Month: February 2011

The Slanted Door

The plan was to have a meal at one of the stalls or food trucks parked in front of the Ferry Building. Serendipitously though we managed to get a table at The Slanted Door.

I think this was a day mapped out by providence.

The Phan family owns The Slanted Door, a modern Vietnamese restaurant overlooking the Bay that showcases humble family recipes made exceptional (by Chef Charles Phan) with locally sourced ingredients.

The wait staffs were friendly albeit busy.  It was a busy lunch day after all and we were really lucky to have gotten a table without reservations.

We had, to share, the Green Papaya with pickled carrots, tofu, rau ram (Vietnamese coriander) and roasted peanuts.  Love the fresh and crunchy papaya with the tangy dressing.

The Grass-fed Estancia Shaking Beef – tender cubes of filet mignon sautéed in red onions and a soy sauce vinaigrette and served with a pepper & lime dipping sauce — outstanding. Even without the dipping sauce, the dish stands on its own.  A must-have on every visit.

Perfect with their broken jasmine rice.

This codfish over rice noodle was delish too.

Modern and trendy, The Slanted door is more than the food.  It has a sweeping view of the Bay too to go with the food.

The Slanted Door
Ferry Bldg
1, San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 861-8032
Posted on by Jenn 1

My Wonderland

If I lived in San Francisco, I’d be hanging out a lot here, spending all my hard-earned money on everything on display.  This is my wonderland.

Located at the foot of Market Street is Ferry Building Marketplace.  Shops in all sizes offer everything from frozen yogurt to artisan cheeses.

Acme Breads — giving Boudin a run for their money

Superb cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery — I went all gaga with the selections!

On the day we were there, stalls of fruits, vegetables, flowers and a wealth of other products,

which include artisan specialties like ice creams, cheeses and honey occupied the front of the building along the Embarcadero.

On the other side are food trucks and stalls where many from near and far would trek to enjoy good, affordable food.

Taken from the back… stall owners busy preparing orders.

Food trucks and stalls from the front

A really good food truck is Roli Roti that served a mean Porchetta sandwich — they wanted to go home and was selling the last slab at a very good price.  We obviously bought it to have for dinner that night.  Lip-smacking good!

At the back of the building, one could sit back and enjoy the goodies purchased perhaps from one of the stores or stalls while marveling at a beautiful view of the bay bridge.

As luck would have it, I will be back sooner than I ever expected but that’s a tale for another day.   😀

Posted on by Jenn 5

Awesome Marinara!

Credits: Jackie Torres URAwesome Quick Page

From my summer read last year, I came across many delightful recipes that I noted to try.  The book, Mediterranean Summer is an interesting read about David Shalleck’s life-changing culinary journey as chef on board the Serenity, the classic sailing yacht owned by one of Italy’s most prominent couples.  His challenge was to prepare all meals for them and their guests with no repeats, using only local ingredients that reflects the flavor of each port all from the confines of the yacht’s galley while at sea.

Shalleck provided recipes of the meals he prepared and I found many of them quite interesting.  I decided that my first recipe of his will be this simple Marinara recipe, which I can use a base for many meals.  It turned out really good.

The pepper flakes added a nice element of heat although the subtle tang of anchovies goes very well with fish and seafood, the sauce in fact works with everything – including sausages.

The recipe makes 4 cups, go ahead and make a whole batch, transfer them in bottles and just store them in the fridge.   It will keep for at least a month or so but trust me… it won’t last that long.

La Nostra Marinara

(adapted from the book The Mediterranean Summer by David Shalleck)

What You Need:

  • 1/4 cup pure olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, peeled, cut into 6 wedges, and the layers separated
  • 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and light crushed
  • 1 tablespoon roughly chopped anchovy fillet
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
  • Two 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, pureed with their liquid
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
  • 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

Here’s what you do:

  1. Heat the olive oil, onion, and garlic together in a nonreactive saucepan large enough to hold the tomato purée over medium-low heat.
  2. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the onion and garlic are soft but not browned, 8-10 minutes from when the onion starts to sizzle.
  3. Remove the onion and add the anchovy.  Using a wooden spoon, mash the anchovy with the garlic so that they combine into a paste.
  4. Add the parsley, stir, and continue to cook for 30 seconds, and then add the tomato purée, oregano, hot pepper, salt and sugar.
  5. Adjust the heat to keep the sauce at a low, steady boil and cook, stirring from time to time to keep the sauce from burning on the bottom, until the sauce starts to thicken, 30-40 minutes.
  6. Check the seasoning and add oregano, hot pepper or salt to taste if needed.  Makes about 4 cups.
Posted on by Jenn 2

Tagaytay Food Trippin’: Marcia Adams

A reliable go-to if one just seeks for a relaxing time away from the metro is Tagaytay.  Nice charming restaurants abound and there is a buzz going around foodies of this new charming place called Marcia Adams.   I think it is such a secret that only those in the know would be able to find this place – without any sign that inside is a beautiful garden and a very charming restaurant that serves good food to boot.  Close to the main highway at the border of Tagaytay and Alfonso just across Villa Somerset, you will come across a gate, orange I think it is.  Stop and ask, most likely it is the place.

Once inside, you will be ushered in through the garden that leads down to the restaurant.

One can also choose to sit outdoor surrounded by a country cottage styled garden.  We chose to stay inside overlooking the beautiful scenery of hills and plains.

The interior is rustic, very Tuscan.

The food?  Beautifully cooked – all of those we chose at least.

We started with this Amalfi Prawns that is perfectly cooked, succulent and crispy.

We then shared a bowl of Aegean salad, which had a grilled pear on top of mixed greens with roasted pistachio and Italian ricotta cheese dressed in a herby tangy dressing.

For our main, I chose this Grilled Aromatic Pork, which was heavenly.  Soft and juicy and packed with so much flavor.

The Fish Souvlaki A chose, a Tanigue kebab marinated in olive oil, lemon and herbs, is also mouthwateringly good.

M chose Chicken Kebab marinated in cumin and yogurt.  Tender and delectable to say the least.

Left to right:  Panna Cotta with lemon Sauce, Guava Shells in Syrup with Crème Fraiche, Grilled Orange with Dairy Ice Cream

All their desserts sounded so good so we each decided to choose one so we ended up with these delightful beauties – the Panna Cotta with lemon sauce turned out to be our favorite and the Guava Shells was quite interesting too.  They’re all good!

Next time you’re in Tagaytay, make sure to pay a visit to Marcia Adams; she will definitely delight your taste buds.

Useful Info:

For reservations and directions:
Call (63) 917-801-1456

 

Posted on by Jenn 6

Parmesan Oatmeal

Credits:  Snack Bag, Sunshine, Fun Surf papers from LivE SSunFun collection; Floral clusters and journal tag from LivE U R Awesome kit.  All from LivE Designs.  Ribbon Acrylic from Scrapmatters Life Little Surprises kit.

After a 3-month non-stop feasting on all sorts of food, my test results finally manifested negatively on this indulgence.  Cholesterol levels are a tad higher than normal so I run to old, reliable oatmeal to deliver me back to health.  Aside from its many benefits – one being a good source of soluble and insoluble fiber, which helps reduce LDL cholesterol, I just absolutely love it – especially this Scottish oatmeal.  It is a quintessential start to my day until recently, that is.  I’ve been lazy in the morning, preferring easy, instant fares such as granola with milk or yogurt, toasted breads with loads of butter and jam (tsk, tsk.), or just plain coffee (if I’m really, really lazy).

Plain oatmeal is bleh so I almost always cook it with milk (instead of just plain water), somedays I sweeten it with agave syrup and a fruit (like bananas or mangoes).  More often though it’s the savory kind that I crave for – topping it with spicy tuna from the can, grilled sausages or even pork floss.  And recently I discovered that cheese goes very well with oatmeal too when I stumbled on Stephanie Izard’s recipe that suggested fusing olive oil, cheese, salt and pepper – but of course!  An instant favorite!!   😉  So here’s my version.

Here’s what you need

  • Oatmeal, preferably steel-cut
  • Milk
  • Parmesan cheese (you can also try gouda, edam or manchego)
  • Extra-virgin Olive Oil
  • Sea salt (I used flaked salt)
  • Freshly cracked pepper

Here’s what you do

Cook the oatmeal (as directed on the pack) with milk (or water if you prefer).  Drizzle some good EVOO, add a fair amount of shaved or cracked cheese and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper (adjusting to your taste).

Satisfaction twice over – healthy and great tasting to boot… is this a winner or what?   😀

Useful Info:

*  Bob’s Organic Scottish Oatmeal is available at Healthy Options.

Posted on by Jenn 4

Brunch at Marseille

Brunch never fails to give me the warm fuzzies because I love breakfast and I love the idea of having my favorite breakfast fare for lunch on a lazy Sunday morning.  Brunch also means that waking up early is never in the equation (unless it’s some 100 kilometers or more away).  So yay for R who made reservations at Marseilles for BRUNCH before the matinée showing of Green Day’s American Idiots at St. James Theatre on 44th St.

Marseille at the Theatre district is the quintessential  brasserie, the menu predominantly French with some Italian, Greek and Moroccan influence thrown in.

The group shared 2 starters.  The duck liver mousse topped with a rhubarb gelee was heavenly when spread on grilled bread.

For some reason, I can’t remember how the goat cheese tarte fared – must be ordinary.

The breads however were wonderful.

I chose Portobello Tartine mainly because I just cannot resist Portobello mushrooms and I’d always hear about Swiss chard but am not really sure what they are and if I can find them in my neck of the woods.  Despite how it looked, which was kind of a mess, I was happy with my choice.  All the flavors were a great harmonious blend.

I also liked the Jumbo lump crabmeat dish of J.  Endives has always been a top choice because it never fails to liven up a dish with its refreshing, crunchy leaves while the mustard vinaigrette gave a wonderful kick to the dish.

Not a knock out was C’s Poached Egg’s Provencal.  The ratatouille didn’t blow me away, it was not a total failure, it just seemed average.  I wasn’t sure if the poached eggs were able to elevate the dish or not.  I didn’t get that far into the dish because it wasn’t mine to start with.   🙂

The restaurant, being a top fave of many in the theater district, was busy that the service was quite slow.  We were getting anxious waiting for our food as we do have a show to catch.

To make up for the slow service, the staff gave everyone a glass of Cava Mimosa on the house.  Nice touch… now how do you give a bad rating for that?  I’m not sure though if that was enough to make up for not having our dessert.  Probably not, if you ask someone with a sweet tooth like me.

Useful Info:

Marseille
630 Ninth Avenue at 44th Street
NYC, NY 10036
Tel:  (212) 333-2323
http://www.marseillenyc.com
Posted on by Jenn 0