Seeking Umami

Restaurant Dish: Topolobampo

Chicago is definitely Rick Bayless's town.  Rick Bayless is to Chicago what Traci des Jardin is to San Francisco, but I would have to say that his influence on the food scene in Chicago appears to be much more dominating than any chef I can think of here.  In the Windy City, he offers more elegant, upscale cuisine at Topolobampo, more casual food at Frontera Grill, and finally street food fare at XOCO.  Having seen Rick Bayless prepare more complicated and sophisticated dishes during his stint on Season 1 of Top Chef Masters (in which he beat out numerous other talented, professional chefs), I was most interested in trying Topolobampo.  I went ahead and made reservations for lunch about a month prior to my visit and waited, antsy to get there. 

Once I eventually got to Chicago, I ended up having to spend about half my trip working in my hotel room to meet some expedited client requests. I also tried my best to attend the conference events when I could, but I was able to break away for a quick lunch with my friend and colleague, Lalee.

We got a nice little center table in the brightly colored restaurant and perused the ever-changing menu offerings.  A plate of crispy chips and fresh guacamole was placed on our table.  It was some of the best guacamole I had - spicy, salty and with fresh chunks of avocado - it was a perfect starter. 

We decided on the Tamal de Huitlacoche, Espuma de Flores, a tender, sweet corn-hutilacoche tama with frothy sauce of Bayless Garden squash blossoms, Oaxacan quesillo cheese and poblana chiles, with summer squash confetti, epaszote, and huitlacoche dust, as a starter.  We settled on the Carande Asada "Brava" and Chilaquiles al Pasilla as our entrees to share.

The Tamal de Huitlacoche came out first.  I actually looked up huitlacoche when I got home, and I discovered that it is corn silage derived from corn smut, or diseased corn.  Interesting.  It doesn't sound very appetizing by description, but the dish was heavenly when we devoured it.  The quesillo cheese in the sauce was strong but not overpowering.  The tamal was soft and tender and had an exquisite texture, similar to silken tofu.  We finished the whole plate.

 

Then came the Chilaquiles al Pasilla, which consisted of angel hair chilaquiles of crisp tortilla threads, smoky Oaxacan pasilla sauce and braised chard.  The chilaquiles are formed into a large rectangle, filled with homemade fresh cheese and accompanied by Bayless Garden microgreens.  We opted for the egg on top.  Lalee is currently expecting, so we did have some dietary restrictions, e.g., no undercooked meat, no undercooked eggs, and no unpasteurized cheese.  The server was more than willing to accomodate and made sure the egg was fully cooked.

The chilaquiles were crispy and flavorful, and tasted even better once you incorporated in each bite the egg and the cheese located inside the rectangle.  I have to admit, I wish I had more sauce (perhaps drizzled over the top), but the flavors were hard to beat.  This dish was very different from the chilaquiles I have had at Mamacitas in SF, where the chips come out whole but extremely soft from the absorption of the sauce. I liked the different interpretation.  

Next up was what Lalee and I agreed was both of our favorites - the Carne Asada "Brava".  This dish included spicy habanero-marinated wood-grilled Creekstone Natural rib-eye, with spicy salsa huevona, grilled knob onions and sweet corn tamal, which was topped with homemade sour cream and fresh cheese.  The spicy salsa huevona made the dish.  I could have eaten tubs of it.  It is basically  a "lazy" salsa with grill-roasted tomatoes and jalapenos that are hand-crushed.  The salsa was draped over the meat and was also offered as an extra side.  I loved it.  It was spicy and smoky from the char-grill - absolutely delicious.  The meat was also bursting with flavor and was surprisingly tender despite the fact that it was well-done (we had asked for it to be well-done to ensure there was no undercooked meat for Lalee). 

After all that, we were too stuffed for dessert.  I did enjoy two glasses of delicious limeade with the meal.  It was refreshing and perfectly balanced - not too sour and not too sweet. 

We had great service, the food was amazing, and I felt privileged to be trying Chef Bayless's food.  I really do wish that Rick Bayless will eventually expand his mini-empire to the bay area so I can enjoy his classic and authentic Mexican flavors more often (a Macy's Cellar eatery just does not suffice!).   Until then, I will just bide my time until I can go back.

Topolobampo
45 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60610

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A Day in the Life: Three Hours in Seattle - The Best Layover of My Life

Last week, I went out of town to attend a work conference in the Windy City.  On my way to Chicago, I had an excruciatingly long three-hour layover in the Emerald City.  I have never enjoyed long flights, especially ones interrupted by long layovers.  On this trip, however, I was fortunate enough to be with my good friend and colleague who was from Seattle and still had family living there.  She convinced her awesome brother to pick us up from the airport and escort us around for a whirlwind tour of downtown.  I have to say that it turned out to be the absolute best layover of my life. 

I had never been to Seattle prior to this trip, but have always wanted to visit.  A city by the bay, fresh seafood, great people - it seemed to me like it would be a smaller, rainier version of San Francisco.  Not to mention that Washington is the home of Forks, the place of Twilight dreams and many a fantasy, especially for the vampire and/or werewolf obsessed.  And yes, that would include me.

When we arrived, we were met with, a warm, sunny day that carried a slight breeze, rather than the cold, gray overcast skies I was expecting.  We drove straight downtown and then parked at Pike Place where I walked around in awe of all the vendors with their beautiful flowers, Seattle trinkets and bottled gourmet foods.  

The first actual stop was Lowell's Restaurant, a quaint, multi-level restaurant right in the market where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed. 

We stopped to grab a bite at the famous eatery and ordered fish and chips and clam chowder in a bread bowl.  Like most touristy establishments, the food was good but not great.  To a starving traveler who was more than hungry to try the local offerings, however, it definitely fulfilled.

The fish was fried in panko and herbs and was light and flaky.  The clam chowder was thick, creamy and totally hit the spot. 

The bread was filling but a little bland; it left me missing the sharp taste of San Francisco sourdough bread.  I realize even more now how hard it is to outshine Boudin Bakery's clam chowder bread bowl.  Overall though, I had a great experience.  Lowell's felt like a warm, familiar place and offered decent seafood in a great locale.

The view of the water from our table was gorgeous and I yearned to see what was across the way.   But since we had so little time, we quickly got up and scurried off to see the rest of the market. 

 

While at the famous fish vendor stand, I totally fell for the old dangling monkfish trick (a total ploy to catch unsuspecting Californians) and elicited a ton of laughter from the other observers; all part of the experience I guess.  I'll have to seek my revenge on that monkfish another day.

We kept moving through the market and I saw the DeLaurentis bookstore (you guessed it - same family as the famous Giada), the first Starbucks to hit this planet ever, and then walked into a lively alley to visit the Pink Door, a Seattle institution that serves up amazing pasta dishes and provides cabaret entertainment on the weekends.  The restaurant had an old, woody scent that reminded me of an antique shop but was inviting and cozy.   We ordered Pink Door Lasagna  (fresh spinach pasta layered with besciamella, pesto and topped with marinara sauce) and Parpadelle Al Ragu Bolognese to go for our dinner on the plane (needless to say, it was absolutely, mouth-wateringly delicious and was the best "airplane food" I've had hands down).

Before I knew it, our time was up and we had to get back to the airport.  What I thought would be an extremely long layover actually passed by way too quickly for a very short but impressionable trip to the gorgeous Emerald City.  I had a great time thanks to my gracious hosts, the bustling marketplace, and the beautiful green scenery around me. 

Three hours of Seattle was definitely not enough to satisfy my curiosity.   I made a vow to myself to go back someday to experience more of what Seattle has to offer... and to hopefully catch a glimpse of a Cullen or two upon my return.

A Day In the Life: 2010 Summer Snapshots

Summer is officially over and its time for a beautiful California fall, hopefully filled with an endless bounty of fresh green asparagus, brightly colored squash, sweet persimmons, and other seasonal pickings.  Having moved from San Francisco to the peninsula this year, I can't help but think back to some of the incredible dishes I have had over the past couple of months while either on one of my treks back to the city or down here in my new home more south of the bay.  I wish I could savor these flavors of the recent past once again, but pictures will have to suffice for now, until I have an opportunity to revisit what are now just distant memories of my palate.

Trattoria Contadina - Carlesimo (rigatoncelli pasta with pancetta, porcini mushrooms, peas, sun-dried tomatoes and a mildly spiced tomato cream sauce)

Golden Boy Pizza - Late Night Hunger's Dream

 

Dry-Aged Steaks (Prepared Momofuku Style)

Rice Thai (Palo Alto) - Soothing Regular Noodle Soup

Belelnut (SF) - “Beggar’s” clay baked half chicken, with mushrooms, corn, smoked pork belly

Copenhagen Bakery (Burlingame) - Gold Cake with Bavarian Whipped Cream

 
Coco500 (SF) - Batter Fried Green Beans for the table

Bar Tartine (SF) Marrow Bones and Herb Salad (absolutely mouth-watering)

 

Sushi Ran (Sausalito) - Sashimi Lunch Special

Julia Child's Ratatouille

Xanh (Mountain View) - Xanh Salad (marinated beef, mixed greens, yellow and red bell peppers, sliced mango, sliced green apple, avocado served with Vietnamese crackers, white sesame, and Xanh special sauce)

Xanh - Kobe Roll (marinated beef, rice noodles, fresh lettuce, cilantro, carrots, cucumbers, and roasted peanuts served with nuoc cham vinaigrette)

 
Xanh Birthday Surprise

Zibibbo (Palo Alto) - Arancini Fried Risotto (filled with Pancetta and Smoked Mozzarella, topped with San Marzano Tomato Sauce)

I can't wait for what this season will bring...

Buon appetito!

Chef's Corner: Quiche Me

Believe it or not, the first time I had homemade quiche was less than three years ago.  At the time, I was in Bishop, a small, quaint town located four hours south of Reno, east of the Sierras, with a population of less than 3,500. 

Bishop is the only town I have been to where on certain days of the year, the majority of the population is comprised of cowboys, with the Native American population coming in a close second.  To my surprise, however, on any given day, I found that Bishop also has a daily influx of more diverse crowds, mainly due to the fact that it is the nearest town next to Mammoth, a major SoCal ski resort, and also because it houses the famed Schat's Bakery on Main Street, a hometown bakery that produces some of the most delicious breads and sandwiches I have ever tasted (if you bake it, they will come).  Bishop is also home to Mahogany Meats, a producer of not just some of the best, but in my opinion, the absolute best jerky I have ever had.

Having been born and raised in San Francisco (a typical city girl), I had no idea Bishop existed until my boyfriend, J (an atypical small-town boy), took me there one holiday to meet his family. We are now frequent visitors and make the 12-hour round trip whenever we can. 

It was on one of these such visits that I had my first homemade quiche.  In J's household, quiches have always been a staple breakfast item.  I recall tasting the flaky, buttery crust, the smooth spinach, the creamy cheese and egg filling, and savoring every moment of it.  Since then, I have pounced on every quiche that was presented to us on every subsequent visit to Bishop, and on my most recent couple of visits, even tried my own stab at it.   I have found that the key to any quiche is to include all of your favorite ingredients, be it bacon, cheddar, mushrooms or chiles.  My weakness is sweet Italian sausage.  Regardless, I can't think of anyone who wouldn't want to wake up the smell of a warm, buttery crust, melted cheese and baked eggs, all melded together.  For me, quiche is even better when you're waking up to gorgeous scenery with fresh air in a small, quaint town that has more charm and beauty in its 1.8 square miles than most other places in the world.

Italian Sausage, Spinach and Cheddar Quiche

Ingredients

1 pie crust (you can make your own, but pre-made is so much better for a lazy morning!)
1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage*
1 chopped onion
1 pkg. frozen spinach
4 eggs
1 cup cream (non-fat half and half is my preferred choice)
1 cup cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the pie crust in the preheated oven for 5-10 mins. Remove from the oven and set aside.
3. Brown the Italian sausage in a pan until cooked through. Drain with a paper towel and set aside in a bowl or container to cool.  In the same pan, saute the chopped onions until translucent and pour over the sausage to cool.
4. Defrost the frozen spinach and drain. Set aside.
5. Mix together the eggs, cream, cheese, salt and pepper.  Add the spinach, cooled sausage and onion, and mix all of the ingredients until fully incorporated.  Pour mixture into the pie crust and bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.  Then bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.  Serve in wedges.

*If you do not like Italian sausage, any meat or hearty veggie will do.  In my most recent quiche (pictured below), the market had run out of Italian sausage so I used regular sausage and spam (adds a great sweetness that is missing from the regular sausage).

Enjoy!

Restaurant Dish: Zero Zero Adds Up To a Delectable Dining Experience

Among the slew of hot new restaurants that have opened recently, I found Zero Zero to be at the top of my list. I was finally able to make it there this past week and have to say that I cannot wait to go back.

The main thing I love about the restaurant is that it's incredibly affordable - there is nothing on the menu over $16.00. This seems to be a rarity in restaurants these days, where top dining seems to equal top dollar. To walk into a popping new restaurant, get great service and a bill that doesn't make you want to cringe would definitely amount to an ideal dining experience for me. I actually found all of these at Zero Zero.

We walked in without making reservations as we had been misinformed that they take reservations for parties of 5 or more. Apparently, you can make reservations for any party size online now. We waited only about 15 minutes for a table at 7:00 pm on a weekday night, which was better than we expected. The restaurant actually has two bars, one upstairs and one right inside the entrance, so a longer wait would not have been so bad.

Zero Zero gets its name from the type of flour that pizzaiolos in Naples have been using for hundreds of years. Not surprisingly, the pizza at Zero Zero makes up most of the menu.  Aside from the typical Margherita pizzas, the restaurant creatively has named some of their pizzas after some of the main street names in San Francisco, such as Mission, Castro, Fillmore and Geary. Aside from the pizzas, the restaurant also offers a ton of creative starters, salads and pastas. The menu was basically a smorgasboard of fresh, seasonal ingredients, all of which sounded incredibly delicious.

Although it was extremely difficult to decide on what we wanted to try, with the help of a few good women, we settled on the following items:

Ricotta Stuffed and Fried Squash Blossoms, Cherry Tomato and Broccoli Rabe Pesto

Heirloom Tomato, Manadori Balsamic and Pecorino Bruschetta

Eggplant Caponata, Burrata Bruschetta

Pappardelle, Braised Pork Sholder, Grilled Summer Squash and Olive Pesto Pasta

Mission Pizza with Broccoli Rabe, Olive, Calabrian Chile, Roasted Garlic, Crecenza and Mozzarella Pizza

Margherita Extra Pizza with Tomato Sauce, Basil, Buffalo Mozzarella, Parmesan and De Padova Olive Oil

To drink, we started with the NV Prosecco "Argeo" Ruggeri Veneto, which was affordable at $32 a bottle. For dinner, we moved onto the Barbera Viansa Sonoma, was was $32 on tap. I cannot recall the last time I have seen tapped wine offered at a restaurant. The cocktails on the menu looked really good, but when we tried to order one of the punches at the bar, we were told that we needed to be seated at a table to try it. A bit annoying, but we went straight for the bottles so it worked out in the end.

The Ricotta Stuffed and Fried Squash Blossoms were absolutely excellent. The dish presented four squash blossoms, which were light, crispy fried, and stuffed with the right amount of ricotta. The cheese seemed to burst out of the blossoms with every bite.  The cherry tomatoes and pesto were great accents to the dish, with the pesto adding just the right amount of herbs and flavor.

The bruschettas were about three times the size of what I expected and were enough for us to split four ways. The eggplant caponata and burrata bruschetta was definitely my favorite of the two, although the heirloom bruschetta definitely held its own. The eggplant was cooked perfectly and had a spicy bite and the burrata just melted in your mouth. The heirloom tomatoes were fresh and had the right amount of acidity from the balsamic vinegar. I could have eaten five more of those bruschettas.

The pappardelle pasta came out soon afterwards; the timing of the dishes was absolutely perfect. We settled on the pappardelle over the nuvole pasta after our server informed us that the last three pastas on the menu, which included the pappardelle, were made fresh on site. The papperadelle was cooked perfect, but was a bit thicker than what I was used to. The braised pork shoulder was tender and salty, and tasted like it was braised with tomato or tomato sauce. The olive pesto added just a hint of sweetness that finished out the dish. I thought the dish was good but have to admit that I have had a very similar dish recently at Delarosa - the pappardelle napoletana - which would have blown this dish out of the water. I would have loved to have tried the nuvole with organic egg and mascarpone or the pici with short rib ragu, but I guess those will have to wait for another day.

Based on our server's recommendation, we ordered two pizzas, which ended up being too much food. We could have done without the second pizza, but I was glad we had tried it because I liked it better out of the two we ordered. The first pizza that we ordered - the Mission Pizza - came out first. The pizza was savory and had a crispy crust that was cooked perfectly. The broccoli rabe gave the pizza an interesting bitter bite. I have had broccoli rabe on pizza before where it was not cut properly and was difficult to eat. Here, the broccoli rabe was cut perfect to bite size and the chile and roasted garlic added the right amount of spice and flavor. The crescenza cheese, a soft cow's milk cheese, was probably the star of this pizza. It was white and milky and softened the other stronger flavors. I liked this pizza enough but could only see myself eating about one slice of it.

The Margherita Extra was a totally different story. It was simple and sweet tasting from the tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella and was absolutely excellent. If I wasn't so darn full, I probably could have eaten the whole rest of the pizza. I am definitely ordering that one again.

The best part of the meal had to be the dessert. I had read on yelp that the dessert was a make your own sundae and I knew we had to try it even though I am not a huge dessert person.

We ended up choosing the vanilla flavor of the Straus Dairy organic soft serve ice cream, with our custom toppings of caramel, fudge brownie and candied peanuts. The brownies had the texture of fudge more than a brownie, but the ice cream more than made up for it. It was thick and creamy and, as one of my girlfriends remarked, very similar to Dairy Queen's blizzard ice cream. It was a perfect ending to a great meal.

The only glitches in service was (i) when the server accidentally lost the cork on our prosecco and almost shot someone's eye out at the table next to us and (ii) when she accidentally overcharged us $24 more for our bottle of prosecco. She quickly fixed the bill once we let her know, but it reminded me how important it is to always check your bill. The bar and restaurant have a bit of a disconnect, so it might be a good idea to close your tab if you order from the bar instead of transferring it to your table.

Overall, Zero Zero is a quality new dining spot in SOMA with good ambiance and great food that I hope is here to stay.

Zero Zero
826 Folsom Street
www.zerozerosf.com

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Comeback 2010!

I'm back and I'm hungry for new adventures!

Welcome to my new blog at typepad.com! You can view my previous blogs at my old blogsite - www.seekingumami.blogspot.com.