Final notes on our trip...

In Nashville, your options for coffee are limited.  There are a few good places to go, Portland Brew and Bongo Java come to mind.  For me, either one means a trip in the car and these days, I just do without.  While wandering around San Francisco, we were quickly spoiled by the close proximity of good coffee wherever you are.  While some may think we mean the ever-present Starbucks on every corner, they would be mistaken.  In some parts of San Francisco, you would have to search for one and in others; they just won't let them in.  The North Beach Merchants Association has done a great job of keeping them out.  We were more than happy to get our coffee at Peet's while we were in the city.  They roast all of their beans and we loved the bold, dark roasts.  In plain English, that is a strong dark cup of coffee that only a splash of half and half can compliment.  We brought home a pound of the Guatamala San Sebastian and savored every cup we brewed.

Another coffee hghlight was in Sausalito; we visited Caffe Trieste, which is located near a marina.  After purchasing two more wonderfully dark and rich cups of coffee, we walked over to the boardwalk that runs along the waterfront and sat on a bench looking out at the boats moored in the marina and the view of the bay.  The weather was on the warm side for June, no jacket was required.  Unfortunately, the view was shrouded in smoke from all of the fires that were burning in the area.  Nevertheless, we thoroughly relished the opportunity to sip great coffee alongside so many beautiful boats.

In order to visit all of the places we wanted to see, we turned our trip into a series of day trips, each with a specific destination in mind.  One of those trips was to Berkeley, 4th Street specifically.  The area has been refurbished and is quite trendy now.  Linda accompanied us this day and we started off with a cup of coffee at Peet's and the proceeded to wander through the shops.  We tasted olive oils and vinegar in one shop and Linda purchased a lime olive oil that was very nice.  In another, I found seeds for next springs vegetable garden.

When it came time to eat lunch, Linda surprised us with reservations at Chez Panisse Cafe.  If you haven't been there, the cafe is upstairs from the famed restaurant.  We were seated directly in front of the open kitchen so that we could watch the coming and going of pizzas in the brick oven.  While some may not have enjoyed this location, we did.  It was refreshing to watch a confident and relaxed crew work.  They clearly enjoyed what the were doing and the food on our plates reflected that.  The three of us shared a pizzetta; a small pizza covered in porcini mushrooms and melted cheese.  The crust was thin and blistered the way it should be,  I could have easily eaten the whole thing myself.  In between courses, we snacked on an array of olives and wonderful bread from Acme Bakery.  For our entrees, Darry chose the leg of lamb, I chose a grilled vegetable dish and Linda opted for the rocket (arugula) salad.  At first glance, the plates seemed a bit sparse, as if lunch was little more than a snack.  However, after we began to eat, it occurred to me that this is what reasonably sized portions look like; your plate should not be heaped with food as is the custom in the South.  We were all able to clean our plates and consider dessert afterwards.  Whenever I am willing to indulge in dessert, it is usually chocolate and this menu offered a bittersweet pave with cherries and cream; it was a small, dense and rich cake that is brick shaped, hence the name pave.  Once again, I cleaned my plate. Darry satisfied his sweet tooth and his caffeine fix in one with the espresso served over vanilla ice cream while Linda chose the strawberry sherbet with strawberries and rose petals.  This was a dining experience to remember.  The ever present wait staff was attentive but did not hover, our water glasses were bottomless and we were well taken care of.  It was food from local sources that was well prepared and every bite was savored and will be remembered.  It is no mystery how the place remains a top destination for the seriously food minded.  Alice Waters was a pioneer when she opened Chez Panisse and today her involvement with locally grown products makes her an example to follow.  While so many big names come and go, she has proven that it is possible to stay at the top of your field, helping to form new trends and not become a commercialized cartoon of your former self.  

Note:  the menu at Chez Panisse Cafe, pictured above,  respectfully asks that you not use cell phones or computers at the tables; obviously, I did not break out my camera to photograph our meal. 

Napa Valley

While we were out in California, we went to Napa for a day.  We didn't have a plan in mind, just thought we would go and visit a winery or two, maybe have lunch.  It was a beautiful day and we were excited to be there.  This picture shows the main street running through Saint Helena.  We spent several hours here wandering through shops and tasting olive oil, only we could end up in the heart of the wine country and not taste any wine! Believe it or not, it is common to find shops that sell olive oil and little else.  We tasted many, from flavored ones to different presses. Citrus flavors are popular as are herbs.  Most often, they feature different blends and presses.  Many were too strong for me, I preferred the light blends.  My favorite item to taste was the vinegars.  Even though I am not fond of sour flavors, I preferred tasting vinegar to olive oil.  The balsamic vinegars were wonderful and so were the ones made from sherry.  In one store, they had vinegars made from cherries, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries.  Surprisingly enough, they were very palatable.   We also had the chance to sample wonderful flavored salts.  If it was left up to Darry, he would have bought every jar of truffle salt available, he couldn't get enough of it.

When we were on our honeymoon, many years ago, we went to Napa and one of the wineries we visited was Franciscan.  Whenever we are in the area, we always stop in for a quick visit and to see the grounds.  The garden in front of the winery is lined with rows of grapes.

This is a view of the gardens, the grapes line the path on both sides and at the end is a monstrous bench that we have taken many pictures of over the years.

We admit that we do watch some of the shows on the Food Network, not many though.  One of our favorites is Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.  We saw Taylor's Refresher on an episode and decided to stop in for lunch.  They had some of the best burgers we have ever had and the sweet potato fries are great too.  You may think that a burger isn't much to brag about but, these were very good and the price was very reasonable.  We were allowed to request a temperature for the burgers, something a lot of places will not do anymore.  They came to us simply dressed, lettuce, onions, pickles and the secret sauce but no tomatoes due to the salmonella scare.  The sauce is a mayonnaise based dressing that was very good and nothing else was needed.  The fried sweet potatoes are made from fresh raw sweet potatoes and they were nicely seasoned, I could have eaten two orders!  The grounds were nice, lots of picnic tables with umbrellas and a lot of space in between.  We would definitely go back, the burgers are worth the trip.  The full menu is on the website, click on the link above to see it.

Our last stop of the day was a quick visit to the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone.  It is an old winery that was converted to the school.  We were not able to take a tour but we did go to the gift shop where I signed some of my books, it was a trip to see them for sale at the CIA!

maiden voyage

This past June, we took a much needed vacation.  with all of the options available, we decided to travel to California.  Linda, Darry's mom, asked us to come out and visit.  Knowing that visiting her and Mike also meant the opportunity to visit friends and old haunts, we couldn't wait to get there.  On our first day, we took the ferry from Larkspur to San Francisco and  we walked  over to Chinatown.  This has always been one of our favorite places to wander in and out of shops and take in the local culture.  Most tourists never make it off Grant Street (pictured above) and it is geared towards them, lots of souvenirs.  We didn't pick up much, just a moon cake mold and lunch. 

If you really want to experience Chinese culture and cuisine, go uphill one block to Stockton Street.  That is where all of the local residents shop and do business.  You will swear that you are in another country.  In the top photo, durians (the world's stinkiest fruit), daikon and cabbage are a common sight.  In the bottom photo, many varieties of choy and citrus fruits are another common sight.  The day we were visiting, cherries were for sale everywhere and they were as cheap as 69 cents per pound-yes less than a dollar.

There are many butcher shops like this one displaying various cooked meats and poultry in the window.

Fresh seafood is available in abundant quantities and varieties that are not common in Nashville.  We even wandered into the one in the bottom photo and watched the women working to clean the fish.

This shop was our favorite find of the day.  It seemed to go on forever, the farther you went back, the more you found!  The fish on display in the front of the store were so colorful and pretty it almost seemed a shame that they were going to be eaten.  Every fish store had shrimp like these.

As we wandered back, we encountered this woman butchering a whole hog.  Due to a camera that does not have a flash, the picture is not very clear.

As we went even farther back, we found a room full of poultry cages.  There was a woman with them and it is my guess that if you wanted a bird, she would have broken it's neck for you so you could take it home.

On our way out, we spied a tub of frogs and a tub of turtles, painted turtles to be exact.  Darry wanted to buy them all so he could release them.  Hard to believe that anyone would want to eat them with everything else that was available.