Its my birthday!

August 21st is my birthday. This year I had plans for a great day out with my hubbie visiting a few wineries in Sonoma. The day didn't work out quite as I planned due to events I completely out of my control. We did, however, make it up to Healdsburg for a little snack and stroll around the square with our Shi Tzu Slugger and dinner at Zazu with some friends down in Santa Rosa.

As we pulled off the highway towards the Square, we realized we forgot Slugger's harness. As luck would have it, we drove right past a pet store! We ran into Fideaux and we greeted by the friendliest lady ever. We have the cutest dog ever, so it was no surprise that she doted on Slugger, but that aside, the service was great and we found what we were looking for.

With the dog leashed we headed over to the square to check out the scene and look for something to snack on. It was 3 and we were eating dinner at 6:30, so we didn't want to spoil our appitites. We stopped in Oakville Grocery, well, I stopped in Oakville Grocery, as they don't allow dogs even on the patio there. I wasn't super thrilled by the options and was definitely turned off by the prices, but I managed to pick up a few things that would hold us over. I chose a camambert and a hard cheese as well as some pre-sliced salami, a baguette and two drinks. All for $20. We took our food and headed to the square for some people watching.

Dinner was down in Santa Rosa. We took the scenic backroads and arrived at Zazu a little early. The restaurant is about 5 miles off of the highway 101 in a farming area. This makes sense since the restaurant is also a farm. They have tomatoes and strawberries growing in the parking lot! Once our friends arrived we headed inside.

The restaurant is super casual, but still has a feeling of being a little higher end. The hostes and our waitress were extremely friendly and made us feel at home. We started off with a bottle of wine, a miner viognier, and an order of their home grown salami and fired okra. I ordered the Scallops and I thought they were delicious, but a little pricey at $27. My husband's dish was delicious. It was a vegetarian pasta that had lobster mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes and a light cream sauce. The flavors were perfectly balanced. Our friends ordered a cesar salad and the grilled cheese sandi with tomato soup and the special, a pork entree served over creamy grits.

Dessert, my favorite part, I was glad we didn't pass up. We ordered an affogato (one of the best I have had), sorbet and some donuts. All were gobbled up quickly!

All in all it turned out to be a fantastic 34th b-day.