Costco?

Costco?  Weird...I know, but Costco has the best bang for your buck around.  In addition to being probably the best grocer on the planet with endless samples throughout the store, Costco has a solid choice of food outside for a quick meal at a great price.  They have hotdogs, pizza, turkey wraps, churros, and even a ceasar salad.  I was a little hungry today after fighting through the clueless crowd and the mile-long lines to pick up the 6 items that I needed.  You would think there would be an express lane but that would just be too easy.  Anyway, I stopped outside for a solid deal...Polish sausage and a drink for $1.50 and a Churro for an additional buck?  Surprisingly, Costco has better hot dogs and sausage outside than they do inside.  The sausage was perfectly boiled, good flavor, and for $1.50!! Seriously, I felt like I was stealing it from them!  After consuming the sausage in about 12 seconds, I made my way to the churro which was just as good.  Hearty portion of cinnamon and spice and arguably better than the highly recognizable and highly priced churro at Disneyland!  I have to say it was a solid food choice!

Savory Cafe- Downtown Ventura, CA

Savory Cafe & Bakery in Downtown Ventura has been touted for its French breakfasts and amazing pastries and baked goods.  With these accolades, I was hard pressed not to give it a run.  Most places start off simple with a glass of water and I have to say that most good restaurant's water today tastes the same.  Savory started off on the wrong foot.  Their simple glass of water tasted seriously like lipstip..and not the delicious fruity kind you get when you make out with Freda Feltcher in the sixth grade (you all know my reference).  Anyway, it was horrible and the second glass wasn't any better so I ordered a hot chocolate.  Maybe I have been going to Starbucks for way too long now but when I order a hot chocolate, I expect it to taste kind of like chocolate hence "hot chocolate."  Well, Savory missed that day of class and served me a delicious glass of warm steamed milk with a milk frappe on top.  I thought maybe the chocolate was on the bottom so I tried to spoon it out.  Sadly enough, the Harvard Graduate barista somehow forgot the chocolate.  Two strikes Savory...two strikes!
After the early meltdown, I went with everyone's go-to...the omelette.  My omelette was a spinach, caramelized onion, and ham omelette with jack cheese melted inside accompanied by pomme frites and wheat toast.  Simple right?  Well, I went down the beaten path yet again.  The omelette was conceptually well prepared.  The eggs were on the outside and the meat and vegetables were on the inside.  The gaping hole was the 3-1 onion to everything else ratio.  The onions completely overpowered every aspect of the meal, even the garlic dipping sauce for the pomme frites. The spinach was a little soggy and there was a pile of cheese on one side of the omelette and not the other.
For those of you that don't know what pomme frites are, they are Belgian fries that are supposed to be crisp on the outside, and soft and tender on the inside.  Savory did a great job with the crispy outside, however it carried into the middle of the fries and they were crisp throughout completely destroying them.  The best part of the breakfast was the one thing that I had little interest in...the wheat toast.  At this point, it wasn't even worth trying the pastries for fear they would ruin what was left of my day!  That's three strikes...or is that four?  In any case, Savory Cafe and Bakery was not a solid food choice!

The Cave- Ventura, CA

Ventura Wine Co. & Wine Bar is home of The Cave Restaurant in Ventura, CA.  Not only is Ventura Wine Co. a great place to buy local California wines, but its brainchild restaurant, The Cave is also a solid food choice.  Executive Chef Gary Daniel prepares exquisite meals in small portions to accompany his 16 bottle automatic California red wine serving system.  The menu is very diverse with everything from BBQ pork tenderloin with Southern slaw and cornbread, to Penne with mussels, clams, and roasted corn all of which is served at a reasonable price.  Personally, I couldn't make up my mind and being the food lover that I am decided to try a few...you know, just to make sure all the dishes got a fair shot!  I started with the Filet of beef in a demi glaze with basil mashed potatoes and green beans.  The dish looked like a Warhol painting with vibrant colors from the rich purple demi glaze to the green tinted potatoes.  When I took a bite of the filet, I literally almost fell out of my chair!!  Ya...it was that good!  I have had a lot of steak in my life and this filet was absolutely amazing to put it lightly.  It had just the right amount of flavor with the demi glaze not overshadowing the seasoning of the beef.  The potatoes got a similar reaction...perfectly cooked with a hearty but not overindulgent amount of basil.  If I were judging food...and I am, this dish was a 9.5 out of 10, especially when accompanied by a 2007 California Cabernet.  I would recommend that even the vegetarians out there take a swing at this masterpiece.

After I licked my plate clean...seriously, I ordered the BBQ pork tenderloin with Southern slaw and cornbread.  My expectation of this was very different than what I got but equally as delicious.  When I think of BBQ pork and slaw, I think of Texas BBQ with a sweet BBQ sauce and a watery mayonnaise slaw.  This dish was quite the opposite!  The pork was rich and tender with a little kick sitting on top of the crunchy slaw and soft, warm cornbread.  I took my fork and gathered all three troops for a taste that was remarkable.  All of the flavors blended exceptionally with the sweet and spicy pork enlightening the homemade butter enriched cornbread.  Every bite had the right amount of all three and the taste never changed.  I would have licked that plate too if the server hadn't taken it away from me when I got up to serve myself and my lady some more wine.

I did run into a small hurdle later into the meal.  Being that these were both small plates, I managed to save some room for dessert and the two mini chocolate brules with a port nut clusters.  This was the game changer!  The two mini brules were exactly as advertised "mini" but two small bites to me is microscopic.  They had a light, candy surface with a rich, decadent chocolate creme center and a strawberry topping.  Had it not been for the puny dessert portion, The Cave would have been pretty close to perfect but it is still a solid food choice and I can assure you that I will be returning many times over!