by Sam Tackeff | Mar 14, 2010 | Uncategorized
Tonight I got whisked away on a romantic date….. to AD HOC!!! (Yet again, an Ad Hoc trip…. yes… we decided at 6:45 that we were going to drive to Yountville to dinner.)
Ad Hoc, Thomas Keller’s casual eatery, is one of my absolute favorite restaurants, ever since I had my first blissful meal there, and a subsequent wonderful meal there on Christmas (Chicken and Waffles!). There are many wonderful things about Ad Hoc, but the things that come to mind are:
a) delicious food
b) cozy relaxed atmosphere, jovial staff
and
c) oh wait… more delicious food.
After meeting Thomas Keller and his head chef at Ad Hoc David Cruz, the food tastes even better knowing how gracious and wonderful these people are.
Tonight we had:
Salad of Escarole Hearts, and romaine lettuce with shaved radish, candied walnuts, kalamata olives, asian pears, utterly crispy and buttery garlic croutons, and white anchovy dressing. (The dressing was so good that I was offered a little dish of it after the waiter noticed me desperately wiping the plate clean with bread… I politely declined slightly shamed, because asking for more dressing after you’ve finished your salad is the true sign of a glutton.)
Devon was quite fond of the candied walnuts, which I plan on making in the near future.
Herb Crusted Colorado Lamb Sirloin, with broccoli rabe from the French Laundry garden, roasted cauliflower, the creamiest polenta topped with a golden raisin and caper relish. [The broccoli rabe was crisped like kale chips, and the lamb was painfully delicious and absolutely beautifully cooked.]
To be honest, it was so rich that I neither one of us could finish – so it got packaged up for tomorrows breakfast – I’m planning on lamb hash.
The cheese course was one of my favorites: Tumalo Farm’s Pondhopper, from Bend, Oregon, with roasted peppers, arugula and a sweet onion soffrito.
The cheese reminds me a little bit of Turkish Kaser, and these red peppers were stellar. I ended up eating the second half of Devon’s cheese, because he understands moderation, and I, well, sometimes I just can’t help myself. We make a good team.
And for dessert:
Some blissful Tiramisu with homemade lady fingers, and this lovely and light mascarpone cream. It was mighty tasty, although I must admit not nearly as boozy as if I were to make it myself…. Then again, I don’t have very much restraint, so this is a more refined version.
I finished with a cup of french press coffee, and a permanent smile on my face that might not go away for the next two weeks.
A perfect evening.
by Sam Tackeff | Mar 7, 2010 | Books, Restaurants
Before I even moved to San Francisco, I started plotting where I would eat. I picked up (and annotated) a Zagat guide, I read through a copy of ‘The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to San Francisco’, I started reading Yelp reviews, all in addition to the 30 or so San Francisco bloggers I was relying on to steer me in the right direction. I was armed with a long list before I ever stepped foot on California soil.
And then, as soon as I got here, I discovered a great new addition to my growing arsenal: ‘The Tablehopper’ newsletter, written by the ever charming Marcia Gagliardi. First of all, I should start by saying that this woman knows how to eat.
Her weekly newsletters are a combination of local reviews, restaurant news, food news, food gossip and events, and numerous ideas to fill your calendar and to-do list. I read it partially because it gives great advice, partially because it makes me giggle, and partially because I’m a masochist and it’s impossible not to be completely jealous of her gastronomic adventures.
And now she’s in print!
Enter Marcia Gagliardi’s new book: ‘The Tablehopper’s Guide to Dining and Drinking in San Francisco – Find the Right Spot for Every Occasion’. Thanks to Ten Speed Press, I got my hands on an early copy of this book, and it became immediately clear how useful it is.
For anyone (like myself) who decides on restaurants specifically based on emotions or occasions, this book is organized by particularly useful sections including:
- Dinner with Your Parents (Conservative or Cool Ones)
- Offbeat or Ethic Group Dinner Locations
- Hip, but not a Total Scene (Slightly Spendy)
- Co-worker Birthday Lunch
- Good (or Hip) Spots for Solo Dining
- Hungover (Can’t Leave Bed)
- There are also 1, 2, and 3-day Itineraries for those visiting the city, and sections organized by food type, such as Pho or Dim Sum
Now, when I’m looking for inexpensive vegetarian, gluten-free, a place to take my grandmother, or the perfect burger, I have all the information right at my fingertips, and it fits easily in my bag. This is a great gift for anyone living in San Francisco, or anyone planning a gastronomic trip to San Francisco.
Follow Marcia on Twitter (while you are at it, follow me on twitter) or subscribe to the Tablehopper newsletter to get tasty ideas for bay area dining every week in your inbox.
Or come visit Marcia, (and me!) in a few weeks here at Omnivore books:
Wednesday March 24th, 6pm, free Book Signing at Omnivore Books 3885 Cesar Chavez St. at Church, San Francisco. Andrew Mariani of Scribe will be pouring his delicious 2008 Pinot Noir, Carneros, Sonoma. Yes, there will be free wine. Who doesn’t love free wine?
* * *
The Tablehopper’s Guide to Dining and Drinking in San Francisco: Find the Right Spot for Every Occasion by Marcia Gagliardi; Chronicle Books, 230 pages.
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 25, 2010 | Pantry Staples, Restaurants
I’ve been spending a little bit more time over at www.healthylunchidea.com in the past few weeks, because I’ve newly committed myself to the ultimate health accountability – blogging my every meal, and documenting my exercise as well. I’m beginning to suspect that this will be a crazy adventure, but so far I have been having fun with it. If you have any inclination of following the efforts of a looney woman, I encourage you to head over there or subscribe to my RSS!
The Second Lunch is going to still be devoted to the city, restaurants, travel, and where I will post most of my recipes.
Here are some shots from my other site, and some others from the city that I haven’t posted anywhere:
Today’s breakfast hack: Oatmeal in a Nutella Jar! (more photos of this delicious nutella oatmeal in a jar here)
Last night I attended a study group for my Integrative Nutrition program at Cafe du Soleil on Fillmore – for some reason I’ve never walked over that way, but it’s less than two miles from my house. I had a glass of mint tea with some steamed soy, and it seems like a nice place to meet a friend for a beer or a cup of coffee:
A Rocher from Tartine (meringue filled with cacao nibs) :
Veggie Delight sandwich from Dolores Park Cafe:
The San Francisco view from the top of Dolores Park:
Ritual Roasters:
and some coffee from Ritual:
Kermit Lynch, the wine aficionado came to visit us Omnivore Books:
This is about half of the corks from the free wine tasting! We had a lovely 2007 Meyer-FonneMuscat Katzenthal, and a bold Côtes du Rhône.
A Chicken and Chicken Pate Banh Mi from Bi-Rite:
Lisa Schwartz from Rainbeau Ridge Farm discussing her new book/cookbook about sustainable farming (over some snacks of some local bay area cheeses) :
As you can see I’ve been busy!
I’m also going to be posting some cookbook reviews over at the Good Taste Review, and I’ll keep you all posted.
More to come!!
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 13, 2010 | Beer, Ice Cream
A beer lovers dream? I think so! This week is San Francisco Beer Week, with hundreds of venues all over the bay area jumping in to join the fun. Beer dinners, tastings, get together’s, brew-nerd-fests, and wild and crazy parties abound. Nobody has been sitting around drinking crappy beer and feeling sorry for themselves – this is a celebration of the best of the best.
It was SF Beerweek and all I got was lousy t.shirt…wait…this…nevermind, ok, this amazing beer ice cream at Humphry Slocombe. Beer? Ice Cream? Actually, it’s a natural flavor combination. Even Ben and Jerry’s was on board a couple of years back with their Black and Tan. And why not create small batches of the highest quality ice cream using the highest quality beers and creams?
After testing six flavors, I ended up with this one: the Iron Springs Rye, with rye and caraway brittle mixed in. I’m a caraway seed junkie, so this tasting experience was a heavenly one. Another favorite was the Magnolia Four Winds beer ice cream. Frankly, I’m not sure why I haven’t been making beer ice cream myself. It’s possibly the most satisfying thing I’ve eaten in some time.
And hold on a second, why didn’t they make awesome t-shirts?? I’d tap that. Get it? Keg? Tap that? Ok, yeah, I know, fail.
Related fun:
:: Humphry Slocombe: Creative ice cream on 24th and Harrison in the Mission.
:: Beer and Nosh’s Beer Photography Show at Humphry Slocombe
:: The Designers behind SF Beerweek stylishness: Gamut.
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 4, 2010 | Restaurants
After writing about Cheeseboard Pizza, I received several recommendations that Arizmendi bakery, located in the Sunset District, semi-sibling of Cheeseboard had better pizza, so I thought I’d take a trek out there to investigate. (In the beginning, the Cheeseboard collective shared their business model and recipes with Arizmendi, and many of their tasty goodies are identical).
My thoughts:
(Based on one slice of pizza, which is frankly bad journalism and against blogging etiquette. But, I’ve corroborated the story with other Cheeseboard and Arizmendi eaters who seemed to agree with my observations, so please take this as you will.)
This particular pizza at Arizmendi was topped with spinach, tomatoes, feta cheese, garlic oil, parsley and parmesan. From a flavor perspective, the pizza was very satisfactory, even with my slightly dulled tastebuds. You really can’t go wrong here with these high quality ingredients.
:: The main difference, it seems, is in the crust – Arizmendi’s crust seems to be slightly thicker and puffier at the edge, more dry, and more crispy. While it’s only my preference, and I’m sure many differ on this opinion, I prefer Cheeseboard’s thinner, slightly chewier crust.
:: Another difference has to do with volume and sales. When I arrived at Arizmendi (9th Avenue between Irving and Judah in Sunset), there were fewer people than normally at Cheeseboard, and most people were eating shortbread, scones, and a variety of other sumptuous looking pastries, but not actually pizza. I saw a few pizzas hanging out on the counter, including one lone slice, which I was hoping and praying that I wouldn’t be served. Fortunately, a new pizza came out of the oven for me, and I was given a fresh slice. I think, that based on the volume of people actually ordering pizza at cheeseboard, the pizzas are simply going to be fresher due to the timing of dough creation, pizza creation, etc. – even by a few minutes, which, in my opinion, does make a difference.
:: The last difference: a slice at Arizmendi costs $2.25. A slice at Cheeseboard is $2.50. But, at Cheeseboard you get an extra almost half slice, which is well worth both worth the quarter and the added satisfaction. This alone is enough for Cheeseboard to win out in my boat.
That said, in a pinch, if you can’t get over to Berkeley, Arizmendi is still serving a quality pizza that I’d be more than willing to eat again and again. I’m only sorry I didn’t take more of their pastry things to go. Everything looked stellar.
Arizmendi Bakery
http://www.arizmendibakery.org/
1331 9th Avenue
Between Irving and Judah
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 566-3117
