Positive Press

Today we went to Christmas in the Park in Downtown San Jose.

For starters, we had to get lunch, so we went to a new place called Angelou’s Mexican Grill, on First Street. I wanted Spaghetti Factory, as we haven’t been to that eatery in years, but this was something new, and it sounded interesting. Inside was interesting too…

I thought the place was named after Maya Angelou, but maybe it was reminiscent of people who went by Angel and Lou? Either way, it was a neat location.

I decided to have alcohol again, because they had sangria, and while I’ve had the virgin version many times, I’d never had it with wine. It was very tasty.

I had the flautas, but was so busy wanting to pronounce the dish expertly that I forgot to ask for beef. I’m not a big meat eater, but with Mexican food, I prefer ground beef to chicken in most dishes.

The chips we started with were nicely sauced (on the side), and a perfect amalgam of crisp, mild salt and little grease.

My flautas were crunchy, with a topping of diced tomatoes, lettuce and a mild sauce. The chicken was perfectly cooked, if chopped a little too chunky. I’d have enjoyed the dish more with beef, but it was very good, and the rice and beans properly cooked and creamy as to the latter.

We did not opt for dessert, and were both quite full from our meal. Before leaving, I took a photo of the restaurant name, an art piece opposite our table:

We splurged on eating out this year, more than we would on a normal day, but were it not for the drinks, the meal would have been about half the price. It was worthwhile, but maybe not every day.

Next, we walked over to Christmas in the Park, and enjoyed the people, trees and animatronic displays…

Finally, my wife wanted to visit the Signia by Hilton, San Jose, so we went to the AJI Bar & Robata lounge, where I worked a particularly difficult crossword puzzle on my phone, drank a $12, nonalcoholic Refresh (fevertree cucumber tonic, ginger beer, mint, lime), and ate bar snacks consisting of wasabi peas, cashews, peanuts and almonds.

The drink was great, but not precisely the flavor I wanted (had to pass on the one I wanted per ingredients that are bad for my CKD), and it was tiny, so after slaking my thirst from the salty bar mix, I drained my glass quickly.

Fortunately, the crossword was both difficult and solvable, and kept me pleasantly diverted the entire time.

Despite San Jose’s labyrinthine downtown one-way, train laden, twisty boulevards, we found our way back to the freeway and made it home to relax and watch a few final Christmas movies.

Or maybe we’ll watch them ’til the tree comes down on New Years…