Bar Crudo: San Francisco

Date:  dimanche 22 novembre 2009
Location:  655 Divisadero street
San Francisco, Ca 94117
phone 415.409.0679
http://www.barcrudo.com/

Super duper fresh sashimi.  Nice presentations to the immediate eye, yet could be a little more exacting on the precision of symmetrically sized portions.  Sauces tad "americanized," catering to a rougher "fusion" type of foodie.  I love my sashimi raw in its purest form, so subjecting the beautiful fresh fish to all kinds of mayonnaisey-based gloppy cream sauces makes me slightly quiver in a little agony.

Thumbs up on the super duper freshness though.  A little pricey for the overall delivery of taste and presentation.  Environment was fun but something was lacking in the feng shui.  Won't be going back, personally.

NOPA: San Francisco

Date:  mardi 24 novembre 2009

Location:  560 Divisadero @ Hayes

San Francisco, CA

415.864.8643

http://www.nopasf.com/

My good friend Hosea Rosenberg (Top Chef Season 5) had been visiting San Francisco for a week.  We had literally ran the gamut across town the past week with sights and activities all revolving around food and wine (Spruce, Town Hall, Fairmont, Delfina, Bar Crudo, Boulettes Larder, numerous bars).  Nopa was definitely on the list of restos to try - and so it was for Hosea's last hurrah, we found ourselves at the North of the Panhandle restaurant.  

I like Nopa.  The food is delicious, savory, consistent, quintessential San Francisco (fresh, seasonal, organic, local, etc. etc.).  They call their food "urban rustic" - which is a perfect description.  The presentation is none too fussy nor perfect;  it is beautiful yet casual.  Same with their place settings and serving etiquette.  It is an easy place to feel comfortable for any San Franciscan (though my girlfriend recently told me that she overheard Nopa as the resto where Marina girls go when venturing outside of the Marina but too scared to go into the Mission).  It is not the first restaurant that would come to mind when treating out of towners due to the raucous din that arises in the space after 8pm.

Thus, we dined at 6pm.  Even still, reservations were impossible to procure.  Luckily, we gently tossed Hosea's name around which immediately got us a table... then an upgrade to a booth.  Team effort well done!

The four of us had spent a solid 14hours together just two days prior in Napa.  So tonight, it was the opportunity to debrief on our previous first time field trip together.  Yes, we were still alive despite things having gotten a little CRAZY from time to time in Napa.  It was obvious when we all reconvened that Tuesday evening that we were detoxed and had an easy going night in mind (sure, heard that one before, every night prior).  

As true foodies, the four of us collaborated magically and strategically ordered different dishes to share alongside a good mix of appetizers (after a good 45minutes catching up over cocktails first).  Hosea ordered the chicken, J and M ordered the pork (J - medium rare on the rare side, my kind of girl), and I ordered the duck tagliatelle.  We all shared our dishes because we love to try different tastes.  We had a bottle of red wine (French syrah), dessert, and digestifs.  Dinner and drinks was marvelous, paired with the perfect company and witty intelligent conversation.  I miss that evening much. 

The chemistry amongst the four of us was so off beat.  J remarked how odd it was that after spending an entire day together - that still none of us understood each other's humor - and I chimed in that somehow it just all works!  Felt like we had known each other for years, kindred spirits were easily woven the past few days, and topped off with a warm fuzzy rustic meal at NOPA.

James Beard House: New York

Date:  lundi 9 novembre 2009
Location:  167 West 12th Street
New York, NY

Following the James Beard Foundation blog, I answered their blog purely for fun one afternoon.  Share with JBF and its members what is one's favorite dessert wine?  Winner receives 6-pc set of Spieglau digestif stemware.  Without so much as even trying to win - I won.  Here I am... at #10th responder. 
http://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/?p=3613

I flew to New York to pick up the stemware and was graciously greeted by the gorgeous Kristopher Moon, Director of House Operations and House Events at the James Beard House.  He took the time to walk with me and give me a full tour of the original James Beard House which operates today as part office, and full kitchen and dining room for its members.  Everyone at the house is just full of LOVE - big heart for sure.  While passing through the kitchen (which boasts La Cornue stoves - !!), I witnessed handsome, sexy Italian chefs who had just flow in one day prior, prepping ingredients for that evening's meal to be prepared for JBF members.  Oh how I wish I was invited... or could be a sous chef... but to be in that very kitchen from which amazing meals are created........  ahhhhh!!

Being a food and wine enthusiast, I was nothing short of grinning and smiling ear to ear to traverse the same very stairs, rooms, and kitchen that James Beard himself did when he lived in the house.  Kristopher was the kindest host.  I loved him to death - and promised that someday soon we will get together with Hosea and all cook a meal together.

Visiting the James Beard House was one of the major high points of my last minute excursion to NY... 

Spruce SF: San Francisco

Date:  mardi 17 novembre 2009
Location:  3640 Sacramento St
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 931-5100
http://www.sprucesf.com/

Epitome of fine dining at its best.  This is an elegant restaurant in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, one of the most expensive areas in the nation.  It caters to the neighboring old riche that walk a few blocks to dine at Spruce - oftentimes more than once a week.  I have been frequenting Spruce over the past two years.  It is by far my favorite restaurant in the world - consistency and quality in food, cocktails, wines (boasts an amazing encyclopedic wine list/book with aged wines/liqueurs from around the world), decorous and grand atmosphere without the snob appeal - and most of all - impeccable service without the pretension.  I suppose I love this place because aside from the orgasmic food and grand wine menu and sophisticated cocktail creations, I just feel beautiful stepping foot into spruce's sleek, sexy, dark wood atmosphere.  Regardless of what I am wearing (dolce gabbana, laboutin, gucci, vans velcro sneaks, jeans, even casual sweats and baseball cap...) I am still treated like a beautiful woman.  It is one of those places that I liken to my description of shoes...  a woman can wear the most beautiful Italian shoes on her perfectly well manicured feet - yet it is not until a gorgeous man tells her that her shoes are beautiful - beautiful on her - that the woman then feels that she has truly captured the essence of what it means to be an alluring woman.  After all, what is the point of wearing beautiful shoes in isolation...  Spruce is one of those places, that a lovely woman can walk into... be greeted by the elegant tall, dark, and handsome male staff, and just feel absolutely radiant and perfect. 

The gifted and extremely knowledgeable staff come from years of previous experience in high end restaurants and hotels.  Spruce evokes that certain mood appeal that makes you feel luxurious yet still human...  not superficial, gaudy, feigned or stuffy.  For me, the entire eating experience must be "comfortable."  That is, all perfect cues in place - yet without you even noticing that they are trying so hard.  Music is at the perfect decibel, just high enough so that you can feel groovy sexy - yet low enough that you can converse with your guest without so much as having to raise your voice. 

Since coming here, I have befriended the somms behind the bar.  Scott, Evans, and Josha.  Their Somms are incredibly well knowledged in wines and spirits from around the globe.  It is their second skin.  I wish I could live in their brain for just a moment... to be the master of all that amazing wine knowledge...  nothing would make me happier and feel more complete.  


Spruce was voted by Food and Wine magazine to be one of the world's best wine bars.  I concur, absolumente.  Madeiras over 60 years old (and older I am sure)...  Single malt scotch whiskys from the 1800s...  what more can you ask for.  The reaches of the imagination and tasting palate are limitless at Spruce.



I won't go into how perfect the food is here.  It completely goes without saying, that one does not enter into a restaurant such as Spruce without expecting the best of the best.  And getting it.

202 Chelsea Market: NYC

Date:  dimanche 8 novembre 2009
Location:  202 75 9th Avenue
New York, NY   
Tel:  (646) 638-0115
http://chelseamarket.com/202/

There is nothing quite like strolling through the hip, stylish, east-coast preppy feel of New York City Chelsea Market.  It reminds me of the Embarcadero in San Francisco - yet spiked up a few solid heavy notches in urbanite character and charm.  Think dark worn brick, heavy original wood floors, bright art, NYC denizens with sassy pea coats, stylish women with not-too-contrived coiffed hair, sharp men in sexy jeans and perfectly designed facial hair...  so many things to see, feel, touch, smell.  Endless eye candy for the senses. You just feel young and cool walking around Chelsea Market.  


Left:   Delicious scone that the three of us shared while waiting for our fabulous brunch...



As a weekend visitor to NYC, I have no idea where to begin tasting food and wine.  Unlike SF where the food in general is very good and wine is plentiful, NY has soooo many restos that one could waste a lot of time and money on less than average restaurants.  Luckily, I was in the great hands of fellow foodies friends Sandy and Henry - San Franciscans who have since relocated to NY for a number of years now.  We have similar palates, so I knew that I would not be disappointed. 

We went to Sunday brunch at 202 Chelsea.  I did not know what to expect other than being guaranteed a tasty experience and fun time reconnecting with S&H.  202 Chelsea is a chic, all-day cafe/brasserie and Nicole Farhi clothing and homewear products boutique.  I wasn't quite sure what to make of the store/cafe concept - but, it works! The wait was long - as is any delicious brunch place in SF or NYC.  Sandy and I toured the Chelsea Market while Henry waited back for our table (too tired and hung over to window shop with us I suppose). 

Left:  French Toast with bacon...  the texture of the French Toast was like magic - very thick (2 inches I am willing to bet!) and sooo soft, spongy, and fluffy.  I do not know how they get all that AIR into their toast.  Delightfully yummy with the maple syrup that was served.  The bacon - SAVORY and of course left me wanting more.



The food is savory, amazing, and memorable - as are their to be remembered Bloody Marys and cup of morning joe.  I highly recommend this place to anyone visiting NY - I actually like this place better than my coveted Toast Eatery in SF.  <-- YES you read that right!  A good change of taste and scenery was well appreciated.  






Left:  Cinnamon Raisin French Toast with Apple Sauce.  Terribly delicious!

Left:  Classic English Breakfast with poached eggs, sausage, mushroom, heirloom baby tomatoes, bacon, and potatoe.  Completely drenched in savory tastes that coat your entire palate..   the best sausage and bacon and tomatoe I have ever had.  The perfect bite - with the tomatoe, potatoe, and runny poached egg.  Thank you, Sandy and  Henry, and thank you, NEW YORK! 

Lulu: San Franciso

Date:  jeudi 5 novembre 2009
Location:  816 Folsom St
San Francisco, CA 94107-1123
(415) 495-5775
http://www.restaurantlulu.com/

This place sucks on all levels.  Sucky service.  Very bland tasting food and even worse presentation.  Super ugly "pear beignet" dessert (which came as part of Montforte's prix fixe lunch menu) which looked like a dried, hacked up unmentionable body part.  The "pear" dessert contained no pear save for a few square bits on the bottom (might be del monte canned too!)...  very disappointing on both content and presentation.  I will refrain from posting the picture as I do not want to taint my blog.  To the right is some goat cheese grape leaves thing on cardboard bread with some crappy olive oil.

 
The service mildly made my blood boil.  The server/waiter/runner kept "cutting" into the natural conversation/energy of our table.  Proper sommelier serving etiquette deems that servers present drinks and dishes counter-clockwise per the host at the table;  also based on the set up, one should serve accordingly so as not to "cut" into the customers' conversations.  After the server did this 3x - I absolutely forbid it to happen again.  Politely asked him to kindly please serve AROUND the other side of the table.  


To the left is my romaine pomegranete salad.  Horrible looking!  Taste was not "too" bad but really absolutely nothing memorable whatsoever.

To the left is some chicken sandwich that tasted better than it looked.  The presentation is horrible.  It looks like a mexican jalopy (junk car).  


I do not know what kind of vibe this restaurant is going for.  Maybe they are trying to go for pseudo-chic older crowd.  The interior was out dated as well.  I do not mind this so long as the resto stays true to its character, and does not try to be something it is not.  Lulu is just a sad, sad, pathetic, facade on all accounts.  Faker. 


WHERE IS THE SAVORY? 

Amelie Le Bar A Vin: San Francisco

Date:  vendredi 30 octobre 2009
Location:  1754 Polk Street,
San Francisco, CA 

http://www.ameliesf.com/

Red, warm, cozy, run by Frenchies.  Always a delight to practice my broken french...  more or less can order a drink or plate or two with a few grammar errors.  *_*  Yummy french wines, cannot go wrong.  Did not eat here hence cannot comment on food;  had 3 cheese plate.  Wheat bread was soft, warm, sweet.  Great ambience to enjoy with a good buddy (Luke).  Yet, beware of noise levels as is such with most SF establishments.  Darling bar area...  Wishing I were in Paris at this moment...  need to get back with my French cultural predilections... je suis une francophile... immersion, immersion.... 

Bar Johnny @ Polk and Green: San Francisco

Date:  samedi 24 octobre 2009

Location:  2209 Polk St
San Francisco, CA 94109-1815
(415) 268-0140

The best fried chicken and waffles, better than Roscoe's in LA from the famed Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles (Hollywood movies).  Only served before 6pm or after 11pm.  Bar Johhny CFW is served with belgian waffle!  A great SF secret...  Bar Johnny is one of the few restost that serves until 1am.  The other is Oola in SOMA.  Lately I have begun to think that Oola overdoes their dishes with too much flavor, too much sauce, too much pomp and circumstance...  sometimes less is more!!

Anyhow, this particular Saturday I worked from home all night... starved... and had my head set on getting my 1/2 yearly fix of late night chicken and waffles.  I was happy in the end. 

Vicoletto Restaurant and Wine Bar: San Francisco

Date:  mercredi 28 octobre 2009

Location:  550 Green St
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 989-2289

5pm in North Beach, early for 7pm dinner with the girls.  Hummm, I had planned to cozy up in a cafe and get some work done on my lappy.  Instead, found myself in an Italian resto/wine bar "Vicoletto" - casual, chic, and friendly vibe.  Tasted two contrasting red wines, the 2007 N'ero d'Avola (like a Syrah) which had a delightful alcohol content leaving the back of my throat and tongue nicely warm, and the 2006 Nebbiolo d'Alba, which was a bright ruby red wine which had a smooth velvety texture.  Befriended the GM, Chris, who tried to persuade me to order the homemade ravioli dish stuffed with local wild boar, prepared with a carmelized crispy brown sage butter, topped with 3g of Alba shaved white truffle.  He brought out the beautiful Italian truffles on a serving plate to tantalize me.  Evil!  They smelled heavenly, enough to make one's eyes roll back in their head in ecstasy.  It is true, I can see why people say that truffles can be an aphrodisiac.  I am willing to bet that most people who can appreciate truffles probably also like fresh uni.  They both measure highly on the sexual richter scale... one whiff of these amazing white truffles and I wanted to let my head fall back onto a soft white down pillow.... 

Tom Yum Soup, Shao Style ^^: San Francisco

Online recipe (NOT SHAO'S):  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_yum


Wooweee!  Finally I have been hanging out with my cool neighbor more often.  Usually we just hear each other slamming doors.  Lucky chap got to take care of me drunk this past Friday night.  Then he was a good sport in attending a surprise birthday party with me this evening at Matrix Fillmore in the Marina.  Now, same evening, I am sitting in his living room working remotely on my laptop (while stealing my own wireless internet through the wall lol).  He is cooking a pot full of delicious Tom Yum Thai Soup!  WOowowowow!  I had no idea he was such a fantastic cook!  

So, I am sitting here on his couch, tearing strips of fruit roll ups that he gave me to snack on @_@.  He is busy in his kitchen, chopping, mixing, washing, stirring, checking on ingredients.  I am just working away ... but before I know it, amazing aromas keep wafting my direction!  WHAO.  It smells like some exhilarating South East Asian kitchen here.  I mean seriously, I can close my eyes and just pretend what it must be like in Bali, Bangkok, or maybe even Cambodia and Vietnam.  The refreshing fragrant aromas of lemon, lime, lemongrass, chicken, .....  boiling away - my senses are awakened!!  Maybe if some trickling water was running, and some spa music was playing, I would truly feel I was in another world!! 



Tom Yum soup is a famous and delicious Thai style sweet and sour soup.  It is my favorite Thai soup.  Shao's recipe has the following ingredients (let me shout to him now and ask...).  Water, lemon, lime, onions, chicken broth, tomatoes, shallots, lemon grass, galanga (ginger like thing), fish sauce, oyster mushrooms, fresh thai chili.  SO GOOD!!  Just missing tamarind as per Shao, but I do not think even the restaurants use tamarind (expensive).  His version apparently is the finer version of Tom Yum.  I have never had Tom Yum at King of Thai or any other Thai restaurant that contained as many super ingredients as Shao's.  

I do not have the final outcome photo, as I am leaving to go home before the final product has finished cooking.  Boohooo.



I have never tried cooking Thai food.  It is so tasty - yet requires far too many ingredients!  And, I am lazy.  I included photos of his soup in the process...  I won't be trying it tonight but maybe he will invite me over later this week to have a taste!  ^^  Will update with final photos if so!

Woodhouse Fish Company: San Francisco

Date:  samedi 24 octobre 2009
Location:  1914 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA
Tel:  +1 415 437 CRAB
http://woodhousefish.com



THIS PLACE HAS $1 OYSTERS EVERY TUESDAY 4-10PM!  I will be back! 

Great Cioppino!  I was sluggish, slow, and hungover.  Seafood Cioppino was the perfect cure.  Fish, shrimp, crab claws, muscles, clams, scallops.  The sauce may look red based and heavy, but surprisingly it is light tasting and just a tad sweet.  It was a water based stew.  I loved the shrimp and fish in the dish - though they gave us only one large shrimp.  The fish chunks and muscles were tender and juicy.  The had been slow cooking in the Cioppino seafood stew soup for some time.  All the flavors were gently and deliciously packed inside the mini seafood portions.  I think there were clams also but I did not get to try one (hmmm eating partner forgot to share with me haha).  It is a perfect sized dish for two people to share. I imagine it would have paired wonderfully with a Chardonnay, but I just was not in the mood.  Water please!


The sauteed spinach was also a delight and refreshing.  I know we can all sautee garlic with spinach, but their's was so fragrant!  I think because they are using delicate, organic spinach leaves, vs the big testosterone injected ones from the Chinese supermarket that have ginormous, thick, rough leaves.  Anyway, I just loved how clean and green and delicate the spinach turned out.   

We ordered the fish and chips (my bad, my call, because I was hung over, needed some fried bready things).  I have had better fish and chips.  I did not like how their fish was so flaky and falling to pieces in my plate...  the batter was also too floury, so whenever i tried to break a piece off, the chunk just disentegrated to bits.  Frustrating to eat when you are hung over, tired, and have lost some of your senses.  Anyhow, I took a bite or two then just pushed it around on my plate (what I usually do when I come across a dish I do not like - makes it look like I am eating it).  


The ambience is cute, quaint, clean, and bright.  I can see it being a super place to find refuge on a cold, foggy, wet, San Franciscan afternoon, and warm your tummies with steaming Cioppino.  They should add espresso to their list if they do not already have it.  I will definitely try to get back on one of the Tuesday nights for the one dollar oysters!

VIN12 "NO PINOT" Pinot Parade Urban Wine Retreat: San Francisco

Date:  jeudi 22 octobre 2009

Location:  55 2nd Street, San Francisco
http://www.vin12.com/

The theme of this month's wine retreat was "Pinot Parade."  What this supposedly meant, as per their website marketing blurb is "Enjoy over 50 different wines including a variety of Pinot Noirs from Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Napa and select VIN12 producers from throughout California."  

I won't write too much about this event... not much to say.  We were amused that there may not have been more than 2 or 3 Pinots in sight.  We tasted a bunch of other whites, roses, and reds... all Californian save for 2 Italian wines (prosecco and dolcetta).  My visit to Abruzzo, Italy earlier this month spoiled my taste buds - so the 2 very average Italian wines at this event were not too great.  

However, the best thing of the evening was reconnecting with my friend Zach.  The last time I saw him was for my Birthday.  The good sport showed up to my bday drinks at Disrict back in February... too bad I got so drunk I don't remember much from that evening.  But, it was a blast from what I remember, and woke up with many mystery bruises.  I have known Zach for going on ten years now... one of those intelligent, creative, considerate folks.  Well educated (a Georgetown baby) and well traveled.  And apparently has an amazing palate for wine.  

I did really like this 2006 Charles Krug Merlot, though.  Enough that it bears mentioning!  It is their Mondavi Family Napa Valley Merlot - balanced, rich and polished with ripe currant and black cherry flavors.  This fine wine offers a supple tannin structure and a medley of vanilla, chocolate and spice notes in its lingering finish.  $20 retail!  I liked it because it was BOLD and had a HUGE personality, and left a memorable spicy long finish on my palate - I would have guessed it to be a Cabernet... which indeed this wine upset quite a few merlot/cab afficionados because of its betraying character.  I loved it.  

Here is a great photo of Zach sitting meditatively, wondering where the hell the Pinot Noir was.


See you again soon Zach! 

Cha Cha Cha Tapas & Restaurant Bar: San Francisco

Date:  vendredi 16 octobre 2009
Location:  1801 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA  94117
Tel:  1 415 386 7670
http://www.cha3.com/


Ohhh what a wonderful evening.  It had been quite a few months since I had last seen my very good friend, the lone Ducati rider, Carlos.  Aka the cool cat.  A fellow aquarian, I am convinced that this is why Carlos understands me well.  Dreams, love of foreign things, cultures, foods, and languages.  Wearing torn things, sweaters and jeans.  Most of all, the ever off-calm-uncertain anxiety that resounds in all aquarians... we love all of that (minus anxiety).  We met back in early 2000s when we both worked on the engineering team for a wireless start up.  Yes, you saw that right,  I was a software engineer.  At least that is what it read on my card.  Snort.  Yup and pigs do fly!  Ok no really, we did write code in XSL and XSLT, worked with 3 weblogic servers on each of our machines... and learned how to sms really super duper fast.  This was back in 2000. 


Logistics and activities keep Carlos and I from seeing each other too often.  Carlos is a Mexico City boy, now living in Palo Alto.  He loves his socco (as all Mexicans do and they are so good at it!), his Duc, his super cool looking all black riding gear, and lounging around with his Mexican bro Chelo and Chelo's Russian girlfriend Anja.  They incidentally both live right down the street from me in Russia.


It was time to reunite.  We loosely planned to meet at 8pm.  Destination?  He pinged me Friday am - "Cha Cha Cha, Haight Street."  Normally I avoid Cha Cha Cha.  It is crowded, fussy, muggy, takes FOREVER to be seated, noisy, and the food is heavy.  I did not enjoy it so much the last time I dined at this very same Cha3 in mid-2005.  However, Soledad is all about saying YES to things she would normally say no to.  So, I said OK CARLOS!  Then, I set my mood to enjoy at least a good long hour wait with sangria in hand, waiting for our table.  I actually looked forward to it, as the extra time would allow us to catch up. 




Sure enough, we waited 1h25mins.  We had sangrias.  We chatted.  We got hungry.  We waited some more...  at a certain moment we passed the point of no return.  We were starving, yet too weary and hungry to feel upset about having waited so long.  Then it became test - to resume waiting until we were seated and not be quitters.  Carlos started hallucinating, almost jinxing us by saying that it would really be horrible, if after we waited over an hour, to be seated and then have the server tell us that they were out of plantains.  I told him to DO NOT SAY THAT!  Do not jinx us!!!  That would be a tragedy! But really - come on, plantains are plentiful, they are cheap, they are a staple of the Mexican cuisine.  I was not worried.  Carlos was still a little worried, though.  ^^


Well, we got our seats at the bar finally.  We were gleefully happy.  Like 2 forlorn souls, coming in from the cold, waiting for our hot meals.

We were not disapointed.  I am still dreaming about our creamy plantains.  PLANTAINS, he taught me to say in Spanish.  Carlos is fun, bc we trade languages all the time.  Flittering in and out of Espanol, Francaise, Anglias... un peu Chinois...  we both wish we knew more foreign languages.  Neither of us really think about having kids but swear that if we did, they would speak at least 5 or more foreign languages!  Ahhh, back to the plantains.  Warm, creamy, with black beans, a little bit of sour cream.  Sweet.  Filling.  Oh my friendly banana plantains, how I love you so.  I really do. 

It is hard for me to move on from writing about the anticipation leading up to the plantains, but I will carry on.  We also ordered ceviche, which was also SO YUMMY!  I loved the chewy texture of some of the seafoodies...  for some reason that night I particularly enjoyed the chewy tentacles of the mini baby octopus.  I typically say NO to octopus, but what the hey, I am saying YES to all things now and I am happier than before when I lived a rigid life.  So, YES to octopus, and yummy fun!

We also shared the red snapper dish cooked in banana leaf that came with a side of plantains (MORE plantains YAH!), black beans (w00t!), and mexican red rice.  Oh my goodness.  I just do not know how to tell you that our entire meal was utmost fantastic.
 

Of course, we did not forget to order more sangria.  In our older age these days, we certainly do not drink the way we used to.  So, we ordered just a small pitcher of sangria.  Good to the every last droP.  oh ohohohoh!!  We had FLAN!!!!


We felt so good that night.  Warm food, even warmer friendship, catching up on over 10 years it seems of coming and going in and out of each other's lives.


It was one of those nights, I went home thinking to myself my life has been so simple and bare this past year.  Yet at the same time, it has been perhaps the most beautiful, colorful,  rich, and poignant year I have ever lived.  So long as u have just a few really good friends - your pockets will always be full.  And your bellies too.  =*)

Oh the story does not end here.  Carlos and I went home and passed out before 12am.  The next day - we continued on to TOAST (yes the brunch place I am "always going on and on about" as per my friendling foodie friends quip).  Again, we sat.  We ate.  We pondered life, the passage of time.  Listened to a well-to-do Spanish couple sitting next to use discuss how they were going to increase their current family of 4 to a family of 10 (8 kids!).   Ahh, the joys of a beautiful life.  I love you, my dear friend!  Thank you for being my sound of reason so many times when I needed you.

Pork Tenderloin & Figs, with 2004 Ch. Montelena Estate at Russian House: San Francisco

Ahhh sometimes it is just necessary to pair the food with the wine - vs the wine with the food (against everything the Master Court has taught me).  I had a gorgeous 2004 Chateau Montelena Estate Napa Cabernet Sauvignon sleeping in my wine cellar.  It was purchased at Costco, at about 30$ less than retail from K&L Wines.  The Montelena earthy-berry aroma is very concentrated, showing lovely, classic Cabernet, warm earth and sun baked cassis with licorice and spice. On the palate there is integration of strong, deep, concentrated fruit in a perfect balance. Super fine tannin grips the palate, with ripe, round flavors that dance right on the seam between classic Bordeaux and California styles.  Being a young 2004 vintage, the Estate Montelena really can stand to be aged beautifully for another 20 years.  I decided to take my changes against my own greedy will.  

Rack of lamb was in order, however it was nowhere to be found at moment's notice.  Still, I was not going to change the wine (had my heart set on opening it).  So... next up was a delicious pork tenderloin.  It was marinated in a citrus/spicy sauce made with orange and lemon citrus, salt and pepper, and some kind of pepper.  Perhaps a pairing with a Pinot Noir or Gewurztraminer would have done well here too but what the hey, sometimes working outside the box with food/wine pairings just has to be done!  Served alongside the pork tenderloin was baked organic black mission figs.  And of course, signature heirloom tomatoes in the basic beautiful extra virgin olive oil.  

Oh!  I had also called in an order of Tartine fresh baked country bread loaf the day prior.  Anyone who is a local in SF knows that a tall meal is in order when Tartine fresh bread is brought to the table.  It is a special treat and warms the tummy while fulfilling the chewy, mastication cravings of the mouth.  

The pork came out beautifully from the oven.  It was a perfect, juicy, tender, light pink in the middle.  JUICY.  I was lucky to be sous chef once again - cooking meats makes me nervous and becomes a big production for me (from my nascent cooking perspective).  The pairing of the pork with the figs was TRES EXCELENT.  Honestly, I was DELIGHTED to be surprised with the fig pairing, as we are dangerously nearing the end of fig season!  CRISIS! Every last bite I can get of these scrumptious ovally/round little gems of fruit from now until their season's end, I shall savor romantically!

Now for the wine.  Ahhh.  Well, the age old adage always rings true.  Good things comes to those who wait.  Alas, I should have waited another 5 years at least before opening this young bottle.  It was just SHOUTING "potential."  Granted, it still tasted beautifully - yet, I could tell that the full nose and tasting notes had not even begun developing.  Still far too young to be opened in 2009... sitting on loads of screaming potential. 

Regardless, dinner was grand.  And - I was sure to pass out no less than 30 minutes after eating.  Maybe even snoozed off into a light snoring slumber.  But, I guess I would not know! 

Bon appetit a moi meme !