A culinary ride in downtown Morgan Hill made its debut last week. The Dishcrawl was my first progressive dinner. Forty of us met at the Ladera Grill on Monterey Road at the sold out event. I sat with a group of ladies who found out about it online.
Four downtown Morgan Hill restaurants were featured: Ladera Grill, Mr. Falafel, The Good Fork and The Candy Parlour.
The trick was not to eat too much at one restaurant.
Christa Nielsen hosted the fun -illed evening.
“I wanted to start Dishcrawl Morgan Hill because I felt as though Morgan Hill needed something to help build the community and allow more exposure for local restaurants,” she told me.
The waiters streamed into the dining room, serving our first meal of the evening: Beef Wellington, Chicken Parmesan, grilled Atlantic salmon, Gorgonzola roasted potatoes, and seasonal steamed vegetables prepared by Executive Chef Tony Garcia.
The restaurants also catered to fellow diner Tina who sat with us and prefers vegetarian dishes. They were most attentive to her culinary needs. I like that.
I sampled each item and liked the grilled salmon, the pastry with the Beef Wellington inside and the potatoes. Tablemates Susan, Liza, Rina, Lynn and Mary agreed the salmon was among the best.
We then departed Ladera Grill and walked down the sidewalk to Mr. Falafel run by Art Nazzal. I shivered in the chilly night air, waiting for them to serve us falafel balls, chicken kebab, tabbouleh, hummus and fried lavash chips. I ate the falafel balls and most of the tabbouleh and nibbled on the rest. Everyone liked the chicken kebab, which seemed the most popular entree.
I felt no guilt partaking in this food affair because I ran 6 miles in the morning.
The Good Fork was up on deck; we strolled our way to the lovely eatery owned by Chef Maurizio Cutrignelli. I wish we ate there first. Indeed, I loved their cuisine the most. They served mouth-watering treats like fresh pasta filled with figs, pears, Asiago and mascarpone cheeses in Gorgonzola cream sauce, pulled pork slider and community farm-grown tomatoes topped with Burrata cheese. I’m coming back to this one!
We left The Good Fork to visit our last stop—The Candy Parlour operated by Nancy Reynolds. This is perfect for anyone who is a kid at heart. We got to enjoy the candy buffet with retro sweets and San Jose’s Shurras Chocolates. Needless to say I tried the chocolate-coated caramels with sea salt, the caramel corn and variety of gourmet jellybeans.
Everyone was friendly and I made plenty of Dishcrawling pals that evening. The next Morgan Hill Dishcrawl will be on Nov. 13 with new restaurants. To register for the event, click here. I can’t wait!
Meanwhile, I need to take another 6-mile run to burn off the calories!
