Great Shakes--Palm Springs, CA

Mint Oreo Cookie

If the shakes at Great Shakes in Palm Springs are truly great, it's because of the ice cream. This only seems obvious, but we all agreed that the dessert wasn't so much a shake as it was a cup of soft, delicious ice cream.

The little doughnut around the straw was a nice touch. From what I sampled of Dylan's Oreo Mint Cookie, the flavor really popped. Tyler got the Chocolate Fudge. He downed all of it before I could even ask to try.

Chocolate Fudge

I also really enjoyed the date shake I shared with Jenny. With the dates ground into little flavorful crumbs, we could only imagine how much labor was involved with the gunk stuck to the blender. We didn't see any of that, of course. We got only the "great" shake and service with a smile.

Great Shakes
www.greatshakesps.com

Myzen--Sunnyvale, CA

Myzen Ramen with Tonkatsu base

I met my wife for lunch at Myzen in Sunnyvale near the end of last month. It was there and then that I had the most complete bowl of ramen of my life. It had everything: chewy, delectable noodles, a rich, flavorful broth, melt-in-your-mouth pork and a perfectly boiled egg with a soft, liquid center.

The curry ramen (curry and tonkotsu base) offers a punchier alternative. It has some kick, but you'll still get plenty of flavor from the stock.

Given the outstanding experience in store at Myzen, I was surprised to be able to get a table at noon on a Friday. The bigger limitation, in fact, is parking. Myzen sits in the middle of a strip mall with a lot with limited space. If you get there by 11:45 for lunch, though, you'll be fine.

Myzen
www.myzenrestaurant.com/

Thanksgiving dinner-in-a-box from Lucky

All this plus a package of Hawaiian bread is yours for $50. You have to let the turkey thaw for 2-5 days in the fridge, though.

If you take away anything from this post, it's that if you order Thanksgiving dinner from Lucky, the turkey and most of the trimmings that come along with it are frozen. It's advised that you defrost the turkey two to five days in the fridge before warming it in the oven. (The turkey is fully cooked, which brings some peace of mind.) Having tried dinner-in-a-box for Thanksgiving from 99 Ranch and Safeway, we assumed the meal would be warm and ready to eat. Not so.

Still, the dinner packed a value. You get everything you see in the photo above plus a tray of Hawaiian bread (which we gobbled up while waiting for the turkey to thaw) for $50. My wife liked the cranberry sauce the best, the kids liked the mashed potatoes and gravy. And, the 12.3 lbs. turkey was good for several meals, lasting days after Thanksgiving. The turkey smelled great as it spent its two hours in the oven at 325 degrees. When we pulled it out the skin was crisp and the meat tender. It turned out better than the turkey we roasted last year. It turned out so well, in fact, that we're pretty sure to sign up for next year, too. We'll just have to remember to pick up the bird a few days in advance.