Fairfield's Taste of Downtown

On Thursday, our town hosted a really fun event called The Taste of Downtown. 

 

For $30, each participant got an identification badge and a passport with maps to 11 downtown restaurants to try during the 3-hour event. There was no requirement to visit them all, but anyone who did was entered into a raffle to win one of four $50 gift certificates to downtown restaurants. We would have visited all 11 without the incentive; we were really excited about trying some new-to-us places and hopefully discovering some new favorites. 

Our first stop was at Casa Agave. Like every other participating restaurant, we had never been there. 

We walked in and the friendly staff greeted us and led us to a table. That was a surprise! I was expecting to collect a tiny sample at the door. Within a minute or two, they brought out their chicken fajitas. They were fantastic. We will absolutely, definitely be returning to Casa Agave. 

Next up was Pizza Twist. They serve Indian fusion pizzas, traditional pizzas, and Indian sides. 

We each got a slice of pepperoni pizza from the counter. It was pretty good; in particular, the crust was fantastic. I do wish they'd served their fusion pizza. And I also wish they'd given out smaller slices. This was a very generous portion, considering we still had nine more restaurants to visit!

Our next visit was at Saffron. 

This time, we were led to a buffet and told to serve ourselves as much as we wanted. I took a tiny amount of rice (delicious), a single piece of butter chicken (fantastic), and a triangle of naan (yum). 

Restaurant #4 was Cedars Corner. 

It's a bar first and a restaurant second, but the food was very good. At least the food that I tried (fried chicken and french fries). Steve said the catfish bites were the best catfish he'd ever had. 

At this point, I was having serious concerns about being able to eat at 7 more restaurants. But I certainly wasn't ready to give up. Especially since the next place was a bakery, Famous Creations. 

The chocolate salted caramel cupcake was fantastic. And there were so many tempting options in the bakery cases!

Time for Restaurant #6: Million Thai. 

Our go-to Thai place closed recently, so we've been hoping to find a new one. Based on the amazing Pad Thai that they served us, I think we've found our new place! We will definitely be back to try more dishes. 

Next up was El Pitayo. 

We were very surprised that, instead of being served a ready-made sample, a waitress took our order from a list of options. The upside is that the food was hot and fresh and delicious. The downside is that it took a very long time for it to come out - almost 30 minutes from when we'd arrived. The restaurant was only 1/3 full, so concerns about the wait time will probably keep us from returning.  

Restaurant #8 was Baja Ice Cream and Bionicos. 

We learned that a bionico is a Mexican fruit salad. I wasn't a fan, but I LOVED their ice cream. It was absolutely delicious. They also serve crepes - we'll be back! 

Next up: Alejandro's Taqueria. It smelled amazing. 

We were invited to load up on food, but we were so full it was out of the question to have more than a tiny taste. Steve and I split a single taquito, plus I had their hibiscus drink (which was great). I'd like to return to sample more from their menu. 

There was a sign on the door at Restaurant #10, El Caracol, saying that unfortunately they were not able to serve food for the Taste of Downtown event. I'm not sure what happened, but we were actually relieved. 

Our final restaurant was China Palace. 

We were invited to take as much as we wanted from a buffet. We shared the smallest amount possible that still gave us a good idea of the food. The veggie chow mein and the fried spareribs were both excellent. 

We waddled back to the Farmer's Market where we'd picked up our empty passports two hours earlier and turned in our completed passports. What a fantastic event! I'm so glad we participated. I can't wait to return to try some of the restaurants again... on an empty stomach!

Fairfield in Full Bloom

I am a huge fan of public art. I love cities like Davis that have enough public art that you can make a day of seeing it all. The city we live in doesn’t have a lot of public art, but there is some. And now, we have a beautiful new mural highlighting everything that makes Fairfield special. 

The mural was a joint effort between Sustainable Solano, artist Sheree Rayford, and members of the community. Several months ago, a survey went out, asking residents to describe our town and the flowers that best represent it. Rayford used the results to design and paint the main portion of the mural. On March 22, there was a community event where we could add our handprints to the mural. 

I can’t believe I used my right hand. It’s like I don’t even know my own brand. Sigh. 

The community event was so much more than just handprints. There were stations to plant flowers to take home, to paint kindness rocks, and to learn about sustainability, just to name a few. Lunch was provided and it was a really festive and inclusive event. 

After all the handprints were in place, Rayford added the descriptive words. I love how the mural turned out. I’m so glad I was able to be a part of Fairfield becoming more beautiful. 

Thoughts on Fairfield

I have lived in Fairfield, California since 1997. I like Fairfield. We're a large and diverse city (population: 119,881) with a small-town feel. We're located equidistant between Sacramento and San Francisco; it's just 45 miles to either one. Napa is 20 miles away. We can be at the ocean in an hour or skiing in the mountains in just over two hours. We have great weather, with year-round sun and cooling breezes during our hot summers. We're home to Travis Air Force Base and Jelly Belly Candy Company, as well as a bunch of wineries. There's a large regional park in town. Fairfield is home to International Bird Rescue and the future home of Pacific Flyway Center. 

(Our sign has been there since 1925.)

My grandmother was from Fairfield, Washington. The current population is 589, and I don't think it was much different when she lived there. I haven't been there in decades, but I have fond memories of visiting my mom's cousins on their wheat farm just out of town. Fairfield, WA has a library, a community center, three churches, a single restaurant, and not much more. 

The most well-known Fairfield in the US, and the one for which my Fairfield is named, is Fairfield, Connecticut. With a population of 61,512, it is half the size of my Fairfield. Fairfield, Connecticut is located along the north shore of the Long Island Sound and has some nice looking beaches. At least as far as I can tell from photos online - I've never actually been there. It is also home to Fairfield University 

I'm aware of three Fairfields, which led me to wonder... how many other states have a Fairfield? Answer: It depends. Do unincorporated towns count? Townships? How about a census designated place (CDP) called Fairfield? What about a Fairfield County? According to 24/7 Wall Street, there are 20 Fairfields in the US, making it the 22nd most common city name in the country. GeoTarget says there are 35 Fairfields. Wikipedia lists Fairfields in 25 different states. Most of them are tiny. It would be an interesting project to visit all the Fairfields in the US, but not one I intend to do. Although Fairfield, Iowa is tempting. 

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While researching this post, I came across an interesting article by Ken Jennings you might enjoy. I'm a huge fan of Ken Jennings. If you haven't read Maphead yet (affiliate link), drop what you're doing and go read it. You're welcome. 

Pillow Party 2019

I love a creative challenge, so when I was invited to join up with 24 other craft bloggers for a Holiday Pillow Party, I jumped right in! Each of us received pillows and other goodies from Fairfield World with the instructions to decorate our pillows for the holidays. I love seeing what everyone made! Based on what you know about me, can you pick out mine?

If you guessed that I made the snowmen family portrait, you're right! Follow the steps to make your own. Affiliate links (and a big giveaway!) below. 

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Snowmen Family Portrait Pillow

Materials: 

• Fairfield Poly-Fil 20" Pillow 
• Apple Barrel paint - Cloudless
• felt - white and black
• Beacon FabriTac
• Stickles - black, orange, brown, blue, green, red, pink
• leftover Diamond Dotz by Leisure Arts (color 5001)
• tacky glue

Steps: 

Remove the Poly-Fil from the pillow and put it temporarily into the bag the pillow came in.

In a shallow disposable tray, mix paint with 1 cup of water. You want a completely liquid consistency, but not so diluted that it won't color the pillow. Dip the top half of the pillow into the paint. After the paint has soaked in, spread the pillow case flat to let it dry. (I did this on the lawn so I wouldn't make a mess indoors.)

Meanwhile, cut out snowmen to represent each member of the family. Use black Stickles for eyes, mouths, and buttons; orange Stickles for carrot noses, and pink Stickles for bunny ears. I also added our family colors to the snowmen's hats. 

When the pillow and the Stickles were dry, I used the Beacon glue to attach the felt to the pillow. Then I used the brown Stickles to add arms.

While the arms were drying, I added my leftover Dotz to the sky to make snowflakes. They're hard to see in the picture, but they add so much sparkle in real life! 

Finally, I re-stuffed the pillow.  

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I had so much fun making my pillow, but it was even more fun to check out all the other designers' pillows. There's so much talent out there! Each pillow is so different from the others.

If you'd like to make your own pillow (or anything else crafty), I have good news for you! You can enter this Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to be the lucky one to win a $100 gift card to Michaels and 10 pounds of Poly-Fil. Good luck, everyone!