FrogPrincesse

Isn't the Cobble Hill supposed to have Montenegro as the amaro? It still looks tasty!

@BeebsFor Mexican food, I am in no way an expert but I enjoyed my dinner at the recently opened El Jardin in Point Loma (Liberty station). Liberty Station has a bunch of good lunch options, between the food market for something very casual (My favorite thing to do is to grab a charcuterie and cheese platter at Venissimo, an empenada at the place nearby, a nice juicy IPA at Bottlecraft, and have a little picnic outside. The seafood place is also quite good - they serve local uni/sea urchin and spot prawns, in season, and good ceviche), Stone for beer and Californian cuisine, or Soda & Swine for meatballs and cocktails (and the giant fussball table). One of the local specialties is fish tacos, and the rooftop terrace at George’s in La Jolla has an elevated version that is not to be missed (and the view is really something too). I also like Galaxy Tacos in La Jolla Shores for its super laid-back vibe. Order an assortment of tacos (on Tuesdays they sometimes have collaborations with local chefs and their tacos get very creative and even more delicious), a house margarita (or two), and enjoy a nice walk on the beach afterwards (or a surfing lesson)... heaven!

@Beebs About tiki bars- the best one is False Idol in Little Italy, which is ~ 5-10 minutes from the Gaslamp by car. It is located inside Craft & Commerce which is a casual restaurant that I recommend. The Grass Skirt is another option, I like the cocktails a little less but the food is quite good. This one is located in Pacific Beach, about 20 minutes from the Gaslamp. Entrance is through the adjacent restaurant Good Time Poke. Bali Hai is an original tiki bar in Point Loma that has been around since the 1950s; it has a great view and is a beautiful restaurant and bar, however the cocktails leave to be desired. Still worth a visit if you are a tiki fan. Fairweather in the East Village (adjacent to the Gaslamp) used to be another option, however it recently changed hands and I no longer recommend it. There is some info in this thread too:

I pressure steamed them too, or at least attempted to - I had 250 mL of water in the instant pot, used the trivet that came with the instant pot, put a stainless bowl on top to hold the potatoes (as recommended in the manual). I did 4 minutes with manual release, another 6 with manual release, and then 10 with manual release. The potatoes were still completely raw. I suspect I need some kind of steamer basket instead of the bowl I used. Probably there wasn’t enough contact between the small amount of water/steam and the potatoes. In my stove top pressure cooker I use a lot more water and a mesh steamer basket. I will try something like that next time. Thanks for your answers, @Anna N and @rotuts. I thought I was losing my mind last night then nothing seemed to work!

Trader Joe’s balsamic, in my case. Nothing fancy.

Does anybody have experience cooking (whole) baby potatoes in the instant pot? The manual says 3-4 minutes with a cup of water. Of course that is just enough time to make them warm but even 20 minutes in, they are still completely raw inside! With my traditional stove-top pressure cooker they are ready in about 10 minutes. What am I doing wrong?

And I almost regret not getting an 8 quart instant pot instead of the 6. The 6 isn’t that big! I filled it to capacity with a 3-4 servings pot au feu last night.

In France we call them cadavres! The next-morning sign of a great party...

I just bought an instant pot on amazon on prime day. I wanted to christen it with one of my favorite French dishes - pot au feu! Thirty minutes with everything but the potatoes and cabbage, and an extra 15 minutes at the end (a bit too long for the potatoes which started falling apart). This was nice; next time I will reduce the amount of liquid so the broth is more concentrated. For the meat I used oxtail.

I got a 6 quart instant pot for $60. It seemed like a great deal! I have a small non electric pressure cooker already that I use regularly, and it will be good to have a larger one.

Coffee is served in the little espresso cups from Heath ceramics. If you study the previous pictures, you will see that they have a very nice assortment of Heath plates. L’addition comes in a vintage cookbook, different each time.

The sandwich of the day was an open-faced braised oxtail with onion confit. The only complaint was that it was on the smaller side. The desserts. Milk chocolate with fennel (I took a picture after it had been already sampled). The fennel flavor was quite pronounced, I liked it but my daughter was not a big fan. Stone fruit (nectarine and cherries) crisp. This is a great way to enjoy summer fruit.

Caesar salad with anchovies that had been tempura-fried. The sister property of Acacia House is located in Mexico, hence the Mexican influences (the Margarita, and the Caesar salad which was invented in Tijuana) I was too in love with my smoked salmon and avocado toast to remember taking a picture (I ordered it with the salmon roe supplement). I did remember however to take a picture of the cutlery. I had never seen this sort of knives, French apparently, Perceval. I liked their design.

Day 4 We had such a nice time at Acacia House, we decided to go back for lunch where they have a reasonably-priced prix fixe menu. I started with their signature Margarita which is topped with what looks like egg white but is actually sea salt foam. Fun idea! The foam is a lot more delicate than a traditional salt rim. Grated lime on top. The cold soup of watermelon and strawberry was really great, served with a dollop of cream with chives and little accents of local olive oil, a touch of heat. Every spoonful was slightly different. I wish I had the recipe as I could eat this every day in summer!

Day 3, continued Back at our bungalow in Calistoga, we were a bit hungry after all this wine so we had some of the charcuterie we had just bought. Jesus (the specialty of Lyon, a very large saucisson) Wild boar salume (Olli which I just realized is based in Oceanside, north of San Diego!) - not bad but slightly disappointing as the boar flavor was not very pronounced Here is the boar salame again on the left, and the delectable lomo iberico de bellota (made from pork loin; nutty, melts in your mouth) on the right A nice hoppy IPA from Sacramento to accompany all this. Notes of citrus peel, grass, resin.

I actually do enjoy the tender texture and slightly gamey quality of a good snail, but it is somewhat of an acquired taste. Also, I remember my grandmother preparing them from scratch and the long process required to put purge and clean them. Very messy!

I am finally able to upload all my pictures (Point Reyes has really poor coverage), so I shall be able to resume my trip report tomorrow!

I am relieved to read that we are not the only French Laundry voyeurs out there. We spent quite a bit of time watching them through the windows as well. I was not expecting part of the kitchen to be visible from the street! Thanks for the info about Etude. I believe they have a winery in Santa Barbara as well? It’s too late for this trip, but I’ve added it to the list for the next one!

That is her and indeed she has grown up quite a lot since you met her!

We saw the areas where the Tubbs fire had been outside of town in the wooded areas, but overall there was less damage than we feared. The tastings fees were around $25 a person (for 4-6 wines depending on the winery), waived if you bought a bottle (or a subscription).

Hahaha. Yes it looks like it’s only the shape (I hope!).

After all these adventures, we headed back north for a wine tasting at Silver Oak. We had a Cabernet flight. Nothing blew us away so we came out empty handed. A little further north we also tried Miner family winery. We bought a bottle of their 2016 viognier.

Atelier Fine Foods - great collection of cheeses, cured meats, French teas, caviar etc. I bought a few goodies to eat later.

A local chocolate store that makes sushi-inspired chocolates

Bouchon French Laundry The vegetable gardens of French laundry, just across the street Pampered chickens