Chicago Part III - From Dolls to Dawgs

Goodness. It's been a while hasn't it? Sorry, that wasn't my intention, but being under the weather and extremely busy with work for the last few weeks hasn't left me a lot of time to write. It's actually kind of a shame, because I have some things I've been wanting to tell you. First though, let's wrap up Chicago, shall we?

Our last day in the Windy City was spent walking up the stretch of Michigan Avenue known as the "Magnificent Mile" and back down to the Chicago Art Institute. The "Mag Mile" is reknowned for its shopping, though these days, somewhat depressingly, it's just full of the same mall stores you see everywhere else. The tulips were its saving grace.

Gorgeous, endless beds of them were planted on the City's major thoroughfares throughout the months of April and May as a sort of public art exhibition. They lined the full length of the Magnificent Mile and the riverfront along Wacker Drive, and huge beds of them filled Millenium Park. Each bed was carefully designed and color coordinated like an enormous flower arrangement. It was truly something to behold.

We didn't do a lot of actual shopping on the Magnificent Mile, but my mother could not resist the American Girl Place doll store.

I'm not much of a doll person myself, but even I fell for some of the more elaborately costumed ones and their furnishings, like the Swedish table and chairs set below. I was gaga over the "Josefina" doll's jade green bed with woven Mexican blanket and sheepskin rug - and the seventies "Julie" doll with her roller skates and lunch box with miniature Hostess cupcake was calling my name so loudly I almost bought the lunch box by itself.

Upstairs they have the "regular" dolls - which come in different colors, hairstyles and features to offer the owners their best chance at finding a match for themselves. These come with pink hoodie sweatshirts and other less elaborate but still adorable "modern" outfits. Also on this floor was the tearoom - which had a surprisingly elegant menu, and plenty of tables available even though it was Mother's Day.

We also saw the doll "Hair Salon," where you can get your doll an updo or ponytail for around $10.00 - and the Doll Hospital, where a box of tissues sat on the counter next to the debit card terminal.

Moving on down Michigan Avenue, we decided to stroll into the Drake Hotel, one of Chicago's oldest and grandest, to see what was going on. Mothers' Day brunch was being served in the ballroom and tea was being offered in the lobby, complete with costumed Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. I love old classic hotels, and the Drake just has that feel of one of those hotels that has always been and still is in the middle of the action - like the Plaza in New York or the St. Francis in San Francisco.

On the way back down Michigan Ave. I snapped this photo of a classic "gangster moll" gown in the window of a nearby shop. It truly looked like it belonged in Chicago and nowhere else.

We made our way back down Michigan Avenue to Millenium Park and and the Chicago Art Institute. Sadly we were a week too early for the opening of the new Renzo Piano designed Modern wing - and by extension the new fancy restaurant. We ate a surprisingly forgettable lunch in their basement cafeteria. Normally I love museum cafes, but this one was the pits - as my mom likes to say.

After lunch we toured the galleries and saw some of the most famous artworks of our time. Did you know that American Gothic is supposed to depict a farmer and his daughter? All this time I thought they were a couple. Oops.

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper was one of the works I most looked forward to seeing. It's so evocative and has wonderful color and dimension.

This is probably the crown jewel in the museum's collection - Georges Seurat's Sunday Afernoon on La Grande Jatte. It even inspired the Sondheim musical "Sunday in the Park with George." It's lovely in person - I especially like that the woman on the far right has a monkey on a leash. We also saw several original Toulouse Lautrec posters and works. I got a little overdose of those in the 90's, but they're still spectacular in their full size original versions.

I especially enjoyed the stunning design and decorative arts collections. The skyscraper art deco bookshelf in the background and modern furnishings are still cool...

and I just loved this Viennese coffee service.

After soaking up as much culture as we could stand, we walked back down Michigan Ave to our hotel on the riverfront. Chicago is chock full of these amazing art deco office buildings that once housed the offices of companies (even whole industries) that no longer exist. For example the Carbide and Carbon building which has been converted into the Hard Rock Hotel. Thankfully all of the stunning art deco details of these buildings have been preserved - just look at those light fixtures, would you?

Dinner that night was at Cafe Spiaggia - the slightly less expensive and more casual wing of the Obama's favorite Chicago restaurant, Spiaggia. It's a little hard to find, up a couple of floors in a rather nondescript office building on the North end of Michigan Avenue. The cafe is a warren of hallways and narrow spaces. Ask for one of the tables in the window bays - they're much more comfortable. (The photo above is of our 1st table - sandwiched between the bar and a party of six - which we left when one of the window seats came available.)

The service wasn't the snappiest, and the atmosphere was a little loud and cramped, but the food we ate at Cafe Spiaggia was some of the best of the trip. This chicken under a brick (which I believe they also serve in the main restaurant) was as crispy as duck confit and served with a nicely balanced vinegar-spiked demi glace over spaetzle - slyly adding some distinctive German flavors to an Italian dish. I think that might even be rosemary on top - normally it's my kryptonite, but this dish was so good I didn't even notice.

Our second dish was a carbonara-like pasta, topped with a softly poached egg and tossed with asparagus and crisp prosciutto. The housemade pasta was al dente yet tender and though it had cooled a tad too much by the time I got a bite (already holding its curled shapes) the flavors were nicely balanced and the egg was perfectly cooked.

One of my biggest regrets as we got ready to leave the next day was that I didn't make it to Hot Doug's - the hog dog stand out in the suburbs that specializes in duck fat fries. That will have to wait for another trip (and there will be another trip) but I did manage to squeeze in a pretty respectable Chicago dog at Gold Coast Dogs at Midway Airport. (By the way - can I get a hell yeah for Sluggos - the Chicago dog place that used to be in La Jolla and UTC back in the 80's? I miss them like crazy.) I had a Polish dog with everything, and I have to say, it was a lot better than the one I had from Superdawg on the other end of the airport on a previous visit. Nice snap, good charred flavor, plenty of condiments - very satisfying.

After we finished our dogs, at my mom's urging, we got in line for popcorn at Nuts on Clark, just around the corner. I was skeptical - after all, packaged cheese and caramel corn is usually pretty stale - but the line doesn't lie. If you're flying through Midway - after your Gold Coast dog - do yourself a favor. Ignore the chocolate and nuts and get yourself a bag of mixed cheese and caramel popcorn for the plane - maybe a few gift bags too. You'll pay a little more for it than you really think you should, but I'm willing to bet you'll be darned glad you did when that drink cart comes rolling down the aisle.

Cafe Spiaggia
980 N. Michigan Avenue
(312) 280-2750
dinner only - recommend the Chicken Under a Brick

Gold Coast Dogs
Loop Location (check their website for others)
159 N Wabash Ave
(312) 917-1677

Nuts on Clark
Original location:
3830 N. Clark Street
(773)549-6622
also at Midway Airport, Union Station and Water Tower Place.

Chicago Part II - Magnificent Architecture and Some Pretty Good Food

If you're going to travel with my mom, you need to be prepared. I'm talking like a Boy Scout. This lady does not mess around when it comes to, well, pretty much anything, and sightseeing is no exception. After dinner at the Publican it was still light out (being father North up there) and daylight was a wastin' - so we set out on a post-prandial constitutional down Wacker drive, up to Michigan Avenue, and almost halfway down the Magnificent Mile before turning back. The historic buildings you see there in the picture are the Chicago Tribune building (on the right) and the Wrigley Building. The massive cathedral-like Tribune building is really a sight to behold, particularly with all of the artifacts from famous monuments embedded in its walls - including the Great Wall, the Pyramids of Giza, and John Brown's Fort at Harpers' Ferry (no, really.) It made me very sad about the current state of newspapers - it so clearly comes from a time when no one could imagine their demise.

The next morning, we rose bright and early for a Chicago Architecture Foundation bus tour. Breakfast was at Yolk, a cheery cafe on Michigan Avenue a few blocks South of the Foundation's building. The food was excellent - and fast, which was a good thing given that we were due on the bus at 9:30.

Chicago's architecture is amazing and varied. Here you see the Sears Tower - the tallest building in North America - peeking up from between two older buildings. Did you know the skyscraper was invented in Chicago?

This tapestry depicts a portion of the 1909 Plan of Chicago by Daniel Burnham. (Read more about it here.) The plan was conceived as a sort of "Paris on the Prairie" and though it wasn't all implemented, it greatly influenced the design of the city.

This is the new Renzo Piano designed Modern wing of the Chicago Art Institute. Unfortunately for us, it opened the weekend after we were there. We did go to the "regular" part of the museum, and it was quite spectacular. I didn't realize at the time that it is second in size only to the Met.

One of the highlights of the tour was a stop at the Robie House, one of Frank Lloyd Wrights' residential commissions, on the grounds of the University of Chicago. No photos were allowed inside, but it features some really great architectural details - such as a wall of leaded glass doors that open onto a patio, and a huge sunken fireplace in the middle of the living room. The lower floor (below ground level) has a gentleman's bar and a playroom, the middle floor (you can kind of see the row of doors above) was the living and dining room, and the top floor, with three sides of windows - is the master suite. All are linked by a central staircase. Quite an ingenious floor plan, actually.

Another highlight was Crown Hall, on the campus of the Architecture School at the Chicago Institute of Technology. This building is remarkable for the fact that it is supported entirely by the trusses you see on the outside - there are no supporting pillars in the interior. Considering it was built in the early 50s, it's quite a marvel. It's absolutely huge inside, about 52,000 square feet - all completely empty, (Van der Rohe called this "Universal Space.") It's now used as studio space for architecture students. Architecture students are messy!

This shot is of the new student union at the Illinois Institute of Technology - just down the street from Crown Hall. Designed by Rem Koolhaas, the building features a tunnel running through it - above, for the Elevated Train. It kind of feels like the People Mover at Disneyland.

These are just some of the highlights - the tour also included the Rookery and other older buildings, and very interesting information about Chicago's past. After we got off the bus, we walked over to Millennium Park, right across the street, to look at the public art installations. The screens on this fountain display the animated faces of actual Chicago citizens (there are towers on each side.)

This very popular sculpture is known as "The Bean" - for pretty obvious reasons.

It creates a cool reflective effect - especially when you're underneath it. You can see a wedding party taking pictures there just at the bottom of the picture below, along with lots of reflections of me (the dark figure holding a camera up behind the couple.)

Just just past that is the Frank Gehry designed Band Shell - where Obama addressed the multitudes on election night. It looks very similar to the Disney Concert Hall in LA.

We kept walking, all the way to Fox and Obel, a Whole Foods-like gourmet grocery not too far from the Lakeshore. The sandwich we had there was pretty good, but the chocolate chip cookies were To Die For. They had that great chewiness I can never seem to achieve at home for some reason. From there we cabbed over to the Second City Theater for a 4 PM matinee performance of their touring show, which was hee-larious. Highly recommend that if you're in town.

After that, even my mom was tuckered out - so we had a beer and some bar snacks in the lobby of the hotel, then went up to the room and ate leftover chicken from the Publican while we watched the White House Correspondent's Dinner on TV. After all - we had to save up some energy for the next day!

to be continued...

Yolk
1120 S Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 789-9655

The Chicago Architecture Foundation
224 S Michigan Ave.
(312) 922-3432
we did the "Highlights by Bus" tour with the Robie House, which was great. Tickets and information about other tours are available on their website. Tickets for the tours are about $40.

Fox and Obel
401 E Illinois St # 1
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 410-7301

The Second City
1616 N Wells St
Chicago, IL 60614
(312) 337-3992

My Favorite Chicken Soup

I don't know if I really believed I could go away three weekends out of four this month and NOT pay some kind of karmic price, but if I wondered I now have my answer. It started on our Vegas trip, where I sat through an entire dinner at Mario Batali's B&B restaurant without being able to utter a word after losing my voice completely, and continues to this day, exactly one week later.

This cold (and that is what it is - no fever & no body aches) is kicking my arse up one side and down the other. Not surprisingly, I haven't had much appetite this week. All I've felt like eating is chicken soup or tea and cookies, with an occasional glass of carrot orange juice (my new favorite thing) thrown in. I hit on a formula for the soup earlier this week that I really like. It's nothing unusual, just a nice flavorful broth with some shredded chicken and noodles. I didn't add vegetables back to the pot, but you could do that if you like. The extra broth will also give you a head start on a few other meals, which can be helpful when you really don't feel like cooking.

I'll be back this week with more from Chicago and our dinner at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Vegas, which thankfully I visited before falling ill. Until then, if you need comforting like I do - whip up a batch of this and sit on the sofa in front of a movie sipping the broth from the bowl. Trust me. It works!

Simple Chicken Noodle Soup

1 whole organic chicken - around 5 pounds
1 quart box organic free range chicken stock (yes, I know it's cheating - but it saves at least an hour of simmering time)
water
3 celery stalks roughly chopped
2 medium carrots roughly chopped
1 medium/small onion - quartered and each quarter cut into 2-3 pieces
1 teaspoon whole pepper corns
about 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 package of egg noodles such as pappardelle

for the broth:
Remove the breast meat from the chicken by inserting a thin knife on either side of the breastbone (top middle) and slicing gently down, pulling the meat away from the bone. Remove the skin from the breast meat and discard. Trim excess fat off the rest of the carcass and place in the bottom of an 8 quart stockpot. Add the stock and enough water to almost cover the chicken (it's ok if the breastbone sticks out a bit) Add the vegetables and bring to a boil. Skim the scum off the surface and add the peppercorns and salt. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about an hour and a half. Start tasting the broth after an hour and add more salt to taste if needed. Taste every fifteen minutes or so - you'll know it's done when it's rich and flavorful. If it tastes fatty, keep simmering. Remove the chicken carcass from the pot with tongs and strain the broth into a bowl. Return some of the strained broth to a 2-3 qt. saucepan (about one cup for every serving of soup you are planning to make.)

poach the chicken breasts:
While the broth simmers, fill a 2 quart saute pan 3/4 full with water and add half a tablespoon of salt. When the water boils, slide the two chicken breasts in and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes. The meat will tighten and the breasts will shrink a bit when done. Check for doneness by cutting into one of the breasts - it should be opaque but still juicy. Remove the meat from the water and set it aside to cool - when it is cool enough to handle, shred it into bite size pieces with your fingers.

to make the soup:
Bring the broth in the saucepan to a boil and add the pappardelle or egg noodles, breaking into bite sized pieces. Simmer the noodles in the broth until completely soft (no al dente here.) Add the shredded chicken toward the end of the cooking to heat through. (This can also be done with the broth from the fridge - just heat, add the noodles and chicken)

Ladle the soup into bowls and inhale the steam and sip a little of the broth directly from the bowl - you'll feel better instantly.

For an easy slightly fancier dinner (that I fed James earlier this week) poach some ravioli in the broth, adding some julienned kale, chard and/or scallions and a shower of grated parmesan cheese. The broth could also be used as a base for chicken and dumplings, or any number of simple soups - like this one or this one.

Sorry for the world's most boring food photo. It's not the most photogenic stuff in the world. Just be grateful that I didn't show you the one of the lentil and brown rice curry I made a few weeks ago. :-)

Chicago Part I - The Publican

When my mom suggested a mother/daughter trip to Chicago this Spring, I immediately started thinking about where we would eat. (I know, big surprise!) I tried to find places that would be interesting and unique, but not too out there or expensive. Mom had mentioned she'd like to try Cafe Spaggia, a less expensive annex of the Obama's favorite restaurant in Chicago, so I made a reservation there for Sunday (which also happened to be Mothers' Day.) One night down, two more to go. Since we were going to a late afternoon Second City show - I decided to make one more reservation and leave one evening open for something casual - maybe pizza, or one of Chicago's other signature delights, like Hot Italian Beef sandwiches or Chicago Dogs. I thought about Avec or Blackbird, but Avec doesn't take reservations, and I was concerned about the wait on a Friday night. I made a reservation at Blackbird initially, figuring if we could get into Avec we'd cancel it - but then I heard about The Publican, the slightly more casual and even less expensive little sister to both restaurants - which conveniently also takes reservations.

The Publican bills itself a modern Belgian beer hall, and true to form, it features an extensive and interesting beer selection and a menu of large and small dishes intended for sharing. The dining room is large and airy with ball shaped light fixtures over the bar area, and wood and glass doors that fold open onto the sidewalk - a nice effect in the early evening with warm air and sunlight streaming in. The walls sport large, stylized depictions of the chef's favorite muse - the pig.

The menu is varied and enticing, with a selection of simple but interesting dishes: fresh oysters, a selection of shaved hams, large plump mussels served in a big copper pot (a serving large enough for two), housemade rillettes, a housemade charcuterie platter, housemade pickles, a roasted "farm chicken" with summer sausage and a flank steak sliced and piled high with green garlic, pecans and feta cheese. James' grandmother always believed everything was better with an egg on top and I'm sure she would have loved it here. They offer frites with an organic egg, and the best dish we ordered - a ragout of spring vegetables including chard, fresh peas and asparagus - was also topped with one and showered with grated cheese.

We always share food in my family, and none of us are big eaters, so we basically ordered a meal to share - a side of the housemade pickles, the rillettes, the farm chicken with summer sausage and frites, and a side of collard greens. The pickles came first and paired nicely with the fresh levain bread and butter on the table.

When the rillettes arrived, my mom was a little put off by the congealed fat the chunks of meat were preserved in. Think duck confit before it's pulled out of the fat and cooked, or carnitas before they're fried. Spread thinly on buttered toast with the rhubarb and currant jam it was savory and unctuous - a perfect snack with my crisp Belgian lager. Still, I could only eat so much (the serving is at least enough for four people) and when the server returned, he asked if we had liked it. Mom spoke up, "It's all fat!" (Of course, so is butter, but you usually don't get a whole bowl of it to eat with a spoon!) He giggled a bit and said "Well I guess that's what I like about it!"

Since that hadn't gone over so well, I saw an opportunity to add another dish to our menu - a ragout of spring vegetables topped with a farm egg and shaved pecorino romano cheese. This turned out to be the belle of the ball - a pitch perfect saute of green spring peas, asparagus and chard, sauced with butter and topped with a runny egg. It arrived with the farm chicken with sausage and frites, and the side of collard greens with grit fritters. Mom also didn't like the collard greens, because they weren't cooked down to melting (it's a southern thing) but I loved them. They were limp but still firm, flavored with bacon and a bit of vinegar, and topped with the little puffed fried pillows of grits - a whimsical touch that added a nice bit of crunch.

The chicken I found a little ordinary. I missed the "summer sausage" designation on the menu, and was surprised to find three slices of sausage that tasted just like Hickory Farms' on the plate. The fries were fine, as was the chicken, but the dish just wasn't all that special. It was also very salty. We were envious of our neighbors, who had ordered the mussels, followed by the flank steak. They were gracious enough to let me snap a photo, and even offered bites - which we declined (though I was tempted.)

The dessert menu offered three choices, an almond financier, a crisp waffle with lemon confit, and chocolate pot de creme topped with sugared walnuts. I liked the choices and I was intrigued by the waffle, but we decided we were were just too stuffed. Before we could tell the server this though, he arrived bearing the chocolate pot de creme - on the house, because my mother hadn't liked the rillettes. (He also took it off the bill.) It was a sweet gesture, no pun intended, and the pot de creme was very good. The coffee I ordered to go with it was excellent as well.

With the reasonable pricing, the originality of the menu and the comfortable but lively atmosphere, I think the Publican is delivering what many people are looking for in a dining experience these days. It has an intelligent sensibility without being intimidating, and will deliver an original and interesting meal (if you order properly) without breaking the bank. It's a place you could go on a date or with some friends, and even singles belly up in the bar area for a beer and some chicharrones. If I were looking for a place to go with a crowd or just a good weeknight bite, this place would be at the top of my list. If I lived here, I'm pretty sure I'd be a regular.

The Publican
845 W Fulton Market
Chicago, Illinois
(about ten minutes from downtown - just outside the Loop)
(312) 733-9555
reservations available on Open Table

Frank Bruni had the audacity to jump the gun on me and post his review of the Publican yesterday - you can read it here, and don't miss the slideshow!

Pizza, Pizza!

Ever heard that old saying - that bad sex is like bad pizza? Even when it's bad, it's still pretty good? Yeah, I don't actually believe that, and - if I may be so bold - neither should you.

Good pizza really is worth the trouble it takes to find, and bad pizza - well, it just isn't worth the time it takes to eat it. Growing up, I didn't actually like pizza much (which may explain in part why I'm kinda picky about it) but I did like the crust - I even remember telling a few bemused adults that it was my favorite food. Not surprisingly, it's still my favorite part of the pizza. I like it crisp on the edges, with a bit of chew. The edges should be browned but not blackened, with a nice sheen and plenty of air pockets when I pull it apart. The toppings should be light but with plenty of flavor. Not sweet - I like my pizza savory. I'm also partial to a red sauce and am usually most satisfied with pizzas that include it (though I do make a good Alsatian one with a creme fraiche base.) I also think the cheese should be melted but not completely liquid when the pizza hits the table.

In the Bay Area I've found pizza that more or less meets these requirements in a few places - but Oliveto Cafe in Oakland stands out among them. I have only had the pizza once, so I'm not sure I could guarantee a repeat performance, but the one I had there with pancetta and Italian frying peppers was about the best I've ever tasted. (I have been a big fan of Oliveto Cafe going back to the days when I lived up there in the late 90s - and still am, though it's changed significantly since then.) Pizzeria Delfina is also pretty good, though I actually like their other items a lot better than the pizza. Their charcuterie, fresh housemade cheeses (ricotta and mozzarella) and the seasonal vegetable dishes kick their pizza's ass, in my opinion. Delfina's pizza is cooked in a gas oven, whereas Oliveto's oven is wood burning, which may account for some of the difference.

Pizzetta 211 might be in the running as well, but we were treated so crappily there the one time we tried to go, that we ended up leaving before we ever tasted the pizza. Still, it's one of those places, tiny and with an attitude, that might have food worth putting up with a little nonsense for. I'm not absolutely sure, but I think it's woodfired as well.

In San Diego - a few New York and Chicago-style joints have distinguished themselves - Bronx, A Sicilian Thing, Luigi's, and Lefty's among them - but in terms of wood-fired Cal-Ital style we've been a little lacking - except for Sammy's, which has it's merits, but isn't quite what I'm talking about. Thankfully, the addition of Blind Lady Alehouse to the local dining scene and the new mobile wood-burning pizza vendor at the Little Italy Mercato go a long way toward solving this problem.

Blind Lady has a unique ordering system that requires you to walk up to a counter and place your beverage and food orders separately. It's best to order your food and get a number, then step to your left and pore over the extensive beer menu. (If it's a Wednesday or Saturday, you can ask Andy - the tall guy in the cool glasses - to help you make your choice.) There are a lot of unusual brews, Belgian, local and otherwise - which should come as no surprise given that Lee Chase, a former Head Brewer at Stone Brewing Company, is one of the owners.

The pizzas are thin crusted and large enough for two to share, and are divided into two categories on the menu - the more or less "every day" varieties, and some more elaborate specialty pizzas. On two visits I've had the Salciccia pizza (one of the standards) and loved it - and the two specialty pizzas I've tried - the Asparagus and Speck with Spring Onion and Lemon Zest and the "Bacon and Egg" pizza have both been delicious - the Asparagus and Speck probably being my favorite.

Their salads are a bit more of a mixed bag. On my first visit the produce on the avocado and citrus plate was perfect, but the chile vinaigrette was a little too bitter and oily. On another occasion, the caesar salad was over-dressed, and the anchovy flavor was overwhelming. The spinach salad with dates however was a winner - a perfect savory/sweet combination I could eat all day long. Oddly enough, the "Blind Lady" moniker comes not from the notion of a woman who cannot see - but from the fact that the site used to house a shop selling window blinds. Aaron LaMonica - a former sous chef at Region is also in the kitchen here.

At the Little Italy Mercato on Saturday mornings (on Date Street in Little Italy) Principi's turns out wood fired pizzas, breakfast sandwiches and flatbreads from their mobile woodburning pizza oven.

The breakfast sandwiches include farm fresh eggs and Siesel's bacon or homemade sausage, and the pizzas available on the day I visited included sausage with spring onion, and artichoke with sage and green garlic - as well as margherita. The fava been puree flatbread also looked wonderful, with a rich, vibrantly green topping.

I made a special request for a child sized sausage pizza and they kindly obliged. It was crisp and chewy and the housemade sausage was flavorful - a nice tide you over bite or lunch while walking around the market. I'd like to try their breakfast sandwiches too - I would bet they are better than the ones from the panini guys down the row.

There were, and presumably still are, rumors that Cafe Calabria in North Park was going to start serving wood-fired pizza, but I think they've been delayed by logistical problems related to their chimney and the multi-story condo building next door. Barry also makes pizzas in his (new) woodburning oven at La Milpa Farm in Escondido on the third Saturday of every month at 4 PM using his own sourdough crust and vegetables from the farm. Just be sure to bring something for the potluck. (A salad or dessert is always a good choice - and while you're there, don't miss the duck who thinks she's a goat!) His farm is also going to be the venue for an upcoming Cooks Confab dinner, so be sure to check their site for more details on that coming soon!

Blind Lady Alehouse
3416 Adams Ave
San Diego
619-255-2491
open for lunch Sat and Sun - dinner six nights a week - closed Mon.
menu

recommendations: I really like the Asparagus and Speck, Salciccia, and Bacon and Egg Pizza, and the Spinach, and Arugula salad with local dates, pickled onions and Pecorino Romano cheese. I also want to try some of their starters and the specialty desserts (which are available sporadically.) They also serve ice cream from Mariposa - which is just a block away, but often closed on weeknights.

What are your favorite places for pizza, here in San Diego or otherwise?

More Pizza Posts:
John's in New York
Oliveto Cafe
Pizzeria Mozza
Pizzeria Delfina

San Francisco Treat - Dynamo Donuts

This past weekend's trip to San Francisco was filled with return visits to favorite places, like Pizzeria Delfina (now within walking distance of Tommy's house!), Hog Island Oysters (swoon!), Boulette's Larder, Michael Recchiuti, Boulevard, and, of course, Acme Bakery - for the giant bag of bread I mule down here at the end of every visit to make the magic last just a little longer. I always like to try at least one something new though, and this time I set my sights on Dynamo Donuts. I've been hearing about fancy donuts for a while now, and though I've had some good ones in restaurants recently (Norma's at the Parker Palm Springs comes to mind) I haven't had a chance to try these new exotic flavors. There is a place in NYC that does them called Doughnut Plant, and I am sure there are more. (There HAS to be one in LA - if not, somebody needs to get on that quick.)

Dynamo Donut and Coffee, on 24th in the heart of the Mission serves donuts in phenomenal flavors like Maple Apple Bacon, Saffron Chocolate, and Banana Dulce de Leche (stuffed with both.) Their flavors change frequently, and there's no real website to speak of, but Fridays and Sundays are ALWAYS Maple Apple Bacon donut day, so if you're looking for those (and you should be) those are the best days to go.

This past Sunday they had eight flavors: the aforementioned three, plus Rose Chocolate, Spiced Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Ginger Orange Twist, and Rosemary Chocolate Almond. I selected six to try - all but the Rose Chocolate and Rosemary flavors.

Since Dynamo is a walk up stand we ducked into Taqueria San Francisco, just down the street on the corner opposite the St. Francis and ordered up a couple of Mission burritos and quesadillas to share along with our donuts and coffee. It was quite a feast, I must say.


Of the donuts, the raised glazed were by far my favorite - especially the Maple Apple Bacon. Speckled with pieces of good fresh bacon and covered with a not too sweet glaze, it's sweet with a savory-salty kick - my very favorite kind of breakfast. The Vanilla Bean is the closest thing you'll find to a standard glazed donut, but much, much better, and the most appealing looking one did not disappoint either - well-browned, sugar-coated and stuffed with sliced bananas and dulce de leche. The Saffron Chocolate surprised me a bit with it's lovely balance of flavors, and the Orange Ginger was perfectly acceptable as well. The only one I didn't finish was the Spiced Chocolate, which was curiously bland. Maybe it was an off day for that batch.

Regardless, I would rate this place as well worth the trip from just about anywhere that doesn't require getting on a plane, and maybe even then if you really like donuts!

Read what David Lebovitz, Shuna, and the lovely Joy had to say about them.

Dynamo Donuts
2760 24th Street
San Francisco
415.920-1978

apparently there are plans afoot for a lovely inside area, with copper fixtures and a patio, so stay tuned for that!

Shopping at Specialty Produce

I first heard about Specialty Produce several years ago from Chef Hanis Cavin, when I took a cooking class from him at the Prado in Balboa Park. As we scooped up bites of seared scallops topped with a freshly made blood-orange hollandaise (it was a sauce-making class) someone asked about the itty bitty sprout-like microgreens on top. Hanis told us they came from this great warehouse-style store that specialized in restaurant supply, but was also open to the public - Specialty Produce. After that, it seemed like I started hearing about them everywhere, and whenever I would say I hadn't been, the response was some incredulous exclamation: "Oh, you HAVE to go!" It's not exactly the kind of place where you just do your regular grocery shopping though, so it took me a while to find the right opportunity.

It finally came last summer, when I decided to make a mess of pickles for our annual September barbecue. I found great baby carrots, cauliflower and even grapes for pickling, and bought vinegars by the gallon jug. I also bought potatoes for my favorite potato salad, and lots of edible flowers (including lavender) for the cheese tray and decorations. (The lavender looked especially nice floating in the jar of fresh lemonade - perhaps accounting for the fact that it had disappeared after the first half hour of the party!)

When I was there, I noticed the pallets of produce and other items heading out to some of the better local restaurants. J Six, AR Valentien, etc. It seems they ALL get their stuff there. You don't have to be a restauranteur to shop there though, and they're trying to get the word out on that fact. They stock bulk quantities of dry goods, higher end pantry items (like the aforementioned vinegars) and dairy items as well as produce. (Their refrigerated warehouse is huge, and COLD, so bring a sweater or a jacket if you're planning to spend any time browsing in there!)

Lately I've struck up a friendship with the lovely Kelly Orange, who I "met" on Twitter, and who invited me to come down and take these photos and do some shopping. I waited until I had another party opportunity coming up - it was a double whammy actually - dinner with friends, followed the very next day by a barbecue, where we served that chocolate cake, along with grilled sausages from Sausage King, potato salad, heirloom tomato bruschetta with with burrata cheese, the rest of the pea and fava dip, some steamed artichokes, and Labne topped with zattar spice and pita bread. It was quite a spread - we got some good use out of the items overflowing out of the box in that picture above, let me tell you. I had heirloom tomatoes, peas, favas, blood oranges, micro chives for the potato salad, spring onions, baby creamer potatoes, blackberries, champagne vinegar, even McCann's Irish Oatmeal. They've got it all, baby.

Shopping there is a little bit intimidating at first, or at least it was for me. If it's your first visit, you might want to call and let them know you're coming - they will be happy to show you around. You park on Hancock street, but enter on the North side of the building, up the stairs on the far side of the loading dock. Once inside, you sign in at the desk, get a card to wear around your neck, and you're free to shop. It's definitely a wholesale operation first and foremost though, so watch out for forklifts and pallets stacked all over the place piled high with boxes. You'll need some plastic bags, which you can find by the scales next to the entrance to the refrigerator room (or you could bring your own.) There are no carts, so you just pile up your stuff and they'll get you a box when you're done. You can pull up to the loading dock to get your stuff, or carry it out if you don't have that much. Be warned though - like Costco, it's one of those places that's hard to walk out of without a heavy load. Unlike Costco though, you won't have buyers remorse when you get home and survey your goods - you'll be too busy cracking your cookbooks and calling your friends to invite them over for a fabulous homecooked meal!

Specialty Produce
1929 Hancock Street, Suite 150
San Diego, 92138
(619) 295-3172

Check out their website for a complete list of their in-stock items, updates on their selections from the farmers markets (including the Santa Monica market) and new seasonal specialty items - as well as information on the restaurants they serve.

The Julie & Julia Trailer is Out!

The trailer for the new Julia & Julie movie is out (the movie itself comes out August 7), and I have to say - it looks a lot cuter than I thought it would. Directed by Nora Ephron, it's a double adaptation of both My Life in France, by Julia Child, and the Julie Julia Project by Julie Powell. I never read the blog, and I had a hard time getting into Powell's book, but I loved My Life in France and I'm a big Julia Child fan, so I will probably see it for that reason alone. Plus, I think it's hard for Meryl Streep to make a bad movie, and I can't get over how much Amy Adams looks like my friend Becky Wheeler here! While I was watching the trailer I kept thinking "You go Becky - Look at you in a big fancy movie with Meryl Streep!"

Enjoy!

here's a better quality version - just do yourself a favor and let it load fully before viewing.

Spring Dinner Party 3.28.09

Lately I've been feeling like time is slipping through my fingers, which explains why it took me so long to post about this dinner party we had in the backyard last month. Or at least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

I love cooking in the Spring and Summer, because so very little actual cooking is required. Meal assembly is more like it - chopping, slicing, tossing - a little blanching here and there, maybe a little grilling. It's not so difficult to pull a multi-course meal together when the ingredients of three our of the four courses require minimal intervention. On this occasion, I did kind of go the high maintenance route - shelling and blanching peas and favas for a dip, and making a risotto (which I can't help but call "ris-ought-o" since watching Hells Kitchen with Gordon Ramsey.) But the cake was baked the day before, and I bought the cheese and bread so all that remained was for me to take the marvelous produce the good lord (and Specialty Produce) gave me and make the most of them. And crack the wines of course. This was our menu:

Spring Dinner Party
3.28.09

Pea and Fava Bean Crostini with Garlic, Parmesan and Mint

Marinated Heirloom Tomato Salad with Burrata over Baby Greens

Aspsaragus and English Pea Risotto

Lemon Almond Cake with Strawberries and Vanilla Quark

I don't really have a recipe for the dip, because I just felt my way through it - tinkering and blending until it tasted right. First I shelled and blanched the English Peas and Favas (it takes more than you might think, so buy plenty) and pureed them in a food processor with half a clove of garlic, some salt and pepper, a little mint, quite a bit of lemon juice, a good glug of olive oil and a lot of grated parmesan cheese. Next time I'd use pecorino romano - it has a bit sharper flavor, and the reggiano parmesan is just a little too expensive to use here, where its mellow nutty flavor doesn't really shine. This was really good with champagne and actually improved with a little age. I served it with some crostini brushed with olive oil.

To make the salad I diced some heirloom tomatoes and marinated them for about an hour with some finely chopped red onion, a pinch of sea salt, a splash of red wine vinegar, a grind or two of pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and some micro-basil that I pinched off of some seedlings I had just started. I tossed the greens with balsamic vinaigrette, topped them with the tomatoes, added a hunk of burrata from Taste Cheese in Hillcrest, and drizzled the tops with the juice from the tomatoes. This was our first taste of heirloom tomatoes this year, and boy were we ready.

Then there was the risotto. I mean, the ris-ought-o. Yes, I will not be making this for a dinner party again anytime soon. This is the second time I've done this, and both times the result has been an unacceptable delay between courses. I really need to work on my technique - and should do it on my own time, on a weekday after work sometime, instead of when my guests are hungry. (Then again, if they keep drinking, it matters less and less what the meal tastes like, right?) This was a good idea in theory - just a basic white wine and parmesan risotto recipe with blanched asparagus tips and peas stirred in toward the end, but the risotto was just a little too al dente, and an hour of cooking really is too long. It looked nice anyway.

The dessert was one of those can't go wrong sort of things - just what you want to serve after a rather long and wine-intensive dinner. The lemon and almond cake was made the day before and topped with macerated berries, and a fantastic new-to-me discovery, vanilla bean quark from Spring Hill Dairy. It's available at the Farmers Markets in Little Italy, Hillcrest and even La Mesa, and it sells fast, so get there early (they also do lemon, but I prefer the vanilla.) A half pint carton is $5. and well worth it. It's tangy, cheesecake-y, just a bit sweet - and perfect with berries and lemon cake, and a little dessert wine, if you're so inclined.

Most of the groceries for this meal came from Specialty Produce. If you live in San Diego and you like to cook (and especially if you like to throw parties) and you haven't been, you really must go. The better restaurants and catering companies in San Diego rely on them for their ingredients, and they carry a number of items you can't find anywhere else. It's such a great place it really deserves its own post, so look for that coming soon.

In the meantime here, have some cake!

Lemon Almond Butter Cake
(based on this recipe and the yogurt cake in Molly's book, which she originally posted about here.)

This simple, relatively sturdy cake can be made in less than an hour and is just the thing with summer fruits, especially berries. The flavors of the butter, almond and lemon play off each other perfectly, and the moist texture allows it to stay fresh for days. It's great with coffee as a simple snack all on its own. You could also sub a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a swipe of the inside of a vanilla bean for the lemon, and pair it with a chocolate glaze for another dessert entirely.

1 cup of All Purpose flour
1/2 cup of almond flour or ground almonds (I used Bob's Red Mill)
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 large eggs
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp grated lemon zest (about one lemon)
½ cup plain organic yogurt (low fat or whole, but not non-fat)

for the glaze whisk together:
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Line a 9 inch round cake pan with parchment paper, and grease the pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together the flour, almond flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl making sure there are no lumps. Whisk the almond extract, eggs, butter, oil, zest and yogurt together in a separate bowl, then gradually add the wet to the dry ingredients, mixing just to combine.

Pour the batter into the cake pan, and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the middle springs back when touched, and a toothpick comes out completely clean. Cool the cake in the pan for thirty minutes or so, then turn out onto a cooling rack covered with parchment and and peel the parchment off the bottom.

Brush the bottom of the cake with the glaze and allow to stand for at least half an hour before turning back over onto a plate. (The paper on the rack will help you flip it back over and keep it from sticking to the rack.) Alternatively, you can use a toothpick to poke holes in the top and just glaze it right side up as well!

I Heart Kim Chee - Korean BBQ at Buga

What's not to love? Spicy, sweet, pickled? Seriously. I'm actually surprised it took me this long to try kim chee, but then again - I kind of like it that way. I like to think that things in your path come along in their own time - restaurants, cuisines, countries, even people. I also really like having something to look forward to, and I'd been looking forward to trying Korean Barbecue for a long time.

Too busy to cook and too late to set up a dinner at someone's house, our supper club decided to dine out this month. Being both budget conscious and curious - we narrowed our options to Korean or Vietnamese, and ultimately settled on Buga. Chowhounders and a few friends of mine had recommended it as THE place to go for Korean BBQ. I got sucked into reading reviews (why don't I do anything else as obsessively as I research restaurants??) on Yelp, and was a little bothered by the wide ranging comments - talking about the service, prices, etc. I needn't have worried though, the service was perfectly lovely, and the prices were reasonable.
After poring over the menu and asking a few questions, our group of five decided to order two grilled meats - the kalbi and sliced pork belly - and three other dishes, the Jap Chae, Vegetable Bibimbap, and the delicious-looking spicy stir fried pork dish pictured below, the name of which is escaping me right now. It was a big hit with our group. Soon after we ordered, our server returned to light the gas grill in the center of the table and drop off the panchan - small, savory, cold dishes meant to be shared. These included small servings of cucumber kim chee, radish kim chee, cabbage kim chee, pickles made with zucchini, squid and broccoli, a chili sauced eggplant, cooling daikon - and some rice paper and chili sauce to garnish the meat. I loved them all, including all three of the kim chee varieties - but I think I loved the radishes most. The fermentation makes them a little funky, but a good kind of funky - the umami kind. The Jap Chae reminded me of Vietnamese glass noodles - stir fried with pork and vegetables, and the pork reminded me of delicious spicy Chinese food. I wasn't as fond of the Bibimbap, but it was popular with the rest of the table. Despite all the chilis, nothing was unbearably hot, and the flavor was tempered with sweetness.

The meats for the grill initially seemed a bit expensive, but given that there was enough of each for five of us to share (small portions, but still) the $20. price tag didn't seem so high. The meat is sliced thinly and cooks quickly. Of the two meats we chose, the kalbi was by far my favorite - the pork belly was fine, but very fatty and a little bland. Signs in the restaurant announce that they serve Coleman Natural Beef - which was purchased last year by Meyer Ranch. This isn't pastured beef, but it is raised without growth hormones or antibiotics, and according to humane standards. (At least according to their website.) Assuming this is true, the meat is undoubtedly a little more expensive than ordinary commodity beef, making the price seem a little more reasonable. All of our food and a large Korean beer that Lisa and I shared came to less than $30. per person, tax and tip included. (We had contemplated ordering one of the family style meals but were very glad we hadn't when we saw the bill.)

Buga is located just off 805 at Clairemont Mesa, in the parking lot of a Motel 6. It actually used to be a JoJo's coffee shop - if you remember those. (We ate there when I was a kid - and at Organ Power Pizza across the street, where the oven was powered by yes - a pipe organ.) The atmosphere isn't going to win any awards, but it's clean, they have nice large booths and you won't be looking at the floor or the light fixtures anyway. You'll be looking at the grill and the marinated meat sizzling away on it, the nifty white bowls filled with tidbits of spicy, pickled deliciousness, and your friends' smiling faces.

Buga Korean BBQ
5580 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
(858)560-1010
reservations recommended

Kirk wrote about Buga in 2005, and by the looks of it not much has changed! Check out his post here