clouds

after a long day of being lazy at the beach i somehow worked up quite an appetite. so before making the drive home we headed into downtown santa cruz to find some food. it ended up being as simple as asking the guy in front of us paying for parking to find a place to eat. he recommended a place called clouds and it was conveniently located directly across the street. before i talk about the food i'd like to tip my hats the the staff at clouds. they were on the ball with everything from seating us, to the bread, the many water refills, food selections, the speed of food from order to table and the check. when the food arrived i was so happy with my decision to order the pot roast. it was served with red mashed potatoes and carrots. the pot roast was falling apart it was so tender and the gravy added even more flavor. here is a list of the other dishes i was able to try thanks to my friends:

• stuffed chicken (ordered by betty)
  breast stuffed with smoked gouda polenta. sereved with grilled baby artichokes drizzled with a lemon-garlic beurre blanc
• stir fry (ordered by liz)
  bok choy, green beans, snap peas and baby carrots sautéed in a ginger black bean sauce and served over fried udon noodles topped with choice of tofu, chicken, shrimp or skirt steak
• vegetarian enchiladas (ordered by tammy)
  corn tortillas stuffed with artichoke hearts, zucchini, spinach and pepperjack cheese with a roasted red pepper cream sauce. served with pasilla roasted red potatoes
• lamb special (ordered by the main asian)
• "old fashioned" pot roast (ordered by me)
  with horseradish cream, mashed potatoes, and a stout gravy

we all agreed that everything was great and it was a wonderful end to a fun day at the beach.