A girl’s gotta eat, right? And in this region, that can be a delicious prospect. Over at River Cafe – I do love that place – I drifted into an altered state over a brilliant “salad” of quinoa, that soft, fluffy, Inca grain. The pale yellow quinoa was tossed with
scallions, marcona almonds and currants. But the real mood elevator was the use of micro zest of kumquat, that moody, tangy cousin of the lemon and tangerine. It was sensational, and went beautifully with my take home portion of Liberty Farms duck breast from Avanti.…Yes, the duck at Avanti never fails, especially with a current spring “hash” of lentils, favas, green garlic and roasted onions. An argula pesto dressed the dish, which was just as good the second night, as the first. . . . Katya and I stopped for appetizers at Soif the other night, where the deal of the century arrived in the form of a substantial calamari salad for $6! Tender, delicious, tossed in a Meyer lemon dressing – it was lovely with a blush Tokay. . . . One more Avanti note: I had one of the best Avanti dinners ever last night – lamb sliced over roasted Yukon gold potatoes, fresh snap peas in the pod and infant white turnips!!!!! Yeow – with a Sebastapol Syrah – heaven.
Ben, Ben, Ben – when you’re hot, you’re……
