ethnic eats, vineyards, and more uni

After a picturesque (and dizzying) drive up the California coast on Highway 1 with a couple of stops along the way–San Simeon, Carmel, Monterey–we finally arrived in San Francisco on a cool, drizzly afternoon. We settled into our hotel, then hit the pavement to tour Union Square, SoMa, The Mission, Embarcadero, Fisherman’s Wharf, Richmond, and anywhere else our tired feet (and sometimes our car) would take us. Our tastebuds were still tingling from LA but we had great anticipation of the wonderful sights, smells and savors yet to come in this city by the bay….

San Francisco

Remaining true to form, our first dinner in town was comforting Italian at Delfina, a hip trattoria in The Mission. The food is of the Northern variety: simple, soulful plates and homemade pastas. Our server was lovely, but the tables were closely packed and it was hard to hear her over the din. We shared a ramekin of warm Italian olives with our cocktails (had to ask for bread and olive oil) and then a starter of well-charred calamari over a warm white bean salad. Our entrées included squid ink tagliatelle with freshly picked Dungeness crab, a special of roasted pork with farro, and a comforting contorni of roasted baby turnips and greens. It was a nice, though not especially inspiring, meal–minus the noise.
Deciding to forgo our usual egg and toast breakfast on the second day, we headed near Chinatown for dim sum (or deem sum, as they call it) at Yank Sing. We grabbed a table by the window just as the carts were beginning to wheel around with an exquisite presentation of Chinese delicacies.
First up, the house specialty, Shanghai soup dumplings with pork and scallion, served up in a bamboo steamer and eaten from a china spoon with julienne of ginger and a special sauce.
That hot deliciousness was quickly followed by steamed shrimp dumplings called Ha Gau, and one of my daughter’s favorites, Bao–barbecued pork buns. Fragrant sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf and filled with Chinese sausage and shiitake mushrooms was the best I’ve ever had.

Then one of my favorites: tender slices of Peking duck served with slivers of scallion, thick, sweet hoisin sauce, and steamed buns, which was plated on the cart and presented to us.

The perfect finale were these baked honey glazed pork buns. The green tea, perfumed with orange blossom, was a soothing complement to our meal. All in all, a magnificent dim sum experience and the perfect way to begin our day!

Inspired by our Chinese brunch, we made our way to Chinatown to do a little shopping. We climbed the festively decorated hilly streets and ventured in and out of touristy shops.

I was thrilled when we stumbled upon this cook’s dream: a store jam-packed with knives, pots, dishes and other food prep paraphernalia. And you can bet I didn’t leave empty handed!
After an afternoon of shopping, we quickly changed for dinner, hopped into our car and drove to the Richmond District, a multicultural neighborhood west of the Presidio known for its great restaurants. I was really excited about this one–we were finally going to aziza.
Moroccan chef Mourad Lahlou, author of Mourad: New Moroccan, has earned much acclaim (and a Michelin star) for his modernist take on North African cooking. His restaurant is an exotic and lush oasis of fine dining. The unique menu describes each dish with just a compilation of ingredients; the famously innovative drinks are listed that way too. I began with a carefully crafted cocktail: gin with mango, coconut water and basil seeds, which took a little too long to arrive, but its refreshing sweetness was quickly quaffed.
And then there was the food. We shared a beautifully arranged platter of the house spreads: chickpea, yogurt dill and almond with piquillo pepper were served with homemade flatbread.
That palate pleaser was followed by a gorgeous red and golden beet salad with spring onions and croutons, and a tantalizing cheese plate dressed with pistachio toasts, candied pecans and–ooh!–pickled rhubarb.
My daughter was happy to see a traditional Moroccan dish on the menu that she fell in love with when we visited there several years ago. Basteeya is a sweet and savory meat pie made with warqa (very much like phyllo dough) and dusted with powdered sugar. The version here was made with rich and luscious duck confit, caramelized onions, raisins and nuts–my girl was in heaven!
But tradition ended with our entrées. My plate was an inventive study of duck: perfectly cooked slices of breast served alongside crispy skin covered thigh meat and braised turnips; my husband thoroughly enjoyed his aromatic lamb shank, braised in saffron with prunes and a barley risotto. A spectacular meal–can’t wait to come back and try the tasting menu.
Sunny Saturday morning, we met my step-sister and her husband at the Ferry Building to peruse the food stands and farmer’s market. The building inside is lined with vendors hawking their products–with plenty of free samples for the taking…
…and out back, overlooking the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island, local farmers sold gorgeously abundant produce, including the season’s first ramps!
Our appetites awakened, we headed next door to The Slanted Door  for lunch at one of San Francisco’s most popular destinations. The five of us squeezed on a half-moon banquette with a beautiful view of the bay and set in to enjoy a magnificent meal. The modern Vietnamese dishes came pouring out of the open kitchen at this bustling place. We chose many small plates to share–among them: barbecued, locally sourced pork spare ribs with scallions and honey-hoisin sauce;

 

an herbaceous spring roll, a la Slanted Door, crunchy and light and stuffed with gulf shrimp, pork, and mint with a peanut dipping sauce, plated alongside flavorful cellophane noodles tossed with green onions, vegetables and that ubiquitous Dungeness crab;

 

an ethereal Vietnamese crêpe made with more gulf shrimp, pork shoulder and bean sprout, which was plated with crispy lettuce leaves, a bouquet of mint and a tangy sauce;

and, last but not least, uni–glorious uni! This scrumptious wild California variety, topped with black tobiko, was served in a spoon over a mouthwatering avocado and cucumber purée. It was so good we literally fought over it. And then we ordered more. What a supreme spread we had.


Sunday morning and it was time for our daughter to fly back to school. We dropped her off at SFO, then made a beeline for the land of milk and honey, the valley of olive and wine.


Napa

 

Wow, Napa. We could not have asked for better weather. Clear sunny skies, mid 70’s, just a wisp of a breeze. I was blown away by the beauty of it all: the rambling hills, the majestic wineries, the quaint small towns, the olive groves. We met good friends for a tour of di Rosa, a 200 acre land preserve that encompasses two art galleries, the owner’s residence, and meadows dotted with sculpture. To say Rene di Rosa was an avid collector is an understatement–the modern art he amassed is a huge representation of Northern California artists. Some whimsical and irreverent, many thought-provoking, it was a breathtaking exhibit to witness and I can’t wait to see it again.

Dinner that night was–you guessed it–Italian. We stumbled into a happening place right across from our hotel in downtown Napa called Oenotri, run by two local boys who pride themselves on producing handcrafted food, using locally grown ingredients. They make 20 different types of their own salumi, create homemade pastas, and bake pizzas in an Italian wood-burning oven.

It had been a long day, so we were in the mood for a simple supper. We started with a luscious crudo of shrimp and razor clams with radishes and apple slices and shared a plate of “shaved” asparagus (it was more like thinly sliced) covered in a snowy blanket of parmesan cheese.


The pizza with tomato, buffalo mozzarella and kale was nicely charred and bubbly, but the crust could have been crisper. A delicious dinner, though we’d have preferred a quieter setting.

 

After a quick visit to the Oxbow Public Market, where I picked up some amazing spices at the Whole Spice Company, along with other goodies,

we were off to the vineyards–Rutherford Hill, to be precise. We took the grand tour of their facilities, as well as their impressive caves, learned a little about wine making, and enjoyed a wine tasting along the way. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

Our last dinner in California was to be in Yountville at Thomas Keller’s, Bouchon. But first, a stop at the Bouchon Bakery to pick up some pastries for breakfast the next morning. What to choose, what to choose…everything looked mouthwateringly delicious!

We stepped into the bistro, which was all abuzz. Seated at a tiny table along the banquette, we were very close to our neighbors with barely any room in the aisle behind. In fact, servers kept bumping into my husband’s chair and then apologizing–not a way to enjoy a meal. The menu is straight up French bistro: escargots, French onion soup, steak frites…you know the drill. Hubby wasn’t feeling great, so he kept it simple; I started with a watercress endive salad with Roquefort cheese and walnuts,

and then dug into a steaming pot of mussels cooked with white wine and saffron, served alongside a silver cone of truffle fries.

For dessert, we couldn’t resist the classic profiteroles: light and airy cream puffs, filled with rich vanilla ice cream and lavishly drizzled with chocolate sauce. A lovely finish to a standard meal, which was, frankly, not worth the price of admission.


And so the time had come to jet back to the east coast. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the amazing culture that is California. So much to see, so much to do in such a short time…something tells me I’ll be back very soon!