singleguychef's Profile
Attire when fine dining in Madrid and Barcelona
Thanks Maximillen/Erha. But are these general observations or have you actually dined at the restaurants I named and wore "neat casual"?
Attire when fine dining in Madrid and Barcelona
I'm going to be visiting Madrid and Barcelona in late June. When I travel, I really hate bringing suits, so I generally like to go to places where I can wear a nice pair of jeans and maybe a leather jacket. But I also like the idea of trying one or two nice places for dinner (or probably lunch).
In Madrid, I'm thinking of making reservations at El Club Allard and Lua for lunch.
In Barcelona, (since Tickets is too hard to get a reservations at this late date) I was thinking of going to Gelonch.
Do any of you have any idea about weather there's a dress code for any of these places for men and whether I could get away with jeans and maybe no coat at these places? Especially since I'm guessing it might be warm in Spain in June. Thanks!
Type of tea in milk tea? (Wonderful Foods)
Let me know if you have any luck recreating HK milk tea at home. I've tried many times and the trouble is getting the right balance of sweetened condensed milk and tea. Even when I put just a teaspoon of milk, my tea turns pale and white, and not the caramel color I've seen in Hong Kong. I find the Out the Door (Slanted Door's kiosk) the best in town so far, and so far can't recreate it at home. In reading web sites, sounds like the idea is to brew the black tea much longer than suggested, maybe 5-8 minutes so it's nearly bitter, hoping that the condensed milk will counterbalance that. I've also read that Assam tea or Ceylon is a good base.
Day Trip to San Fran - tell me your Must-Trys!
Sorry Danieli, didn't notice this post until now! If you're still waffling on where to go, I second the recs from Robert on Cotogna and Comstock. Both are waklable from Union Square, albeit a bit of a hike. Cotogna has great food and options of sitting at the bar or in front of the pizza oven. I'd choose the bar because the oven can get hot, although the weather's been a bit cool lately. Comstock has a nice classy saloon vibe.
Let us know where you ended up eating while here!
Where can I buy authentic Spanish chorizo please?
Spanish Table will probably give you the best options, but if for some reason they're out, I also find them at Piedmont Grocery in Oakland on Piedmont Avenue. But they only have one option. They work fine for me since it's right around the corner from where I live.
Day Trip to San Fran - tell me your Must-Trys!
I consider going right at 11 "going early." Dropping by around 12:30 is way past the window for grabbing an easy seat.
AQ - SF
Went for the first time recently and really enjoyed the food. It was the early days of the spring menu so there were probably a few carryovers from winter. The highlight for me was this really interestingly plated asparagus salad, different textures, beautifully presented, and using the addition of bits of white chocolate spheres that are torched. Nice combination. The tortolloni with stinging nettle wasn't that spectacular but really enjoyed the duck, which sounds like a carryover from winter. I had marginal service (waiter seemed really bored for some reason) and do feel the serving size seem small for the entrees, especially at $25. But I feel the other price points for the other courses are spot on.
Here's my complete review with link to my photos:
"Spring is my favorite season, with its bright colors and sense of renewal (Happy Easter BTW). And that’s why I waited until now to check out the new AQ.
AQ is the concept restaurant by Chef/Owner Mark Liberman, who changes the menu and the restaurant esthetics every quarter with the season. The styling of the food is a mix of Mediterranean simplicity with touches of molecular gastronomy and seasonal ingredients from California.
Opened last fall, AQ sits alone in a gritty block on Mission Street not too far from the new federal courthouse. When I arrived to check out the new spring menu, the red-brick walls were accented by lime green-and-gold tapestries to signal spring. Blossoms on branches were the other touches to shift the focus onto the new season.
Sitting at the counter, I was able to watch the efficient kitchen staff, each sous chef responsible for a particular station.
“A.Q.” is the initials found in classic restaurant menus to mean “as quoted” for those dishes that are market priced based on the season. But even though everything on the AQ menu is seasonal, there are set prices for each category of courses, with starters ($10), first courses ($14), main entrées ($25), and desserts ($8).
The pricing actually works well for everything except, IMHO, the main courses. The plates are beautifully presented, but the sizing is very similar to what you’d find on a tasting menu. This means it helps to order four courses for the evening in order to feel satisfied, which means your tab can end up to be $57 just for the food (not including any drinks, tips, tax and a separate San Francisco health tax).
A side note about my evening: my service was perfunctory but lacking. When I arrived, my server greeted me and gave me water, without asking if I wanted any starting cocktail or drinks. I sat for probably five minutes before my waiter finally came back to check on me, and by then I already decided about my cocktail (a classic martini) and my menu choices.
Throughout the evening, my server came and went with my dishes, but was always a step behind. For example, I was the one to mention that I wanted a glass of wine with my entrée, or that I was ready for dessert (all things servers typically ask me about). Plus, my waiter didn’t seem that engaged (I call it the “no personality” service).
Despite this one particular waiter (everyone else who helped me were great), I was blown away by the food. My choices were a celebration of the spring season, from the asparagus salad to the stinging nettle tortelloni with citrus.
The asparagus salad was my favorite – a varied preparation that showcased the abundant spring vegetable in different textures, from a mousse to grilled stems to thinly sliced and barely cooked ribbons. Then the plate was amazingly accented with unusual ingredients, including spots of bright orange steelhead roe and (the most genius) use of white chocolate drops that were torched for caramelizing. The bits of salty and sweet made this dish transcendental.
My main course of duck aged on the bone is a duck breast that’s presented with a dance of beets prepared almost like a salsa and separately decorated with a ribbon of beet gel. The aging on the bone of the duck allows the flavor of the meat to be concentrated, giving the duck a more intense flavor.
For my dessert, I probably should have ordered the strawberry creation to fit more with the spring theme, but I went with one of AQ’s signature desserts of popcorn, caramelized sponge cake, banana and marcona almonds. The plate was late a fancy Cracker Jack poured out on a plate with touches of banana cream and squares of sponge cake. It was good, but not spectacular or filled with revelations like the rest of my dinner.
AQ is a mix for the senses, from the contrasting textures on the plate, the changing décor of the dining room, and the smack of humanity when you walk outside. But the kitchen provides the most excitement, and that, I predict, is what will be the constant in all four seasons."
http://focussnapeat.com/2012/04/08/a-soma-spot-that-showcases-the-season/
Day Trip to San Fran - tell me your Must-Trys!
You're welcome! I find recs by neighborhoods always helpful whenever I'm traveling too!
Suggestions for tea?
I love quality tea, and in the past have tried Lupicia, Teance, and Red Blossom. For quality flavored tea I generally head toward buying Marriage Freres at Pasta Shop despite the high price tag. (Williams Sonoma might also carry it but there's more variety at Pasta Shop.)
Recently, I discovered Five Mountains, a new San Francisco tea company that I really love. They have very limited menu of tea flavors, and it's not really tea flavors in terms of mixed flavors but more unique black tea that has distinctive scents. The quality is really good, and they're the purveyor for many San Francisco restaurants and coffee shops that serve tea. It is only available online, which is how I ordered mine. (I actually order a couple of tea varieties and blend them myself.) You might want to check them out. (I heard they're also sold in a local San Francisco museum, I think it was the crafts museum, but can't say for sure.)
NY hound visiting San Francisco. Must Try Foods?
Here are some suggestions to get your list started:
1) State Bird Provisions -- newest opening that's getting a lot of buzz for its concept of small plates being carted around the dining room like dim sum
2) Swan Oyster Depot -- a classic institution for no-nonsense seafood at a counter-only dining area. Must go for lunch during the weekday, and early, to avoid the line
3) Mission Chinese Food -- written up by national media (including the NYT) and offering up a new twist to Chinese food in a dumpy, divey, old Chinese restaurant
4) Ice Cream Bar -- this is more for dessert or afternoon ice cream sundae, just a fun experience for the nostalgia, nothing similar in New York that I can think of
5) Sebu -- high-end sushi in Hayes Valley, which is an emerging food destination
6) Bar Tartine -- California cuisine meets Eastern European/German. The bakery in the neighborhood, Tartine Bakery, is also a must stop to try any of the cakes or eclair.
I'm wary to recommend any Chinese cuisine because you can find some really good places in Flushing. If you have a craving for dim sum and want to see what it's like on this side of the coast, I would recommend Koi Palace in Daly City, just because it's on the border of San Francisco and wouldn't require you going down the Peninsula for some other more popular places.
2 Nights in SF, 2 Nights in Napa
Like the idea of Canteen, but keep in mind it'll be small and quiet. So the vibe would be more of a personalized dinner. For fun you can maybe go drinks around the corner at Bourbon and Branch before your dinner.
But if you want a more lively dinner experience (but not sceney), then I would echo recommendations for Flour + Water, Frances, and also toss in Cotogna and State Bird Provisions for something different. I kind of feel 25 Lusk might be overly "sceney".
In Napa, I echo the recommendation for Oenotri. I nice large space that's lively in Napa city.
California Foodie Visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training 2012
Here are my final posts on two very different places ... POSH and Rito's Fine Mexican Food.
First my thoughts on POSH:
At POSH restaurant in ritzy Scottsdale, they encourage the picky eaters to come in because every meal is designed specifically to your dining habits.
Under the direction of Chef-Owner Joshua Hebert, the kitchen team creates meals like sous chefs competing on Iron Chef America. The website calls the dining “improvisational.” At the beginning of the meal, the diners select which ingredients of the day they do not like, and then a meal is designed around what’s left.
When my friend Ken and I were in town for spring training games, we dined on a Saturday night, circling around a bit trying to find the restaurant, which sits alone on the ground floor of what looked like a new condominium (I later found out it’s called the Optima Camelview building).
After getting settled into our table, we sat for a while without menus before our server came by to explain how things works. You start by choosing the level of the tasting menu you want (we went with six courses for $70) and then you fill out the survey form. Ken doesn’t eat red meat so he crossed out all the meat options, and was left with vegetables and seafood.
I wasn’t in the mood for red meat, so I crossed out the Wagyu beef, but I was game for any of the other options that included kangaroo and rabbit. There’s also a section for any particular dislikes, and if you’re a longtime reader of this blog you can guess what I wrote: “No deep-fried foods, onions or eggplant.”
You don’t really say what you do like, because it really depends on what the kitchen has on hand from the market. But because you don’t have a say on what you want to eat, every course that arrives at the table is a surprise.
Over the next two hours, Ken and I marveled at the beautifully plated dishes that were placed before us. I can’t say that the courses that I had showed any progression or connection as an overall tasting menu, but it was inventive and intriguing.
All my dishes offered something new, but there wasn’t a dish that really knocked my socks off. Each dish had something that I thought impeded the dish from being a success. For example, the soft-boiled duck egg with my red oak salad was a bit too cooked and cold, failing to provide a rich ooze to the salad. And a pan-fried frog leg used a breading that I didn’t like, something that created a tougher coating serving like an armor to the nicely cooked frog leg meat. But I enjoyed the white asparagus on the plate.
I tasted kangaroo for the first time, which had the gaminess of lamb and was served with a purple potato puree that was unappetizing and looked like paste. Still, the dish was brightened by the pickled red beets. And my desert, while pretty with the spun sugar creation on top, was basically a slice of roasted pineapple with a scoop of citrus sorbet.
Ken, I felt (and he agreed), seemed to do better with his primarily seafood and vegetable tasting menu, starting with a light and beautiful artichoke heart salad and his favorite dish of the night – a soft shell crab with roasted carrots and ginger caviar.
Ken also got to try a dish made of shad roe that’s left in the sack and pan-fried. He was wary of trying it, but it wasn’t as bad as he thought (nor was it amazing). He also had a dish made of welt snails, which taste similar to clams. For dessert, he lucked out with a wonderful plate of chocolate mousse and dark chocolate (he let me take a bite and the mousse was rich but light).
With the changing and customized menu, it can be difficult for the servers to remember every ingredient on the plate. But I give them credit for trying, and for the professional service throughout the night.
While Chef Herbert’s dishes didn’t tantalize my taste buds with every note, they were excellent starting points for our table conversation about food and ingredients, making me feel like a judge on the Iron Chef America panel.
http://focussnapeat.com/2012/03/25/designing-your-own-dinner-in-arizona/
And here's Rito's:
I squeezed my food hunting during my recent spring trip to Arizona down to the very last minute, including a quick burrito run on my way to the Phoenix International Airport.
Just a few minutes away from the airport in a residential neighborhood, Rito’s Fine Mexican Food is an unpretentious burrito shop in an old home, across the street from a school playground. I had read about Rito’s in a Los Angeles Times primer for spring training, but I wasn’t the only one who knows about the place.
As I waited for my food with my friend Ken, several people came in to place their orders or pick up phone orders even though it was just after 10 a.m.
Rito’s has a limited menu, focused on some of the basics of beef tacos, quesadillas and enchiladas. As for burritos, it only offers one – a simple bean burrito for $4.10. No chicken, no guacamole, no lettuce, no sour cream. Just a tortilla encasing some beans and rice.
While I’m used to more specialty burritos in California, there was something to say about the simplicity of a plain bean burrito. The beans were good, but nothing special. I believe what makes Rito’s burritos so popular is probably the home-made and super fresh tortilla.
Soft to the touch like a paper towel, the tortilla is so popular that I saw one person come in buying only packages of tortilla. I’ve never had a tortilla so fresh and authentic.
http://focussnapeat.com/2012/03/27/keeping-mexican-food-simple-and-pure/
California Foodie Visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training 2012
Aiieee!? I didn't see any food menu. Yeah, same bar at the bottom of the stairs. Maybe the bartender didn't give us the food menu because we talked about going outside. I went back to the bar later and didn't see anyone eating. Mostly enjoying the mojitos. Maybe later.
California Foodie Visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training 2012
I wanted to also mention that I went to Distrito after a game for a late lunch with a friend. I'm not planning to post a full review, so just a few thoughts:
I thought it was a fun spot, with really interesting mod decor with a nice outdoor area. There was a band playing while I was there for lunch and I really enjoyed the band and having live music with the food.
Service was generally good, except they do employ a few super young people and this sometimes shows in the inexperience because they sometimes look like a deer in headlight if you ask them a question that might be off the script they studied. Still, all friendly.
For the food itself, my friend had the Mahi Mahi tacos and he said he really liked it and it was done well. It was served with cooked beans that came in a small cast-iron skillet.
I got the chicken torta that came with sweet potato fries (I'm not really sure because I don't eat fries). The torta wasn't what I was expecting. For some reason, I was expecting something more flattened but instead it was like a burger (I'm talking about the bun, not the chicken, which was typical chicken breast.) There was avocado and lettuce and tomato and some other sauce, but it was really difficult to eat for some reason. So it really didn't leave a great impression. Maybe I didn't order right at Distrito? Anywho, it was OK but not as memorable as other meals I had in Scottsdale.
California Foodie Visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training 2012
I also did make it to Deseo specifically for the muddle bar in the afternoon. Had an easy time with the self-parking to the right of the resort when driving up. First off, such a beautiful resort with an incredible view of the golf course in the back. Lots of people sitting outside just enjoying the weather. I went to the muddle bar next to Deseo and ordered a special mojito during their happy hour. Bartender super friendly and all the staff really welcoming even though I wasn't staying at the hotel. They let me walk around outside with my drink. The drink itself was mixed really nicely, with most of the traditional mojito ingredients but topped off with champagne. I returned to try one with Contreau and it was good but not as clean tasting as the first one. It was nice just sitting outside and drinking, but I wished two things:
1) I wish the muddle bar had a small bar menu. Would have been nice to snack with the mojito.
2) I wish there was a better view of the sunset. The outdoor seating all seemed to face north when the sun was setting just to the left of that. Still relaxing, nonetheless
California Foodie Visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training 2012
I did end up going to Daily Dose once for breakfast before the Giants game at Scottsdale Stadium. Parked super early in the morning near the stadium and then walked to Daily Dose for breakfast and there was already a crowd gathered! Luckily, the wait was only 20 minutes (funny how when you're on vacation you don't care how long you wait, especially when the sun is shining outside!)
I sat at the bar with a friend and ordered the crab breakfast. It was a crab cake that was nicely pan-fried on top of an omelette that I think was filled with spinach? I don't remember now but I thought the omelette was nicely done. Served with toast and fresh fruit. (My friend got the stuffed portabello that was sitting also on top of an omelette.) I can't say the food was mind-blowing, but it was filling. A lot of people came in for some morning antioxidant drink with alcohol that sounded fun, but I thought it was too early to drink. Seems like a happening place and a good standby for breakfast and lunch in the area.
California Foodie Visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training 2012
Thanks KAYLO. Yes, I have to emphasize again how valuable reading the Phoenix board prior to my trip helped me with my selections. The descriptions by local Chowhounders of the restaurants really helped me immensely in visualizing the meal and deciding if it was a match for me.
BTW, I still have two last posts to put up next week. One is on POSH and the other is on Rito's! Two really different but good eating experiences.
Special meal in phoenix/scottsdale
I recently spent some time in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area and I have to agree that for a "special" dinner, Binkley's is a great choice. Wonderful service, and the parade of amuse bouches with the tasting dinner is fun and makes you feel pampered. It is kind of "out there" in Cave Creek, the drive there at night is really like just driving in the dark because there's nothing around, but it makes the trip out there even more special, right? ;-)
For something closer to the metro area, I did enjoy my dinner at POSH in Scottsdale mostly because of the creativity of the night. Very fancy dining environment, and you pretty much pick your ingredients and then you get a surprise of what the chef brings to your plate. The execution can be hit and miss, but if you love talking about food, the courses of surprise dishes will give you lots to talk about.
If you can squeeze it in, I highly recommend going to Citizen Public House to get their pork belly pastrami appetizer. I've been raving about it to friends since I've been back. So maybe on a night when you want to play it casual, you maybe can go to the bar and get some beer and this great starter.
California Foodie Visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training 2012
Another detour I took that was fun was checking out Sweet Republic in the afternoons for ice cream. Really good quality stuff on par with the artisan ice cream makers here in San Francisco.
"You can count on the desert to get hot enough to warrant a trip to the ice cream store, even in the waning days of winter. And when in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area, there’s no better place that Sweet Republic.
Sweet Republic opened in 2008, and quickly caught the attention of local and national media (Bon Appetit named it one of the 10 best ice cream shops a year later) for its quality ice cream with exotic flavors – the most outrageous being Honey Blue Cheese.
During my spring training trip in Scottsdale, I visited Sweet Republic twice to get a cool break from the warm afternoons. Sweet Republic should be in a chic area of downtown Scottsdale but instead it’s in a tiny strip mall in the north part of town.
The flavors are definitely enticing, from the basil lime sorbet to the honey blue cheese. (The honey blue cheese actually tasted like a rich caramel.) I tried the watermelon sorbet (refreshing with bits of chocolate) and lavender (creamy and herbal). On another trip, I went for the famous Toffee Banofi ($6.70) featured on the Food Network.
The Toffee Banofi is an ice cream and banana sundae that’s topped with whipped cream and salted butter caramel sauce. Everything in the sundae was perfectly done, from the Madagascar vanilla ice cream to the light and crunchy waffle cup.
Sweet Republic is the type of artisan ice cream shop you see everywhere in the Bay Area (not surprising that one of the co-owners worked briefly at Berkeley’s former Eccolo). But in Scottsdale, it stands alone for its quality and innovative flavors, drawing fans far and wide in the Valley of the Sun."
http://focussnapeat.com/2012/03/17/cooling-off-in-the-desert-with-artisan-ice-cream/
California Foodie Visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training 2012
I also got a chance to visit the Phoenix farmers market on Wednesday, which happened to be the Food Truck Mania, so that was a lot of fun. Got to try Short Leash Dogs, which seems really popular but to me it was good but kind of "meh" compared to what I find in the Bay Area. Plus, I'm not a fan of the fact it comes wrapped in a flat bread instead of a bun. Makes it harder to eat.
"On Wednesday after sitting through nine innings of the Oakland A’s and Dodgers game that ended in a tie (such is spring training where nothing counts), I went to check out the nearby Phoenix Public Market.
This gathering for local farmers opens later on Wednesday for the after-work crowd, and luckily on this particular night it coincided with a casual food truck festival, Food Truck Mania. I love to check out farmers markets and street food whenever I travel, so this combination in one spot was a gift from the baseball gods.
Joining me were my friends Debbie and Craig from Sacramento, who just watched the Giants game in Scottsdale. We explored the farm stands for a bit, looking at the lovely root vegetables and home-made guacamole and tamale. But there weren’t a lot of stands, and we weren’t in the mood to cook back at our hotels.
So we zoomed into the food trucks, with about a dozen parked in the perimeter of the public market. There were a lot of unusual trucks, like Japanese-Mexican, Caribbean and Filipino, and a lot of deep-fried foods. I was actually hoping Debbie or Craig would try the fry breads, which seems particular to the area, but they filled themselves up with fried chicken, fried frog legs and tacos so they filled up and gave up on the fry bread.
But we all saved room for a hot dog from Short Leash Hot Dogs, which I had read about before coming to Phoenix and which had the longest line of all the trucks. Short Leash makes artisan hot dogs and sausages and create combinations of toppings from mango chutney to fried pickles.
I ended up just making my own combination, topping a chicken sausage with sauerkraut, ketchup and chipotle cream cheese. Instead of a bun, the hot dog comes in a flat bread, which I actually found harder to eat.
The sausage was good, but nothing I can’t get back in the Bay Area. I did like the chipotle cream cheese, which was warm and creamy. While nothing spectacular, the hot dog was a good value at $5. (I actually think Short Leash is probably more known for its deep fried jalapeno poppers that look like corn dogs.)
The public market also has a store attached to it called the Urban Grocery and Wine Bar, which sells a variety of produce and specialty items as well as sandwiches and pastries in its deli section. The tiny shop with the funky décor reminded me of Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco’s Mission District.
We left filled and satisfied, especially since I also ate a chicken jambalaya bowl and ginger pork carnitas taco along with the hot dog. Despite the unusually cold weather in the Valley of the Sun, it looked like local Phoenix residents are big supporters of food trucks and local artisan food, and that’s always a good thing to learn about new cities you’re visiting."
http://focussnapeat.com/2012/03/09/feasting-with-phoenixs-farmers-and-food-trucks/
California Foodie Visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training 2012
I'm back from my spring training trip to the Scottsdale area. Had a lot of fun just hanging out sitting and watching baseball all day (weather was cold like San Francisco the first couple of days but warmed up nicely to around 70 degrees by the end).
I had some great dinners in Arizona, several of them quite memorable. I should say that I tend to lean toward upscale and seasonal dining, similar to what I get back here in the San Francisco Bay Area, so not sure if I really stretched myself or got the true picture of Arizona cuisine. Still, I enjoyed the tastes!
Here are some of my write up and photos of my eating adventure. (Because of Chowhound policy on photos, I have to reprint the entire review in order to include the link. Sorry if it's too long for some of you!)
Here's my look at Citizen Public House, which is a noisy spot but I'm still thinking of its pork belly pastrami starter! One of the best dishes I've had anywhere for a long time.
"I’ve found my last meal.
You know that game where people talk about what would be their last meal before they die? I’ve had a few ideas go through my head over the years, but after dining at Citizen Public House in Scottsdale, I can say without a doubt that my last meal would be this restaurant’s version of pork belly pastrami.
An often-ordered starter, the pork belly pastrami ($12) is a luscious dish of thick cuts of fatty pork belly that have been cured like pastrami, served perfectly crisp around the edges to encase the fatty and tasty interior. But it’s not just the two slices of pork belly pastrami that satisfy, it’s also the accompanying shredded Brussels sprouts, sauerkraut and mustard jus that provide a delightful tang to cut into the richness of the pork belly.
The pork belly pastrami is one of my favorite dishes I ate during my spring training (baseball) trip to Arizona. Citizen Public House is a bustling restaurant in the heart of the 5th Avenue drag of boutique shops just north of Old Town Scottsdale. The décor is slightly old tavern meets contemporary pub. (For dinner I ordered an IPA that worked well with my meal.)
After the pork belly pastrami, nothing could really compare but the dishes that followed still satisfied with quality ingredients mixed with expert combination of flavors.
The kale Caesar salad ($12) was a rich green plate of Tuscan kale tossed with grape tomatoes, croutons, and parmesan cheese all dressed in an eggless Caesar dressing. Underneath the salad was a slab of warm Scamorza cheese that I didn’t expect to find in a salad.
My main course was the Applewood Smoked Duck ($24) because I always order duck when I see it on a restaurant menu. The Maple Leaf Farms duck breasts were cooked nicely, and the flavors reminded me of Thanksgiving dinner with the addition of Bing cherry compote. What I really enjoyed about the dish was the rosemary millet under the duck, which was the first time I ate millet (often used in bird seed). At Citizen Public House, the millet is cooked until it’s creamy like polenta or risotto.
After the pork belly pastrami and duck, I barely had room for dessert. But I left Citizen Public House with a smile because of the delicious meal combined with a fun environment and fantastic service. If you’re ever in Arizona, you must drive – must, I say – to Citizen Public House to order the pork belly pastrami. Simply heavenly."
http://focussnapeat.com/2012/03/20/three-words-pork-belly-pastrami/
This is my visit to FnB, which I totally love in terms of the set up of the room. I got to sit at the big bar counter to watch the chefs in action.
"The food is clearly on display at Scottsdale’s FnB restaurant, which has attracted national media attention as one of the best new restaurants when it opened more than two years ago. In the center of the restaurant is a large counter bar allowing diners to watch the chefs working in the open kitchen.
I got a front-and-center seat when I visited for dinner during my trip to Arizona. Scottsdale, a resort town with golfing and high-end shopping, has a number of restaurants producing amazing food.
FnB made me feel at home because its approach to dining mirrors many of the restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area, including a changing seasonal menu, an emphasis on local ingredients, and a flair for flavors by Chef Charleen Badman.
One of the best examples of that was the lamb riblets starter ($14) I ordered. Lamb ribs are marinated with fennel seed, sherry vinegar, honey and Aleppo, which provides a nice mix of spicy, tart and sweet. The riblets were roasted nicely creating crusty edges but a tender meat inside. The flavors reminded me of Vietnamese grilled meats, and the thin cucumber slices again reflected an Asian influence. But when I chatted with Chef Badman as she cooked in the open kitchen, she said the cucumber was just a cooling device to complement the ribs.
Other dishes were pleasing flavors that weren’t bold but still provided me with a light dinner, which is appreciated while traveling. The fennel salad ($11) was a beautiful burst of color with the grapefruit slices mixed with watermelon radishes, avocado, olive and mache. My main course of rock shrimp pasta ($26) was a bountiful meal of perfectly cooked shrimp in a light sauce of garlic, Meyer lemon and herb crumbs.
Sitting in front of the open kitchen has its hazards, such as when the chefs made a crème brulee and would caramelize the sugar top by using a cow branding rod, which created a whole lot of smoke, filling up the entire kitchen. But the real dangers were all the sweets the kitchen prepared for a nearby bakery – and for some reasons these sweets were always placed right in front of me, teasing me.
Speaking of sweets, I ended dinner with dessert and tried the popular butterscotch pudding ($8). I’m a big fan of butterscotch pudding, and FnB’s version was a pleasant cup of pudding topped with whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg. I’ve had more silky butterscotch pudding in my life, but FnB’s version is a sweet ending for a delightful dinner that was focused on the ingredients."
http://focussnapeat.com/2012/03/14/showcasing-arizonas-freshest-flavors/
Here's my review of Binkley's, which as you can expect, was my most plentiful dinner with all the little amuse bouche and in-between tastes that came from the kitchen as part of the tasting menu.
"If there’s ever a destination restaurant in Arizona, Binkley’s would be that place. That’s because it’s really the only reason I can think of driving more than 17 miles after a plane ride for dinner.
With nothing more than the GPS app on my iPhone guiding me through the dark desert night, I eventually found Binkley’s Restaurant in a tiny strip near a tamale spot in a town called Cave Creek north of Scottsdale, Ariz.
From the outside it looks like any strip mall restaurant – the sign a bit flashy for the refined elegance found inside. From the moment I was greeted at the door, the service at Binkley’s was a standout, with multiple friendly servers bringing dishes after dishes to my table.
Binkley’s is the well-known restaurant from Chef Kevin Binkley, whose whimsical play on dishes using liquid nitrogen, gels, and foams would stand up to any kitchen in Manhattan or San Francisco. But this is Cave Creek, and Chef Binkley makes a worthy effort to put the little town of Cave Creek onto the nation’s culinary map with his emphasis on fresh and local ingredients.
The menu works in two ways: the traditional ala carte choices on the right or multiple options for tasting menus on the left. What I like about the tasting menu is that you decide what you’d like to eat from the ala carte side, with the portion sizes reduced to be appropriate for a tasting.
Chef Binkley makes his tasting menu special with the abundance of amuse bouches and in-between tastes he sends to the table. I ordered the five-course tasting menu ($89) and even before I got my first course I nibbled on six different amuse bouches that was like eating food for tiny people, such as the tray of three teeny weeny sandwiches (a Sloppy Joe, Vietnamese bahn mi and New Orleans-style muffaletta) and a tiny doughnut with bacon butter.
Some of the amuse were a delightful opener such as a tasty pear soup and a playful “ham and cheese” dish with home-made Canadian-style bacon and a truffle tater tot with a delicious cheddar cheese foam. But some weren’t as successful, like a plate of pickled vegetables and pretzel ball (the pickled vegetables were more salty than sour and lacked much crunch) and a sunflower stem with curry dipping oil (the oil didn’t have a distinct curry flavor). Still, it was an entertaining way to get a peek at the chef’s playful approach to the dinner ahead.
For my main courses, an appetizer of oysters three ways was also mixed, with a refreshing raw oyster with granita but a smoked oyster appeared mostly shriveled. Another starter of Serrano ham-wrapped frog legs was a winner, with the ham pan-fried to a crispy texture that nearly crackled as I cut into the tender frog legs, the richness of the ham cut by a fava bean and caper vinaigrette. I also loved the sunchoke and artichoke gratin, where the vegetables were covered by Hollandaise sauce and then torched for that roasted tinge.
The course of Nantucket bay scallops were light and beautifully plated, and my main entrée of five-spice pork tenderloin was an interesting plate of contrasting textures, from the tender pork medallions to the jelly cubes of root beer to the paper thin slices of pineapple that felt like I was eating a candy wrapper.
Again, as I waited for the above courses, the chef sent more in-between bites – some amazing while others were just OK. There was a bacon lardon on top of a puff pastry filled with an egg yolk, but the yolk was barely detectable although the puff pastry was nicely made. A mulled apple cider “bomb” was a burst of apple cider mixed with prosciutto cream and lemon zest, and an orange anise soda had a nice flavor but lacked much fizz for a soda shot.
A definite eye opening near the end of the meal is the complimentary pomegranate drink served with pin-small Elderflower lollipop. What gets the diner’s attention is the pomegranate drink is placed on a color light platform that turns the cup of liquid into a lava lamp.
My favorite dish has to be Binkley’s signature dessert, simply listed on the dessert menu as “raspberry.” I wondered how exciting a plate of raspberries would be, but with my server’s encouragement, I went ahead and ordered it and totally do not regret doing so.
The raspberry plate included several items prepared different ways, including cream-filled raspberries, luscious blondie cubes, refreshing grapefruit slice, candied ginger, solidified vanilla cream pearls and crunchy pistachio. The server pours a raspberry consommé around the plate and then adds liquid nitrogen for that “special effect” of watching a calming smoke roll over the raspberries like San Francisco fog. The plate was a delightful end to a fantastic dinner show.
Oh, there were more little bites as well like a delicious and cute teeny weeny cinnamon soufflé with crème anglaise and a plate of chocolate truffles, pate de fruit and vanilla meringue.
A tasting dinner at Binkley’s leaves you feeling pampered, with the service extending to even a next-day voicemail left on my phone by the restaurant hostess thanking me for visiting and hoping I will return again. Chef Binkley definitely leaves a memorable experience, tempting you to come back. While not every dish is effective, all will leave you amused and talking.
http://focussnapeat.com/2012/03/11/refined-whimsy-and-tastes-in-the-desert/
New Oakland food truck spot - Grand Ave
Several food trucks are now operating under the banner "Eat it Forward" and they're promoting their spots under the facebook page www.facebook.com/eatitforward and on twitter at twitter.com/eatitfwd
They have several spots planned around Uptown, and looks like the first spot is 15th and Harrison. (They have plans for Broadway and 21st and 23rd, but we'll see how that goes since it was so close to the 21st and Webster pod that got closed down.)
Tres leches cake in SF?
Yes, I love the slice I had from Tartine, so fresh and moist. I'm sure they have a whole since they usually bake it whole and slice them for sale. It may not be a big sheet though, probably like a bread loaf size.
Disappointment at Paul K
That Chron report was really one sided, telling only the story about the Richs' purchase and plans. But it never went into explaining what happened to Paul K's current owners and why they sold and whether they're moving on to opening somewhere else. It's been awhile since I've dined there, but it's been there a long time so people might be curious, especially since it's going to remain open for now.
California Foodie Visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training 2012
Thanks everyone for your great feedback! A lot to consider, and as expected, I can't go to all my favorites since I'm primarily planning dinners and will spend most of the lunches finding parking and getting ready for the ball games.
But here's my revised list. These are the places that I've made reservations for:
1) Binkley
2) FnB
3) Citizen Public House
4) POSH
These are places on my list of potential places to check out spur of the moment, depending on what's happening, and without reservations:
1) Daily Dose
2) Deseo (mostly for the mojito bar)
3) The Mission
4) True Food Kitchen
5) Pizzaria Bianco
I'll post my reactions after my trip in March!
California Foodie Visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training 2012
FnB and CPH are on my must list. I have to look into Noca, thanks!
New to SF. Perfect tasting menu at 5star place for 30th bday?
Service is wonderful at COI but food portions will leave you hungry. Not a good value IMHO.
California Foodie Visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training 2012
Thanks Bill for your recommendations. It sounds like you tend to dine in the high-end spots when you visit San Francisco. I'm actually more of the opposite. When I travel, I don't like to get fussy and dress up for dinner, so I do look for more sophisticated dining but in a casual, fun atmosphere. Which is why I think FnB appeals to me. I'm on the border for Cowboy Ciao because I've heard mixed reviews,although I may just go for what sounds like a funky decor!
