Crooner’s Night – Dallimonti’s in Pleasant Hill

On Friday, August 31st, we have the opportunity to celebrate and reminisce about those days from way back when we used to listen to all the Crooners and just plain smile while looking at our dates.

By definition, a Crooner is a singer of popular ballads who is typical male. In modern terms, a ballad is a slow tempo with romantic or sentimental lyrics.

Dallimonti’s Italian Restaurant in Pleasant Hill is having their usual Friday Night Karaoke with TJ Burke, the greatest KJ (Karaoke DJ) in the Bay Area, however, on August 31st, the theme is “Crooner’s Night” and while no one will be denied the opportunity to sing their favorite tune, this particular evening’s theme is dedicated to those guys from a while back, in addition to some modern day Crooners.

The original Crooners are: Bing Crosby at the top of the list, “Old Blue Eyes”, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis and Tony Bennet.

The folks that through their choices of melodies and style are considered modern day crooners are Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr., Steve Terrell and Rod Stewart.

If you would like to have some fun and entertainment listening to some pretty good local singers, stop by Dallimonti’s in Pleasant Hill at 1932 Oak Park Blvd; it will help you reminisce about the good old times and who knows, maybe there is a hidden talent inside of you just waiting to pop out… in any case, bring your date and dance the night away.

Say HI to Ron and Christy Dallimonti while you are there; it will be fun…

In-N-Out Burger Opens in Pleasant Hill!

In-N-Out Burger Opens in Pleasant Hill!

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In-N-Out Burger Opens in Pleasant Hill

Yes, the latest, greatest and most anticipated opening of a chain restaurant in Pleasant Hill has finally arrived!

The Grand Opening is on May 17th at 570 Contra Costa Blvd., Pleasant Hill, CA  94523 at the NW corner of Contra Costa and Chilpancingo.  Their telephone number is 1-800-786-1000, but why call them when you can be in their traditional line to order one of their great menu items, including all those items that are available on their SECRET MENU and then have a great meal with the family.

Their hours of operation are:  Sunday – Thursday 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 a.m.,  Friday 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 a.m. and Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 a.m.

At 10:30 a.m. when I drove by, I couldn’t tell where the line ended…   I will stop by later and have a 2X3, protein/animal style, medium rare with well done fries from their, well,  NOT SO SECRET MENU, as they say on their website:

“Urban myth or just plain excellent customer service?  Ok, you’ve heard the rumors, wondered what was on it, maybe even felt a little left out of the loop. But in reality, we don’t have any secrets at all. It’s just the way some of our customers like their burgers prepared, and we’re all about making our customers happy”.

ENJOY! 

A Taste of Lafayette – A little French Bakery!

The French Bakery

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71 Lafayette Circle, Lafayette, CA

A Taste of Lafayette – A little French Bakery!

Secluded behind a shopping area with great restaurants and quaint shops, there is a little piece of heaven under the name “The French Bakery”; it used to be just a bakery and now it has transformed itself into a delightful French Restaurant, open for breakfast and lunch with an absolutely great menu and choices that will make your mouth water.

The founder is Lynn Appleton, a student at Le Cordon Bleu and recently, she partnered with Chris Amsden.

The address is 71 Lafayette Circle in beautiful downtown Lafayette.

Stop by and say hello to  Chris, tell him that Rafael sent you and if you are not in the mood for breakfast or lunch, try one of their wonderful pastries.

Bon Appetit!

BEST DEEP-DISH PIZZA IN THE SAN FRANCISCO EAST BAY AREA

Best Deep Dish Pizza in the East Bay

The best Pizza in the San Francisco Bay Area is found at Little Star Pizza, 1175 Solano Ave.; it is a beautiful location surrounded by all the quaint small shops that you can only find on this wonderful street in Albany.

At Little Star, the Deep Dish Pizza crust is as thin as their regular thin-crust pizza and they super load it with fresh ingredients up on top. The pizza sauce tastes like home-made (really yummy).  They must use fresh Roma tomatoes that they could only get at a farmer’s market; you would think that this is their secret, however the real secret of their success is the fact that they use cornmeal in their crust.  If you have not been excited about deep-dish pizza before, you have to give Little Star a try and then decide.  Let me know what you think.

I even have to pass very close to Zachary’s Pizza in order to get there, but it is definitely worth the trip; they have two other locations in San Francisco and I can only hope that they open up a location in Walnut Creek or Lafayette (where I work at People and Properties Sotheby’s International Realty). Try it, enjoy it and let me know what you think by replying to this post.  Bon Appetit!