Day 128: Exhibition of Restraint

We spent the afternoon in wine country and after a day of sampling from numerous bottles, I was craving some warm and cozy comfort food. Specifically, I was ready to tuck into some meatloaf and garlic mashed potatoes at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, one of my favorite restaurants and the location of this blog’s very first entry.

Once we arrived at Cindy’s however, I thought better of the indulgence. This week was one long indulgence, really, and it was time for me to get back on track.

I started tonight’s dinner with a bowl of beef, barley, and vegetable soup. Warm and meaty, this was a great compromise that gave me the same cozy feeling for a lot fewer calories than the meatloaf & potatoes would have!

Next, I had grilled mahi-mahi, which was off the specials list. If you read my previous Cindy’s entries (Day #1 or Day #86) or have heard me rave about Cindy’s before 365daysofdinner.com launched, you’ll be as surprised to hear that this dish was so-so at best. I found the fish to be dry and rather bland. The tomato and olive sauce it came with was tasty, but lacked richness and deep flavor.

I was able to compensate for this disappointment by 1)eating french fries off of my husband’s plate (Cindy’s french fries are to die for!!) and 2)sharing a slice of pumpkin and caramel pie for dessert. That made it all okay.

I still love Cindy’s. The ambience and service are warm and welcoming and with this one exception, the food is amazing. I will still come back time and time again and I still highly recommend that you check it out for yourself next time you are in the St. Helena area.