Cliche Pun on Book Title

To be perfectly honest, I haven’t explored San Francisco as much as I would have liked this summer. But I have found one thing to be true. Blue Bottle Coffee is every bit as good as people tell you it is. I’m having a cup right now with just a splash of milk (and feeling sacrilegious for even adding that), and it’s absolute heaven. This is how every cup of coffee should taste.

In addition to their multiple coffee shop locations, Blue Bottle coffee can be found at many other venues around the bay area. Closest to me, they serve it at an excellent frozen yogurt shop called Fraiche (on Stanford’s campus and in downtown PA). Even the froyo shop freshly grinds and brews each cup individually.

Posted at 4:46pm and tagged with: coffee, san francisco, blue bottle, one column,.

July 17th 2010

the dish

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So, as you may know, I’m not a runner. But I do occasionally try to get some exercise. This weekend I was walk/jogging around campus, and I stumbled on “The Dish.” I had heard that Stanford owned some land in the foothills, and that it was a good place to go exercise. Well…people weren’t kidding.

So it’s a huge wilderness area. I went around 7pm, just as the sun was beginning to go down. The golden light made the whole area breathtakingly beautiful.

It’s very hilly, and I was impressed by the people I saw running the whole trail. The loop took me about 45 minutes to walk, going at a brisk pace. It was great to just throw an album on my iPhone and enjoy being out in nature. There were a bunch of wild squirrels out looking for food. I even saw a sign warning that I was entering a Mountain Lion habitat.

I absolutely plan to go back, as much as possible in the remaining weeks I’m here. But I can’t go today, as I’m waaaay too sore. I know, I know- weak.

I wish I always had a place this beautiful right by my house.

Posted at 6:48pm and tagged with: two column,.

July 17th 2010

ad hoc

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My evening at Ad Hoc ranks pretty high on the list of Best July 4th Celebrations that I’ve ever experienced. For those who are unfamiliar, ad hoc is owned by Chef Thomas Keller, generally considered to be the best chef in the country. He is also the owner of The French Laundry, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery, and Per Se. Ad Hoc is an entirely different style of restaurant from his other spaces. It’s casual, family style, and was never intended to be a permanent restaurant. From the website:

The building at 6476 Washington Street was originally intended to be a very different type of restaurant. While we were designing it we thought we’d experiment by opening a temporary restaurant and calling it Ad Hoc, which literally means, “for this purpose.” The idea for Ad Hoc was simple - 5 days a week we’d offer a 4 course family style menu that changed each day, accompanied by a small, accessible wine list in a casual setting reminiscent of home. We wanted a place to dine for our community and ourselves. The decision to change over the restaurant, however, was taken out of our hands by our guests. The response was so positive, we simply couldn’t close. So, in September, 2007, we decided to stay open permanently and now we’re serving dinner 5 nights a week as well as Sunday brunch.

On the evening we visited Ad Hoc, it happened to be the 4th of July. The restaurant had a festive atmosphere, and the menu that night was classic Americana. When you visit Ad Hoc, there is no decision to make. 4 courses, $49 a head. Everything is served family-style. A note of caution, the wine list doesn’t have a bottle under $40, so you know how they’re making the money back.

Our menu:

- salad of chilled melon with balsamic and feta

- lobster rolls with corn on the cob, boiled potatoes, and slaw

- cheese course: a sheep’s milk cheese from WI served with white nectarines

- dessert: red velvet cupcakes served with homemade buttermilk ice cream and mixed berries.

The restaurant had a great atmosphere. While the food was amazing, it was a place you could bring anyone (they always have a vegetarian option and fish option and can make substitutions for allergies, etc). We saw big families, children included, couples, parties…It also felt like a neighborhood spot, a place locals would eat. In fact, when we talked to the employees at the wine tasting rooms, several of them said they had been, or had plans to go.

The salad was simple and refreshing. I remember remarking that even the frisee salad had a beautiful dressing on it. The restaurant sources ingredients from the same local garden that serves The French Laundry.

Four lobster rolls, veggies and slaw made for the perfect backyard cookout vibe. We each only ate one lobster roll, and saved the rest for lunch the next day. The food was simple, but as they say on Top Chef, “nice, clean flavors.” Also- per my mom- “the best damn bread I’ve ever had.” The actual rolls came from Bouchon Bakery, natch.

The cheese course, with the freshest, juiciest white nectarines. The fruit paired perfectly with the cheese. I tend to prefer cheese as an appetizer, rather than a palate cleanser, or semi-dessert course. So in my perfect world, this would have been the first course.

The appropriately red, white and blue dessert. The homemade ice cream was indescribably smooth and creamy. I ate my cupcake in the natural way (break off the bottom and make the icing the center of a cake sandwich). My mom, a red velvet hater, agreed that the cupcakes were delicious. Again, this fit in perfectly with the picnic vibe. The whole night felt like a really good friend was making us delicious food.

I would like to get the cookbook, “Ad Hoc at Home” and see how hard it would be to replicate these recipes. I’m sure I wouldn’t have access to the same quality ingredients, but I liked that the food was so accessible and comforting.

I was also impressed by the fact that the restaurant halted service at 9:15 when the local fireworks show started. All of the restaurant guests brought their wine out on the patio and enjoyed the show together. When we got back inside, our waiter was ready to bring us the next course. He was warm and friendly, and happy to share all kinds of information about the restaurant with us. In fact, he is the artist who drew their famous butcher-pig logo.

Out of all of the restaurants I’ve been to in Napa and Sonoma, I would probably recommend Ad Hoc as my first choice. It isn’t the most elegant, but I feel it’s the most likely to make the average person very happy.

Posted at 6:19pm and tagged with: one column,.

July 17th 2010

Redd

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Dining at Redd was the most opulent, over-the-top fine dining experience I’ve had in a while. Set in the heart of Napa Valley, in the uber-charming Yountville, Redd shares a home with other culinary stars like The French Laundry, ad hoc, Bistro Jeanty, etc. I visited Chef Richard Reddington’s restaurant on a recent July evening. The restaurant was my mother’s dream- elegant minimalist decor with people who were actually dressed for fine dining (for the most part…) and no children in the dining room (though there were some on the patio…). I really enjoyed the understated decor, white walls with warm wood accents, because it put the focus on the food.

My mother and I opted for the five course tasting menu. Redd does theirs a bit differently and prepares two separate tastings. My mom and I got to try ten dishes total, trading plates halfway through each course. I loved the idea of this, because it really allowed you to sample the whole menu. As the meal progressed, however, I started to experience foodie fatigue. The portions were a bit too generous. Despite eating a very small breakfast and lunch, I began to feel full after the third course. The five course tasting menu was ~~almost~~ too much.

(pork belly)

I had researched the restaurant a bit before dining there, so I was excited to try some of the “favorite” dishes I had read about. The tasting menu included a cold fish dish, hot fish, two meat courses, and a dessert. I can honestly say I was blown away by the food. Standouts included: a sashimi of hamachi with a bright, acidic dressing on it served over perfect sticky rice; a smooth preparation of glazed pork belly with green apples for contrast; and the John Dory prepared over coconut jasmine rice with chorizo and a saffron curry nage (it was a similar preparation to mussels, but with a great spice. we ended up dipping our bread in the sauce.)

(john dory)

The desserts were good, but nothing amazing. I did appreciate a light apricot creme, if only because I was stuffed by that point and had no interest in the chocolate and peanut butter confections.

(the apricot creme)

The only downsides to our experience were the fact that we ended up with too much food, and that our service seemed stunningly slow. Our waitress spent a lot more time at the larger tables in her section. As a former waitress, I know it’s a tactic to focus on the table where she thinks the largest tip is going to be. But when you’re a restaurant at this level, there’s no excuse to neglect any guest.

That being said, I definitely enjoyed my meal at Redd and would recommend it to anyone going to the Napa Valley. It’s a good restaurant if you’re looking for top quality fine dining and you have a big appetite ;) Otherwise I’d recommend just ordering 1-3 dishes off the main menu.

Posted at 5:50pm and tagged with: one column,.

July 8th 2010

vino

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Over the past holiday weekend, I spent four days up in wine country with my mother. We attempted to hit about 6 wineries each day. (Don’t worry, we split the tastings). We also had some great food while we were up there, but I’ll get to that in separate posts. I think the easiest way to do this is to list the wineries we visited, bold my favorites, and if you have more in depth questions, feel free to leave comments.

Day 1- Napa

Gloria Ferrer : primarily known for sparkling wines. Great views from the patio, have switched to a set-up where you order a glass (or a bottle) and sit on the patio to enjoy the views. Less about learning, more about enjoying.
Domaine Carneros : also a nice patio with a good view. Wine isn’t as good as at Gloria.
Paraduxx : had some surprisingly good reds. You need an appointment here.
Elizabeth Spencer : one of my new favorite wineries. It’s in a tiny building in Rutherford (used to be the post office). They have great reds and whites, and aren’t too expensive. Also- super friendly people here.
Honig : My mom loves their sauvignon blancs, and we also had a great dessert wine here. You need an appointment. Another one where you sit in the garden and the wine comes to you. We also had a super friendly guy here.
Alpha Omega : good reds, and a nice patio with a fountain. They’re open til 6, and I would suggest ending the day here sipping a red while watching the sun go down.

Day 2- lower Sonoma

Hop Kiln : Nothing remarkable.
Kunde : They have a good tour here with caves. Also offer three different levels of tasting, from at the bar, all the way to taking a van ride to the top of a mountain.
Dutton Goldfield : I love their chardonnay and pinot noir, but the new facility isn’t as charming as their old spot.
Iron Horse : Another one with a great view. The “tasting room” is an outdoor bar up on a hill with a lovely view of the whole valley. I like their sparkling wine, but they have still as well. Very generous with the pours here.
La Crema : Not as exciting, as you can find these wines in grocery stores. At the tasting room you can try some of their less-distributed wines. Still, nothing mind-blowing. Just solid, good wine.

Day 3- upper Sonoma

Murphy-Goode : Some good wines, but mostly over-priced for the quality.
J Vineyards : Another favorite of mine, they do both sparkling and still wine. They have a gorgeous, modern building and I’ve always had knowledgeable and friendly people help me here. I especially recommend the Nicole’s Vineyard pinot noir and the Brut Rose sparkling. (If you have the money, they have a Vintage sparkling that’s KILLER).
Rodney Strong We tasted here because we had a free coupon. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t bother.
Merriam Came here for the name. The wine isn’t any good, sadly.
Francis Ford Coppola They just built a new facility, and it looks like it’s going to be amazing when its done. I like the sparkling wine they sell (Sofia) and a few of their other wines (Su Yen Syrah).
Dry Creek Nothing outstanding.
Quivira Another surprise gem. Apparently the winery is owned by the parents of a kid my brother went to school with. I loved their whites and reds, and my mom went home with a bottle of their Sauvignon Bland.

Day 4- Napa

Caymus My mom likes their “Conundrum” wine, but was mistaken in thinking that was made in Napa. This Caymus branch only makes reds, specifically one Zinfandel and two Cabernet Sauvignons. The tasting is by appointment only, and costs $25 a person to try 3 wines. I thought that seemed outrageous. The wine was great, but even better was watching the *serious* wine snobs who were tasting at the same time we were. Lots of swirling, spitting, and name-dropping.
V. Sattui AVOID. My mom aptly described it as “The Cracker Barrel of wineries.” I had to wait in the car because I got too claustrophobic.
Hall This place mainly does reds, and at this point my mom laid down the law that she was only interested in tasting Sauvignon Blanc (her current fave, and we had a long drive back to the city ahead of us). Didn’t like their Sauv Blanc, can’t speak to the other wines.
Grgich Hills Great wine and great history at this place.
St. Supery Another middle-of-the-road stop. The wine was ok, but seemed overpriced based on quality.
Girard A new find on this trip. I loved their wines, both whites and reds. I think in particular, the Sauvignon Blanc and the Old Vine Zinfandel were nice.
hope & grace Everyone seemed to be talking about this winery, so we had to stop in. Maybe it was over-hyped, but I was underwhelmed.
Cornerstone Only tried the Sauv Blanc here (Karen Merriam plan) and wasn’t impressed.

So- those are the wineries that I visited on this trip. My mom prefers white wine to red (red gives her a headache), so we focused on white and sparkling wine. I thoroughly enjoyed my fifth trip to wine country, and I know it won’t be my last.

Posted at 9:52pm.

June 16th 2010

Reblogged from judicialfiat| |#

(via judicialfiat)

I rarely sit down and watch a whole 10 minute video online (man, what does that say about ADD internet culture), but this one sucked me in. Very thought provoking.

Posted at 2:24pm.

May 29th 2010

sunO

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The Jake’s ice cream at Clairmont & North Decatur closed and was quickly replaced by a SunO. SunO, from what I can tell, is an Asian dessert spot. Their main product is a form of shaved ice/shaved ice cream that is lighter than frozen yogurt. You pick your flavor (original, strawberry, chocolate or mango), pick a topping, and pick a syrup. We let the cashier help us out and ended up with original SunO with red bean topping and Condensed Milk syrup. This was, not surprisingly, not very good.

I like red bean flavored ice cream and mochi, but this was a bit too much. Also red bean is a subtle flavor, and the SunO itself doesn’t have much flavor. I went back on Friday night for the grand opening and tried a free sample of SunO with fruit on top. MUCH BETTER. I would definitely recommend trying it, and if you go, I would recommend getting original SunO with some fruit toppings.

I just checked their website and saw they serve bubble tea. I think I’m going to have to go back this week before I leave and try some. I’ve been unable to find satisfactory bubble tea in Atlanta.

Posted at 10:29pm and tagged with: one column,.

May 29th 2010

the sound table

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The Sound Table is the newest restaurant/club from the owners of Top Flr. It’s in the Old 4th Ward and the bottom floor is a bar/club with a DJ booth, while the second story hosts the dining room. We visited on a quiet Monday, so we had dinner downstairs where we could enjoy the DJ and the atmosphere.

The menu is one of those amazing ones where everything sounds good. It’s supposed to be inspired by “street food,” but I found that to be an excuse to just cook whatever the hell the chef wanted. Creative Loafing has a good article examining this “street food” trend.

We started with cocktails, and what glorious cocktails they were. I had an old fashioned Gin Fizz (made properly with egg whites), while Brian had a Tommy Noble (pictured).

I also tried the Horse’s Neck (Bourbon, Bitters and Ginger Beer- my perfect combination- pictured):

For food, we just grazed around the menu, ordering as we felt hungry. We tried the crispy pork spring rolls (delicious, and you get 5 for $5). They combined crab and pork in a crispy golden roll.

We also had the Vietnamese Pho which was just lovely. I’m not a connoisseur of Vietnamese food, so I can’t tell you how authentic it was, but I can tell you how much fun it was. The bowl of broth, noodles and meat came with three side bowls: one with soy and sriracha sauce, one with sprouts, cilantro and other goodies, and one with extra broth. It was a lot of fun to combine the various ingredients. The broth was that perfect level of saltiness and the meat was tender and well-seasoned. The only hard part was figuring out how to eat it gracefully.

I would absolutely come back to The Sound Table. The food was great, and a great value, the cocktails are some of the best I’ve had in the city (I’d put them up there with Leon’s and Holeman & Finch), and the atmosphere is really fun.

Posted at 10:22pm and tagged with: one column,.

May 29th 2010

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I went to some events for Atlanta Beer Week, one of which was The Brick Store Pub’s Civil War night. They gave you a head-to-head taste of a beer from a southern brewery matched with a northern rival. We quickly decided the north won and moved on to a bottle of Brooklyn Brewery’s Local No. 1 for a victory lap. If you ever see this beer, you should absolutely try it.

Posted at 10:04pm.

May 28th 2010

on the road: terminal brewhouse

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I took a road trip two weeks ago to Bowling Green, KY. On the way home, we stopped in Chattanooga, TN for a late lunch. If you know me at all, you know I was scouting locations on my iPhone as we approached the city. I picked Terminal Brewhouse, a local microbrewery.

I would absolutely recommend this place to anyone stopping through Chattanooga. They brew their own beer, and it’s not too bad. But the best part is the beer garden on their back deck.

This photo doesn’t really do it justice. It had a nice view, cool breezes, multiple picnic tables, grass…it was an oasis.

We sampled the microbrews, and I disagree with them as to what makes a witbier, but I was pleased overall with the beer. I LOVED my sandwich, though. A black bean burger with pepper jack cheese and sweet potato fries.

Definitely a step up from stopping at a drive-through fast-food place for lunch on a road trip.

Posted at 12:25pm and tagged with: two column,.