A couple humorous reads mix in with the serious fare

I've made some progress on Resolution No. 10 by reading three books so far this year.

But I have to say that when I said I would try to read some lighter fare this year, it hasn't really worked out that well. I don't know if I just happen to pick up books that are filled with heavy issues or if that's just what most authors write about these days. It seems even when I don't pick out a book for myself - as was the case with the last novel I read - it still turns out to be a bummer.

I just finished reading "The Year of Fog," by Michelle Redmond. My mom randomly picked it up at the Gilroy library because it had a sticker on it that said "Silicon Valley Reads." I don't know if it is part of a book club offering, or if that sticker means the author is from the Bay Area, or perhaps if the sticker was just because the novel is set in San Francisco.

I kind of knew what I was getting into, though, when I read the book jacket about how the main character Abby spends a year looking for her fiance's missing daughter. A missing 6-year-old has to be a downer. The story is told from Abby's point of view as she continually goes back to the day on the beach when she looked away and her fiance's daughter disappeared. She is convinced the little girl is still alive, though as time passes others become more sure she has drowned in the rough waters off the Bay. The author mixes in a lot of facts about photography and memory - Abby is a photographer and she is obsessed with memory because she is trying to remember important details from the day that Emma disappeared. The details of all this memory and photography stuff might be enthralling to someone who knows less about it than the average person, but as I studied photography in college and worked in a psychology lab that did research on memory, all the details seemed confusing to the story. Sure, all the case studies Abby sites are real, but they don't really have anything to do with Abby's search except that they make the book twice as long as it needs to be. The characters don't seem real enough to make their despair matter.

The first book I read this year is one I got from the library as well, but for the life of me I cannot remember the name of the book or the author. It was by an Irish author, but no one well-know such as Roddy Doyle or Frank McCourt. In fact, the one thing I liked about the book was that it was set in Ireland, but that wasn't really the focus of the story. In a lot of books I've read by Irish authors, the country or city almost becomes a character in itself. This story was set outside of Dublin and the fact it was in Ireland was beside the point.

The story is about a widowed man who raises his young daughter alone. He and his wife are unhappy together, but he is saved from leaving her when she dies in a car accident. He doesn't miss her when she is gone - he's mostly just numb. The early part of the story, about him helping his daughter recover from the loss of her mother is juxtaposed against another great lose for the man - one that he seems unable to overcome. The book was well-written and the characters were mostly interesting, including the mother of his daughter's best friends from down the street who helps him grieve after both deaths with which he has to deal with. But I really disliked that in the last thirty pages of the book the author reveals something that changes the meaning of most of the book. It seemed to come out of nowhere, with little foreshadowing and there was not enough space in the last pages to make it all make sense. I don't mind a surprise ending in a thriller or mystery novel, but not in a dramatic book such as this.

In between these two novels, I read the latest from David Sedaris, "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk." The book is a departure from Sedaris' other work, which is usually essays about his adventures in life. I enjoy his pieces and love when one shows up in "The New Yorker" in between books. This latest endeavor however is fiction. Each story tells some cynical insight into humor nature through the point of view of animals. The stories are dark, some a little on the morbid side, but they work because in almost all of them I could think of at least one person that I could pin those characteristics on in real life. There is an owl who looks down upon is own family because he sees himself as so much better than them. There is a motherless bear who seeks out pity from all she meets. There is the Chipmunk from the title story who gives him to pressure from her family not to date someone different.

Now I am partway through a copy of "Bossypants," a book of essays by Tina Fey. So far, it's funny even though Fey has the same self-deprecating humor that she uses as Liz Lemon on "30 Rock." It's not really a biography, but Fey does share some bits about her life and how she ended up where she is. One of the funniest chapters so far is her recap of her honeymoon in which she and her husband took a cruise because he is afraid of flying - alone to have a fire break out on board the ship. I've always seen a lot of similarities between Liz Lemon and myself - and that might extend to Fey herself as she admits partway through the piece that she really doesn't like the cruise. The one time I went on a cruise, I felt the same way.

A resolution completed at Grill on the Alley

Over the last few weeks, I finished Resolution No. 13 without really thinking about it. Though I like to cook at home - and I do often cook on weekends with my boyfriend - there are plenty of times when we find ourselves going out to eat spur of the moment. Since I found myself wanting to share with him lots of my favorite restaurants - like My Pizza, in Morgan Hill, or the 19th Hole, in Tres Pinos, it turns out it wasn't so hard after all. But it turns out we eat out enough that there has been a good mix of old and new.

A few weeks ago, after running a few miles at the track and running some errands, my boyfriend and I decided to check out the Campbell farmers market. I was on a hunt for Jerusalem artichokes (one of the new ingredients I cooked with for Resolution No. 12.) It was close to 2 p.m. and many of the vendors were closing down for the afternoon. We used the time to check out what types of vendors were there and I actually found the Jerusalem artichokes.

We had just a light breakfast so the smells of some of the food vendors, who were selling crepes, tacos and more, made my stomach growl. Since the vendors were in the process of shutting down, we decided to grab a bite at one of the restaurants. Downtown Campbell has a lot from which to choose. We decided to try out Sonoma Chicken Coop, since I'd never eaten there before. The restaurant is set up so that guests order off a menu at a cashier, choose a table and then pick up the meals. It has the atmosphere of a sit-down restaurant, but without the waiters or waitresses.

The restaurant shares a space with the Campbell Brewery and that side of the restaurant feels a lot like a sports bar. When we arrived at the restaurant on Sunday, the brunch menu was still in effect. It was great because I was able to order a waffle with strawberries and whipped cream while my boyfriend got a pesto chicken sandwich, mixing up the breakfast and lunch flavors. The chicken sandwich was my second choice, so I got to have a few bites of his sandwich, too. The waffle was good, but the whipped cream didn't taste like real whipped cream to me. The sandwich and french fries were tasty, however. If I went back, I would go for lunch or dinner.

Another Sunday afternoon, before I had to head home for the evening, my boyfriend and I decided to grab a quick bite to eat a little Taqueria near his house. I never even paid attention to the name of the place, but I drive passed it every time I visit him in Santa Clara. It is within walking distance of his house so it required only throwing on a pair of flip flops and we were ready for dinner out. The restaurant offers the typical taqueria offerings of burritos, tacos and quesadillas, but it also has dinner plates. He was able to get two tacos - one with carne asada and one of al pastor - and I was able to get a enchilada combination plate.

We sat outside on the patio since the weather was warm and snacked on the help-yourself-chips-and-salsa bar that is in the center of the restaurant. There are only a few seats inside, but while we were there a few people were eating inside and out. The rice was tasty as were the refried beans. The corn tortillas of the enchiladas were soft and I had enough left over to take home for lunch the next day. It was a nice two-for-one meal.

From a low-budget taqueria, I finished off my resolution at an upscale restaurant in downtown San Jose. When I signed up for memberships at the Tech Museum a few months ago, one of the perks was a coupon from the Convention and Visitor's Bureau to save $10 at each of 18 downtown restaurants. The coupon expires in August, so my boyfriend and I had plans to hit as many of these restaurants as we can - although I'd be happy if we skipped Scott's Seafood since I don't eat any fish.

So when I had a free Thursday evening this week, I decided to drive up to San Jose to meet the boyfriend for dinner. I suggested Grill on the Alley since it is one of the coupon restaurants and it has great happy hour specials. Grill on the Alley is an upscale bar and steakhouse. Most of the people in the restaurant looked like well-off young professionals. But even if they weren't the happy hour specials are set at a price to let people play the part.

While regular mixed drinks - like the blue and black mojito I had - are $13, during happy hour there are a few martinis set at $6 and well drinks are $5. A handful of beers are available on tap for $5. The best thing, however, is that they have food specials that beat the bar food I've had at any restaurant. The food specials range from $3, $5 or $6 for small plates such as onion rings, spinach and artichoke dip, or loaded mac and cheese, which we chose. There are also some meat and fish offerings for $10 and burgers for $8-9. I ordered a filet medallion that was served with a roquefort sauce and mushrooms. He ordered a lamb chop with a mint sauce and mint mashed potatoes. The amount of food turned out to be just right. We split the mac and cheese, and the filet was just the right size for me. I even tried a bit of his lamb chop, a food I've never eaten before. The loaded mac and cheese came with bacon and mushrooms mixed into the creamy sauce. The top had a bread crumb and Parmesan crust that gave it the perfect crunch.

I would definitely be back at Grill on the Alley - probably for Happy Hour, since the regular dinner menu prices are upwards of $30-40 per entree. Plus the drinks are great, if I have a designated driver with me.

This probably won't be the end of my eating out at new restaurants for this year, so I'll be sure to continue with the updates.

Photos by Melissa Flores

A filet medallion is served with roquefort sauce and mushrooms.

A lamb chop is served with mint mashed potatoes.

Loaded mac and cheese has bacon and mushrooms mixed into it.