We were in San Jose last weekend for the Cinequest Film Festival. It was spectacular to see Paul and Sean and Kiley's movie on the huge screen in a beautiful theater with a crowd of people that were laughing and crying and audibly digging the movie. It was so good. I am so incredibly proud of them.
It was a whirlwind weekend - I dropped the boys off with Nana and Tapa, grabbed Banh Mi and Spicy Noodle Soup from Tofoo Com Chay and picked up Paul from the San Jose airport. La Pinata did an admirable job putting on a nice spread after the screening. It was intensly fulfilling and emotional to spend time with some of the people who made the movie possible and who identify with the story so much. The food was entirely beside the point, and yet still I noticed. The margaritas were excellent, the beans were vegan, and with some coaxing they made a tray of vegetable enchiladas with green sauce. Thumbs up, La Pinata.
We couldn't find vegan breakfast in San Jose (What the what? They're must be vegan breakfast in San Jose, right?), so we just grabbed a bagel with avocado and a cup of coffee and hit the road. We had a day with the whole family in Pacific Grove, which of course, included lunch at El Cantaro, the little vegan Mexican place in Monterey, right up the hill from the aquarium. And the next day we drove home in time to get Paul to the office in the afternoon.
We continue to practice the drive and eat - stop and play - drive and eat model for family road trips, and apart from the roadside shopping center with the enticicingly muddy field where we stopped (Juicy peaches! Ha! The nemesis of the backseat on this trip was two boys coated in three inches of mud.), it was a success. I had swung by Whole Foods in Monterey for provisions. We had crunchy apples and excellent sandwiches that consisted of:
Sumano's Sourdough + Vegenaise + Sonoma Brinery's Bread and Butter Pickles + Field Roast Lentil Sage Deli Slices
I'm still thinking about those sandwiches. Such a good combination. And almost completely lost on the children - the seven-year-old, my pickle-eater, preferred his without, and the four-year-old ate bread.
What's your current favorite road food?
