Friday night I stayed in, but with good company:
I don't really read up on restaurants from other cities unless they're featured in the NYTimes. As such, Mozza was ingrained into my memory after reading this article. Lots of celebs frequent new LA restaurant hot spots, and Mozza is no exception despite the fact that the food is actually good (is it obvious that I'm not the biggest fan of LA?). On this trip, we saw two C-list (or D-?) celebs, including a childhood favorite Rider Strong (too bad Cory Matthews was not in tow) and some minor character on Felicity (the guy who raped Felicity's roommate?). Not quite the Scarlett Johansson debacle we were hoping for.
Curtis and me pretending to pose for a picture, but only so we could sneak a shot at good ole Shawn Hunter
So one of the things I love about pastry is that it makes such a great gift. One of my parents' friends commented at the wedding... "How does Kathy bake so much but stay so thin??" Well the thing is... I don't really eat much of what I make. I taste it to make sure it tastes good and the way I want, but I don't really eat any more of it than that (at the restaurant, however, is another story. Butter-laden pastries are usually my breakfast. Or apples since I have to peel so many gah!). The rest of it is given away - my roommates, coworkers, other misc friends etc. There's just something about making something that can make people happy....
My friends don't bake that much, so it's always fun when they do. Cynthia's bf Elvin just had his birthday, and she wanted to make a cake and asked me for suggestions. I gave her quite a few, and she settled on this hazelnut cake recipe (and a banana cake recipe from this blog she found through another friend).
For the birthday party, we went to dinner at Patio Filipino in San Bruno (review to come), but Mike and I had to leave early to go see Rogue Wave at Bimbo's (which, by the way, was pretty cool because Zach did an improvised acoustic rendition of a requested song down on the floor in the middle of the audience. Pretty awesome). Since we had to leave early, Cynthia made us mini cakes we could take with us! Totally wasn't expecting that, and it was extremely thoughtful. =) She also included this silly letter from back in the day she never sent to me while she was studying abroad in Ghana. I'm assuming she didn't have much studying to do... haha that dork.
The cakes turned out really well! I was afraid the hazelnut one might be dry, but the roasting liquid she used for the pears (instead of peaches) was poured over it, so I think it kept the cake nicely moist. The banana one tasted basically like a banana muffin with chocolate chips, but the smooth ganache sheath over the cake was an elegant touch that elevated its simplicity. Bravo!
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.
803 Cortland Ave (& Ellsworth)
(415) 285-TBOX
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.
*** 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!
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).
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!
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. =)
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....
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?
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...
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
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?
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
