On Saturday, Shrek’s parents treated us to an incredible lunch at Hotel de Anza’s La Pastaia in downtown San Jose. At 1:30 in the afternoon we had the entire place to ourselves, but our server assured us that they were doing more than fine patron-wise. (Delivered in a friendly non-patronizing way.) Weekday evenings draw a full house, especially with Sharks fans packing their tables for their pre-game meals as La Pastaia is within walking distance of HP Pavilion. As we looked over the menu, Mama Shrek entertained us with tales of lunching at this very restaurant in the mid-eighties when the corporation for which she worked regularly treated all of their employees to five-course lunches and happy hour drinks. Sigh, what a lovely thing! Now, it’s tuna salad sandwich sack lunches or Subway for this girl, so La Pastaia was an especially welcome mid-afternoon treat.

Our meal began with wine, bread served with olive oil and balsamic, rings of lightly battered calamari, tender lamb chops, and butternut squash ravioli. I will let the following photos of our entrees and desserts speak for themselves. Meaning, that, yes, they absolutely tasted as delicious as they look! (Even when taken with a crummy iPhone camera.)