Saturdayte DT San Jose

For my Dad's 50th birthday, family and friends got together at Black Angus (1011 Blossom Hill, San Jose). Balloons, streamers, fried appetizers, crab, and... cupcakes! What else do you people expect?

My dad's favorite candy bar is the 100 Grand: chocolate krispies outside with a caramel center. I developed my own take on it, in cupcake form: chocolate cupcake, cored, with a salted caramel filling, topped with a rice krispie treat wafer, adhered with caramel syrup.

My dad's ultimate pastime is billiards. Via one of the many cupcake blogs I follow, I saw a picture of someone's billiard ball cupcakes. I instantly knew I HAD to make these for my dad. Check out the result! So awesome :)

Nicole and Kyle both helped out so much. You've got to be patient with me when I'm in the baking zone. Nicole even said 'what do you want me to do because you know the plan and I don't' ... That was after I yelled just a little bit when the caramel mixture's temp went 5 degrees past 360 F. Glad they let me be slightly scatter-brained!


After dinner, Kyle and I went on a bit of a date. We drove to downtown San Jose and watched an improv comedy show called Comedy Sportz. It was in a tiny theater (35 seats maybe) within Camera 3's movie theater building (288 S. 2nd Street, San Jose). The two battling three-person teams were hilarious! (Read more about their shows on Yelp.)

There were about seven different rounds, each featuring an improv game. The winning team was determined by audience applause and awarded points. By the end of the show, the Blue Team won it all. I recognized a girl from the Red Team, so I had been mostly rooting for them to win. Turns out, she went to Joy of Dancing with me back in the day! Small world!

We paid the student price of $12/ticket ($3 off)

After that we walked over to the Fairmont (170 S. Market St, San Jose). Since December, I've wanted to dress up all snazzy, sit in the lounge, listen to the live music, and dance with my turkey-legged boyfriend. The "Lobby Lounge" redefines opulence (according to their website). Twist the night away with live music six days a week... Friday & Saturday from 9:00 pm until midnight: weekly scheduled bands playing jazz and pop dance hits.

I need to find a fall back drink. This one isn't it.

We ordered two drinks, a Cable Car for me and a Corona for him, and snacked on their Boca bar mix (you know, the kind with peanuts, pepitas, wasabi balls, pretzels). I was shocked at how many martini options they featured on their bar menu. OVER FIVE HUNDRED! Too bad I have that vodka aversion.... sigh.

When the band returned for their final set, Kyle and I took the dance floor and were put to shame by the older other dancing couples. They were so good! By the time I'm 65 I want to be able to dance like they were. Plus, one of the old ladies was channeling Lady GaGa - she wore the craziest multi-tiered bow/headband/top hat type thing.

Location:San Jose, CA