On a recent trip to California, I caught up with friends, did some light shopping and had several wonderful food-related experiences:
Friday night, after an opening at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, my friend Anna and I went to Soif, a little restaurant just off Pacific avenue downtown Santa Cruz. They serve a large variety of wine (and have a little store if you find something you like) along with an array of small plates, salads and main courses. While we waited for our table, we both had a small glass of fizzy wine as an aperitif. I tried a prosecco and Anna sampled a California bubbly, both very tasty. With dinner, we shared a Chenin Blanc flight which was very fun to compare. The food was delicious, we had: a mushroom gratin in a creamy sauce (sour cream? creme fraiche?) that had me wanting to lick the plate; Brussels sprouts browned in butter; thinly sliced eggplant that was very lightly fried; roasted fingerling potatoes with aioli; and the very best thing--goat cheese encrusted with pumpkin seeds in a pomegranate reduction--rich, sweet and tart at the same time.
Saturday we headed to San Francisco, but stopped at Half Moon Bay on the way up on historic California Highway 1 for a little shopping. I can't remember the name of the place we ate, but I had an egg salad sandwich that was very spicy (lots of strong mustard or horseradish) and a chocolate eclair for dessert. The pastry case was impossible to resist, so I also got a hazelnut ring (to go, along with an almond horn) which turned out to be a sugar cookie topped with a chocolate-hazelnut ganache in turn covered in dark chocolate. We stopped by the Palace of the Legion of Honor and walked around the park on the way into the city. Plus, being the supreme-museum geeks that we are, spent quite a bit of time peeking over the construction fence at the new de Young. (Herzog and de Meuron ROCK!) By the time we reached our hotel, we were beat and ended up eating at Max's which was just up the street. I had a grilled cheese sandwich with Brie, Gouda and Swiss cheese (and tomato) that hit the spot. Afterwards, we wandered the street for hours looking for a place for a cocktail and ended up at the High Tide which provided several hours of entertainment in it's three booth/naked woman painting over the bar/decor not updated since 1963 sort-of-way. Pool table, juke box, sassy Korean bartender. Need I say more?
Sunday morning we slept in a little (too many Manhattans at the ole High Tide) and then went to brunch at Greens, which is probably one of the most celebrated and well-known vegetarian restaurants in the country. It has a peaceful view of the harbor and good service, although our waitperson seemed a bit down (Anna guessed that she may have had a fight with her girlfriend that morning. Or maybe just hungover?). We both had a large glass of their freshly squeezed orange juice and good coffee. We decided to split our meals, and ordered them to come out in succession rather than simultaneously. The first was a root-vegetable hash that was topped with two poached eggs, meyer lemon sauce with a biscuit that rivaled my mother's (perfected by country women four generations ago) on the side. The hash was a sweet and savory mixture of vegetables and the creaminess of the egg yolk combined with the lemon sauce was perfect. For seconds, we had a light and airy wild mushroom omelet with a side of fingerly potatoes. Anna told the waitress that no matter how closely she followed the recipe from the Greens Cookbook, her roasted spuds were never as delicious as the ones we were served. The waitress said "They're fingerling potatoes," which we followed with a 'duh' look to each other. (Isn't fingerling an odd name for a vegetable? Doesn't is seem slightly perverse?)
One of the most interesting, and fun, experiences of my trip was a visit to VinoVenue. Located just around the corner from SFMoMA, it's the perfect place to replenish your body and mind when suffering from museum fatigue. I first read about the place at Cooking with Amy and then there was an article by our local wine expert Elizabeth Stevenson in F5, the Wichita weekly. Basically, its an automat for wine: you pre-purchase a little card that enables you to go around and sample over 100 wines, most of which are priced between $1-$2 for a 1-ounce pour. If you find something you like, you can buy it right there in the store. Anna and I sampled about 8-10 wines and had a great time comparing them in addition to clever conversation. Lots of fun...
Of course, all the food was wonderful, but I'd say breakfast on my first day there was the most memorable. Shirley, Anna's mother, was on her way out the door and said "Fix whatever you'd like for breakfast." I said, "I'll just have some toast or something" and she responded, "Let me show you where the vegetarian tamales are." !!??!! Magic words! I scrambled a couple of eggs, heated up the (delicious, amazing homemade) tamales and was instantly in heaven. Shirley is the tamale queen!
Mangez!
Friday night, after an opening at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, my friend Anna and I went to Soif, a little restaurant just off Pacific avenue downtown Santa Cruz. They serve a large variety of wine (and have a little store if you find something you like) along with an array of small plates, salads and main courses. While we waited for our table, we both had a small glass of fizzy wine as an aperitif. I tried a prosecco and Anna sampled a California bubbly, both very tasty. With dinner, we shared a Chenin Blanc flight which was very fun to compare. The food was delicious, we had: a mushroom gratin in a creamy sauce (sour cream? creme fraiche?) that had me wanting to lick the plate; Brussels sprouts browned in butter; thinly sliced eggplant that was very lightly fried; roasted fingerling potatoes with aioli; and the very best thing--goat cheese encrusted with pumpkin seeds in a pomegranate reduction--rich, sweet and tart at the same time.
Saturday we headed to San Francisco, but stopped at Half Moon Bay on the way up on historic California Highway 1 for a little shopping. I can't remember the name of the place we ate, but I had an egg salad sandwich that was very spicy (lots of strong mustard or horseradish) and a chocolate eclair for dessert. The pastry case was impossible to resist, so I also got a hazelnut ring (to go, along with an almond horn) which turned out to be a sugar cookie topped with a chocolate-hazelnut ganache in turn covered in dark chocolate. We stopped by the Palace of the Legion of Honor and walked around the park on the way into the city. Plus, being the supreme-museum geeks that we are, spent quite a bit of time peeking over the construction fence at the new de Young. (Herzog and de Meuron ROCK!) By the time we reached our hotel, we were beat and ended up eating at Max's which was just up the street. I had a grilled cheese sandwich with Brie, Gouda and Swiss cheese (and tomato) that hit the spot. Afterwards, we wandered the street for hours looking for a place for a cocktail and ended up at the High Tide which provided several hours of entertainment in it's three booth/naked woman painting over the bar/decor not updated since 1963 sort-of-way. Pool table, juke box, sassy Korean bartender. Need I say more?
Sunday morning we slept in a little (too many Manhattans at the ole High Tide) and then went to brunch at Greens, which is probably one of the most celebrated and well-known vegetarian restaurants in the country. It has a peaceful view of the harbor and good service, although our waitperson seemed a bit down (Anna guessed that she may have had a fight with her girlfriend that morning. Or maybe just hungover?). We both had a large glass of their freshly squeezed orange juice and good coffee. We decided to split our meals, and ordered them to come out in succession rather than simultaneously. The first was a root-vegetable hash that was topped with two poached eggs, meyer lemon sauce with a biscuit that rivaled my mother's (perfected by country women four generations ago) on the side. The hash was a sweet and savory mixture of vegetables and the creaminess of the egg yolk combined with the lemon sauce was perfect. For seconds, we had a light and airy wild mushroom omelet with a side of fingerly potatoes. Anna told the waitress that no matter how closely she followed the recipe from the Greens Cookbook, her roasted spuds were never as delicious as the ones we were served. The waitress said "They're fingerling potatoes," which we followed with a 'duh' look to each other. (Isn't fingerling an odd name for a vegetable? Doesn't is seem slightly perverse?)
One of the most interesting, and fun, experiences of my trip was a visit to VinoVenue. Located just around the corner from SFMoMA, it's the perfect place to replenish your body and mind when suffering from museum fatigue. I first read about the place at Cooking with Amy and then there was an article by our local wine expert Elizabeth Stevenson in F5, the Wichita weekly. Basically, its an automat for wine: you pre-purchase a little card that enables you to go around and sample over 100 wines, most of which are priced between $1-$2 for a 1-ounce pour. If you find something you like, you can buy it right there in the store. Anna and I sampled about 8-10 wines and had a great time comparing them in addition to clever conversation. Lots of fun...
Of course, all the food was wonderful, but I'd say breakfast on my first day there was the most memorable. Shirley, Anna's mother, was on her way out the door and said "Fix whatever you'd like for breakfast." I said, "I'll just have some toast or something" and she responded, "Let me show you where the vegetarian tamales are." !!??!! Magic words! I scrambled a couple of eggs, heated up the (delicious, amazing homemade) tamales and was instantly in heaven. Shirley is the tamale queen!
Mangez!