Special Foodventures #145: Thankful November Diary Pt 1

Pera Cocktail, made with pear-infused cognac, from Drago Centro

With 2009 coming to an end, I have definitely been thinking about the 11 months that already passed. If I had to distill all those experiences into a single word, it would probably be Thankfulness. I suppose that's not a rare emotion to have this time of year, with Thanksgiving memories still lingering and all the anticipation of the holiday celebrations with close ones afoot. But it is very much a genuine feeling; thus, I dedicate December's posts to all the things I am thankful for in 2009. Starting off the dedication, I'll commemorate last month -- where, despite my announced blog hiatus, I've still been invited to numerous events, meeting wonderful new folks while reconnecting with friends I already know, all over many great meals, snacks and drinks.

November began as a total trip, literally! Thanks to winning PhishFest tickets from a LAist contest, e*starLA and I embarked on a trip to Indio over Halloween weekend for the three-day, eight-set performance by the jammin' rock band.

Not only do I have a whole new sense of appreciation for their music (really only having listened to them in passing before,) I also discovered some tasty treats out in the Inland Empire, including the Beer Hunter Sports Pub & Grill (boasting over 250 beers by the bottle and a sizable tap of ~30 brews.) And, since an A&W was within reach, we got fried cheese curds and root beer floats too (with some fried chicken, since this fast food stop was a hybrid with KFC!) Oh did I mention I got a brownie sundae that wound up pwning my butt? Even with Esther's help we left about half of it untouched!

Immediately following PhishFest (literally - we drove direct from Indio to Venice Beach to make the event), Esther and I headed to a Zeno Supper Club with fellow bloggers Caroline on Crack and Gourmet Pigs. We were invited by Citysearch but there was a $20 suggested donation at the door, but I thought what the hey -- there's an open bar and the foods served looked promising. And grub was certainly worthwhile, a delightful mishmash of gussied-up comfort foods (cassoulet, a "Thanksgiving" sandwich with turkey, cranberry sauce and gravy within and fire-roasted oysters from Carlsbad Aqua Farms!) and nice sips (namely, beers from Stone Brewing Company.) Who would've thought that this food-packed weekend is merely a preview of many more to follow in November?

Two days following, I met up with almost-common-law-spouse Esther again to taste cocktails from the new menu at Drago Centro, followed by the Secret Whisky Society at 7 Grand, which was highlighting Irish whiskys from Cooley Distillery, and then snacks and ANOTHER cocktail from Bottega Louie across the street. Obviously my memories of that night is a bit blurry, but I was definitely in bliss and can ID some of my favorites of the night: the Fumo e Fuoco ("Smoke and Fire") at Drago Centro, the silky-sweet-smelling Port barrel-aged Tyrconnell and Bottega's Manhattan, echoing Caroline's sentiment.

A few days later, I packed my bags and drove up to San Francisco for the first annual Foodbuzz Blogger Festival, celebrating - obviously - foodblogging! The three days were jam-packed with lots of eats and drinks, from casual SF street food to a chic farm-to-table five-course affair inside a produce warehouse, not to mention the numerous "samplings" we had along the way. And once again, I'm just floored by the fresh, seasonally-driven fare that's the soul of SF cuisine.

Of course, I squeezed in a little extra time too between events and took an extra day off to enjoy some of my favorite NorCal food and drinks and to discover new ones too. Of course, the likes of Alembic Bar (chocolate-bourbon pudding OMG!) and Tartine was in the itinerary, but I was also thrilled to discover new places such as Rickhouse and their crazy punch bowls (~$30 and it can easily serve six w refills too), Anchor Oyster Bar's succulent and sweet shucked shellfish and shooters and Ad Hoc's casual but well-prepared four-course meal.

And on the way back, I swung by the Chez Panisse Upstairs Café for simple, sinful farewell-to-NorCal lunch. Their green goddess dressing for the gem lettuce & beet salad was divine, as was the pink lady apple and sour cherry tart with clove ice cream. Finally, the autumn vegetable couscous was just as tasty the day after returning to LA.

Speaking of bringing stuff down, no surprise to anyone who knows me, I brought back a lot of edible (and mostly sweet) souvenirs, along with all the Foodbuzzy schwag!

I also had my share of fun outings with other actively writing blogger pals too, such as a long-anticipated trip with Gourmet Pigs to JTYH (which I'll call Justin Timberlake's forever and ever thanks to Cathy) for their knife-cut noodles, moo shu "cat's ears" and dumplings. It was solid stuff, but I think all the recent blog raves are a tad overhyped. But a great, affordable lunch/dinner option in the SGV.

The following weekend, I met up with some of my Blogger Prom committee pals over a beachside brunch at Casa del Mar, taking advantage of their $29.95 for a three-course brunch with a dessert buffet, and bottomless brunch cocktails if you text them. While the brunch and the service was lackluster, the company was definitely great! You can read Maya's ShopEatSleep blog report for the mishaps, I won't say much asides from the fact that we had to hail the manager at least three times to our table.

And despite my announced hiatus, PR folks were still sending me invites to check out restaurants and events. From a lovely, casual dinner with an amazingly inexpensive wine and cocktail list at Allston Yacht Club in Echo Park (can't wait to check out again) to ten-course meal at Animal paired with assorted Samuel Adams beers along with a tasting of their 27% ABV Utopias (and they weren't skimpy with the portions, the steak was as big as Caroline on Crack's face!) Read her blog for the full lowdown on this beer and food filled fest. And somehow I still managed to talk her into going to Golden State with me to share a float made with Requiem Espresso Stout and Scoops' Salted Caramel gelato.

But Bouchon's grand opening party takes the cake as the glitziess event from that first half of November, between the celeb sightings (Julia Louis-Dreyfus! Gilles Marini and Star Jones! Ryan Seacrest, Pierce Brosnan and Fred Savage too!), the tour through their vast kitchen, and of course, plenty of tastings galore, bottomless alchy, meeting Chef Keller and of course, mingling with Eating LA's Pat, FoodGPS' Josh, Grubstreet LA's Hadley, LAT Daily Dish contributor Krista Simmons, Pleasure Palate's Abby, Juli B contributor Ket, Eater LA contributor Daniela, Tasting Table's Lesley Balla, Choisauce and numerous others. I was thrilled to have a chance to sneak peek the restaurant before opening, and looking forward to a real meal there in 2010 after the typical restaurant opening kinks and dust gets settled.

And this is only half the month of foodventures-in-blogging-absentia, more to come about the rest of November in a future post! In the meantime, enjoy the photos from my flickr!

Special Foodventure #134: Delish Dishes from San Francisco

Pork 3 Ways from Range - glazed rib, braised belly and sausage served with white beans and pickled onions

Ok, now that I got everyone (myself included) thirsty with my favorite SF beverages -- it's only fitting that I dive into the food scene there too (afterall, this blog is titled foodventures!) So here are some of my favorite bites from that sunny June weekend in San Francisco.

Beet salad @ Nopalito - not on their menu since it was their special of the day (hopefully I'll be lucky enough to enjoy these again in the future), it's a simple dish made with wedges of assorted beets and citrus, with cotija cheese and a light vinaigrette. I don't order beets often because I'm always scared of the 'muddy' flavor many of them possess from being too old, improperly washed, etc., but that only makes me appreciate great beets that much more, which these were. Sweet, tart and juicy with points of saltiness from the cheese, it's a perfect way to start off a lunch with my friend.

Goat cheese & sorrel ravioli with lime butter and chives @ Range - another great starter dish, I absolutely love how bright and vibrant the ravioli and the sauce is; the lime butter's tartness is definitely palate opening, followed by the molten creaminess of the goat cheese. The Pork 3 Ways dish I had for entreé is pretty decent too and a great sampler dish, but not as memorable.

Wisconsin burger & garlic fries @ Taylor's Automatic Refresher - lacking the time to go to the actual location in Napa, we opted for this Ferry Building outpost instead. With sauteed mushrooms, melty sharp cheddar, bacon, mayo and sweet-n-smoky barbecue sauce sandwiched between sourdough bread, this Niman Ranch beef burger (which I ordered medium-well) is like Carl's Jr. Western Cheeseburger meets Jack-in-the-Box Sourdough burger -- in a very, very good-and-greasy way. Likewise for the pungent fries tossed in parsley and garlic butter AFTER being fried. With its shameless flaunting of all things carby and fatty, it's definitely no place for a dieter -- and THE place to be for delicious diner fare with a modern touch.

If my aorta hadn't threatened to close up on me, I might have tried their mahi mahi fish n chips, their chili-spiced sweet potato fries or cold mug 'o beer too and just people-watch all afternoon long (and BOY were there some eye-catching folks when I went up, since my weekender up coincided with SF Pride 2009! It made the jam-packed light rail rides similarly interesting too . . . is it flattering or scary to be hit on while riding public transportation?)

Fried pork belly nuggets w housemade honey mustard @ Magnolia Pub - it's a pub where beer pours heavy (20 oz English pints!) serving up dishes like pork belly, breaded and deep-fried to a flaky crisp w creamy interior, along with a housemade spicy honey mustard sauce. Need I say more?

Ricotta fritters @ Alembic Bar - every bit as sophisticated and eccentric as the strawberry alarm clock cocktail there, the fluffy, cheesy fritters are accompanied by white-balsamic-poached strawberries, raspberry foam, and an unexpected dusting of black pepper. Simply wonderful play of different textures and flavors, sweet-sour-spicy and simply bursting with ripe berry flavors.

Afternoon tea sandwiches @ the Fairmont Hotel's Laurel Court Lounge- while the whole afternoon tea was nice, I was particularly enamored by the quality and creativity of the tea sandwiches here, including coconut curry chicken salad on a herb roll, five-spice beeef tenderloin with apple slaw on black olive baguette and dungeness-crab-and-mango salad in a corn muffin. No stale and bleh watercress-and-cream-cheese here! And for such a delicious tea service in a classy hotel, the $36/person pricetag is totally worth it!

Spicy seafood soup @ Heaven's Dog - I was definitely skeptical of the cuisine here since the menu looked like gussied up Chinese fare with the prices to boot (scallion pancakes $7? $10 beef chow fun? what the...) but this $10 entree is large enough to serve two and is very tasty, even if not particularly spicy. Tender pieces of assorted seafood (wild shrimp, alaskan halibut, squid, scallop) swam in a light-yet-hearty-and-flavorful broth with firm, toothy wheat noodles. Comforting and definitely not anything I'd find in a typical Chinese restaurant, it was worth the extra price premium and yes, I did slurp every last drop of the soup from the bowl.

Blackcurrant scone @ Tartine Bakery - I know, I know -- with such gorgeous and tasty-looking baked goods staring back at me, all I got was a scone? Well, this was on my last day in SF and I really felt like something light after all that gluttony (not to mention having my scone interest revived with a recent Bon Appetit article.) Tartine's version was great, substantial but not brick-like, with just a kiss of sweetness and wonderfully perfumed with the lush aromas of the currants. Round it off with a cup of freshly-brewed Four Barrel coffee and I got a blissful half-hour breakfast filled with more people-watching and art-admiring (Tartine has an exhibition of paintings in the café!) But don't fret about my just-a-scone, I snagged two deeply chocolaty brownies and a dark chocolate-roasted hazelnut tart to bring back as edible souvenirs!

Mocha Mi Su @ Citizen Cake - a dessert that's well-balanced in taste (if not in calories) the chocolate genoise cake is layered with mocha and creme fraiche mousses, creating a satisfying mix of flavors and textures that's intense without being overwhelming. Each individual layer is great on its own, but it transforms into something magically wonderful when eaten together -- the closest thing I can relate it to is a lighter, more airy mocha cheesecake w a dark chocolate crust. (Oh yeah, I also got one of their ginger cookie-creme sandwiches to go, which I had later that night -- totally kick Little Debbie's out of the ball park!)

Well, there's my (not-so) few favorite bites from just four days in San Francisco . . . and that's not even counting the entire day my friend and I spent in Sonoma County! (yes another post on that to come soon.)

Again, much thanks to the folks who provided me recs for the numerous places I've visited (and then some), including Mattatouille's Matt, Fiona of Gourmet Pigs, Virginia of ThePerfectSpotSF, Lesley of TastingTableLA, Liz from Food She Thought, Kristin of Do You Like Bubbles; much appreciated suggestions from the others as well that I wasn't able to check out -- my stay was only so long this time, but I'll surely keep them on hand for my next visit.


Nopalito
306 Broderick St
San Francisco, CA 94117-2275
(415) 437-0303

Range
842 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110-1737
(415) 282-8283

Taylor's Automatic Refresher
1 Ferry Building # 355, San Francisco
(415) 788-8200

Magnolia
1398 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415)864-7468

Alembic Bar
1725 Haight St
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 666-0822

Fairmont Hotel Laurel Court Lounge
950 Mason St
San Francisco, CA 94108-6000
(415) 772-5260

Heaven's Dog
1148 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 863-6008

Tartine Bakery
600 Guerrero St
San Francisco, CA 94110-1528
(415) 487-2600

Citizen Cake
399 Grove St
San Francisco, CA 94102-4418
(415) 861-2228

Special Drinkventure #130: Fave Cocktails from San Francisco

Bartender "JaNiece" mixing things up at Alembic

Since I'm becoming increasingly adventurous and passionate about beverages, you better believe that during my June weekender in San Francisco that I did my share of R&D into their assorted liquid libations, especially given all the tales I've heard of their vibrant cocktail culture that pushes the envelope in every direction possible.

And I'm happy to report that San Francisco pretty much delivered on its potable promises, let's take a stroll through some of my favorite Nor. Cal. sips shall we?

Strawberry Alarm Clock at Alembic Bar - vermouth-soaked strawberries pureed up and mixed with malt whiskey, finished with a dash of tabasco and a few drops of parsley-peppermint oil; or as I call it, a party for your palate. From the pretty looks to its complex aromas (a mix of herbacious and fruity that reminds me of a summer salad laced with berries) and a festive mouthfeel and flavors, esp. with the heat-induced tingliness from the hot sauce. I wouldn't mind waking up to this every day!

Monk Buck at Heaven's Dog - made with 8 y/o Armagnac, yellow Chartreuse, organic ginger, lemon, soda; essentially a lemonade kicked up a notch with ginger and booze -- I'm usually skeptical of Chartreusey cocktails (whose herbal notes have a tendency to overwhelm the drink) but here it made the drink a little more intriguing and sophisticated--and totally cool, refreshing and perfect for lunch and brunch. Can't wait for this to join the regular cast of mimosas, bellinis and bloody marys as a daytime drink.

Ambajador at Bourbon & Branch (no pic of cocktail since photos aren't allowed at this by-reservations-only speakeasy, exterior pic courtesy of Caroline on Crack) - "recommended" by our saucy, tattooed, unnaturally crimson-haired and somewhat surly temptress of a server who told me, "No - this is what you want!" after I meekly tried to order something else. With kaffir lime-infused tequila, passionfruit nectar, lemon, foamed egg white and a dash of cinnamon - this, like the alarm clock, is a vibrant yet balanced blast of flavors on the tongue; I love the combination of the tropical fruits, slight vegetal edge from the tequila and the little spicy zing from the cinnamon, and the foam really lightened the texture and opened up different flavors and aromas. And that surly-sexy-temptress is right, this was exactly what I needed to end the night.

Mai Tai at Tonga Room - OK, the mai tai isn't all that (off balance with the juices and wound up being too tart and sweet at once) but the $10 pricetag to admire the elaborately decorated space was worth it -- from the huge tiki statues to assorted huts and the huge central pool. I was even lucky enough to catch a thunderstorm show!

Housemade Blood Orange-Hibsicus Sparkler at Nopalito - It's a virgin but still really tasty, this is another great summer sipper (esp. for situations where alchy may not be the way to go); just mildly tangy since it's mixed with sparking water, which also helps deliver the fresh aromas of the citrus and flower. Of course, given the many other luscious liquored-up libations I've had - can't help but think of possible ways to devirginize this drink . . .

Blogging and reminiscing about these dreamy drinks got me feeling like I left my heart in San Francisco; but given the evolving and ever-learning bartending scene here in L.A. I look forward to seeing some of these NorCal influences to filter down South -- and definitely can't wait to re-visit SF (and revisit some of these plus discovering new delicious stuff) later this year.

And much thanks to Liz of Food, She Thought, Nathan of Binary Tastebuds, Fiona of Gourmet Pigs, Lesley of TastingTable LA, Virginia of the Perfect Spot SF and others for their recommendations!

Coming Soon: Favorite eats in San Francisco + a day of winery touring in Sonoma Co.!

Alembic Bar
1725 Haight St
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 666-0822

Bourbon & Branch
501 Jones St
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 931-7292

Heaven's Dog
1148 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 863-6008

Nopalito
306 Broderick St
San Francisco, CA 94117-2275
(415) 437-0303

Tonga Room
950 Mason St
San Francisco, CA 94108-6000
(415) 772-5278

Back down (with goodies) from Northern California . . .

Ah, it's good to be back in the LA/OC after a blissful four days up in Northern California, which was as near-perfect as a mini-vacay can get; yes, even the hours-long drive up and down the 5; it was pure pleasure soaking up the scenery in the day, clearly gazing the stars and constellations at night, and catching up on all my public radio & music podcasts. And of course, all the eating, drinking and exploring in the city of San Francisco, the countryside of Sonoma County and the sleepy-suburby-college town of Davis (my undergrad alma mater, and we have our own wiki!) I'll definitely have many happy memories to hang on to as I trim my way back down to pre-vacay weight (and to look good for BloggerProm!)

While it'll take me a little while to gather my notes and sort out all my pics (including the gorgeous Venus' belt photos in this post -- taken en route back home at Lost Hills, CA); here's a little tasty teaser -- some of the foodie souvenirs I've brought back from the North.

Assorted Paté de Fruits (pear-lime, morello cherry, passion fruit and blueberry-cassis flavors) and the Green Box of tea-Inspired sweets from Recchiuti Confections

1/2 Pound of Giant Steps blend from Blue Bottle Coffee Co.

Two Valrhona brownies from Tartine Bakery & Cafe, plus an individual bittersweet chocolate-toasted hazelnut tart

Two dark, organic Dagoba bars (lemon ginger and beaucoup berries) that I have yet to encounter in L.A.

Tea Infused Chocolate Collection from Charles Chocolates / Teance

And, an homage to my alma mater, a mug commemorating our most infamous and made-fun-of "recreational activity"

What can I say? If you can't fight it, embrace it (with a good cup 'o joe.) Keep an eye out for my NorCal food- and drinkventures soon! But in the meantime . . .