Tasting Notes - FEB 2010

FEB was a pretty food intense food month with a weekender to Napa with The Professional Liar and The Much Better Half, a quick visit by The Meat Guy and a rather disappointing V-Day :(

02.05 - So we're kicking off FEB with a weekender in the Wine Country with The Professional Liar and The Much Better Half in spite of thunderstormy weather. First stop, Ad Hoc (The Liar's Fave Place in the Universe ATM) for Chicken & Dumpling Soup, Lamb Sirloin with Red Pepper Jelly, Sweet Potato & Black Garbanzo Hush Puppies and Sticky Toffee Pudding. As always, service was awesome and the fare was even better. Katie's suggested wine pairings were on point and she even brought me and The Liar a second helping of Lamb (and The Liar normally DISTAINS lamb)! Also worth noting - the ultra-picky Better Half seemed duly impressed with her pescatarian options (Veggie Dumpling Soup and Steelhead Trout). Off to a good start...

02.06 - Cross another restaurant off my 'On The Radar' List, I just went to Taylor's Automatic Refresher for "breakfast" @ 11:00 AM even though we've got reservations @ Bottega in 2 hours. ProTip: If you want to go to TAR and not wait in a horrific line, go @ 11 AM. Only 1-2 people in front of me. 2 hours later - a line 30 people deep even in the pouring rain. Is it worth it? Honestly...no. Prices are steep ($10 for my burger), the lines are insane and you're still waiting 10+ mins for your food AFTER you negotiate that line. Don't get me wrong, it's a DAMN good burger, but I'd MUCH rather grab an Ole Cheeseburger @ Nation's for a fraction of the price.

02.06 - So, yes, I double-dipped again by going to Bottega for lunch after TAR for breakfast (triple-dipped if you include my crossaint from Bouchon Bakery). Went 2 for 2 with The Much Better Half this trip - she loved the house cured olives and her Squash Filled Tortelli with Sage Browned Butter. I generally l-o-a-t-h-e polenta, but my "Polenta Under Glass" was easily the best I've ever consumed. The Professional Liar ate himself into a food stupor of EPIC preportions. Seriously, after he had the Burrata & Butternut Squash app and a Whole Roasted Dungeness Crab main he could barely communicate. He absolutely LOVED both his choices but had that total I-Can't-Believe-I-Ate-The-Whole-Thing thing going on.

02.06 - Third post today and we finished with a trip to Bistro Jeanty. Everybody had the signature Tomato Soup en Croute except for The Professional Liar who (still reeling from Bottega) opted for the ruffage of a Butter Lettuce Salad. He then wanted to stay away from "heavy" dishes like Cassoulet and Coq au Vin and opted for a "lighter" option, the Sole Meuniere - LOL. I'm not sure where they get their ginormous, mutant sole filets, but this was a truly massive portion of fish. On the upside, it was spot on and he finished it. The Much Better Half also had the Sole while I went for the Ham and Leek Quiche. Shockingly, The Hottie went for the Bone Marrow special...the same special they have EVERY night and she orders EVERY time they feature it as a special. I'm 3 for 3 on my restaurant picks so far!

02.07 - Finished the Napa Weekender with brunch @ Redd which was e-a-s-i-l-y the Most-Likely-To-Disagree-With-The-Better-Half place of the trip. Luckily, they were more than happy to make a quarter of their signature Breakfast Pizza prosciutto-less for her. Even better, the Sweet Onion Jam that came with the Pretzel Croissants was so OMGWTFBBQ good that we asked if we could get some to take home and left with a friggin pint of the tasty stuff! Other highlights - The Pork Buns, Chicken Hash and Lobster Club. Also, the evil bastards now have Dessert To-Go so, even when you're stuffed to the gills, you can take home a 1/2 lb. bag of Saltine Toffee with you (which, of course, we did). Bottom Line: I went 4 for 4 on my restaurant selections this trip although The Professional Liar said it felt more like 6 for 4.

02.08 - Yes, even by MY standards the last few days have been culinary overkill, but Jardiniere had their three-course Bocuse d'Or (i.e. the Culinary Olympics) Benefit Dinner tonight, so give me the Metamucil iv drip and bring on the food! Like their 'normal' MON prix fixe dinners, each course was paired with a wine that matched perfectly. I found the Brioche Rounds that came with the Foie Gras Terrine a little too dry/crispy for my taste (to the point that I thought it was MUCH better just spread on the french rolls they bring to the table) but that was the only 'miss' of the night - and a minor one at that. Truffle Stuffed Hoffman Hen and Basque Cake with Kumquat Preserves and Creme Fraiche Anglaise rounded out the meal. The latter paired SO well with the Ey Muscat that The Hottie wanted to just dunk the cake INTO the wine!

02.11 - Long story, short: The Meat Guy is up for the Holiday Weekend, so my culinary Tour de Force continues. Two things were re-enforced by going to the Ferry Building today. 1 - I CANNOT leave for under a Benjamin (SF Golden Dogs, Chicharones, Lardo and Cheese were the main culprits this time). 2 - The Meat Guy has his name for a reason. See if you can spot a trend in his purchases: Beer Sausage (topped with Kim Chi and Chicharones), Maple-Bacon Beinet, Housemade Sausage (purchased from a cheese vendor) and Spreadable Salami. Oh, and he had the Steak Frites @ Chez Papa Resto for lunch too (as did I).

02.14 - The Foodie is once again reminded why we dislike dining out on V-Day. The combination of annoying, photo-taking diners who only eat out once-a-year, packed to the gills dining rooms and in-the-weeds kitchens make even normally solid restaurants look like jittery opening night rookies. Such was the case at the Michelin-starred Madrona Manor. This place was my #1 Dining Experience of 2009 and I even lobbied for them to receive a second star during my Foodie Awards but they were really, r-e-a-l-l-y off their game today. Thirty minutes between courses (or visits from our server), wine pairings not poured for their respective courses were a couple of the culprits. I'm still giving them a pass...The Chronicle's Food Snob reported he had to wait an HOUR between courses @ his V-Day choice, so apparently it's an industry standard. Next year: romantic dinner for two @ home FTW!