Take it to the Yard

What. A. Weekend. Mine consisted of sun, soul, lots of laughs, and even more CALORIES. From the catfish combo, jumbalaya, and cookies and cream cupcakes at Summer Soul to Yard House – the extra mile I’ll be running tonight will be well worth it.

Driving to the East Bay after Summer Soul in San Jose my girl Nikko had an epiphany just as we got on the freeway, and 30 seconds later we were on our way to Yard House on Santana Row. It was 78 degrees and the streets were crowded with women in their clubbing gear and wedges before the sun even went down. It wasn’t a surprise that we were greeted with an hour and a half wait. Ridiculous, but nothing a little beer couldn’t solve. And with over 100 beers on tap, and the game on the flatscreen, we knew we came to the right place.

I had the Sea Dog Wild Blueberry for my first round, and Nikko opted for the Rouge Hazelnut Brown Nectar, which was tasty and very similar to Newcastle. Mine tasted like a typical wheat beer, except with a delicate but apparent hint of blueberry at the end of each sip. It was DELISH. Less than thirty minutes later we found seats at the bar, ordered a three course meal with our amazing bartender, and enjoyed the view.

The heffers in us demolished our lobster artichoke dip before we could snap a picture of it but anything 1300 calories is obviously going to be good. For dinner I had the crab crusted swordfish over wasabi mashed potatoes and lemon grass beurre blanc. To be honest with you, I saw beurre blanc and it was a wrap from there. While I didn’t taste the wasabi component in the mashed potatoes, the swordfish was moist and the beurre blanc did not disappoint.

If Nikko hadn’t gotten the pan seared ahi I probably would’ve. It was seared over jasmine brown rice, asparagus, and topped with black bean sauce. The flavors were to DIE for but honestly so robust I doubt I could’ve finished it myself.

While Nikko had another glass of the brown nectar, I tried out the Lost Coast Apricot Wheat. Pretty much what I expected; light, and fruity but delicious nevertheless. Something nice and easy to finish off my meal with. Then, the big girls in us ordered a dessert trio with peach apple cobbler, creme brulee with chocolate on the bottom and caramelized bananas on top, and chocolate souffle. They were all good, but definitely underestimated the cobbler.

We left Yard House later, fatter, and much happier than w had expected just as people began standing in line to drink and dance. And what wasn’t there to be happy about? It was a beautiful summer night in the Bay Area, and the Giants won! Hope everyone had an amazing weekend!

#searedahituna #jasminebrownrice #blueberrybeer #wasabimashedpotatoes #yardhouse #apricotwheat #summersoul #santanarow