2009 Aug 14 - Phillips Farms

2009 Aug 14 - Phillips Farms Café (Lodi)

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Today we are meeting at the Breadfruit Tree, a Caribbean restaurant located at a river marina just north west of Stockton. There are just Elsa, Gobo and me today everyone else bailed.

Well. Because of physical impairments the Breadfruit Tree stopped serving lunch for the year as of yesterday. They are still serving dinner.
Gone fishing sign in window

The owner with his arm in a sling did unlock the door as I sat outside taking a smoke break. He told us that he had no one to cook lunches, so they had to stop for this year. They normally quit serving lunch after the Summer boating season anyway. It also turns out that his wife besides cooking sometimes at the restaurant is a dance instructor at the local Junior College and a choreographer for local plays. Elsa is involved in the Stockton Civic Theater and knows the wife.

Note that they are having a Raggae Event on Saturday night, Aug 29th

So during my cigarette break we toss around a few ideas and decide on heading to Lodi and the Phillips Farms Café. Gobo had never eaten there and it had been quite awhile since either Elsa or I had eaten there.

Phillips Farms Café and Fruit Stand and Winery Web Site

Phillips Farms has a Lodi address, but it is over 5 miles from the town of Lodi. In fact is is barely over a mile east of the Flag City Flying J at I-5 and Hwy 12. It is on the south side of Hwy 12.

Just off the parking lot we see goats grazing on the grass.
Elsa has to go over and pet a goat

The pick up on the left is Gobo's the one on the right is Elsa's

Phillips Farms Café, Fruit Stand and Wine Tasting Room

Gobo looks over the weekly specials board

They also have pies to sell

You can see a few of the tables behind this baked goods display

Grapes. Lodi has tons of vineyards and grape orchards

Michael and David Phillips use their first names for the wine

Part of the fruits and vegetables

More fruits and vegetables

Vine ripened tomatoes in a number of varieties

Just as we are seated I see our neighboring table being served one of the specials, the turkey pesto sandwich with fresh fruit and potato salad so I ask if I can take a photo

The café has added a lace covered patio since last I ate there

I missed this first time around. note my homemade jams :-)

More veggies in the entrance foyer

Raggae must be the "in thing" around these parts

Elsa's bbq tri-tip on a Genova Bakery soft French roll

Gobo's chicken club on sourdough toast

My traditional BLT

We finish up and head back to the vehicles. And what happened to the goats?
Temporary fences being taken away

Around here rather than weed killers and mowing; sheep and goats are brought in to control the grass and weeds.

During our lunch conversation the Barrio Festival {Filipino} comes up. And Elsa says that her relative has mentioned that Rainbo something or other has good Filipino food. Remembering that my second favorite donut shop in Stockton had been bought by Filipinos a few years ago and started having take out Filipino food. I said that I think it is the Rainbo Donut Shop, which makes the best apple fritters (donut style) in the area. I say let's go there to pick up dessert and check out the Filipino food.
It turns out that this is the place

Now serving all kinds of Filipino dishes

Some Filipino pastries

Pork and chicken Adobo

Some bbq skewers and chocolate meat

We each buy a couple of items. I buy an apple fritter and custard filled maple donut, Gobo a custard filled and Elsa an apple fritter and a dozen donut holes. But I forgot to take pictures of the donuts, oh well.

Here is the route of today's Lunch Bunch journey. A is the Breadfruit Tree, B is Phillips Farms and C is Rainbo Donut.


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~End of another Lunch Bunch Adventure
..

2009 July 31 - Café Rolle (Sacramento)

2009 July 31 - Café Rolle (Sacramento)

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Today we head to Sacramento to Café Rolle for lunch. We stopped there for dessert once before.
Miles and Ora live half way to Sacramento so they will be driving up separately and meet us at Café Rolle.

Gobo is headed to Lake Tahoe and Patti has other obligations so there will be three old timers leaving from Elsa's, Grandma, Elsa and me plus a new member, Marlene, who we have all called Linda since Grade School.
Grandma and Linda will ride in the back seat

Now Grandma, Patti, Linda and I went to the same Grade School and have known each other from the first grade or so. Although obviously Grandma is much older than the rest of us.

Anyway the three ladies were high school cheer leaders along with some others. I thought that with Linda now joining the Lunch Bunch that I would post these scans from an old year book.
Grandma

Linda

Patti

Elsa is gonna ride shotgun and I am driving my little Toyota Corolla.




We leave Elsa's and head to Hwy 99. As we are headed up the road just north of Lodi is a general aviation airport that promotes sky diving. The parachutists all look like they are going to land in the middle of the highway.

After being delayed a few minutes because of an accident on the highway as we got into Sacramento, we arrive at Café Rolle. They are extremely busy. The Food Channel has recently been rerunning the episode of Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives that they were featured in.


Miles and Ora arrive a couple of minutes after us and we read over the menu

It turns out that we will have about a 45 minute wait, but with everyone being retired we have the patience. Plus the temperature has not gone over 90° yet.


While the girls wait on the patio Miles and I drive the four or so blocks to Reeds Gourmet Meat Co. It turns out that all retail orders are done ahead of time and then you go to the little office to pick up your meat order. Since we still will have a wait for our lunch table, I decide to go ahead and order four flat iron steaks, their minimum steak order is four steaks.

Then we head back to the restaurant. After a bit more of a wait the waiter has put together a table for four and a table for two. It is a very small café and all of their tables are either two or four.

We had split a couple of appetizers of paté de foie gras, but I forgot to take a picture.

Miles' hot ham and cheese with a piece of my hot smoked salmon. The ham is more like a prosciutto.

Elsa and Ora had the roast beef sandwich

Grandma and Linda had the cold lamb sandwich

All the leftovers were on one side of the table, not my side. :-)


William Rollé smokes his own salmon


He also makes his own paté

The kitchen area is open to view

Besides putting making the sandwiches and salads, William also waits an occasional table

The girls trying to steal the little chef

Miles and Ora have headed off to visit Miles sister who stays at her home in Sacramento for a few weeks each year. She will be returning to her home in Guam this coming Monday.

I drive back to the Meat Shop and pick up my four individually vacuumed sealed steaks.
Two of the four steaks

Now it is over to Ettore's European Bakery.
Elsa and I had a Key Lime Tart while Grandma and Linda had cookies








They still use this ancient bread slicer

Elsa and I buy some bread to take home. I buy a baguette. This is the bakery where Café Rolle buys its sandwich baguettes.

Heading back home I miss the turn to get onto Hwy 99 south, so we make one more stop at the Japanese bakery, Osakaya, where I get a half dozen pastries.

ps:
Around 7:30 PM I got hungry and pan grilled one of the steaks with fried onions, some peas and a bit of lightly toasted baguette. The steak was excellent.


~end
.