in line to get in, chatting with someone who works at the nearby B. Bryan Preserve. When it was finally my turn, it was nice to be there when everything was available and nothing was sold out:

I ended my deliciousness tour with a stop at Queenie’s. Much like Franny’s, going there on a Friday morning is a much different experience than going on the weekends. It was lightly populated, and food arrived quickly instead of in 30-40 minutes. I overheard a conversation between the waitress and an older gentleman sitting at the counter. He had just come back from his house in Italy, which is on Lake Como. He and his brother bought it from Enzio Pinza many years ago. So cool! The waitress asked him if he ever saw George Clooney when he was at the Lake Como house, and he said yes, adding that George is “very agreeable” and “so polite”. Apparently he often sees him in the cafe and he likes to talk about his kids. Nice to know George is a nice guy.

Later in the conversation, I learned that the guy himself had just celebrated his 94th birthday! He looked at least 20 years younger. I would never have guessed. His hearing was perfect and he was mentally sharp and just a lovely person. His wife is still alive and likes to write. It was a wonderful encounter and another reason to feel good about aging. All in all, a successful adventure.

A YEAR AGO: The evil Redbeard stole a bunch of stuff from my hard-working siblings. He was later caught and jailed after a reign of thievery all along our coast.

FIVE YEARS AGO: Storing potatoes.

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Adventures with the lovely Rita.

TWENTY YEARS AGO: Photos from my trip to Europe. Unfortunately, they did not survive the blog transition, but you can read the descriptions.