Zlatna Skoljka

My dear readers, Croatia is a wonderland. It makes perfect sense why the Romans made this their vacation spot. From the sparkling white marble city of Dubrovnik to the rough alleys of Split, it is something for everyone. I had many a food adventure, but the one noteworthy dinner during my travels was on Hvar Island.

Zlatna Skoljka, which translates to the Golden Shell, touts itself as a Slow Food establishment. I made a note to try this out, after sub-par meals recommended by others in Dubrovnik. We wandered only a few feet past the main square in town and found the entrance. I usually tense up at restaurants that are virtually empty, which was the case here, following that old notion that it equates to bad food. Not the case here! We were seated in the back patio with a couple celebrating their honeymoon after a wedding on the island of Lake Bled (not bad, not bad!). Overall, I think the four of us had the best meal in Hvar that evening.

I found the key to eating on the Croatian coast was focusing on seafood. They also take a cue from eastern European and Turkish cuisine, but I just can't get on board with heavy, artery-clogging dishes. Don't get me wrong...I can get down with the best of them, but I do that in the right places (see upcoming Berlin write-up), not in a fishing village.

Our evening at Zlatna Skoljka started with an octopus salad. At this point in the trip, I fancied myself a bit of an octopus salad connoisseur. You need the right amount of char, balanced with a steady dose of acid to really make this shine...and shine it did!

I then moved on to the goat cheese soup and let me just say, that soup and goat cheese are unlikely bedfellows....this is one of those situations where one would wake up in the morning and do a double take....and not in a good way! Yuck. The goat cheese kind of clumped a bit and every sip was painful. I left this one alone, but didn't have the heart to tell the server, who would relay it to the chef (who I could see by the way the entire evening...open kitchen) that I detested his soup.

Its ok, because next came the Mussels 'Buzara', which is a garlic, tomato, bread-type paste that is then cooked with either shrimp or mussels. A great 'Buzara' should be neither too thick or thin, but just the right consistency to "get stuck" inside each mussel, serving as a flavor complement to the mussel. It was a beautiful thing, this 'Buzara' and Dave and I sucked it all down.

Lastly, came the main affair....Amberjack in a saffron sauce and Squid in a wild orange sauce. Both were truly beautiful. The firm meat on the Amberjack filet somehow soaked up the rich, aromatic saffron sauce....each bite had a heady golden aroma. The squid was again perfectly charred. Each piece was delicate enough for fork only and further benefited from the accompanying tart orange sauce. I must say I wanted to steal both of these sauces to add to my fish repertoire.

We didn't make it to dessert and in retrospect I'm sad. Instead we hauled ourselves halfway back to the apartment and broke down for sub-par gelato. I guess the beautiful blue azure waters made up for the failed sweet;)

Coming soon....Venitian Chicchetti!

Anchor & Hope

Dear London,

I have been terribly remiss in failing to write about any of the amazing food establishments you have to offer. Many years ago, I prematurely wrote you off as a city devoid of any real culinary treats, but boy was I wrong.

You are a wonderland. Every year I come back, you have new treats and markets and chefs that aren't afraid to re-invent British food, because hey, whats not to love about black pudding?

I am going to start my homage to you with this review of Anchor & Hope, one of the first and still, in my opinion, best of the early 90's "gastropub" restaurants to open in your fair city.

Now, while I work on this, if you can get to dealing with that perpetual drizzle, maybe we can work out a more permanent arrangement.

Much Love,
Sheila

So Anchor & Hope is my Persian family's get together spot. It always, without fail, ends up at the end of the night with a tug-o-war for the check, which inevitably leaves someones father or uncle in Iran or elsewhere disgraced for having his respective family member lose the grab. This place, therefore, has that special magic that only certain places can have....the perfect mix of great food, but more importantly the power to impart lasting memories. I have only to close my eyes and I am transported to the patio on The Cut, across from the Young Vic theatre and elbows deep with the London financial elite, partaking in some serious beer drinking.

This place is what I consider an off-shoot of the Fergus Henderson, St. John empire. You will find any number of traditional British dishes on any given night. The menu changes to reflect whatever is seasonal, so you will never have to eat anything that was not pulled out of the ground within the week or recently butchered.

This last trip turned out to be a food extravaganza. We had pork wrapped in prosciutto, leg of lamb that had been roasted for hours with rosemary, duck hearts, and so many other things that are now lost to the haze of wine and beer that was also consumed. What A&H does best is meat. This sounds horribly vague and overreaching, but its the truth. Gross meats and delicate meats all come out of their kitchen fork tender, glistening with the right kind of fat, and more importantly always melts in my mouth. To be fair, I feel like fish is not so much their forte...not bad, just not great.

You must also be aware that some things on their menu are quintessential British. Take for example, Potted Shrimps....what we thought would be some kind of shrimp salad of sorts, turned out to be a ramekin of the most pathetically small shrimp, with shells intact, that we then had to proceed to take apart to eat. Needless to say, that has been a pass in all subsequent visits. Now if we had been proper Brits, we would have known immediately what this dish entailed. So, tread carefully, and feel free to ask the waitstaff...they don't bite.

Then there is the desserts. What I recommend is asking them what they have on offer the minute you sit down so you can immediately order it. This place sells out of things within the first hour of service. Some of their puddings and trifles go faster. If they have anything of any interest, just go for it! If you are visiting, chalk it up to vacation, if you are a local, chalk it up to "can't make this bugger at home."

I can't leave this review without a few words about ambiance. Its not fancy. Its wooden tables and chairs in a dining room, but when this place fills up and people are talking and laughing and eating, it just has it. You feel that energy and it makes you want to come back for more. Its hard to put words to a feeling, but I can say that this place has my full endorsement. Just go with some of your favorite people in the world, get a bottle of wine, and let London show you what its got!

Lazy Bear

Ok, folks...its time. I have been extremely remiss to neglect the city (region to be fair, since I live in Berkeley) which I have called home for the last three years.

I must admit, after three years of gloom and doom in Seattle, I was ready for a move. As much as I love my family, I could not commit to Chicago or Denver, but San Francisco...easy! I get the mountains, which I will always gravitate towards and this newfangled ocean thing, right at my doorstep. Also, more importantly, Food! Good Food! Lots of Food! You get the idea. Also, home to a fair amount of underground dinners...something I had grown to love in the Emerald City.

I will of course devote subsequent posts to other underground dinners, but I must pay homage to what I consider the best in the city. I am not being paid for this, and I do consider myself somewhat of an expert in all things underground so I don't throw this award around casually. So without further fuss and vague musings here we go:

Lazy Bear

Lazy Bear is the brainchild, lovechild and sometimes temperamental child of David Barzelay. I found Lazy Bear through a posting over a year ago on Ghetto Gourmet for one of his multi-multi-course dinners. I was intrigued to say the least. I liked the minimal ingredient description, leaving something to the imagination and the fact that this guy seemed to be dispensing with a lot of the conventional tactics of music, activities, abandoned warehouses, etc....it seemed to be all about the food.

I dragged my David to the dinner and even he was impressed. It was held at David and Jeanette's (David's dynamic other half...she is in charge of making the place sparkle and service move smoothly and uninterrupted) apartment in Duboce Triangle....no dump of a place either ;) As is the case with most undergrounds, the table is set up "communal style"...meaning you must converse with strangers people! Not so easy for an introvert like me, easy as cake for Dave (partially why I keep him around). I would be lying if I said I remembered each course, but let me tell you this...a Barzelay dinner is never without the perfect amount of outright flamboyancy, coupled with quiet restraint. Nothing is out of place, but everything is a mouth explosion of sweet, sour, salty and for lack of a better work balanced umami.

I remember his Carolina Blue Crab flash fried with the the most crumbly savory crust, quickly swiped with his house made hot sauce and a creamy "ranch" concoction hitting my tongue...pure perfection! Or his vegetarian "forest salad"...with greens standing in salute, coupled with a blissful dehydrated savory soil. Another revelation...scallop bacon...enough said! This guy dreams of dinners the way I think of Willy Wonka and his sweet concoctions. Its a joy and constant excitement for a diner that is rarely excited anymore. And this is where his genius lays...the excitement! In a city where local reigns, sustainable is passe, and where the next best spot is a chair in the farmer's field, Barzelay is making food fun again. He makes you want to dream, and taste, and talk. And this is why he is on top of his game.

Aside from this, he is a cool guy. David and his wife Jeanette both met in law school at Georgetown and made their way to San Francisco. Throughout this process he was cooking, instead of studying, which I somehow believe. After years of tinkering in the kitchen he debuted his dinner in the city. The success is growing. He is now catering events and plans on expanding to a four wall establishment....I'm pretty sure his diners will follow him wherever...we are willing lemmings....Keep It Up David!

I'm Part of the Industry!

So dear readers,

I am going to take a quick break from my travel writing to let you know that I have taken a job in the food industry working for a pretty cool endeavor. I am working as the lead server/semi-night manager at Local: Mission Eatery at 3111 24th Street in San Francisco.

I know many of you are tired of hearing about local, natural, organic, sustainable, blah blah blah....but these guys are salt of the Earth.

Yaron Milgrom, owner and semi-live in at the restaurant is all about the hood. His family lives a few blocks away and come in on a regular basis. Just a few nights ago, as we came in to set up for dinner, his son, Cruv, was sleeping in one of the corners. Yaron really cares about this often culinarily neglected corner of the Mission and through his efforts it is really starting to gain a name in the city.

Executive chef, Jake Des Voignes is the brains behind the food....and its damn good food. Yea, he has been around the block, but it is my sense that he is given full reign at LM to really let loose. His gnocchi is sublime, broths light and airy, and he basically makes magic with any form of meat product.

Jake's wife, Shauna runs the bakery in the back, Knead Patisserie, and also labors to create a really stellar dessert menu for us. David considers himself a dessert expert and he has as of yet to find a place he likes better. He ends up stopping in at times just to eat one of Shauna's newest creations. Much like Jake with meat, Shauna has a magic touch with pastry....I actually first stopped in to LM during a work break to pick up a sampling of her treats...let's just say after that I was hooked.

Finally, there is the space itself. Super cool design, without losing what originally made it awesome. So awesome that we were not only nominated as one of the best designed SF restaurants from California Home and Design, but we actually won! Let me suffice it to say, that you should just drop in to check it out.

So that is about it from my end. I meet great people every night I work and hope that this job falls in line with my hopes of working during the day in freelance food writing! Here we go!

Les Papilles

I must admit, Les Papilles made it on the list due to another Anthony Bourdain episode. I watched that show with hungry eyes, itching to jump on a plane to Paris. I had been to Paris before, but felt like this was my chance to do it my way. I must say, since this is one of my last posts for this trip, that Paris is all that and more. Not only the food, but thanks to David I was able to experience the amazing art scene as well. Parisians deserve to be snobby...I would be too if this was my hometown. Instead, I get to be snobby about skiing and hiking :)

Les Papilles is in the Latin Quarter. Its teeming with students, French hipsters, and tourists streaming south from Notre Dame, looking for the "West Bank" experience. The night of our reservation David and I found ourselves caught in a blitzkrieg snow storm, so we jumped from cafe to cafe, waiting for the fooding hour.

Once 7:30 hit, we ducked from doorway to doorway until we finally made it to our spot. The inside immediately reminded me of Antico Roscioli in Rome. Small narrow space, with a larger alcove in the back. One side of the narrow space devoted to wine/beer/bites, and kitchen somewhere in the back.

The menu is set each night. Three courses for 30 some odd Euros....STEAL! This place is also known for its wine, which lines the walls. One word of warning....pick your own bottle. I let the manager pick for us, and then I noticed as I walked the restaurant, almost every other table had the same bottle. I am not disputing the wine was not good, but definitely not great, plus it makes everyone feel special if they think something was picked just for them....just some words of advice:)

The course break-up was as follows:

1. Sweet Potato Soup with Chorizo, Croutons, Paprika, Quenelle of Cream & Crispy Parsley
2. Beef Roast with Carrot, Snap Peas, Wax Potato, Sun-Dried Tomato & Onion in a Red-Wine/Beef Stock
3. Chocolate Mousse with Caramel Foam

The beef roast was achingly good. Perfect morsels of fork tender beef, dripping with rich and balanced red wine juice, cut with sweet medallions of carrot and peas. Everything about this was perfect, in the most simple sense. There was nothing elevated about this...It came out in a huge crock and could easily have fed two, but due to its sheer goodness, not one piece of meat was left. Unfortunately, this meant I could not finish the mousse, but I made sure to scoop out all the caramel foam, which had the ubiquitous French inclusion of the right amount of salt!

Would I come back to Les Papilles....Yes. It is on par with Le Chateaubriand, as one of those places that would be on regular rotation if I were to move to Paris. Ah, how I miss it!

Taillevent

As I said before, I could not visit Paris and not make at least one reservation at an old standby. I did my homework, scoured the "foodie" boards, and finally settled on Taillevent, mere steps from the Arc de Triomphe.

It is super white tablecloth...jacket required kind of place. Also, because I made the reservation for Turkey Day, the place was filled with wealthy WASP-y Americans. Dave and I kind of had a kick talking about and guessing what everyone else's story was.

So on to the food/service/ambiance.

Food was gooood. There was a lot of restraint in each dish. What could have been excessive use of certain new techniques came out with a great counter-balance of French culinary tradition. I am going to apologize in advance for my woefully inadequate descriptions of the food. I somehow failed to grab a menu and therefore only have my hand notes to go off of. Suffice it to say, this is another Sheila "must go" recommendation.

Amuse: marrow with celery mousse

1. Scallop with grapefruit marmalade

2. White fish with eggplant puree

3. Passion fruit souffle

I must say my favorite, was the scallop dish, which was raw brilliance cut with the nuanced acid of the grapefruit marmalade. Also, although I am not a souffle person, this one was great with a passion fruit cream.

I think I also owe a bit on the service at this place. Awesome! It was not in the ass-kissing sort of fine dining school of thought, but just seriously tight. It was a smooth symphony, with everyone chiming in when necessary. Dave is not a fan of any of this, but I appreciate it given my own service background.

Also, although the ambiance is a bit stuffy, the place has definitely gone through a decor overhaul in the last few years. It is done up in a non-offensive melange of creams and browns with comfy banquettes...which I like! They also sit people side by side, which is great if you are with a special someone...or close friend!

So all in all, this was a win, albeit an expensive win....save this one for a special occasion or holiday, but make sure to give it a go.

Breizh Cafe

Ah, crepes. I have a love/hate relationship with crepes, specifically, if they suck I am not happy, but oh if they are good...I am in heaven!

Breizh Cafe is about as close to a traditional Brittany crepe as you can get. It is in a great neighborhood in the Marais, quite close to the Picasso Museum (still closed...le sigh). Word of warning, however, it is a sardine can of a place. It is built for svelte Europeans, not us supersized Americans, but Dave and I managed.

We ordered a carafe of local, organic Cider, that was just the right amount of musty bouquet and sweet-tart taste. We also went with crepes from the "local" board. My crepe with bacon was unmemorable, but Dave's with local scallops was divine. Think sour, buckwheat crepe, nicely crisped, with sweet succulent scallops and a white cream/wine sauce.

Of course, after such a high we were worried dessert may not live up to our new expectations, but this was blown away by a crepe finished with salty caramel and crispy sugar. So simple, yet somehow exactly what we needed. Its as if Breizh has a gustatory telepathy...they are the best kind of food pushers.

Breizh was not a fancy spot, or one you would linger at, but you could tell this was a locals place (aside from the other foreign food fanatics) and rightfully so.