We’re in Ladera today, 8/20/2016. Duo Homes usually has brownies. This place is at 241 S. Castanya Way or as Dylan calls it “Two-for-One Cast Tanya Away.” 

http://www.duo-homes.com/241-S-Castanya-Way-Portola-Valley

1284 Forest Avenue, Palo Alto

The House:  4 bedroom, 3 bath in Mark Zuckerberg’s neighborhood. Priced under $4M helps peeps like us who have the earnings but struggle with downpayment. (We are the “HENRY” house hunters after all. #HighEarnersNotRichYet)

+ Location. Charm. Location. Small but nice yard. Location. And Dylan liked the 3-car garage, which would dwarf the e-Golf. Location. The rooms were small, but not painfully so, except for the “office” which was sized best for a hamster.

- Seriously being marketed to foreign buyers. Not only was Chinese the primary language being spoken during the tour; the hardware fixtures, while real metal, were a kind of garish design that one does not typically see outside a Cheesecake Factory. The kitchen countertops reminded us of the bathrooms at the Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong, except these were in the kitchen not the boudoir. 

2819 Ramona 

The house: New 5 bd/6.5 bath potential Casper listed @$4.488M. Realtor rep: “It’s listed low to draw in buyers.” Lux-standard contractor finishes du jour. 

+ Extended families will be doing the math on their bid. Brand new, quiet dead end street, near a good elementary school, plenty of bedrooms for little ones and the grandfolk. No trees to drop leaves on the patio.

- Goose egg personality. Rooms sized for Ewoks.  

The food: Heavy hors d’oeuvres. Neighborhood senior citizen lookie-loos were not disappointed by the spread. 

Prosciutto-wrapped fruit. The meat sadly pre-cut, not freshly sliced. Nary a Berkel in sight. 

Caprese skewers. Mini-bocconcini like rubber balls, pear tomatoes shipped from Mexico, and wilted arugula. To put basil to it, pesto was provided for dipping. (HHH never dip in a shared dish on tour, particularly not in Midtown where buyers come with kids in tow, kids amused only by the amuse bouche, preferably with finger licking good dipping sauces.)

Salmon wrapped in crepe, the saving grace. Nothing dried out. Just the right bite. Yay Deleon for not being afraid to serve fish.