Gastronomie

Sweet & Sparkly

I don't know about you, but making grand plans for New Year's Eve always seems to leave me a bit, well, limp. I hate spending a ton of money for mediocre meals and service from surly waiters who are pissed to be working that night. I hate trying to find cabs, and waiting in line trying to get a drink at whatever party I spent a mint to get in to, and most of all hate the melodrama that invariably plays out three feet away from me.

So for the past three years, I've been holding a late-starting party with lots of sweet treats, bubbly and cocktails. It's great because people can have dinner at their favorite restaurant and still make it over in time to "Auld Lang Syne" with friends and really, what more could you ask for?

Since I've been such a ('scuse my language) slack-ass when it comes to recipes lately, I thought I'd share one for a Coffee-Caramel Trifle that has made it into the annual rotation. However, despite the pleas I'm sure to get in that there comments section, I will NOT share the recipe for my Fleur de Sel brownies (aka "crack brownies", as Alder called them). Some things are just not meant for sharing

Stealing a Bite -- My Top 10 Tastes of 2006

Sometimes, the inspiration for blog fodder comes in the form of, well... stealing. In this case, I'm stealing from Jen, who did this brilliant post about the 10 best things to pass her lips this year. I thought that recollecting all the delicious things I've eaten would be a nice way to close out what has been a pretty crappy year.

So, without further ado, I present my Top Ten Tastes of 2006, in (mostly) chronological order:   

1. Like Jen, I have to put the Buttermilk-soaked Fried Quail with Lemon Confit at Rubicon on the list. It was sublime enough that I have been back specifically to eat that one thing.   
2. Bacon-Wrapped Chorizo-Stuffed Dates at 4580 in Boulder. Before this meal, I would have sworn that I hate dates. Not only were these incredibly delicious in their own right, they actually opened my mind to an ingredient I previously shunned.
   

   

    
3. Chanterelle Tagliatelle at Babbo was positively exquisite -- the first time I understood how pasta was supposed to taste and "bite". Phenomenally good, and one of my loveliest meals with C, ever.   
4. Then there's Alinea, which was definitely the meal of the year. For the rest of my days, I will never forget the perfectness of Pear: Curry Infused Cocoa Butter Orb with Pear Juice.   
   

   

5. On the dessert end of the table is the Smoked Yogurt that accompanied the bittersweet chocolate cake at Coi. I've heard it's no longer offered because it was too odd for most people, which is a shame and makes me fear losing Daniel Patterson to New York. That stuff was revelatory.   
6. If I ever taste O-toro like the pieces we were served at Pod, I will consider myself ready to... ready to... oh, come on, who am I kidding? I wouldn't stop eating sushi. But, I would be a damned lucky girl.   
7. My first (and second... and third) La Spada's Hoagie. 'Nuf said.
   

   

    
8. Eating heavenly Festival Bread in Jamaica with hotter-than-sin jerk chicken and washing it all down with ice cold Red Stripe.   
9. You know how sometimes you listen to people go on and on about how great something is, and then when you finally try it, it's sort of a let-down because you've hyped it so much in your own head? Yea, that's not how it is with Pretzel Croissants from City Bakery.
   

   

10. And finally, to take us back a full year, the Croquembouche I ordered from Citizen Cake for last year's New Year's Eve party. While it was delicious in its own right, what made it a top-10 contender is the friends I got to share it with.

Now, you may have noticed that there are no wines or spirits on this list; that's because they could make up a whole post on their own. But a couple quick memories include:   

• My first sip of Oban, high above San Francisco on the top floor of the Hilton   
  
• A taste of Water's Crest Nightwatch, a luscious eiswein-style offering from Long Island
• The first sniff of Qi (the Lapsang Souchong/Orange/Vanilla liqueur from Lance Winters, Brian Backus & John Scharffenberger) that nearly knocked me backwards with its potency
• A Hangar One Wasabi Vodka Bloody Mary -- perfection with a pickled green bean
• Brewing a pot of Vanilla Rooibos tea, and sharing with my mom
• A dinner with good friends, seeing their reaction to their first taste of a nicely aged Masi Amarone. ..the wonderment that wine could taste like this.

It has been a year of delicious food, and delicious drink. A year of merry-making, friend-making, sadness-making.

Yes, it has definitely been a year to remember.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you, with hopes and wishes for a phenomenal year ahead with joy, prosperity and many beautiful and delicious things.

Tags: Food, Food & Drink, 2006, 2007, New Years, New Years Eve, Best Of, San Francisco, Chicago, Jamaica, Oakland, New York

Hangar One's Mad Scientist Strikes Again

Last Sunday, Hangar One/St. George Spirits (aka The Best Damn Booze Company Ever) held their annual Holiday Open House. My friend E and I headed over after an alcohol-absorbing brunch at Luka's, and as usual, I was floored by the generosity of this amazing group of artisans, and their partners in culinary crime.

A $25 ticket bought you a full tasting of all their assorted spirits, three drink tickets for highly inventive cocktails, PLUS all manner of delicious nibblings from local artisans.

Michael Recchiuti was there, sampling his Qi and St. George Whiskey chocolates. I adored the former, but really couldn't taste the whiskey in the latter. He was also doling out cups of hot chocolate spiked (if one chose) with either of the aforementioned spirits. I couldn't escape, of course, without a box of Fleur de Sel Caramels, which I proceeded to share with everyone I knew (and many I didn't).

Living Room Events supplied tasty tidbits, including charcuterie from Fatted Calf, prosciutto-wrapped arugula and itty-bitty "slider sandwiches" of roasted duck. And just in case Mr. Recchiutti's confections weren't enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, the good folks from Whiskie Bits Bakeshop were on hand to sample their fall flavors, including a few that were infused with the distillery's own goodness.

Soon after we arrived, we caught sight of the Mad Scientist, and headed on over to say hello. Who IS the Mad Scientist, you ask? His name is Lance Winters, and he's a former nuclear engineer. Now, he makes Really Good Vodka and other stuff.

From the last tasting I'd attended, I knew that he'd been working on a lighter version of the wildly successful Qi Liqueur. Back then, the idea was to infuse green tea and mint into a refreshing and crisp counterpoint to the original Qi. As nuclear-engineers-turned-craft-distillers are wont to do, that first batch was deemed "just not right", and has since morphed into something altogether more sensuous and spicy. I won't spill the beans here, but be on the lookout for this heady but easily sippable (and much more approachable) distillation from Qi Spirits.

Then, just before we left, he snuck out a glass of something crystal clear, something that smelled like... what IS that? Swirl, sniff, swirl, sniff...

"It's herbaceous... very clean. But seriously, man, what IS this??," I asked. He replied, "It's Christmas in a glass."

Turns out, Lance's neighbor brought him a bag full of fresh Douglas Fir pine needles. And Lance decided to distill them in Hangar One Straight. Like so many things, the moment he tells you what it is, you can smell it immediately. Seriously, who thinks to do stuff like this?

If he ever releases it (under the Alchemist Series -- he's still fine-tuning it), this Christmas vodka will attain cult status much like the Batch 1 bottling of Wasabi vodka did earlier this year. You've been warned.

Tags: Hangar One, St. George Spirits, Qi, Vodka, Liquor, Whiskey, Lance Winters, San Francisco, Alameda, Oakland, Food & Drink

Light or Dark? McSorley's wants to know.

 

These are your only beverage choices, offered by a crotchety Irishman with a thick brogue, when you walk into McSorley's in the East Village.

The beauty is that you can order either or both. How, you ask? Because each individual order brings two half-pint beers, pulled cold and fresh, with a healthy head. McSorley's dark ale is deep and caramelly and smoky. The light is crisper, as you would expect, very refreshing.

Need another beer? The whole table gets around; that's just how it is. Don't like it? Leave. 'Course you'd be missing out, 'cos you can always leave some behind (though, more likely, someone at your table will drink what you don't). But you can't find this kind of camaraderie in many other pubs.

The girl from three tables over might sit and chat about the boy she's trying to charm for 20 minutes. And you might never hear the story of the four generations of men sitting at the table across  from yours.

Grandpa's been coming here for 60 years; Dad was here when the court order came down in 1970 opening McSorley's to women; Son's been coming here since he was a boy -- a Ginger Beer and and order of fish & chips were his favorite meal watching games with his Pop. And now he's brought his 2-year-old son to McSorley's, and the little one seems to be walking in these men's footsteps as he chows down on beer-battered fish.

I love me my Heinholds, yes. But McSorley's wins the award for best pub in the (city?) (country?) (world?) for all the reasons one seeks a pub: liquid therapy (a great beer that's only improved by hot salty tears), a new-best-friend-for-the-night (to hear how crappy your day's been), and a volume level that drowns out your sobs. All topped off by a barkeep who, with one sentence, can make you laugh so hard you snort beer.

Oh, and did I mention they've been around since 1854? That's a lot of time to perfect one's art, don't you think?

I love, love, love McSorleys. And plan to stop for a beer and some fish & chips before leaving for the airport tomorrow afternoon!

McSorley's Old Ale House
15 East 7th Street, New York
212.474.9148

 

Tags: Food, Food & Drink, Manhattan, New York, San Francisco,  McSorleys, East Village, Pub, Beer

Waiter, There's a Fruit in My Beer

Yes. Well. It's summer again, isn't it?

Do you know how I know this? It's certainly NOT because of the weather (70-ish today, in the sun, with very little actual fog - confused yet?). And really, it's not because of the produce at the market, because everything has been slowed down by the torrential rains of the past winter.

No, it's because of this stuff, that I once wrote about a few years ago: Watermelon Wheat.

21st Amendment's ode to the juiciest, slurpiest fruit of summer. We've done a bit of damage already this year: 2 Growlers, 2 six packs (they're canning the stuff now!), and I don't know how many pints at the bar.

But then, something happened. I took our Growlers in to be refilled today, and imagine my surprise when I looked up at the chalkboard and saw "Pomegranate Cider" written up there. It's possible that my pretty little Manolos carried me faster than they ever had, around the bar and practically leaping across it, to stop the bartendress from starting to fill that 2nd Growler.

"Wait, please", I said. "Can I get the Cider in that Growler, to go?" (as though I could possibly drink 64 ounces of cider in the bar!).

Five minutes later, I was prancing up 2nd Street to the car, two Growlers and one six-pack in tow. I called C to tell him what a sweet wife I was to pick up that six-pack of Watermelon Wheat (so that he'd have "fresh" beer in my absence later this week, natch), never alluding to the fact that the real reason had more to with my insatiable appetite for anything pomegranate.

So, how was it all?

The Watermelon Wheat is as thirst-quenchingly delicious as ever. I highly recommend serving it ice cold with a wedge of fresh watermelon. Dropping the melon into the glass gives you something slightly sweet and delightfully effervescent to nibble on once you've drained your glass. Oh, and in case you were wondering? It takes 400 POUNDS of watermelon to make each batch.

The Cider? Well. It was perhaps the most balanced cider I've had from a keg in a long time. The fragrance and essence of pomegranate is alive, with an acidity that reminds me of really beautiful rosés. Not too sweet, this stuff was incredibly well-suited to food, neither overpowering nor being overpowered.

21st Amendment's brewer, Shaun O'Sullivan, is really a gifted guy. In some ways, he reminds me of another one of my favorite mad scientists in that they both have an enormous appreciation for the the craft of creating a superior product, and aren't just slaves to what they think the masses want.

21st Amendment Brewery
563 2nd St
San Francisco, CA
415.369.0900

 

Technorati Tags: Food | Food & Drink | Beer | San Francisco

Boulder's Coming Up in the World

I love Colorado.

C and I have talked, extensively in fact, about moving to Boulder or Denver. We could live quite well in here and we could buy a nice little house on the profit we've made on the loft.

The scary part of all this, which really keeps us from moving forward with the plan, is that once we LEAVE the Bay Area, it's unlikely we'll ever be able to afford to move back again.

So, I suppose I'm a pretty lucky girl to have the Boulder contacts that I do, and to have the luxury to eat as well as I do in the Denver Metro area.

Last night, a group of us went to dinner at the brand-spanking new (we're talking 10 days open) Restaurant 4580 in North Boulder. Martin Hammer, proprieter & Gen. Mgr took incredible care of us, while Kelli Kingsford put a sexy and delicious spin on some very comfortable dishes.

Once we were seated, I ordered a luscious and well-loved bottle of '03 Domaine Pavelot Guettes and an assortment of "small plates" to start our table of six off.

(Side note: There's something so incredibly cool about being the only girl in a team of, say, 15 boys. I love it, and I wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China. So here's a shout-out to TSch., who knows a good thing when he sees it, and doesn't shy away from the 'status quo'.)

Anyway.

The Mussels at 4580 are amongst the best I've had. But, you know... you can get mussels just about everywhere. So, if you're feeling it, you'll order the Bacon-wrapped Chorizo-stuffed Dates (so good that I only got a photo after the plate had been pillaged). Yeah. And then, to supplement, you'll order the Batter-fried Shrimp, happily nesting in their light and delicious batter, loaded with delicate lemon zest.

On Snow-Covered Vines

When C and I made plans with Lenn to visit a few wineries, we had no idea that (a) we'd meet an awesome person whom it felt like we'd known for years and (b) that we'd discover a wine region that we're quickly becoming stout evangelists for.

Despite the fact that I grew up on Long Island, I had never tasted a LI wine (other than a sample Macari bottling last year). I was excited, though, because I knew that Cab Franc grows quite well in those parts, and, well, I just love Cab Franc.

Lenn planned a wonderful day for us, and I'm only sorry that we didn't get to spend more time out there; C and I have already agreed that our next trip to New York will include an overnight stay on the G-Island. Lenn took us to Roanoke Vineyards (where we got to the tasting room before the staff was quite awake), Lieb Family Cellars, and Waters Crest Winery (where we probably quite overstayed our welcome).

I got ZAP'd today -- and it's not what you think

Surely you've read all about ZAP by now. It's that insanely popular festival honoring the only true California grape, Zinfandel (no Primitivo backers need argue this point, please).

Well, C and I headed out this morning, not quite as early as we should have, to attend the Trade & Media portion of the tasting. It's a whole lot more calm than the insanity of the free-for-all tasting that starts at 1pm, with room to move and a chance to actually SPEAK with the winemakers.

Since it was nasty and misty out, and we didn't want C's camera to get wet, I dropped him off at the front of Herbst Pavilion so he could get some shots in and get our badges while I went to find parking. Riiiiiiight.

An hour later, frustrated beyond belief, and with a blood pressure hovering somewhere in the "dangerously high" zone, I returned to the front of the Pavilion and sent one of the staffers off to find C in the melee. After getting in three near-physical altercations with three DIFFERENT people over parking spots, and watching dozens of folks walk out with loaves of delicious-looking baguettes and purple-stained teeth, only to get into the waiting cabs, I gave up and just wanted to get the HELL out of there.

As soon as he was in the car, I made a beeline for a favorite lunch spot. No waiting, no parking mayhem, and most of all, NO ZINFANDEL... I just needed food. So where did we go?

Oh, come now, you know how I like making things interesting. So, the first person to guess where we ate lunch today will receive a ticket to the Food Blogger Face Off at the Ferry Building on February 6th.

The picture below could serve as a hint, if you're so inclined.

Technorati Tags: Food | Food & Drink | Wine | San Francisco | ZAP

10,000 Miles of Food

With all the traveling I’ve been doing (literally 10,000 miles in under 6 weeks), it’s been hard to get motivated to sit down and write a few posts. Certainly, it has nothing to do with a shortage of meals to write about.

I’ve had two dinners in Colorado that are quite blog-worthy, and two in Chicago – one of which it would be a great disservice NOT to write about.

And of course, there have been some fun events here at home – an Open House at Hangar One, our first Outstanding in the Field dinner, plus a fabulous brunch at L’Artiste Patisserie in Los Angeles.

As I sit here on my flight from Oakland to Chicago and then on to Hartford, I can hardly decide where to start. So, I think I’ll start at the beginning – in Colorado.

WBW #15 - Part Two... let's try again, shall we?

Thanks to everyone for being patient as I deal with both technical difficulties AND scheduling conflicts. In the past three weeks, I've flown 8,000 miles domestically, so I hope you'll all forgive me for taking so long to figure out that this post was in absentia.