Day after

Grass Valley, California, August 29, 2011—

AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT; as I expected; I'm a little off my feed today after three days of Chez Panisse Fortieth. Still, you gotta eat, and what I seemed to want was protein. So we breakfasted heartily, in that typical road-food style: two eggs over easy, potatoes fried up with peppers and onions, a couple of strips of pretty good bacon, and as much coffee as possible.

We skipped lunch, because we didn't need it after that. For dinner I wanted steak and a Martini, but the tavern that had been recommended was closed, so we walked another couple of blocks to a place that turned out to be a foothill version of San Francisco's Original Joe's. Lindsey had gnocchi, tough but tasty; I had “Joe’s Special”: ground chuck sautéed with spinach, eggs, and scallions, garnished with a lemon quarter. It lacked salt utterly, but that was easily fixed. It's a curious dish, with a texture not entirely to my taste, but suitable to the occasion. Hangover food, in fact. (The Martini was okay.)

Red wine, Trentadue (Zinfandel blend), 2009

• Kane's Fine Food Restaurant, 120 East Main Street, Grass Valley; (530) 273-8111