Think how many souls you could have sprung from limbo with this block of butter! Fifty-five pounds of butter, to be exact. This is only one of dozens of butter blocks that will be carved into pastry, frosting, cakes and cookies at Gayle’s Bakery on any given day.
I thought of Michelangelo as I watched this pastry worker slicing off slabs of creamy richness from the mother block.
My on-going grazing tour of La Jolla continued last week with lunch at the very smartly decorated Tapenade, a few blocks off the seaside village main drag of Prospect Street. Pale yellow walls, handsome floral design and attractive waiters all set a positive tone to the meal my mother, Marie, and I enjoyed. From the house signature tapenade, served with two breads (l.), to a spectacular dessert of warm chocolate “fondant”, we enjoyed the slight French inflection to this popular dining menu.
My mom’s risotto was laced with fresh English peas, prawns and ahi tuna — all delicious — but the most remarkable thing about this dish was the complete creaminess of the Arborio rice. As if just made at someone’s home, this was a few miles beyond restaurant risotto. 
But dessert was the apex of lunch at Tapenade. Gorgeously presented, the tiny chocolate fondant was indeed molten to the core, and served with a thick sauce of passionfruit caramel and a satiny ginger sorbet. Absolutely wonderful. With a slightly updated menu, Tapenade could join the ranks of destination, south-of-Carmel eateries.
How long will it take for someone to notice the red gummi bear sticking to the front of the clock?
Whose hand is furtively moving away from the clock? What mystery culprit licked the back of the candy bear and stuck it onto the clock face?
These are only some of the mysteries that could easily replace political scandal and the rising cost of gasoline in our collective consciousness.
Incidentally, the little red gummi has been on the clock for over two months. Stay tuned.
Two recent visits to Soif put me in direct contact with flavor dazzle, starting with small plates of those addictive roasted Marcona almonds and crostini topped with tangy boquerones and aioli (shown left). An appetizer of fresh Dungeness crab salad joined by a mega-side portion of watercress added more Meyer lemon top notes. On another visit I shared a voluptuous side dish of Brussels sprouts (probably the first time “voluptuous” and “Brussels sprouts” have been used together in a sentence) with bacon. All wonderful. But best was the duck entree centerpiece of each of my two meals.
Duck is one of my passions and this particular version is everything you want a duck dish to be. Slices of rare, lean roast duck breast join succulent baby bok choy and plump whole shiitake mushrooms, all married by a velvety sauce of lemongrass and ginger. This is all magic, but even more so accompanied by an elegant 2005 Dufouleur Nuits-St.-Georges 1er Cru Pinot Noir from Burgundy ($6.75/taste). Sure the duck would also have been memorable partnered by a glass of the remarkable 2005 Leitz Riesling Spatlese, as suggested by le maison Soif honchos. But I’m pretty firmly committed to red wine with duck. Heaven.
Soif Wine Bar & Restaurant holds forth at 105 Walnut Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz – 831/423-2020.
Along Park Street, the main – and only – drag in atmospheric (read: funky) Alameda, there are dozens of bars and an increasing number of coffee places. My favorite is Julie’s – 1223 Park St., – where the house specialty is scones and home-made clotted cream, aka Devonshire cream.
I joined filmmaker Saul Landau there a few days ago and we sat in one of Julie’s vintage nooks outfitted with velvety couches and over-stuffed chairs and swilled excellent espresso. The currant-laced scones are in a word, perfect. Tender, yet beautifully baked to just the point of brown crustiness, they are rich and delicate. The generous portion of cream that comes with the scone is the stuff of true oral fantasies. Almost obscenely rich, tart and creamy – this wonderful topping is what butter wants to be when it grows up. Naughty butter!
A book of sensory adventure: The rituals, passions and discoveries of an engaged life.