Travel – Page 2 – Food Woolf

Cork Sculptures with Francesco Ferrario

Cork. Nature’s stopper.

If you’re a wine lover or work in restaurants, you’ve plucked plenty of wine corks from bottles. Some, you’ve tossed. Other corks, you’ve held onto.

There are plenty of people that collect corks for sentimental reasons. Some get crafty and make homemade wine cork-boards, coasters, or trivets. And then there are the artists–people like my friend Francesco Ferrario–who see another kind of potential in wine corks.

I invited Francesco Ferrario to display some of his wonderful cork-inspired characters and answer a few questions about what motivated his newest art from.

What inspired your cork sculptures?

I have a lot of corks laying around the house, because wine is an integral part of all our meals. One night I was trying to find something funny to leave for my son to find when he woke up and I made up a little cork airplane…

What are they typically made from?

Corks are the main matter, and everything else I can find around the house; toothpicks, lentils, pieces of t-shirts…

You told me you started making the sculptures for your son, Luca. Have you made the sculptures for anyone else?

After I told and show some friends about the little dolls, they started asking me about making some for them; elephants, cats, lions, and I made a couple of cooks for some chef friends…

Do you have a background in art? Anyone else in your family have your talent for the arts? Where did you study? What was the focus of your studies?

Not at all. My son is always trying to build and design new things out of anything available, and give me the idea to do the same. 7-year-old’s can be very inspiring…

Where are you originally from?

I was born and raised in Milan Italy, until I moved in the States when I was 21- years-old.

You work in the restaurant business. Where do you work and what do you do?

I am a manager. I run the beverage program of The Lobster in Santa Monica

Do you have plans for your little cork brigade?
Not really

Beyond cork sculptures, what are you working on/creating right now?

Wine lists and homemade games for my son

What was the best meal you’ve had/cooked in the past week or so?

After a visit to the Wednesday Santa Monica farmer’s market I roasted some orange and yellow carrots and some softball-sized cauliflowers with olive oil and lemon zests. I roasted chicken breasts with a parsley pesto and sautéed tiny (4-inch long) corn husks with a little white wine and lemon juice. I served it with Jasmine rice and a nice bottle of Sancerre.

If someone was interested in buying a sculpture, how could they do so?
For now I have made them only for fun…

Thank you Francesco! We look forward to seeing more of your charming wine-cork sculptures.

November 16November 14

Los Angeles county on fire

Ashes Over Downtown, originally uploaded by JT3_11.

The air is thick with grey-black smoke. The air tastes of charred hardwood, smoking oil, and man-made objects that were never meant to be burned…My clothes smell like an old man’s pipe. Allergies are inflamed.

Just a few mountain ranges north of Los Angeles, thousands of acres burn. As the blaze destroys homes and fire erases every trace of hundreds of families’ histories, life continues in the buzzing metropolitan valley of industry.

Photo Credit: Justin Fox, of the band Tripdavon.

Though a state of emergency has been declared in LA County, you would never know it, looking at the faces of LA residents. The coffee shops are packed with latte-drinking gabbers. Breakfast diners crowd the outdoor restaurants. Hollywood farmers’ market regulars happily scan the organic produce stalls. In a city of disdain and relative unconsciousness, I feel like Chicken Little. Doesn’t anyone else notice how bad the air tastes?

I decide to skip my usual hike up Runyan Canyon and take an abridged shopping trip to the farmers’ market. With a head of cauliflower and a bunch of red-orange carrots in my shopping bags, I spot a couple walking past: they are wearing environmental masks made of soft, synthetic cloth that covers their mouth and nose. Reactionary, I think, as they pass by. But then, as the reality of the health hazards tally up in my mind, I find myself taking shallow, sips of air rather than deep breaths. Moments later, I begin to see waves of farmers’ market customers holding tee shirts, scarves, and coffee shop napkins over their mouths–makeshift masks from the compromised air– in hopes of filtering out some of the unseen contaminants.

I hasten my shopping and wheel my hook-and-go cart to the car. It’s time to go home to the relative safety of my home.

Since the fire began on Thursday, more than 34 square miles of Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange and Santa Barbara County have been burned. More than 800 homes and apartments had been destroyed.

November 14March 14

Trusted holiday pie bakers in Los Angeles

If you live a life too busy for making a pie (or you fear baking) this is the time of year when you have to get creative. It’s either assign dessert to your guests or find a great baker to do the work for you. Though it is uncouth to dish out restaurant take out to guests at your holiday party, there is no shame in serving anything out of a pretty, pink pastry box.

Sometimes, a masterful guest list will afford at least one dessert maker in the bunch. But more often then not, Holiday dinners are populated with people eager to share their favorite side dish.

So if you can’t find a pastry chef on your invite list, I highly recommend getting over the guilt of not being able to bake, and march yourself to a trusted, local bakery.

If you live in Los Angeles, here are some amazing options:

La Brea Bakery, the Original bakery

The Original Bakery
624 South La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone (323) 939-6813
Email holiday orders to: orders@labreabakery.com

Pies Cakes and Tarts

Starting this Saturday (and until the holidays are over) you can visit La Brea Bakery (starting at 9 am) for free samples of pie! Be sure to try the Spiced yam and pumpkin pureed Thanksgiving pie ($30), Apple Crumble ($18), Cherry crumble ($20) and the toasted pecan and molasses Pecan tart ($28). Every pie is baked fresh, daily and can be ordered in advance for the holidays.

For a great cheese plate, be sure to pick up these delicious breads, created by my culinary hero, Nancy Silverton.

If your idea of a dessert course includes a plate of oozing triple creams and soft rounds of chevre, La Brea Bakery’s holiday loaves are just the thing you need to make the cheese course sing. Have the bread masters bag you a loaf of apple spice bread ($6.75), a Cranberry walnut round ($6.75), or the intensely flavored (and incredibly heavy) Fruit and Nut Bread ($13).

*Oh! And if you go by the bakery on Saturday, be sure to try the custard cake. Though this treat is quick to sell out, it’s worth going in early for a taste of the sweet, egg custard and flaky crust. Oh. My. God.

Tell George (the lovely British man behind the counter) that Food Woolf sent you!

SUSINA BAKERY

from robjtak at flickr

Susina Bakery
7122 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.934.7900

Jenna, the owner, is as sweet as the desserts she creates. Try the freshly baked apple pie, pecan pie, or the cherry pie (each $28). Look like a culinary god when you serve the quince tart with vanilla hazelnut crumble or cranberry tart with vanilla hazelnut crumble (8 inch – $28; 10 inch – $42; 12 inch – $58). Don’t sleep on the carrot cake (9 inch – $35; 11 inch – $55; 13 inch – $75.00) or pumpkin cheesecake (8 inch – $35; 10 inch – $55).

Photo by milford cubicle on flickr

Place your holiday order in advance and you won’t need to wait long for your gorgeous and tasty holiday treats.

Susina’s staff are incredibly friendly and capable–a breath of fresh air in a town littered with LA bakers that would rather be rude than give good customer service. With desserts so delicious and carefully made, you’ll be sure to boast you picked it out.

November 4November 14

Craving donuts

Obama with Donuts in DC, originally uploaded by p373.

I woke up this Election Day like a kid on Christmas morning. My eyes fluttered open, hours before I usually awake. I excitedly pulled back the covers and scampered from bed. I showered and dressed in a handful of minutes. I was eager to get to the polls and make my vote count.

Like a child on Christmas morning, I was plagued with cravings. I desired a gift I’d been dreaming of for years. And, unexpectedly, I hungered for a food that could match my dreams of a sweeter future.

In a word, I craved donuts.

From the minute my eyes opened, I hungered for powdered sugar and fried dough. When I took my shower, I imagined a pink box filled with frosted crullers, honeydews, chocolate donuts, and Boston Creams. As I dressed before my mirror, I schemed. The only justification for something as decadent as donuts, is to share them with as many people possible; truly, a shared sin is a much easier sin to bear. So what better place to succumb to the peccadillo of donut eating, than in a line of ballot-casting, patriotic neighbors?

I suggested my confectionary idea to my husband at the local coffee shop, but he refused to participate in my calorie-rich indiscretion. After offering to accompany me on my trip to the donut shop and observe me in dietary indulgence, I conceded to ignore my sugary craving and head straight for the polls.

Without even a crumb of fried dough in my stomach, I joined the line of men and women preparing to do their civic duty.

I carefully cast my vote, one black circle of ink at a time. When I was finished, a woman with curly hair presented me with a sticker that read “I voted” and in a sing song voice she offered, “Thank you for participating in the democratic process.”

As I left the polling station my craving for donuts left me. The only desire I can allow is my candidate winning this presidential election.

October 26March 14

Notes from the Road: Part III–Food Paparazzi

There I was, having coffee with Lesley Balla— the most powerful food gossip in Los Angeles–when she casually asked me what I was doing on Wednesday.

“Want to go to Las Vegas for the Michelin Guide awards party?” she asked.

Ask me to go to a Friday night movie premier and I’ll tell you I’m busy. Offer me a ticket to a great foodie event—any day of the week–and I’ll be in my closet picking out something to wear. I’m just that easy.

Breathless with enthusiasm, I volunteered myself for the road trip and quickly rescheduled my workweek and packed a bag in less than thirty minutes. I couldn’t wait to hit the road.

Meanhile, Back in Vegas

Delayed by our dinner and kitchen tour with pretty boy chef, Ludo Lefebvre, Lesley Balla and I rush through the subterranean world of the Wynn in order to get to the party on time. We struggle to pass the galumphing gamblers and dodge a line of Japanese tourists, all in our high-heeled boots.

We arrive at the Michelin Guide Awards event some thirty minutes late as Jean-Luc, the man behind the Michelin Guide, finishes his congratulatory speech to guidebook winners.

Balla and I head straight to the bar for a strong glass of fortification once Jean Luc’s speech is complete. With a Manhattan in hand, we are ready to face the crowd.

The lights make guests look like shadows against the round, white couches and sparkling blue water of the Wynn Hotel‘s European pool. There are food stands from Michelin starred Las Vegas restaurants to entice guests. Tables are covered with mason jar rillettes and pate; baskets of French Fries; smoking plates of teriyaki and pristine sushi; a pastry chef offers gelato and fluffy pastry. Past the bright rental lights and boisterous catering chefs, we spy familiar faces of Los Angeles chefs gathered by the deep end of the pool.

Past the deep end

I scan the crowd. Long black hair and midnight black leather catches my eye. “Oh! Look!” I call out to Balla, like a tourist on a jungle safari. “There’s Kerry Simon!” I take a blurry picture of Chef Simon, of SimonLA, without a flash–careful to maintain a certain amount of dignified distance.

As only two food bloggers can, we pull hand held digital cameras from our purses and snap photos of chefs and the food they’re eating.

“Oh! Look! There’s Keller!” Balla says, and scurries away to grab a picture.

The energy of the night quickly increases as I begin to recognize more and more of my favorite chefs. There’s Daniel Boulud (Daniel Boulud Brasserie, café Boulud, Bar Boulud), Thomas Keller (Per Se, French Laundry), and Morihiro Onodera of Mori Sushi.

I put down my drink and stand wide-legged like a tripod, in hopes of stilling myself enough to grab a picture without a flash. I point my lens at Ortolon’s Chef/Owner, Christophe Eme, and his actress wife, Jeri Ryan as they talk with Michael Cimarusti of Providence.

Balla joins me and the two of us snap photo after blurry photo of the group, until I notice a certain unhappy look in Jeri Ryan’s eye. Realizing we look like a pair of food paparazzi, I make a move to introduce myself to the couple, only to discover their extreme dislike for us and our impromptu photo session has already been cemented.

From Eater LA: “The only one not smiling: Ortolan chef/owner Christophe Eme. The rest: Wife Jeri Ryan, and the Cimarustis”

After making small talk with the Cimarusti’s and the wonderful and delightful Donoto Poto (Providence’s GM), Balla and I quickly depart for another grouping of power chefs.

Celebrating (L to R): Morihiro Onodera (Mori Sushi), Donato Poto (Providence), Jean-Luc Naret (Michelin), Kerry Simon (Simon LA), David Kinch (Manresa), Michael Cimarusti (Providence), Christopher Kostow (Meadowood) from LA Eater

As the champagne flows and back-slapping congratulations are passed from chef to chef, the air around us becomes increasingly electric. Flashes pop as groups of happy chefs pose for pictures. Though there are only a few press people invited to the event, the flash bulbs blaze, making the chefs look like movie stars at a premier.

Josia Citrin reminds Lesley Balla of his two stars

As the food tables are picked over and the event ends, the guests share after party plans. Some will go out for a late night meal. Others will go to
the hotel’s nightclub for dancing.

At the after-hours party, I have a couple of glasses of champagne to celebrate. With the lights dimmed, Michael Jackson classics rocking on the loud speakers, and celebrity chefs buzzing around me, things start to get rather fuzzy.

Thomas Keller and wife watch as Amy, the Wynn Publicist, gets a photograph with Daniel Boulud

Huber Keller, of Fleur de Lis, tears it up on the dance floor

August 25

Bangkok Market

LA is the home of the strip mall. You can’t go more than a two blocks without finding a slab of concrete sprinkled with a mash-up of unrelated storefronts and an ethnic restaurant that delivers its country’s culinary traditions in Styrofoam and plastic containers.

For the person whose recycling container holds more to-go containers than grocery bags, there will always be another Los Angeles strip mall ethnic restaurant to try. But for those of us with budgets so tight we need the extra coin from recycling soda cans, an ethnic market may be most economical way to bring the flavors of the east into your home.

Located a few blocks east of Western at the intersection of Latino neighborhood and Thai town, Bangkok Market, is an Asian grocery store favored by local Vietnamese and Thai Americans, curious foodies and chefs.

The windowless market is small, but the cramped aisles are filled with low-priced Asian delicacies and staples. The store stocks straight from the source Asian foods and, thanks to the proximity of a large Latino community, Bangkok Market also offers a limited amount of Central American ingredients.

Staples like jasmine rice, noodles, vinegar and oil can be purchased well under the price point of other “whole paycheck” grocery chains. There is a meat counter that offers offers fresh fish, shellfish and some various meats—as well as a “fish frying service” that will cook your fish for you on the spot.

Produce is limited, but the fruits, vegetables and herbs are fresh and unbelievably inexpensive. When grocery chains charge $1 per lemon, it’s worth the trip across town to get a pound of citrus for less.

For anyone looking to stock up on general kitchen supplies, Bangkok Market has a small selection of inexpensive woks ($10), citrus squeezers ($3), knives for under fifteen bucks, graters and plates can all be purchased for as little as two dollars.

The shelves at Bangkok Market may be filled with unfamiliar items, but with values such as this, it pays to be a little adventurous.

Bangkok Market
4757 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 662-9705

View Larger Map

August 12March 14

Dearborn Michigan, How Could I Forget You?

If you’re a foodie on vacation, sometimes the place you travel to ends up being secondary to the food that’s eaten while you’re there. Sure there are pretty vistas, gorgeous wild life, interesting art to admire—but aaaah, the food! When vacations become culinary journeys, sometimes it’s difficult to take a detailed accounting of every great meal. If you were to witness the more than one thousand pictures of every meal I had on my Italian honeymoon, you’d get and idea of what I’m talking about.

After my trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan, I unpacked my bags, downloaded the hundreds of pictures of food I snapped, and perused the menus from all the restaurants I ate at. Originally I hoped for a few good stories out of the experience. But after the posts about Zingerman’s started piling up, I realized I had a bit more than just a few words to say. Because of this never ending rant, I thought it would be best for me to “step away from the mike”, as it were, and go back to my usual business of posting about Los Angeles food. Continue reading “Dearborn Michigan, How Could I Forget You?”

August 1

LA's best kept wine secret: The Wine Hotel

If you find a hidden gem or an amazing bargain, do you tell the world or keep the information to yourself? For some, keeping the inexpensive getaway, a cheap ethnic market or clothing sale under wraps is essential in maintaining their front of the line status as well as keeping the hidden spot’s prices low.

For others, there is no such thing as a secret spot. These sorts of people tell anyone that will listen their “insider information” until that secret spot becomes so popular it’s ruined. Then there are people like me, a half-breed of secretive local and flamboyant big mouth, who believes there’s a happy medium to the Secret vs. Success issue. When I find a secret spot, I feel obligated to share my newfound information with trusted friends.

Which is why I thought I should come out and tell you, my trusted readers, about the amazing little wine store that almost no one in LA knows about. If you don’t live in LA, stop reading. But if you live anywhere near the 3rd and Fairfax area, you really ought to know that there’s an amazing wine store just around the corner. And it’s hiding from you.

Located on the corner of Third and Cochran, this windowless (and seemingly door-less) yellow building is easy to miss. Other than the hand-lettered sign that simply reads “The Wine Hotel” outside, there is nothing to tell potential customers that there is a wine store located somewhere inside. But there is. Trust me.

Things to know before you go:

The first thing you should know before you visit the current incarnation of The Wine Hotel is that it is a wine store and wine storage facility in transition. Recently purchased by world renown wine specialists and wine collectors Rudy Kurniawan and Paul Wasserman, the pair plan to turn this once unsuccessful wine storage facility into Terroir: a wine buyer’s and wine collector’s Mecca.

Going against all feng shui laws, the front door is located in the back of the building. The only way to access the door, requires you to take a walk down the battered back alleyway. The door, once you locate it, looks like this:

Though this pretty, windowed, wood door may appear to be locked, it probably isn’t. Push, pull and when all else fails, knock. Once inside, Dan, the store’s friendly wine expert and only employee, will most likely be the face that greets you.

Dan is an agreeable guy that reminds me of a brainy Simpson’s character, who will always greet you with a nod or a grin and is always ready to share with you his incredible wealth of wine history and tasting notes. Tell him what you like and what you want to spend and get ready for a wonderful wine education. Take notes if you are fast of hand, because Dan has a lot to of great information to share. Want a show stopping Rioja for under 20? Dan recommends the R. Lopez de Heredia, “Vin Cubillo” Crianza, 2002. How about a tasty white from the Alto Adige? Dan might suggest the 2006 Garlider “Valle Isarco” Muller Thurgau, for less than 10 bucks. Dan’s fast and furious suggestions are punctuated with excited information, intriguing names, tid-bits on little known grapes and funny stories. Most surprising, even the rare and collectable bottles sport reasonable price tags.

Be warned, there’s nothing fancy about the current incarnation of The Wine Hotel. The space has an office in transition, rough around the edges feel–but not for long. Extensive renovations will soon be undertaken which will transform the space into a sleek and modern retail space, wine storage facility and tasting room.

In the meantime, I suggest spending a some time to talk with the highly educated wine sellers and follow their suggestions as you decide just how much well-priced wine you can afford to buy RIGHT NOW–before it becomes the popular wine destination it plans to be.

The Wine Hotel (soon to be Terroir)
5800 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-937-9463

Hours:
Monday- Friday 11:am to 7:00pm
Saturday 11:am to 7:00pm
Sunday closed

July 14November 14

Zingerman’s: The Service

“Zingerman’s is the only deli-and-service nirvana I know” –Eating Well

When it comes to eating out, I’m obsessed with finding good food and great service. It’s hard for me not to, since I work in the restaurant business. In the words of my sweet, generous husband, I tend to “go all Norma Rae” on service issues. When I see bad service and poor management, I want to stand up on a table and say “It’s all about great customer service!” But then my husband reminds me that maybe that kind of behavior will either get me carted away by the police or fired. I take this stuff very seriously. Maybe a little too seriously.

When I find great food, I’m elated. When I find a passionate server or bartender, I clap like a giddy school girl. When I find both great food and great service (which, unfortunately, is rare) I become a volunteer spokesperson for the joint.

Unlike many diners, I always walk into restaurant ready to love it. Based on my numerous years in the restaurant business, I know my eagerness to see a place succeed is just not the norm. Call me the optimistic pessimist. When it comes to dining out, I always want to believe that something great can happen.

The thing is, so few restaurants want to put in the time and effort to create a great experience for the diner from the front of the house (the service staff) to the back of the house (the kitchen staff). The food may be well thought out, but the service staff is neglected and left to their own (bad) habits. Or the service could be impeccable and the food is sub-par. Getting both parts of a restaurant right is very, very hard.

Can I get a drum roll please

Which brings me back to Zingerman’s. I know. I’ve been writing a lot about that place this week. But after all the writing (okay, I’ll say it, cheerleading), I would be short changing the place if I didn’t take a moment to express how impressive Zingerman’s trademark service is.

Beyond the incredibly delicious hand picked heritage foods and their artful presentations, Zingerman’s well-trained staff is always attentive, ready to help, knowledgeable and prepared to go the extra mile for the customer.

On a recent trip, my mother in law was presented with a handful of balloons (that had to be painstakingly filled up on-the-spot) when she mentioned it was her son’s 40th birthday. Sandwiches were hand delivered with a smile by an employee that that had to search the two floor dining room in order to find us. Our Roadhouse server, seeing that I was an information hungry foodie, answered all of my food related questions and offered historical background for many of the dishes. Ari Weinzweig, owner of Zingerman’s, went out of his way to make myself and my family feel welcomed and appreciated. He even took the time to find and read my blog after I mentioned it to him. At the Roadhouse he even filled our water glasses while telling us the story of the Pennsylvania sweet corn.

Every time I visit Zingerman’s, I’m blown away by their can-do attitude.

How do they do this? By dedicating huge amounts of time and effort into their people. To borrow the words of Ari Weinzweig, my service hero and author of Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great Service, in order to give great service one must:

1. Teach great service
2. Define great service
3. Live great service. The management staff spend enormous amounts of time walking the walk of great service by actively showing their staff how to give good service.
4. Measure it.
5. Reward it.

If you’re in the service business and take your job seriously, you ought to buy yourself a copy of Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great Service. It will teach you everything you need to know about getting successful results for great service.

July 13November 14

Zingerman’s Roadhouse: Proof That American Food Is Delicious

Up until recently, I’ve never considered myself a real fan of “American cuisine.” Granted, I love apple pie and hamburgers, but when it comes down to great cooking, I tend to look to other countries for inspiration.

And I’m not alone. Even in the finest kitchens in the United States, American fare isn’t exactly heralded as high cuisine. This country may have some amazing, world-reknown chefs, but more likely than not, these stand-out culinary stars are cooking a hybrid of gastronomic styles. Take for example Alice Water’s Cal-French, Mario Batali’s Americanized Italian, David Myer’s Cal-French-Japanese, or even David Lentz and Suzanne Goin’s Baltimore-French-Japanese. When it comes to being an American chef, it’s all about expressing your local ideas and borrowing from the culinary masters of other cultures.

When you come from a country known to the world as the great American melting pot, it can be difficult pin-pointing the truly American dishes. But if you start to ask around, you’ll find there are a number of dishes that American’s clearly call their own.

A Culinary Education

After my recent trip to Michigan (and multiple trips to Zingerman’s and all of its many incarnations), I’m starting to understand what makes American food great.

The Roadhouse, the seventh in the family of Zingerman’s food-friendly ventures, offers diners a chance to eat their way through many of the culinary traditions and regional cooking styles of America.

Diners can grab take out from the cleverly re-tooled and permanently parked silver bullet camper for drive-through, or may linger at a table in the spacious restaurant that offers bar seating, multiple dining areas, a back patio and a private dining room.

Main dining room

back patio — Zingerman's Roadhouse Back Patio

The ever-friendly and well-trained Zingerman’s staff seem as if they’ve been waiting all day just to happily guide you to your table or barstool. The dining room is open and inviting with its kitchy salt-and-pepper displays, open kitchen and hand-printed music posters lining the walls.

Drink Menu at Zingerman's Roadhouse — The Roadhouse Drink Menu

In the tradition of Zingerman’s, the drinks are handcrafted and are made with the local produce, freshly squeezed fruit juice and house-made marachino cherries. The bartenders smile as they muddle and mix handcrafted cocktails like Mojitos or their signature cocktail the Knickerbocker, made with Brugel Dominican Dark Rum, Bol’s Orange Curacao, fresh raspberries and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

The education begins

The first course in American cuisine begins with Chef Alex’s appetizer sampler.

Sample Plate at the Roadhouse — Appetizer sampler

In this one dish, diners get a cross-country tour of flavors. Starting with the South and its hush puppies (made with organic yellow and blue corn) and the moist and tender roadhouse ribs, our palates travel to Baltimore and its sweet and salty crab cakes. The appetizer plate tour ends at the Tex-Mex border with a cheesy, wild mushroom quesadilla. Other not to be missed appetizers are the hand-cut sweet potato fries with a spicy mayo and Ari’s Pimento Cheese, a classic southern starter of celery “chips” served with a dip of aged Vermont cheddar, mayo and chopped pimentos.

Sweet potato fries and spicy mayo — Sweet Potato Fries and Spicy Mayo

Getting an advanced degree

Instruction in American culinary appreciation is taken up a notch at the Roadhouse with its entrees. The North Carolina pulled pork is moist and rich with salty sweet flavors from almost an entire day’s worth of roasting. The meat is hand-pulled, chopped and blended with a spicy vinegar sauce and served with Michigan-grown mashed potatoes and served with Southern style braised greens. The Texas Cabrito, a slow-smoked, hand-pulled, free-range goat, with a special basting sauce, is both earthy and moist.

After eating the Roadhouse Buttermilk-Fried, Free-Range Chicken, I really began to appreciate my nationality.

Buttermilk fried chicken — Zingerman's Roadhouse Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Fried chicken nirvana is discovered once it is delivered to the table in a paper-wrapped picnic box. Thanks to the local, Amish farm-raised, free-range chicken, the meat tastes more real than any fast food chain’s ever could. The meat is moist and plump while the buttermilk batter is crispy and light–offering the perfect counterpoint to the delicate earthiness of the meat. Sides of local mashed potatoes, brown gravy and yellow mustard slaw make the dish an American inspiration.

My husband was silent—with the occasional moans of culinary happiness–as he savored every bite of his full rack of Neiman ranch pork ribs. Served on a generous portion of creamy grits, the long cooked ribs are so moist and tender it doesn’t take much more than a gentle nudge of your fingers to get the sweet and savory meat to fall off the bone.

The side dishes are equally impressive as the entrees they support. Take for example the creamed corn made from John Cope’s dried sweet corn, made from John Cope’s dried sweet corn, a classic staple in Pennsylvania since the 1900’s.

Picked at the peak of sweetness, the dried corn not only imparts sweetness to the dish, but also gives a playful texture that works well with thin bath of cream. The macaroni and cheese, an American staple, gets its proper respects with an assortment regional takes on the classic idea. Our favorite was the Roadhouse Macaroni & Cheese, made with a 2 year old Vermont raw-milk cheddar and the Martelli family’s artisanal macaroni from Tuscany.

Rounding out the regional education in American fare, are the decadent desserts.

Trip to Zingerman's Roadhouse — Ari's Donut Sundae

Ari’s Original Doughnut Sundae, is a donut smothered in a bourbon-caramel sauce, vanilla gelato, whipped cream and Virginia peanuts. The Magic Brownie Sundae, a quintessential American classic, is a Bakehouse brownie drowned in chocolate sauce, vanilla gelato, whipped cream and toasted pecans.But it was the pecan pie, a pile of toasted pecans surrounded by a rich brown sugar custard made from unrefined Mauritian brown sugar, that made me want to stand up and sing the national anthem.

A trip to Zingerman’s Roadhouse is not only a great place to eat, it also offers the observant guest an education in quintessential American food and what makes it great. Suddenly, I’m really proud to be an American.

Zingerman’s Roadhouse
2501 Jackson Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
(734) 663-3663

July 12

Culinary Mecca: Zingerman's Deli

Almost everyone has their favorite place to eat when they go home. If you’re from New England it could be the down-the-road clam shack with its towering fried seafood plate and fresh-from-the-sea lobster rolls. Maybe it’s the pizza joint that’s been making pies for generations. If you’re from the South, your first meal might be at the mom and pop BBQ joint with the fall from the bone ribs, or the railroad car diner that serves the greatest fried chicken and grits.

If you grew up in the Midwest, more than likely, Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor Michigan is not only on the top of your list of places to visit, it IS the list.

Started on the ides of March in 1982, Zingerman’s began as a small, brick faced delicatessen. Zingerman’s quickly became a local favorite for their reuben, hand-made sandwiches, and unbelievably impeccable customer service. Since its opening, Zingerman’s has continued to grow in popularity, spurring Zingerman’s growth into a culinary mecca.

Rather than letting its popularity propel the business outside of Michigan, Zingerman’s has remained fiercely loyal to the locals. Zingerman’s continues to grow and currently has numerous well-run eateries that include a creamery (for home made gelatos, ice cream and cheeses), a bake house (for freshly baked bread and sweet treats), a coffee shop (for gourmet coffee and bake house treats), a Road House (for delicious, regional American food and handmade cocktails) and ZingTrain, a consulting and training branch that teaches business the successful business and training models of their business.

Ever since opening day 26 years ago, lunch customers can still be seen braving the elements to line up around the block to wait their turn for a Zingerman’s sandwich. Everyone has a different strategy to finding the best sandwich. Some never stray from the classics (the #2 Ruben, the #11 Pastrami special, the #48 Binny’s Brooklyn Reuben, the #73 Tarb’s Tenacious Tenure), while others adventure beyond the usual and try to sample all the newest staff-created sandwiches.

What you should know before you go:

Culinary mecca: Zingerman's Deli — Study the menu. There are lots of great choices!

Get a hold of the deli menu and study it before you arrive. Ruminate. Plan. Know what you’re getting before you step through the front door.

Get in line at Zingerman's Deli and get inspired!

Zingerman’s award-winning signage, eye catching food packaging and delicious aromas can easily distract a person.

The Zingerman’s food counters are to any foodie, what sirens were to seafarers. Planning ahead will allow you to leisurely peruse the cheese and bread counters, rather than sweating your choices as you furiously struggle read the small print on the sandwich boards.

If you’re only visiting once, try a few things. Get a pastry. Sample some cheese. Splurge and get two sandwiches.

Eat half and save the rest for the drive (or flight) home. Drink a delicious coffee handpicked by the owners from a far away coffee plantation.

Buy something from the retail area. Olive oil, jelly, cookies and cookbooks travel well. Zingerman’s Guide to Good Eating will teach you how to find all the foods you’ve been longing for.

Zingerman’s Deli
422 Detroit Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

June 28

Ice Cream Man!

Growing up, summer was spent fully submerged in water. With the liquid-air humidity of July and August, whole summers were spent playing Marco Polo, jumping off granite cliffs in Gloucester, or fighting the undertow at the beach reserve.

After swimming all day, my brother, sister and I always had a ferocious appetite that couldn’t be ignored. My mother almost always came prepared with a picnic basket. But sometimes, if we were really good, Mom would give us a dollar so we could go buy ice cream from the Ice Cream Man.

Everyone had their favorites. The creamsicle. The frozen strawberry shortcake. The push-pop. But for me, the best was always a classic ice cream sandwich. Beneath the paper wrapper were two soft, frozen chocolate cookies hugging a rectangle of pristine plain ice cream. Or maybe it would be two mammoth chocolate chip cookies holding together a frozen wheel of vanilla ice cream. Regardless of the formation, the play of textures always captivated me.

I enjoyed the challenge of eating the sandwich. I’d plan each mouthful so that I could avoid the inevitable see- saw of two cookies pushing together and squeezing out the precious ice cream between them. I’d take a bite and quickly lick away the extra, oozing ice cream trying to escape out the side.

Though I loved my ice cream sandwiches, they often left me feeling sad or upset at myself for making a mistake in how I ate my precious dessert. I either rushed to keep the ice cream from melting or savored the flavors too long–only to lose half the sandwich to the ground and the awaiting ants. Sometimes, this was always the saddest of mistakes, I let one of my hungry parents take the sandwich from my hand to “help me.” I’d watch their over-sized tongue lick away the edges of the ice cream and suddenly the ice cream sandwich wasn’t mine any more. After that, I really didn’t have much interest in finishing my ice cream.

So many lost ice cream sandwiches

I haven’t really thought much about ice cream sandwiches. Until now.

Just around the block, at food importer and gourmet marketplace Joan’s on Third, I have discovered the glory of gelato on brioche. Known to southern Italians as the food of choice on hot sweltering days, it’s an adult ice cream sandwich that’s so good you’ll want to stop everything you’re doing to focus on devouring every delicious bite. Its powerful combination of buttery brioche and rich, soft gelato will make you territorial for every last bite.

For just $5.50 you can experience one of the best flavor combinations in town. For the record, this isn’t a dessert to be savored. The gelato melts fast and you don’t want to waste one bite!

JOAN’S ON THIRD
8350 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA
323 655 2285
www.joansonthird.com

June 26November 14

Keeping it real

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the idea of being a “real” cook. I mean, can you be a real cook if you use pre-prepared items? Do real cooks use pasta sauces from a jar? Do real cooks use frozen vegetables? Do real cooks buy frozen pie dough?

Nancy Silverton, one of my chef heroes, believes that you don’t have to make everything from scratch in order to be a good cook. As a matter of fact, her newest book is based on this premise.

In Twist of the Wrist, she shows home cooks how to make healthy and delicious meals at home with a handful of fresh ingredients and pre-made items that can be found at the local store. So if bread maven Nancy Silverton says it’s okay to cook at home with pre-made items, surely that means you can be a real cook and use store-bought, prepped items…Right?

If you happened to read the great article my friend, writing partner (more about that someday soon) and fellow food blogger, Leah of Spicy Salty Sweet wrote about trying out a recipe from the Twist of the Wrist cookbook, you’d probably end up saying “NO” to that question.

Leah is an incredible cook and when it comes to making a meal, she almost always prefers making everything from scratch. And when I say everything, I mean everything. She makes her own pasta, her own pizza dough, her own ice cream…But then, Leah self-admittedly calls herself a kitchen masochist, which makes me believe that maybe there is hope for the prepared food aided cook. Maybe a real cook like Leah might believe you don’t have to cook everything at home in order to consider yourself a “real” cook. Maybe.

Okay, so I’m obsessing

The reason I’ve been thinking about this subject, is because I recently made a pie with store bought frozen pie crust. Now, if you’ve been reading Food Woolf lately, you’ll know that I’m trying to get over my fear of pastry. Which hasn’t necessarily been easy. I’ve messed up measurements, I’ve had to bake and rebake a cobbler until I got it right.

So when I bought the ingredients for a pie and put together a recipe that was inspired by Fine Furious Life, a fellow food blogger, I was really excited to go into work at the restaurant and tell the girls in the pastry department about it.

“Oh really?” they smiled. “What’d you put in it?”

I rattled off the ingredients. They nodded with interest. Until I told them I used a frozen pie crust. Their eyes went dim. Did I just say “frozen pie crust”? In the pastry department? What was I thinking?

I gulped back my embarrassment as I skulked out of Pastry. I was crestfallen. Until I spied this month’s Bon Appetit. In the June issue, they featured a rustic plum and port tart recipe that, get this, called for a refrigerated pie crust.

A ha!

Victory, I thought! Bon Apetit appeals to real cooks, right? They recommend prepared pie dough. Surely I must be taking all this prepared food item stuff way too seriously.

Yeah. Seriously.

What follows is this delicious, easy, fast and fresh Rhubarb, Nectarine and Cardamom Pie. It’s really great fresh from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Be sure to drizzle a bit of freshly ground cardamom and some Maldon sea salt on the ice cream to make it really special.

Rhubarb, Nectarine and Cardamom Tart
adapted from a recipe from Fine Furious Life
Makes one pie

Two pack of pre-made pie crusts. I used organic pie shells from Whole Foods.
1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, cut in 1-inch pieces
4 nectarines seeded and sliced in 1-inch cubes
1 nectarine cut into wedges
1/2 cup sugar
1 orange, juiced
12 fresh cardamom pods, opened, seeded and ground
2 tblsp raspberry jelly

Bonus points if you use:
Maldon sea salt
A pint of vanilla ice cream
A handful of cardamom pods, opened, seeded and ground

Prepping the cardamom:
To open the cardamom pods, use the back of your knife or a mallet. Take out the black, flavorful seeds and put them into your mortar. Hand grind with the pestle until the cardamom is more like a rough powder.

For the filling:
Combine rhubarb, nectarines, sugar, orange juice and cardamom in a bowl. Transfer to a large skillet. Stir over medium-high heat until liquid starts to bubble. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer until rhubarb is almost tender, stirring very gently in order to keep rhubarb intact. About 8 minutes.

Drain rhubarb and nectarines well, reserving the sugared juice. Add the juice from bowl to skillet. Boil the juices until it becomes a syrup or a medium-to-thick reduction. Mix in preserves. Cool. Very gently add the rhubarb and nectarines to the mixture.

Preheat oven to 375F. Follow the directions for the frozen pie crust (thaw and pre-bake one of the two pie crusts. Reserve the other for the lattice top). Once the pie crust is cooked (about 20 minutes), add the fruit mixture. Line the top of the pie with the nectarine wedges.

Prepare the lattice top:
Carefully transfer the second, uncooked pie crust dough onto waxed paper. Cut one inch strips into the dough and lay across the top of the pie in a lattice pattern.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until filling is bubbling thickly and crust is golden brown.

NOTE: This post was amended on 6/29

June 22

LA on Foot

photo by Douglas Morgenstern

Me, I’m lucky. I live in an amazing, centrally located LA neighborhood called “Miracle Mile”. In this famed place of miracles, I have everything I need just 5 to 10 blocks from my home. There’s a movie theater, a museum, a library, a newly opened wine store, more than a handful of restaurants, three grocery stores, a farmer’s market and a laundromat. For years I’ve done most of my local shopping on foot. And though I live in a rather populated area, I’ve been a lonely walker in the city, never quite sure why my neighbors haven’t caught on to the ease (and financial return) of walking. Until now.

With record high heat and the nation’s highest gas prices (my corner gas station sells the “cheap” gas at $4.69 a gallon), the city sidewalks are finally being used by people other than myself, tourists and the homeless. In what may be the first time in decades, many of Los Angeles residents are enjoying their weekend plans on foot.

Though doing errands on foot may not be a novel idea for city residents outside of southern California, the sprawling city of Los Angeles county covers a total area of about 500 miles, making driving to destination almost a necessity.

Change afoot

People all over the city are noticing there’s a change afoot. Residents that usually take weekend trips to the beach are walking to the local grocers to buy enough food to fill one or two reusable canvas bags so they can BBQ in the back yard. Couples skip the gym and walk a mile to the movie theater. Instead of rushing off to drink ice coffee in their car, money-conscious consumers are enjoying free air conditioning and reading the paper.

Suddenly, the streets are filled with smiling faces, people with canvas shopping bags and paper umbrellas to shade them from the sun. Of course, this goes against the popular Los Angeles tradition of driving half a block to get a cup of coffee as satirized in the popular Steve Martin movie “LA Story”.
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Finally residents are leaving the car at home and walking.

Though the prices at the gas pump are unbearable, it’s good to see a major shift in the way people think about local transportation. If everyone spent more time on foot, perhaps we could see a dramatic shift in the state of the environment as well. Regardless, it’s nice to see people out of their cars and walking in the neighborhood.

Here’s to positive change.

May 29January 4

Get out of Dodge: the ritual

Rituals aren’t what they used to be. Long gone are the myriad of traditional rites of passage once witnessed by and passed on to whole communities and families. In this modern world of ours, ritual is a personalized thing, sculpted to fit our contemporary needs.

Today’s thinking humans don’t find structure for life crises or clear ground rules for human development in chanting, group dances, or sage burning. In our modern age, we are more likely to ask Dr. Phil, Oprah and Dr. Spock how to raise our kids then look to the way of our ancestors. We turn to guidebooks, travel magazines and TV show hosts to teach us how to have fun. Who needs an ancient rituals of a long dead society to tell us what’s fun?

Ritual nowadays is what you make it. For many, the only daily ritual observed is the eating of breakfast, lunch and dinner. And even within these seemingly rigid constructs, there’s variance. Other’s find ritual in exercise, work, make-up application, wine drinking and vacations.

GET OUT OF DODGE: MY RITUAL

Time off from work is such a cherished and special thing, it deserves to be ritualized. The repetition of certain activities verges on becoming a meditation in relaxation. Vacation rituals allow the mind and body to ease into its new state by removing the potential anxiety-provoking decision making process.

Whenever the continuous loop of Los Angeles living and working gets to be too much, my husband and I “get out of dodge” and go to Santa Barbara. We have been making this trip for years and tend to stick to the same steps, while occasionally mixing in some variations when we find new inspirations along the way.

If you’re ever in the Santa Barbara area, here are a few of our tried and true rituals that we love to share with our friends and family. As any ritual nowadays, make it your own.

The ritual:

1) Grab a cup of coffee at the Coffee Bean and drive the gassed up car North for 1.5 hours (without traffic) on the 101.

2) Just past the first Santa Barbara exits, take the Milpas turn off. Meander your way to Superica, Santa Barbara’s most famous taco stand.

Order at least five dishes from the special’s board and never changing numbered menu. (We recommend the #18 quacamole, the #13 cheese bowl, the The #11: Lomito Suiza. See this previous post for more details.

3) Drive to the Presidio Motel

This wonderful, kitchy-cool motel has rates so low ($89-$150) we’re able to come up on a frequent basis.

4) Walk Main Street until feet are tired.

5) take a nap at the hotel. Get ready for dinner.

6) Eat dinner at The Hungry Cat, Santa Barbara.

1134 Chapala St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 884-4701

Enjoy a fresh cocktail (the margarita of the day or a Pimlico) while you wait for a table. Order fresh-off-the-boat oysters with a glass of crisp Chablis.

The pub burger is always good (especially after a day of wine tasting), but the ever changing menu continues to amaze us. Finish with cheese or the delicious chocolate bread pudding.

7) Sleep off alcohol. Go for a run in the Santa Barbara hills or go to yoga at Santa Barbara Yoga Center.

32 E Micheltorena St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 965-6045

8) Drive to Santa Ynez for wine tasting. Check out Melville

5185 East Hwy 246, Lompoc, CA 93436
Tel: 805-735-7030
Hours 11-4 PM

10)Have an early dinner at the locals favorite Italian restaurant, Grappolo in Santa Ynez. If you crave meat, have a juicy steak and an equally big house made wine at The Hitching Post or drive a bit to find the cozy bar at The Cold Spring Tavern.

Ritual is what you make of it.

April 18

Friendly Advice: Great cheap date restaurant

Los Balcones del Peru
1360 Vine St. (between De Longpre Ave. and Afton Place)
LA, CA 90028
323 871 9600

The friend: David, Sommelier/Manager

The advice: “If you want to save some money and have a great dinner, you’ve got to go to Los Balcones Del Peru and order the ceviche and steak.”

Were it not for the striped, brown awnings and the exact street address scrawled on a piece of paper, one might easily pass by the hidden Peruvian restaurant, Los Balcones del Peru. Just one block south of the bustling corner of Sunset and Vine, Los Balcones del Peru is a perfect pre- or post-movie meal at the Arclight Theater.

The dining room is disarmingly simple for a culture known for its brightly colored textiles and golden Incan gods. The space is sparsely decorated (a couple of carved-wood candle boxes hang from a wall) and black, pin-cushion styled booths found often in retro diners, line the perimeter of the dining room.

The food here is fresh, full of flavor and is incredibly appealing for meat and seafood lovers alike. Familiar flavors of garlic, cilantro and lime are present in many of the dishes, along with unfamiliar tastes like potato-like yucca and meaty Peruvian Corn.

Lime-soaked seafood ceviches are a popular starter at Los Balcones. We tried the Camarones a La Piedra ($12.75), a sunshiny-yellow shrimp “ceviche” that came out warm. The dish had a generous helping of moist shrimp served with the tails on, swimming in a lime juice and a slightly spicy aji amarillo sauce with Yuca, moist Peruvian corn and an impossible to stop eating lime-marinated julienne of red onion.

The warm southern California weather inspired us to order the Choclo Con Quezo , an ancient breed of Peruvian corn that has oversized kernels (the size of marbles) and are filled with a fascinatingly dense, semi-sweet corn meal. The dish is served with a delicious side of dipping sauce made from cilantro, lime and garlic and cubes of a South American style of feta.

We shared an entrée of Tacu-tacu Con Bisteck a La Parrilla ($11.50), a deliciously earthy, charbroiled steak served with the tasty lime soaked red onion julienne and a dense and comforting mash of re-fried Peruvian beans mixed with rice. Reminiscent of a skirt steak fresh off the bbq, the tacu tacu begged for a good dousing of the garlicy green sauce and a crisp Peruvian beer.

Los Balcones del Peru has a number of delicious beverage options, including crisp, Peruvian beers (all $4.00).

Cristal is a light and fresh beer and Cusqeña is a light, smoky-sweet malt lager. The non-alcoholic Chicha Morada ($2.00), is a deliciously sweet and floral drink made from an infusion of red Peruvian corn, fruit juices and spices.

The first of many visits, Los Balcones del Peru is the perfect spot for Arclight movie goers and hungry, Hollywood Farmers Market fanatics alike.

February 19July 1

Get Out of Dodge

Four years ago, back when Hans and I started courting (and WAY before the movie Sideways popularized wine tasting in Santa Ynez), we began a tradition of spur of the moment weekend getaways to Santa Barbara. We’d gas up the car, fill the trunk with a stack of New Yorkers and a weekend bag filled with casual clothes, grab a couple of latte’s to-go, and get on the 101 north before 10 AM. Once we make it the 1.5 to 2 hours up north, the specifics of the weekend are usually improvised. One necessary stop, however, never changes.

First stop, Superica

La Superica Taco
622 Milpas Street Santa Barbara
Cash only

Named by Julia Child as a required stop in Santa Barbara, Superica is probably one of the best taco stands in America. Simple and unpretentious, this tiny white and sea green shack serves the freshest meat and bean tacos this side of Mexico to lines of dedicated customers that are, more often than not, lined up from the door to halfway down the block. No matter what day of the week or time of day.

Guests sit at picnic tables in a tented “dining room” while they wait for their number to be called. For anyone interested in good food, the wait is worth it. The ingredients are fresh, the combinations classic, and the soft, spongy tacos are made to order by hand.
The kitchen is just large enough to hold the cashier, the tortilla maker that forms each round of dough in her hands and presses them in an ancient looking press, and two grill men that flip fresh onions, chorizo and steak with a huge metal spatula on the flat top.

In some ways, the long line of customers out the door is a good thing. By the time we get to the order window, more than enough time has elapsed for us to discuss our order, memorized our selections (each menu item has a number) and organized by number in descending order. Hans and I definitely have some favorites on the menu, but we always try to order at least one new plate in hopes of finding a new Superica gem.

With our living room floor under the final stages of re-construction, we were forced to leave town for a day in order to allow our newly stained floors 24 hours to dry. Happy to take a trip north, Hans and I left our apartment in the morning and were at Superica by Noon.

With our stomachs growling and ready for food, we carefully planned our meal. We ordered some classics:

The #11: Lomito Suiza:

Grilled chorizo and melted cheese served between two tortillas.
A gorgeous sandwich of pork and cheese.

the #13: Queso de Cazuela,

a bowl of melted cheese flavored with tomatoes and spices and served with warm tortillas. It’s a warm comforting dish that, despite having nothing to do with artichoke, strangely tastes of one.

The #16 The Superica Especial:

Roasted chile pasilla stuffed with cheese and marinated pork. I usually have to fight to get a couple of bites before Hans polishes it off in mere seconds.

The #18 Guacamole:

Another dish I have to fight to get my share of. Straight forward and supremely fresh, this guacamole is all about ripe avocado, a squeeze of lime and a hint of tomato. Perfect on its own, or revelatory when paired with other dishes.

This trip we tried a few new dishes:

The #1 Tacos de Bistec.

Strips of grilled steak served on tacos, this dish was a little disappointing to look at, but once doctored up with a little guacamole and a touch of cheese from the Queso de Cazuela, I was in heaven.

The special of the day: Tamal de Veracruz.

Truly a life-changing tamale. Soft, moist and undeniable elegant, this tamale was unlike any of the dense (almost dry) corn tamales I’ve eaten at the Hollywood and Larchmont farmer’s markets, Superica’s Tamale de Veracruz is a love letter to the delicacy of corn with its juicy corn kernels, zucchini and onion in a fluffy bed of corn masa. I was surprised by how light the cream sauce was and how balanced all the ingredients of this dish was.

After a fully satisfying meal at Superica, we headed north to Santa Ynez for some wine tasting. Big fans of the tasting room at Melville, we decided to mix things up and taste the wines of two unfamiliar producers.

First stop was the tasting room for Longoria.
Longoria Wine Tasting Room
2935 Grand Ave. Los Olivos

Established in 1982, Longoria is a family run wine business located in Santa Barbara county. The tasting room is small and intimate, located in a tiny room in one of the oldest buildings in he
art of the village of Los Olivos. The tasting fee was $10 and unfortunately, the woman helping us had no personality and dribbled something like a half an ounce of wine into our glass–barely enough wine to swirl or to properly taste.

We were impressed by the acidity and complexity of 2004 Syrah (chewy, spicy and had great acidity) and bought a bottle despite hating the woman that sold it to us.

Our next and last stop on our mini-wine tasting tour was Bridlewood Winery.
Bridlewood Winery
3555 Roblar Avenue, Santa Ynez

A much more impressive tasting room, we were greeted by a knowledgeable and skilled employee. With a $10 tasting fee we were pleased by the reasonable pour (a generous ounce) and the quality of the wine. Balanced and true to the varietal, the Bridlewood portfolio surprised us both with their delicately nuanced flavors. For someone that tends to stay away from palate punching Zinfandels, I found theirs to be quite pretty and actually surprisingly light–especially for a California producer.

We purchased the 2004 Six Gun Syrah—a silky red with nice tannin, a hint of spice and bright cherry with balanced acidity and minimal oak.

We drove back to Santa Barbara and checked into our favorite cheap motel, The Presidio.

Still under the final stages of a year long remodel, the Presidio has all the charm of a boutique hotel without a high price tag. The young couple that runs the place are charming and for under $100 ($89 to be exact) we stayed in a clean room with charming details.

We promptly hopped into bed, watched an hour’s worth of bad TV and took an epic nap before we headed out to town again for dinner.

The Hungry Cat, is, without a doubt, one of my favorite LA restaurants. Stripped of any fancy details, the Hungry Cat is dedicated to serving East coast inspired dishes (Maryland seafood is where it’s at), amazing wines, and incredible handmade cocktails. Now that Hungry Cat has a location in Santa Barbara, there really isn’t any other place we’ll go to. The cocktails are gorgeous, the food is fresh (we ate sea urchin so fresh and off the boat it practically walked on its spines across the table) and downright inspiring.

Thanks to the friendly staff and passionate kitchen staff, Hans and I had a memorable meal of off-the-boat oysters served with freshly grated horseradish and sea salt, Oyster chowder full of silky oysters and chunky potatoes, Tuscan Monkfish stew, a mind-blowing cheese plate and the I-can’t-believe-I’m-scraping-the-sides-of-this-dish-to-get-at-every-last-morsel chocolate bread pudding.

After a day of gorging and lazy napping, Hans and I return to the buzzing world of Los Angeles. I can’t wait for our next Get Out of Dodge.