Not a Fan: Guy Fieri

As a Sunset magazine subscriber I like to try out the recipes. As a rule I am not a Guy Fieri fan, I can't stand to look at his awful hair or listen to him talk. But really, I think it's about the hair. But, I cooked up his whole menu (except for the dessert, what's camping without s'mores) that was in last month's Sunset. Who doesn't love a chimichurri, and the fresh stuff is way better than most of what I ate in Argentina.

Paper Straws

I get the aestheticism of paper straws, they are adorable. However, they have the mouth feel of that cotton the dentist stuffs in your mouth when he's done with your filling, only your mouth can feel it, it's not numb. So, i think that is worse.

Arcata, the hub of Humboldt County

My trip to Arcata was for two things; to hike in the redwoods and to have dinner at Folie Douce (http://www.holyfolie.com/) which my friend owns. I have been thinking about their salami, brie, and apricot jam wood fired pizza since i first tasted it over a year ago and it did not disappoint. There is no better way to finish off an eleven mile hike than with delicious house cava at 6 bucks a glass, a wonderful salad of greens, perfectly dressed and some bbq kumamotos touched with wasabi. Plus, my friend Marsha stopping by to share my table and bring on desserts.

New York City

I got to try the Magnolia Bakery's famous cupcakes. The cake is dry and the frosting is really great. My cousin was right that it's their banana pudding that takes the cake. It is so delicious and the portion so giant...I was happy I had my sister to share it with. Actually, I could have used all my sister's to share it with. The pudding manages to be light and creamy without coming off like a mousse, it just seems like the best pudding you've ever eaten.

I finally had lunch at the Tea Box at Takashimaya. The Bento Box wasa great. A bowl of rice with some sort of crab meat and scallion mixture on top, four bites that included a cube of tofu, a shrimp dumpling, something deep fried and delicious and a shot glass of cold red pepper soup. I love that they were all actually bite sized. I hate having to take two bites using chopsticks...then there was a beef dish that was lovely and a small salad. I got the French Verveine tea with butter cookies for dessert. I loved the tea it was subtle and flavorful, lemony without a hint of bitterness.

I tried so much in NYC. My favorite bagel (Absolute), a new deli (Katz's), the famous Mister Softie, and a street hot dog. I even came upon a Jaques Torres boutique on Amsterdam. The one thing the Frick Collection is missing is a cafe or tea room. Then the place would really be perfect.


I did manage a lunch at Bouchon with an old friend and only wished that I had the stomach space to try their take on the Fluffernutter! Since I make them at home and have had some food friends turn up their noses I was extremely happy to see the world's best french chef include them on his menu. Go team.

We made a stop at Dylan's candy bar which was fun. I brought home a peanut butter and jelly chocolate bar for my husband, it was as fun as it sounds. Now, if they'll only get on with the fluffernutter version.

Back in the Saddle

I spent a week backpacking recently and it's been a while. So, instead of gourmet trail dinners, i opted for light weight dehydrated beans and instant brown rice one night and too wet pasta the others. it seems i have lost my touch for draining pasta without a colander. That didn't seem to bother my husband, or myself, we were both hungry from so much hiking. the highlight of that trip was probably the cheeses i picked up at the Cowgirl Creamery. One with truffles and my personal backpacking favorite: Midnight Moon that Cypress Grove imports from Holland.

Basque-ing in the Wind

I live in South City, home to a single listing in the Slow Food guidebook: The Basque Cultural Center. I convinced some friends to join me there last night for a review before I book it for an awards banquet. Word is the place has good, relatively inexpensive food. The question I was left with was, "what's Basque food like?". If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is most likely very French. Everything I know about Bay Area Basque culture I pretty much learned reading 2 articles and eating at the restaurant last night. Here it is largely French, in the rest of the American West, it is probably more Spanish.

The articles were right, you get lots of good food for not a lot of money. You also get quick, friendly service and free parking. Even if you don't opt for the nightly special family style meal with two entrees, you still get soup and salad with your meal. The soup was a hearty lentil that leaned towards split pea flavor. It was earthy and buttery. The quantities of butter were reminiscent of winter camping stews from my NOLS days. Although it was good, I wanted a small cup, not a giant bowl. Bring your apetite or offend the staff.

We all loved the salad and spent some time trying to figure out the flavoring components without luck. It's simply a generous portion of butter lettuce with dressing. My companions tried the fish specials, one salmon and the other a sea bass. Although both were good my favorite was the sea bass. The fish was cooked perfectly in all cases and came with a nice sauce and sides. I had the rabbit with requisite brown mushroomy carroty sauce, it was cooked well. Which is to say that it was not overcooked. I've paid much more for dry overcooked rabbit. Mine came with a tasty veg mix and rice.

After all that we split three desserts. I had read the frozen nougat was not to be missed and we threw in the Gateau Basque out of curiosity and the chocolate mousse to compare this standard with others we'd tried. The frozen nougat is not to be missed and was a surprisingly light ending to a really great meal. The GB seemed to be what amounted to a custard tart with a lid. A double crusted wonder like so many pan dulce neither whose flavor can I describe, nor can I stop with the plate to mouth motion with my fork. Almonds? I'll have to bring my super taster sister next time, this place is right up her alley. The mousse was forgetable as chocolate mousses go. I found it rather cocoa-ey, neither unpleasant nor exciting. Also, most bottles of wine are under twenty bucks so bring your designated driver or take the walk from BART.

Hoighty Toighty places

I was in Petaluma this weekend visiting my dog and my family and I finally convinced my sister to go to a cafe I have been wanting to try. She said she didn't go to those "hoighty toighty" places, and by that I guess she means places with a ZAGAT rated sticker in the window? Or she means places that aren't chains. I really had wanted to go there for lunch or dinner, but we ended up getting breakfast on Sunday. I was enticed by the menu in the window but when we showed up the actual breakfast menu for the day had only a few items on it.

I got a croissant and lil' sis' ordered the pancakes. I was worried she was going to hate this place and i would never get back there for a glass of wine. But, after a few bites of pancakes she was still smiling and not complaining. A good sign. She let me have a bite or two of the cakes and they were the best I've ever had. Even Nina said they were fluffy and sweet enough, but still crispy, just a little bit. They were served the way she likes them, with a few strawberries, syrup, and a side of compote.

http://www.dellafattoria.com/della.htm