📚 This Week: Billy Ray Does Hemingway 📚
Getting into character for The Old Man and the Sea remake!
Discover GOOD EATS in Contra Costa County
Every week, ContraCostaLive.com Spotlight newsletter subscribers discover RESTAURANT GOOD EATS in their email inboxes free. It features signature dishes, happy hour specials, and local dining gems worth your time and money. These offers are curated from ContraCostaLive.com’s website, reader recommendations, and local chefs. Enjoy reviewing each week’s SPOTLIGHT newsletter – it makes dining out fun and special in Contra Costa.
“Short sentences. Good food. Fair prices.” – Billy Ray Val channeling Ernest Hemingway
🍣Mikuni Sushi Experience
Gyoza $8, Zig Zag Shrimp $7, Platter C $120, Two Cold Sakis $25
Now open in Veranda Shopping Center – Happy Hour, Cocktails, Party Platters, Catering!
Mikuni Sushi – Concord
Okay look – I got cast in this remake of The Old Man and the Sea, right? So I been reading Hemingway all week trying to get into character. And I walked into Mikuni in the Veranda Shopping Center thinking “What would Ernest do?” The sushi was FRESH – like Santiago-just-caught-that-marlin fresh! Gyoza for $8, Zig Zag Shrimp for $7, and they got this Platter C for $120 that’ll feed your whole crew. Add two cold sakis for $25 and you’re looking at $160 total for an EXPERIENCE! They got happy hour, cocktails that’ll knock you sideways, and they do party platters and catering for the holidays. This place is trendy, comfortable, and friendly – basically everything Ernest Hemingway WASN’T, but the food slaps!
Details
- 2075 Diamond Blvd, Concord, CA 94520
- (925) 265-7660
- Sun-Thu 11:30am-9pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-10pm
- Gyoza: $8 | Zig Zag Shrimp: $7 | Platter C: $120 | Two Cold Sakis: $25
- Happy hour, cocktails, party platters & catering available
🥩Kobe Wagyu NY Steak — $69.95
Medium rare, baked potato, salad with blue cheese. Daily specials menu changes everyday!
Cap’s Restaurant – Brentwood
Y’ALL – I ordered the Kobe Wagyu NY Steak and tried to stay in character. Medium rare. Baked potato. Blue cheese salad. $69.95. But then that steak arrived and I LOST IT! That’s REAL Kobe, REAL Wagyu – this ain’t no regular beef! My acting coach told me “Billy, stay focused” but HOW you gonna focus when you got premium Japanese beef in front of you?! The daily specials menu changes every day, so Friday it was this steak, but they also got Beef Wellington which is my FAVORITE! Cap’s know what they doing with these premium cuts!
Details
- 144 Oak St, Brentwood, CA 94513
- (925) 634-1025
- Mon & Tue 4-9pm, Wed-Sat 11-3 Lunch & 4-9pm Dinner, Sun 4-9 Dinner
- Kobe Wagyu NY Steak: $69.95
- Daily specials menu changes everyday – Beef Wellington also available!
🐟Atlantic Cod — $15
Tartar sauce, hot chips, crisp coleslaw with zang, malt vinegar available!
Vinnie’s Bar & Grill – Concord
Atlantic Cod for $15 at Vinnie’s, and I’m STILL trying to sound like Hemingway when I order it! “The cod. Tartar sauce. Hot chips. Malt vinegar.” The bartender looked at me like I lost my MIND! But that cod was FRESH, chips were crispy on the outside, and that coleslaw had some ZANG to it! They brought the malt vinegar without me even asking again. This is solid fish and chips at a price that won’t break you. Simple. Good. Just like Ernest would’ve written it. If Ernest ate at sports bars in Concord.
Details
- 2045 Mount Diablo St, Concord, CA 94520
- (925) 685-9515
- Everyday 11am-2am
- Atlantic Cod: $15
- Includes tartar sauce, hot chips, coleslaw & malt vinegar
🇺🇸Veterans Day – Tuesday 11/11
Choose 1 of 6 complimentary meals – all active and retired veterans!
Smiths Landing – Antioch
Okay, I gotta drop the Hemingway act for this one because this is REAL and IMPORTANT. Smiths Landing is honoring ALL active and retired veterans on Tuesday, November 11th with a complimentary meal – your choice of SIX different options. You served us. Now let them serve you. This is the kind of thing that makes me proud, and I don’t even have to pretend to be Ernest Hemingway to say it. This is just RIGHT. Veterans, get to Smiths Landing on 11/11 and let them show you some respect and appreciation. You earned it.
Details
- 1 Marina Plaza, Antioch, CA 94509
- (925) 775-4862
- Mon-Thu 11am-9pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm, Sun 11am-8pm
- Veterans Day: Tuesday, November 11th
- Complimentary meal for all active & retired veterans (choice of 6 meals)
🦐Camarones al la Diabla — $23.50
Prawns, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, guacamole, rice and beans – SPICY!
Celia’s Mexican Restaurant – Antioch
Camarones al la Diabla – that means “devil shrimp” and BABY they ain’t playing! These prawns are LARGE, cooked with mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes, served with guac, rice, and beans for $23.50. And it’s SPICY – like the-devil-himself-is-in-the-kitchen spicy! I tried to describe it in my Hemingway voice: “The prawns were spicy. Very spicy. The man understood why they called it Diabla.” But honestly? This dish made me FORGET I was supposed to be acting! When food’s this good and this HOT, you just gotta BE YOURSELF and ENJOY IT!
Details
- 523 W. 10th St, Antioch, CA 94509
- (925) 754-1355
- Sun-Thu 11am-9pm; Fri & Sat 11am-10pm
- Camarones al la Diabla: $23.50
- Warning: SPICY!
🃏No-Limit Hold’em, $5 Blackjack
$60 Tournaments – Gaming action daily!
19th Hole Casino & Sports Bar – Antioch
I walked into the 19th Hole still in Hemingway mode: “The man played Hold’em. No-Limit. Five dollar blackjack. Sixty dollar tournaments. He won some hands. He lost some hands. A man could do worse.” But then I hit a GOOD hand and forgot ALL about Ernest! Listen, they got gaming action every day, the odds are fair, and sometimes you WIN! That’s when the Hemingway act goes OUT THE WINDOW and Billy Ray comes BACK! This place got it all – cards, tournaments, good times. Come as Santiago the fisherman, leave as Billy Ray the WINNER! Looking good, feeling good!
Details
- 2746 W. Tregallas Rd, Antioch, CA 94509
- (925) 757-6545
- Mon-Thu 11am-2am, Sat-Sun 10am-2am
- No-Limit Hold’em, $5 Blackjack
- $60 Tournaments
The Old Man and the Meal!
From fresh sushi to Kobe Wagyu, from honest fish and chips to devil shrimp that’ll make you forget your lines – Contra Costa’s got the kind of food that breaks through ANY acting method!
Turns out you can’t stay in character when the food’s THIS good. Ernest Hemingway would understand. Probably.
Looking good! Feeling good! (Not talking like Hemingway anymore!)
– Billy Ray Val 📚🎣