The second night in San Diego – Jayne’s Gastropub

Of the other six restaurants on my list of restaurants to try in San Diego, all looked good. But for whatever reason, I chose Jayne’s Gastropub. It’s in an area called University Heights, just off the I-805 at Adams. I made reservations there too (it was a Friday night, after all), and we were fortunate to be able to sit outside in their back patio that evening. Not much of a breeze, but it was perfectly comfortable. I’d read something about their Crostini at Alice’s Q. Foodie’s blog (I think) so we knew we’d order that if possible. Once we were seated, and menus presented, Jeremy, the sommelier approached and asked if we’d like a sparkling wine to start. He suggested three: a Friuli prosecco (Italian), a New Mexican sparkling wine (bone dry) and a sparkling Lambrusco (Italian). He and Dave had lively conversations about wine throughout our evening when he wasn’t busy assisting other tables with their wine selections. He’s a connoisseur of all wines Italian and French (he’s a wine-related writer by day – – if you’re interested, he has his own wine/food/music website: www.DoBianchi.com ). He’s exceedingly knowledgeable about wine in general. Dave ordered the New Mexico sparkler and I had the prosecco. I really loved the prosecco. Dave not so much the other one (no depth, he said, but I don’t know that a sparkling white should have a whole lots of character depth anyway). I nursed my glass all through dinner since I was driving home.  Dave also ordered a very nice Cabernet to go with dinner, recommended by Jeremy. And at the end Jeremy was kind enough to bring us a tiny little nip of the Lambrusco. It was delicious. If they have it I’ll order it next time we go, after I have a glass of the prosecco.

The menu is lovely – includes a bit of everything from gazpacho, carpaccio, Caesar, fish, chicken, beef, pork. It’s a small menu (probably about 6 starters and 8-10 entrées altogether) but covers every type of food you might want. Dave chose the crostini with white bean dip and sweet peppers.

Well, I have to tell a story about the dish because this plate of food (pictured) was just fabulous. The chef had perfectly grilled the bread – grill marks and all, and the bread was still soft inside), and it was served with two bowls, one at each end of the plate – one contained the white bean dip, the other these remarkable, delicious, succulent, piquant piquante South African pickled peppers. Dave gave me one bite of this appetizer and I was hooked on those peppers. The owner, Jayne, very graciously brought me a card with information about them – she buys them wholesale, but on occasion her wholesaler can’t get them, so she usually finds them at Whole Foods, at the olive bar. Ah hah! I’ll have to check that out. The brand is Peppadew, and they’re also available by mail order through Gourmet Food Mall. Martha, Gourmet, Good Morning America and Sara Moulton all discovered these peppers back in 2003. They’re slightly warm (spicy), but tempered by the pickling done by Peppadew – they’re sweet and addictive. I simply MUST find these. Dave liked them so much he asked for more. [I found them at the olive bar at Whole Foods. The store doesn’t carry them in a jar or can, but only at the olive bar, so you buy what you need. Whooray. Thank you, Whole Foods.]

My Caesar salad was good, although not memorable. I usually prefer salads that are tossed – this was a small, whole head of Romaine with dressing drizzled over it and sprinkled with Parmesan and croutons. It was obviously a good dressing and it wasn’t over-dressed, which is a common occurrence at other restaurants, and the croutons were house made. But you have to cut it up. I ate every bite, though, so what does that tell you?

For dinner Dave ordered the Niman Ranch Porterhouse Pork chop. It was absolutely outstanding – I can attest – since I got a couple of bites at the end. I’ve written up blog posts about Niman Ranch meats that I’ve had shipped to us (sign up for their email and you’ll know when they put varied meats on special), so Dave knew it would be good. I ordered the vegetarian dinner – grilled vegetables with grilled polenta triangles (pictured). It also had some melted mozzarella inside the mound, and some kind of zesty, sharp (good, sharp) sauce drizzled around the plate edges. The polenta was perfectly done – still just slightly soft in the center, and the vegetables were well cooked with a great variety, including okra, which I like very much, and certainly isn’t common in many West Coast restaurants. This was an outstanding meal. Dave was still talking about it the next day, suggesting we need to return to the boat soon so we can go back.

Jayne’s Gastropub 
4677 30th Street at Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA 92116
619.563.1011

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We spent a couple of days on our boat in San Diego last week. Purportedly we went there to escape the heat and humidity. We didn’t, but that’s another story. Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to research some good restaurants in San Diego and made reservations. Casual attire is the order of the day when you’re on a boat, so I knew we needed places that were okay with casual but not scruffy clothes. My first go-to resource is always Alice Q Foodie. Alice’s blog is about food/recipes/restaurants, and down the right column she lists all of her favorite San Diego restaurants. For this trip, I wrote down seven possibilities, then discussed them with my DH.

We were going out with a dear friend, Tony. Dave and Tony became friends in about 1975 through business, and they’ve been fast friends ever since, with much of their common interests revolving around boats. Tony has a mammoth power boat – a Nordhaven 50 in case anyone is interested – a luxury boat of the first order which he docks sorta-kinda near our yacht club. Tony is Italian, lives in Fallbrook (a small town at the north end of San Diego County) so I phoned him several hours ahead of time and asked if he’d been to any of the restaurants on my list (only one was Italian). He hadn’t, but when I mentioned Arrivederci, he jumped on it. Tony is a very good cook in his own right, but he loves to discover new Italian places. We enjoyed some wine and cheese on his boat for an hour or so before we departed for the restaurant, located in North Park (just north of downtown San Diego).

I’d made reservations for 7 pm (if I’d known they didn’t have A/C, I’d have asked to sit on the patio). It was exceedingly warm that evening. My GPS usually works like a charm, but this time she (Trudi, we call her, the female voice in our GPS) could not even FIND Fourth St. Or 4th St. Oh well. We figured out how to get there despite the problem. Tony made a quick call to the restaurant to get the cross streets. After all, San Diego is my home town, though I haven’t lived there since about 1971.

As soon as we sat down, we ordered a bottle of Sicilian Nero d’Avola. We were seated in the back of the restaurant, as far back as the small restaurant goes, that is, without a puff of hot sticky air coming our way. It was warm. Very warm. The menu is huge. Too big for me. There were far too many choices, nearly all of which looked good. The specials of the day numbered over 20. At Alice’s blog, she highly recommended the Portobello (stuffed) appetizer, so we ordered it right away. It came, nestled on a plate of lightly dressed greens . We shared it. The large portobello was coated with lots of flavored breadcrumbs. The bites I got with cheese were wonderful. The bites without any cheese were quite mediocre. I’d probably request next time that I have extra cheese or something like that. To make darned sure! But it was good.

Dave ordered veal scallopine, which he said wasn’t memorable. Too bad. Tony and I both ordered the pork osso buco, which was absolutely outstanding. I mean out-of-this-world-outstanding. It was a tower of a shank of pork, so tender you cut it with a fork, as it fell off the bone. It was served, centered in a mounded pool of smooth, unctuous risotto. It was, without a doubt, the best restaurant risotto I’ve ever had. Thinly sliced mushrooms, swimming in some kind of dark, clear sauce were spooned over it. Oh my. I didn’t even eat half of it, so Dave and I shared what was left as a light dinner a couple of nights later. The leftover risotto certainly wasn’t as good as the first time around, but the pork was still tender and juicy. I may have dreams about that pork and risotto. Now, did I happen to mention to you how WARM it was in the restaurant? By the time we were mid-way through the main course, I was dripping. The hot food entering an already warm body made an uncomfortable combination. We left as soon as we could. Californians simply are NOT used to humidity higher than about 30-40%, so we get real miserable, impatient and intolerant when it’s any higher. I heard people saying it was up in the 80% range. I think the temperature was in the high 80’s. No wonder I was uncomfortable.

Arrivederci

3845 Fourth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
1.619.299.6282

So, to cool off, we zipped down Washington and stopped (how lucky we were to find one parking place within half a block) at Gelato Vero. I’ve mentioned this place before on my blog. They have the best-est gelato this side of Italy. The patriarch, from the old country, made gelato from his family’s prized recipes for decades. He’s now gone, but I hear his son is running the business. Our favorite is banana, but they didn’t have any of that flavor. All three of us ordered a medium cup. The bill? $13.78. Yikes. They charge by the ounce now, likely because the price of milk has gone up. We sat outside in the muggy heat, but loved the gelato! You don’t go there for the ambiance – it’s a tiny, cramped store, with a table or two inside and a few tables outside. Go outside and watch the traffic go by. Worth going to? Absolutely.

Gelato Vero
3753 India St.
San Diego, CA 92103

The next day, during the afternoon Dave took other friends of ours, Joe & Yvette, out for a day sail, along with Yvette’s 9-year old niece Vittoria. What a little doll she is! Dave said Vittoria was a natural at sailing – she took the helm for awhile and did an exceptional job keeping the boat lined up for maximum breeze. Dave was impressed!

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Some of the stuff from Charlie Palmer’s – the “farewell” brownie wrapped up in cellophane, matches, a biz card from the wine shop and their upcoming wine tasting calendar.

Yesterday was my birthday. Our family already celebrated my birthday (and the 4 other birthdays in our family in a 2-week period), so my DH said he’d take me out to dinner. We’d heard so much about Charlie Palmer’s, so decided to give this new restaurant a try. I give it a full five stars. It’s located inside the Bloomingdale’s store in South Coast Plaza. There’s an outside entrance also at one corner of the building.

This is a very upscale restaurant – the kind that serves an amuse bouche at no charge. Where there are several layers of tablecloths, including a silky, shiny one that puddled on the floor around our feet, and a variety of crystal glasses surrounding our place settings. The kind of restaurant that requires you to order vegetables if you want them ($7.00 per order, enough for two people). The kind of restaurant that has about 5 different people to serve you – one for water, another for cocktails, yet another to serve their fresh baked breads, the “main” waiter who takes your order, and lastly a busboy to clean up after us through all of our courses. The kind of restaurant that hands you another treat as you leave – we got a choice of popcorn or brownies.

First we were presented with a cocktail menu and their wine list. Now, when I say we were handed a wine list – well. This was in another league of wine lists. It was a tablet kind of computer (a flat panel type, measuring about 9 x 11 inches, with a stylus to meander your way around the different wine menus. The restaurant is associated with a wine shop adjacent to it, and they indicated that all the wine was charged at normal, retail prices. That’s a really nice touch! I ordered a blood orange mojito, since mojitos are a kind of favorite of mine. It was really, really special. The fresh mint, the just-right chemistry of sweet to sour (I asked them to use less sugar since I like it more tart). Dave ordered a Spanish grenache, from Las Rocas. He liked it so much he wants to buy some for our cellar.

Since this was a special evening, and we were anxious to try several things, we decided not to share anything (except the side vegetable and dessert). We ordered starters, main courses, one vegetable and one dessert. The waiter told us that the chef is a real guru in the first order when it comes to pork. Initially I was going to order their house-made pate, but having just watched a TV program last week about pork belly, I changed my mind, upon the waiter’s recommendation. My previous knowledge was that pork belly was all fat. Not so. I ordered it – “Crisp pork belly with melon, pickled onion and aged sherry vinegar.” Apparently the chef has a long cooking process for it – it was absolutely fabulous. Dave ordered their “Heirloom tomato and watermelon salad with arugula pesto, burrata and lemon verbena.” It was such a huge plate, he couldn’t eat it all. The yellow watermelon (which played a very minor role on the plate) was rubbed with a variety of spices and quickly grilled. The heirloom tomatoes were slices from several colors (red, yellow and green). There were a lot of flavors running around his plate, and the one bite I had was outstanding.

For our mains, Dave ordered their “Liberty duck breast, braised endive and toasted cumin.” I didn’t taste the duck – Dave had devoured it in a matter of minutes. It was exquisitely served. We ordered wild mushrooms as our side dish (they have 3 or 4 different mushroom preparations – they’re part of their “signature” sides). I ordered “Grilled Berkshire pork loin with sweet corn and Black Mission figs.” I couldn’t eat it all, so will enjoy the leftovers for lunch today. It was so succulent and moist, and I loved the combination with the figs, and probably a fig jus of some kind. I’d order it again in an instant.

They have an extensive dessert menu, and I was tempted, but decided just to try an order of their house-made ice cream. The waiter wanted us to order the sweet corn ice cream, but when he checked in the kitchen, he found out the pastry chef hadn’t made it yesterday, but had cognac and chocolate chip instead. Also two other chocolate flavors too. The cognac angle sounded wonderful. Almost as delicious as the ice cream was, what it was served in was almost as interesting: a triangular stand with 6 small cups, each mounded with the ice cream. It was served on a large plate with “Happy Birthday” drizzled in chocolate on the plate, and a single candle. Very understated (no singers, thank you) and subtle. All and all, a delightful dinner in every way. We will return, no question. Our dinner, including Dave’s two glasses of wine, my aperitif, all the food, was $150 not including tip.

Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s
South Coast Plaza
3333 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 352-2525
Website

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It was some years ago now that we first had lunch at The Gypsy Den, in Costa Mesa (California). It happens to be in the same small shopping complex where we, my DH and I, get our hair cut, so we often try to make appointments around lunchtime. Sometimes my friend and owner/hair stylist Rachel, eat there together before or after the haircuts. But most often my DH and I eat there. He orders the same thing every single time we go. Mostly I do too. He has their Greek salad. I order a crock of their adobe stew.

So after eating this soup umpteen times, I asked one of the waitresses about it. She brought out a sheet of paper with a list of all the ingredients. It was up to me to figure out how much of what. That’s all I had – a list of all the vegetables in it, and the names of the spices. I was amazed at how good it was, considering it was made with WATER. Not even broth. Not even vegetable broth. So their recipe is actually vegan and vegetarian if you don’t count the cheese. I love it just as well, no matter what you call it.
The restaurant fashions itself as a kind of hip, but very funky, mostly outdoor place. The OC Weekly described it this way: “nose-pierced babes woo scruffy-bearded grad students with promises of Foucault and vegetarian chili.”

The Gypsy Den kitchen makes everything themselves, including their bread. They have lots of vegetarian items, but also make some sandwiches and salads with chicken and tuna, etc. The food is always – I mean always – good. I appreciate the fact that they make everything in house. The waitresses are a trip and a half – often with tattoos down their arms, in rather skimpy halter tops, tight pants, etc. You might not want to take your aging mother here, although I am one. But it’s a favorite haunt of ours nevertheless.

So one time I decided to try making my own Adobe Stew. I came up with a kind of recipe. It’s not the same as the Gypsy Den’s, I’m sure, but it’s close. Each time I’ve made it, it’s been slightly different. Do notice how dark the broth is – so I assume they used a LOT of chiles. Cumin also adds to a dark-colored broth, but not THAT dark.

You can also buy ancho chili powder from some grocery stores, and also at Penzey’s – and in fact that may be what they use rather than the dried chiles. Here in Southern California we have all kinds of fresh and dried chiles at our markets. Poblanos (a fresh chile) are at most stores, and anchos are dried poblanos. They’re very mild, adding just about zero heat to the stew. Likely the chili powder does that.

So, first I’ll give you the ingredient list – that way you can interpret it as you so choose. If you choose.

Gypsy Den Adobe Stew Ingredients: onions, oil, tomatoes (canned), garlic, bay leaves, oregano, ground cumin, ground coriander, chili powder, ancho chiles, corn, green beans, zucchini squash, yellow squash, pinto beans, water, cheddar cheese and jack cheese.

My scribblings on the day the waitress brought us the ingredient list.
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When my DH says this is a keeper, I listen up. He doesn’t say those words all that often. He enjoys my cooking and does tell me all the time how much he appreciates this dish or that. But those particular words just don’t come out of his mouth frequently. I heard them for this dish. He was intrigued enough by the appearance to ask me what was in it, how I cooked it. He keeps thinking that one of these days when he takes a several-day sailing trip on our boat, going out to Catalina, or one of the other islands within sailing distance of our shores, that he’s going to cook a nice dinner for his crew. (I’ve probably mentioned it before, but I don’t go on these jaunts because I get deathly seasick, or I’m so drugged up with Dramamine that I don’t function much, or suffer from very blurred vision if I use the scopalamine patch. All in all, I just don’t go. DH reminds me occasionally that he didn’t marry me for my sailing abilities. That’s for sure. He also didn’t marry me for my dancing style, either, but that’s another story.)

So anyway, he was curious about the chicken and nearly licked the plate. The recipe came from a restaurant out in our California desert – a French place called Cuistot. We’ve eaten there several times, and enjoyed the food. A reader wrote into the Los Angeles Times (December 12, 2007) asking them to get the recipe, which the chef provided. I believe the article said this is a common bistro kind of preparation. It’s easy – from start to finish it took me about 45 minutes, with 25 of those minutes the chicken was in the oven. You heat the oven to a phenomenal 500 degrees F. Yikes. But it works. If you have a heavy-duty skillet that can withstand that kind of heat, go for it (that’s what the recipe indicates). I wasn’t sure enough to subject my Look brand nonstick skillet to that temp, so after browning the chicken pieces I popped them in an ovenproof pan. Then I deglazed the browning skillet and made the sauce while the chicken was baking. It sped up the dinner process since I was able to take the chicken directly from the oven to the plate and spooned sauce on it immediately with a bit of the drippings from the blazing hot pan.

This is the kind of dinner you could throw together quickly – providing you have shallots on hand and fresh tomatoes. Most home kitchens would have the garlic, butter, red wine, vinegar and chicken broth. I forgot to add the garnish in my haste to get the plates on the table.

You see, I was late getting home – went to see Kite Runner at 3:55 and didn’t get out of the movie until 6:15. And, oh my goodness, was that a movie! I’d read the book a year or two ago, right after it came out. The photography was excellent – even though it was filmed mostly in China. The bulk of the real story takes place in Kabul, Afghanistan and Pakistan, but it certainly looked authentic. The story is heart-wrenching to say the very least about it. Highly recommended. And, of course, the book is better, but I thought the movie was exceptionally well done.

So, after a 30-minute drive home, it was late for dinner before I even started. Bang, clang, and I served it in a jiffy. And now this will go into the KEEPERS file. DH even asked that the next time this is on the menu, he’d like to make it. Now that makes this a real red-letter dinner! He’s never said that. Ever.
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Most likely many of you, who read other food blogs, have heard about the macarons. That’s not macaroons, but macarons. I think that would be pronounced, in the French, like mac-a-rown. The s is silent, and you’d nasalize the rown too. Very swishy. I’d seen pictures of these gems on some other blogs, but two weeks ago when DH and I drove through Yountville and stopped at Bouchon Bakery, they had bunches in their display case. I had to try one, in chocolate. It was only (ha) $3.00 for one. It stayed in the car for 2 days before I brought it into my cousin Maxine’s house, where we were staying in Walnut Creek. We cut it in 4 quarters. I ate my two quarters in a jiffy. They’re hard to describe, other than luscious. Soft. Smooth. These had a lovely chocolate flavor. Ideal with a hot beverage of some sort.

Probably only upscale bakeries will have these, and I’d guess Bouchon’s would have ranked up there with the best there are outside of Paris. This macarons was absolutely to die for. If I see them again I’ll definitely buy more. Well, maybe just one. They’re quite rich with the filling in the center. Who knows how many calories there are. I don’t want to know! The meringue-like outside cookie part is not crunchy or chewy, but has just a little bit of texture. And the filling was so utterly smooth. So, there’s your lesson in French and pastry for the day.

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Years ago I began following the cooking of Cindy Pawlcyn. She cropped up on the Napa Valley radar when she opened Mustards, in the early 1980’s. She is an innovative chef, but rounds out her food with all the trappings of comfort food. As I believe I mentioned earlier, this was where I first tasted roasted garlic. Since it was very difficult, then, to even get into Mustards, one always had to wait for a table, even with a reservation. While waiting, what more obvious a thing to do than have a glass of the ubiquitous white wine of the decade (chardonnay, of course, because just about everybody was drinking the varietal at that time), and as you became more and more hungry watching and smelling the trays of food whisked from kitchen to tables, you might order a little something to slake your raging appetite. I remember asking the barman what we should have. He grinned and said, “the roasted garlic, of course.” I’m sure I must have made a face: even though I love garlic, I knew nothing about roasting it and about how the flavor changes so dramatically. To utter smoothness, to cream.

So anyway, that began my enjoyment of Cindy Pawlcyn’s food. And discovering how terrifically easy it is to make roasted garlic. Years have gone by, and I did enjoy many a dinner at Mustards, although now it’s been some years. But when I began planning this trip, my friend Darlene raved about Pawlcyn’s newer place, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen. The name is thus because the restaurant sits in a cute and funky little house on the next street over from the main drag through St. Helena. The town itself is small. There’s really just the one road that wends through the town, Highway 29. Tra Vigne is at the southern end of town, and Cindy’s place is about in the middle of town. A month ahead it was difficult getting a reservation here, but I was successful only with an early hour. Our waitress was funny as a stitch. She told us about the specials of the day and went non-linear about the soup. She just insisted we
HAD to try it – a Tomatillo, Poblano and Asiago Soup. She said the wait staff was in love with it. So, what could we possibly do? We each ordered it. Oh – my – gosh! I cannot begin to tell you. I wanted another bowl. I did my best to get information about what was in it, other than the obvious. She didn’t think there was cream, although she said it was thickened with masa. (To me, it looked like there was some cream.) So, today I did a search on the internet, and lo and behold I found a recipe from the chef at Stephan Pyle’s restaurant in Dallas. [Since I posted this story, the recipe has been taken down; the chef – not Stephan Pyle – left the restaurant and had gone elsewhere – likely that’s why.] I’ve never been there, but have certainly heard a lot about Stephan Pyles over the years. I haven’t tried this yet, but I will. I can promise you I will because Cherrie and I went nuts over this soup. I’ll let you know whether it compares with Cindy’s. When I make it I’ll try it without the flour, but with masa, and I’ll taste it before adding any cream.

Cherrie ordered one solitary oyster with spinach, shallots and a melting cheese. I ordered the stuffed zucchini blossoms (with Jack, cheddar and Asiago, with a dollop of guacamole) lightly sauteéd. We also ordered a delicious grilled chicken dish, Chicken Pollo Loco (we shared one order) that was moist and tender.
It was stuffed with Jack cheese and California chiles and spinach, maybe flash fried with shallots and extra virgin olive oil.

Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen is a winner. The food was outstanding. The wait staff was very fun. The atmosphere very enjoyable. Where I was sitting I looked out a window – isn’t this cute?

Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, 1327 Railroad Avenue, St. Helena, California

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Did we have fun? YES
Did we eat a lot of good food? YES YES YES
Did we shop ’til we dropped? Oh my, YES
Did we stay in some great places? YES
Would you go back? YES, most definitely
And lastly, is it good to be home? Well, yes it is.

It’s really, REALLY fun going on a road trip with a girlfriend. You can stop at any store you see out of the corner of your eye. You can stop for a latté whenever you feel like it. You can lounge in the B&B over cups of coffee, at leisure in the mornings. And, you can taste wine if you feel like it, or not. With our husbands along on such a trip we decided we’d really have required two cars. The guys in an SUV with a storage tow trailer for all the cases of wine they would have purchased. Us in the luxury car so we could sight see and shop. The boys would have been hyperventilating about reaching as many wineries as possible in a day, and Cherrie and I would have wanted to stop and linger over a book store, a coffee store, or the myriad of wonderful kitchenware, housewares stores which abound in northern California. And I must put a disclaimer in here: probably our husbands would both be willing to travel our way. Maybe for a day. Or two. But not for 7 days.

Most likely I’ll write a couple of posts about some of the places we went on this trip. But for now I’ll say that our favorite meal was at Ravenous in Healdsburg. Worst meal was at Cyrus in Healdsburg (that was the much-hyped, very expensive restaurant that requires a credit card to make a reservation and charges $100 if you don’t show up). Best place we stayed? Probably the B&B at Ramekins (the cooking school) in Sonoma. Although we really enjoyed the Victorian style Camellia Inn in Healdsburg too (we had a really cute room with separate bedrooms at a very reasonable price). It was about 2 blocks from the square in Healdsburg, so it was easy walking in every direction. We also stayed at the Marriott in Napa (okay), and a nice, but non-descript hotel in Emeryville.

When we left last Monday we zipped through Los Angeles. What? How’s that possible, you ask? Because it was 7:30 am on a HOLIDAY. Otherwise it would have taken hours to slog through traffic. That was a real blessing, as only Southern Californians know with the gridlock traffic that exists in nearly every direction. We live in Orange County (near Disneyland), so we have to get through O.C. and then the huge metropolis of L.A. to head north. Anyway, we made the drive to Berkeley in record time, then had dinner at Chez Panisse. The restaurant has two floors – the lower floor is their set menu section. We opted for the more casual upstairs one with a varied menu. Cherrie had never been, so she was all eyes watching the chefs nearby as they prepared food. It was quite dark where we were sitting, and my photos just didn’t turn out. I think it’s kind of bizarre to see people taking pictures of their plates of food, so I try to be as unobtrusive as possible. And never use flash. So sometimes they just don’t turn out. Particularly I enjoyed the fresh fruit tart – it looked like a piece of pizza, but it was a very nice, thin tart shell with fresh fruit and dried cherries and a blob of vanilla bean ice cream.

The next day we did the tour of the Scharffen Berger chocolate factory in Berkeley, which was very interesting. I’ll write up a separate post about that. Following the tour we set out for parts north. Arrived in Healdsburg just past lunchtime, so enjoyed a light meal at the Oakville Grocery right on the square. Shopped. And shopped.

Our dinner that night was at Cyrus. After all I’d read about the place, maybe we were expecting too much. It’s a lovely restaurant. Elegant, but in a Tuscan villa kind of way. Nice linens, very pleasant wait staff seeing to our every need. As nice as all that is, though, it’s the food you go for, especially since this may exceed some people’s entire Christmas budget in one meal. We opted not to partake of the caviar service, although we did try the sparkling wine. I didn’t keep track of everything we drank, but I didn’t care for the sparkler – I think it was a Roederer French champagne.

We ordered their 3-course meal ($68), the smallest set course you can order. A la carte is also available, but it really is a better deal to do the set courses, and it’s the same menu either way. We also opted for the 3-course wine pairings ($42, I believe). That was a big mistake. I do drink white wine, but I usually prefer red, and I was not thrilled at all with their choices. Cherrie wasn’t either. One of her courses was an Asian kind of small plate and they served it with a sake. Chilled. The waiter professed it to be an extraordinary wine. She didn’t like it at all, and she likes sake. I disliked my wine pairings so much I left most of it in the glasses. The food was okay. Rather fussy kind of plates – froths, drizzles, herb sprigs with tall things here and there. They also do much with deconstructed plates, which is fine, but that’s probably why they’re so expensive because of the extra time required in the kitchen. So, I’d take a pass on Cyrus, unfortunately.

I will tell you, though, about our best meal:

Ravenous Café, 420 Center Street, Healdsburg. Phone: (707) 431-1302. American bistro. Menu changes twice weekly. Lunch Wednesday- Sunday, 11:30am-2:30pm. Dinner Wednesday-Sunday, 5pm-9pm, Friday-Saturday until 9:30pm.

Several people in Healdsburg had told us about Ravenous, so we went there for lunch the next day. We’re SO glad we did, as it did turn out to be the most memorable. We sat outside – it was warm in the sun, cool in the shade, but pleasant. A slight breeze. A nice iced tea kind of day. And we both ordered their BLT sandwich. Not something I order very often. But oh, my, was this ever delicious. They made their own soft ciabatta roll. Maybe they even made their own mayo. What made it great was the perfect proportions – soft bread, mayo, bacon, tomato, avocado and greens. You know, sometimes when you eat a sandwich there’s too much bread, or there’s too much mayo, or not enough tomato or the bread is too firm. Seems like it’s always something. Not so in this case. And we also had a nice crunchy slaw with a ginger dressing. It wasn’t Asian. But it wasn’t your typical cole slaw, either. Very good, though. Here’s a picture of our sandwich and slaw. It may not look that special, but it surely was.

We ended up talking with an older gentleman sitting at a nearby table, especially after he and his wife devoured a dessert that looked so fabulous – a strudel with apples, dried cherries and apricots. It was tall and airy with an exquisite puff pastry with gelato. Cherrie and I shared one. A wonderful treat. The meal, the setting. Perfect. Highly recommended.

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I’ll be back in a week. My laptop will accompany me, but don’t know whether I’ll be able to get online and post anything. My friend Cherrie and I are taking a little trip to do some shopping, maybe try a few wines, attend some cooking classes at Ramekins in Sonoma, and enjoy some good food. Here are some of the other places we’re going to visit:

Dinner: Chez Panisse, Berkeley (Alice Waters’ restaurant – she was the earliest restaurateur to proclaim the virtues of fresh and organic lettuces and vegetables – we’re eating in the café, not the more sophisticated-menu restaurant.)

Dinner: Cyrus, Healdsburg (One of the top restaurants in the Healdsburg area – you have to pre-pay $100 for dinner here, not refundable if you change your mind. Geez! They will give you “store credit” though. It had better be worth it! . . . later note: it wasn’t worth it . . . we didn’t care for the food from beginning to end.

Lunch: The Girl & the Fig, on the square in Sonoma (Dave and I have eaten here before, thought it was wonderful. The chef has her own personal line of fig products like fig vinegar, fig conserve, etc. Obviously, she’s in love with figs! What I remember most about it last time was the great mojito I had. I know, I know, this is wine country, but I was tired of tasting wine from morning til night.)

Dinner: The General’s Daughter, Sonoma (another landmark near the square in Sonoma. Highly recommended by one of the cooking instructors/classes I frequent.)

Dinner: Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, St. Helena (Cindy Palcywn, of Mustards Grill fame, has been on my radar screen for over 20 years. First tried baked garlic at her restaurant back in the early 80’s. My friend Linda gave me the Mustards’ cookbook. This is a more recently opened restaurant, casual, highly recommended by my friend Darlene.)

Oh, almost forgot, we’re also going to the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory in Berkeley. We have an appointment for a tour there, which should be oodles of fun. I’m a fan of good chocolate and use Scharffenberger’s in baking, always, providing I have it on hand. The Scharffenberger family used to be into wines, mostly sparkling wine, which was one of my favorites of the champagne-style. I was quite disappointed when they sold the business. But then they decided to focus on producing the finest, European-style chocolates. It took them a couple of years to learn all about it and purchase the equipment, etc., but they’ve since had great success and acclaim.

Cheerio!

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