Hansen's Sno-Bliz

photo by Jasmine

Hansen's Sno-Bliz, Snack, New Orleans
July 27, 2016

P:
Cream of peach/Cream of coconut

J:
Cream of nectar/Satsuma


Notes:
This was our last stop during our stay in New Orleans.  Winner of a James Beard Foundation "America's Classics" award in 2014, this place was on our "must" list, and not just because it was late July in New Orleans.

Cafe Du Monde

photo - Yelp, Don S.

Cafe Du Monde, Snack, New Orleans
July 26, 2016

P&J:
Cafe au Lait
Iced Cafe au Lait
Beignets


Notes:
What's a trip to New Orleans without chicory coffee and beignets?  Our stay in New Orleans was very short, so we only had time to score this perfect any-time treat at one place (lots of great beignet shops to check out these days), and because we weren't sure where else to find chicory coffee, Cafe Du Monde was it.

The place is overly crowded and the wait is long.  But in the end, so worth it.  The beignets, rectangular, poofy pockets of fried dough, are fresh, piping hot and heaped with an excessive amount of just enough powdered sugar.  And the chicory coffee?  Delicious, just like I remembered.

Shortly after we received our coffee and beignets, the rain came.  We sat in the outdoor, but covered, cafe and watched as the downpour grayed the skies and flooded the streets.  Lightning flashed every now and again; the sound of the rain pummeling concrete and asphalt echoed through the patio.  The scent in the air was clean and satisfying.  Once the rain let up, just a bit, we scampered away from the cafe, in the direction of our next destination, completely drenched by the time we reached it.  This was one of Patrick's favorite days, ever.

I have a couple of significant memories* attached to this place, and with this experience, another.  I'd like to come back for more.

*When I was a teenager, I became truly obsessed with food.  My G'ma will tell you that's how it always was; she loves to tell stories about me as a kid, imitating Julia Child.  But it was the once-outstanding Food Network, which started up shortly before I graduated high school that solidified the way I thought about my future, and that future was food.  My parents, in what seemed to be an encouraging gesture, decided to take me on a road trip to New Orleans to visit a restaurant of one of my favorite TV chef personalities, Emeril Lagasse (this was well before we all tired of the "BAM!").  While impossible to get a reservation at his eponymous restaurant, his seemingly less formal NOLA was available to us that one summer.  It was then, over 20 years ago, when I had my first fine-dining experience, my first tasting menu, my first soft-shell crab.  And!!  My first beignets at Cafe Du Monde, where I also had the best coffee I'd tasted since I visited Paris with my Mom and G'ma, just a year or so before**.

**In seventh grade I had to choose a language class - French or Spanish.  My Dad told me he'd one day send me to whichever country spoke the language I chose to learn.  I knew he wasn't completely serious, but I foolishly chose French anyway (Spanish would have been entirely more useful).  Several years later, and a junior in High School, I had the opportunity to visit Paris with my Mom and G'ma.  (Though unassociated with my Dad's "offer" so many years prior, I always like to remember this story in this way.)  We stayed at a quaint little hotel which offered breakfast in a tiny room below the lobby serving fresh, crusty bread, sweet butter and jam with coffee or tea.  Each morning, on our way down the narrow steps to the very small, wood-paneled room, a gentleman behind the front desk would simply ask, "Cafe ou the?" [phonetically - "Cafe oo tay?"]  I didn't remember much French (my interest in the subject heavily waned in high school and I had dropped it by this time), but I loved saying "cafe" in my best French accent; I felt so grown up, so cosmopolitan.  And I didn't even like coffee.  But somehow, I fell in love with that French coffee, and that perfectly simple French breakfast.  I never could find coffee that tasted quite like it did at that hotel in Paris, until I found the chicory coffee at Cafe Du Monde.

Amy's Ice Cream

photo - Yelp, Michael B.

Amy's Ice Cream, Snack, Austin
July 24, 2016

P: Sweet Cream Hot Fudge Sundae

J: Chocolate Puddin'


Notes:
Amy's is an old favorite of mine.  It's quintessential Austin - weird.  I can't really put it any other way.  Their ice cream is dense, creamy and rich.  While I always knew Amy's for their wacky and inventive flavors, the menu board seems to be overwhelmingly tried-and-true these days.

Their Key Lime Pie ice cream is hands down my favorite, but I haven't seen it on the board in ages; I silently wonder if they still make it.  Every time I visit Amy's, and Key Lime Pie isn't there, I'm a little sad.  This time, I drowned my sorrows in Chocolate Puddin'.  It was intensely rich and chocolatey.  Woe is me!

Patrick, on this 90+ degree day, decided to beat the heat with a hot fudge sundae; thick and decadent fudge sauce over sweet cream ice cream (think vanilla without the vanilla).  He was very happy.  Well played, sir.


We'll be back.  Maybe next time, Patrick will let me take him to the Arboretum location so we can play with the cows.

Sam's Anchor Cafe

Sam's Anchor Cafe, Drinks and a Snack, Tiburon
May 28, 2016

P&J:
Chips & Onion Dip - Old bay potato chips, creme fraiche with caramelized shallots
Pink Lemonade - citrus vodka, lemon juice, sweet and sour, 7up and cranberry


Notes:
On our way back home from a lovely day in Mill Valley, we decided it was time for a Pink Lemonade.  Years ago, before I moved to California, a friend of mine told me about the must-have beverage at a place in Tiburon.  "But, don't drive there," he warned, suggesting that it was easy to have one too many - the drinks were potent, but didn't taste that way.  "Take the ferry," he said.  Tiburon is north of San Francisco, across the bay; the ferry terminal neighbors Sam's.

We walked into Sam's and through their empty bar to grab a seat on the sunny patio behind the restaurant.  Perhaps a little too sunny (and hot), there was only about 1 umbrella for every 10 tables, but I talked Patrick into it; it seemed a shame to drink Pink Lemonades anywhere but on a sunny patio on this gorgeous day. "We'll just have one," I promised.  So, we sat.  And sat.  And sat.  No less than 5 servers looked at us, sitting at a bare table but for a couple of menus, and never approached us.  About 10 minutes into this nonsense, a group of four was seated two tables away.  "If they are greeted before us, we're leaving," I thought.  And sure enough, they were.  So we left.  I was pretty disappointed, that I waited over 10 years to finally try a Pink Lemonade, and I wasn't going to have one.  But, as we walked back through the bar, Patrick persuaded me to take a seat there instead so we could have a drink.

Boy, am I glad he did.  Those Pink Lemonades were delicious!  The lemonade flavor was so strong that the booze went practically unnoticed; you really could get carried away with these, I'm sure.  We ordered some chips and onion dip to snack on while we enjoyed our lemonades - also very good.


Is it worth a trip to Tiburon for a Pink Lemonade?  Well, if you've never had one, sure.  But is it worth another trip?  I'd say unlikely, but you never know.

15 Romolo

photo - Yelp, Taylor O.

15 Romolo, Drinks & Snacks, North Beach

May 8, 2016

P&J:
Steak Tartare - kobe sirloin, cornichons, capers, horseradish-mustard, quail egg
Grilled Octopus - smoked paprika, buttered potatoes, preserved lemon, parsley
Charred Padrons - olive oil fleur de sel
Pimm's Cup and Fimm's Cup


Notes:
After sending off one of our two visiting friends, we looked for a place to sit and talk, and maybe have a beer or two.  A couple of friends of mine have a restaurant in North Beach, so we headed that way, not knowing until we got there that they were closed.  Thankfully, there was a great place I'd only heard about just a few steps away, 15 Romolo.

Our friend was in love with this place.  It was dark, quiet, and you felt hidden away.  We had just eaten (twice), so we were really only in the mood to chat over a drink.  I went for the Pimm's Cup, a refreshing drink with gin, cucumber, lemon, mint, ginger and soda (there might be something else, but those are the important parts).  Patrick went for the Fimm's Cup, their non-alcoholic version of the drink.  Both were quite lovely.  The Pimm's Cup is sold by the pitcher, and had I not been drinking (Pimm's) alone, it would have been ours.

After a couple of hours, we decided to try a bit of their menu.  We first gravitated to the charred Padron peppers, always a great choice with a drink.  Little, wrinkled peppers are tossed whole in a screaming hot pan until some of their skin blackens and blisters and they're served with a generous sprinkling of fleur de sel (fancy sea salt).  They're tender, flavorful, and you never know if you're gonna get a spicy one.  The grilled octopus was succulent, nicely charred and served with smashed and crispy baby potatoes.  I loved the flavors at work here with the smokey heat and salty preserved lemon.  The steak tartare was also very good, a nice balance of fresh cut beef and piquant capers and pickles, though the serving was a little smaller than I would have liked.


Overall, we weren't blown away by anything, but it was all very good.  And beautiful - this is not your average bar food.  But their menu has much more for us to try, and I love their Pimm's Cup.  We'll be back.

The Cavalier

photo -Yelp, YueStudio Y.

The Cavalier, Snack, SOMA

J&Guest:

Corned Beef Scotch Egg, spring greens and chive creme fraiche

Thrice Cooked Fries, horseradish aioli

Cocktails:

Pimm's Cup, City of London Gin, Pimm's No. 1, ginger beer, cucumber, lemon, mint

The Treasure Hunt, Sipsmith Gin, Cocchi Americano, Tempus Fugit Cacao, lavendar bitters

Dark and Stormy, dark rum, ginger beer, lime juice

Notes:

My friend and I shopped the day away in Union Square and ended up at The Cavalier, being one of the few places around that was serving food at 4pm.  By the time Patrick joined us, we had already eaten a few bites, so he had a only cocktail.  Ordinarily, I wouldn't write about a place that Patrick and I didn't visit together, but I thought this worth mentioning since it's a question in my mind whether we would come back.

This place is on our list, with an upscale take on British pub food.  It's yet another restaurant in the Marlowe family, and I have a thing for these restaurants, the idea of them, at least.

My friend and I sat at the bar, and were eventually approached by "the aloof bartender", you know the type.  We ordered a couple of cocktails; nicely made, but it took longer than I think it should, a complaint I have in general with the "craft" cocktail.  For snacks, we opted for the Scotch egg and thrice-cooked fries.  The egg, a single egg, enveloped with a thin coat of finely shredded corned beef and deep fried, was served nestled in heavy sauce flecked with mustard seed and garnished with a few micro arugula leaves on the side.  The breading on the outside was paper thin, and evenly golden brown; when we cut into it, the white appeared tender and the yolk, perfectly runny.  It was a beauty, but it was nearly cold.  This masterpiece, this $15 egg, was cold, the sauce was oddly textured and unappealing (and definitely not the "chive creme fraiche" listed on the menu), and the little leaves of arugula were sharp with vinegar .  If I'm paying $15 dollars for AN EGG, it better be mother-loving perfect.  And it wasn't.

The fries were pretty awesome, though a paltry serving.  They forgot the horseradish aioli, and by the time I realized it, there was no bartender in sight to fix the problem.  And had I waited until there were, I would have had cold fries.  So I begrudgingly ate the delicious fries without the (delicious, I'm sure) horseradish aioli.

Soon after, Patrick joined us and ordered a dark and stormy from a different, slightly more amiable bartender.  The drink was terrible - entirely too much rum and not nearly enough of the ginger or lime - it was bitter and boozy.


So, after all of that, I'm not sure we want to come back here.  I'm not sure I want to give this place (and the food) another try based on my first experience.  If the prices weren't so outrageous, I might not be so...outraged.  But seriously, how could I not be?

Sharetea

photo - Yelp, Hina M.

Sharetea, Inner Richmond, Snack
March 26, 2016

P:
Peach Green Milk Tea with Pearls

J:
Classic Green Milk Tea with Pearls


Notes:
I have a somewhat troubled history with bubble tea.  Bubble tea, aka boba tea, is a drink that originated in Taiwan and consists of tea and/or some other flavoring (from fruit juice to taro root to caramel, and more), often mixed with milk powder and sweetener and served over ice with large sweet black tapioca pearls and a fat straw.

The first time I heard of such a thing, I was so repulsed, I refused to even try it.  "Who wants to chew their beverage?  Disgusting," I thought.  The second time I was confronted with the drink, almost a decade later, the boss had a craving and there were enough of my colleagues on board with the idea that I'd be crazy not to try it (I work with people who know food).  Try it I did, and it was delicious.  Ice cold, sweet and milky with a strong green tea flavor and pleasantly chewy little balls of tapioca - how could I have ever thought so poorly of this concoction?

The third time, a few years later (obviously, I wasn't that in love with the drink), Patrick and I tried a place in our neighborhood.  It was awful.  The bubbles (tapioca) were hot, which melted the ice and watered down the drink, not to mention the mushy texture of the pearls, which I don't remember as pearls at all but instead little cubes of jelly.  Hot, mushy bits in my lukewarm milky tea drink?  Yuck.  P-tooey.  (Clearly, this continues to conjure a visceral reaction.)  So, needless to say, I never again got excited about bubble tea.  Patrick would suggest it from time to time, and I would simply change the subject, doing my best to avoid it altogether.

But on this beautiful Saturday afternoon, after a lovely breakfast, I had some laundry to do.  And not far from the laundromat, there is a bubble tea place that I've only ever seen packed with people since it opened about 2 years ago.  And earlier that day, Patrick had once again suggested bubble tea, heretofore unaware of my distaste for it.  And since he was tagging along while I did laundry (yeah, he's awesome), I decided it was time to stop the madness and just give it another try, already.

So try it, I did.  And it was delicious.  Ice cold, milky sweet with a strong tea flavor and slightly sweet, chewy tapioca pearls.  Patrick's was similar, but peach flavored.  YUM!

We're hooked and we want to try all the things (the "tea drink" world goes far beyond what I've described here).  This should make doing laundry much easier.