Applewood Inn

In a nutshell: a lovely meal in a lovely restaurant, with friendly service on a semi-enclosed deck overlooking a charming garden. Unfortunately, we were all so full from both the oyster bonanza and Cyrus the night before that we did not take full advantage of the meal. Still, everyone appreciated the simple but colorful California preparation of our dishes.

My mom, a light eater by any measure, was perfectly happy with a butter lettuce salad and a little bite off everyone's plate.

I had two appetizers instead of an entree: a rhubarb and celery salad to start, and an excellent steak tartare which I forgot to photograph.

Even J held back. He considered the foie gras, but had this sweet onion soup instead.

He also had a really beautiful dish of asparagus topped with an egg. My photograph doesn't do it justice at all.

My sister had a mushroom risotto.
My other sister had a chicken roulade. This was quite adventuresome of her, since she usually abhors restaurant chicken. She said it was fine, but that if that's as good as it gets she'll never order chicken again. I took a bite and told her "Yes, this is as good as it gets." It was a perfectly cooked piece of chicken breast in a delicious sauce.

My dad almost always gets whatever grilled fish is being offered that evening.

For dessert, we all shared a meyer lemon trifle. Like a lot of desserts this time of year, it came with cooked cherries. Very zingy, and a nice finish to a meal.