Carolyn Tillie

I hate to put a damper on your parade, but I don't think people will make the commute. I grew up in Oceanside and moved to San Diego for college. At that point, there were a handful of fabulous restaurants along the beach in Leucadia and Del Mar and the San Diegans were rue to drive "out of the city." One of the most famous and prestigious restaurants was at the resort in Rancho Bernardo and San Diegans ventured "up there" only rarely. It is an oddly-centric community. One of the reasons I moved away was because traffic was becoming unbearable and the act of commuting in and out of the city not worth the effort. And, as Russ pointed out earlier in the thread, the spread of Pierce's disease all but killed a budding wine community which has yet to recover. San Diegans and Angelenos who want a weekend in wine country are more apt to drive up to Paso Robles than they are the nearer Temecula. I also have really good friends who have lived in Temecula for almost 20 years and their property values have not risen the way they anticipated. I wish you the best of luck and sincerely hope I am wrong. I did leave the area almost a dozen years ago and only know peripherally what has been happening up until the point my father passed away a year ago. I sincerely hope I'm wrong on my assessment.

Concur - jarred and/or canned FG should not be re-cooked. However, you can "dress it up" if you like with various jams, jellies, chutneys, or simple caramelized onions. Quince paste is also another classic accompaniment. But simple, brioche toast points that will showcase the richness of the foie is probably preferred.

Very curious to know what the chef intends to produce alongside the fry bread...

I despise Burger King but ate there for an entire month to get the entire collection of four Nightmare Before Christmas watches (a different one each week!). Here's a picture of three of the four I got...

I just finished a week-long jewelry intensive at the Revere Academy which put me in downtown for lunch this entire week. I reported earlier about a very mediocre experience inside the Westfield Center. But an early highlight occurred at the Samovar Tea Lounge located on the Upper Terrace of the Yerba Buena Gardens. On Tuesday, several in our class headed over and while one sufficed with just tea and a scone, two of us opted for the Moorish Mint Tea; a complete lunch which included grilled Halloumi kebabs served on top of a mint salad. Alongside were three dolmas and and a handful of dried olives as well as two Medjool dates stuffed with chevre and topped with a pistachio-crusted walnut. The website indicates this dish also comes with "Homemade Flatbread w/ Ingrid’s Pumpkin Babaganoush" but that was not to be and -- honestly -- wasn't needed. For $16.00, this was a completely delightful, filling entree. So charmed was I by this that I returned a day or two later to try the Japanese luncheon. In a round, ceramic bento box I was served a seaweed salad, two scoops of rice topped with various condiments, a triangle of seared yellowtale and two shrimp, and some marinated broccoli rabe. There was also a very delicate, subtle tea soup which had some unknown vegetables which were a bit on the soft side. Along with the lunch, I ordered the "upcharge" Matcha service ($5 on their website but $10 in the restaurant). There was a nut-crusted sweet (may have been mochi, but didn't really taste like it) along with the Matcha and then a green tea-dusted brownie bite was served with the lunch as well. I have girlfriends flying into the city early next month and after a day at the museum, this will be a great place to take them - and any other visitors who want a calming, peaceful, delightful luncheon near downtown.

Sure! But in many states, that open bottle needs to be securely placed in the trunk. No open bottles in the vehicle... Who cares? If you have paid a lot for an expensive bottle, why shouldn't you be allowed to drink every little drop? On the other hand, sometimes offering a glass to the waitstaff is a great gesture and one that I do often - especially if it is a fabulous bottle. If you search around, you will find a number of discussions on corkage fees and what is considered reasonable. Some restaurants will waive the corkage if you agree to buy a bottle off their list. I have been able to have corkage waived when I've offered a glass to the sommelier, manager, or chef. In general, I have seen corkage fees range from $10 to $50. No worries! It is all a learning experience. Also, it is generally considered bad form to bring a bottle that already exists on a restaurant's list. I know, it is not always possible to know what is on a list, but buying a $10 bottle from your local grocery store would be a good example of something that should probably not be brought into a fine dining establishment.

I have been there twice in the past month and wrote it up here. In fact, I am going back tomorrow evening because I want to show off fine San Francisco dining to a very special guest who is visiting from San Diego.

Attending a week-long jewelry intensive, I am spending the entire week in downtown. Half the class and I headed to Out the Door for lunch today; three of us ordered to go and ate in the court and five of us sat for waiter service. Sadly, a couple visiting from Toronto who were part of the waiter-service group, waited over a half-hour for their lunch while others around them were being served. When they finally got a waiter to look into it, they offered to comp the lunch but at that point, only had ten minutes to eat before getting back to class. I was one who ordered to go, ordering the grilled Yellowfish. I asked what accompanied the dish and was told rice and a pickled fennel dish. The to-go package arrived with only sliced grilled fish and some mandarin-dressed greens. I asked about the rice and the counter person sighed as he turned to dish me up some rice for the fish. For $16.00 (including a glass of tea), I was underwhelmed. Way too expensive for what I got -- realizing after I sat down there WERE a few slivers of fennel in the greens. All in all, not worth the money.

Its my neighborhood and Soko Hardware has the most amazing selection of Japanese knives. Food-wise, Kiss is probably my favorite. Bushi-Tei is decent-enough but for Japanese fusion, Ame is better. Takara is just okay, in my opinion, but I have yet to go to Kappa which is very highly regarded. The prawns at Takara are the best thing they offer. I'm afraid I am a bit jaded, however. As much as I adore Japanese food (eating it twice a week, at least), it is better in Los Angeles.

Concur with Melkor - Citizen Cupcake is incredibly mediocre - very dry cake with overly sweet, downright gritty frosting. What I wouldn't give for a fantastic cupcake in this city... The same weekend RJWong is coming up for his pilgrimage, my friend "R" (an LA food writer) is also coming up; Manresa on Friday night, Ferry Plaza Saturday morning, Swan's Oysters Saturday afternoon, Aziza Saturday night, and Sunday is still up in the air. I am not overwhelmed by Boulevard either. It just tastes like every California Cuisine Restaurant in the city. For truly unusual, consider Coi, Ame, or Ritz.

I think the magazine has changed. I am exactly like you - my last three issues have remained unread as well! When it first arrives, I immediately open it and go through page-by-page, looking for something worth reading. The next thing I know, several months have gone by, another issue arrives, and I realize I never went back to ready anything in the last one! My renewal notice came and I didn't bother; even after having every single issue.

We found three different varities of beer from this producer at Hi-Time Cellars in Costa Mesa. We were heading to a Japanese restaurant and thought we'd have an "apperitif" before we all headed out. I wanted a rare Japanese beer and we found these adorable bottles and couldn't pass them up. They're really all quite interesting! My favorite actually was the traditional Japanese Ale from the same producer in a bottle with a similar graphic (they all looked similar with the change in colors on the graphics). If you're still around, you should DEFINITELY make a trip to Hi-Time. That store is amazing and we know pretty much all of the wine buyers there. I'd love to give you a tour. ← I remember Hi-Time! Sadly, the rest of my stay is relegated to packing boxes in the armpit of Los Angeles: Sherman Oaks. I got my lovely visit to Newport Beach on Tuesday and will be returning for a week during the Arts Festivals in August (can I have a rain-check?)

I've put my Bin 8945 here, in its own thread.

I was going to continue my mini-blog on Southern California with an entry about Bin 8945, but thought it deserved its own entry as I'm sure discussion of this landmark restaurant will continue. I had the distinct pleasure of dining with a Southern California food critic "R" and bantering on the culinary onslaught that was to come. We arrived promptly at 6:00 and were shown a prime corner seat which gave a vantage of the entire restaurant: While perusing the menu, an amuse of tomato consomme was served paired with some sparkling Gruet from New Mexico: We ordered the Bin tasting - something in the neighborhood of 12 courses - for $100, with appropriate pairings for another $100. While various waiters provided the food throughout the evening, David the owner provided the sommelier service for the evening: The first official course was poppyseed-crusted hamachi with soy pate, orange gastrique, and micro-greens. This was served atop a Himalayan salt block with a wine pairing of Masaumi Arabashiri sake. An exciting start: The next course, served with a 2005 Tement Berghauser Weiss-Burgunder, was Tasmanian trout skin topped with a Chilean fruit, charica, and a Pinot Gris gastrique. The interest was in the unusual fruit but beyond that, this dish didn't do much as a collective whole: The next course was a bit more successful - red snapper ceviche. The simple combination of onions, cucumber, avocado, a the light crunch of blue corn chips paired very well with a sparkling 2001 Gruet Rose: We were next served Bin's version of a Chawan-Mushi - this made with shrimp dumplings, veal jus and quail egg. It was not a classic Chawan-Mushi in that there was no custard to speak of. "R" queried David about it and it was suggested that Angelenos wouldn't understand real Chawan-Mushi. This turned the conversation a bit towards classic Japanese food and through our recommendations, David indicated he'd be heading to Shin-Sen-Gumi in a week or so! An interesting pairing for the Chawan-Mushi was Hitachino, a white ale made entirely from rice: Our next offering was a butter-poached lobster with sturgeon caviar, a Gruyere crisp, and cilantro oil all paired with a 2004 Bret Brothers Macon-Cruzille Clos des Vignes de Maynes. The slight tragedy of this course is that the lobster was an amazing quality but was entirely overshadowed by the butter emulsion. I would have never thought I could ever say there is too much of a butter flavor in anything, but sadly here it is so. I would have liked to taste the lobster and the caviar but all we tasted was butter; albeit really good butter. The much-anticipated foie gras course was next. Served with a 2004 Steininger Gruner Veltliner was Bin's "L'eggo my eggo" waffle (really!) topped with seared foie and served aside maple-syrup braised bacon bits and topped with ice cream. It is hard for me to not love foie gras and I enjoy eating it in any form but both "R" and I thought this dish a bit ill-conceived and too kitschy. The maple syrup and vanilla ice cream was overpoweringly sweet for a mid-course. I think serving on a supermarket-purchased frozen waffle is a mistake. The kitchen is producing amazing dishes and lowering their standards to this form of novelty somewhat sad - they are better than this. "R" suggested changing the maple syrup to a fruit-flavored one; huckleberry or something. And the ice cream needs to go: Sensing our love of fine wine, David pulled out something special for our next pairing - a 1982 Henri Tayer Bourgogne which was served with a molasses-glazed monkfish atop a celeriac with with pickled fennel and arugula oil. Wine and dish were both show-stoppers for me. The monkfish had the perfect crispy sear with tender interior. The juxtaposition of the creamy, rich celeriac was highlighted against the brightness of the fennel. Fabulous dish and I am saddened that my adoration with smelling the wild strawberry in the wine made me completely forget to turn my camera on for the dish. I didn't think the last dish could be topped but another show-stopper appeared. Cod with veal jus, sun chokes, and Maitake mushrooms. This was served with Senoris de Sarria Vinedo #7 Navarro. Absolutely stunning dish: The meat dishes were next. Served with a 2003 Rosso Conero Vigneli del Coppo was seared duck breast with duck rillette, abalone mushrooms, fava beans, and jus. Lovely, rich, and very decadent: Some beef was next in Bin's version of a surf-and-turf; Kobe with lobster and a potato gratin. The wine pairing was a 2000 Chateau Yon-Figneac Saint-Emillion. This dish was not as fabulous as we thought it could have been -- the previous dish's duck was so tender and rich that it was surprising that the Kobe beef was not as exciting. Next was wine-poached venison served with plantains, mole, and a folded crepe. The wine pairing was a stunning 2005 Chateau de la Liquiere Faugerels. This was an odd dish -- the crepe was entirely unnecessary as the mole overwhelmed whatever delicate flavor may have existed in the crepe. In retrospect, the fact that it was venison was hardly memorable either; any hunk of meat could have been a vehicle for the sauce. Next was lamb with chorizo froth served with a duck fat-fried onion ring. Playing around a little, David paired this with a 15-year old Madeira by Bual Cossart Gordon. The peppery spiceness of the chorizo foam was perfection next to the sweetness of the Madeira. Just great fun: Finally, we got into a cheese course - Lialendo, Gruyere, and an Epoisses. Being playful again, David paired his cheeses with a Chambly Noir dark ale. I like the idea of a beer with cheese and this was quite interesting - however the plain, overly dry bread slices were on the mediocre side. The dessert course, served with Sailor & Terry spiced rum (92 proof), was Napolean Bins S'more with a strawberry milkshake. All house-made marshmallows on thin tuilles, both "R" and I wanted a bittersweet chocolate to counter the overly-sweet sandwich; either as a sauce to dip or as some additional component. The rum, however, was fabulous with nutty, caramel flavors of spice. Almost four hours later, Michael the chef came out and hearty congratulations were offered at the success. David was hanging out in the front with a great cigar (thanks for the puff!) and he indicated there is hope to grow into a larger space. I have read CH reports of the restaurant being crowded and long waits. We were very fortunate and because of some daily weather mis-haps (high winds, local fires, and a few power outages), at 7:00 "R" were still the only ones sitting in the restaurant. It filled up quickly after that and the table of four sitting next to us enjoyed their full courses immensely (I had a bite of their frittes which were fabulous). The waitstaff were more than on top of our water needs and explanations of every dish. Here, the next morning, I am suffering a bit of a hang-over but that was due to the combination of sake, wine, beer, AND rum <ouch>. In retrospect, it was the fish dishes that stand out the most for me. David is brilliant at wine pairings and apparently some of the courses we tried are new to the menu. Despite our assessment of a few minor errors of judgement in some of the ingredient choices, the execution is flawless and the presentation and intent stunning. The successes in our dinner far out-weighed the mis-steps. So glad I got the opportunity during my stay to experience this rising star in the Los Angeles culinary scene.

You may also remember another special occasion restaurant - Orange Hill which was high, atop a hill?

Congrats, Chef Dishman, on the great review! Nice to know "I ate there when...."

Not for years.... thanks for bringing up that cheescake! I had forgotten about that!

I was born in Tustin so this was the neighborhood my parents would bring us to "get away" with very special family dinners usually at the Five Crowns, Newport 17, or the Velvet Turtle. I got so nostalgic about Laguna and surrounds, I've decided to come back for a whole week in August just for the arts festivals!

Shame on me for not mentioning yesterday morning's breakfast -- "E" and I walked to the Mondrian Hotel on Sunset Boulevard before I drove down to Orange County. Rather unexceptional food - a basic omelet with better-than-average potatoes: Mondrian does have a few artistic things going for it, like a silver wall of silver-painted kookoo clocks. But I liked their oversized planters: I was very, very happy when friends "R&L" requested dinner at the Crab Cooker, an old, old favorite (I remember my parents taking me there when I was really, really little). A special on the menu last night was Spot Shrimp each of which were filled with roe! We also ordered the obligatory crab legs: And a platter of grilled salmon: We were situated right by the cooking station: Breakfast this morning was in my friend's, "C's" garden - a simple, but perfect omelet eaten amongst the hummingbirds... Right now, I'm sitting here outside Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel, waiting for the rest of my party to arrive. Thank god I found some WiFi...

Quick check-in before dinner... My Costa Mesa friends wanted to take advantage of my offer to take them to eat wherever they wanted and they chose Natraj at 998-B South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach. They are car-less and tend to eat out only in their neighborhood. I didn't take pictures at lunch but for an Indian buffet, it was really, really good. I especially enjoyed the Dal, Saag Paneer, and Samosas. There was also another dish with eggplant and potatoes which I greatly enjoyed but did not get the name of. Swicks, I doubt we'll go out and get Ramen for dinner -- that is something I get plenty of in San Francisco. But this is all about treating my friends and letting them choose where they want to eat (except for my quick solo SSG trip and the Bin 8945 excursion which are my choices). Off to dinner - but I don't know where!!!

While not the grand culinary pilgrimage that RJWong is making, I am spending the week in SoCal - seeing old friends and eating around at a few old favorites, taking my god-daughter to Disneyland, and looking forward to Bin 8945. I landed just after noon yesterday and promptly headed to my stand-by, hands-down favorite Japanese restaurant, Shin-Sen-Gumi. I was really lucky. It was 1:50 and they were closing in ten minutes - just enough time to get my standard, Takana Rice: The rice is blended with bits of tiny, dried fish, sesame seeds and some other green bits I never quite knew... The plate on the back, left contains fried tofu with shredded bonito, sliced scallions, a light sauce, and a bit of daikon. This gets dumped on the rice and all eaten together. Where there used to be a little bento of pickles and a hard-boiled egg, that was now replaced with the cooked squash on the top right. For $7.00, the Takana Rice lunch is also served with two yakitori: Grilled chicken and meatballs. These are what I miss - there is NO yakitori in San Francisco and these meatballs are tender and savory. Shin-Sen-Gumi is the restaurant I miss more than all others and when in the area, this is my personal pilgrimage. Today, I'll be out-and-about in Costa Mesa. Tomorrow is Disneyland and Bin 8945 on Thursday. Will report back!

Ooooohhh... where in the world does one find black dishtowels???

Here's the rub: If you search through the hundreds of wine/food-pairing websites the general consensus is that there is NO wine that pairs well with Asparagus. It is something about the chemical make-up of the vegetable that conflicts with wine; either making the asparagus very, very bitter or the wine very, very acidic. Gruner is probably the only wine that *might* work but I would like to suggest the addition of something like morels or another mushroom into the salad. The addition of something earthy will tame the whole dish down considerably and make it more wine-friendly.

When I moved out of Napa and into San Francisco, I went from a monstrously large kitchen into a tiny one (actually, here in the city we have converted one of our smaller bedrooms into "the pantry" complete with a second 'fridge, IKEA shelves of drygoods and service ware, and all the rarely-used bakeware). In the kitchen itself, with only three drawers, a very thin drawer next to the stove has been relegated to the dishtowels. Most of mine are the sack-towel variety which I prefer. The new boyfriend made the BRILLIANT suggestion of rolling them up. I can now store eight rolled dishtowels in a drawer that would have only held four, had I folded the towels. Smart, huh?

Great post, MarketStEl! It is true, we Californian's can't make a hoagie to save our lives. But there are a handful of restaurants that pull off a decent pannini!