An easy resolution - eat out more

So far this year, some of my New Year's Resolutions have been easier to keep than others. I'll be honest and say I've been more focused on the early stages of a relationship than on meeting those 14 goals I set for myself. One of the easiest, of course, is the one thing on the list that fits easily in with dating.

Resolution No. 13 is to eat at five new restaurants this year and just two weeks into February, I'm more than half way there. A few weeks ago I dined at Flames Restaurant in downtown San Jose. I was torn whether to include this visit as one of the "new" restaurants I had tried because I visited the Flames Restaurant on Winchester Boulevard more than 10 years ago. But I didn't actually eat there. I barely had a drink there. I was out on a date with a guy who had taken me to dinner at the Elephant Bar Restaurant nearby. We were to follow up the meal with a movie, but it wasn't quite time for the next showing. He asked if I wanted to hang out at Flames to kill a bit of time. I said okay, assuming we would order a drink or dessert. Once we were seated inside, he said we should just order water because he didn't want to spend anymore money. For anyone who hasn't guessed it, that was the last date for him.

But my companion on a recent Sunday was much better company. We originally planned to have lunch at Flames, on the corner of Fourth and San Fernando streets, before a trip to the Tech Museum. We arrived to a busy crowd and put in our name for the half-hour wait. But as the wait stretched to 45 minutes, and we realized we really weren't that hungry since we had a late breakfast, we opted to leave before our names were called. Instead we returned later in the afternoon, when the crowd had moved on.

We ordered a tri-tip sandwich with sweet potato fries along with an appetizer of asparagus fries. For anyone who is wondering what asparagus fries are, they are dipped in batter and deep fried into crispy goodness, served with a dipping sauce. The sweet potato fries were tasty and seemed a little less greasy than typical French fries. The sandwich was tasty and filling enough to split. Though the restaurant had a full display of desserts in a case near the entrance - including cookies that we decided were about the equivalent of five regular-size cookies - I opted against dessert. I am sure we will go back and try out some more things in the future. I'd love to go back in the evenings for one of the exotic drinks on the menu.

A couple weeks later, I dined at a Mexican Restaurant in Merced called La Nita's Restaurant. The reason for being in Merced is a long story, but we were there in the late afternoon and I'd developed a headache from not eating enough or drinking enough water throughout the day so by the time I arrived at La Nita's, it was more about sustenance than good food. I ordered a two-item combo with an cheese enchilada and a shredded beef enchilada. Those were pretty average. But the one thing I loved on the plate was the rice, which was fluffy and moist in a way I can never manage to get Spanish rice to behave at home. I also liked the warm tortilla chips that a dinner companion claims are made fresh. If I end up back in Merced, which is not too likely, I'd eat there again.

I'm not really counting this in the tally, but I did eat at Bill's Cafe in Willow Glen over the weekend. I'd already eaten at another Bill's Cafe a few miles away, but my boyfriend said the one in Willow Glen has a better atmosphere. When we arrived for a Sunday morning brunch, I understood what he meant. Despite a large crowd, we were seated in under 20 minutes. Prior to seating, we ordered drinks from the bar - a mimosa for me and a drink of beer and lime juice in a glass rimmed with salt for the boys. We were seated on the patio, perfect for the unseasonably warm weather.

Bill's menu is great and there are so many more things on it that I'd like to try. They offer half a dozen different takes on eggs Benedict, a bread pudding French toast and tons more. Last weekend I went with an egg white scramble which included tomatoes, Jack cheese and mushrooms. It seemed like a lighter option given the mimosas. The waiter was attentive and the service was quick, without feeling like we were being rushed out.

Photo by MELISSA FLORES

Enchiladas, rice and beans from La Nita Restaurant in Merced.

A few go-to lunch spots are a must

It's a necessity to have a few good restaurants within walking distance of where one works. Even though I bring my lunch from home most days, there are those occasions when there are no leftovers to pack or when I just don't feel like eating a meal two days in a row.

When I worked at San Jose State University, I had an hour lunch so it was easy to select a place that I could walk to, order and eat while still getting back to the office on time. Grande's, an Italian and pizza place, on the corner of Fourth and San Carlos streets was the go-to place. It was just up the block from my office in MacQuarrie Hall and I ate their countless times with my friends. I think the keys where that it was close and it was relatively affordable. Other favorites included Togo's, also on Fourth Street, Iguana's taqueria and (at least when someone else was footing the bill) Il Fornaio.

Since my job is a busy one now, it helps to have a place that will take phone orders and is a quick walk from the office as my go-to place.

When I was working in the Pinnacle office in Gilroy, I went home for lunch most days. But on the days when I wanted to eat out, it worked perfectly that my favorite Mexican restaurant in town was directly across from the building in which I worked. Cielito Lindo is a little whole in the wall place in downtown Gilroy that has the best flautas ever. The service is good. The food is good. It's a place that only locals know and I make sure to take friends visiting from out of town there.

Now that I've been working in downtown Hollister for a while now I know most of the restaurants within a few block radius. The top choice most times I want to grab a quick lunch is The Elegant Touch. They serve sandwiches, homemade soups, a daily special and mini eclairs that are delicious. The main reason it's at the top of the list is that it is right across the street, I can call in my order and they have the menu up online so it's easy to decide what I want.

This week I wanted something light for lunch and decided to try a new restaurant that's been open for a while in downtown. The spot on San Benito Street has been a bit of a revolving door for restaurants. I stopped going to it when my friends and I went for lunch one day to eat in. We ordered sodas - and had drunk half of them - when my coworker noticed ants floating in the drinks. When we informed the girl at the counter that there were ants in the soda, her response was "Oh yeah. that happens every morning in the soda machine." That was enough to make me not go back.

But the place is under new ownership again, with a new chef, a new menu and a new name. My coworkers had been mentioning how good the food is at the Knife and Fork Cafe for months. So finally this week when I didn't have much of a lunch packed, I decided to try it out. The restaurant doesn't have a Web site, which is a minus, but the staff was willing to fax me a copy of the lunch menu. I selected a Mediterranean salad with greens, kalamata olives and feta cheese. The salad was slightly overdressed for me since I usually prefer my dressing on the side, and it had green onions in it, which I don't really like. It came with a couple slices of ciabatta garlic bread. But overall the ingredients were fresh and tasty. The salad was about the same price as others at downtown restaurants. I'm not really counting this as eating at a new restaurant (Resolution No. 2) since I didn't technically eat at the restaurant. But the salad was good enough I will be back to try the sandwiches or specials.