Last week I was a judge at the Mendocino Crab & Wine Days. For the past 11 years, local chefs have entered their crab cakes in a cook-off to be chosen best of the best. In a separate contest, local wineries enter the bottling they think pairs best with pure crab meat (look for this in a later post). It’s all Dungeness crab, caught locally off the coast of Mendocino. We blind tasted our way (chef, restaurant and ingredients not identified) through 15 crab cakes and awarded scores for taste, presentation and originality. The best cakes really honored the crab — nice chunks of crab meat, simple preparation with no one ingredient overpowering the crab. The judges for the most part were in agreement on which crab cakes worked and which ones didn’t. We preferred the less fussy presentations, and the cakes that had more crab than filler. The winners…
EAT – Snack on This! Fancy Food Show 2010
This post’s title, Snack on This! I have totally borrowed from friend and colleague Mark Oltz. Whenever we were looking for new titles to segments on In Wine Country he’d always throw out “snack on this.” Today’s the last day of the three day Fancy Food show in San Francisco. There are hundreds of food vendors, from all over the country and all over the world. You can spend all day there and eat nothing but cheese — some darn good cheese. I managed to pull myself away from the cheese pavilion to sample other things. Here’s my list of favorites. Everything’s better with bacon. The cured meat was everywhere; lots of jamon Iberico legs being carved up. Bacon makes its way into chocolate at Vosges, in a dark choc bar and in a fantastic bacon caramel toffee. Also saw dried smoked salmon “bacon bits.” Porchetta was on display too. …
EAT DRINK – Dungeness crab
Mmmm – Dungeness crab, fresh and local. Does it get any better than that? Well yes it does, especially with a spot-on wine pairing. In this case you’ve got the crab with its clean flavors and just a little bit of sweetness. A regular Chardonnay esp w/ any oak will overpower the crab. While a Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling are more reliable choices, why not try this? An unoaked Chardonnay. Look for Chards that are fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks. My choice for this evening – Sarah’s Vineyard “Steel Blue” Chardonnay. It’s zippy and bright, and really helps enhance the tasty crab.
EAT – Low country cuisine
Low country is what people call the areas including Savannah, GA, Beaufort and Hilton Head Island, both in South Carolina, all the way up to Charleston. No mountains or hills, just flat (and low) marshes and beaches. During the holidays I got my fill of real BBQ, shrimp and girts and other seafood that low country is known for. The wild Georgia shrimp are so fresh and sweet. Had a standout meal at a fairly new restaurant in Bluffton, South Carolina. Bluffton used to be the speed trap on the way from Atlanta to Hilton Head. Now Bluffton’s becoming a place you want to visit, with local artisan shops and restaurants. If you go, be sure to check out the May River Grill. Panko-crusted fried local oysters, fluffy biscuits served with onion butter – yum! And crab cakes stuffed full of the local blue crab and hardly any filler. The…
EAT – Red Crane’s Char Siu Black Cod
I just thought that this dish was photo-worthy. It’s a char siu marinated Alaskan black cod. The red color is amazing and yes, the dish tastes as good as it looks. It’s on the menu at The Red Crane in Cupertino, CA — and at lunch it’s $12 with miso soup, and garlic noodles and bok choy. What’s char siu you ask? It’s a type of cooking and seasoning. According to Wikipedia, char siu is a method of barbeque or roasting, and the seasoning or marinade is responsible for the red color. Red miso is typically used, along with honey, five spice powder, soy and hoisin sauce. All I know is that the cod was buttery and a little sweet and absolutely delicious.
EAT – A great lobster roll
This is one great lobster roll! Ever since I shared a lunch of a lobster roll with my grandmother in Boston, which was her last, I’ve always been on the search for a really good one. Up until now, the rolls at various San Fran Bay Area restaurants have let me down. Then Anchor & Hope’s roll ended the search. Maybe because it’s on a top loaded brioche bun. Maybe because the dressing is really light. Nah, it’s because the chunks of lobster just shine through. It’s so good, and so filling, I really didn’t need the Old Bay seasoned potato chips, or the coleslaw (although I recommend dipping some of the brioche roll into the slaw dressing…I’m just saying). Yeah it’s 24 bucks, but I promise you won’t go away disappointed or hungry. Pair with any number of crisp whites on the wine list, including an Albarino Grenache Blanc…
SHOP EAT – Olive Oil and Olives
You’re at the grocery store, staring blankly at the shelves of olive oil. It’s almost like looking at shelves full of wine. Intimidating. Confusing. You just want a decent bottle of extra virgin olive oil. Do you choose by label, by country, by price? To make matters even worse, it’s highly likely that bottle of oil you just picked up contains an inferior olive oil that wouldn’t pass a test for extra virgin olive oil. And even though it is labeled “product of Italy” that oil probably came from Spain, Greece, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Morocco or Argentina. I went just took a tour of three California olive companies — one olive processor, two olive oil producers. Was organized by the fairly new UC Davis Olive Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science (hey I was at the ground breaking for that center years ago.) The…
EAT – Lunch at RN74
You know how it is when you really really want to like a restaurant but come away a little disappointed after a meal? That’s what happened at RN74 in San Francisco. Had a lunch meeting there; and while it’s the first time I went for a meal, instead of for wine and munchies, I was expecting a good experience. Serivce was the biggest letdown. We were a party of 3 at a 4 top. The server didn’t take away the 4th place setting until we were halfway through our entries. Plates were cleared immediately and we felt rushed. They took the butter away before we were done with it. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s lots to like about RN74. First and foremost, it’s a great space. Industrial yet an air of an old-world French wine country restaurant. Love the train/airline schedule boards, and the prices even flip every so…
EAT – Momofuku bad boy chef in town
David Chang, Momofuku’s colorful chef owner, had a book signing junket through the Bay Area. I saw him at Kepler’s, a great independent bookstore in Menlo Park. I got there extra early since I was sure the event would be packed. But at 10 minutes before his appearance, only a few people in chairs – so I got a great 2nd row seat. More people did eventually show, but it was not a sell-out crowd. David talked about starting up Momofuku Noodle Bar, and it is so unbelievable the restaurant even survived, let alone become such a success. It was a tiny, 600 sq ft space, and hardly any room to walk behind diners. In the summer the hoods sucked up all the air conditioning, so they had to figure out how to keep the diners from sweating to death. David said he stuck to his vision – creating great…
EATDRINK – Quivira Vineyards
If you haven’t heard of Quivira, a winery in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma, it’s about time you get to know them. They’ve long been in the forefront of sustainability and guardianship of the land. Tonight they’re hosting a seasonal farm-to-table dinner; much of the meal comes from the winery property. There’s a biodynamic garden, and it’s not just for the winery. Quivira grows produce for several local restaurants. There’s also a chicken coop, beehives, and pigs. Plus there is a creek, Wine Creek, that runs through the property. Quivira has been committed to restoring the habitat for steelhead trout for years. The wines are delicious and quite interesting. Have you ever heard of using acacia wood barrels? Or how about co-fermenting Grenache and Zin or Grenache and Petite Sirah? This is what you’ll find at Quivira. This is the first release of these 2 wines and they…