Best Pasta
The maccioroncini with wild rabbit and celery ragu at Beccofino.
Dessert of the Week
Black Mission figs are given new glory in a fabulous end-of-summer dessert from the feverish mind of chef Sean Baker. You may need to sit down for this.
Four pillows of lemon and cardoon-honey-laced mascarpone were each topped with a ripe fig, sliced open to reveal the sensuous fruit (think D.H. Lawrence). The tops of each fig were glazed with a transparent burnt sugar topping. Scrawled along the huge rectangular platter was an intense reduction of saba, an Italian grape must digestif. As Sean put it, “it’s so simple, and it’s so complex.” Here’s how I put it: stupendously delicious.
You’ll find this amazing creation at Gabriella Cafe. And for those of you who are tired of hearing me talk about Gabriella, this dessert is one of the reasons why I do! Show me a place doing anything near this quality anywhere around Santa Cruz – and I’ll be thrilled to run right out and give it a try.
On a Roll
Are these the best dinner rolls in town? Very likely. The small, elegantly-shaped francese rolls from Gayle’s — not those enormous sandwich francese rolls, but the neat, oval babies with crisp edges, gossamer crust and soft, fragrant interiors. They are good beyond belief.
But the variation strategically laced with green olives, is even better.
Fifty cents each.
Heaven with butter.
Thank you Gayle.
(Hope you’re cleaning up at the mah jong tables….)
Star of East Cliff Drive
Giovanni’s back, and Star Bene’s got him! The chef/owner of the former Caffe Bella Napoli is now the starring attraction at the cozy (and hard to find) E. Cliff Drive dining room, where Ceil and I feasted last night. We started with excellent focaccia to dredge through a trio of seasoned olive oils — oil infused with eggplant, kalamata olives and sundried tomatoes. Absolutely delicious. Next we split a simple green salad — all the while swilling some great wines, a Chardonnay from Storrs (hers) and an outrageous Ahlgren Cabernet 2003 (mine). Our entrees dazzled. Ceil ordered an unusual evening special of traditional paella. Now Ceil is picky when it comes to this complex Spanish dish — she even claims to make it herself on special occasions. Chef DiMaio’s version was lavish with saffron, and loaded with fresh, steaming seafoods — calamari, shrimps, mussels, clams — Italian sausage, peas, red bell peppers and chicken. It was nothing short of great. Would that this were an item on Star Bene’s regular dinner menu. (more…)
Dish of the Week
Thank you Ben Sims for making my new favorite dish — Avanti’s weekend special of braised pork shoulder in white wine and tomatoes. Thank you for your exquisitely sensitive touch with the pork, so that it falls effortlessly into bite-sized shreds. The succulent sauce, inflected with orange peel which adds a bitter backnote to the sweetness of the tomatoes. How brilliant of you to pair this dish with a ragu of Dirty Girl Farm shell beans and pole beans — also simmered into earthy submission. Ben, Ben, Ben — you have (once again) outdone yourself. And anyone reading this would be foolish not to rush to Avanti this weekend and (if this sensuous creation is still on the menu) ORDER IT!!!
Picnic with the Bard
Get ready for some shameless self-endorsement. I created a sandwich so good I have to share it with you. And yes, you can try this at home.
Well, just like every year since the beginning of time, I got ready for the SSC Festival Glen production – in this case, the terrific Much Ado About Nothing – by pulling together choice goodies for an al fresco nosh under the redwoods. My assignment was to bring sandwiches. My companion Briony’s bit was to bring some tipple.
Nothing easier. And that’s because I had my new favorite jar of intensely berry-flavored preserves. Elizabethan (how appropriate, given the play don’t you think?) brand cranberry and strawberry preserves, so packed with flavor I could barely stand it, was just the ticket.
Okay. Here’s what I did. I got some slices of a very grainy, densely-textured wheat bread, and smeared one side with the preserves, and the other with a mixture of horseradish and mayo. I like one quarter horseradish, to three quarters mayo, but you can adjust to taste. Then I applied a few slices of natural turkey dusted with some of that ooh-la-la Italian sea salt with lavender.
Now – here’s the real secret to this tart, sweet, savory, salty picnic sandwich. Arugula! Brilliant, no? The peppery flavor of the arugula sort of pulled the whole thing together (like the rug in “The Big Liebowski.”)
Meanwhile, my Shakespeare companion had the good sense to purchase a bottle of ridiculously cheap ($6.99) Portuguese white wine, Aveleda “Vinho Verde” so low in alcohol that a baby could guzzle it down. 10.5% alcohol – amazing. The flavor was a bit like salty ginger ale, with a slight kick. We brought flea market stemware so we wouldn’t feel like total winos. It was altogether fab. You can actually do this at home. Ingredients available at Shoppers.
Inside the Flame
A book of sensory adventure: The rituals, passions and discoveries of an engaged life.