So true. I just got back from Houston for my sister's second wedding reception (her husband is from there). The weekend really just consisted of lots and LOTS of eating. I decided that I don't like Texas, but they do have much better steak.
Our first night, we went to Taste of Texas, this monstrosity of a steak house.
They're so popular that they have 3 hour waits, and a huge waiting area with popcorn, chips & salsa, drinks, and tvs to keep you busy. They had a pretty wide selection of different cuts, but I went with a 16 oz ribeye. That's right, friends, sixteen ounces. I would've gotten less (like 10 oz), but the ribeye came at a minimum of 16. Whatever, I finished! (with a little help). Their cheese rolls were like crack, especially when they were fresh from the oven. Warm, soft, and laden with cheesy goodness. I would've taken one for the road if it could fit in my stomach.
The next day we went to Pappasito's, a tex mex restaurant that's basically a better version of Chevy's. Everything tastes a lot better at this place, and they're known for their fajitas. My sister's friend Jen got what looked like a normal
kabob when it was hanging, but down on the plate all the chunks were ginormous.
For the second wedding reception, we went to a very fancy steak house called Vic and Anthony's in downtown Houston. They cooked all their steaks at medium, but I specifically asked for rare. 
I was converted after having some of my brother-in-law's rare prime rib from Taste of Texas. It's so soft and tender... I don't know if I'll ever go back to medium rare.
I had to leave with my little sister a day early, but the rest of them had BBQ. Too bad. We forced ourselves to take advantage of the hotel gym, solely to help us digest our food. Ughhhh.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Everything's bigger in Texas
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Tinderbox
803 Cortland Ave (& Ellsworth)
(415) 285-TBOX
Experimental American in Bernal Heights (or, "An Ode To Blair")
L: kampachi crudo, R: rabbit hot pocket
L: saffron infused lasagnanette, R: black cod, coated with cliantro paste, caviar dressing
L: grilled and candied tri-tip, R: pork love
L: basil panna cotta, R: raspberry-beet beignets
Molten chocolate cake baked with a blue cheese center
sorry for the late upload of pics :) GG
Tinderbox opened a few months ago and is co-owned by the Head Chef, Blair Warsham. With a long list of credentials spanning all over the United States, including a few James Beard nominations, it is no surprise why his creations, while strange, are intelligently put together. This does not mean that everything tasted great, but it certainly made the diner really think about each course and what the chef was trying to say about the flavors.
We had a few starters including a rabbit hot pocket, saffron infused lasagnanette (one with fried zucchini and another with fried calamari) and a kampachi crudo with melon and crisp prosciutto. Although a combination of two things I despise (Hot Pockets and rabbit), the Rabbit Hot Pocket turned out to be a fave among the group. The pastry shell was crisp and buttery, definitely not a product of heating with an aluminum/paper sleeve in the microwave. The other few dishes were either under seasoned or over seasoned. Salt can be your friend or your foe, in the case of the lasagnanette and kampachi, the kitchen clearly had issues (maybe a bad break-up where one wants to be friends but the other still wants to hook-up).
My favorite among the main courses was the Pork Love- pork loin and shoulder with blueberry mole, a great combination of flavors and was a creative twist on a classic dish. The most boring item on the menu was the grilled and candied tri-tip served with marrow butter, fennel gratin and creamy corn. Well prepared but unoriginal.
The dessert items hit some high points. A fragrant and creamy basil panna cotta was the perfect way to end a heavy meal. Although an interesting idea, raspberry-beet beignets were a miss, with little flavor and texture contrast. However, I could see where the chef was trying to go with this one--beets being sweet and raspberries being tangy, it would have been awesome with a little more tweaking.
Best thing on the menu? Molten chocolate cake baked with a blue cheese center. If every dish on the menu could match the innovation with this dessert, the restaurant is sure to succeed. The sweet blue cheese, while somewhat potent really did complement the bitter chocolate flavor. The whole dish became heightened, every bite had a multitude of flavor experiences all happening one right after another. Served on the side was a pistachio gelato with pine nuts, a great way to bring out the nuttiness (those crazy thangs) of the cheese.
The food makes you think, which makes the dining experience very different than say, a steak at Outback. I guess that’s what I liked about the restaurant, the menu is intelligently put together and dares to be different. Tinderbox is worth a try, but definitely for the adventurous. Oh and just as a side note, Chef Warsham is a hottie and if the name of the restaurant is any testament to his personality, this Aries girl is all in! Tinderbox: a person or thing that is highly excitable, explosive, inflammable, etc. I love a man that lives on the edge.
THE WEDDING, non-professional
*** UPDATE ***
In case you weren't sure... Yes, I DID make all of these! I took off work the week preceding the wedding, and basically spent 24/7 in the kitchen. I didn't take any pre-wedding pictures because I was too consumed and stressed out with getting the food out, but our dining room table housed the 200 tart shells after they were baked, half of the living room had about 400 cupcakes scattered all over the floor... and the rest was kept in the fridge and assembled the morning of.
Thanks to people who helped during the week, and everyone who helped the day of! Stressful, but I'm glad I did it. There were about 900 items total, and everything was made from scratch (except for the dollops of whipped cream on the mousse. Making that would be too unstable). Phew! I'm so glad it's over.
Here are pictures of my sister's wedding dessert table. I'm sure the professional pictures will look really good, but I have to wait awhile for them. In the mean time, these are pictures courtesy of Jon (modern Abe Lincoln).
If you've been following my blog, you'll notice that I've posted about almost every one of these desserts before... that's because I was practicing/experimenting with the menu!
L: view of the table
R: Valrhona truffles - Grand Marnier rolled in chopped hazelnuts, Coffee Liquer rolled in cocoa powder, cinnamon & cardamom coated in chopped pistachios (not pictured)
L: Lavender cupcakes with lemon frosting & garnished with candied lemon zest "confetti", Mascarpone cheesecake with pomegranate champagne mirror glaze & garnished with pomegranate seeds
R: Coconut tapioca with red & yellow watermelon, drizzled with basil lime syrup
L: Valrhona chocolate mousse
R: Fruit tartlets with vanilla pastry cream (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, baby kiwi, and pomegranate seeds), Lemon Cream tartlets garnished with candied nasturtium petals
One of everything for the "Midnight Snack" box
(not mentioned above: Red Velvet Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting)
Friday, September 28, 2007
Macarons Part Une
I had a TON of leftover egg whites because I needed a lot of yolks for the wedding food. I didn't want them to go to waste... and despite vowing not to make anything at home for a few weeks, I gave in and decided to make French macarons (not to be mistaken with the coconut macaroons of America)! I had never made them before, nor had I ever even tasted one... so I had to do my research.
According to the lovely internet, there seems to be a lot of people who spend their entire lives trying to perfect the macaron. I extensively read forums on this fragile little cookie, and went through a variety of recipes until I decided to go with Pierre Herme, because he's, well, Pierre Herme! My pastry chef at the restaurant made a sample batter to help me know what to look for - the consistency called "macarone," which basically means... looks like macaron batter... which obviously isn't the most helpful.
They turned out really well, although I think I made the batter a little TOO "macarone" because they came out pretty flat. The picture is of the cookies in a bag ready to show my chef. I was too lazy to take them out and make them look nice =P I will make some more tonight with some tweaks, and maybe make a filling for them to be sandwiched (that's how they're usually served).
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Modern Tea
602 Hayes St. (& Laguna)
(415) 626-5406
Tea Salon/Cafe in Hayes Valley
In place of my sister's bachelorette party, I planned a Spa Day for the day before the wedding. To go with the theme, I arranged to have lunch at Modern Tea (i.e. tea = relaxing). I've walked by this place many a time and have always wondered what it's like.
I must say that it's beautiful on a nice day since they have large windows and the light just pours in. The service is also great - very warm and friendly... the type of staff that reminds me of the comfortable chillness of Berkeley restaurants.
They have quite an extensive tea menu, but they're primarily hot teas. They only had about 5 chilled tea drinks, which was disappointing since it was a pretty hot day. I went ahead and got the iced soy chai which I sweetened to my liking with simple syrup. The two hot teas that my sisters tried were eh... I don't really have a palate for teas, so I can't really go into much detail. I don't remember what they were, either =T But they came in their own individual cute mini teapots!
The food is good here - I love heirloom tomatoes and got a sandwich with just those and cucumbers = light and yummy. My little sister got a chicken meatloaf sandwich (it was strange tasting meatloaf made out of chicken), and a friend got a savory bread pudding = yummmmy. I wish I had gotten that, but I didn't feel like getting anything too heavy.
I would definitely come back and try more of their teas and hopefully become more educated. They are also supposed to have good desserts, but we didn't have time to try them. Next time!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
freedooooommmmmmmm
I've been on hiatus from the interweb because, well, my sister just got married! Normal maid of honor duties... but moreover, I made her dessert table, enough for 220+ guests! Despite taking the entire week off of work, I couldn't have pulled it off without the help of my friends. It turned out beautifully, and I am definitely lucky to have gotten the opportunity to do this regardless of how stressful it was.
Pictures to come, but here's one of my sister's dog eating her food. =)
Friday, September 14, 2007
Cupcakes Must Die
I'm not completely against cupcakes. I mean, I make them once in awhile, mostly because I know people like them. However, it's random that a fashion blog would express my exact sentiments for the last few years.
It amazes me how people can pay so much money for a tiny little cake, even for uninspired flavors. I wonder if they'll ever go out of fashion....
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Luka's
2221 Broadway St. (& West Grand)
(510) 451-4677
"Taproom" in Oakland (like real Oakland, not Berkeley-Oakland)
So this place is trying to be a neighborhood "brasserie," according to their website... which to me means upscale bar food. That's pretty much what it is, although Mike compared it to A Cote (does not even come CLOSE though). So the experience didn't start off very well, since despite the seemingly spacious area and lack of people there, we had to wait almost 20 minutes for a table when the host told us 10. He seemed nice, but while we were waiting at the bar, the bartender wasn't the most warm or friendly. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like there was a trend with the female staff (i.e. bartender, waitresses) being cougar-ish and having plenty of attitude. Or maybe I'm just not used to the real Oakland (i.e. not right next to Berkeley, not Jack London's Square). Either way, I was kind of put off by the people there.
However, the food did come through. I'm surprised I've never heard of this place, but it was basically upscale bar food, which reminds me of that Top Chef episode. We had mussels in a cheesy chorizo-corn sauce - I've never seen mussels with that kind of sauce, but it was good. I was amazed by how plump the meat was that I took a very bad camera phone picture (left). We also had some Belgian cut fries with different dipping sauces (paprika ketchup, some kind of lime-herb aioli, and a chipotle aioli) which were ok. Another starter we shared was the seared gnocchi, which came with chanterelles and other butter-laden goodness. I thought this was the best dish of the evening, but I'm also a sucker for anything with chanterelles.
Part of the reason why we went was because I love mac n' cheese, and they have a pretty good one. A crunchy/breadcrumby top is always important to me, and Mike of course splurged and added the $2 bacon. With all that cheeseyness, bacon/fatty meat, butter, and beer (oh yeah, they have a pretty extensive beer/Belgian ale menu), I was about to pass out. But being the gluttons we are, we ordered dessert - an amaretto sabayon that came with some plums and sucky peaches. I can't really tell if they have a real pastry chef or not, because sabayon is something that takes a lot of effort to make (so much whisking!!), whereas the rest of the dessert menu was eh.
Overall, I thought this place had very satisfying food. They did have lighter dishes on the menu, but they were also a little more on the boring side. Although I was impressed with the food despite our mediocre service, I have to say that... I liked it because you cannot go wrong with bacon and cheese, you know what I mean? How can you make something with ingredients like that, and not have it taste good? I definitely enjoyed my meal, but aside from the gnocchi, everything was just overpriced bar food. Oh yeah, they have $1 oysters on Mondays. Sounds a bit sketch, but maybe they have high turnover and they aren't too bad?
Cheeseboard
1512 Shattuck Ave (& Vine)
(510) 549-3055
Pizza/Cheese in Berkeley
Cheeseboard is one of the true Berkeley staples (the others being Zachary's, Rick & Ann's, Gregoire, etc). If you're wondering, I go to Berkeley maybe like once a month. I'm just nostalgic like that (this time was for Arcade Fire though*). There's always a long-ass line, but it moves quickly since you don't really have to put much thought into ordering (one type of pizza, so you just decide how many
slices/whole/half you want). The space is pretty cramped, and is even more so when they have live jazz, but it's a real treat while you're waiting. If you want to eat there, however, you can easily nab a seat if there are any open tables outside, or cop a squat on the grass in the Shattuck median - just don't get run over.
Some people don't like Cheeseboard's pizza because they don't use sauce (i.e. tomato). But you see, that's what's so great about it! It's all about the fresh ingredients of the day, which includes of course, the CHEESE. An example of a typical thin crust pizza of the day would be... 3 cheeses + onions + herbs (+ olive oil). Simple, but delicious. The pizza shop is just an addition to its next door cheese shop (which also sells a lot of drool-worthy pastries...
The location is also great - prime Berkeley foodie area, close to the "gourmet ghetto" (I don't know the real name for this food court... Epicurious I think?), Gregoire, Chez Panisse, etc.
* I've tried to do the whole matching food to music thing, but I just don't have that talent. Arcade Fire, to me, is like a cheese souffle or quiche because their music is so grand and just fills the air (hence, souffle)... whereas other people might think cheese+meat, heavy Eastern European/meat+potatoes, or Guerilla Cafe (??? I love that place, but that just doesn't make sense, sorry haha). So yeah, I'm just not going to try.
** Edit: Stopped by for lunch over the weekend and they've remodeled! I haven't decided how I feel about it yet. It's definitely a glossier and more spacious shop, but I feel like some of its original charm is gone now. Oh well, still good pizza! They had an heirloom tomato + asiago pizza. I had 3.5 slices droool (pictured above).
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
A Cote
5478 College Ave (& Taft)
(510) 655-6469
Californian/Mediterranean small plates in Oakland
Technically it's Oakland, but I still think of the Rockridge area as part of Berkeley. Regardless, this is an incredible restaurant. I don't know anyone who's dined here and left unsatisfied. Maybe I'm feeling generous, and have just been on reliving-Berkeley-glory-days overload, but I just couldn't think of anything bad enough about A Cote to give it less than 5 stars. The one thing is the hostess. She's kind of spacey - on a recent visit here, my friend and I walked in without a reservation, and after waiting a good 20 minutes, the hostess asked us if we were quiet people, or planning to cause a ruckus. I don't see the relevance in that at all, because the table she took us to was in the back in their outdoor patio area, surrounded by other tables talking loudly... whatever.
Even on a Monday night there was a crowded wait, so it would probably be good to make reservations for a more popular day of the week. The staff is great - our waitress was totally chill and friendly. They have a fairly extensive drink list (separate menus for Belgian ales and rose flights), and we decided to try some Belgian ales on tap. I don't remember what they were called, but one was blonde but pretty thick (Mike really liked that one), and the other was darker and Guinness-like, which I liked, except for the slightly metallic aftertaste. I can't imagine what the $20 bottled beer tastes like.
So this place is small plates style, and the website claims it's Mediterranean cuisine... yet it's just so Californian that I don't really see a strong Med influence. Regardless, the food is amazing.
- "tango salad" w/ hazelnuts, ricotta shavings, pluots (plum-apricot hybrid): the ricotta was sparse but salty enough to contrast the sweetness of the fruit (seasonal is always the best)
- mushroom+leek tart: basically a quiche, this was amazing. I LOVE quiche, and this was not too eggy or cheesy = perfect
- pancetta-wrapped quail w/ porcini bread pudding: the quail was ok (moist, tasted like quail...), but the bread pudding was laden with mushroom and buttery goodness. I had never really had a savory bread pudding before, but I like!
- grilled pork chop w/corn, fava beans, and this cherry sauce: juicy (Mike was in love). Alice would've liked the corn.
We were going to do a cheese course, but by this time, we were both incredibly full. However, being the dessert snob I am, I had to at least try one. I recently took a pastry class on seasonal fruit desserts, and it was coincidental that we went over clafoutis and noyau, which were both on the menu. I'm whatever about clafoutis because it's so easy to make, but noyau gelato? How often do you see that? So we got a "warm peach pie" that had that as an accompaniment, and it definitely hit the spot. The gelato was definitely spot-on for the flavor - basically tastes like almond extract (different from almonds themselves). Simple, but good stuff.
*** Edit: I went here again over the weekend for my sister's birthday, and as a party of 6, we sampled practically the entire menu! Since this restaurant changes its menu seasonally (if not more often), the only familiar item was the fries (pommes frites) which my dad really enjoyed. Since we tried so many different things, I'll just highlight the good ones.
- duck sausage (Karen's fave)
- gazpacho verde (Lucy's fave)
- fig (both green and black mission varieties) & pancetta flatbread
- chanterelles with fingerling potatoes, leeks, and truffle oil * (my fave)
- pink apple galette with mascarpone filling: a tad dry (needed more sauce), but we all liked it
- mussells (dad's fave)
* Mike began his bitterness towards truffle oil after reading this times article on what it's actually made out of. I still like it! =P
September = Summer!
Unlike the rest of the Bay Area (and the country), June-August isn't really summer in San Francisco. Our heat wave comes in September! What better way to kick off this lovely season than with a jam-packed Labor Day weekend?
L: Orange Oatmeal Pistachio Muffins, M: Deviled Eggs, R: Tea Sandwiches
(smoked salmon + cucumber + herbed cream cheese, garlic & artichoke hummus + olives + sundried tomatoes, chicken salad + apples + walnuts)
Not Pictured but very yummy: Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes! (some were stuffed with breadcrumbs)
L: Pate Sucree Fruit Tarts w/ Vanilla Pastry Cream (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, & white currants),
R: mini chocolate-vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting)
Other weekend activities included a wedding, time with the fam, and the Cal-Tennessee game. I'm blog-happy and made a new one! Another random aside, this song is my official summer anthem. Yay for summer!
Saturday, September 01, 2007
A Barter... Arrrrrr
So almonds are kind of essential in pastry (particularly for tart shells), and one of my coworkers grew up on a nut farm that produces for companies like Blue Diamond. He brought me a ton of almonds (which he pronounces a-mons), and in exchange, I had to make him blueberry muffins. He ate 6 in one day! I was going to bring more the following day but my roommates ate them. Not a bad exchange to an endless supply of amons and walnuts! Sweeeeet
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Brazil Cafe
2161 University Ave. (& Oxford)
(510) 845-8011
Brazilian Sandwich Shack in Berkeley
In honor of Spare the Air Day, Stacy and I took a long lunch and trekked to Berkeley for free! It was hot and I was craving something outdoors... which to me means Brazil Cafe! This place is known for their Tri-Tip, which is smothered in this incredible cilantro garlic sauce. It's like heaven in the form of a sandwich. The tri-tip is definitely the winner, but their other sandwiches are pretty good too (Mike likes the chicken salad). They have student specials, too - for $7.99 you can get a tri-tip sandwich and mango smoothie. Yummmmyyyyyyyy.
Friday, August 24, 2007
An Experiment with Mochiko & Pluots/Plums
So I've been wanting to replicate Citizen Cake's Ume Mochi Cake from a few years ago, but haven't been able to find any remotely similar recipes, save for a few for a traditional Hawaiian butter coconut mochi cake. The Demolition Desserts cookbook also isn't out until October, so no luck there.
Luckily I have an Asian mother, and she just happened to have two boxes of mochiko and a can of coconut milk lying around. 
I also helped my little sister move into Berkeley last weekend, and the super DC happened to have really sweet plums and pluots (they never had such good fruit when I went to school! Shafted!). I happen to use a very large purse, and the 14 plums/pluots I took (not stole - I could've theoretically eaten them all in one sitting...) fit nicely, albeit a bit heavily. So I was super ready to make my plum mochi without spending a dime! 
Except for some plum wine I got from J-town after my coworker suggested using it.
So I made 3 versions: the traditional butter-coconut that had an actual recipe, a cake based on that but instead of using coconut milk using pluot puree (the pluots were sweeter than the plums) + heavy cream + choya, and another using less puree and more cream & choya. The 2 plum versions are pictured above, but unfortunately one of my roommates really liked the coconut one and ate it all!
I also bought black sesame seeds and toasted/grinded them with some sugar and water to create a paste = YUMMY. I LOVE LOVE LOVE black sesame and kept eating it while I was making it. So good.
So I'm not sure how I feel about the plum mochi. I don't really like it! The version that used less puree was better, mostly because I don't really like the sweetness that the baked fruit brought (I think sweetness from fruit is different than the taste of sugar). It tasted almost artificial, despite the fact that it wasn't at all! I thought about reversing it and doing a black sesame mochi cake (as opposed to a mochi ball with black sesame filling) and a plum sauce, but that's so... typical...and not what I was going for (i.e. Citizen Cake). Hmm I don't know!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
mascarpone cheesecake with pomegranate champagne glaze
Yummy. Mascarpone is ridiculously expensive, but it makes cheesecake so much lighter (which I prefer). $5 for 8 oz?? Apparently you can make it pretty easily, which I may try....
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Liver in the East Bay, or Picnic at the Marina!
So Katherine and I had a bottle of Reisling and a can of foie gras we've been meaning to devour so we finally came around to doing so this weekend. I'm not completely certain of how Katherine prepared the liver since I was busy foraging Emeryville for toothpicks (see below) but I think she just pan fried it with a little salt and pepper and a few knobs of butter. Spread on crunchy Acme bread that was molested with garlic (couldn't help it, I think it's funny how foodies frequently relate food and eating to something sexual), it tasted buttery and creamy and... livery. It was good! We also took fresh figs and stuffed them with Castello blue cheese, wrapped them in prosciutto di Parma, stabbed them with a toothpick and pan fried them in olive oil. They were tasty, had the whole sweet and savory thing that I like... I don't think you can really offend any sane person by handing them something that's wrapped in bacon. I think Katherine liked them a little more than me... there's something about the simplicity and beauty of just good bread and fatty meat that made me prefer the first course... or maybe I'm just a caveman.
The company was nice, the food was good, and the sun was out. What more could you want?
*** Edit by Kathy: The foie was canned, which I bought in France about a year ago (it's supposed to last for 4 years). Mike is right - I just browned it in lots of butter (not that there isn't already enough fat... just for the flavor), and mashed it up with some salt and pepper. This picture isn't the best (Mike's camera phone because his normal camera was acting funny), but the foie is pictured spread on the bread since it looks kind of gross by itself (didn't have anything to garnish it). Yay for picnics on nice days! How cliche.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
red velvet cupcakes
One of my roommates thought the cream cheese frosting was too powerful, 
but I prefer it that way (and I just use less). I garnished with cocoa nibs, but she also suggested using something orange. I refuse to use sprinkles, and I don't think candied orange zest would compliment it flavor-wise (would it?). Any other suggestions?
These look perfect unfrosted. I should really invest in a pastry bag + tips!
Edit: I just wanted to add another picture of the inside to show the color.
Monday, August 06, 2007
rosemary & olive oil cake
Took this from the Babbo cookbook, which you can find online here. I used supposedly great quality olive oil (I have no idea really, but that's what the person who gave it to me said). I thought it was from Italy, but after actually looking at the label, it's from California (Balzana - does anyone know anything about it? Of course the website says good things about it...).
So I really liked how it turned out texture-wise. It was crunchy on the outside and spongy inside (my roommate's mom said it was the "best" cake she's ever tasted. I think she's just very nice haha). I think it's best eaten right after it cools after baking, because it kind of lost its moisture pretty easily. As for the flavors, I think the rosemary was a bit too much - I'd probably use only one tablespoon instead of two next time. I couldn't really pick out the olive oil despite putting in a little more than what the recipe called for. Maybe my palate just isn't sensitive enough to its flavor?
Regardless, this is a very simple cake with good results. I didn't make anything creamy-ish to eat it with, although it kind of needs that kind of accompaniment. Figs are in season... but I don't feel like shelling out for them. =P
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Oliveto Cafe
This is an addendum to my review of Oliveto Restaurant (upstairs). I went here for lunch today with a friend I haven't seen in years (those meals are always fun). My experience today was pretty comparable to last time. We shared a small plate - stewy broccoli rabe, artichokes, potatoes, olives, and other veggies. Great for eating with their pillowy bread. We also shared a large pizza with buffalo mozzarella, slices of garlic (yummy), and very light tomato sauce. The crust was incredibly thin, which I believe is characteristic of [Sicilian?] pizza - kind of like Gaspare's but a lot better. It would've been nice to have a little more substance to it (the cheese was very sparse), but I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they're staying true to tradition instead of catering towards my American tendencies towards gluttony.
Anyway, I really like this place, and it's cheap (relatively)! We had coffee/tea afterwards and our total was $15/person.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
White Peach Tart w/ Pistachio Frangipane
This weekend my roommates and I did a massive kitchen cleaning, which included throwing out ~7 bags of old food that used to occupy three fourths of our fridge/freezer/kitchen table. One of the girls had some white peaches that were getting soft - they hadn't gone bad yet, but they were going to soon. I happened to have some pistachios on hand, and I was enamored by these photos a little while back, so I decided to make a tart.
So the outer crust is kind of burnt, and that's because the rice I was using to weight it down during the first baking ended up absorbing most of the heat so the middle didn't bake as quickly, so I decided to keep it in longer = overbaked edges. My pictures look totally different than the originals - I don't know how her peaches stayed white?? Mine look like they're apples. Oh well! Perhaps it's because hers are mini tarts so they were baked in less time...? I have some leftover dough and frangipane so I'll try minis later and see how those turn out.
** Edit: After talking to a pastry chef, the problem with the bottom of the tart being undercooked is apparently common in most home ovens, and can be solved by using a pizza stone (which should be around $12). Also, the problem with the browning of the peaches, she said, can be solved by poaching them beforehand. I will have to try this next time!
Zuni Cafe
1658 Market St (between Franklin & Gough)
(415) 552-2522
Mediterranean/Californian in Hayes Valley
I went here on a fellow foodie's recommendation, and I was extremely disappointed! The ambience is great - right on Market, with big glass windows and a woodsy feel - very classic. This place is definitely happening, and popular for its oyster bar. Yes, the oysters were good. However, the rest of the food, was not so much. I don't quite remember what we had, but I remember getting the sea bass, which wasn't anything special. Risotto was actually pretty good - not too cheesy (risottos are usually too cheesy for me), and shinie's poultry (I think it might have been hen... not sure) was nothing special, either.
Go for the ambience, but don't expect anything spectacular from the food (except for the oysters).
** Edit: I wrote this original review about over a year ago and gave this place 2 stars. However, after a recent visit, I've increased it to 3 because this time the food was very good. My friend and I shared their 1 hr chicken (roasted to perfection) served with these giant crouton-like pieces of toasted and buttery bread and some greens. Other people had veal which was amazing (but the beans accompanying it were kind of an off-putting grainy texture), and someone had the salmon which I didn't try but they liked. We also shared marinated olives where the oil was great for dipping.
The service, however, was questionable. I originally made the reservation for a party of 4, then changed it to 5, then when we got there, we changed it back to 4 because we thought one person wasn't showing up, but she decided to show up after all! So understandably, the staff might have been a little frustrated, but after that, our waiter wasn't nearly as friendly. He was almost snotty which definitely didn't make me feel at ease. It might have just been me, but despite the fact that I've been to very nice restaurants, the waiter made me feel like I didn't belong here. He even served us our chicken (which he had beforehand made it a point that it be "presented" to us) while we were in the bathroom. Rude! Whatever.
But yes, the food has been redeemed since my first visit. I really liked it and it would've been worthy of more than just 3 stars, except that I'd have to go again to actually know for sure since my first time sucked so badly.