by Christina Waters | Feb 26, 2008 | Food, Home |
To Die For!: Giving new meaning to the word “chocolate,†was a spectacular chocolate budino tart I shared with friends on the night of the recent lunar eclipse. The place was A16 (see the current Condé Nast Traveler), on Chestnut Street in San Francisco. A long, lean series of rooms, the red-hot Italian dining spot is crowned by a pizza oven and house-made salumi. But the budino. Jeez Louise.To-die-for (yes, it IS time to revive that useful phrase).
We began with shared plates of an erotically-textured burrata with crostini and an order of ciccioli – a house specialty terrine of pork that was nothing short of stupendous. No fussy presentation – but the flavors were intense and joyful. We shared a salad of slightly warm yellow beets and marinated fennel, topped with shaved pecorino. God! Our wine was a bottle of round and spicy Cusumano Sagana 04 Nero d’Avola from a menu of Italian wines that is deep as well as wide. A full page just of Sicilian reds! Okay, calm down Christina. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Feb 25, 2008 | Food, Home |
At Avanti last week, Jack feasted on his beloved meatballs with ribbons of pappardelle (they are killer) , while I roamed the range looking for some new flavor hit. Big fun arrived in the form of a roast half Poulet Rouge, one of those deeply flavored, heirloom French breeds that are wowing foodies all over the Bay Area these days.
Avanti’s kitchen finished the roast poultry with a red wine sauce, and served it with an unctuous parmesan risotto and a watercress salad ($17). Shaved fennel topped the risotto, which made a fine impression on the poulet. It really does taste like a meal in France, only much closer to my house. . . If you’re lovin’ the pork chops at Avanti, then you are familiar with the pasture-raised, organically-fed pigs raised by Jim Dunlop of TLC Ranch. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Feb 13, 2008 | Food, Home |
No kidding – Paul Cocking told me that he’s interested in moving on, changing the pace of his life — the exhausting hours involved in restaurant work! — and perhaps even changing careers entirely.
Gabriella Cafe is definitely for sale, so if you can put together a group interested in keeping the culinary genius of chef Sean Baker in our downtown, give Paul a call at 831/457-1677.
(Check out my profile of Gabriella’s pastry chef Jessica Yarr in last week’s Metro Santa Cruz.)
by Christina Waters | Feb 10, 2008 | Food, Home |
If you look around you might just spot a 21st century Simone de Beauvoir or Jean-Paul Sartre sitting and scribbling something deep at one of the little tables on the deck of River Cafe, at 415 River Street in Santa Cruz. The perfect spot to soak up a bit of winter light, the deck here is the perfect oasis for enjoying a bracing espresso and one of those dense, moist fruit breads. Homemade temptation is the house specialty here.
On the east side of town, Black China Bakery has expanded its chic cafe into part of the indoor gallery space it shares with Ironwood. The colorful renovation — including vermillion and chartreuse walls lined with terrific plants and original artworks — is the top spot to enjoy organic salads, fragrant soups and panini starting 
at 11am every day except Monday.
And in the mornings, of course, Black China lives to seduce you into one of those peerless cranberry scones and some lascivious espresso drink or other. Black China Bakery Cafe is tucked behind Ironwood at 1121 Soquel Avenue – open Tues-Fri from 7am until 5pm, Sat & Sun from 9-4, and open on Mondays for 7-11am breakfasts.
by Christina Waters | Jan 8, 2008 | Food, Home |
Unbelievable – but true. While the actual celebration happens on February 14, the glorious bakery and rosticerria is offering oodles of great reasons to come to Gayle’s starting right now.
Pictured here is a lunch we took home last week — luscious rosti from the glittering deli cases of Gayle’s. The fat one on the left was loaded with salame, mozzarella and tapenade (it went quickly), and the other offered plump morsels of artichoke, dill, tomato, and something creamy. Also good, but that salame number really fired our rockets. For $3.50 each, these spiral wraps make wonderful lunches. Just add fruit and tea and you’re there.
But there’s always something tempting at Gayle’s.
Keep in mind that every single day starting January 15, there will be a drawing at Gayle’s for edible prizes. AND all of those winners are eligible for a Grand Prize Drawing on February 14. Ho hum you think? You would be wrong.
The Grand Prize celebrating the 30th anniversary of Gayle’s is a catered 30-person dinner delivered to the winner’s home!
If you only visit Gayle’s on one day this month, make it January 30 when 30% of gross sales will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.
by Christina Waters | Dec 17, 2007 | Food, Home |
The Chocolate Creation of the Year: Yearning for some authentic French cooking? You will want to sample the handiwork of chef Muriel Loubiere, who along with husband Michel has opened Au Midi, a small, charming place devoted to a small menu of French culinary hits. (Although the restaurant announces itself as “provençal” the current menu doesn’t back that up.)
Our quartet sampled two appetizers and four entrees — all delicious and a bit retro with their impeccable sauces and fastidious handmade presentation. But it was the desserts by skilled pastry chef Loubiere that knocked us out.
Destination Chocolate! And I’ll go further. If you can only enjoy ONE chocolate dessert this year, it has to be the “Bergamot” creation at Au Midi ($8.25). Let me try to explain (too bad the low lighting prevented me from taking a good shot).
Imagine a shining dark chocolate hemisphere, say 3 inches in diameter, sitting on a crisp wafer-thin chocolate biscuit. Next to it is a filigree spun sugar “basket” containing orange slices. Next to that is a little bowl of crème Anglaise. Add a few perfect rosettes of unsweetened whipped cream.
Now go back to that dark chocolate dome. (more…)
