Top 10 Tastes of California

[Ling]

Excellent write-up so far! Look forward to reading the rest.

ETA: I'm glad you got to try Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. I wanted to go there for a midnight snack after a day of eating (that included Providence's tasting menu) but Henry was too full....

Edited September 7, 2006 by Ling (log)

[tupac17616]

DAY 3 -- Monday

Today is the day I'll begin to fulfill the actual (or at least ostensible ) reason for our trip to California : to check out some graduate school options. First up on the list: Caltech.

A lady in the admissions office was kind enough to set up an entire schedule for me to have the full Caltech experience. Meetings with professors in different areas of my major (Mechanical Engineering), tours of some different labs, talking to a couple of current grad students, etc. They even treated me to a very nice lunch. But more on that later. In the mean time, breakfast...

EUROPANE BAKERY

Just a matter of blocks from CalTech, the location was perfect to grab a quick bite before my first meeting. My dad was not very hungry, so he just opted for some coffee and muffin from the hotel's "continental" breakfast. I'd heard great things about EuroPane's croissants, so there was no doubt what I was after this morning...

As you can see from the huge shadow it casts, this thing is massive. The interior is fluffy and airy, as you can see. The outside is soft, too, which I like, as I don't enjoy a crisp exterior on croissants. The butter flavor is subtle, not overwhelming on the palate. Really outstanding croissant. Probably the best I've had. This would certainly be a regular stop for me if I were at Caltech. As I'm paying for my croissant, something else in the case catches my eye also...

A macaron. As you can already see, I rarely pass up the chance to enjoy a macaron. I'm not certain about the flavor, but I seem to recall caramel-pecan, or something like that. Either way, a very good macaron, much better than Jin and just shy of Boule, if only because the flavors at Boule were some of my favorites. It was served chilled, but thankfully was not dry. Very moist interior. Lightly crisp exterior that collapses after the first bite. The caramel was light and pleasantly sweet, without the background complexity of a darker caramel. The nut (pecan? almond?) flavor was very nice, just enough to stand up to the caramel. Great stuff. A sweet start to the day.

After breakfast, it's off to CalTech..

Nice campus. And I was received with such a kind welcome from everyone I talked to. I'll leave my other impressions of the school until after the Stanford recap later, but suffice it to say it was a worthwhile visit and very informative. I mentioned above that I was very kindly treated to lunch. I expected a typical college campus eatery with sandwiches, salads, soups, etc, but was pleasantly surprised by...

THE ATHENAEUM

This is the private club for faculty, trustees, alumni, senior administrators, researchers, graduate students, and the associates of Caltech. As you can see from the website HERE, this is not the same old college cafeteria. Two current grad students and I enjoyed lunch outside on the beautiful patio..

Such a pleasant spot to eat outside, with the California sun, a light breeze, and soft music in the background. Several things sounded good on the menu, but I opted for..

Tempura Soft Shell Crab Salad -- Belgian endive, asparagus, avocado, and tomato with cilantro lime vinaigrette

(No, I don't have a picture this time! ) Quite good. The vegetables were very fresh. The avocado was ripe. The tomato was juicy and not some run-of-the-mill supermarket cardboard tomato wanna-be. The soft-shell crabs were steaming hot out of the fryer. The acidity of the vinaigrette tied everything together nicely. Very refreshing, and suprisingly tasty. This is, after all, a campus eatery. For less than $9, too, quite a deal.

Nothing really jumped out at me on the dessert menu, so I passed. One of the two grad students I was with opted for the ubiquitous warm chocolate cake, and seemed to enjoy it. All in all, a very pleasant lunch, and I was quite thankful to be treated to it.

I guess my last post wasn't particularly clear. The melted chocolates and broken camera actually happened during the CalTech visit. So we spent the majority of this afternoon searching for a Best Buy, trying to get the camera issue resolved, and then returning to CalTech to take more pictures. By this time, it was around 5:00, which significantly affected our options for dinner. Providence was out the window. Mozzarella Monday at Jar, not an option. Hatfield's, no can do. We originally considered trying Josie in Santa Monica, but figured it was no more on the way to Santa Barbara than anything else, so we (very reluctantly for me, at least) decided to stay in Pasadena for dinner before our drive to Santa Barbara later.

Within Pasadena, I'd only had four places on my list of possibilities: Roscoe's, EuroPane, Pie n Burger, and In-n-Out Burger. With the first two checked off the list, there was definitely some beef and a bun in our near futures. I decided against In-n-Out, remembering that it was the only convenient Stanford-area lunch option on the list for Wednesday. So off we were to...

PIE N BURGER

This place is also just a stone's throw from Caltech. After grabbing the last few pictures at CalTech, we stop by. I am hesitant for a second -- the average age demographic in the room hovers around the upper 80s. A glance at the clock... Ah, the early bird crowd.

No worries. We'll just kill some time across the street at the Wild Oats Natural Marketplace. This was a pretty nice food market. Great selection of whole grain breads, granola, etc. Good produce. Decent meat/fish counter. Some cheeses. The usual. But, oh, imagine our horror when we see..

Dear God! What have they done with the pork? And the eggs? Won't someone please think of the children?!

Anyhoo, by now, we'll killed a bit of time, so it's back across the street to Pie n Burger. Definitely a neighborhood spot, with mostly regulars pulled up to the counter. Our waitress seems to have worked there since the dawn of the century... the 20th century. I was lured here by the pie, more so than the burger, but when a place is named Pie n Burger, there's not really much question about what you're supposed to order...

The meat patty was thin but juicy. The bun was buttered and toasted on the griddle. The amount of lettuce was a bit disproportionate, but that was easily fixed. Was definitely not a fan of the "secret sauce" (was it Thousand Island dressing?). But with just a light sprinkling of salt, and scraping away a good bit of the lettuce and "sauce", this was a pretty good burger. Not mind-blowingly good, and certainly not among the best I've hada, but enjoyable nonetheless.

It's not pictured, but we also had chili with onions and cheese. Wanted cheddar. Ended up with American. A quiet reminder that sometimes, it pays to be cognizant of your surroundings. A gourmet restaurant, this is not. The chili was passable, nothing special, but at least we got some vegetables with the beans in there.

Also a side of fries, not very good. Cut a little thicker than I would have liked, but that's just personal preference, though. Once again, at a burger joint, not exactly a wealth of vegetable options, so we did what we could.

Well, we'd had the burger. Now, of course, it was time for...

Boysenberry Pie (a la mode, of course)

Very good. Perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. And that's just about the usual ice cream to pie ratio (about 1:1) we strive for when making pies at home. Heh heh. Warm pie, cold ice cream. Smile on my face. Life is good.

My dad ordered the cherry pie. We both found it a little too sweet. That one-dimensional flavor made it just okay, but nothing special.

The cherry pie at Pie n Burger, I can't really say I'd recommend. The boysenberry, on the other hand... Well, let's just say I though about buying a whole one for the road.

I'd go back to Pie n Burger for a slice of pie, but probably not for the burger. Still want to try Olallieberry Pie sometime, but we missed the boat on the season for that this time. There's always the next trip..

By the time we're done in Pasadena, traffic is cleared and it's a nice and easy drive to Santa Barbara. On tap for tomorrow: Road Trip!

[mukki]

Ummm... I love Roscoe's. I agree the cornbread is boring. The greens are really good, though. I even enjoy their fake maple syrup though I usually stay away from the stuff.

The filling in the Europane macaron looks tasty. One of my favorite macarons is the pistachio from Bouchon Bakery. Pure, unadulterated pistachio flavor. Boule has some good rotating flavors like pumpkin... they seem a bit too gooey to me, though. The passion fruit eclair I bought at Boule last weekend was disappointing -- the choux was too soft and bready.

Glad you liked your boysenberry pie.

Great report so far!

Edited September 8, 2006 by mukki (log)

[alanamoana]

tupac,

great report so far! thanks for taking the time (and making the effort) to follow up so thoroughly. maybe this rehash will remind you how nice the left coast is and convince you to attend grad school here!

what about your dad's impressions of california? is he a born and raised texan?

[s_sevilla]

I'm glad to hear that chez panisse pleased....I have got to go there sometime, I found out that one of my old acquaintances is now working there as a server and as a procurer.

[s_sevilla]

I'm glad to hear that chez panisse pleased....I have got to go there sometime, I found out that one of my old acquaintances is now working there as a server and as a procurer.

[ludja]

Thanks for the report, tupac17616! The food at the Caltech on-campus eatery is amazing! I think it is a very beautiful campus although I am somewhat biased for Stanford since I spent some time there.

I know the semester is upon you, but I hope you get you finish your report when time allows. I'm intererested to hear more about your experiences in the Bay area.

[tupac17616]

what about your dad's impressions of california?  is he a born and raised texan?

As a whole, he definitely loved it. He hated the LA traffic. He, too, thought the drive up the PCH was incredible beyond words. He really enjoyed SF, and we both wished we'd had more time there. He's even planning trip back to SF with my mom as we speak, so I guess he must've thought it was okay!

He is a born and raised Texan, and had only very vague memories of California from road trips his family took to a couple of different parts of California when he was very, very little. So for all intents and purposes, this was his first real trip to California. I think we were both extremely glad we chose to do the trip. It was definitely enjoyable and rewarding on a number of levels.

I know the semester is upon you, but I hope you get you finish your report when time allows.  I'm intererested to hear more about your experiences in the Bay area.

The semester is indeed upon me, but I just can't leave this thing unfinished. Time to get back on track...

[tupac17616]

DAY 4 -- Tuesday

Poetry...

... I can think of few other words that even come close to describing this incredible stretch of road known as the Pacific Coast Highway. When gathering advice about the commute from the LA area to Los Gatos, many people suggested just taking I-5 and getting it over with as quickly as possible. Others suggested splitting the difference, taking 101 and having some of the views, but less of the hassles of Hwy 1.

But, this was our first trip, and we didn't want to cut ourselves short. We knew we had to give Hwy 1 a shot, at least for a while. In retrospect, what a great decision this was. Easily the most memorable (non-food ) part of the trip for both of us.

After dinner in Pasadena at Pie n' Burger the previous night, we had decided we'd hit the road and get a head start on the drive. So we'd planned to stay the night in Santa Barbara. An easy drive up to SB at night, we checked into our room and crashed early. We wanted to be well-rested for the day ahead.

We both thought Santa Barbara was an incredibly beautiful place, so we figured it would be a shame not to hang out there for at least a little while. So we spent the morning exploring SB. The mission, the old courthouse, etc. Really a very nice place, and one we both decided we wouldn't mind returning to at some point.

It's about a half hour 11am, which just happens to be the time that La Super Rica Taqueria opens. Probably the most hyped taqueria suggested by many people to me when I was looking for food ideas for the trip. But we have no idea what to expect time-wise for the drive up the coast. We don't want to kill time, and risk having to hurry later in the day.

Fortunately, I had a back-up, should this very situation occur. A place that was open earlier. A place just a stone's throw from the 101. It was time for some tacos...

TAQUERIA EL BAJIO

This place had been recommended to me for being open early, having generally good food, and most importantly having fish tacos, one thing I'd decided I had to have at some point on this Cali trip.

For my dad, the words "fish" and "taco" do not belong in the same sentence, so he sticks with a couple of meatier selections..

Asada Taco (left) & Carnitas Taco

We both thought the asada taco was quite good. Pleasantly spicy & flavorful meat. The second corn tortilla seemed superfluous, but hey, corn is a vegetable, right? They were just making sure he had a healthy breakfast. How thoughtful.

The carnitas taco was dry and pretty dull. I've never had a carnitas taco, but I was under the impression that carnitas were supposed to be little chunks of crisp-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside porky goodness. This was like pulled pork shoulder with not much spice or flavor.

Meanwhile, I came in knowing exactly what I was having...

Fish Taco

Snapper, mixed grilled vegetables, monterey jack & cheddar cheese on a massive flour tortilla?! Wait a minute here.... Vegetables? Cheese? Flour tortilla?

Perhaps I should've read the menu description before ordering this. It was far from the double corn tortilla, cabbage, crema, lime & radish affair I'd envisioned. Ah well, how bad could it be? I'd give it a shot...

The snapper was completely overwhelmed by the rest of the stuff in the tortilla, most notably the cheese, and even the tortilla itself for that matter. Yet I suppose this is a good thing, because as I tasted the fish, it didn't taste bad, per se. It just tasted like the fish that comes with dishes simply labelled "Fish with ___". Those dished where you have to guess what the mystery fish might actually be, yet you're probably better off not knowing. Yeah, this was like that.

The vegetables were not bad, and the tortilla itself was passable if way too big. But I had come for the fish. This was not what I was looking for. I would have to live to eat another day.

But in the mean time, who says breakfast doesn't call for dessert..

Calabaza

Never ones to pass up a nice chunk of candied pumpkin (or sweet potato, for that matter), we knew we'd have to have this for a sweet snack to round out the meal. Quite good. Expectedly quite sweet, but not cloying or overly crystallized.

Some good in our stomachs, it was time to hit the road. We started to head up Highway 1. My stomach was talking to me. It needed consolation. It needed a real fish taco.

We planned to hop on Hwy 1 in San Luis Obispo. There was a nice stretch between SLO and a crossover highway (46) between 1 and 101, that we figured could be our trial run. A way to get our feet wet a bit, see what Hwy 1 was like.

It just so happened that this little stretch of highway 1 passed through Morro Bay. Wait a minute, isn't Morro Bay supposed to have some good fish taco places? How convenient.

We excitedly (or I was excited at least ) pull into the parking lot of Taco Temple. Wait a minute. Closed on Tuesdays! D'oh!

Not to worry. Again, I have a back-up. A certain little taqueria mentioned in the NYT Taco Crawl up Highway 1...

CHAPALA RESTAURANT

An old gas station with a small kitchen transformed into a sit-down taqueria. My dad is too hungry to eat anything more, wanting to save his energy for Manresa that night. Until we walk in the door, that is. The smell is intoxicating. He steps up to the counter to order first..

Asada Taco

What can I say? The man likes his beef. It's hard to tell from the picture, but this is a mini taco, with a tortilla only maybe 3-4 inches in diameter. Being pretty full, it was just the size he needed in this case, anyway. And he loved it. He asked for it spicy, and it didn't disappoint, packing a nice hot kick in the tastebuds. I didn't get to try this one (he liked it that much ), but I was busy myself with...

Fish Taco

Now this is what I am talking about. Delciously fresh tasting fish, fried perfectly crisp with just a very thin spicy breading. Fresh cabbage, crema, and some extra hot sauce over the top for good measure. Radish and lime for the essential garnishes. Oh man. This is good. Hell, who I am kidding? This is outstanding. Possibly the best thing I've eaten on the trip so far.

With full stomach and smiling faces, we hop back in the car and continue up Hwy 1. Once we reach the highway 46 junction, its time for a decision: continue boldly up hwy 1 or take the easy way out and head back to the 101 for the rest of the way. We've still got tons of time before our Manresa reservation that night, so we take a chance, and go for it. Highway 1 will be our twisty companion for the next several hours. Cliffs, beaches, mountains, valleys, vineyards, farms, bridges, lighthouses, waterfalls, forests.... This drive seems to be the home of everything beautiful both nature and man have built. What an unforgettable drive. We would both do it again in a heartbeat.

We arrived in the pleasant little town of Los Gatos a little before 7:00, with plenty of time to spare before our 8:00 reservation at Manresa. We park on a small side street, and decide it's time for a quick nap.

Relaxed and rested, we stroll into...

MANRESA

Ready for a feast, the Grand Tasting Menu awaits..

.. as do the pictures and descriptions of this meal.

I hate to leave such a cliff-hanger like that, but there is just so much to process for this meal report. It's no small task.

I can say without question that it was the best meal of the trip, and probably the finest restaurant meal I've ever had anywhere, period.

The kitchen really outdid themselves. Twenty-two miraculous courses, six of which we presented with tandem preparations. So essentially, we each enjoyed a 28-course menu.

You would think that with that many distinct dishes, the success rate of the individual dishes might suffer a bit. But the hits just kept coming.

One in particular, the Platonic ideal of the summertime combination corn & tomatoes, was downright revelatory. Probably the best single dish that has ever graced my tastebuds.

I promise, pictures and a very full description will come in due time. I want this report to have my full attention, so I'll probably have to finish out the rest of the Cali trip report, and come back to this meal, to give it its full due. I guarantee it will be worth the wait.

[ludja]

So happy you had the "re-do" on the fish tacos! Carnitas are indeed usually wonderful; sorry you got a poor example. I'm also glad you drove up the Big Sur Coast; it is indeed one of the most wonderful places to visit.

Edited September 15, 2006 by ludja (log)

[dockhl]

tupac~

great report. I am thrilled that you went up the coast......we are so very lucky to live here. Let me know next time you are back and we can spend some time !

Can't wait to hear the rest

Kathy

[rjwong]

I'm glad you and your father were able to take that trip up along the 101. San Luis Obispo is one of my favorite areas!

Your father hates LA traffic? Well, welcome to the club!! Public transportation in LA will get better, if I have anything to do with it ...

I'll be waiting for your full report on Manresa.

[eje]

tupac17616,

Great pictures and thoughts!

I'm glad you took the time to drive Hwy One! The I-5 is soooo dull.

Confused by your first fish taco. It looks like the cooks misunderstood and made you a fish quesadilla instead!

Can't wait to hear more as you get closer to San Francisco.

I'm especially looking forward to the Manresa writeup, as we have reservations there next month!

Thanks for taking the time to write this up.

[tupac17616]

DAY 5 -- Wednesday

After our meal Tuesday night at Manresa, we spent the night in Palo Alto in order to make my Stanford visit the next morning more convenient. (A funny aside: As we were finishing up our meal at Manresa, about to get the tour of the kitchen, the manager approaches the table and we chat for a bit. He asks where we'll be staying that night, and we say Palo Alto. "Ah, yes, the Four Seasons?" he asks. Yeah, not so much. Try the Days Inn. Somehow the juxtaposition of a gourmet dinner and a stay at an, uh, economical hotel was a little surprising to him. What can I say? Ya gotta have priorities for how you spend your money. The look on his face was priceless. ).

We are up early, a bit worn out from the day before, and not exactly dying of hunger pains after trying to digest the 28-course masterpiece we'd had the night before. But does that stop us from getting breakfast? Of course not.

Driving down El Camino Real, we figure we'll spot something interesting between our hotel and the school. For a while, the only thing that seems to be a good option is Izzy's Brooklyn Bagels, or something like that. Call me a food snob, but I go to school in NYC....I didn't come to California to eat a bagel. My dad rolls his eyes, and we continue driving. (Although interestingly in retrospect, my friend here at Columbia tells me that Izzy's is better than anything he's had in the city, and that Izzy is from Brooklyn and knows how to make a killer bagel). Luckily, we decide to drive around some random shopping center with a bunch of little stores, coffee shops, etc. I spy a bakery, and I know what we'll be having for breakfast...

DOUCE FRANCE

This was a very nice find. We walk past some small tables of people eating and drinking coffee on the sidewalk. Once inside, the case is full of the usual suspects: baguettes, sandwiches, crepes, tarts, cakes, cookies, pastry. But one thing in particular catches our eye. We both order...

Chocolate Croissant

... and we both agree its the best we've ever had. The texture was wonderful. Soft, flaky, buttery, just the slightest bit of a crispy exterior. The chocolate was closer to milk than dark, which happens to be both his and my preference. Rather than the usual ganache-like soft chocolate filling, this was more like a semi-solid stick of chocolate, which created a nice textural contrast on the inside. Fully satisfied from starting the day with a bit of nice culinary serendipity, it's time for me to check out Stanford...

Nice place. I really liked the general feel of the campus, the happy, laid-back attitude among the faculty and students I spoke with, the fact that there are actually some non-science-, non-engineering-type people walking around. Just the whole package that the school offered really impressed me. This was a very worthwhile visit, as it definitely succeeded in making me even more enthusiastic about the place as one I'll certainly apply to, and more confident that grad school is the right decision for me next year. But even though these grad school visits were (ostensibly, at least) the reason for the trip, I won't bore you with any more of the details of what I thought of the schools. After all, it's lunch time...

IN-N-OUT BURGER

I knew it had to be done on this trip. It was only a matter of time. With an In-n-Out in the neighboring town of Mountain View, this was the perfect quick lunch option for my day of checking out Stanford. Being schooled in all the off-the-menu jargon of this place beforehand, I walked up and ordered...

Double Double Animal Style

...and an order of fries well done. And a vanilla shake. If I was gonna do this, it had to be done right.

Call me easy to please, but this burger was quite good. Nothing mind-blowing, of course, but not the only-as-good-as-McDonald's mess that some had warned against either. I thought it was better than the burger and Pie n Burger in Pasadena, too. The fries were, well, terrible. Sure, they were crispy. But that's about all they had going for them. The texture on the inside was weird. Dry, almost a bit chalky. No bueno. The shake was incredibly thick, and quite good.

My dad got a regular burger, regular fries, and a chocolate shake. Halfway through, we switched fries. I preferred the soft, limp regular fries, and he preferred the crispier well-done version, so it worked out nicely. He, too, thought the burger and the shake were quite good. I'd definitely go back to In-n-Out. Order the same Double Double Animal Style and the same vanilla shake. Probably no fries, or maybe just the regular fries, if any. I was glad to finally get to try the burger place that's always talked about in such a mythical way when people compare it to burger joints in NYC (Shake Shack, Burger Joint, etc). I'd say it lived up to the hype for me.

After lunch, we head back over to the Stanford campus for the second half of my visit. I meet with a couple more professors, walk around and take some pictures, and we're on our way. Next stop: Berkeley.

We had an early (6:30) reservation downstairs at Chez Panisse for that night, but I was hoping we'd make it to Berkeley early enough to check out another food place that I'd been hearing a lot about. Luckily, we got there just in time to make it to...

THE CHEESE BOARD

..just 10 minutes before closing. Now is that good timing, or what? This is my kind of cheese shop. As soon as you walk in, that beautiful smell just hits you. This is not the shrink-wrapped cheese department of your local supermarket, this is cheese heaven. They let you taste pretty much anything. Better yet, they encourage you taste everything. I asked for help, giving the probably the most vague parameters possible: I wanted something somewhat hard, somewhat salty, and something that would do fine without refrigeration for several days. What I got was more than help; it was an education. I looked at the massive cheese list (see above), and staggered for a moment, asking for my tried and true: Parmiggiano-Reggiano. The guy smiled and said "Let's see if we can't get you something a little more special than that." I ended up trying what was probably close to about 10 cheeses. Sure I had a reservation in less than half an hour. Did that stop me from trying each and every once he set before me? Of course not. I finally decided on a Dutch cheese called Pradera that was right on the money. The Cheese Board also makes their own bread, pizzas (must try these next time!), and scones. I spotted a corn-cherry scone that had my name on it, so I got one of those to go as well.

I payed for the cheese and the scone, and was on my way. I'll definitely be back here the next time I am in Berkeley. But for now, it's time for dinner at...

CHEZ PANISSE

The mecca of California cuisine. Way before the details of our trip were planned, I knew this place was a must. From what I'd read, this was a different kind of restaurant than what I was used to. It was not about pretentious service, obscure fusion ingredients, or overly complicated presentations. It was about giving the rustic, simple beauty of incredibly fresh ingredients center stage. Sure, NYC has its so-called "Greenmarket cuisine," but I knew I'd only seen the tip of the iceberg. I wanted to dig deeper. I knew that for all the good vegetables that can be grown in the northeast, we've still got nothing on California. The previous day's drive through acres of beautiful farmland was certainly enough to sing that loud and clear. We'd seen nature's bounty, and Chez Panisse was to be the place to put it on our plates.

To say I was excited about this meal is putting it mildly. I was more than ready to see what the fuss was about. I was ready to see if I could count myself among those people that "get" what Chez Panisse is all about.

My dad was a little apprehensive about the set menu. While we waited a few minutes to be shown to our table, he snuck a peek at the previous day's menu (including raw fish) and freaked out. Once I reminded him it was Wednesday, he let out a sigh of relief.

I, on the other hand, was not ready to see what we were going to have just yet. The element of surprise in having a set menu format is exciting for me. You just show up, sit back, relax, and eat. Here's what the wind blew in that night...

It doesn't take long to appreciate the ambience of the restaurant. The feel is warm and inviting. The open kitchen is beautifully rustic. The wait staff is smiling. For a few moments, we sit there and just enjoy our surroundings. Not long after, some warm roasted and salted almond arrive. A nice little snack. Then comes the bread and butter. The two kinds of bread (one sourdough, one like a smaller baguette) are both wonderfully crusty and chewy. The butter is served a bit too cool and hard, but I nitpick. Several minutes later, the food starts coming...

Green bean, shell bean, and cherry tomato salad with basil and goat cheese crouton

Along with the cherry tomatoes are some delicious heirloom varieties (black prince, zebra, etc). The beans are properly cooked. The goat cheese is creamy and just the slightest bit tangy. The simple vinaigrette has just the right touch of acidity to bring all the flavors together beautifully. A fresh, light, and very tasty beginning.

Fideus pasta with roasted peppers, white shrimp, and aioli

This was quite good. I loved the aroma of the shrimp broth flavored with tomato and perfumed with saffron. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, and not at all chewy. I thought the aioli could have stood to be a bit more assertively flavored, as its flavor kind of got lost in the mix. But a nice dish overall.

Grilled James Ranch lamb rack, loin, and leg, with fried eggplant, olive sauce, and garden lettuces

This dish smelled great as it was set before us, the fresh thyme aroma wafting upwards. The rack was tender, cooked to a nice medium rare. Luckily, the olive sauce was not overly assertive. (I don't like most olives.) There wasn't much difference flavor-wise between the loin and the leg, aside from the obvious difference in fat content. All three pieces of lamb were juicy and quite tasty. The eggplant was perfectly crispy and piping hot. The lettuces were lightly dressed, and were a pleasant accompaniment. My dad really enjoyed this one. What can I say? He's a meat guy, through and through.

Summer berry sherbet coupe with champagne granite

Jackpot: those baby wild white strawberries. (There's probably an actual name for them....I don't know it ) I'd read about the tiny red fraises des bois, that can only be had in California, and I knew that was something I wanted to try during the trip if at all possible. These white ones are apparently even rarer, so I was really glad to see those on the plate that night. Along with those beauties were raspberries, blackberries and regular red strawberries (although I hate to call any of CP's produce "regular"). The champagne granite, it turns out, was actually made from Moscato d'Asti. Wonderfully refreshing, and a perfect match, since I'd ordered a glass of the wine beforehand without knowing that. (It's my favorite wine). The raspberry sherbet was intensely fruity and not overly icy. The berries were all very fresh. The wafer had a bit of anise in it, making it nicely aromatic. Really nice, light, summery dessert.

Petite Fours

Dark chocolate pieces with pistachio and thumbprint cookies filled with lemon curd. Both pretty tasty.

After the meal, we were graciously offered a tour of the kitchen. Somehow, they must have picked up on my keen interest in the food and what was going on in the kitchen. How'd they know?

The first thing I'd noticed when stepping in to the dining room and later into the kitchen were these large presentation bowls showcasing that day's fresh ingredients that were to be used:

The kitchen itself was gorgeous. Something about it just feels right. If I ever had a restaurant of my own, I would definitely want to evoke a similar ambience. It was warm, inviting, homey. For example, they do all their own butchering of meat and cook many of their meats over a wood-burning open fire (see pictures below). There's something comfortingly old-fashioned about that. The all stainless steel and no-open-flame high tech kitchens of many fine dining restaurant kitchens I've toured seem downright cold in comparison. But of course, pictures speak louder than words, so a few shots of various parts of the CP kitchen:

And Chef David Tanis is a real class act. Noting my enthusiasm, he kindly took a moment from his busy activity to act as our tour guide through the kitchen, prep, and storage areas. He told me all about how he works six months there at CP, and spends rest of the year in Paris, where he and another guy run a tiny restaurant out of a small apartment (see website HERE) and only serve basically "whenever [they] feel like it." Now that's the life. He asks if I cook, and I said, sure, all the time, just never in a restaurant setting. He then proceeded to say that if I found my way to UC-Berkeley for grad school that there was a spot in the kitchen with my name on it. Several minutes later, as we walked out the kitchen and our tour finished up, he re-iterated this offer, and made sure I knew he was serious. Like I said, what a guy.

So, did I "get" Chez Panisse? In retrospect, I think so. Sure, there were no technical fireworks. I didn't come away inspired by some unexpected new flavor combination or ingredient. But this was a meal that was just so easy to appreciate. There is no processing necessary. You don't have to think so much about the food in order to enjoy it. You just keep have to arrive with an open mind, ready to enjoy the simple feast that they decide to lay before you on that given night. Relinquishing that control, and having that feeling like somebody is just cooking for you, is really satisfying. This feels like the style of food prepared in the home. The food is comforting. Warm. Soothing. Just like the restaurant itself. You walk out of CP feeling more nourished than just fed. There is just something natural and healthy about eating in a way that is so connected with the land like that. So, in short, would I go back? Oh yeah.

After our meal, we meant to at least drive by UC-Berkeley to see what the campus looked like. But, of course, we forgot. Oh well, guess I'll just have to come back sometime. Too bad. So we're driving into SF, with our Google directions to the hotel in hand. And we get lost. Again. We're getting good at this. Somehow, we end up in the mission district. My dad is angry because we're lost, but I've got a spark of hope. Wait a second, isn't that ice cream place I read about in the mission district. Yes. Yes it is...

MITCHELL'S ICE CREAM

Yeah, we just had dinner. But did a second round of dessert ever hurt anyone? I think not. Besides, our hotel was nowhere near the mission district. Who knew whether there would be an opportunity to get back here the next day? We parked, stepped inside, and checked out the interesting tropical flavors like avocado, buko (baby coconut), langka (jackfruit), lukuma, makapuno (sweet coconut), and ube (purple yam). But, I already knew what I was getting...

Halo Halo

"A traditional Filipino dessert loaded with red and white beans, coconut jelly, coconut pieces, langka, shaved ice, condensed milk, and our famous ube ice cream". Definitely not your typical ice cream sundae. The ube ice cream itself was good, but not great. Pleasantly creamy, but the flavor was not very strong. There were so many different textures going on at the same time: soft, creamy, icy, crunchy, chewy. And it was definitely very sweet. Half the time, I didn't know what I was eating. But overall it was pretty good. Not sure I'd repeat it, but I'm glad I at least tried it. My dad kept things simple and just got a cone of French custard vanilla ice cream. Seems like he finished it before I was even done photographing mine, so I guess he liked it okay. Later, it ended up that our stomachs were both a little... uneasy. Not that "Oh, I ate too much" kind of feeling, but something closer to nausea. Not cool. Even though we didn't eat the same thing at Mitchell's, I'd still much prefer to blame our condition on Mitchell's, rather than on Chez Panisse. What can I say? I'm biased.

Anyway, it's been quite a day, but we finally make it to our hotel, ready for some sleep. By the way, I figured my fellow foodies might get a kick out of our choice of hotels. It's probably very hard to see in this small format, but just take a look at this picture, and play a little game of culinary I Spy. More of the report to come later...

[s_sevilla]

Good Job.....The Canteen on the bottom floor, and Fleur De Lys about a block East. I honestly tried to go to the canteen for lunch, around the same time you were in the area, but they were closed for the day.......someday I'll make it.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Food aside, ultimately I will be very curious where you end up going to grad school!!!

[Kouign Aman]

The boysenberry, on the other hand... Well, let's just say I though about buying a whole one for the road. cool.gif

....Still want to try Olallieberry Pie sometime, but we missed the boat on the season for that this time. There's always the next trip

You got the best of the two. The ollalieberry is a parent of the boysenberry (along with the blackberry), which was carefully bred by Mr Knott of Knott's Berry Farm, to be the best pie berry there is. I think he did a fine job!

'Course, that doesnt mean "the folks" dont make good eating!

[Carlsbad]

Thanks for the great report.

[Insomniac_Ron]

As a Caltech alum, I'm hoping you go to school in Pasadena. LA's great culinary strength is in its vast amount of ethnic food (are you listening, Yountville?) and certainly you can't go wrong with the education also.

[tupac17616]

DAY 6 -- Thursday

A full day in San Francisco. I was definitely looking forward to it. So many options, but so little time. I wanted to eat, see the sights, eat, walk around the city, eat, maybe shop a little, and did I mention eat? Originally, I wanted to head to Tartine, thinking there wouldn't be time the following morning before our flight. That was definitely the breakfast spot I most wanted to check out in the city. But from where our hotel was located, a $10 cab ride one-way was not really practical since we didn't have any other sightseeing in mind in the mission district. Then I was thinking as a back-up maybe we'd grab a croissant or something at Bay Bread Boulangerie on Pine St., but that was west of our hotel, and everything else we wanted to see that day was basically in the opposite direction. So I hesitantly agreed that we'd just start walking around, see what we ran into, and find something small to tide us over until dim sum at lunch time.

Just a handful of blocks away from our hotel, we see..

TEUSCHER CHOCOLATES

My friend swears by their champagne truffles and makes us stop there in NYC anytime we're near either location, but not being a big chocolate guy, I figure I'll check out what kind of non-chocolate things they've got. I love dates, so it doesn't take me long to find my choice...

Date Marzipan

Good, but not great. Although I'm not sure I've ever really had marzipan I thought was great, so maybe it's just not my thing. A nice snack nonetheless, and the day's eating was underway. My dad didn't get anything here. Nothing really caught his eye.

Then we make our way over to Chinatown, take our necessary touristy pictures at the gate, and start walking around. We stop in a little shop to buy some gifts for family and friends back home. Then my dad notices a small little shop that looks interesting...

THE WOK SHOP

Good eye, I told him. I'd heard of the place before. We walked in and browsed for 20 minutes or so. Really cool store. Tons of different kinds of woks (obviously), but so many other kitchen tools/accessories as well. I buy a couple of vertical food ring molds, I guess you'd call them, one circular and one square-shaped. Now, I too, can attempt to make my pedestrian food at home look like something that would be served in a restaurant. My dad also spots some seeds, near the door, and we buy some bok choy and a couple of other Chinese vegetables that I'm not remembering right now. Right next door to the Wok Shop, we stumble upon our next food stop...

EASTERN BAKERY

I know we're already walking toward another bakery that I wanted to check out (more on that later), but my dad's never had Chinese sweets before, and this seems like a nice place to remedy that. We stop in, and order one of the huge, practically baseball-sized juggernauts...

Sweet Red & Black Bean Sesame Ball (they simply called it "Chinese Donut")

I tried to provide a little scale by putting my fingers around it, but if you can't tell, this thing is massive. Probably the largest I've had before. And it was quite good. My dad thought the notion of beans in a sweet treat was a little odd, but he decided to give it a try, and it turned out he really enjoyed it. It was not overly greasy, a common pitfall of these treats. It was not hot, but still just a bit warm. Very nice little snack. Several blocks later, we arrive at the one semi-planned Chinatown stop...

GOLDEN GATE BAKERY

That's not cool. I knew they were supposed to go on vacation during August, but I thought I'd read that they'd be back by now. Ah well, I'll have to get my egg custard tart fix next time, I suppose.

At this point, it's approaching lunch time, and we've got a 12:00 reservation at Yank Sing. I'd heard it was expensive, but good. Some said it's worth it, while other disagreed, but I wanted to find out for myself. (My first choice was Koi Palace in Daly City, but that wasn't feasible in the limited time we had in the bay area). But 12:00 is 20 minutes away, and it would have to be a fairly brisk walk if we tried to make it there. Couple that with the fact that my dad had a pretty bad headache at that point, and needed food quickly, so we ended up walking back to talk to the lady in the Wok Shop about what she recommends nearby. (N.B. Don't ever utter the phrase "tourist trap" in reference to another Chinese-owned business to this lady...she'll bite your head off). We get her suggestion, and we (very reluctantly for me) settle on....

CITY VIEW

Between Chinatown and the Financial District, this place was a very short walk. No menu posted outside, but no matter. At this point, for my dad, food is food. So we step inside and grab a table. And the carts come on around...

Steamed BBQ Pork Buns

Baked BBQ Pork Buns

Sticky Rice

Scallop Dumplings

Shrimp & Chive Dumplings

Sweet Red Bean Sesame Balls

Egg Custard Tarts

Chinese Donuts

Nothing really stood out as exceptional. The steamed BBQ pork buns and the shrimp and chive dumplings were probably the highlight for me. I really liked the texture of the steamed pork buns. So fluffy and soft. The baked BBQ pork bun, on the other hand, was probably the weakest for me. The filling just tasted like tiny bits of pork with ketchup and lots of brown sugar. Nasty. The sticky rice and the scallop dumplings were forgettable. The sesame balls were a greasy mess, and not very flavorful at all. Egg Custard Tarts were okay, but a little bland and the crust too brittle. The chinese donuts were hot and pretty good. They were my dad's favorite item. Of course, it's hard to make such complaints as I have when a meal for 2 is $33 out the door. I imagine that Yank Sing could have, and probably would have, passed that number pretty easily. And, of course, there is always next time. And when that next time comes, I will certainly check out either Koi Palace or Yank Sing. Maybe both.

After lunch, we strap on the walking shoes once again, hoping to make it to a certain jewelry store called Polaris to look for something to my mother. We walk down Market street a little south of Union Square, thinking it's somewhere around there. We don't have the address, of course. Or the phone number. Or any indication that the place actually exists, mind you. After an hour of looking around hopelessly for it, lucky us, we find it!.... And it's closed. Disappointed, we continue on, hoping we'll find some other unique souvenir for my mom later that day.

So it's midafternoon by this time, and we figure maybe it would be a good time to make to the...

FERRY BUILDING MARKETPLACE

The ultimate food court. This was another stop in San Francisco that I knew we'd have to make. We walked in, looking for a small snack of some sort. Of course, the moment I saw all the options, I knew this would be no small snack. It was time to get down to some serious eating.

First stop was at Acme Bread for some sourdough...

Really good stuff. Nice and crusty exterior. Fairly dense, but very soft and chewy interior. Just the right amount of sourdough tang in the background. Definitely a winner.

But of course, man can't live on bread alone. You need cheese, too! Next stop: Cowgirl Creamery for some Abbaye de Belloc, Humboldt Fog, and organic California dates:

What a nice little shop. Between the Cheese Board in Berkeley, and Cowgirl Creamery in SF, the Bay Area definitely has some great cheese options. I discovered a new favorite with the Abbaye de Belloc. Really flavorful stuff, and went well with the bread. The Humboldt Fog I'd had many times before, but I wanted a fairly mild goat cheese, and that seemed to be the ticket. The dates were massive, and incredibly delicious (as I mentioned before, I love dates.) The bread, the cheese, and the dates all made a great combination. So much so that we polished off the whole loaf of bread, the entire wedge of Abbaye de Belloc, and probably 2/3 of the Humboldt Fog.

Can't have a snack without, er, um, a snack dessert, right? So it was time to find some sweets. After eating outside, when we came back in we noticed the Frog Hollow Farms store, and took a look around. We tasted some wonderful Meyer Lemon Marmalade and ended up buying some for my mother. I also bought one of these mini risotto tartlets with candied orange zest, currants, and vanilla:

Not very good. I was expecting more of a rice pudding type consistency to the filling, but it was fairly dry. And not much flavor going on, either. I thought it needed something else. Some cinnamon or nutmeg maybe? Anyway, we continue onward...

Over to Miette Patisserie for a pistachio macaron (did I mention they are my favorite?):

It actually tasted like the nut, and didn't have the crazy neon definitely-doesn't-appear-in-nature green glow to it, either. Pretty flavorful, although I thought the cream filling was a little too dense, almost closer to cream cheese in consistency. Definitely not the best macaron of the trip. That title stilled belonged to Boule in LA.

We weren't (or more accurately, I wasn't ) done yet, so we headed to Recchiuti Confections for one of their peanut butter pucks:

Like a Reese's on crack. Good quality bittersweet chocolate. Nice salty peanut butter ganache-like center. Great contrasting texture. Good stuff.

Next stop is Village Market specialty foods. I was shocked to see the one olive oil that I always look for but never see:

Manni extra virgin olive oil 2-pack: "Per Me" and "Per Mio Figlio". This stuff is supposed to be the real deal. Mainly used only in a handful of upper echelon restaurants (French Laundry, Per Se, Daniel, Charlie Trotter's, Fat Duck, etc), I'd looked for it to use at home for quite a while. I'd read about the two different types several times before, but never tasted them. And I'd had absolutely no luck finding them anywhere in NYC or Texas. When I asked the guy about the oil, he said they're the only ones who carry it in the state of California. I was tempted to just splurge and buy them right then and there. But luckily I had my dad around to be the voice of reason. Didn't I actually want to taste the stuff first? Oh yeah, that would probably help. Much to my surprise, the guy behind the counter is quick to offer a taste of each kind. They keep the sample bottle in the back. So he brings out each kind, and pours up a tiny taste of each. Wow, this stuff is crazy. My first taste couldn't have been more than just a few drops, but somehow the oil just seems to coat the entire palate instantaneously. I'm not good at describing the tastes of olive oils, but "Per Me" was had a bit more of an assertive, peppery finish in the back of the throat. "Per Mio Figlio" was smoother and went down easy. They both were very fruity and in with a rich aroma and an incredible mouthfeel on the palate. Call my tastes childish (the store clerk basically did, in not so many words), but I highly preferred "Per Mio Figlio." I don't really enjoy the peppery finish. If both bottles had been Per Mio Figlio, I may have been tempted to get the pack. But perhaps it's a good thing that I passed. $75 for 6.8oz (200ml) of olive oil is a pretty penny, no matter how much you try and justify it.

By this point, you'd think we'd exhausted all of the food options in the Ferry Building, but no. The place is just massive. You could (or at least I could ) spend all day there. I still wanted to hit Hog Island Oyster Co., but it was about 30 minutes before happy hour started, and we didn't feel like killing time, so we hit the road. Did spot some of these beauties on the way out, and felt inclined to take a picture:

So we hopped on the trolley for a minute and headed up to Fisherman's Wharf (which I, in my ignorance, had never heard of). We walked around there for a bit, snapped some pictures, and were on our way. Stopped at a nice little store called Oakville Grocery, and bought my mother some meyer lemon simple syrup. Her iced tea will never be the same! Kept walking. And walking. And walking. Ghiradelli Square. Lombard Street. Nob Hill. Two botched attempts at seeing the Golden Gate Bridge (it was too foggy). We were starting to get exhausted. Why exactly hadn't we got the day pass for public transportation? Who knows. At this point (~6pm), my dad is wasted. He doesn't need another ounce of food. Doesn't want to walk another step. Just wants to go back to the hotel and sleep until morning. We consider a quick cab ride back over to the Ferry Building for some oysters at Hog Island, but its still so early...what would we do afterwards? Maybe some cioppino at Tadich, the off-the-menu zabaglione at Ristorante Milano (a friend's recommendation), or dessert at Citizen Cake? No, we decided, that wouldn't work. Instead, he took one for the team. He knew we only had one dinner in San Francisco, and that it was an opportunity I didn't want to waste. He knew I had regrets about the dim sum lunch earlier that day (should've just cabbed it to Yank Sing), and graciously decided that he'd allow for no more regrets for the trip. We were going to have dinner. It was only a matter of where.

Of course, this was not a total shot in the dark. I had contingency plans, you see. Three, in fact. Aziza, Quince, and Incanto. Very different places, but I'd heard great things about each of them on eGullet, Chowhound, and elsewhere. I had reservations at each (shame on me, I know ), so the choice was ours. Aziza did not appeal to my dad. He had no room for the 5-course $42 tasting menu, which was the appeal of the place for me. And he wasn't really feeling open to trying a new cuisine (Cal-Moroccan) that night. So that was a no-go. So it was Quince vs. Incanto. More formal heavy French-influenced Italian, or rustic, simple Italian? Both sounded great. He was open to either. Ah, decisions, decisions. After the proverbial coin flip, we have a plan. It's back to the hotel to shower, take a quick nap, and head off to dinner at....

INCANTO

If there were one place in SF that seemed to be almost unanimously praised on eGullet and Chowhound, this must have been it, I thought. (Well, actually Aziza was, too. But I digress.) I had read such great things about the place that it was impossible for me to enter without anything but high expectations for a great meal. They’d claimed pasta superior to Babbo, comfortable and casual atmosphere superior to Lupa, and rustic, ingredient-driven cuisine not unlike Chez Panisse. Needless to say, the reports I’d read had placed the restaurant in some good company.

We walked in to our 8:30 reservation to find the place roughly 1/3 full. Understandable, I suppose, since the neighborhood isn’t exactly bustling, and it is a Thursday night. Walking through the door, the first thing that catches my eye is a case full of their housemade charcuterie. I’d read all about Chris Cosentino’s affinity for curing his own meats in-house, and of course his fondness for all things offal. I hoped to be able to sample both these aspects of his work at some point during the meal.

We are seated at the table, and a few minutes later an assortment of bread – grissini, focaccia, and ciabatta – arrives, along with some olive tapenade. All pretty good. I especially like the focaccia. The menu arrives. So many good choices. It’s practically an ode to pork: trotters, and liver, and shoulder, oh my!

I’ve read a lot about the wine program here as well, so even though I very rarely drink anything besides water (ever, not just at restaurants), I figure I might as well check out the menu. Lots of very reasonably priced options, including small tastes, flights of three, etc. Very convenient for those as inexperienced as myself. My dad chooses a glass of a red wine whose name I can’t seem to remember. My choice is described as a “delicate crisp” white wine from Piemonte, that the waitress thought would be a light, refreshing contrast to the fairly heavy appetizer I’d chosen (which you’ll soon see)…

Fallegro, Gagliardo (2005)

Not bad, but still not sweet enough for my tastes. I don’t know much about wine, but it kind of reminds me of Pinot Grigio. I’ve been thinking I’d like to develop my wine palate so I could eventually plan some pairings for dinners I make at home for friends and family, but right now all I enjoy are a couple of dessert wines (my favorite being Moscato d’Asti). And of course, I’m not going to force the issue. Besides, not drinking makes my restaurant bills that much lower.

My dad, as I mentioned earlier, was far from being hungry at this point, so instead a regular appetizer, he just opted for a small dish of house-marinated olives. Small black and green olives, and a bit too many herbs for his tastes, arrived in a small dish of olive oil. He enjoyed them, but not anywhere near as much as he enjoyed the Lucques olives at, well, Lucques just a few days prior.

Once I saw this appetizer on the menu, I knew I had to order it:

Pig’s Trotter Cake with Heirloom Tomatoes and Salsa Verde

This was the heavy dish that our waitress kind of warned me about (I ordered a LOT of food….you’ll see). I couldn’t have cared less, though, as I love pig’s trotters and thought this combination sounded simple and delicious. And, boy, was it. Outstanding. The pig’s trotter cake was rich and meaty tasting, but somehow almost fluffy in texture. I think it was not much more than potato and the meat, but it was unbelievably light. The heirloom tomatoes, too, were incredible. Before coming to California, I’d never had tomatoes in a restaurant that even came close to the indescribable flavor of homegrown tomatoes that I’d been used to growing up. Manresa, Chez Panisse, and now Incanto had each given me reason to believe that maybe some restaurants can find good tomatoes, too. The salsa verde did not overpower either the tomatoes or the pig’s trotter cake, but rather tied the flavors nicely. The meal was off to a great start. I’d order this again in a heartbeat.

Next up for me was….

Gnocchi with Corn, Chanterelles, and Silver Thyme

Another standout. The gnocchi were the ethereal pillows that one hopes for at all Italian restaurants, but does not often receive. I’d put these right up there with any of the better versions of gnocchi I’ve had in NYC (Lupa, Hearth, Craft, etc). The sweet corn, earthy mushrooms, and fragrant thyme tasted just as great together as they sounded. Sauced with just the right amount of butter and some of the reduced mushroom juices, everything just came together wonderfully. I offered my dad a taste, and he, too, loved it. Two for two so far..

For my main course, I wanted to keep things a little lighter. Just kidding. Next up I had…

Roasted Lamb Neck with Polenta, Charred Onions and Rapini

This gargantuan chunk of meat would undoubtedly strike fear in the stomachs of those with lesser appetites. But faced with the daunting task of eating something roughly the sized of both of my fists put together, I was ready for the challenge. In a way, this dish was not unlike pulled pork. Or pulled lamb, in this case, I suppose. A very fatty chunk of meat, but with enough of the fat rendered that it was easy to pull apart. It had a beautiful reddish-pinkish smoke ring inside the dark, charcoal exterior that was reminiscent of the Texas BBQ I know and love so dearly. This was like “burnt ends”, Italian-style. After gnawing my way down to the bone, the polenta, onions and rapini proved to be a bit of an afterthought, but all were pleasant. Overall, I liked the dish, but felt it was a little too big in the context of trying to have a more Italian-style meal (antipasto, primo, secondo, etc).

My dad’s hunger was back (at least temporarily), so for the main course he had…

Braised Pork Shoulder with Squash, Fiorelli & Grilled Zucchini Blossoms

My dad enjoyed this, but was not exactly wowed by it. In fact, even being the meat guy that he is, he seemed to enjoy the accompaniments more than the pork shoulder itself. It was a little bland, and frankly kind of boring to eat after a couple of bites. The zucchini blossoms were quite good. I don’t believe I’d had them grilled before. But, truth be told, he enjoys my mom’s pork roast much more than he enjoyed this.

At this point, you’d think I’d be ready to throw in the towel, right? But how could I? There were other eGullet recommendations to take into account, people! So I caught our waiter’s attention, and ordered…

Hankerchief Pasta with Rustic Pork Ragu

Wait a second… This is the dish that everyone was raving about? What am I missing? Nothing about the dish seemed special. Sure the pasta had that delicate texture that distinguishes nice homemade dough, yet it was no better than what I can make myself at home (and I’m definitely no pasta expert). But the ragu was the big disappointment. Something about it was just so… one-dimensional. It was definitely lacking something. A bit of heat? An herbal component maybe? I don’t know. But I do know this was perhaps the biggest weakness of the night. I was not looking for culinary fireworks here. This is, after all, rustic Italian cooking, and I was very aware of that. But if there was something that made this dish special for others, it just wasn’t there for me. If I’d chosen to order this over the gnocchi originally, I would have been quite disappointed.

Of course, a meal without dessert is not worth eating, so we were not quite done yet. I’d read that Incanto’s panna cotta was supposed to be consistently very good, so it didn’t take my convincing for my dad to order…

Crème Fraiche Panna Cotta with Strawberries

The reports were right. This was wonderful. Arguably the best panna cotta I’ve ever had. So perfectly light it could barely stand up on the plate, it just melted away the moment it hit the tongue. The strawberries, like all the other produce we’d eaten that night, we impeccably fresh. This was so light. So refreshing. Really the perfect summer dessert.

For my dessert, I chose…

Peach Crostata with Saffon Gelato

This was good, but not quite in the same league as the wonderful panna cotta. The peaches were very flavorful, and the crust had a nice texture. A few scattered granules of turbinado sugar here and there provided a nice textural contrast. The gelato captured the saffron flavor nicely, and I thought it worked pretty well with the crostata, but the texture of the gelato left something to be desired. Not very creamy, and almost a bit granular or icy, it was more like ice cream than gelato, too. But, for me, pie and ice cream is a pretty safe and reliable choice, regardless of what language it’s in, so this was a pleasant way to end what ended up being a very long, very large meal (for me, at least) .

After taking a cab back to the hotel, it was time to get whatever rest we could before an early flight the next morning. Of course, a morning flight meant that I had to work out the breakfast options for the morning pretty carefully. So I fall asleep with big culinary plans for the next morning churning away in my head…

[blair]

One of my most memorable food experiences on my last trip to Southern California was eating at various taco stands, especially eating fish tacos.  The flavors are amazing, fresh fish, corm tortillas, and dirt cheap.  For breakfast you can't beat a chorizo and potato breakfast burrito.  I was in San Diego.

←

I have two regrets from my last trip to LA:

* Not eating any fish tacos

* Not going to In-N-Out

[tupac17616]

DAY 7 -- Friday

The last hurrah. Waking up that morning, it was hard to believe the trip was already coming to an end. But the shrill of the alarm going off at about 6:30 in the morning was enough to convince that, in fact, it was. We made sure to pack everything up the night before to expedite things this morning. So after quick hop in the shower to do what little refreshing we could with that little sleep, we headed downstairs to breakfast. Ah, the continental breakfast at our hotel, you might say? Not so fast, my friend. You may recall I posted a picture of our hotel earlier in this thread. My hotel choice was no coincidence, you see. There’s a certain spot in the lobby that I’d read good things about. So that’s where we headed for breakfast #1…

CANTEEN

The reviews for this place sounded great. Dennis Leary, former executive chef at Rubicon, bucks the trend of the ubiquitous celebrity chef mega-restaurant and quietly opens a tiny new place in the lobby of a hotel, where he is to be pretty much the sole cook for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, 7 days a week. Behind the stove in this tiny 20-seat diner supposedly stood a great culinary talent, seeking to break down the pretension often associated with restaurant meals, and just serve simple, great-tasting food as if he were feeding his own family and friends. Sounded to me like someone who was able to keep perspective on what’s important about good cooking -- the food. And Canteen sounded like a place I ought to visit this trip to SF.

They open up at 7am for breakfast, and we walked in at 7 on the dot. At first there was no one around but a single waitress. As we took a couple of seats at the counter, though, a cook walked in, arms full of the day’s provisions -- eggs, peaches, who knows what else. This cook, though, was not Dennis Leary. I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed. I wanted to see the man in action. But on this morning I guess it wasn’t meant to be. No worries, I suppose, as long as the food is still good.

My father ordered eggs with sausage, home fries, and toast with butter and jelly. The jelly was homemade (orange and raspberry, if I remember correctly), and pretty good. The potatoes were incredibly dry, and after a few bites, he ended up leaving most of it on his plate. The sausage was slightly sweet, and definitely housemade. I enjoyed it. My dad, on the other hand, hated it. Fennel seed. That’ll do it. The over-easy eggs were fine, but they were not enough to salvage the meal for him. “Pretty hard to screw up eggs,” he added. Can’t argue with that. Overall, he declared his meal no better than Denny’s. And later added that he would’ve rather had the Rooty Tooty Fresh n Fruity at IHOP. Yikes.

I opted for another breakfast classic…

Eggs Benedict

As the gratuitous runny yolk picture attests to, the eggs were poached perfectly. The hollandaise was light, almost foamy, and very flavorful. The Canadian bacon and English muffin were both tasty, and perhaps the first things we’d been served that weren’t made in-house (along with the Heinz ketchup, of course). Different people have different tastes, of course, but I enjoyed the potatoes. There was something odd about the texture. The potatoes were definitely a tad overcooked. But as such, they were fairly fluffy, and they provided a great sponge to soak up the extra egg yolk and hollandaise on the plate. Overall, I enjoyed this breakfast. And definitely much more so than my dad did. Ah, well. Guess you can’t win ‘em all.

I mentioned above that this was breakfast #1. You didn’t think I was going to leave San Francisco without checking out its most talked-about bakery, did you? But of course not. To the Mission District, post-haste!

TARTINE

Maybe it was the features in all the food magazines. Maybe the glowing reviews on eGullet and Chowhound. Maybe I just have a sweet tooth the size of Texas. But I was really excited to try this place out. Luckily, it’s (sort of) on the way to the airport from our hotel. How convenient.

While my dad waits with the car running (did I mention he’s crazy about time when it comes to traveling? ), I step inside the bakery. Ah, the smell of bakeries. Gotta love it. Anyway, I grab a spot in line, and start drooling over all the options. This could be a tough choice. This is my first visit, of course, so I figure why not just make a couple of choices to try several things out. For research purposes, only, of course Yes, I’m only one man. But here’s what I walked out with…

Gougere with Gruyere, Black Pepper and Fresh Thyme

This was clearly hot and fresh from the oven. I had to play hot potato with it in my lap in the car as I tried to photograph (and subsequently eat) it. The inside was wonderfully airy, and the whole thing was just so light in texture. It was definitely not pate a choux, at least not any version of pate choux that I’m familiar with. The aroma of the melted gruyere on top was not unlike that first whiff you always get when French onion soup is set in front of you. Once melted gruyere cools, though, I find that I still enjoy the aroma, but no longer the flavor. And that was exactly the case here. The melted cheese on top was the part of the gruyere I least enjoyed. The flavor of the inside, though, was quite good, and as I mentioned, the texture was incredible. My dad, however, was not a fan.

Pain au Jambon with Niman Ranch Smoked Ham & Gruyere

The exterior was incredibly flaky. The inside was soft, fluffy, and piping hot. The ham was very pleasantly smoky, not unlike bacon. The melted gruyere was warm enough that it still stretched and oozed as I ate it. As I think I mentioned earlier in the thread, I typically don’t enjoy a crisper croissant, I’d rather have it soft and pliable throughout. Even so, this was quite a flavorful croissant. A little extra pork never hurts.

Pain au Chocolat with Scharffen Berger Chocolate

I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but this, too was clearly fresh out of the oven. The bittersweet chocolate on the inside was soft, melted, and gooey. Definitely good quality chocolate, though I don’t usually enjoy very dark chocolate. So perhaps for my tastes a semisweet variety would’ve been better, but I nitpick as usual. The outside of the croissant was crispy, but this time, just slightly so, which was more in line with my preferences. Overall, this was probably among the better chocolate croissants (does it make me sound uncultured to say “chocolate croissant” instead of “pain au chocolat”? ) I’ve had, although not even in the same league as the one I had in Palo Alto. Of course, it’s hard to beat a croissant that’s still hot. My dad, too, thought this was croissant was very good, although he had the same conclusion about it compared to the one in Palo Alto two days earlier.

Morning Bun with Cinnamon & Orange

Oooh yeah. Luckily, I saved the best for last. This was incredible. Maybe the single best thing I ate in San Francisco. The citrus flavor just worked so perfectly. The glazed top was sweet and delicious without being the least bit cloying. Even the sugar sprinkled on top didn’t make it too sweet, with the spice of the cinnamon and the acidic top note of the orange flavor going on in the background. And again, it was still warm. I could eat one of these every day.

Just in case my gushing descriptions of the food from Tartine weren’t enough to give this fact away, I would definitely go back to Tartine. In fact, I don’t really foresee a trip back to San Francisco that doesn’t involve a stop there. I loved it that much.

And that’s all, folks. I definitely owe a big thanks to everyone who helped me plan the itinerary for this trip. So many people contributed by adding their suggestions, questions, responses, and culinary do’s and don’ts that really helped my father and I get the most out of the time we were able to spend in California. Food aside, it was a wonderful trip for both of us personally, as well. I was able to get a taste of what California is like, find out whether I could see myself going to graduate school there, and perhaps even more importantly take a step closer to choosing where I’d like to go if I do end up there. My father, meanwhile, was able to step away from work for a while, relax, and just enjoy the ride. We both loved every minute. And we’ll be back. I’m sure of that.

[Ling]

Thanks for the incredible report! I especially loved seeing Tartine pictures again, and I'm glad you liked the morning bun as much as I did. I also really liked the Incanto pictures. That looks like my kind of place--lots of hearty, rustically-prepared meats!

[dockhl]

My goodness, child, what a prodigious appetite you have !

A wonderful report. I, too, can't wait to see where you end up going to school. Thank you so much for so much detail and great pics !

[alanamoana]

tupac,

awesome report on your visit! with only the glaring omission of your dinner at manresa, i have to give you props for the amount of detail in the descriptions and the quantity of food consumed on such a short trip!

we hope to see you here in cali for grad school!