CONFESSIONS OF A                                                                  
     
RESTAURANT WHORE
A San Francisco Girl's Down and Dirty Adventures in the Culinary Playground

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

He's Crafty ('wichcraft -- Las Vegas, NV)

I'm all for keeping things small. I think that once you spread yourself too thin, a la Wolfgang Puck, the quality of your brand is bound to suffer. I've seen far too many restaurants slide into suckdom when the allure of fame and fortune got the best of their owners/chefs/general peeps in charge. Tom Colicchio is an exception to this rule.

His Gramercy Tavern is still one of my all time favorite spots in NYC. When I heard the accolades for his sandwich joint (cleverly titled 'wichcraft, a play on words from another of his big restaurants -- Craft), I just had to try it. I've only eaten at the one in Las Vegas, although there are several in NYC. Lucky bastards.

My first experience with 'wichcraft was in October. When I returned to Vegas for my birthday, I knew exactly where to eat my birthday lunch.

My sandwich of choice is a roasted turkey, avocado, bacon and balsamic onions on a roll. A very delicious roll. This is one tasty sammich. I liked it so much that it's all I've ordered there. It's served warm and I was shocked at how fresh the ingredients were (we are in the middle of the desert after all). On my first visit, my aunt had the chicken breast, roasted red pepper, mozzarella and pesto on country bread, while my friend, J, a vegetarian, had the grilled gruyere and caramelized onions on rye bread. They had to concede that it was worth it (I had badgered them into going -- apparently a sandwich restaurant isn't worthwhile or something. Fuck that). We also shared a very nice, very fresh green salad.

Then I tried to order a s'morewich (seriously, how good does that sound?) and was thwarted. And I wept.

When Jon returned with me for my birfday, he got the roast beef, lettuce, red onion, tomato and horseradish mayo on a roll. He was also a skeptic, and also ate his words. He was very impressed with this here sandwich. Dude, I know a good sandwich.

And magically, the s'morewich was there for the taking. Two graham crackers smeared with luscious chocolate ganache with little marshmallows sandwiched in between. Then one half is dipped in chocolate (milk or white, your choice). I'm getting majorly turned on just thinking about it. It was the most perfect treat. If you like s'mores, that is. And if you don't, well, there's a special place for people like you and it's called the party pooper corner. Go there now.

'wichcraft also has cool ass drinks, like Cane Cola, and they've even got breakfast sandwiches if you just can't wait. Plus, the counter staff couldn't be nicer. Really. I got my s'morewich for free when they heard it was my birthday. Awww, yeah. Free s'mores is really a perfect birthday gift if you ask me.

Next time you hit Sin City, grab a little bite at 'wichcraft for me. On second thought, bring some back. Better yet, let's start writing letters to that there Mr. Colicchio to talk him into opening one here in SF. It's the best thing between sliced bread.

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld

Monday, January 30, 2006

To Add Insult to Injury

I'm now sick. I mean, really, someone should just put me out to pasture at this point.

More food soon. I hope.

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld

Friday, January 27, 2006

Bad Girl

....and not in a good way. This week has been characterized by me going from classes with my students to auditions to rehearsals with my students to rehearsals of my own to an actual performance for my students (they totally rocked by the way). I have been at home only to shower, and, occasionally, sleep.

I was registered for the Fancy Food Show, but could not go. I am also registered for the Zinfandel Festival tomorrow, and cannot go. I have not seen the inside of a restaurant since last Sunday in Las Vegas. The situation, my friends, is very, very dire. Especially when you consider my standby meal these days is sushi from the fucking supermarket.

You cannot see me, but I am pouting right now.

So please forgive me that I've been in absentia. I haven't had time to get in a good swallow, much less blog, in the past week. What can I say? Everybody seems to want a piece of me this week.

I'll try to get you your piece sooner rather than later.

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld

Monday, January 23, 2006

Leaving Las Vegas

Shoot me now. I just used the name of a fucking Sheryl Crow song as the title of this post.

Vegas was, in a word, killer.

I ate my great sandwich again. Went to Bouchon and got waited on by Joe, who waited on us for our fourth anniversary at TFL. Pretended to be hip. Ate a meal that changed my opinion of buffets, thanks to "C." And came home with double my money.

And as the one who usually makes the cakes for friends when their birthdays come around, I am happy to report that I had no fewer than five occasions to blow out candles this year. That's a fuckload of wishes, no?

This week I have about four minutes of free time, so I'll do my best to tell you about some of this but no promises. If you don't see a 'wichcraft review in a week (since I've been wetting myself over it since October and all), though, please light up your torches and hunt me down.

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld

Friday, January 20, 2006

Today I Turn Old

I won't say how old I'm turning today, except that it certainly doesn't begin with a three and end with a zero.

I'm off to Vegas to drown my sorrows in some fine bubbly and a good game of craps. A few good dinners won't hurt either. And maybe some more cake.

I'll be back Monday.

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Come to Mama (Mamacita -- San Francisco, CA)

It take a special kind of restaurant to get me to eat in the Marina and, additionally, to get me to return. And, baby, you better believe that Mamacita fits that bill.

We were scheduled to go to Mamacita a few weeks ago. The reservation was late, and we were hungry, so we popped into the bar at A16 for some TLC instead. We cancelled with Mamacita (you really need to do that, or you're just a jackass) and rescheduled for my night off from rehearsal during the following week, at a more reasonable time.

Mamacita is located in the space that Cafe Marimba used to occupy. Back in the day, we used to love Cafe Marimba. Then, in a span of a few short months, it turned to shit. So we were psyched to see that not only was another Mexican restaurant opening in the space, but that the kitchen would be headed by Sam Josi, a Slanted Door alum.

I have to admit that when we walked in, we were skeptical. The space has been adapted beautifully, but it's noisier than your mom at a Motel 6. I'm not normally fussy about noise (case in point -- have I ever mentioned it before?), but this was pretty excessive. Top that off with a twelve deep crowd of Marina singles stinking of desperation perched at the bar and my fight-or-flight mechanism kicked in. But the staff was so genial and super awesome that we fought the urge to flee. I couldn't be more glad that we did.

First a word about the staff. How the hell these people manage to be so freaking nice when surrounded by the Devil's rejects, I'll never know. But they are. The hostess and the GM's/co-owners were straight out of a dream. Friendly, sweet, and knowledgeable, they are everything the front of house should be. Not to mention the fact that they spent a good part of the night playing runners and checking in with tables. I love to see it when the folks in the front continue to care about you after you've planted your ass.

And our server. My God, this woman was delightful. She was *so* nice, and gave us such good suggestions that I almost asked for her phone number. Servers do not have easy jobs. They deal with a lot of shit all day and/or all night. To do that a) in the Marina and b) among a shitload of noise deserves a freakin' nobel peace prize. She rocked our world.

Jon ordered the Patron margarita even though it had the same ingredients as the ones he makes at home (Patron silver, citronage, fresh lime juice) and I went with the pomegranate margarita (pomegranate TEQUILA...mmmmmm....tequila). They were both complete perfection and I managed to suck two of them down in about forty-seven seconds. If you are not a margarita person you are a freak of nature, but they have a well stocked bar for you anyway.

OK -- food. Sit down Mexican food is hard to find. *Good* sit down Mexican food is even harder to find. Once you have found her, though, never let her go.

We started with fresh guacamole made with red jalepenos and cotija cheese. This was fresh and delicious and was served with some pretty scrumptious fresh tortilla chips. I'm a sucker for Jon's guacamole, and his is my very favorite (chunky and spicy), but Mamacita's isn't to shabby either. I think on a return visit that I'd ask the kitchen to toss in some more chilies for me, but otherwise, it's great.

Next we had the tortilla soup. Isn't soup the best? This tortilla soup was incredible. Once we figured out how to use the freakishly large silverware (seriously, this silverware was made for sasquatches), we devoured this. I don't know how to best describe how the spicy broth, tortilla strips, chunks of avocado and wisps of cheese interplayed on my tongue, but let's just say that the next table was mighty intrigued by my reaction to it.

We moved on to the albondigas over cumin mashed potatoes (this was an appetizer). Jon was mostly responsible for these because at this point, we were realizing that, as usual, we had ordered too much food. The mashed potatoes were smoky and silky, while the meatballs showed up with a nice spice. We took 1/2 home so we'd at least have room to try our tacos.

The description says you get three tacos, so we each ordered tacos as our entrees. Way too much food for us, so we took one of each of these home as well. But I must say that this was one of those situations where I actually wanted to pull a Lindsay Lohan just so I could eat more. Because these tacos are fucking good.

Let's start with the carnitas. I actually cried when I heard that Jon ate the remaining taco without me the following evening. Hominy, avocado, chile de arbol -- you really can't go wrong there. I couldn't believe how tender and flavorful the pork was. This may have been my favorite thing all night.

The Huachinango borracho tacos just about made me recant that statement. Cornmeal beer battered snapper with cabbage and mango salsa. Oh, baby, give it to me like THAT! This was not greasy at all and the fish flaked really nicely. A+++++++.

The heirloom beans were very good, but unfortunately paled in comparison to the incredible corn with garlic, scallions and red mole that landed on our table. I think Jon started actually using his fists to shove it in his mouth. It reminded us of a Mexican take on one of our all time favorite dishes at Slanted Door (corn with minced pork or mushrooms). The corn was so sweet (where the hell they found it this time of year I'll never know), and the mole was the perfect foil. This was an impeccable dish.

We were too full to sample the incredible sounding desserts (and, really, it's tough to resist a churro), so we vowed to return with lots and lots of people so we could order EVERYTHING (please sign up in the comments section for this adventure).

If you go, make a reservation. We had no trouble getting a table when we wanted one on a few days notice. They seem to have a heavy walk in business because of the wicked bar. Or just go early. I'm also told that lunch and brunch are going to start up soon. I will get on my knees and thank the good Lord when that day comes.

Get your asses over there, lovies. Your Mama is waiting for you.

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Being a Brat Has It's Advantages

So, since I am turning old this year, I decided my birthday should be a week long. Nothing wrong with that, right? Stop laughing.

That week started today (the actual day is still, thankfully, a few days in the future), where my most fabulous husband and friends feted me in true Restaurant Whore style. I had me a little birthday party at Ton Kiang, filled with all kinds of dumpling love. And guess what I got to finish it off with? That's right, bitches, the coveted Tartine cake. And it was as good as I had fantasized about. I even licked some off the table. Seriously.

Now, we all know how crazy lucky I feel to be able to eat as well as I do. But I know that I'm even luckier to have such an incredible husband (who buys me cakes and listens to my whining) and such wonderful friends (who buy me cookbooks and listen to my whining), who collectively remind me every day that it is possible to love something more than food.

I plan to go kicking and screaming into my next decade with a trip to Vegas next weekend. Stay tuned.

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Aren't Birthdays the Greatest? (Mini update on Cyrus)

We just ate at Cyrus for the second time, to celebrate Jon's birthday this coming Tuesday.

Holy fucking crap is that place awesome.

Need proof? How about truffled red wine risotto with parmesan broth? I mean, that's just out of bounds crazy good, is it not?

If you have not been, just go already.

Jon did the foie gras three ways tonight and recanted his previous lukewarm review of the foie gras on our last visit. And the desserts sparkled tonight. That's right, bitches, set this house in order!

And my boyfriend wasn't even there tonight. His colleague, Jim, was though, and he was also super awesome. I'm seriously considering a three way.

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld

Monday, January 09, 2006

Anyone Got Some Time I Can Borrow?

I just realized all of the restaurants I've visited (or re-visited) over the past six months and HAVEN'T ever reviewed. And now too much time has passed to actually do it. I guess I'll just have to go back. In the meantime, I figured I'd do free association with those I haven't had time to do justice to (number of visits -- ever -- in parentheses):

  • 'wichcraft in Las Vegas: The most delicious sandwich in Vegas, hands down. (1)
  • The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton: Pure heaven. Especially the spot prawn sashimi and the orange blossom marshmallows on the petit fours cart (I mean, Christ, they have a fucking PETITS FOURS cart -- could you die?) (1)
  • Manresa: More than worthy of it's reputation and freaking brilliant. Like glow in the dark brilliant. (2)
  • Scott Howard: Mostly good. I'd go back just for the truffled potato puree. (1)
  • Eccolo: Super delish. And they have the best lemonade anywhere. Considering I've had every lemonade in the state of California, that's a damn big compliment. The fish and chips was exceptional, as was the crispy, lime juice accented, mayo-absent coleslaw. And I usually really hate coleslaw. (2)
  • Sea Salt: A gem. Incredible clam chowder, and a great wine list. (1)
  • Bix: Great appetizers, great desserts, great service, ho-hum entrees. (more than 5, less than 10)
  • Bounty Hunter: Yum and fun and drinkably delicious. Enough said. (1)
  • Chez Panisse (the cafe): Virgin food. And everybody loves a virgin. (more than 5, less than 10)
  • Koi Palace: Maddening if you go for dim sum (we're talking ready-to-eviscerate-yourself-maddening), magical if you go for dinner. (2)
  • Zatar: Very good, but they run out of a LOT of shit and they only take cash. Makes it all too much work for me. (1)
My problem seems to be that I spend too much time eating at these places and not enough time writing about them. But you'll forgive me, right? Because, really, which option sounds like the more fun one to you?

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Good Eats (112 Eatery -- Minneapolis, MN)

The morning after Jon and I ate at 112 Eatery, we received a call from his dad informing us that it had been named the Best New Restaurant of 2005 by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune. And while I didn't eat at any other restaurants that opened in the Twin Cities in 2005, I am inclined to agree with them.

Minnesota was unusually balmy this year, hovering in the high 30's, low 40's most of our visit. So on the night we visited 112, we decided to walk the 3.5 blocks to the restaurant. Without coats. And we're idiots.

In any case, we arrived at what's currently deemed the hottest table in town to find it busy, but not oppressively so. In fact, our reservation was for 2, but we got seated at a four top. We also had a great view of the door, and could clearly see that this was where the in-the-know bitches and hos bide their time.

What initially tipped me off to 112 was a reader suggestion. What kept me intrigued was the fact that it's a Twin Cities restaurant that is open six nights a week from 5:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. Holy fuck! A great restaurant with late hours? In the Midwest? Our little city here would do well to take that cue more often. But I digress...

The service was sweet and capable. The hostess more than charming. And the food...well, the food is just super, save for a minor problem with salt. I'll get to that.

Everything on the menu looked good to us. But we formulated a plan and launched it. After discovering the seared ahi with chimichurri was no longer available (and while I cried salty tears of regret -- I adore chimichurri), we shifted gears and ultimately ended up with:

1. A small plate of stringozzi with lamb sugo for Jon. Jon declared this dish to be extraordinary save for too much salt. Now there has got to be a fuckload of salt in a dish for him to say that. He loves him some salt. He really felt it was an exceptional dish otherwise, but was super bummed that it was marred by the salt (Not to mention the fact that the server probably clocked about 1327 miles running back and forth to refill his water glass).

2. A small gnocchi with cauliflower and orange for me. The "small" plates of pasta were about 1.5 times as big as a "large" pasta at Delfina. We're talking Paul Bunyan style here. Welcome to the heartland, my friends. This was a great dish, with a nice smattering of chilies. A bit creamy, which I wish I had known in advance, but great nonetheless.

3. Now since everything looked good, we decided to go with little bits and side dishes to round out our order. We felt we were ordering conservatively but ended up not being able to finish our food due to the gargantuan portions. Part of what set us back was the country style pork ribs with salsa piccante. When we asked the server how large each rib was, she gestured to show us each one was slightly smaller than a deck of cards. Taking the bones into account, Jon ordered two. And when they arrived, they were the size of small babies. I'm not kidding. They were fucking huge. But they were also fucking good. And although we could not finish them and we would have been fine with just one, we really enjoyed them. They were just great. The salsa was spicy, just how I like it, and the ribs were cooked perfectly. Rock on.

4. Wilted escarole with anchovy and nutmeg. Is that just the most brilliant combo you've ever heard of? It tastes as good as it sounds. Too bad my stomach cavity was already bursting and bleeding from the sheer quantity of food we'd already consumed. But this was a truly delicious vegetable option.

5. I saved the best for last. This was my most favorite of all. I was so sad that I was too full to eat all of this next dish. So I had it boxed and ate the rest for breakfast the next day. And this dish was fried bread with prosciutto. From the description, I was not sure what I'd get. Now if you grew up on the east coast like me, the carnival came to town once a year. I lived for this because it was the only place I could get fried dough. A yeast dough deep fried and covered in powdered sugar. I'm seriously salivating at the thought of it right now. Pardon me while I touch myself. Anyway, this here dish at 112 was basically that beloved dough, except instead of powdered sugar, it was covered in prosciutto. And Oh My Christ it was good. It also had a bit too much salt, but not enough to detract from it's heavenliness. I would go back to 112 just for that. Fortunately, there are many, many other things to draw me back.

We were too full to get dessert, and lamented the fact that we couldn't try things like the Chinese fried eggs or the lardon and foie gras salad (we had foie earlier in the evening at the bar at our hotel -- are we gross, or what?), or just about anything else on the menu.

A little to much salt here, an inaccurate description there, a few missing menu items in between, but all in all the whole experience was super wicked. I'd go back again faster than your mom can drop her pants. And if you happen to find yourself kickin' it in the Twin Cities, you should go, too.

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld

Oops...

Did I say I'd have that review by the weekend?

Wow, do I suck, or what?

It's coming, babies, I promise...

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

By the Way

Ciao Bella's passionfruit sorbet is just about the best fucking thing ever invented, no?

I'll take some of that lilikoi lovin' any day.

Also, will someone PLEASE buy me the coconut/passionfruit cake at Tartine for my birthday? I've even given you a 2 and a half week start. PLEEEEEEEEEASE???? I'll be your best friend...

Also: I'll hit you with a 112 Eatery review before the weekend, K? K.

Love you. Mean it.

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Get Your New Year On

Well if the goodbye to 2005 is any indication, 2006 is going to be a really great fucking year.

We started the evening as we always do, at "home," with our friends J & A. This meal rocked so hard that it involved Jon snatching a lobster claw off my plate of spaghetti with lobster (my New Year's dish o' choice for the past four years), running into the kitchen with it and waving it in Craig's face while exclaiming "This lobster is better than the French Laundry's!" Craig showed his gratitude for the compliment by allowing Jon to witness the live murder of the next lobster about to meet it's delicious demise. And Jon did not stop talking about it all night.

We then moved to the home of my darling, where I got to kick it with just the coolest fucking people you ever did meet. Plus, F made fleur de sel brownies AND there was a croquembouche. And Alder brought a 1995 Champagne that made me swoon like Tara Reid when she sees a bottle of Jaeger. AND Amy told me that the supercool chocolate meister had wanted to meet me on his last visit here, which just seems way too impossible to believe.

I really couldn't be any luckier now, could I?

I wish you all a New Year filled with all the happiness you can cram into it.

Now can anyone tell me what restaurants are staying open tonight?

xoxo
Joy

"To eat is a necessity. To eat intelligently is an art."
-- La Rochefoucauld