This year, I want to try as many different restaurants as possible, within reason and budget, of course. Growing up, my dining experience was rather limited. While my parents took the family out to dinner every Saturday, it was always to the same Chinese restaurant. They've been going there for eighteen years and usually order the same dishes. Every now and then, I suggest a random plate to mix things up, but my suggestions are regularly met with suspicious looks, the type people give when they think somebody is attempting to poison them.

So far, I've had a chance to try a couple of new restaurants. Last Thursday, we had dinner at Bombay Palace, an Indian restaurant in San Carlos. We shared orders of chicken, seafood and lamb curry. My contribution was palak paneer, a tasty spinach and cheese dish. We also had Taj Mahal lager beer, which went well with the spicy meal.

In Palo Alto, we went to the Mango Cafe, a little Caribbean restaurant, where I had the chicken pelau and tried a bit of goat, which tastes like beef. We also dined at the good, but rather expensive, Straits Cafe in Palo Alto. I don't remember what I ate there.

For lunch, we've been to Cafe Pomegranate twice. It’s a small restaurant across from San Jose State. They serve beef, chicken and vegetable kebabs and make wonderful pumpkin soup. The university's art department provides the cafe with rotating displays. The current one includes student interpretations of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

There are still many places I've yet to try in the S.F. Bay Area, but I'll get to them in due time. It would be nice to be an expert on local dining someday, so if someone asked me, "Where is a good place to eat around here." I could say something other than, "Well, I know of this really good Chinese restaurant."