Gastronomie

Coco500... Eatiing My Words

About a year ago, I wrote a lukewarm review of Coco500.

I loved what I ate, but I was terribly put off by the attitude and the general "too-big-for-our-britches" attitude. I suppose that on some level, my feeling was (and still is) that if you give yourself the right to ride on the coattails of your former incarnation's reputation, your service had best reflect that you're not a brand-new establishment.

Still, I got called out by Aaron, a virtual old-timer at Coco, for not having given the place a second chance -- not having given it a chance to "grow up", as it were. But the truth is, I've been to Coco500 on numerous occasions since I wrote that review, and I'm a little ashamed that I never updated it. Because while the food hasn't changed, the service has taken a turn for the much, much, better.

We took two out of town friends there this past Saturday evening for their wedding "celebration", and we really enjoyed ourselves. Everything from that most exquisite flatbread and divinge cocktails to the toothsome and meaty flank steak and oh-dear-lord-they-have-roasted-marrow-bones was wonderful.

Service was quite delightful (our waitress is one we've had before, and she's a doll) but... we still missed our potato gratin. She realized it just as we were finishing our entrees, and apologized profusely (and I think comped us a dessert), but are these guys just really overworked? It certainly does beg the question.

I have really come to love Coco500. I send C there for business dinners, have lunches with my part-time-lover*, and love meeting friends for drinks. Do I regret my earlier review? Not even a little bit. Am I thrilled to post this update? You bet your fried-green-beans I am!

*Ohmigodshe'shomebutidon'tknowwheni'llseeher!!!!!

Tags: San Francisco, Food, Food & Drink, Coco500, Restaurant Review

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Help Me Get Nourishment. Please!

Last week, I had a root canal on one of my bottom left molars.

Turns out, I'm a bit of a genetic anomaly -- my tooth developed with FIVE roots, instead of four. This made for a more difficult and longer procedure (by about an hour), and a whole extra set of radiographs.

As a result, I now have three small canker sores which have merged into one large one. Every touch (whether by my tongue or a bit of food) causes excruciating, searing pain all the way into my jawbone. I sound completely dorky when I speak (try explaining this to your clients!), but my greatest issue right now is that I haven't been able to eat anything solid in a couple of days.

Does anyone have any suggestions for foods that are easy to eat, aren't particularly salty or sour, but not horribly bland, either? Grainy or mealy stuff like oatmeal or cream of wheat won't work, either. And really, I'm all tapped out on chicken broth!

Tags: Food & Drink, Food, Root Canal, Dentist

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How I Fell in Love With Jamaica

There are a few things you have to do when you go to Jamaica. One of these things is not something discussed in, ahem, present company (present company being the WHOLE WIDE WORLD). But I can tell you that it's most definitely not OK to visit Jamaica without (a) eating jerk chicken and (b) drinking Red Stripe.

C and I were lucky to find an absolutely wonderful and beautiful angel in Marva Shaw. Marva customised a tour of Ocho Rios for us, steering us away from the throngs of uninspired tourists (ie, those who book ALL their shore excursions through the cruise lines) and taking us to a roadside shack for pottery, a total dive for lunch, and a bizarre little chaat-like joint for beef patties.

At the risk of sounding like a shill, Marva is the best freaking tour guide we've ever had. We loved her so much we wanted to book a week-long vacation in Jamaica on the spot; she's a great lady with an huge heart, and Jamaican down to her very soul.

Our day started early, with a tour of Dunn's River Falls. While they are most definitely a tourist trap, Marva got us there long befor the buses showed up. The Falls are really lovely, though I have to say that they pale in comparison to the waterfalls we visited on the Big Island in Hawaii. That said, walking the mouth of the river where it feeds into the vast ocean was breathtaking.

At this point, C needed sustenance, so we made a quick pit-stop at Juici Patties for a couple of flaky, buttery packets filled with curried ground beef, and a Coco Bread. Cost for three patties and two breads? Two bucks. I felt like I was robbing these people.

Next up was our tour of Prospect Plantation, one of the oldest working plantations in Ocho Rios.

How to Eat Well on a Cruise

Seems like an oxymoron, doesn't it? People always tell you that you don't cruise for the "quality" of the food, but the "quantity". And truth be told, food was our greatest concern when we booked our vacation -- would we find ourselves eating room service BLTs every night instead of abysmal beef Wellington and fake-ice-cream baked Alaska?

While Princess is by no means considered a "luxury" cruise line, it generally seems to garner "premium" ratings by reviewers. So, this post can't really be taken as anything more than our experience on the Caribbean Princess, one of the largest and newest ships in a "premium" fleet.

What We Loved:

An Open Letter to Chopper Riders in Jack London Square

Dear Large Man --

Your motorcyle is very loud. I'm sure you know this and, in fact, I'm sure it's the reason you like to ride it. Perhaps it's making up for some comment your mother made long ago, or perhaps it's in reaction to a slight from a recently departed girlfriend. Or maybe you're just dumb enough to get one "because all my friends are".

So anyway, back to the bike.

PLEASE DON'T DRIVE DOWN RESIDENTIAL STREETS AFTER MIDNIGHT,
ROARING YOUR ENGINES.

Otherwise, my very tough French Bulldogs will jump out the window and chew your toes off, and then I will have to fill out paperwork, and then I will be grouchy. Which will make my Frenchies grouchy. And you ain't seen grouchy 'til you've met these two:

So please, Mr. Motorcycle Man, could you find it in your heart to ride your bike down a street other than ours, the ONLY residential street in our area?

Tags: Motorcycles, Choppers, Oakland, French Bulldogs, Dogs, Urban Noise

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Found: The Perfect Hoagie Sandwich

That up there is a Monster from LaSpada's in Fort Lauderdale. It's 12 inches of joyously delicious bread loaded with turkey, ham, roast beef, provolone, sweet peppers, hot peppers, onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, oil & vinegar. C and I destroyed it on our first day in Florida.

LaSpada's opened their first location in 1973, and it's been a family-run operation ever since. Today, they have three stores in the Fort Lauderdale area, and the lines at each one are perpetually out-the-door. The counter crew function like a well-oiled machine: meats are sliced paper-thin only once you've ordered, then they are tossed (literally) five feet to the sandwich "assembler". The veggies are piled high, then with perfect timing, one final layer of meat comes flying across.

Which leads me to the neatest thing about LaSpada's subs: their unique "tuck" method -- the very last layer of the sandwich is a thin layer of meat, which is then carefully tucked underneath all the rest of the fillings, to keep the sandwich mostly intact as you're eating it. This is an enormous improvement over typical hoagie-style sandwiches, where all the small stuff is on the top, and ends up falling off well before you make it to the end of the sandwich.

After hearing him talk about this place for four years (and a near-nuclear meltdown the last time we were in Florida when his mom really wanted "breakfast" instead of a sandwich), I finally get it. LaSpada's is as barebones as it gets, but their bread and meats, as well as their technique, score them all the points they need to win my personal "Favorite Sandwich" award.

LaSpada's Original Hoagies
4346 Seagrape Drive
Lauderdale-by-the-sea, FL 33308
954.776.7893

Tags: Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Restaurant Reviews, Hoagies, Sandwiches, Food & Drink

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Headin' Home

We're sitting at Fort Lauderdale Airport, awaiting our flight home. Vacation was spectacular, much-needed, and extraordinarily beautiful. I have all kinds of fodder for several posts, and promise I'll start updating tomorrow with some gorgeous pictures and mouth-watering descriptive.

Meanwhile, a few observations:

• When your husband compares every sandwich he eats to the ones at La Spada's in Lauderdale -- for FOUR years -- it's a good idea to listen, as you may eat the best sub you ever stuffed in your face if you do.
• Cruises aren't just for people d'un certain age anymore. We probably represented the median age on the ship, and really enjoyed the diversity.
• Eight hours is definitely enough to experience street food in just about every city/port-of-call if you do your research, plan well, and chat up the locals. More on that tomorrow.
• Jamaica is amazing. So is Cozumel. Grand Cayman is totally over-rated, unless you like that sort of gentrified sterility. But they do have some amazing deals on Mallorcan pearls. I should know.

That's it for this evening, lovies. I'll be back tomorrow, and want to send big huge hugs and virtual smooches to Sam, for taking such great care of the poochies.