tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43384399422248355682024-02-07T10:10:11.456-08:00NorCal Eating. Restaurant reviews for Sonoma and Napa County by the Epicurean Pig.Welcome to my website NorCal Eating. Here you can find local restaurant and winery reviews for Sonoma and Napa County, favorite eateries, upcoming food events and other Epicurean Pig related shenanigans.The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-91680540780058804112010-03-12T14:59:00.000-08:002010-03-30T11:51:26.913-07:00Barrel Tasting and the Wine Road 2010<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgat6HUqMYVxcqMOj_iGNUv1z7WW-6mIlbXjhEw2x0I2AzpkAB8budpJ4QTofkSlpU48nXuWaUD9j0NEbXumUganK4QKnfFibJwk7uXCHlmTCCW08URL9NWBq5uvjVBAIFI8axCFHknKVrL/s1600-h/IMG_1191.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgat6HUqMYVxcqMOj_iGNUv1z7WW-6mIlbXjhEw2x0I2AzpkAB8budpJ4QTofkSlpU48nXuWaUD9j0NEbXumUganK4QKnfFibJwk7uXCHlmTCCW08URL9NWBq5uvjVBAIFI8axCFHknKVrL/s320/IMG_1191.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449341572491204322" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Barrel Tasting 2010 (aka Wine Road weekend)</span><br /></div><br />So how do you prepare yourself for a day of copious wine consumption and crowds? According to my friend Gabe- blueberry pancakes and Peet's coffee. The fluffy, flour based discs definitely seemed to provide a nice, starchy base for what proved to be a marathon day of wine tasting. Unfortunately, they did nothing to improve the impending snarkiness caused by buses, idiot drivers and simply having to be around so many damn people (but more on that later).<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Barrel Tasting</span> or the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Wine Road</span> event is held during two weekends in March and spans almost a 30 mile stretch of land from Santa Rosa to north of Cloverdale. Featuring tourist destinations and major "wine stops", to the more intimate locations that are rarely open to the public, providing a rare opportunity to not only sample current wines, but try their "futures" right out of the barrel.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP81ecNZiWLCIBPttLCMND4t-oU0uNihO7uXJsbWQD8rBoTx9GfxHs8A4vkDfUSyS_Q80CoPCNJIVPPkD3cHkZVDNQDPYpNGfRefJa92rsLLCIiISDsnkWKADx-l2ZajFym6wZQap9Bdp1/s1600-h/IMG_1189.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP81ecNZiWLCIBPttLCMND4t-oU0uNihO7uXJsbWQD8rBoTx9GfxHs8A4vkDfUSyS_Q80CoPCNJIVPPkD3cHkZVDNQDPYpNGfRefJa92rsLLCIiISDsnkWKADx-l2ZajFym6wZQap9Bdp1/s320/IMG_1189.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449341129251970514" border="0" /></a><br />So, fortified with our floury, berry cakes, our group of four headed out to our first stop, <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Mounts Winery</span>. And as we drove by <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">A. Rafenelli</span> I patted myself on the back for not trying to stop there first. I'm tempted to say it was a zoo that morning, but that would be a disservice to our fine Bay Area zoos. They are much more organized than that.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYPreGF5qPMWr2se6uDhpgZNgkLThvb8HU2FBa53vDokOKcg0m-OD0xyV2wSd_6Uw1Qta7_irbGryKceMPVKT0RCuJXrX0r4aZFRtlwgj0EsimhC1_urFncPOl21_If_FLogXpx-H_8VI/s1600-h/IMG_1192.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYPreGF5qPMWr2se6uDhpgZNgkLThvb8HU2FBa53vDokOKcg0m-OD0xyV2wSd_6Uw1Qta7_irbGryKceMPVKT0RCuJXrX0r4aZFRtlwgj0EsimhC1_urFncPOl21_If_FLogXpx-H_8VI/s320/IMG_1192.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449341580741970546" border="0" /></a><br />So <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Mounts Family Winery</span>... Great place and awesome people (thank you to Dana, Lana & David). A tasting room that is really more of a covered patio overlooking miles of vineyard, it epitomizes the "hidden gem". While sampling from the barrels, you get to enjoy an amazing, untarnished view of the valley. It felt relaxed and unpretentious as well, which I think is becoming a rarity these days. It also doesn't hurt that they produce some amazing wines.<br /><br />Their Zins (07 & 08- barrel tastings were great) were some of my favorites and the Cab Franc is excellent as well. And if it's a hot day, try the Rose- cool, crisp and refreshing. If you can find this place, you'll be in for a treat.There is nothing snooty about this winery. Just quality vino with super nice people pouring it. I couldn't think of a better starting point.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkZ-dBYlMFmCKwsffB1AnVZPUr4lzwhIQnQWT3P02Thfs0um3R-vD0gUhFcdNg710jwuvqB98kfbfF15UnMd3p-KTAKVF5dKV8Vz9aXYpq0sHn8nn-z2iuS_JTTCu5fb-Kp0j4PVFKBNu/s1600/IMG_1200.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkZ-dBYlMFmCKwsffB1AnVZPUr4lzwhIQnQWT3P02Thfs0um3R-vD0gUhFcdNg710jwuvqB98kfbfF15UnMd3p-KTAKVF5dKV8Vz9aXYpq0sHn8nn-z2iuS_JTTCu5fb-Kp0j4PVFKBNu/s320/IMG_1200.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453077179780809618" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOrYYKjpiEaqNE7iVqNZ-Fyhy35tMxrwH1MQcYSA42WNzA6kTwIkoTdTXzQhu5ltp3SoxtRVucAeb3jQr4_UvCKevUhJNAWPi55QMW6_z_mwx0EeXGOJWh6ZxfthG370_FjfcTlSO3NAN/s1600-h/IMG_1194.JPG"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj242qKOnHOR2ImpKU0Z715pHJQFawcTex_0dhxneQk7Ccnx-Z9j5aFc_JhAc7yPYsXQ0fjnyy1vglWeM3dTDluxO83XcPuPvZQ_ZFURBXEQqskJCpT2E70r_Of9FZlCGzEnhx-ESrNxd9u/s1600/IMG_1199.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj242qKOnHOR2ImpKU0Z715pHJQFawcTex_0dhxneQk7Ccnx-Z9j5aFc_JhAc7yPYsXQ0fjnyy1vglWeM3dTDluxO83XcPuPvZQ_ZFURBXEQqskJCpT2E70r_Of9FZlCGzEnhx-ESrNxd9u/s320/IMG_1199.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453076637818101330" border="0" /></a>From there we headed north to <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Michel Schlumberger</span>, which I would say seemed to specialize more in the Bordeaux varieties. Out of the two barrel tasting they poured, their Cab blend had a nice level of complexity to it (similar to their name, which I refuse to attempt pronounce, unless inebriated). Oddly enough though, we found the whites to be the most enjoyable. That being said, the architecture and setting is worth a visit.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>From the winery with the name I refuse to pronounce, we continued on up Wine Creek Road to a place that is rarely visited-<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> Gopfrich Winery</span>. This place is open to the public, well... never. And it showed. You can call for an appointment, but the crowds of Wine Road weekend seemed to be taking a toll on the owners, in addition to the buses that complete blocked their driveway (despite the large No Buses Allowed signs).<br /><br />Aside from being noticeably flustered with the masses, they still managed to pour some great wines out of their barrels. And the consensus was, the futures were a lot better than their current releases, which I wasn't all too impressed with. Their zin and syrah via the barrel was far and away the best thing they poured. Both seemed very well developed with bold, complex flavors not usually found at that stage.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUavr8oUyRnsY8DtYwqELiq0Y5cNmhLWQKiUWHubsvHlbxycN5cymAfKpPeRLpJ98ii94SygjBe0w7YD-pMomE0aiTlvjHPduzW0Z4FqqLc-jG1ZnUXb0mcMMO9mVqoNTYt0s0rOvCU1G5/s1600/IMG_1204.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUavr8oUyRnsY8DtYwqELiq0Y5cNmhLWQKiUWHubsvHlbxycN5cymAfKpPeRLpJ98ii94SygjBe0w7YD-pMomE0aiTlvjHPduzW0Z4FqqLc-jG1ZnUXb0mcMMO9mVqoNTYt0s0rOvCU1G5/s320/IMG_1204.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453077452996643170" border="0" /></a><br /><br />From there we continued onward and upward to <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Bella Vineyards and Winery</span>, which proved to be a great spot for a picnic, assuming you could find a table. Zin Restaurant was cooking up some pulled pork and grits, which were excellent, despite the large lines. There was one memorable Zin at Bella, aside from that, there were simply A LOT of people.<br /><br />From Bella we ventured on to a few other wineries along Dry Creek Road, then hit up the Family Wineries complex, which looked like New Orleans during Mardi Gras... limos and buses piling up, blocking the road, drunk revelers staggering from stop to stop, and at this late point in the afternoon, the only way they could tell the difference between a white zin and a red would be by the color. Either way, after we parked in the back and worked our way to the festivities (without being hit by beads), I encountered what was possibly my favorite wine of the day.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcznZVsfdCnBq8If7QBgGBeJqyfijfWKT7O5mLj1mg3UgxnbQYW0kx_Wx1H25epdSdJvtxfferIzK7e98ffBUtZegUIdLHq0wMph7HQOWkiodN8aoEsFEu5GCB30-4jUAGxe1oSSThXRJ/s1600/IMG_1211.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcznZVsfdCnBq8If7QBgGBeJqyfijfWKT7O5mLj1mg3UgxnbQYW0kx_Wx1H25epdSdJvtxfferIzK7e98ffBUtZegUIdLHq0wMph7HQOWkiodN8aoEsFEu5GCB30-4jUAGxe1oSSThXRJ/s320/IMG_1211.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453081553698970882" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Papapietro Perry Pinots</span>- crazy good. They were pouring tastes out of three different barrels and if my memory serves me correctly, my favorite was from the Elsbree Vineyards, yet all three were incredibly tasty, smooth and rich with potential.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWV4bxz0bxAL1vo22OBd6zHTxJyN__I9E16dwyMrcsi0-oAM1fspaSLUefkYDk9JJ6opypzFk6t8v0bPWivtj0mKGHsl2qgYwa90MwSnh2TTPhOY22E56hbffkxDC1ob933bqUjo_CBSa/s1600/IMG_1210.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWV4bxz0bxAL1vo22OBd6zHTxJyN__I9E16dwyMrcsi0-oAM1fspaSLUefkYDk9JJ6opypzFk6t8v0bPWivtj0mKGHsl2qgYwa90MwSnh2TTPhOY22E56hbffkxDC1ob933bqUjo_CBSa/s320/IMG_1210.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453083585287133858" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Peterson Winery</span>- Also, in the same shared complex, was pouring oodles of wines, mostly out of their current releases. Nothing to overwhelming here, but I did walk away with a bottle of the Zero Manipulation, which is a Rhone-style blend, built on the old-vine Carignane, with small percentages of other varietals. It was a clean, fruity, easy to drink wine with enough going on to make it interesting.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Dry Creek Olive Oil Company</span>- I'm not sure if I'd call it a palette cleanser, but the golden green elixir they are pouring here is worth a visit to the tasting room. Their Olio Nuovo, which is a bright green "New Oil", pressed immediately after the olives are picked, was amazing. Incredibly fresh flavor with an almost creamy texture and a peppery after taste. I would liken it to drinking fresh milk, straight from a cow.... Yet, I've never done that, so disregard. A happy afternoon for me would be a crusty loaf of bread and a bottle of that green goodness (accompanied by a bottle of <span>Papapietro Perry Pinot preferably).</span><br /><br />We stopped by a few other places after the Family Winery Festivities, <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Acorn Winery</span> being the best of the late day wineries stops. There was one memorable moment though that stands out before we all slipped into a food (courtesy of <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Giorgio's</span>) and wine coma... The discovery of the greatest wine cleaner ever. I'm determined to own one of these and use it frequently. It's like a bidet for your wine glass see video below). Brilliant.<br /><br />An amazing day layered with sunny weather, wine, friends and some great food to top it all off. Wine Road 2011 is already in the calendar.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFVu4GcoGiRPwvkLhoQJg0kia4oRV7S5M4Kc48icfrW_LcuHySWLTFS-_aTqOFmk3w-Dh74pbsARTx-daLU9q0STSkom_V5uZ18tSdWPqY9AC6_oX2GhYbylTUFWqkTwAgUjs87MAul-Z/s1600/IMG_1188.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFVu4GcoGiRPwvkLhoQJg0kia4oRV7S5M4Kc48icfrW_LcuHySWLTFS-_aTqOFmk3w-Dh74pbsARTx-daLU9q0STSkom_V5uZ18tSdWPqY9AC6_oX2GhYbylTUFWqkTwAgUjs87MAul-Z/s320/IMG_1188.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454500849267055858" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dySijes4H7peOBkpK5QaP_XbBhV_UaDdtb3iLKOas_VEe3g5i-qH89XkdkxBgnS3oy5uAvw305xi3rwnt-k' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-22242461875989742832010-03-05T09:46:00.001-08:002010-03-05T13:41:05.733-08:00Jeffreys Hillside Cafe- Classics done well<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfIxTojDXcSkIQ1-YWBwh-r-NeJNSvRw4V028BaEPDxDde1eVu24coATXRdU136griXMNFPLhg-GmRMvdZEr3O6UAB7Vp_-2C05P8lLuQlBXSAcslk6EwIJa9BHtpVqT7xjEPzoxyAW36/s1600-h/IMG_1147.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfIxTojDXcSkIQ1-YWBwh-r-NeJNSvRw4V028BaEPDxDde1eVu24coATXRdU136griXMNFPLhg-GmRMvdZEr3O6UAB7Vp_-2C05P8lLuQlBXSAcslk6EwIJa9BHtpVqT7xjEPzoxyAW36/s320/IMG_1147.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445207680221096450" border="0" /></a><br />This place is destined to become a breakfast institution in Sonoma County, which is unfortunate, because that will probably mean lines like Hanks Creekside and Omelette Express. The good news, for now, is that this place seems to be flying under the radar.<br /><br />Unlike the hotel that this joint resides in, it's bright and cheery inside and the food is a fresh take on the classics (where as the hotel itself is simply classic).<br /><br />And they are doing those classics ridiculously well. We went on a Saturday morning and we're seated right away. Server was incredibly friendly and helpful, recommending her favorites and pouring coffee and bringing out our drinks almost instantly.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWXcbzAGxIqk-DEQsiD79cQ8V_hsKiKP2fob6p_xqXV88_DyM2L6L4fpgMNA32ZWGHdPc96g-Nbt7M7JhTGQWAy9p-PUOjM0-UgK_n-FkDez-dUWgpLVnJW9pzJSSRO_bwonziVj3UOJc/s1600-h/67830751.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWXcbzAGxIqk-DEQsiD79cQ8V_hsKiKP2fob6p_xqXV88_DyM2L6L4fpgMNA32ZWGHdPc96g-Nbt7M7JhTGQWAy9p-PUOjM0-UgK_n-FkDez-dUWgpLVnJW9pzJSSRO_bwonziVj3UOJc/s320/67830751.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445207852606018082" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The menu could be considered short, but it encompasses all the best aspects of breakfast food (I'd go for quality over quantity... those 6 page menus always scare me). When the food showed up, I sunk my teeth into what was hands down the best chicken fried steak I've ever had. The veggie hash and scramble that my wife had was equally good with a mountain of scrambled eggs on top (see the pics if you need further proof).<br /><br />I went to the Hillside Cafe back before Jeffrey took over. It was OK. Nothing special though. Now... The new Hillside Cafe... I can't really think of anything negative to say. But I'll be sure to follow up this review with another couple visits just to make sure it wasn't a fluke (and because I've been craving that chicken fried steak ever since).The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-11307522579032823902010-02-10T11:02:00.000-08:002010-02-10T11:05:48.196-08:00Tra Vigne in St. Helena review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnK-YY4OKwJZb0MUyBz0jr8XnFwAg4qzLpe8ZHTl3n4qbid2kuuSf4DtB6t_5aIt4QWgTgb4P-_hUvGQWMpXRxu8dY_S-A6Sr0WthX4zkr5qso7ufKDmC6lGoj3M0bsPbPuqYOlvzB9qO/s1600-h/caprese.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnK-YY4OKwJZb0MUyBz0jr8XnFwAg4qzLpe8ZHTl3n4qbid2kuuSf4DtB6t_5aIt4QWgTgb4P-_hUvGQWMpXRxu8dY_S-A6Sr0WthX4zkr5qso7ufKDmC6lGoj3M0bsPbPuqYOlvzB9qO/s320/caprese.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436692791661980274" border="0" /></a><br /><img src="file:///C:/Users/CHRIS%7E1.LIN/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/CHRIS%7E1.LIN/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.png" alt="" />I recently had an early dinner here with a group of friends. What I realized after we left was that we all had a great time and the setting is beautiful, but the food and service definitely fell short (which in this case, did not translate into an unpleasant overall experience despite the pitfalls).<br /><br />As is usually the case, the appetizers were all far more exciting than the entrees. I think the problem is obvious: when creating an entree, a chef feels like he needs to have a protein, a veg and probably a starch. Where as with appetizer, the freedom and creativity isn't hampered by some unspoken rule about what should be in an entree.<br /><br />That being said, we started with the famous mozzarella al minuto (which by the way, is rightfully famous). A big, gooey ball of cheese covered in some slightly green olive oil and served with some garlicky toasted. Simple and perfect. And when everything was said and done, it was the one dish we were all still talking about (I actually wish I would have ordered it for dessert as well).<br /><br />Other apps included the fritto misto (I loved the fried lemons, very refreshing and anytime a shrimp head is left on I'm happy) and the pizza with white sauce, broccili rabe, ricotta and chili oil, which was good, but could have been exponentially better if they actually put the chili oil on the pizza. It would have helped cut through the richness. Still, both apps were a good starting point.<br /><br />When I asked our waiter what her favorite pasta was, she stated that the rabbit pasta is the one they are most famous. I immediately said yes please. Any opportunity to dine on a bouncy, furry critter is to tempting to pass up. That being said, I wished I would have passed.<br /><br />The rabbit ragu with sage pasta was a very one note dish, overly salty and the homemade sage pasta didn't taste like sage at all. And regarding the bouncy critters in the dish- they could have braised short ribs and spared the furry guys and the flavor would be almost identical (plus a lot more practical, economic, etc). The mushrooms, rabbit and sauce was incredibly rich and earthy, which is fine, but I thought it needed some contrast (maybe some of that chili oil they forgot on my pizza would have helped).<br /><br />The other entree I tried was the spicy wood oven crab. On that crustacean they definitely remembered the chilis. It was too spicy for two of the diners at the table, which worked out well because I could steal a leg or two. The crab overall was nicely done, but the heat might have been a bit over powering for some.<br /><br />For desserts: bread pudding and chocolate cake. I am a sucker for bread pudding and when I saw the menu, the decision was made instantly. What I didn't read was that it was made with Pantenone bread, which is a very close cousin to fruit cake (which I loathe). Still the ice cream was good, I just couldn't get past the chewy fruits and bits of nuts that were hiding out in the pudding, waiting to assault my taste buds and jaw muscles. The chocolate cake was more like a mousse was also unimpressive and didn't get finished (again a one note dish with the saving grace being the 4 little raspberries on top).<br /><br />When it came to our server, she was friendly enough, but failed to take care of the details. We brought a few bottles of our own wine- each time the server would open one, pour and that was it. Never followed up on the empty glasses. Easy to fix, we simply passed the bottles around ourselves and poured, but it was a slightly annoying detail. That being said, the guy filling our waters and clearing our plates was spot on. I drink like a camel and that water glass never got below half full so props to him.<br /><br />Overall, the evening was nice, but the little things started to add up and anything above a 3 star rating wouldn't be deserved. I'm definitely willing to go back and give Tra Vigne another try... if for nothing else, that gorgeously gooey mozzarella.The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-13322941767964774552010-01-06T11:08:00.000-08:002010-01-06T11:17:13.700-08:00Terrarpin Creek Cafe<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4b2RphMSPxAK1LBfN9Emvm8667c_luGG_BsunsqrQV1SyJCOVIsU3oEKovAb7dTbcID_UAdavRNsgCGv5Jzj2ZMyGgBdB_SvdKS-wtzf2247IsqzcwRzQbOp4DRpxxQpT95-yeZ-ofh6/s1600-h/IMG_0996.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4b2RphMSPxAK1LBfN9Emvm8667c_luGG_BsunsqrQV1SyJCOVIsU3oEKovAb7dTbcID_UAdavRNsgCGv5Jzj2ZMyGgBdB_SvdKS-wtzf2247IsqzcwRzQbOp4DRpxxQpT95-yeZ-ofh6/s320/IMG_0996.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423706325800159314" border="0" /></a><br />It's so nice being able to blow by The Tides and Lucas Wharf, knowing that good food awaits you just around the bend.<br /><br />On a sleepy Sunday, my wife, dog and I took a drive up the coast. Before we left, a quick Yelp search on the iPhone turned up the the Terrapin Cafe. After missing the turn off for the cafe from the main highway twice, I finally found this hidden treasure tucked away next to a few art galleries and a bait shop.<br /><br />Having a small dog with you and eating out isn't always the easiest thing, but I opened the front door and was greeted by the friendly owners and a quaint warm interior. It was a beautiful day and we sat outside on the weathered patio. The service was spot on, with my coffee never getting below the 1/3 mark (and it was good Taylor Maid coffee as well).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBWiKIffnf2YOOSlmoLON4Y7TNI8niLwKE_bM73s75V5LaKIEyfGQMFtiHinTEV6k2QfJ8gGnmDV0wov4Y_wFFK5jbLVrajzhvRZx5p5lMwCP3eOmG3ZrMMf0D6QigYIy2zUuHCloXfMh/s1600-h/IMG_0994+crop.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBWiKIffnf2YOOSlmoLON4Y7TNI8niLwKE_bM73s75V5LaKIEyfGQMFtiHinTEV6k2QfJ8gGnmDV0wov4Y_wFFK5jbLVrajzhvRZx5p5lMwCP3eOmG3ZrMMf0D6QigYIy2zUuHCloXfMh/s320/IMG_0994+crop.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423707062119230434" border="0" /></a><br />The food was a refreshing detour from the typical "Coastal chow" of clam chowder and fried fish. We shared the crab cake salad and seafood stew, along with some bread and good olive oil. The crab cakes were all crab, no filler and the salad was light and fresh tasting and not overdressed. Our seafood stew was filled with salmon and shellfish and a broth flavored with garlic, fennel and braised tomatoes. We used every last piece of bread to clean that bowl. This is what "Coastal chow" should taste like.<br /><br />For dessert, we settled on the carrot cake. It was light, yet had a crispy texture to the top. The cream cheese was almost like a whipped cream cheese and was airy and fluffy and not over powering.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGQFDIEiG0uDfyngWqUN77deyGlqEKRDtmiNXZ7y1zCvPI9uDIN9-Rzqk4hPgqqy03n34uWVrdSm5ieBEm_xtrsBjC9SnBxXEkIKxg5iKfUp0_w3nQhllE30Ggk8vtMHsYz_U2iq1xAP0/s1600-h/IMG_1001+crop.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGQFDIEiG0uDfyngWqUN77deyGlqEKRDtmiNXZ7y1zCvPI9uDIN9-Rzqk4hPgqqy03n34uWVrdSm5ieBEm_xtrsBjC9SnBxXEkIKxg5iKfUp0_w3nQhllE30Ggk8vtMHsYz_U2iq1xAP0/s320/IMG_1001+crop.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423707069451246786" border="0" /></a><br />The owners were incredibly attentive, even bringing water for our dog. And even though we were there late for lunch, they didn't rush us out (they close at 2:30pm, we didn't finish until about 3pm). I'd almost considering making the hour drive out to the coast if for nothing else, to try dinner here. The menu might be small, but the fresh, quality ingredients are expertly prepared and the warm, friendly setting make this a place worth visiting. I'll definitely be back.The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-69459083400397503712009-12-07T14:37:00.000-08:002009-12-07T14:46:44.392-08:00Crab Station #2 at Fisherman's Wharf- San Francisco<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuaPctCQkQ6RHhFPbU8zlD0Btf7NjNzupoPZ8j7twO1YkqVUzItZNYTZiVufa_8rw40uHCwVRCBRC1xVvglv0xlOv0_PteyFsyOqbTdDtmwUXxWtuAZRBxncnDHZRZT0rk5IvLIM3P4z53/s1600-h/IMG_0809.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuaPctCQkQ6RHhFPbU8zlD0Btf7NjNzupoPZ8j7twO1YkqVUzItZNYTZiVufa_8rw40uHCwVRCBRC1xVvglv0xlOv0_PteyFsyOqbTdDtmwUXxWtuAZRBxncnDHZRZT0rk5IvLIM3P4z53/s320/IMG_0809.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412627634296276322" border="0" /></a>If you're in the Fisherman's Wharf area and want to avoid the tourist traps and overpriced "seafood", then Crab Station #2 might be the perfect stop. Nestled in between a few other food stalls, down the street from the Boudin Bakery and parking lot, this gem serves up some tasty clam chowder (which I think is served in a Boudin bread bowl) for only $5.50, which is almost half the price of the other restaurants around.<br /><br />It doesn't stop with the chowder though. Order up a whole crab (I got two last time for $12 & $13 each) and watch the master cracker break down your freshly steamed crab, then assemble it all on a plate for you with some lemons, a zesty, horseradish laden cocktail sauce and a crapload of napkins.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG3ihG_tdjzbHTFTCJFi7Ii0EMYaiu-yxiA1bCnHKe9jpm4jwO1NrM8Dom7cDZxR65ATObeVy9qlyZ4AlKroDrjWfEpmR8lyQvMuK4-8U1msM3hHmKYmDFIVWUsymZDuacLOFCZTYJVI01/s1600-h/IMG_0806.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG3ihG_tdjzbHTFTCJFi7Ii0EMYaiu-yxiA1bCnHKe9jpm4jwO1NrM8Dom7cDZxR65ATObeVy9qlyZ4AlKroDrjWfEpmR8lyQvMuK4-8U1msM3hHmKYmDFIVWUsymZDuacLOFCZTYJVI01/s320/IMG_0806.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412628124445780914" border="0" /></a><br />The crabs tasted amazing and if you have any bread left from the bread bowl, use it to mop up the tasty roe that's left pooled up in your crab shell.<br /><br />For me, this is what SF seafood on the wharf is all about. Another great thing about this place is that you might be lucky enough to find a table or some chairs inside their restaurant (which is pretty cozy).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGMwABDy5WMuqi4Mz3Yn3ZfWVnLiwITLU44S9SkaH5_xt4vV0HQRu9mcFgwHpMaM7DvYESy4pc5agQxjezWd6E7eR8tW0ERIt88eCZl4D3xS3y4nplVyMzLF2WQTb0eEKm9EcZa5-E_KI/s1600-h/IMG_0802.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGMwABDy5WMuqi4Mz3Yn3ZfWVnLiwITLU44S9SkaH5_xt4vV0HQRu9mcFgwHpMaM7DvYESy4pc5agQxjezWd6E7eR8tW0ERIt88eCZl4D3xS3y4nplVyMzLF2WQTb0eEKm9EcZa5-E_KI/s320/IMG_0802.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412628807231770002" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The best seat in the house is the counter on the window facing out towards the street and the stalls. From there you can pig out on crab, listen to the constant cracking sound of crab shells being artfully broken and watch the pigeons greedily eyeballing the tourists food.<br /><br />Service here was speedy, even though it was packed and more importantly, everyone seemed to be enjoying their food.<br /><br />Well worth a visit if you're near the wharf.The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-29859025126930702382009-10-15T11:01:00.001-07:002009-10-15T11:07:37.335-07:00A San Francisco Treat- Tomasso's<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgALAPebk7ARv540jmGPg5nbnvqpjtcRlW6gieLO4mA4wkEFVBiy2LQyzN99wVIB7DD-PPbIvLxMZ0aFiWT3v9i4aLqBd5-JBIBgh5W4AxR9QGPGQrC3GhzhND2yBAGu7psmmFMTs_EZFNj/s1600-h/IMG_0350.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgALAPebk7ARv540jmGPg5nbnvqpjtcRlW6gieLO4mA4wkEFVBiy2LQyzN99wVIB7DD-PPbIvLxMZ0aFiWT3v9i4aLqBd5-JBIBgh5W4AxR9QGPGQrC3GhzhND2yBAGu7psmmFMTs_EZFNj/s320/IMG_0350.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392888939011831826" border="0"></a>Tucked away behind a green and white door lies a cozy, little Italian place- Tomasso. The restaurant consists of 4-5 wooden booths on each side of the restaurants and some tightly packed tables running up the middle. This place was overflowing with people trying to get a table and while the "wait area" felt more like a cattle call, it almost added to the anticipation of the meal. It was obvious that people are excited about this place.<br /><br />Dinner started off with some simple dinner salads, which were surprisingly good. After devouring those, along with some of the excellent bread left at the table, the mains began arriving...<br /><br />Raviolis with Meat Balls- I don't how to describe these, other than they taste seriously old-fashion, in a good way. Imagine Grandma in the kitchen making raviolis and you'll have the idea.<br /><br />Lasagna-it was good... but... didn't knock my socks off, simply tasted like a decent, classic lasagna.<br /><br />Seafood pasta w/ linguine- hands down the favorite at the table. Normally, I never order seafood pasta because the seafood is consistently over cooked at other restaurants, not the case here. The seafood was perfectly cooked, the sauce was spicy and not overpowering and the pasta was perfectly al dente. One of the best dishes I had all weekend (and I ate a lot that weekend).<br /><br />Pizza w/ rosemary ham and leeks- unfortunately, no one at the table was that impressed with it. The crust was crisp like I normally like and it seemed as if there was too much cheese, which weighed down the pizza. Definitely not the best pie I've had.<br /><br />On the flip side, the service, atmosphere and energy of this place was spot on. If you're looking for some solid Italian eats in the seedy part of SF, it's well worth a visit.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyvLWjy9BmqvmpnBo3Qx6AoCGG401bAlgjVGf_AK0At6OePAnsApXFEWgHzpIcdn4ORGmLRVljfdRrIjXl6Zg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-89085418856904850932009-09-25T11:09:00.000-07:002009-09-25T11:15:50.035-07:00Boccalone- Tasty, Salted Pig Parts<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwskh7w3lgMpiOlQyoHr2Tx8V7dn3LgQowVF3PYdpWR0c9SH2oSc1lTEuI9O2Lzz7G9EyMD3cHO5npa98pKgZetwuEWuKf5wPMFSEr-TrmHL4A9k0T2RXOzDqNBctPyfjq47MfSHjO64X/s1600-h/IMG_0263.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwskh7w3lgMpiOlQyoHr2Tx8V7dn3LgQowVF3PYdpWR0c9SH2oSc1lTEuI9O2Lzz7G9EyMD3cHO5npa98pKgZetwuEWuKf5wPMFSEr-TrmHL4A9k0T2RXOzDqNBctPyfjq47MfSHjO64X/s320/IMG_0263.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385469049048362434" /></a>Vegans Beware- Salted, Cured and Really Friggin Tasty Pig Parts is the name of the game in this meat factory. Tucked away in the SF Ferry Building lies a piece carnivore heaven- Boccalone. This artisan salume shop is a perfect fit for the Ferry Building, where good cheese and bread is a stones throw away. All the salami I tried was fatty, distinctly flavored and delicious. Plus, the dude who came up with idea of a piggy filled meat cone should be given a Nobel Peace Prize. I'd take that over an ice cream cone any day (unless maybe it was bacon ice cream)... Service here was friendly and fast and for $3.50 you can try 3 different salamis. If only I lived closer...The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-62682491750987309822009-08-25T15:36:00.001-07:002009-08-25T15:38:20.582-07:00Taco Max- Mall food that doesn't suck.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT30UEBxxsgzWFS3WGBpHZnCXwRdBqHcZP6B1pA8C5FLOlbV9MVzP6cH0sVBlUeel2FJBLQsW7PEjiTuVIMcbzdLLTmrFA55ZYe-QBDOxWZdYuHGSLtXw17PZQL28NrmEe4wPNNzehxEwN/s1600-h/IMG_0085.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT30UEBxxsgzWFS3WGBpHZnCXwRdBqHcZP6B1pA8C5FLOlbV9MVzP6cH0sVBlUeel2FJBLQsW7PEjiTuVIMcbzdLLTmrFA55ZYe-QBDOxWZdYuHGSLtXw17PZQL28NrmEe4wPNNzehxEwN/s320/IMG_0085.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374034091565918866" /></a><br />First off, if you haven't seen the movie Once a Upon a Time in Mexico, watch it. The star of the movie isn't Johnny Depp or Antonio Banderas. It's a tasty dish called Puerco Pibil (or cochinita pibil). Ever since watching that movie I've been doing two things- 1. Making it regularly. 2. Trying to find somewhere locally that makes it so I don't have too, cause truthfully, it's kind of a pain in the ass (and if you're still wondering what this meaty delight is... watch the movie).<br /><br />On a lazy Saturday while my wife did some shopping in Coddingtown, I found the perfect excuse to slip away for 20 minutes and check out Taco Max, owned by an incredibly friendly Arturo, who previously owned a Miami restaurant (check out his cubano torta). I was on a mission for some slow roasted pibil and he delivered. Three beautiful tacos topped with pickled red onions and cilantro, served with rice and beans. In my opinion, hands down the best mall food you're going to find. Normally, I avoid malls at all costs, especially the dismal crap that they try and pass off as food in the typical food court.<br /><br />But this isn't typical mall food and it beats the 4 hours of prep and cook time to make cochinita pibil... the only thing I'll miss is the amazing way my house smells after hours of roasting achiote coated pork. The one thing I won't miss- the burning sensation when I pull my contact lenses out at night, forgetting the fact that I had handled habaneros early in the day. Not so cool. If you're a fan of tender, tasty pork bits, make a trip to the mall and hit up Taco Max (a generic name, not so generic food).The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-5605371304937850772009-08-04T11:43:00.000-07:002009-08-04T14:10:18.313-07:00Crush in Seattle- A Foodie Meca.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-KwIdz2QazwVFtLUcb7fivA9jWgp9yrMM5zBJ49OUCa_R-Aec52n4rxjR95KOpqHheaaqKp-W2Z4uKnvx5rF4UbgNB0yBsQwzagiCzf-nfmf8SOS0-JFZmQC7N9aanDbgf4NgE2RwS_s/s1600-h/photo(9).jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-KwIdz2QazwVFtLUcb7fivA9jWgp9yrMM5zBJ49OUCa_R-Aec52n4rxjR95KOpqHheaaqKp-W2Z4uKnvx5rF4UbgNB0yBsQwzagiCzf-nfmf8SOS0-JFZmQC7N9aanDbgf4NgE2RwS_s/s320/photo(9).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366183336291822594" border="0" /></a><br /></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">For one reason or another I've waited over a month to write this review. Maybe it's taken me that long to find the words that appropriately define the amazing experience there. Maybe it's taken me that long to remember the copious amount of food that I ate. Maybe it's because I'm afraid that whatever the hell I write here won't do this place justice. And trust me, it won't.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">After a week long cruise to <st1:state st="on">Alaska</st1:state>, stuffing myself with mediocre cruise food and watery drinks I was looking forward to spending my last night in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Seattle</st1:place></st1:city> at Crush. Having spent hours reading reviews on various <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Seattle</st1:place></st1:city> restaurants, we decided on Crush (it was also one of the few restaurants open on Sunday, July 5th).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><img src="file:///C:/Users/Chris.LINKCPA/Pictures/crush/photo%2821%29.jpg" alt="" /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We arrived at what appeared to be an unassuming house. Upon entering, we were wowed by the minimalistic white interior and a beautiful bar that overlooks an open kitchen. It was a beautiful <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Seattle</st1:place></st1:city> night, so we opted to sit outside on their patio. After perusing the menu, we opted to put ourselves in the capable hands of the kitchen staff. They had a 4 course tasting menu that we went for. And since I'm not a sweet person, I was able to sub my dessert for another savory dish (the servers were great all night). <img src="file:///C:/Users/Chris.LINKCPA/Pictures/crush/photo%2811%29.jpg" alt="" /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We both started with a signature cocktail. I had a cucumber vodka concoction and the missus had a strawberry brandy something or other (it's been almost a month so I don't remember the drink details). Both were refreshing and there was an element of finesse to them.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A small bowl of "bread" started the food avalanche. It was actually more like an amuse bouche of cheese puff pastry. Incredibly light and tasty. Then a spoonful of tartare topped with caviar and foam was brought out. At this point, I knew that if this continued we were in for a good night.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What followed was plate after plate of O face inducing food- <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u>1st courses</u><i style="">- Japanese Hamachi Crudo Spiced Asian Pear</i>- fresh, clean tasting fish, Ginger & Carrot; <i style="">Asparagus Soup with Jumbo Crab</i>- very nice soup with a pile of beautiful crab.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u>2nd courses</u><i style="">- <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Maine</st1:place></st1:state> Lobster Gnocchi Lobster Coral Butter, Tahitian Vanilla & Tangerine</i>- buttery, soft pillows of potatoes, the flavor combination's for the sauce was also interesting; <i style="">Grilled Calamari on a Bed of Chorizo and Onion</i>- amazing! Sous vide calamari that was quickly seared. Incredibly tender. And the spicy chorizo and onions was the perfect condiment. The herbaceous green sauce that everything was sitting on rounded out the dish.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u>3rd courses</u>- <i style="">Handcut Tagliatelle Pasta & Caviar Sauce Sea Urchin Roe & Quail Egg</i>- one of my favorite dishes that night. Sea urchin, a runny quail egg and caviar... seriously?! I'm so glad I replaced dessert with this dish. Amazing ocean flavor from the sea urchin, then a textural pop from the caviar and that silky yoke from the egg. This might be the perfect pasta dish. Very inspiring.; <i style="">Sea Scallop on Caramelized Onion Risotto</i>- nicely seared scallop, although slightly to brown on top and a little overcooked. Risotto was nice.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u>4th course</u>- <i style="">Glazed Painted Hills Short Rib Potato Gratin, White Corn Grits & Truffle Pistou</i>- I had to continually whack my wife's fork away from my plate... like a pesky fly, she couldn't get enough of these short ribs and rightfully so. Fork tender, sous vide for 24 hours and painted with a dark, rich glaze and dotted with truffle oil... Simple, yet perfect. ; <i style="">Wild Sockeye with English Peas</i>- nicely cooked and I loved that they kept the skin on. A very light dish in contrast to the short ribs. And it's like a movie opening the same weekend as Titanic... it was hard to pay attention to the fish with those short ribs sitting next to them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u>Dessert</u>- <i style="">Strawberry Tiramasu</i> (I think... I was in a certifiable food coma at this point). I remember the bite I had being pretty good... for a dessert.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The night ended on a perfect note with us sitting inside at the bar, sipping another amazing cocktail, from the incredibly friendly and knowledgeable bartender, and watching the chefs diligently performing their craft. I wish we had another day in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Seattle</st1:place></st1:city>, if for nothing else, to simply eat here again.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">That dinner at Crush embodies everything that a good dining experience should be. Perfect, friendly service that is neither pretentious or pushy. Beautiful ambiance in a setting that closely mimics the food. And a kitchen staff that knows how to deliver course after course of memorable, simple, yet delicious food. Having lived in "Wine Country" my whole life, I've ate at some impressive restaurants , but the culmination of the food, service and setting at Crush eclipse them all. One of the best meals of my life.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And knowing that I can hop on a Horizon flight out of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Santa Rosa</st1:place></st1:city> and be sitting on that beautiful patio in a matter of 90 minutes... An awfully tempting proposition. And a trip well worth it. Check out the video below for some pics.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyltL8TmgOeIZmXZVkZgsDXSLpJEqjyt6jfp7r-7iXNhqdRnv7LUbXzie2JTKbqw6Z98wMd9JpNS2I9MyxboA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-51116954418842073822009-08-04T09:20:00.000-07:002009-08-04T09:23:47.648-07:00Pizza Nirvana has arrived in Sonoma County<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrtlsOO21tYofIUTnHiziUObSb3E_iw89mIS6mSABFUZVhLxydxNppq7eW4xeB-Yt4Em1E6MZ-9CGT9o1PPYC1cp74Da1UzZLzi0rPt3q_MGHXJJfRzFhcfPQY8hiyVtDOBdY5iycjYam/s1600-h/l.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrtlsOO21tYofIUTnHiziUObSb3E_iw89mIS6mSABFUZVhLxydxNppq7eW4xeB-Yt4Em1E6MZ-9CGT9o1PPYC1cp74Da1UzZLzi0rPt3q_MGHXJJfRzFhcfPQY8hiyVtDOBdY5iycjYam/s320/l.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366145055618888834" border="0" /></a><br />Having devoured plenty of these bad boys (normally the margheritas) at the Windsor Town Green Thursday night market, we finally found ourselves tucked away in the corner booth at Rosso Pizzeria restaurant. All I had to do was scan to the bottom of the menu and I knew I had found pizza nirvana. Eggs and pork product on anything is a good thing. And the fact that you can add an egg or lardo to your pizza takes this to 5 star status. The server was great, despite our large groups indecision and order changing, he never faltered.<br /><img src="file:///C:/Users/CHRIS%7E1.LIN/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.jpg" alt="" /><br />We started with the mozzarella and prosciutto plate. After the first bite I wanted to be on Honey I Shrunk the Kids. All I wanted to do was crawl up inside the gooey bit of cheese and call that home. I could live there, in mozzarella heaven. If they sold that mozzarella in pillow size, I'd be the first to pick one up. Simply awesome. And the prosciutto didn't suck either.<br /><br />Next, a plethora of pizzas arrived- The Beppo (pepperoni with olives and a nice, runny egg), The Sicilian (chorizo and arugula) and then the Motto Guzzi (a white pizza with sweet sausage and a rock star name). The crust was thin and crispy with a nice little bite to it and the perfect amount of chewiness. What I like is that the toppings didn't overload the crust, instead they simply complimented it. All the ingredients tasted incredibly fresh and red sauce on the pizzas was nice and light.<br /><br />Fresh pizza dough+killer local ingredients+brick oven= O face, pizza eating moments. Hands down some of the best pizza I've had and definitely the best SoCo pie. You won't regret eating here. Now only if they delivered to Windsor (I've got my fingers crossed for expansion up north)...The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-59979074830650208392009-07-28T09:25:00.001-07:002009-07-28T09:26:00.640-07:00Crepes de France de Seattle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXP0cK5Bu2DfsRYj7OK277Ms86u8C2TVZSxKHIM5o2Bo1rTiNx22oLWKcPPK06cOjlbE74r78Ay3brq01pcJXyDnqIM0ixidXLrUB_93L-AaZI2cgKB5Hyhz5xLhF-DkE_OOLgnjN48_ou/s1600-h/crepe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXP0cK5Bu2DfsRYj7OK277Ms86u8C2TVZSxKHIM5o2Bo1rTiNx22oLWKcPPK06cOjlbE74r78Ay3brq01pcJXyDnqIM0ixidXLrUB_93L-AaZI2cgKB5Hyhz5xLhF-DkE_OOLgnjN48_ou/s320/crepe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363548003670170994" border="0" /></a><br />This was the first place I ate on my Seattle trip. We were meandering the Pike market when we stumbled across this little place. I've always been a fan of crepes, especially savory ones and this place succeeds in every possible way. Huge selection, fresh ingredients and friendly service. I had the ham, spinach and cheese crepe while the wifey had a salmon one. Both were very good, but also very large... it was a little difficult to finish one (but I soldiered through and did). It was a good start to a great weekend.The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-66253542481166583172009-07-28T09:21:00.000-07:002009-07-28T09:24:37.419-07:00Piroshky Piroshky! Meat Pie Heaven.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26RMRMfr36V2bl9T58MeT2d1vkKKAaodm3Y_TvJovYpuDfpYtOmPxRk-GWXDpSz7kJ7rA1Vi_whzu0uaaN4eXzT6-lXnlSiWlBhf59oEVmRQx6SX-T4n6FWqqvwRyzpdrv87oMDoO3Tsm/s1600-h/pir.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26RMRMfr36V2bl9T58MeT2d1vkKKAaodm3Y_TvJovYpuDfpYtOmPxRk-GWXDpSz7kJ7rA1Vi_whzu0uaaN4eXzT6-lXnlSiWlBhf59oEVmRQx6SX-T4n6FWqqvwRyzpdrv87oMDoO3Tsm/s320/pir.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363547519001761666" border="0" /></a><br />Holy Jeebus, were these good! Visiting Seattle for the first time, I meandered over to Pikes Market in hopes of finding this place. After 30 minutes of searching my hunger won out and I found myself scarfing down a huge crepe... After I performed the disappearing act on the crepe, I then waddled down the street and stumbled across Piroshky Piroshky. Cue holy choir- Meat pie heaven.<br /><br />I hopped in line, despite my gut pleading with my reason, stating that it was already well beyond full. When I got up to the counter I asked the girl what her favorite was. She said "Go with the beef and cheese."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMU9LzKUf-6CMd5COUkQFxOKedNRH1bnTtx2vIHs4_uY2Ql-cmxTwB-laMJXOKkF_Nxfki3EH1TAZSG1rwYpXZ6oqBWryOz1ek9U0oSmfoNooG9EDfHAqBbDTgM1qX1NUVYnMp8XRbExb/s1600-h/pir+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMU9LzKUf-6CMd5COUkQFxOKedNRH1bnTtx2vIHs4_uY2Ql-cmxTwB-laMJXOKkF_Nxfki3EH1TAZSG1rwYpXZ6oqBWryOz1ek9U0oSmfoNooG9EDfHAqBbDTgM1qX1NUVYnMp8XRbExb/s320/pir+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363547604681415266" border="0" /></a>That first bite was literally one of the best things I tasted in Seattle (and I ate in some amazing restaurants). 90 seconds later the piroshky was gone and I was plotting how I could how I could find time to eat a few more of these guys before I left.<br /><br />My cholesterol and waistline are probably pretty stoked that I don't live anywhere near this place, but when I think of Seattle, that warm meat pie is going to be one of the first things that come to mind.The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-61213543478863367992009-06-10T15:56:00.000-07:002009-06-11T11:53:48.385-07:00Bistro 29 Review- "O" face inducing crepes... and snails that don't suck.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOSPCLVH9rF-uB00_IDIfAFV5a9uPgdf7Gw4SVw567mCNxA10dsTU2owdbg7BLgVrljtU7TmV8RCEHxvg7HJ_h7yl7zQmwhAbeDXUowLx2lGxH0Gkr6RkgLiomBRfMJ3zuszchVCgxpbI/s1600-h/SNC00834.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOSPCLVH9rF-uB00_IDIfAFV5a9uPgdf7Gw4SVw567mCNxA10dsTU2owdbg7BLgVrljtU7TmV8RCEHxvg7HJ_h7yl7zQmwhAbeDXUowLx2lGxH0Gkr6RkgLiomBRfMJ3zuszchVCgxpbI/s320/SNC00834.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345843386918665506" border="0" /></a>I'm a sucker for French food and locally, few other places do it as well (sorry La Gare... not even close). This is my third trip back to Bistro 29 since they opened and each trip has been progressively better than the last with an expanding crepe menu and impressive wine list. We showed up on a Friday night with 7:30 reservations (and despite the fact that they apparently didn't have our reservations written down, we were seated within minutes). Armed with a few bottles of wine (2004 Enkindu Fazekas Petite Syrah, $32) and some friends, I was prepared to dive head long into a night of marathon eating and over the top indulgence.<br /><br />I started with the foie gras, served on top of french toast with some pain d'epice. The flavor was good, the foie cooked nicely and the sauce was sweet. Unfortunately, the toast was soggy by the time it got to the table so there was no contrast in texture. Every bite was filled with fatty, creamy smoothness. I could have used a little crunch to counter that. Overall though, a good start to the night ($14, *** out of *****).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24hcfzdymIxB_pDm281msSDpodK1hiuXDHvcNbiNF8l99Tx9GisLOaeUasPKrMZLk2DV1PXYunmNar6fsq9u_9S1I9jV4_xAjz33Dm969lsdAGIrUTcwmyhaA0anL691fIdudX46qRuco/s1600-h/SNC00836.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24hcfzdymIxB_pDm281msSDpodK1hiuXDHvcNbiNF8l99Tx9GisLOaeUasPKrMZLk2DV1PXYunmNar6fsq9u_9S1I9jV4_xAjz33Dm969lsdAGIrUTcwmyhaA0anL691fIdudX46qRuco/s320/SNC00836.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345843564399695890" border="0" /></a><br />In between bites of the artery clogging foie, I shared a savory crepe filled with a homemade pork sausage, gooey Gruyere and apples. Maybe this is the French's way of combating pizza. Or maybe the chef sprinkled some crack in there. Either way, all I wanted to do was curl up inside of this cheesy, pork filled blanket and roll around in its goodness. ($10, *****) I forgot how incredible these were.<br /><br />In between day dreaming of a crepe hammock for the backyard, I sampled my wife's escargot, which was bathing in a herb butter bath (my kind of soaking tub). Perfectly flavored, not to chewy and it was served with toast to soak up the green, buttery goodness that was left in the bowl after the snails food their way into eager mouths. My only problem was that there weren't enough snails and that a dish like this should be served with a spork- that way you can get a mouth full of the herbaceous compound with each bite. And plus, every time I grabbed my spoon to slurp up the sage colored liquid I kept getting dirty looks from our neighbors (maybe they were doctors concerned for my health...). ($10,****).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2pL9l3lOyamJBx-JlxEzHoLGfw97IjaVN1UYoZcM1BjbEXxwmAXGXw232ridGtJEYK9mZ5YB9hY_7XrjhZ8zSBBWN887SX9KrrbBXbDgn_aQF7MjUPNLD2JQTAUAXpMcLkpjlSYn4-rT/s1600-h/SNC00835.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2pL9l3lOyamJBx-JlxEzHoLGfw97IjaVN1UYoZcM1BjbEXxwmAXGXw232ridGtJEYK9mZ5YB9hY_7XrjhZ8zSBBWN887SX9KrrbBXbDgn_aQF7MjUPNLD2JQTAUAXpMcLkpjlSYn4-rT/s320/SNC00835.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345848415555842882" border="0" /></a>The first bottle of wine was on its last leg, so we popped open a Limerick Lane Syrah just in the nick of time, as our mains started showing up. A heaping bowl of mussels was placed in front of me, along with a cone of frites on the side. For me, eating the actual mussels is only half the fun. Mopping up the shellfish elixir at the bottom of the bowl with french bread is the other half of the equation. The mussels were just as I remembered them- plump, tasty and occasionally grainy. The frites on the other hand were limp and almost soggy. I'm a double fry kind of guy when it comes to my frites, so I was slightly unimpressed by this offering. The saving grace was the half a loaf of french bread on the table, waiting to be submerged in my pond of Pernod cream sauce. ($14, ***1/2)<br /><br />Although I didn't order it, I still was able to try a few bites: Lamb Sirloin with mashed potatoes and English peas. Excellent flavor and the sauce was amazing. The lamb was cooked perfectly and my only criticism was the chef might have been a little heavy handed with the salt. Otherwise, a killer entree. ($24, ****)<br /><br />For dessert, a crepe with apples and whipped cream, a trio of ice cream and a trio of sorbet. Now considering I don't make desserts, rarely eat desserts and on a whole, don't like sweets, I'll refrain from passing any judgment on these. That being said... the dessert crepe was fantastic.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQddS_MDadeotIGQk1bemTie0WDEt4o3lLYtmuFhEs-gvnbwezQm9uU5B7QyDMsPY2ObaPpYqIOnI21JKfravuS5TJj6JYQUIetdg444UAjDqb9BwrUJPp4QJ297kFdocodw1U2FS3BObl/s1600-h/SNC00833.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 165px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQddS_MDadeotIGQk1bemTie0WDEt4o3lLYtmuFhEs-gvnbwezQm9uU5B7QyDMsPY2ObaPpYqIOnI21JKfravuS5TJj6JYQUIetdg444UAjDqb9BwrUJPp4QJ297kFdocodw1U2FS3BObl/s320/SNC00833.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346143750104379154" border="0" /></a><br />Aside from loosing our reservation and our table having to beg for french bread 20 minutes after being seated (after the first loaf showed up, they kept bringing us bread non-stop), the night was a success and the four of us left equally stuffed and satisfied. I've yet to try RendezVous Bistro (the yelp reviews scare me), but as far as I'm concerned, for French dining in Santa Rosa, Bistro 29 is the place to beat. Now if only they could master the frites the way they perfected the crepes...The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-76762907583365021802009-06-04T12:35:00.000-07:002009-06-05T15:57:32.358-07:00Starlight Wine Bar in Sebastapol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPp45ZsSirqurHJJ2nccwl65uj6msIWurSbFpb8GayJ_H-KCTCaOH2H0VY02Ssld1SyZ_GYGb22UAJBlzLjF0F4PptJGjhghznVaTNLa2DR1pYNoysAtKQvIWMIfDQcvPJcOrrpiOG_Um3/s1600-h/SNC00829.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPp45ZsSirqurHJJ2nccwl65uj6msIWurSbFpb8GayJ_H-KCTCaOH2H0VY02Ssld1SyZ_GYGb22UAJBlzLjF0F4PptJGjhghznVaTNLa2DR1pYNoysAtKQvIWMIfDQcvPJcOrrpiOG_Um3/s320/SNC00829.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343596246416317682" border="0" /></a><br />"So how long have you guys been open?" I asked Heather Van Doom, owner of Starlight Wine Bar. "Oh, about three and a half years." she replied. I was surprised that this little gem has been hiding here so long and I had no idea. And when I say hiding, I really mean hiding. The restaurant is located in a train car, located in a building, located in the Gravenstein shopping center near Coffee Catz. My first attempted at finding this eatery had me walk right by without noticing.<br /><br />The good news is, once inside, ambiance, nostalgia and great cooking take over. This is the kind of place where you'd picture people sipping martinis, cigarette smoke clouding the air and Sinatra buzzing away softly out of a jukebox. Unfortunately, they lack a liquor license, smoking has been banned in California restaurants for quite sometime and I didn't see a jukebox (but there was some good music playing).<br /><br />The best way to describe the menu would be seasonal, Californian paired with a little New Orleans flair. They also offer an early bird special which consists of an app, entree and dessert for only $25. My wife went this route, while I started with the mussels and then moved onto the gumbo.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDlp8y436G5i69mE8DcNqYY0v3pXP3oEKpXR1pz7uznUsrkN29L6Ka7Z5uEY2xvgjs9usf5AcRzYIFJQmLo5otT4iNQoxIkDH4lui2ZYRaoeSWTOOeksZkWkcM9OxbFX0jDI22kAmMfUbs/s1600-h/SNC00830.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDlp8y436G5i69mE8DcNqYY0v3pXP3oEKpXR1pz7uznUsrkN29L6Ka7Z5uEY2xvgjs9usf5AcRzYIFJQmLo5otT4iNQoxIkDH4lui2ZYRaoeSWTOOeksZkWkcM9OxbFX0jDI22kAmMfUbs/s320/SNC00830.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343596621846443490" border="0" /></a>The savory, corn beignes were the first to show up. We each grabbed one of these hot, corned filled little donuts and gave them a red aioli bath. They were perfectly crisp on the outside and once you bit into one, the corn filling provided a nice, unexpected contrast (**** out of *****). As we each polished off the first beignes the mussels arrived, soaking in a pool of spicy, red broth. The mussels were nice and plump, not over cooked and the sauce had a kick to it (some tomatoes, red pepper coulis, maybe a bit of saffron and garlic), perfect for submerging bread in ($15, **** out of *****).<br /><br />The next two dishes were a showcase for chef Thaddeus Palmese and his New Orleans roots- BBQ Shrimp and Gumbo. The beautifully butterflied, tail on shrimp were swimming in a buttery, Worcestershire sauce. The only problem I had was I couldn't get the tails off fast enough. (****). Knowing the chef had done time in some big name restaurants (Emril's Delmonico being one of them) I had faith the gumbo would not be a let down. I was right. The roux was a nice, dark brown and the dish as a whole warmed you from head to toe the way a good scotch does. Shrimp, chicken and andouille sausage filled out the dish, along with white rice on top. If I wasn't so damn full at this point I would have ordered another bowl of this okra-file-roux masterpiece. (*****).<br /><br />My wifes dessert course was next. When we ordered, we were told that it was a peach cobbler with a cream cheese ice cream. What showed up instead was another classic. One which I wouldn't have traded for anything peach related. Bananas Foster. For the record, I don't like desserts or sweets, but this was one of the best sugar laden things I've eaten in recent memory (****). Cinamon, bananas, sugar, banana liqour and ice cream all melted together in a neat bowl... a diabetic nightmare? Maybe. A perfect way to end a great dining experience? Hell yes.<br /><br />So if you're like me and you haven't heard about this hidden culinary treasure, get out your gps immediately and set a course for<a href="http://www.starlightwinebar.com/"> Starlight Wine Bar</a>.The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-36525477841845947202009-06-03T09:14:00.000-07:002009-06-03T11:19:45.413-07:00Guys Can Cook Too competition! Winner in the Apps Category.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYiDARFj97AID7_nU84zuW-INrA1KXDJ_yTWnPDX8c5ztcPSPKw5cTf92dDe5mg6ZRMJuOkssuFe7fOm2BHcrXFFnOZBGilXqN6oHQlsaAIfwGrpLKg9C51yehTm6iL0FlOWd7EgPeK61/s1600-h/SNC00824.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYiDARFj97AID7_nU84zuW-INrA1KXDJ_yTWnPDX8c5ztcPSPKw5cTf92dDe5mg6ZRMJuOkssuFe7fOm2BHcrXFFnOZBGilXqN6oHQlsaAIfwGrpLKg9C51yehTm6iL0FlOWd7EgPeK61/s320/SNC00824.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343141799004372370" border="0" /></a><br />It was a long weekend... Within a 16 hour time frame, 60 lbs of short ribs were cooked in my not-so-large kitchen, over 600 servings were plated and dished out in only a few hours (sous chef Matt to thank for that) and a trophy was taken home that says "Guys Can Cook Too Winners- Appetizer Category."<br /><br />Gusy Can Cook Too is an event put on by the Sebastapol Rotary in which, amateur chefs (about 50 of them) compete and serve food to over 500 attendees. They are judged on taste, presentation and originality. Attendees place their votes and then professional chefs judge the food as well.<br /><br />The cooking shenanigans started Friday afternoon when I picked up 60 lbs of massive short ribs from Joe at the Green Grocer. He was nice enough to hook me up with a deal on them and they looked beautiful. It was the equivalent of a local Kobe short rib. The marbling worked wonders for the taste and texture of the meat, but the high fat content proved to be problematic when it came to our sauces (more on that later).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL6ubeazZJRvO0LMXDwOk2C3fwddon5xPByrW9F1Q6-dTUpIUsnOvyJ4t1PqnSbJ61ABGkVibo_EbF2vHvtIcDSR11o9XEEaKOMUuMHXiYDizJdL_Xy_07kVoHyhLVCTR2SYVcpMFdT6z/s1600-h/SNC00794.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL6ubeazZJRvO0LMXDwOk2C3fwddon5xPByrW9F1Q6-dTUpIUsnOvyJ4t1PqnSbJ61ABGkVibo_EbF2vHvtIcDSR11o9XEEaKOMUuMHXiYDizJdL_Xy_07kVoHyhLVCTR2SYVcpMFdT6z/s200/SNC00794.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343155145634700322" border="0" /></a>All of Friday, and late into the night/ early a.m. was spent searing meat, sweating vegetables and making braising liquid. And then repeating. It felt like a never ending cycle and to make matters worse I was going to bed at 3am knowing that I'd have to wake up in 4 hours and do it all over again. I was going to have nightmares about dinosaur sized short ribs.<br /><br /><br />The initial plan at the competition had been to make a braised short rib topped with a little pear reduction. A few days prior to the event I realized that the dish needed some kind of textural contrast. Normally, when I braise short ribs I throw them under a broiler for a minute to <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqhZDwTBUMniyDFX4EetXOTcvmarhFmaZgjRdmYyCUQ_EXbrW00pPK1uyOiY8A6R2NU8hyAH31yqZx84zxt9SQh08TQL8A8DfXSMsnVLUg78-3zfzkF1TiwNXBjtpfXeHRPJAEIqNRW7J/s1600-h/SNC00798.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqhZDwTBUMniyDFX4EetXOTcvmarhFmaZgjRdmYyCUQ_EXbrW00pPK1uyOiY8A6R2NU8hyAH31yqZx84zxt9SQh08TQL8A8DfXSMsnVLUg78-3zfzkF1TiwNXBjtpfXeHRPJAEIqNRW7J/s200/SNC00798.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343157687853240386" border="0" /></a>develop a nice crust. This wasn't an option at this event. I contemplated bringing my creme brulee torch, but that just didn't seem practical. While shopping for short ribs at Safeway for a test run, I had an epiphany in the cereal isle... rice krispies with some Chinese five spice. These would provide the much needed crunch (and originality) to the dish. The Thursday before the event we did a test run with the krispies and pear reduction. The tasters seemed to approve but I felt it was missing something.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjenz1YWoeFmNdcGDkdASfqH95MgSeV73SgB5DbWZu_gYSLt5iUGaL4NzRG6ODYOtDcx9LkG_oLfkgMmWt6khoJIU4mkmMohztUulNAwBYb16PBWpu7Y2NnI82fTVproYN6st1kHcWPfJF/s1600-h/SNC00806.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjenz1YWoeFmNdcGDkdASfqH95MgSeV73SgB5DbWZu_gYSLt5iUGaL4NzRG6ODYOtDcx9LkG_oLfkgMmWt6khoJIU4mkmMohztUulNAwBYb16PBWpu7Y2NnI82fTVproYN6st1kHcWPfJF/s200/SNC00806.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343159145341667090" border="0" /></a>Fast forward to Saturday morning and I'm putting in the last batch of short ribs in the oven to braise. While putting the canola oil back up into the cabinet, I saw what turned out to be the possible saving grace for the dish... balsamic vinegar. I reduced a squeeze bottles worth, Matt (my friend/ sous chef for the day) came over, we packed up everything and we were off.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7ol8V9vde5wYsHCDu7IF5CjOjxQr6L_c8nQpl526Fkm0T2hUngLNZB-zJA73RpbMZ_YfN7xdyphyphenhyphenIgI_88Yo003gROVKVof2UBqy_8Kr0kZQMzr5sHKJsNqg50b02e7bdC_2HdRbFg4p/s1600-h/SNC00816.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7ol8V9vde5wYsHCDu7IF5CjOjxQr6L_c8nQpl526Fkm0T2hUngLNZB-zJA73RpbMZ_YfN7xdyphyphenhyphenIgI_88Yo003gROVKVof2UBqy_8Kr0kZQMzr5sHKJsNqg50b02e7bdC_2HdRbFg4p/s320/SNC00816.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343163026403586642" border="0" /></a><br />After getting our booth setup and our prep area worked out, we did a taste test- braised short rib bite, pear and balsamic reduction, Chinese five spice krispies and some of the reduced braising liquid... I didn't like it... At all. There was an overwhelming taste and mouth feel of grease and fat. I had botched it and added some of the non-skimmed pan juices into my braising liquid reduction from that morning. So the already skimmed sauce that was reducing on the stove, got a fresh injection of fatty fluids and what was left in my tasting cup and now in my mouth was a yellowish, fatty liquid. Not good. We decided right then and there to ditch the braising liquid and go with just the pear and balsamic reduction. This worked out perfectly in the end and we wound up with a crapload of votes for our dish, garnering us the Popular Vote winner in the apps category.<br /><br />Matt, my sous chef was kicking tail with the prep work and pumping out portions like their was no tomorrow. It wouldn't have worked without him. Below is a modified version of the recipe we cooked. If you want to add the rice kripsies, simply cook a few cups in some canola oil and add a teaspoon or two of Chinese five spice and a sprinkle of sugar. Wait for them to almost caramelize. For the sauces you can reduce some pear juice and balsamic vinegar, or try without. Either way, have fun cooking it and pair it with some sake.<br /><br />Enjoy.<br /><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><b><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Pear & Sake Braised Short Ribs</span></b></strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">Serves 4-6</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">2 cups pear or apple juice<br />1 cup sake<br />1 cup mirin<br />½ cup sugar<br />1 cup soy sauce<br />Salt and freshly ground black pepper<br />2 tablespoons chopped garlic<br />10 cloves crushed garlic<br />1 tablespoon sesame oil<br />2 tablespoons neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed<br />4 to 5 pounds short ribs<br />2 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped<br />1/2 pound carrots, peeled and cut into chunks<br />½ cup chopped scallions<br />4 cups cooked white rice.</span></p> <ol start="1" type="1"><li><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, combine juice, sake, mirin, sugar, soy sauce, about 20 grinds of pepper, both forms of garlic, sesame oil and 1½ cups water. Bring to a boil, then simmer.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">Put corn or grapeseed oil in a large ovenproof braising pan or skillet over medium-high heat and add ribs, seasoning them liberally with salt and pepper. Brown well on all sides, moving them around to promote even browning. Remove from pan and add onions and the carrots, stirring vegetables occasionally.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">Ad ribs back to pan. Carefully pour braising liquid over meat and bake, bone-side up and submerged in liquid (add water or juice if necessary), covered, for 3 to 4 hours, until meat falls from bones. Cool ribs in liquid for 1 hour, then remove; strain liquid. At this point, ribs and liquid can be covered and refrigerated overnight.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">Remove bones from ribs. In a pot, combine meat with braising liquid; heat to a boil then simmer, reducing liquid until syrupy. If it seems too thick, thin with a bit of water. While this is reducing make the white rice.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">Taste mixture and adjust seasonings if necessary, then garnish with scallions and serve on rice</span></li></ol>The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-36549837879722427202009-04-17T12:03:00.000-07:002009-06-01T16:01:57.508-07:00Green Grocer- Eat local and eat well.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbpe1BaXCpjH7EngOuoMkwaT-gBd_9-h5TtOPKmHgLj8s3f_ToyOd064AAibxIF4Wu-KG_hulgOK5D7bYqHpz_5Ih1-9jIF5RA7capMaMz3bWZzzvPYlEpfgTCWuB0hTlnJrhpfoy9Z45t/s1600-h/SNC00548.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 323px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbpe1BaXCpjH7EngOuoMkwaT-gBd_9-h5TtOPKmHgLj8s3f_ToyOd064AAibxIF4Wu-KG_hulgOK5D7bYqHpz_5Ih1-9jIF5RA7capMaMz3bWZzzvPYlEpfgTCWuB0hTlnJrhpfoy9Z45t/s400/SNC00548.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326561848777448130" border="0" /></a><br />If the French Laundry and<br />Whole Foods had a love child... You'd wind up with the Green Grocer. For Windsor, not a bad baby.<br /><br />Having shopped there frequently, enjoying the duck burritos, produce, protein, and Joe's cooking advice, my wife and I decided to check out their dinner service. On a Friday night, we rolled over to the tucked away gem hiding in Windsor's town green, near a great restaurant called Odyssey.<br /><br />We sit down, get brought our still water and the menu perusing begins. After asking for Joe's recommendations we start what turned out to be a fantastic meal. Before the food arrives Joe brings over a glass of Preseco for both of us. Then an amuse bouche. Yeah, you read that right. In theory we are in a grocery store. The difference being the owners/ accomplished chefs. We get a beautiful presented plate of pickled green onions in red wine vinegar and what appear to be water lilies. It all tased fresh and perfect for a starter.<br /><br />Then some amzing bread got brought over... and devoured. We both ordered the three course, three pour tasting dinner. At $33 each, this is a crazy steal. My wife started with the asparagus soup, because she is a lover of the pee altering vegetable that happens to be in season. With Joe's recommendation, I began with the beet and goat cheese raviolis (pictured above).<br /><br />Three sweet pillows of pasta free ravioli lay in front of me, topped with candied walnuts and micro greens. I had to ward off my wife's fork. Amazing. Her asparagus soup with morel dumplings and I believe truffle oil also had a nice flavor and was also tasty, but the dumpling texture was slightly disturbing. Think of a brown, squishy lump floating in your soup bowl (albeit a tasty brown lump). The wine pairings worked well with both dishes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34VtUlFItMSyDRcC5a7dyIu1gZwcWg5h_UbU_5jLZJBSNYMw2d8D2tZ_3qEyj7Pe5E1t1NPZTmMJvQEkve4O1P0odqnSuKDjEmrxLc5x1ouHVdlRxPoc1qejPjns1J_sDsJg5LnsDgNQD/s1600-h/SNC00554.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 241px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34VtUlFItMSyDRcC5a7dyIu1gZwcWg5h_UbU_5jLZJBSNYMw2d8D2tZ_3qEyj7Pe5E1t1NPZTmMJvQEkve4O1P0odqnSuKDjEmrxLc5x1ouHVdlRxPoc1qejPjns1J_sDsJg5LnsDgNQD/s320/SNC00554.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327629893775676690" border="0" /></a>Next, her two little crab cakes appeared with a grapefruit, citrus aioli and some micro greens. Despite being slightly enamored with my steak, I did managed to try one of these and it was quite good. Not your typical crab cake, which tend too have too much in the way of bread crumbs and not enough crab. The crab tasted fresh and everything on the plate was beautifully presented. As she savored her crustacean cakes, I devoured a plate of flank steak with asparagus. Perfectly cooked to medium rare. At this point, we were both full and borderline tipsy, which is why, unfortunately, I can't remember the wines that he paired our food with at this point.<br /><br />The last dish arrived and for me it was a rack of lambed served with a white bean puree. My wife had the pulled pork sandwich on a cheddar scallion, which turned out to be a little to spicy for her liking. Turns out the pulled pork is done with a jalepeno rub, which I thought was great, but left Jenny searching for a water refill. The night ended exactly as it started, with impressively prepared food and wine pairings in a friendly, casual environment. For me, what separates this place from other restaurants around here are the people behind the counter. They are passionate about good food and quality local ingredients and they are more than willing to impart some knowledge to you if you ask. My hope is that the Green Grocer will be here to stay (where else can I get a duck burrito and french pressed coffee on a Saturday morning).<br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-45478245643727374202009-04-06T22:09:00.000-07:002009-04-14T11:07:53.142-07:00I just threw up in my mouth thinking of this place- Patterson's Pub in lovely Windsor, CA.How do you f'up simple Irish food? Good question, go to Pattersons in Windsor and find out. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Rihg4PNzfgIKyoiDdOJwN0rjN-VZHozcJWn03muA64BbOpAekKlqE-7tYx9MhDw3ZkHN_x2_nmBBTjVD_2HFyh7nms5jAZ6VU_E247S0OwnwHFkF6KHYeqTge8V_rPHESLxFAYIQVcBm/s1600-h/shepards+pie.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Rihg4PNzfgIKyoiDdOJwN0rjN-VZHozcJWn03muA64BbOpAekKlqE-7tYx9MhDw3ZkHN_x2_nmBBTjVD_2HFyh7nms5jAZ6VU_E247S0OwnwHFkF6KHYeqTge8V_rPHESLxFAYIQVcBm/s320/shepards+pie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321812379277426322" border="0" /></a><br /><br />For starters, I dig good pub food. I'd even go as far as to say I love good pub food. Now that I've said that, every experience I've had (along with every other person I know who's been in there) at Patterson's has been horrible, bordering on "stick my finger down my throat like a super model" horrible.<br /><br />I recently met some friends there on a Friday night. Arriving early, I took a seat at the bar and ordered a vodka tonic. It arrived and I paid. Two minutes later the bar tender came up and said I owed her $5 for the drink. I told her I paid for it two minutes ago, still having the change sitting loosely in my pocket I showed her. I even pointed out the tip she took from right in front of me 30 seconds ago. Her response- " Well it's not in the computer honey." Thankfully a guy sitting a few stools down vouched for me and she backed down.<br /><br />Fast forward 30 minutes- friends arrive, sitting at the bar, ready to order food. The bar tender takes their drink orders and low and behold, 5 minutes later, after already paying, she comes back and asks for money for the drinks. WTF?! It was borderline comical at this point. I was seriously beginning to question my sanity and the bar tenders.<br /><br />I reluctantly order, knowing full well that everything I have ever ate here simply sucked. Either overcooked, not cooked properly, not seasoned or just plain tasted like butt. The only consistently decent thing might be the fries and beer (hence the 2 stars). What's mind boggling is that they are serving simple food... it's not that hard!<br /><br />My shepards pie shows up in record time- literally 7-8 minutes after I order it... that's like fast food fast. I'm already nervous. The mashed potatoes on top were not crispy at all (fyi-that picture above I nabbed off of Yelp... some one was lucky enough to have a decent looking Shepards pie, which they aptly called beef pot pie in their review), but the scary surprise that was underneath was far worse... Shepards pie is normally ground lamb with some peas, carrots, some herbs, maybe a little red wine, chicken broth and Worcester. Then topped with mashed potatoes and tossed in the oven or under the broiler.<br /><br />As I peeled back the funky potatoes that blanketed the top of this dish a small smile crept up. "They actually f$!%ed up Shepard pie..." That's sad. Under the blankets laid a thick greyish pool of carrots, 3 pieces of cubed beef (why... oh yeah, laziness... the jackass chef probably cut off a few chunks from my friends steak sandwich and threw it in there) and chunks of potatoes. Oh yeah, you read that right. Chunks of potatoes in a "stew" topped with mashed potatoes... Are your f'ing joking. Swear to god, I've seen cat food that looks (and probably tastes better) than this pile in front of me. The saving grace... 4 more vodka tonics... one being a freebie from the forgetful, amnesiac bartender- "So I noticed you didn't eat much of your dinner honey?" Me- "Yeah, it taste like poop. That's not how Shepards pie is suppose to be made. This is an Irish pub right?" Her- " Yeah, it's not my favorite either. How bout a drink on the house." That saved them from a one star rating....<br /><br />I might sound like an a'hole or food snob, but in all honesty, that place has to be the worst place in Windsor to eat at. I'll eat at the taco truck or have Joe make me something at the Green Grocer any day over eating at Pattersons.<br /><br />As a drinking establishment, it's not bad. Over priced drinks, but still not bad. Problem is we don't have a lot of options here in Windsor. Hopefully if you're brave enough to venture in there your bar tender will remember you paid... and if you're lucky... she won't recommend the shepards pie.The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-32005053527516341092009-04-01T21:04:00.000-07:002009-05-01T10:14:47.497-07:00Mirepoix in Windsor- More than just onions, carrots and celery<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gs8sKqbQZUq2XadzGYGcfFRx6XqwA586n3H2DcPxi2XSfq-VRmLZNKhUUojVT5n_gAPOMqmOKHrip2E4n-n2CMAoB9JQLqfCFAy5qqcFKqiYL7RA6ZacZkU_SMfV2T-cXN1uxgVw5LeH/s1600-h/SNC00641.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gs8sKqbQZUq2XadzGYGcfFRx6XqwA586n3H2DcPxi2XSfq-VRmLZNKhUUojVT5n_gAPOMqmOKHrip2E4n-n2CMAoB9JQLqfCFAy5qqcFKqiYL7RA6ZacZkU_SMfV2T-cXN1uxgVw5LeH/s320/SNC00641.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330904803422384642" border="0" /></a><br />Mirepoix Review- Windsor, CA.<br /><br />Having lived in Windsor the past few years, I've had the opportunity to develop a few favorite establishments, including Odyssey, the Green Grocer and Mirepoix.<br /><br />The latter I visited with my wife on a none to special Wednesday night. Making a 6pm reservation, we entered the once was house turned Michelin star worthy French bistro.<br /><br />With a bottle of Adobe Road 2006 Pinot Noir in hand, we were promptly seated in the corner booth; one other table was occupied. After reviewing the menu and debating between the sweetbreads or the beef tartare for appetizers we made our decision and our waiter cracked open the bottle of Pinot.<br /><br />We started with the frites ($6, **** out of *****), which were just as I remembered them- bordering on perfection, but slightly over salted. I believe they are first blanched in water, cooled, then double fried. Either way, they were just as frites should be.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ulcyyOjK1EiTv39JeV27JdOtE7TQJmHrET6OKFW5D8r7JJ_ScAQTF8yD-cwglsfa99ueyKFcr9Lb2BRxx66KVulY4YuNe-lvL4P9UyxBk3qIY0OlBqxzE6S_9rgDrc90ttGuPkHkH_vE/s1600-h/SNC00645.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ulcyyOjK1EiTv39JeV27JdOtE7TQJmHrET6OKFW5D8r7JJ_ScAQTF8yD-cwglsfa99ueyKFcr9Lb2BRxx66KVulY4YuNe-lvL4P9UyxBk3qIY0OlBqxzE6S_9rgDrc90ttGuPkHkH_vE/s320/SNC00645.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330904587642832818" border="0" /></a><br />Then my tartare arrived. Steak tartare with crab ($13, ****), croutons and a perfectly cooked egg. The presentation perfect, the beef appropriately seasoned and all the components worked well together. This was the second best dish we had that. The dish was delicate and refined, not over whelming like some tartares can be and the toasted quail egg added another layer of needed texture to the dish. It's hard to find a good restaurant that does steak tartare this well.<br /><br />As I ravaged my plate of tartare, my wife poked a way at a green salad with preserved Meyer lemons, goat cheese and vinaigrette ($8, ***). As the waiter presented the prixe fixe menu ($26) my wife took fancy to the salad he described and asked if she could get that separately, which he said would be no problem. The flavors were good and she was particularly impressed with the sweetness of the lemon rinds. Overall though the salad consisted of a total of 8 greens... Not quite worth it and we both chuckled as the minuscule plate of greenage arrived at the table. To put it into context, for the same price you get a serious plate of butter lettuce or a large caesar salad. This salad was more of an amuse bouche, simply on a plate rather than a tidy spoon.<br /><br />The main courses arrived about 30 minutes after our apps were finished. Having finished our bottle of wine (we had been there for about 75 minutes) we asked for the wine list. My duck confit with fennel raviolis and spring peas appeared ($17, **), nicely presented with the bright green of the spring peas popping out on the white plate. Mirepoix has a nightly special and this was Wednesdays grand finale. The duck was perfectly cooked, as you'd expect of a duck leg roasting in glorious duck fat- crispy, salty and delicious. The problems arose when I took a bite of all the components combined. There was an underlining taste of vinegar and bitterness which didn't work well with the sweetness of the peas (my wife cringed on her initial bite... she didn't ask for seconds). And the raviolis, while not bad on there own, didn't mesh well with the other ingredients (and there were only two raviolis on the plate- it invoked plate envy as I looked over at my neighbor and their towering plate of mussels and frites). The peas were a nice balance and their freshness helped offset the dark, richness of the duck. Too bad they had to sauce the plate. A little herb oil might have done the trick.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnQ18HgJebdU8VuEXbA4jjCOSGtZ7E1I0ane09adl8-VJ0SBR53zdOyRAOS5kAl26jqA6U4F_a8HVYMs_EgiFmN_vLrvExOUSaqIe_S8CFL73ECAsXwcIIyFFyNKJI73nEIsJuLblzc8p/s1600-h/ps.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnQ18HgJebdU8VuEXbA4jjCOSGtZ7E1I0ane09adl8-VJ0SBR53zdOyRAOS5kAl26jqA6U4F_a8HVYMs_EgiFmN_vLrvExOUSaqIe_S8CFL73ECAsXwcIIyFFyNKJI73nEIsJuLblzc8p/s200/ps.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320141382358533778" border="0" /></a>The pork shank with creamed brussel sprouts and butternut squash gratin, which I had begged my wife to order was "Oh Face" inducing ($23, *****). Slightly crispy on the outside and perfectly braised fork tender pork that fell off the bone. The portion was huge, which permitted me to graze on it freely. This was by far the best dish of the night. The brussel sprouts were perfectly cooked and were not the soggy sadness that you might expect when dealing with creamed vegetables.<br /><br />After finished our entrees, the waiter finally came by and asked about the wine list he had dropped off 30 minutes ago. I politely mentioned that since we were done eating I wasn't interested in another glass of wine. He quickly brought over a half glass of wine on the house. Very thoughtful.<br /><br />Overall, it was a nice way to spend 2 hours- eating away at classic French fare tucked inside the warmth of a small, cozy house turned bistro. The food is the most consistent element to the Mirepoix dining experience. The service though is a slightly different story. Each time I've dined here, there is a certain snooty element, especially from the head female waiter (same one we've had the last few times) that puts a damper on the overall impression. It's almost as if we were causing her some level of discomfort by being there (every time she'd fill our water glasses we'd politely say thank you and she'd simply walk off, never a smile, a "your welcome", nada).<br /><br />That being said there is another recurrent theme in dining at Mirepoix; one which I don't fully understand. The average age of the other diners was easily 55+. Which would put us as the youngest people in the restaurant by nearly 25 years. Maybe the wait staff thought us "kids" were going to run off without paying the bill or tip. Or maybe they were afraid we didn't know what tartare was and we'd send it back. The fact was I noticed we were treated differently than the other attorneys and doctors that were there that night (we sat next to some malpractice attorneys who continued to mispronounce frites).<br /><br />Either way, the restaurant was full by time we left and it appears this little 24 seat establishment has done just that... establish itself. It seems Mirepoix has a nice, local, cult following and while the chef/owner Matthew Bousquet isn't handing out the "Koolaid" to customers, he is instead dishing out inspiring French fare.The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-60454105080571504742009-03-27T17:07:00.000-07:002009-03-30T10:50:10.978-07:00Piggy Wear Clothing LineI'm under the assumption that I'm not the only one that love bacon... That being said, after a few surgeries and some down time I took it upon myself to create some clothes to honor this noble and tasty animal. All hail the pig! If you are interested, check out the new clothing line here- www.cafepress.com/EpicureanPigThe Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-62026678803339124242009-03-27T16:58:00.000-07:002009-03-28T00:07:45.814-07:00Cochinta Pibil- otherwise known as a mouth orgasm...<div style="text-align: right;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC29pLJmZSufNjauAPnt_tZLZsr0PEPsMA5SxQW9LwtJFOka9GeMwRHrFl-iF_54g_MsCDCmM6-sBJFXR2WVl5jnlt00rwH7uNP7K-EV2oesGBcaqSJXTV9O7viA6gWEKNxNI3HbCcbHrm/s1600-h/draft_lens3566852module23276182photo_2_1238085747pibil_small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC29pLJmZSufNjauAPnt_tZLZsr0PEPsMA5SxQW9LwtJFOka9GeMwRHrFl-iF_54g_MsCDCmM6-sBJFXR2WVl5jnlt00rwH7uNP7K-EV2oesGBcaqSJXTV9O7viA6gWEKNxNI3HbCcbHrm/s320/draft_lens3566852module23276182photo_2_1238085747pibil_small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318021741868441842" border="0" /></a><br /></div>One of my favorite things to do while traveling: eating. The best way to get to know a culture in my opinion is to dive head first into their food and cuisine. On a recent trip to P.V., Mexico I set about finding two of my all time favorite foods- Carnitas & cochinita pibil. The latter proved much harder to find than the first (fantastic taco stand off the main drag, specializing in pescado, took care of the carnitas craving, along with any fish taco cravings I might have had).<br /><br />Cochinata pibil (or puerco pibil, depending on if your watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico) is a traditional Mexican slow-roasted pork dish from Yucatán (unfortunately we were in Puerto Vallarta making this dish harder to find). Preparation of traditional cochinita or puerco pibil involves marinating the meat in strongly acidic citrus juice, coloring it with annatto seed, and roasting the meat while it is wrapped in banana leaf.<br /><br />In order to find the pibil I so desired, it required a 90 minute boat ride from our hotel to the remote area of Yalapa. The boat ride was worth it despite the serious drenching and ass bruising that occurred on the way back. Below is the receipt I've used in the past for Cochinita Pibil. It may seem like a pain in the ass to make, but I assure you, it's well worth it. And the pineapple adds a nice brightness to the dish that I think is needed.<br /><br />2 1/2 tablespoons annatto seeds<br />1 teaspoon cumin seeds<br />1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns<br />5 whole allspice berries<br />5 whole cloves<br />1 (2-3 inch) stick cinnamon<br />1 habanero pepper, seeded<br />1/2 cup orange juice<br />1/3 cup lime juice<br />3 tablespoons lemon juice<br />1 tablespoon salt<br />4 garlic cloves<br />1/2 of a pineapple, cubed into 1 inch chunks<br />Dash tequilla<br />3 pounds boneless pork butt, cut in 2-inch squares<br />Banana leaves<br /><br />Grind the annatto seeds to a fine powder using an electric spice grinder. Repeat with the cumin seeds, peppercorns, allspice, cinnamon and cloves.<br /><br />Place the liquids, salt, garlic, habanero and powdered spices into a blender and blend well. Combine the marinade with pork chunks in a large ziplock bag. Refrigerate at least two hours or overnight.<br /><br />Line a baking dish with banana leaves that have been softened over a flame or hot burner. Pour the pork and marinade into the dish, add chunks of pineapple and wrap with the leaves. Cover the pan with foil and roast in a preheated, 325 degree oven for 4 hours.The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338439942224835568.post-17153430223386693192007-09-07T12:43:00.001-07:002009-03-30T10:30:53.226-07:00Russian Rivery Brewery- Pizza with a Side of Crappy ServiceA Saturday afternoon filled with crispy, delicious pizza and cold beer- sounds like Nirvana right? Well it's pretty damn close. I met a friend of mine at the Russian River Brewery in downtown Santa Rosa. The warm wood interior and simple menu of pizza and beer makes me feel right at home. Sadly, the less than stellar service left me with flash backs of the opening scene in Reservoir Dogs where Steve Buschemi discusses the right to "not tip"... but more on that later.<br /><br />I got there a few minutes before my friend, so I sat down at the bar with the intention of indulging in a pre-noon pint. Never a bad idea in my opinion, especially when the pint is called Pliny the Elder and is 8% ABV. The long wooden bar spans the length of the restaurant, but at 11am on a Saturday it is rather vacant. After waiting for 5 minutes at the bar while the bar wench or BW (the name of which I will refer to our bartender/ waitress), chatted up a few regulars. No problem, it's Saturday and I'm relatively patient... Maybe her "parched patron radar" kicked in as she finally meandered my way. I ordered my Pliny and waited.<br /><br />The BW delivered the Pliny 5 minutes later as my friend Pete took up residence on the bar stool next to me. "Let the eating begin" he declared. Having recently ate a Maui Wowie pizza (ham, pineapple, bacon and tomatoes) I decide to clone that and see who reigns supreme when it comes to fruity pizza.<br /><br />Fifteen minutes later a master piece emerges from the kitchen. BW sets the bubbling, salty sweet pizza in front of us with the parting words "that looks pretty good". Literally parting words... That was the last thing she said to us that day.<br /><br />I dig into the pizza (burning the roof of my mouth do to lack of patience) and yes, hot damn, was it good. The crust was perfect and crunchy and the pizza had just the right amount of toppings on there so it wasn't weighed down and yet still had substance. Cheers to the guys in the kitchen.<br /><br />After finishing the Wowie (aptly named I might add) and another Pliny it was time for my productive Saturday to begin. I could have sat in that bar stool all day, but responsibility (and my wife) were calling. The only problem was... we couldn't get the bill.<br /><br />BW was down at the other end of the bar, chatting again as our empty plates and pints sat on the counter signaling the end of our eating excursion. Once again, we waited. Finally it appeared that she remembered that we were sitting at the opposite side of the bar. She turned, got half way down the bar and then answered her yellow Blackberry... WTF. It was like watching sand fall through an hour glass. Oh wait, no... that was her tip disappearing, not sand.<br /><br />Since when is chatting on your cell phone considered work and worthy of a tip (back me up Steve Buschemi). If I pulled out my cellphone in the middle of a meeting I'd get punched in the eye by my boss.<br /><br />Now it would be one thing if BW looked miserable on the phone- say, she just found out her father died or that rash on her face was something other than an acne breakout. Then I would understand. But she was enjoying her chat while I sat there and watch my day waste away, wondering if she would notice or care, that we just walked out (and for the record- I've never ditched a bill). Suddenly, like Mr. Epiphany slapped her on the ass she prints out our bill, drops it off and without a word to us, goes back to her cellphone. Wowie... We pay and leave.<br /><br />I've been to the Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa countless time and for the most part I've encountered consistently good pizza and beer. The dilema I run into is to is the dodgy service. This was not an isolated incident, sadly enough. I've been in there when it's virtually empty and I'll wait and hour for the pizza to come out. Other times it's fifteen minutes. Most of the time, when you sit down you need to prepare to kill at least an hour and a half. Is it worth the wait. If you like thin, crispy pizza and a strong brew... maybe. If you like somewhat reasonable service and a BW who actually acknowledges you are alive... I'd stay away. There is an attitude there of "stop wasting my time, I've got better things to do... like talk on my phone.".<br /><br />You can find better service from a New Yorker with an attitude at NY Pie or someplace similar. It's a shame that the people could ruin such good food. Too bad they don't deliver...The Epicurean Pighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573157645158258505noreply@blogger.com0