[California Farmers' Markets]

At the Ferry Plaza last Saturday I picked up a couple of things:

- 2 pounds of Rainier cherries - oddly, it was extremely difficult to find good cherries last week - tons of not so sweet ones - one booth, whose name I forget, had excellent ones (the same booth selling the mini sour cherries)

- Black figs, early season - despite assurances that these were sweet they turned out to be less than great. Drizzled with some honey they were good, though - from Capay

- Super sweet white corn from the vendor at the front right corner of the Ferry Building near Blue Bottle coffee - like eating perfectly tasty maple syrup after some time on the grill

- Couldn't find peaches worth buying, even tried Frog Hollow

- Dates, though I forget the variety

- The Shaking Beef kit (take and cook yourself) from Out the Door @ The Slanted Door (ok, not really a farmers market goodie, but mmmmmm)

I'd be interested in any other red carrot sightings, especially close to SF. Marquita didn't have any this week.

[La Folie]

Oops, I completely forgot about adding a report here.

We enjoyed our La Folie meal trememdously - I believe the Foie Gras was the best that I have ever had. To amplify the effect, the sommelier offered a choice of many different glasses of sauternes. We splurged a bit on one which was $68/glass and well worth it.

The menu is expansive. In addition to the selections on the main menu you'll find that La Folie will offer many more specials.

Items we had included chilled pea soup (was a nice warm day- very intense pea flavor, hard to describe otherwise), hamachi sauteed in something I forget, a absolutely lovely duck preparation (I believe with some kind of balsamic reduction), and a great squab/quail combination in a lighter sauce.

For dessert, I finished with cheese (preselected by the house, decent but not mindblowing). I cannot remember the other dessert.

We also left with great small boxes of cookies, truffles, and candies.

Service and atmosphere were okayish. While the room was nice I did not find it particularly luxurious, but I believe that had more to do with the closeness of tables than the taste of the decorator. I found myself pouring my own wine and water more frequently than I should in a restaurant with a high staff/patron ratio. Additionally, the staff didn't team together well- the runners at times couldn't describe the entrees they delivered and at one point had to hastily grab another table's waiter as our was not in the area. The sommelier was truly excellent and offered solid advice at all price levels.

I'd absolutely return- the food easily surpassed that of my last Michael Mina meal and was on the same level as a recent Dining Room at the Ritz meal (or past Danko meals, for that matter). Perhaps service had an off night - any thoughts?

[La Folie]

Hmmm. If it would be helpful to the group, I think I could tolerate a meal there this weekend. I'll report back next week.

[Incanto (Church St @ Duncan, Noe Valley, SF)]

I'd agree. I also only visited Delfina once. I found the food lackluster, which seems to be contrary to popular opinion, so perhaps I should give it a try again.

Incanto seemed more neighborhoody as well, which to me is a plus. I like sincere recommendations on food/wine.

[Incanto (Church St @ Duncan, Noe Valley, SF)]

Had a truly interesting first meal at Incanto yesterday. I had become interested in the restaurant after viewing a demo by the chef at the Ferry Plaza - he stated his emphasis was on simple preparations of quality ingredients. The salad he made at the Ferry Plaza was phoenominal (fava bean, strawberry, wild arugula, balsamic, and pecorino romano- actually being served at the restaurant as of now).

Started with beef hearts. They were cooked medium rare, sliced thinly, and served over golden beets. Delicious and well done.

Followed that with the roasted poussin. This was mindblowingly good- the skin was well salted, crispy, and delicious.

Dessert was excellent. One was simply a bowl of early season Brooks cherries (need a few more weeks to sweeten IMO). The other was pineapple, roasted vanilla beans, and some crouton-like breads in a sweet sauce. Enjoyed both.

I like the approach on wine- small numbers of great wines were offered, and the recommendations from the staff are excellent for pairings.

Anyhow, highly recommend a visit if you're in the neighborhood. On a Sunday night, there was a short wait until about 7:30 pm. There is also a first come first serve bar serving the full menu which offers a great view into the kitchen.

[Gramercy Tavern]

Just ate at Gramercy Tavern's main/back dining room over the weekend. We all chose the tasting menu, with both vegetarian and spring tasting menus represented. I personally had the spring tasting menu.

What I remember most was butter; overbearing, heavy-handed use of butter. Given the quality of the individual ingredients I can't imagine why the kitchen chose to load almost every course up with so much butter. I've had plenty of 7-9 course tasting menus over my lifespan but none has occupied my stomach with that weight in ages.

On a good note, the cheese course was divine. The wide variety of cheese along with the server's knowledge of each cheese was truly a treat.

Service was below average for this price range. A few issues included topping off sparkling water glasses with ice water and not keeping bread on the bread plates. Also, our waiter was hesitant to call over the sommelier even though he couldn't provide much help with our questions on the wine. Do waiters tend to do this so they can avoid sharing tips with the sommelier?

I don't think I'd return unless I could snag one of the front tables and choose something simple from the a la carte menu. Perhaps the tasting menu is too ambitious for the kitchen.

["The Restaurant" Reality Show Season 2]

This is only slightly related to the show, but here is word of a Rocco sighting -- in Napa no less! This weekend is the infamous Napa Auction (which consistently raises $5 Million every year...). Inasmuch, a lot of wineries are having private parties and events which you can buy into. I just read about this one:

Anything Goes at the Franciscan Supper Club

Franciscan Oakville Estate

http://www.franciscan.com

Start time: 6:30 p.m.  Max Guests: 30

Event Description:

The Setting: An evening of unscrupulous extravagance with romance, roulette, and risk.

The Cast: New York’s swankiest chef, Rocco DiSpirito, the star of NBC’s "The Restaurant," seduces an rollicking group of revelers.

The Menu: Hedonistic pleasures and luscious liquid libations.

The Rules: Anything goes. Jokers are wild and high rollers have the edge.

Password: Tell them the Magnificat brought you, darling!         

Dress: festive

Too funny, huh?

Oh, if you liked that, you'll love:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...FDGJ06VJNI1.DTL

Skip to about halfway down the page and learn about Rocco failing to show up.

[Alphonso Mangoes in Vancouver?]

Is it possible to find Alphonso mangoes in Vancouver somewhere fairly regularly? Here in the states we somehow don't have access to them (thanks FDA!).

I will actually fly out to Vancouver to pig out on the mangoes if someone can let me know that they'll be around. :)