In the St. Patty's Day spirit and fresh from an early night off work, I whipped up a majority green taco buffet Tuesday night. Chopped jalapenos, fresh cilantro, avocado, cabbage, chopped onion and the cherry on top: sour cream with garlic, cilantro and lime sauce. The prawns (protein; read: vehicle) were simply sauteed in garlic, cilantro and paprika.
This should be my thing when I travel south of the equator: find a restaurant at the top of the tallest tower in town. The cheese plate was great, but then I love any cheese plate and when it has FIVE options, you really can't go wrong.
Ok, so the incredible Russian dessert (which has seriously caught on down undah) wasn't named after the psychologist but the ballerina. And, oh my, is it gracefully delicious! My first Pavlova experience was at Pony, a hip tapas bar in the Rocks on a sweltering afternoon, the kind where lunch takes 2 hours because everything is moving more slowly, not because you're imbibing anything other than sparkling water. Course one involved a dozen local oysters with fresh lemon. Course two was a tender octopus and vinegar salad with pickled onions. Course three changed my life. When the merringue arrived, I'd never seen anything like it and didn't quite know how to approach it. My creative director Lea dove in by using her spoon to crack the outer shell of the merringue with a thwack. Inside the stark white shell was a marshmallow-like gooey goodness so lovely I almost forgot the perfectly ripe mango and whipped cream above and below. I've no idea how the merringue was cooked to remain un-charred yet perfectly crispy on the outside. A+ for presentation, don't you think?
Mere metres from Sydney Harbor and the Opera House, starving, fatigued the heat, I discovered the little-known Super Supreme. 50% pizza, 30% melted cheese, 20% some kind of focaccia and 100% kitchen sink, I think eating an entire SS should win you an award. There were layers of canadian bacon, pepperoni, bell pepper, olives, even pineapple! When in Rome?
GS&P has started the fantastic new practice of turning the parking lot out back into a mobile catering slot. Every day a new vendor parks their truck and the smells from BBQ permeate the building. Roli Roti, of Ferry Building fame, has stopped by a couple times now with amazing chow. Their most famous Porchetta sandwich made it on 7x7's '09 and '10 top 100 lists, so you know it rocks. I ended up ordering rolls for my creative directors who raved about them and said they had to fend off would-be sandwich-stealers! For my part, the incredible bread, carmelized onions and fresh herbs were lovely, however I somehow got the gristliest hunk of pork on the spit. I could tell it was an amazing sandwich but I couldn't get past not being able to chew through the meat. But, and this is a big but, a rump-roast-size but, I can't wait to give it another try!
When we arrived at the Squaw Creek Resort back in December, the halls were thoroughly decked with Christmas cheer. Since we got in so late and it was so cold, we happily ordered pizza and sat by the fire, reminiscing about our first few dates which ALL consisted of ordering pizza. For a nice dinner out the next night, we carried a luscious bottle of Prevail 2004 down to the Six Peaks restaurant in the resort. The menu was interesting with "New Cuisine" taking up a full page. Upon asking, I learned that liquid nitrogen would be used to slowly cook the food...so obviously I had to try it. Rather than try to pigeon-hole this celebratory meal with a beginning, middle and end, I ordered three delicious-sounding appetizers.
The butternut squash soup tasted like Christmas. The menu said candy cane and blackberry marshmallow but it tasted more like poetic sugared plums. A little crunch, a little sugar, a little squash. Ok, it was, um, interesting. But I was having too much fun. My next "New" course was the foie gras (as if I could pass that up on the menu). I think foie gras tastes best in Europe. Just sayin. This version was pretty light on flavor but had the texture nailed. The menu read cranberry air, currant caviar and cinnamon apple pancake. In any case, it was sweet, creamy, had elements of cooked currants that really did pop in my mouth like caviar and the delicious fluff of real pancake.
...To eat well! Over the past month and a half, I've enjoyed some memorable meals that I can't wait to get back in the saddle and write about. The reason for my absence? John and I got engaged! We've been so enthusiastically celebrating and planning that my precious free time has been spent sifting through pages of stationery stock and venue choices instead of recounting my favorite pastime: food. And because it remains the most fun I have besides actually eating, I'm back and happy to relieve stress and relive dining.
On the Friday after Thanksgiving, I think we were over cooking and needed to go out for someone else's cookin'. My parents recommended Bistro Beaujolais, yet another one to cross off my list in Carmel. We were pretty much the only patrons on the holiday weekend, but it didn't diminish the lovely service, ambiance or fare. The perfect wintry dish, I ordered the coq au beaujolais, the restaurant's spin on coq au vin to delicious results. Being in the mall, I probably never would have ventured over here, but I'm eager to get back, even if it's just for French onion soup and cocktails at the copper bar. You also can't miss the murals throughout the restaurant, really impressive.
Look at this feast! David's brined turkey, bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, sweet potato souffle, cranberry orange sauce and giblet gravy. Pure decadence. Carb killer.
John's mom, Ellen (!!), has been trying a few different sweet potato recipes over the past few years and hasn't fallen in love with anything, so she asked if I had a favorite recipe. Do I ever have a favorite! Though I've never made it before, the Murphy's have brought it to a couple Thanksgivings and I remember it well. Linda was kind enough to share the recipe:
After a day of exploring the universe at Cal Academy, my parents, John and I ended up at Nopalito in the Lower Haight. Known for delicious, local, organic, sustainable Mexican food, I'd only heard good things. My mom and I went straight for the pomegranate persimmon sangria and tortopos con chile thinking it might be a twist on some good old fashioned chips and salsa that would really hit the spot. Instead, nachos with spicy salsa, sweet onions, cheese and sour cream arrived to our delight. John and I split the beet salad, a fun mix of pickled red onions, orange slices, queso fresco and lime juice.
When I first flew into SF to visit John, he took me to a quaint Japanese restaurant across the street for romantic sukiyaki and sake. Seated in the window just off Union Street, it felt so deliciously comfortable and stylish to feast on blazing hot and soup. By the time I moved to SF, it had closed and reopened as the chic Umami, but we'll never forget Yoshida Ya!
Ok, if you know me, you know I have entirely mixed feelings about Nettie's. Since it opened about 18 months ago, I've been at least 10 times for various occasions from birthday dinner to meeting the gals after work to easy go-to on a Saturday night with John. The owner came from Spruce, so editors had high hopes for the spot, but it seems like the location (where Home and Palmetto have also been open since I've lived here...the past 3 years) just can't sustain good food. Furthermore, the space is long and skinny with a great patio and atrium but a feeling like you're being led into the basement the further back the tables get. I want to say 9 out of the first 10 times I went, the hostess directed us past the patio, past the light-filled atrium close to Union street, past the tables near the bar, past the giant tables filled with screaming kids and families (just not seen in Cow Hollow) to a table at the very back, back wall. Quite honestly, it feels like you're purposefully being hidden from prospective customers. It feels like you're being relegated to an area that may or may not even have an assigned waiter. It feels like it's not worth spending money at that point.
