Mistral Restaurant & Bar--May The Wind Blow You Its Direction

I will be writing about restaurants from all over the SF Bay Area. From San Francisco to San Jose to Oakland and even a few outliers in between. My first post will be on a restaurant that I have been to many times located in Redwood Shores on the Peninsula. It is one that I have been to often over the years. From lagoon front outside dining to fine table dining inside you can't beat the service and food at Mistral's. One of my favorite places to eat in a restaurant is at the bar. You get to know the staff and the vibe of the restaurant, and I find when you want something a bit more casual it serves as a great spot. The staff at Mistral create a friendly, welcoming environment. Now onto the food, the menu is Mediterranean influenced and what I call California cuisine. The housemade bread is delicious and fresh, hot from the woodfire oven. As a starter you can't go wrong with the pancetta wrapped prawns or the crab cakes. The bruschetta is unbelieveable as well, but you only get three pieces for $9 so it is a bit pricey. When it comes to salads, the organic savoy spinach salad with its crusted goat cheese is wonderful and this coming from a person who loves her spinach salad with bacon or pancetta, but they use a wild mushroom so tasty that you don't even notice there isn't any meat. Now onto the main course, hands-down my favorite is the grilled angus skirt steak. The skirt steak is tender and cooked in a teriyaki marinade. They curl it around yummy garlic mashed potatoes and top it with crispy onion rings and some fresh vegetables. Sooooo good! A couple things to note, they have a full bar with an extended wine list by the glass and by the bottle. They have their "4, 5, 6, Happy Hour" which runs with $4, $5, $6 happy hour specials for both food and drink from 4-6, Mon-Fri. They also have a great and reasonably priced children's menu. Mistral is a spot that has remained tried and true thru the years and I am happy to have it as my first restaurant on the everyday foodie blog.