Doing the Bay the Right Way

We were seated in the brighter side of the café upstairs, with the sunlight beaming above our heads. It felt like a real lunch atmosphere. Unfortunately, we were also seated next to a woman who felt compelled to talk not only to her companion but to every other table around her.

Member bonvivant702 and I were determined to enjoy our lunch. Chez Panisse’s menu changes according to the produce available during the season. Alice Waters, the executive chef and owner, opened the restaurant in 1971. She is credited with introducing and shaping a culinary style that has been considered a distinctively California cuisine. Her efforts both in and out of the kitchen have left a deep imprint on the culinary scene. Arising from her conviction that when ingredients are organically grown, food is at its best, she has prominently supported farmers who practice ecologically sound ways of food producion. To that end, she heads several foundations that promote ecological conservation for future generations.

I started with the anchovy and potato salad with chervil. Thin slivers of garlic were scattered throughout the salad. At times, my mouth didn’t know what to appreciate first. The anchovy and potato combination was a nice balance. My companion, bonvivant702, had a mix of garden lettuces with goat cheese. For a lover of that type of cheese, the baked Sonoma was heavenly for her. For an entrée, I chose the grilled pork with ratatouille and watercress. I can never say "no" to anything from the Laughingstock farm.

As soon as the meat melted in my mouth, the only thing I could say was that it was one happy piglet. It had that sweetness I've previously experienced in good bacon. You know that the flavor is not because of any seasoning or marinade but instead an expression of the meat's natural juices. She went for the chicken—happy chicken too—with sweet corn polenta and Romano beans.

Among the choices for desserts were a pistachio cake in apricot cream and a nectarine and blackberry tart with vanilla ice cream. They were all tempting, but we’d heard every story the woman right next to us could ever think of, so we decided to pay our bill and find another spot to have desserts.

At Sketch Ice Cream, my eyes rolled in ecstasy. Member bonvivant702 had the watermelon granita with Strauss yogurt, while I picked the lavender and peach ice cream. Granitas are so simple, but they become something else when topped with fresh yogurt from the Strauss Family Creamery. My lavender ice cream was like--for lack of a better description--eating lotion. It was so fragrant and smooth--probably one of the best ice creams I’ve ever had in my life. The peach was not at all tarty, but at the same time not too sweet. Can I say perfect?

The owners, Ruthie Planas and Eric Shelton, were both pastry chefs in Aqua Restaurant before they decided to open Sketch. In true Berkeley style, every ingredient that goes into their cakes, ice creams, cookies, and cones are all organically grown.

We hadn’t eaten a complete meal all day since we arrived in Sequoia National Park, so it was very good timing that the Wolverton Barbeque started shortly before dusk and just after we had finished our day of sightseeing. We had driven by earlier to buy tickets to the all-you-can-eat buffet. A few hours later, we were back, armed with a spray bottle of DEET. For the next hour, we ate barbeque ribs and chicken, burger patties, coleslaw, potatoes, and grilled corn. We also bought Corona beers to match.

We sat at one of the picnic table set-ups with a huge umbrella and enjoyed the backyard view of Wolverton. We couldn’t have asked for anything more, especially after the all-American apple pie. All that for $18.75.

Our Day 3 destination was to be a fulfillment of a long-time dream for some foodies: Thomas Keller's The French Laundry. The boy immediately recognized the tall man in the chef's uniform as soon as we walked into the restaurant’s garden. Imagine my glee when I finally realized that it was Thomas Keller himself, talking with Laura Cunningham, the woman who made the great chef a true restaurateur. I did not expect to get a table for four two days before I left for San Francisco, and I certainly did not expect the chef to be at the restaurant because of his commitments to Per Se, his newest restaurant in New York City. Dinner hadn't begun, and there was already a story to tell.

We were just beginning to make ourselves comfortable at a very private table in the restaurant's alcove when we were told that the chef was ready to meet us in the kitchen before he left for home. The boy may have told the maitre'd that we were culinary students. Meeting Thomas Keller was like meeting a celebrity. Shaking his hand was better than shaking the hand of a political figure. His towering demeanor, both in status and height, left me nervous and speechless.

The French Laundry kitchen was white, bright, and spotless--exactly how articles featuring Thomas Keller have described the way he likes his workspace. After taking a couple of group photos, the chef pointed to the flat screen on the kitchen's wall--it was a live video feed of Per Se's kitchen, allowing the entire staff to communicate and consult with him from far away. Before we finally returned to our table, he signed copies of the night's menu with his infamous epithet, "It's all about finesse."

The next four and a half hours were memorable, but first, if there's anything that makes a restaurant divine besides the food, it's the impeccable service. We all chose the chef's tasting menu, with its inviting set of nine courses. With each course, there were at least three people serving us. One would deliver the flatware to our table, and two would simultaneously put our plates down on the table in an orchestrated manner. Each course was graciously presented. If we wanted to know about an ingredient, there was always a satisfying answer. The sommelier was very accommodating without the snobbery. He suggested for us to start with a glass of champagne before eating, and he also selected the half-bottles of excellent white and red wine to match our courses. The manager never seemed to forget us. He was always coming by to ask us about our experience, but without being annoying or intrusive. We were certainly the youngest group in the restaurant, but we never felt like we did not belong with the rich, white, gray-haired crowd.

Click here for complete review of The French Laundry.

Day 4 dinner was at Gary Danko. We had an 8:30pm table for four but ended up waiting thirty minutes to be seated. The kitchen sent us amuses to enjoy with our starter drinks at the bar. Since one of us is vegetarian, they prepared an extra one without salmon for him. It was a Tuesday night, but the restaurant had the busy buzz of a weekend crowd with all the diners around us. As much as we promised ourselves not to compare The French Laundry to Gary Danko, it was disappointing to see that the service here was not up to par. Apparently tonight's performance was not representative of the Gary Danko my companions were familiar with. When a restaurant charges $70 for four courses, I expect the service to be better than what we received that night.

When we were finally seated, they forgot to give us the wine list. We had to request for it when the sommelier came to our table to ask us if we had decided on wine. When I decided on a glass of zinfandel, the sommelier walked away with the list without asking the rest of the table for their drink orders. When they brought us a second round of amuses, we had to remind our waiter again that one of us was vegetarian. No one told us about the specials until we inquired. It also took a while for our waiter to return to take our orders. We spent four hours at dinner, not because our courses were perfectly paced but because we were waiting for our food to be served.

In spite of the service mishaps, however, once the food finally arrived, I began to appreciate what Gary Danko was really about. I started with the seared Ahi tuna with avocado, enoki mushrooms, and nori. The lemon soy dressing was almost too tart, but the mushrooms and avocado provided the right balance. The tuna was wonderfully tender and pink. The size of this dish could almost have made it an entree.

Next was the roasted Maine lobster with chanterelles and white corn. Tarragon was the strongest herb in this dish, and it tasted like it. I would have been happy without the potato puree, because the lobster was rich enough to make the dish a complete meal.

I greatly enjoyed the frog legs wrapped in pancetta. The garlic puree was a nice touch to the lentils, and both kept the saltiness of the bacon at bay.

For dessert, I chose the apricot tart with almond cream and Beaumes de Venise ice cream.

The food was excellent. It was unfortunate, though, that I had to be there on an off-night from the waitstaff.

Day 5: We were all craving for phð, and Turtle Tower in the Tenderloin district, with its Northern Vietnamese style of cooking, was the obvious choice. Our phð did not come with the more familiar serving of bean sprouts and basil leaves but instead with spring onions. The noodles were wider and flat. The broth also tasted different, better than what I'm used to in most Vietnamese places in New York City and Montreal. It was a touch lighter, and it tasted more pure. I found out later that this Northern style of making phð does not involve star anise and other herbs known in the south. I now must find a Northern Vietnamese restaurant in New York City!

The trip would not have been complete without a stop at Taqueria Cancun on 19th Street. We'd already had several beers at a bar during our last night in San Francisco, but we capped the trip with a couple of Pacificos, a chorizo taco, and the eternally satisfying house-special burrito filled with rice, beans, and carne asada.

At Taqueria Cancun, it's easy to forget your name as soon as you bite into their traditional Mexican fare.

Day 2 started with a 5-hour drive to Sequoia National Park. Inside Sequoia National Park, we checked in Wuksachi Lodge and moved our luggage and food to our deluxe room in the Silliman building. We were warned about the bears that roam the area, especially at night.

After the sun came down a bit, we started our stroll along the Big Trees Trail. Reading the exhibit-style explanations along our route, we learned plenty about the trees. Redwoods and sequoias are in the same family but are different species. The redwoods, sequoia sempervirens, are the world’s tallest tree. The sequoias, sequoiadendron giganteum, are the world’s largest in terms of total volume of wood and are only grow in the west slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The trail skirts around the Round Meadow, as if the sequoias were guarding the flower beds in the middle. No sequoias grow in the meadow because the moisture level here was excessive and limited gas exchange from the trees’ roots. Any seedlings that sprouted here would die early. We also saw a lot of trunks with burn scars. The rangers perform controlled fires in the park to help the trees to reproduce.

We stopped by the Auto Log, a short pathway cut on top of a fallen sequoia to help visitors like us compare our cars to the size of the giant trees. If that is not enough to inspire awe, the Tunnel Log found at the end of Crescent Meadow Road provides another example of the scale of a normal sequoia. A tunnel was cut through the fallen tree to allow cars through. On the way back to our lodge, we said hello to General Sherman, the largest living thing on earth. We split our time trying to figure out how to fit the entire tree in our camera’s viewfinder and swatting the mosquitoes that bombarded our arms and legs.

By the time we ran back to our parked car, we had several shots of what is the official Christmas tree of the nation and about five insect bites each. We later learned that the tree was named in honor of General William Tecumseh Sherman who served as a lieutenant during the Civil War. In fact, a lot of the sequoias are named to honor military leaders.

We drove to the Moro Rock and climbed all four hundred steps to get a panoramic view of the Great Western Divide and the high Sierra canyons. The trail is only a quarter-mile trail, but the steep granite steps certainly made us feel like we were climbing more.

I finally got to experience what I had only seen in National Geographic magazines when I was a child.

Recently dubbed by The New York Times as "the destination for all things culinary," Healdsburg was recommended to us by California friends in lieu of Napa. It is just a short drive from the center of town to three Sonoma County wine locales: the Alexander Valley, the Dry Creek Valley, and the Russian River Valley. The region boasts a variety of superb wineries but as yet lacks the crowds of tourists that flock to next-door Napa. Healdsburg is still a farming community, even though prunes, which were the main crop until the 1970s, have been replaced by grapes.

We drove to WineCountryBikes to pick up the hybrid bikes I reserved before leaving New York City. One of the owners, John Mastrianni, has been in the bike business the last 25 years. He said he made the best decision in his life when he moved from New York to Sonoma County. I think the effects of his move are reflected in his accommodating and gentle manner.

Once we donned our helmets, he gave us a map of the Dry Creek Valley, highlighting his favorite vineyards. The boy and I decided to bike the twelve miles to the other end of the valley. We agreed to bike to the top of West Dry Creek Road and work our way down to Kinley Road. From there we would work our way back down, stopping at a chosen vineyard for a tasting and rest. The weather was perfect for biking. The midday sun was hot but not oppressive.

Our first stop was Bella, where the tasting was held inside a cave. They have a limited production, less than 25 barrels, but all their wines reviewed have received 90 or more points from respected wine critics all over the country. Their Zinfandels were huge and would require foods that were equally un-shy if one wanted to pair. The Syrahs, by contrast, were tamer, though no less vibrant in terms of flavor.

Next stop was the 125-acre Preston Vineyards, where organic vegetables are farmed alongside the grapes. Picnic tables are set outside for visitors to enjoy the wine with their food. Preston was the only vineyard that charged us $5 each for the tasting. We tried their four wines: zinfandel, syrah, Rousanne, and Vin Gris.

We crossed over to Lambert Road and ended up at Passalacqua, where finally we had some refreshing chardonnay and a wonderfully crisp Sauvignon Blanc. We bought a bottle of each and packed them in our bike bags.

The boy and I decided this was the end of our tasting. We had about six more miles to go before Kinley Road and it was almost 5pm. I struggled on the way back. My legs were becoming weak and Jell-O-like. I frequently stopped by the side of the road. Finally I made my way back to the rental shop. Back in our car, we devoured the leftover pizza from Oakville Grocery before starting our drive back to San Francisco.

We passed the windmills that dotted the East Bay on our way out from the city, those minimal towering structures that for some reason reminded me of Don Quixote. Almost four hours later, we were in Monterey Bay. The Monterey Bay Aquarium and its two hundred galleries and exhibits was overwhelming. I have never seen aquariums on such a scale anywhere else. My favorite was the school of bait fish swimming around and around non-stop overhead.

Rarely seen jellyfish were eerily floating in large wall-mounted aquariums, suspended in a way that was haunting and memorable. There were also towering three-story aquariums that allowed all of us to see the sea turtles, sharks, and barracudas as if we were diving with them. Sea otters were putting on a show for the children in a two-story exhibit. There was also a splash zone where the water would come in waves on glass ceilings above our heads.

In Pebble Beach, we followed the dashed red lines and drove the famous 17 Mile Drive along the coast. Armed with an $8.50 map, we stopped at each of the twelve points of interests and took photographs of the incomparably beautiful Californian coastline. Our favorite was the Lone Cypress, an enduring California landmark that has been around for over two hundred years.

We oooh-ed and aaah-ed at the mansions and villas we imagined were used as sets for hip-hop videos. Somewhat absurd was the the tradition or tendency of most property owners here to name their villas, in the same way one would have a vanity plate on a car. After a lengthy discussion, Boca de Paradiso won out as being a marginally more classy name for a future seaside pad. It was a bit chilly, so we skipped the stroll on Spanish Bay, where Don Gaspar de Portola camped in search of Monterey Bay.

The Bird Rock was dotted by countless shorebirds, groups of harbor seals, and sea lions. Their collective sounds echoed across the channel that separted them from the beach.

The Fanshell Overlook's white sand was full of harbor seals cooling off after the pupping season.

Now that we've gotten the quick restaurant review over with, let me tell you about the food. All quotes are from the restaurant, describing both the technique used and defining the ingredients. Our night began with two amuse-bouches. First was a puff pastry-looking thing with Gruyere cheese. The second was a salmon cornet, a thin and crispy cone filled with red-onion crème fraiche and salmon tartare, with a dash of lemon juice. We hadn't even begun eating the tasting menu, and we were already learning about the true meaning of "little bites of delight."

Cauliflower "Panna Cotta"
with Beau Soleil Oyster Glaze and Russian Sevruga Caviar

This small appetizer blew us all away. It was a great start for the chef to show off and let us know that what lay ahead would be even better. I've had panna cotta before, but never the cauliflower kind. I've also had caviar before, but I never appreciated it until this. The caviar was salty, yet so mild. The panna cotta was light and cool; its smoothess was a perfect match for the caviar's tapioca-like texture.

"Peach Melba"
Moulard Duck "Foie Gras en Terrine," Masomoto Family Farm Peach Jelly, Pickled Peaches, marinated Red Onion, "Melba Toast," and Crisped Carolina Rice

I once read that culinary master Escoffier grilled a piece of toast, split it in half, and grilled it again to please the wife of the Ritz Hotel owner, Marie Ritz, who complained that toast is never thin enough for her. She was impressed with his creativity, and he called the toast Toast Marie. Escoffier renamed his creation Melba Toast when he served it to the Australian opera singer Nellie Melba after learning that toast was in her diet. He also created a dessert of peaches and vanilla ice cream. He named it Pecheau Cygne until he added raspberry puree sauce to the recipe several years later. Only then did he rename it Peach Melba.

While eating this dish, I would sometimes forget I was having foie gras because of all the other textures having a party in my mouth. The jelly was softly sweet and delicate, while the crispies provided the right amount of crunch, all while the foie gras melted in my mouth. This was a pleasure to eat, even at a $25 supplemental charge. We were already sitting in The French Laundry, so what could possibly stop us from splurging some more?

Member bonvivant702 and the boy passed on this dish and chose the Salad of Toybox Tomatoes and Summer Melons with English Cucumber "Bavarois", Crisp Young Ginger and Tomato-Watermelon "Jus". I only had a small taste of it, but I remember the sweetness of the tomatoes and the melons with the watermelon jus. It was probably the prettiest dish I've ever laid my eyes on.

Crispy Skin Fillet of Japanese Suzuki,
Hen-of-the-Woods Mushrooms, Baby Bok Choy, Sweet Peppers and "Aigre-Doux de Vervene"

One of our servers told us that Suzuki is like sea bass. Again, I'm familiar with several types of white fish, but I've never had crispy fish skin like this. It was perfectly seared without sacrificing the firm but velvety texture inside. All the tiny vegetables that were served with it tasted a bit like they had a splash of sweet vinaigrette (aigre-doux, vinegar and sugar) but I don't know where or when Vervene comes in. The closest search result I found was for the herb vervain, but my Harold McGee book does not mention either plant or herb.

It was after this dish that I took a walk outside in the garden with bonvivant702 to help me begin to digest. All I could think of was my poor performance--only the third course, and I was already getting full! I was so ashamed!

Pan Roasted Sea of Cortez Diver's Scallop,
Sweet Corn and Caramelized Fennel Bulb "Ragout" with Perigord Truffle "Coulis"

I would certainly protest if any other restaurant served me a single (one!) scallop, but I was too distracted, because here was one thing on the menu in which words used were actually familiar to me. The fennel and truffle sauce made this dish whole. The sweet corn, of course, added pleasurable texture to the firmness of the scallop.

Glazed Wolfe Ranch White Quail,
"Casoulet" of Summer Heirloom Beans and "Pancetta" with Jacobsen's Farm Blackberry "Gastrique"

As soon as this dish was placed on our tables, we had a laugh, because the quails were all the same shape and size, as if the bird was smooshed in a tiny pear-shaped container. Member bonvivant702 found out the next day that gastrique is a reduced mixture of vinegar and sugar; the only difference from aigre-doux is that gastrique is prepared with heat until all the liquid evaporates--more like a glaze rather than a liquid sauce. The quail looked tiny, but it was heavy and filling; it's what I like most about dark meats.

I took another walk after this dish.

Elysian Fields Farm "Selle D'Agneau Roti Entiere,"
Yukon Gold Potato "Mille-Feuille," Grilled King Richard Leeks and Sweet Carrots "Vichy"

In other words, lamb. More specifically, the saddle part of a lamb, roasted.

This dish is a good example of why a lot of the French words in The French Laundry menu are in quotes. Mille-feuille (meel-FWEEH) is pastry in several layers, usually with sweet fillings, but with this dish, the potato was created to look like a small square of dessert and nothing more. And if I learned anything from working with textiles for almost two years in college, vichy is a type of plain weave of both horizontal and vertical bands. But hey, what do I know, especially when the carrots came out the size of pennies. I'll give this up and just say that Vichy was the capital of France while it was occupied during the war. I was already full after this dish anyway.

"Chabichou de Poitu"
Thompson Seedless and Zante Grapes, Celery "Ribbons" and "Verjus Gelee"

When this dish came out, all I could think of was, "Dessert! It's almost over!" both out of delight and melancholy. Chabichou is raw goat cheese from the Poitu region of France. The rind is soft, but the inside is rich and thick--a perfectly good choice of cheese with grapes and jelly. The celery curlies were just a delightful addition.

Hayden Mango Sorbet,
Yuzu-Scented "Genoise," Goma "Nougatine" and Black Sesame "Coulis"

At first we thought that the powder all over this dish was the yuzu. We applauded the use of yuzu in powder format, just because none of us have had it that way before. But after some research, I found out that the powder is actually the goma nougatine, a sesame caramelized sugar. It makes sense now, because genoise is a sponge cake, and that was right next to the sorbet. Again, the textures of this dessert have Thomas Keller's name written all over them: silky sorbet with fluffy cake, crunchy powder, and gooey black sesame.

"Tentation Au Chocolat Noisette et Lait,"
Milk Chocolate "Cremeux," Hazelnut "Streusel," with Madagascar Vanilla Ice Cream and Sweeted Hazelnuts

Hold up, we're not yet done.

As the name suggests, we couldn't pass on this second temptation. Who would, when it is a combination of milk chocolate and vanilla ice cream with hazelnuts?

We were expecting the mignardises to come after, but to our surprise, we were served a third dessert, sort of the end version of an amuse-bouche. Member bonvivant702 and I both got the tiny crème brulee, and the boys received a crucible of panna cotta that tasted like really good yogurt with hidden apricots at the bottom. The boy greedily spooned every last bit, refusing to share any more.

The boy also asked for a cup of coffee, while the three of us chose mint tea to close the night.

"Mignardises"

The mignardises finally came, and we quickly request for all of them to be packed for later.

And a dream come true finally ended after two walks to the outdoor garden, two trips to the bathroom, and thirteen hundred dollars.