Where to Eat - Locanda

I finally tried Locanda the other night and it totally lived up to the hype. I sipped on a Helen di Montenegro while my brother tried the Strawberry Fizz. The bartenders were super accomodating and adorable while we waited for a table. My drink had tequila, amaro, agave, grapefruit and lime. It was delish. Chris' drink had bourbon, strawberry, lemon, egg white, and seltzer. It was yummy but I could definitely see it as going down a little too easy. Fair warning!

When we sat down we got some of the best focaccia I've ever had. Salty with the perfect amount of good quality olive oil. I ate my two slices embarrassingly fast.

We started with the Dungeness Crab and Sorrel Soup with chili and croutons. I was really excited for this, in fact I picked it as the starter I wanted. Sadly, I was not into it. The soup itself was good and the crab and croutons great but I realized unfortunately I am not a fan of sorrel so it never had a chance. Not a reflection of the food but more of my taste.

Next we had the Carciofi Crudi. This salad of shaved artichokes, grilled ricotta, wild arugula and avocado was simple and perfect. I'm not sure I've ever had grilled ricotta before but it's pretty genius. I really enjoyed how light and fresh it was.

We had the Fried Sweetbreads with Artichokes and capers next. These were probably the best sweetbreads I've ever had. In my previous post I said the sweetbreads at Park Tavern were great starter sweetbreads for hesitant first timers. These sweetbreads were sweetbreads for people who enjoy them. They were so lightly breaded, not over salted or too greasy. The capers and lemon gave it a nice touch too.

We finished with a pasta each. Chris had the Linguini with littleneck clams, guanciale and ramps. It looked great and he said as much. I had the above Bucatini all'Amatriciana. The simple pasta with guanciale, tomato, peperoncini and pecorino was perfect. It wasn't trying to hard, it just let the quality ingredients speak.

I can't wait to go back and try another pasta and the Pizza Bianca.

Where to Eat - Park Tavern

I was really excited to try Park Tavern after my great experience at Marlowe. Overall it was pretty wonderful. The place itself is huge but we showed up with three on a Saturday right as dinner service began and still couldn't get a table. We settled for a bar communal table, which was fine with me.

We started with the Mendocino uni served with puffed rice, avocado-blood orange oil and chili. I'm a huge fan of uni to begin with so I bit into mine already a happy camper. The texture of the puffed rice and acidity of the oil added with the spice from the chili and complimentary buttery avocado flavor made pretty much the perfect bite. Well balanced and fresh, I loved this raw course.

We moved on to the Fried oyster "Caesar." I immediately fell in love with this. The fried oysters weren't greasy so I didn't feel as guilty as I should about smothering them in Caesar aioli and wrapping them in a piece of Romaine lettuce - got to have your greens right? Basically I am now refusing chicken in my Caesar salad and demanding fried oysters.

Next we had the grilled delta asparagus topped with a slow-cooked farm egg, Parmesan cream and Mangalista prosciutto. This was my least favorite dish. It didn't thrill me and, with so many interesting things other places are doing with slow-cooked eggs, it stood out as lack luster. Apologies on the picture - bit of a glare!

Another not so great picture, but a really great dish. These are the chicken fried sweetbreads with buttermilk cream and madeira jus and they taste like the best chicken nuggets you'll ever have! They are the perfect starter sweetbreads for hesitant eaters. Plus anything with buttermilk is usually amazing in my opinion.

The Five Star Angus beef tartare with farm egg yolk, micro-head lettuces and grilled baguette. This tartare had a great kick to it with some Tabasco. The contrast to the usual dijon mustard was unexpected and delicious. From now on I'm asking for hot sauce with my tartare.

The waiter kindly brought us out the deviled eggs topped with bacon, pickled jalapeno and chives. Bacon and eggs is a solid combination but the pickled jalapenos were a nice surprise.

The waiter also brought out the roasted brussels sprout heats with Parmesan, sage and chili. These were a good bar snack but at this point I think I had too much salt. (Actually too much everything!)

For me, an entree was out of the question so I went with the Dungeness crab and Maine lobster bisque. Unfortunately it was beyond over salted. There is nothing worse than tasting a dish that should taste amazing but is flawed due to a heavy hand.

All in all I had a really great, if indulgent, meal at Park Tavern. My companions got entrees as they apparently have no belts or shame, but they said they were not super impressive. I think it's a great place for cocktails and small plates. I would definitely be interested in checking out more of the raw items and the housemade charcuterie.

Weekly Obsession - My New Table!

I found this super amazing, perfect for my space table at Leftovers on Van Ness for a great price. This picture shows it expanded to full size but you can fold it on the hinge and rotate it for a smaller rectangle shape. I also picked up two sets of the Heath Ceramics dinner set I've been eyeing and that super cute succulent trough against the wall. Total upgrade!

Beauty Blabber - Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter

I'm normally a bit of a lipstick snob - Chanel, Nars, YSL, for me Benefit is slumming it. I recently rediscovered drugstore makeup thanks to the lovely Emma Stone - What can she not do?! I've been pretty much obsessed with her since I decided she's what we all wanted Lindsey Lohan to be. (I also saw this amazing youtube clip of her on Ellen sneaking up behind people and dancing without getting caught. She literally gets away with doing it to like 5 different people and makes it look beyond fun.) She's basically awesome and make me want to buy whatever she's hawking.

This lip butter is actually pretty amazing. I bought the candy apple red and it looks great. The color is more substantial than I expected and not only does it not dry out your lips - it hydrates them. After one day my lips feel great. My view is that it has the coverage and texture of YSL or Chanel at a fraction of the price and you don't have to be as careful when applying. I'm basically buying every color.

Weekly Obsession - Vera Wang Stationary

Full Disclosure - I have an unhealthy obsession with stationary. So when I saw these little gems on OKL this morning I freaked out. Is it just me or is Vera Wang expanding into every available market and basically taking over the world with her awesomeness? (I'm basically holding my breath until she gets a day time talk show.) From her shoes to her luggage she has gone so past "just" gorgeous wedding gowns. Plus she seems totally down to earth and normal, which is always a plus.

Back to the stationary - Somehow I didn't know this existed. It has her signature simplicity with cute touches like feminine bows and unexpected shocks of color. The two up top are my fav.

Sunday Supper - Carrot-Spinach Soup with Dill

I found this amazing article in April's Whole Living calling Spring (Cleaning) Menu. The 72 hour detox includes 3 daily meals and a choice of 2 of 6 snacks. The dishes are designed to give your digestive system a rest so your liver can focus on flushing out old waste instead of being overwhelmed with new toxins. This soup (dinner) is loaded with fibrous vegetables that toxins bind to. I decided to double the recipe and use for my weekly lunch. To get the full effect I will be abstaining from processed foods as well as dairy and gluten.

1. Dice two onions and add to a large soup pot with 6 tbs olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and tumeric and cook until tender.

2. Dice 14 carrots and add with ten cups of water. Bring to boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Add 1 lb green beans cut into 1" pieces and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

4. Serve heated soup over 1 cup spinach, fresh dill and lemon juice.

Where to Eat - Zuni Cafe

I've been super busy visiting with my parents during their trip West, but was finally able to snap a picture during one of my many meals out. My brother and I took them to Zuni Cafe for the famous chicken - unfortunately we forgot it took an hour!

We had a lovely lunch. My brother got the pork chop, my father a pizza, and my mother got the sea bass with oranges, quinoa and bulger. I had a bite of the fish and I would totally go back for it. I had the famous Caesar salad pictured above. My salad was great. It was simple but balanced. It wasn't too creamy or too cheesy or too acidic. I prefer a little more anchovy but I'm sure I'm in the minority!

I forgot how cute the place and how consistent the food is. Great date spot - next time I'm sharing the chicken!

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday. My parents came out West for it and we had a wonderful time. Big shout out to what a lovely job my sister did hosting in her beautiful new place!

Sunday Supper - Easter Edition

As Easter was on Sunday, I didn't have my normal supper. I had a lovely dinner at my sister's with my family and friends. My contribution were the above Watercress & Roquefort Eggs.

1. Hard boil a dozen eggs. (I put the eggs in a large pot filled with water until the eggs are covered by about an inch. After it reaches a boil, I remove from heat and cover for 12 minutes.)

2. After the eggs have cooled, halve them and scoop out yolks. Feel free to use less yolks if you want to cut out fat and cholesterol. I would use at least 6.

3. Mix in 1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream (I used non dairy tofu sour cream), 2 tbs chopped watercress, 1 1/2 tbs Roquefort or other blue cheese, and 2 tbs lemon juice.

4. Put mixture into a plastic bag, snip one corner and pipe mixture into the egg white halves. Garnish with watercress

Sunday Supper - Spicy Shrimp and Tomato Pasta

I had a super busy weekend so I needed something quick for my week's lunches. I didn't want to mess around with lots of ingredients or lots of dirty dishes so I decided on this gem from Martha's Everday Food's Fresh Flavor Fast.

1. Boil 1 lb penne pasta to al dente - I used wheat but the recipe called for regular, which I only eat on special occasions.

2. The recipe also called for cooking the shrimp in another pan in two batches. Instead I cooked the 2 lbs shrimp in the empty pasta pot - the penne was sitting in the colander.

3. I added the shrimp to the colander filled with penne and reused the pot one more time. I added 3 cans diced tomatoes, 3 tbs capers, 2 cloves of garlic thinly sliced, and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes. I stirred the sauce over medium heat until thickened. Combine pasta, sauce, and shrimp and mix well. Portion off and enjoy!

So easy but so good!