City Notes - 2012 Update

Everyone loves restaurant recommendations.  We rely on hotel concierges, trusted locals, the odd friend who's been there before, maybe even (reluctantly) online reviews.  Amassing these recos on post-its, iPhone notes, and the backs of business cards in my purse is tedious and leads to confusion in those moments I'm (hungrily, desperately) searching for an option.  So I started saving personal google maps to plot each reco.  Short notes about who recommended, why, what's on the menu and why I liked (if I've been) help me choose where to go.  Proximity to home base is an inherent bonus.

Here are my maps for a few cities I've traveled to, chock-full of great recommendations AND places I've written about!

Amsterdam
Sydney
New York
London
Prague
Sonoma/Napa Wineries
Auckland
Paris

San Francisco Favorites

In no particular order, my top restaurants in San Francisco: Ellen V's SF

Sydney's Hottest

The joke on this trip is that I'm like Stefon from SNL's Weekend Update with endless tips on Sydney's hottest spots.  It started with my over-selling of restaurants when we arrived: harborside for fireworks, Duke's to impress clients, beach brunch at Bondi, you get the idea.  With only the best intentions, I've managed to channel Stefon as club promoter, complete with excited (and awkward) hand gestures.  Below, a guide to Sydney's HOTTEST and all their unique selling points.

Duke Bistro: Sydney's hottest pancake party is Duke. Buttered radishes, test tube mushrooms and drug addict models.  

Ripples: Nibbles at ripples can’t be matched.  Say that five times fast.

Bondi Trattoria: If you’re looking for hot surfers and even hotter moms, the trat is where it’s at.

Zushi: Sydney's hottest gay sushi is Zushi.

Macchiato: Sydney’s hottest figs are at Macchiato.

Bambini: Meat butter.

Cruise Bar: Sydney’s most popular bar on Circular Quay that connects to the cruise ship terminal has red bull sangria and tank tops worn as dresses.

Toko: Sydney’s hottest scene is Toko with backless chairs, bottomless martinis and Brit cricketers.

Bather’s Pavilion: Sydney’s hottest non-alcoholic beach scene.

Toro: Disco. Ball. Sangria by the litre.  Don’t look further than Toro.  Sydney’s hottest tapas.

7-11: Sydney's hottest, sold-out lemon-lime-and-bitters slurpee.

Jimmy Liks: Sydney's hottest chili sauce.  Literally.

Zeta: If you’re in the mood for rose-infused foam, peach beer, and questionable pinot, Zeta has you covered.

Marble Bar: Sydney’s hottest (and only) bar made of marble.

Pitt Street: If you can’t get enough secondhand smoke, B.O. or 90º heat at midnight, Pitt Street pavement is where you want to be.

Best of Bodrum

Dining on the Mediterranean is always heavenly, made possible by perhaps all the same qualities that make an excellent Mediterranean mezze: sun and breeze—flavors like citrus, mint, charcoal; simple and casual—olive-oil grilled fish, fresh round vegetables; with a view of the water—textures like yogurt, sea salt, soft bread. Hence the reason for actually being on the Mediterranean while enjoying—in my opinion—the best food in the world. It can't be matched!

Bodrum was an oasis among oases. Landing at the airstrip 30 minutes from our hotel, dry sandy suburbs tumbled into a sparkling Aegean sea, clusters of green brush massing the closer you got to the water. But pulling up to the Kempinski on Barbaros Bay, glittering white sand met crystal clear turquoise water and lush greenery. Infinity pools, mock-mosque sticking out of the shallow water, day beds with palm trees and umbrellas = instant beachside calm.

Now the food. You knew it was going to be over the top at a place like this, but not how ridiculous the buffet would be. An entire room made for a buffet was filled with breakfast options each morning, so much food that it overflowed into the sitting room outside. Yogurts of every flavor and tartness, fruit compotes in giant bowls ranged from fresh pineapple in sugar water to sour cherries in liqueur to dried apricots in honey. Bland cheeses, made specifically for hot weather, spicy and thinly sliced meats, even smoked salmon were tempting. But I was mostly impressed with the range of fruits and fruit compotes, something different to try every morning. There's nothing better than tart cherries and sweet raisins topping cool, plain yogurt, smoother than anything I've tasted and somehow a hybrid of the thick Greek-style yogurts I find at home and the thin too-sweet variety. The perfect start for a day at the beach.

We ventured to try the buffet one evening at the hotel, a cop out to going into town being 40 minutes in a hot car ride away. It was equally impressive in size and breadth of options, but you can only pile so much on your plate when that pool, reminding you of your bathing suit and the body that needs to fit in it tomorrow, are so nearby! A giant swordfish hung in the center of the buffet was offered as one fresh fish option. You could slice a piece of your choosing and they'd cook it however you like.

On a more adventurous evening, we made our way into town with dozens of restaurant recommendations. The downtown area existed along two swooping beaches on either side of a medieval castle. On one side, boats filled a harbor lined by restaurants. On the other side, a pebbly beach provided about 20 feet of public space between the row of restaurants and bay. We picked a restaurant on the harbor side, specializing in, surprisingly, Italian food, tapas and...sushi. The owner was from California (typical) and loved the idea of mixing cuisines that both focus so much on fresh ingredients. We started with a California roll, stuffed mushroom tapas, and my main was deliciously recently caught fruitti de mare over angel hair pasta.

Our last night in Bodrum, we chose a Bavarian-styled restaurant on the water of the beach side of town overlooking the swoop of sand and the castle in the distance. (Interestingly, the marker at the other end of the beach was also what looked like a giant, ancient castle, but was in fact a dance club that could accommodate thousands.) We ate some of our favorite mezze to savor our last night in Turkey, including their version of mint and yogurt dip, cacik, baba ghannouj, marinated calamari and spicy tomato paste. The tomato paste was a perfect compliment to my simple chicken skewer. I could live on mezze. Though I'm not sure it's becuase of the type of Mediterranean food it tends to be, or the fact that you get to try lots of little bites of lots of flavors. All best enjoyed with a chilled glass of Raki, of course.

Best of Sydney and Melbourne

In March of 2006, I bit the bullet and bought a ticket to visit Chris in Australia. I arrived in Sydney on a Monday morning and met him at the 3rd dock at Circular Quay. I later learned he chose this spot because he loved the meat pies at the stand on this dock.

Our first stop, before I even set down my bags, was Pancakes on the Rocks. The Rocks, for anyone who’s been to Sydney, is the north part of Sydney Harbor, where the designer shops and fancy hotels are situated. We made our way to a second floor hole-in-the-wall with laminated menus and full color photos of nearly every dish. Who would have guessed, but this meal was a doozy. We shared—get this—a bacon and guacamole pizza! Unreal. Don’t try this at home, folks, the bacon has to be just crispy enough to not make the pizza greasier than it already is, and the guacamole needs to be thick and chunky. Yum.

We ate a nicer meal in Darling Harbor at an outdoor table, surrounded by the typical swarm of gorgeous people that were everywhere in Australia. We tried kangaroo steaks with plum sauce, just to say we did. Later, I bought kangaroo jerky, the only food in John’s apartment for the first month he was moved in.

Once in Melbourne, Chris took us straight to the alley district in the center of town where every alleyway has its own hidden alley splitting off. We found a fish and chips spot where we could sit “outside” in the alley and people watch.

That night, Chris directed us to a Japanese restaurant he’d eaten at with his classmates previously. The food was more authentic than I was used to, being mostly exposed to sushi, so I went for the chirashi with the chef’s choice of sashimi over a bowl of rice and pickles.

Our second night in Melbourne was my first time to a Korean BBQ. We were traveling with Chris’ friend John and had spent the day in the sun walking all over Melbourne, checking out the Commonwealth Games that happened to be in town, sampling some gyros in the Greek quarter, and stopping periodically to drink large glasses of beer. Needless to say, my first Korean BBQ was not over the top, I think we all ordered off the BBQ menu, instead going for hot pot and noodles.

Later that night, Chris led us to the Croft Institute, a bar with an interesting theme: mad scientist. If the fact that the bar had clearly once been a science lab, complete with sinks built into each laminated high table, wasn’t enough to creep you out, the gurney in the bathroom would.

More than once during the week I was in Australia, we stopped for meat pies. We figured out that there were traditional ground beef pies as well as a remarkable assortment of chicken, vegetable and saucy options. I can’t decide if my favorite one was at that 3rd dock in Circular Quay for the sheer nostalgia of it, or the fast food chain Jester’s chicken and mushroom pie with cream sauce in the basement of the mall near Chris’ MacQuarry campus. I could make a trip to Australia and only eat different meat pies the entire time. And be really happy about it.

Dry Creek Passport Weekend 2009

This is the ultimate wine event for me every year: a weekend in Healdsburg tasting some of the best wine in California, plus tasty bites at each spot. All along Dry Creek Road, over 40 wineries participate in the decadent event, offering their usual tasting selection paired with flavor-enhancing food and often library or reserve wines that wouldn’t usually be available.

In my second year of Passport Weekend, I was keen to go back to a few gems discovered in 08 and venture to some new spots. We kicked off the day at Amista, enjoying their famous (among my extended family and friends) Syrah Rosé paired with tapas: almonds, manchego cheese and chickpea salad. Zinfandel and Syrahs were paired with another plate of tapas: braised lamb bite and chilled potato Spanish tortilla. We went home with 2 bottles of their Cabernet, eager to pair with a red-meat dinner at home.

Next stop was Mauritson, where a maze through their barrel warehouse started with Sauvignon Blanc paired with Togaroshi-crusted Tamales Bay oysters on lil buns with “kefir yuzu remoulade and micro arugula.” The fried oysters were sweet. I removed them from the buns and ate them sans fancy-mayonnaise. The Pinot Noir was served with pork loin sandwich bites with a fruity chutney or jam and the Rockpile Zin paired with hearty, super-rare beef sliders.

The highlight of the day (or perhaps weekend) was the next winery, Passalacqua. In 2008, VIP passes scored by my member parents allowed John and my mom access to a special tasting where sips of reserve bottles were accompanied by expertly selected potpourris, bringing specific notes of the wine to the forefront. A sniff of tobacco leaves followed by a sniff of an earthy Cabernet helped them detect the tobacco aromas in it. Similarly, the same wine might have the flavors of chocolate or cigar enhanced, right after smelling those scents. Needless to say, not experiencing this haunted me for the entire year. As I scooped up my VIP pass, this time with my dad, we made our way down to the first of 3 tasting tents. The first—and each time I thought this experience must be the best and yet they kept getting better—was a food pairing with their Radici. Radici is a mix of Sangiovese and Cab grapes, a really nice, spicy, rich, very expensive bottle. At this point, our host announced that 2 full cases of the Radici would get us a helicopter ride to the vineyard alongside the current Passalacqua family vintner. Interesting idea. Wasn’t going to happen on my budget.

The Radici was paired with competing flavors: one an eggplant, cocoa nib and caper “caponata” (chutney) on cracker-thin and salty seminola flatbread. The other was a bite of short-rib “stroganoff” (BBQ) on a cute little taro chip. Both were delicious, but the wine was fantastic.

Next, to the comparative tasting where we sampled 2006 Dry Creek Valley Cabernet from Block 1 and Block 4 of the estate. Already being impressed with the Radici, I couldn’t believe how delicious these wines were. Presented at the table were scorecards filled with different aromatic and taste notes, duplicated in 2 columns so you could compare the wines’ flavors side by side. Notes of cola, blackberry, and black olive produced an aroma for Block 1 that was delectable. I favored Block 1 for its stronger bramble and jammyness, though most of our table preferred Block 4 with its rich earthiness. What a way to discover what you most enjoy in a wine!

The last tent offered a vertical tasting of the same Blocks 18 & 19 from 2004, 2005, and 2006. Apparently Blocks 18 & 19 are the best on the premises, I got the impression that the best barrels from early in the year were redirected to those blocks. The 2004 was amazing, the 2006 similar in so many ways yet so much more fruit, and the 2005 was so smoky I could barely drink it. However, our guide explained that the 2005 was the strongest of the set, making it the best investment.

After Passalacqua, we headed across Dry Creek Road to Teldeschi where BBQ and a rock band tried to contend with my buzzalacqua. A giant bottle, available for $6,000, held the equivalent of 36 bottles of wine and apparently cost $1K just to manufacture.

Eagerly awaiting the end-of-day visit to Ferrari-Carano, we made a quick stop at Unti for wine pairings with the Girl and the Fig bites. Once at the gorgeous F/C, we wound our way through the cellars tasting Fumé Blanc paired with the most delectable salmon, leek and goat cheese tart. A ham, spinach and parmesan soufflé paired with their Alexander Valley Chardonnay was tasty, but didn’t compare to the honey coriander flank steak paired with the West Face Prevail. We wrapped up with the Eldorado Gold with a nutty apricot rice pudding.

We kicked off day 2 with Seghesio’s Blues, BBQ & Zin, an adventure in richness. Bold wines, pulled pork cooked for 14 hours on a one-of-a-kind BBQ, slow cooked beans, ribs, even family-recipe homemade sausage! I would have been happy to spend the entire day sipping their Omaggio, a blend of Cab and Sangiovese. The San Lorenzo Zin was spectacular and a nice compromise for my budget was the Block 8 version which has younger grapes from the same vines. What better way to wrap up the weekend than bocce ball in the sun with family, friends, and the best wine in California!

Best of Istanbul

In 2007 to celebrate my brother's graduation from college, the family was off to Turkey. We stayed in the Sultanahmet for the first 5 days, the ‘old town’ of Istanbul among grand mosques, bazaars and palaces. Our culinary adventures were unlimited—spicy meatballs and flaky fish, baba ghannouj and calamari. Everything was fresh, Mediterranean and delicious!

We were taken to the restaurant Set Balik, far north along the Bosphorus, more than halfway between Istanbul and the Black Sea. This meal likely ranks in my top 25 between the spicy raw beef meatballs and cacik (I adore Greek tzatziki, a mixture of yogurt, cucumber, mint and garlic, and the Turks call their similar dish cacik, sometimes adding in spinach.)

The dessert was a fascinating wafer of cheese wrapped in shredded wheat, drizzled with honey and pistachios. An odd combo of both flavors and texture.

The New York Times featured a story on cooking classes in Istanbul, so we spent a day in the kitchen with Cooking Alaturka. While I chopped the tips off green beans and diced beef and lamb so fine it cooked up to look like it had been ground! We made a vegetable dish that involved layering chopped garlic, diced tomatoes, green beans and onions.

The meal kicked off with a lemon yogurt soup with dried mint followed by zucchini-cheese fritters dipped in garlic yogurt sauce. The main dish was lamb and beef stew cooked inside an eggplant.

We topped off the meal with dried figs first soaked in boiling sugar and clove water, then slit open and stuffed with walnuts.

Our class, enjoying the meal.


The bazaars in Istanbul were incomparable.

Spices

Turkish Delight

Olives

Dried Fruits


Our hotel, like many an Sultanahmet, had the restaurant on the roof to take in the city sights.
Breakfast was filled with yogurt and fruit compotes

And humor

Best of Puerto Vallarta

In January, we went to Puerto Vallarta for some overdue R&R. Mexican food has long been my go-to cuisine, so I was in absolute heaven.

First night in town, we went slightly overboard on guacamole, fajitas and piña coladas at Fajita Banana in Marina Vallarta, down the street from our hotel.


I ordered lots of fajitas all week, so fresh and delicious and oh how I love my choice of toppings. I think the best fajitas were at Pipi's: succulent shrimp so fluffy and garlicky in a tequila glaze. We ate at Fajita Republic in Zona Romantica twice that week. Here's my chicken fajita order set aflame in tequila.


Mmmmmmmm


Our last night in PV, we opted for an upscale dinner at Vista, overlooking the city. I think we got the best table in the house.


I ordered pork belly with walnut ice cream and apricot preserves as a starter, very interesting flavors!