Callender's Classic Combo

For a limited time only, get a 1/2 Deli-style turkey sandwich, fries and your choice of salad or a cup of one of our home-style soups for $5.99 plus tax.

Marie's Burger Combo

For a limited time, get our special Burger Combo - Marie's original burger, fries and a slice of one of our world famous pies (excludes cheesecakes and fresh fruit pies) - at a price that takes you back.

Marie Callender's - San Ramon, CA

Marie Callender's
18070 San Ramon Valley Blvd.
San Ramon, CA 94583
(925) 355-0757
mcpies.com

I'm getting pretty good at finding ways to save money while supporting the local economy and feeding my family. For our four-legged kids, we buy 3 bags of dog food and get the 4th free. For hubby and I, we used a Valpak coupon for one free entree with the purchase of another entree and two beverages...and when we added on the soup and salad bar for $2.99 we actually got full from that and took the entrees home for dinner tomorrow night. Bottom line is that for $33.26 including tax and tip, we got a total of 4 meals! ;)

Marie Callender's cornbread is still as yummy as I remember from my first visits to the San Jose location years ago (I used to always get the chili and cornbread!) The creamy potato cheese soup from the salad bar was pretty good and I added some bacon bits and shredded cheese over the top because me like to haz sum extra cheeeeeese!

Although the salad bar in San Ramon is a lot smaller than the one in San Jose, it was decent and I liked having chilled salad plates filled with extra crisp lettuce and a variety of fresh ingredients (for the most part...but the croutons were disappointingly stale!) The chicken breast chunks were quite tasty and I always enjoy a couple of spoonfuls of cottage cheese in my salad, as well as mushrooms, peas and shredded cheese. I just wish they had sunflower seeds...

Braised and Slow-Roasted Pot Roast: "Tender chunks of chuck roast slow-simmered for full flavor and tenderness. Topped with a cabernet-beef reduction and served with caramelized vegetables and mashed potatoes." $13.99. I will have to update this review after tomorrow night's dinner because I took the entire pot roast entree "to go". :)

The service was good at first, but I just didn't appreciate the server delivering the bill right after the entrees were served. We just set the bill aside while we finished our salads and didn't plan on paying it until we finished, but the server came back and asked if he could close us out...so we did. Of course, we didn't get any further service after that, so it's a good thing we didn't need any drink refills.



Pies!






Creamy Potato Cheese Soup


Cornbread


Braised and Slow-Roasted Pot Roast


Guess what's for dinner tomorrow?

Sansar Indian Cuisine - Livermore, CA

Sansar Indian Cuisine
2220 1st St
Livermore, CA 94551
(925) 606-6191
sansarindiancuisine.com

This was the first time we've had Indian food in many, many, many years...but since we got a $25 Restaurant.com gift certificate for $3, we thought we might give it a try. Although I was contemplating giving them 3 or 4 stars, I decided on 4 because of the value of the price paid (with the gift certificate), the friendliness of the entire staff, the wonderful server and the star of the meal...the Chicken Tikka Massala!

Mixed Platter Appetizer: "samosa, pakora, aloo tikki" $6.95. The mixed veggie pakora was my favorite! Next time I think I would order just that. :)

Tandoori Mixed Grill: "chicken, lamb, kebab and shrimp marinated in a special sauce with garlic, ginger and home ground spices cooked in the tandoori oven and served on a sizzling platter with onions, bell pepper and lemon" $17.95. I liked the presentation on the sizzling platter, but I was disappointed in the overall flavor of the chicken, lamb and shrimp. The lamb kebab was tasty, but the chicken was somewhat dry even though I drowned it in lemon juice for additional flavor. Wouldn't order this dish again.

Chicken Tikka Massala: "tender chicken marinated with sauces and herbs cooked in creamed coconut butter sauce" $12.95. Mmmmmmmmmmm...so this is what Indian comfort food tastes like! I loved this dish, it was definitely the hit of the evening and will make me want to come back for more.

FYI, they offer a daily lunch buffet from 11am to 3pm for $8.95. Also, from Sunday to Tuesday, take 10% off any dinner takeout order before 7pm.











Mixed Platter Appetizer $6.95


Tandoori Mixed Grill $17.95


Chicken Tikka Massala $12.95


Outdoor seating


Dinner for two including tax and tip: $23.00
(courtesy of a $25 Restaurant.com gift certificate)

Fuzio - Dublin, CA

Fuzio
4930 Dublin Blvd
Dublin, CA 94568
(925) 833-7124
fuzio.com

My last review on Fuzio was a weak 5...but this one's a solid 5! I'm not one who can typically handle a lot of spice, but tonight I was a brave girl and ordered the same dish that DH ordered last time and LOVED:

Fuzio Firecracker Pork Fusilli: Ginger-braised pork, firecracker-hot habanero pesto and sour cream---give it a stir to mingle heat and flavors together. $5.13 at 50% off.

He ordered it again (of course...now I understand why once you have this dish, you can't order anything else on the menu!) and I asked for the habanero pesto on the side (so I could control my own heat) and extra sour cream to douse any fire! Just want to share a couple of things I thought of from tonight's dinner:

1. Variety and taking risks is the spice of life. I'm so glad I ventured far away from my typical "safe" non-spicy dishes...this was MUCH better than the Cambazola Rigatoni I had last time!

2. There is a fine line between pain and pleasure. I crossed it many times during the course of my meal...and I can't wait to come back for more next Wednesday...and be served by Lisa, who is kind enough to make sure I never run out of ice water!





His


Hers


Definitely hers...extra sour cream!

Mimi's Cafe - Antioch, CA

Mimi's Cafe
5705 Lone Tree Way
Antioch, CA 94531
(925) 754-3186
mimiscafe.com

Although we typically go to Mimi's for their delicious corned beef hash and eggs breakfast, we stopped in tonight for dinner since we happened to be in the area and this one's right off the Highway 4 Bypass on Lone Tree Way.

They have a 3-course dinner menu (now through April 27th) for $12.99 that includes a short list of appetizers, soup or salad, a choice of several "Just Enough Dinner" entrees and a "Petite Treat" dessert. What a deal! It actually turned out to be more food than I expected...by the time dessert came around, I was only interested in eating the vanilla bean ice cream and not so much the apple crisp. :)

I've had their Caesar Salad and French Onion Soup before, so tonight I decided to try their Corn Chowder...and it was as good as I'd expect from any chain restaurant. I would have loved the crisp texture of "real" corn-on-the-cob corn, but I didn't complain as I finished my cup. Hey, it's better than canned soup!

The Shrimp Piccata Fettuccine was loaded with shrimp and full of flavor. The only gripe I have is that there is nothing "Piccata" about this dish! To me, "Piccata" means capers, lemon juice and white wine...not tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach in a creamy tomato sauce. Despite the name, I enjoyed it and took home over half of it because my tummy sent me a subliminal message saying I needed to save room for dessert. :)

Great service, good food, super value (although the "Just Enough Dinner" and "Petite Treat" titles are VERY deceiving!) so I'm giving Mimi's 4 stars for this dinner experience.





April Special 3-Course Menu $12.99


Corn Chowder (normal add-on price $1.49)


"Just Enough Dinner" Shrimp Piccata Fettucine (normal price $10.99)


"Petite Treat" Bread Pudding (normal price $2.49)


"Petite Treat" Apple Crisp (normal price $2.49)

60% Off Restaurant.com Gift Certificates

Save 60% and get Restaurant.com $25 Gift Certificates for only $4...PLUS, for a limited time, get a FREE $15 Dale and Thomas promotional gift card with every order!

Enter discount code: BONUS

Offer valid through Sunday, April 26, 2009 at 11:59PM PST.

Amarone Cucina Italiana Lunch Special

Lunch Special $9.95 (soup or salad included)

VERONA - homemade focaccia filled with prosciutto, mozzarella, arugola and pesto sauce

ROMA - homemade focaccia with italian sausage, eggplants, mushrooms in tomato sauce with melted cheese

FIRENZE - homemade focaccia filled with grill vegetables, scamorza and sliced tomatoes

VENEZIA - homemade focaccia filled with breaded organic chicken cutled and sautéed spinach and scamorza

CALAMARI FRITTI - calamari rings fried and served with tartar sauce

INSALATA DI CALAMARI - grilled marinated calamari over a mixed greens salad

BRUSCHETTA MISTA - toasted bread with mixed vegetables and tomato dressed with extra virgin olive oil

INSALATA CON SCAMORZA - grilled smoked buffalo mozzarella over a mixed greens salad

ZITI AL FORNO - ziti pasta baked  with Bolognese sauce, besciamella , topped with mozzarella and parmigiano

LINGUINE 4 FORMAGGI - linguine pasta in four cheeses sauce: gorgonzola, fontina, parmigiano and mozzarella

PENNE ALLA VODKA - penne in a vodka pink sauce

PIZZA MARGHERITA - italian pizza with mozzarella and tomato sauce

Amarone Cucina Italiana - Pleasanton, CA

Amarone Cucina Italiana
680 Main St
Pleasanton, CA 94566
(925) 270-0500
amaronepleasanton.com

Tonight was the perfect evening to dine al fresco as the hot afternoon began to cool off, so we returned to Amarone, home of the best gnocchi alla bolognese in the San Francisco Bay Area. We started out with focaccia bread served with an olive tapenade...delicious!

Insalata Noci e Gorgonzola: Fresh mixed greens with arugula, gorgonzola cheese and caramelized walnuts in a light creamy dressing. $9.95. We split this salad, which was good, but just a little sparse on the walnuts and gorgonzola.

Gnocchi alla Bolognese: Fresh potato dumplings in a fresh veal, pork and beef Bolognese sauce. $16.95. This was exactly as divinely comforting as I remember the dish to be...it's almost as if I had a nonna cooking for me! 5 stars for that...and for the service...and for the owner Matteo!









Insalata Noci e Gorgonzola (split plate) $9.95


Gnocchi alla Bolognese $16.95


Dinner for two including tax and tip: $35.32
(courtesy of a $25 Restaurant.com gift certificate)

Cold Stone Creamery - Pleasanton, CA

Cold Stone Creamery
349 Main Street, Suite 130
Pleasanton, CA 94566

I got suckered into going to Cold Stone Creamery for several reasons tonight...let me explain, please! Actually, I've already told my story here:

More stories at Tully's Coffee

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One star for being one of the few places (excluding restaurants) in downtown Pleasanton that's open past 9pm on Saturday. Shame on Tully's Coffee for closing at 9pm (and 7pm on Sundays???)...we missed you.

One star for the $1.99 price on their attempt at iced/blended lattes. I didn't taste any raspberry, truffle or mocha in their "Raspberry Truffle Mocha Latte" - it was just a sweet shake with a tinge of coffee taste.