“I believe that the great American burger is a thing of beauty, its simple charms noble, pristine. The basic recipe… is, to my mind, un-improvable by man or God.” – Anthony Bourdain, “Medium Raw”

As I sip Ritual Coffee prepared with Italian family flair from Potrero Hill’s charming new corner cafe, Caffe La Stazione (I’m delighted they plan to soon offer free Italian language classes), I come to you with mid-June offerings.

I had a great time as one of the judges for the June 7 Charbay/Perfect Puree Cocktail Competition at Rye, and have been reveling in Summer events, from Golden Glass to tomorrow night’s StarChefs event.

On the new-openings-and-old-favorites tip, Top Tastes eats the likes of beer & pretzel ice cream, grilled cheese sandwiches and buns from a Chinese bun truck. Imbiber visits two awesome new SF bars with classic cocktails and spirit.

As promised, there’s more New York, this time visiting four intriguing new (ish) cocktail havens in Wandering Traveler. On the Town takes in a memorable Persian Pub Grub dinner with beer and wine pairings facing off.

I’d love your feedback on any spots visited from my site. Please tell your friends and have them sign up for the newsletter. As your personal concierge who tells it to you like a good friend would, I also create personalized itineraries: trips, meals, explorations (under “Services“).

Let me guide you to the perfect spot!

Virginia

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ThePerfectSpot

Here’s recent entries in my SF Bay Guardian column, Appetite:
3 May Openings Worth Checking Out
Persian Pub Grub – Iranian food paired with beer & wine
Celebrating Sailor Jerry – tattoos & rum
3 Delectable June Events

**Unless otherwise noted, all photos by Virginia Miller**

Top Tastes, rather than a list of all-time favorites (another thing altogether), are among the best eats since my last newsletter, often from new openings. Many don’t make the cut, being a revisit previously written about or simply not as stand-out as dishes mentioned.

CHEAP EATS

American Grilled Cheese Kitchen, South Park - It’s brand new, funky cute, with playful grilled cheese menu… and waits are 30 minutes for a sandwich at opening time of 11am (even longer later). One register is the first problem, though they have a few people standing around offering you cookie samples (take them!) or juice while you wait. Sweet staff… a couple registers and extra kitchen help is really where all that extra, friendly manpower is needed – I hear they have another register on the way, so they are on it. Maybe the crowds will die down once it’s been open awhile, or this confirms widespread cravings for grilled cheese sandwiches?

Ingredients are quality, on crusty house bread. The Piglet ($8) had a whisper-thin layer of artisan ham, and lacked much of the Tillamook aged white cheddar, rosemary butter or apple mustard that would have made it work. Jalapeno Popper ($9), however, is a more enticing sandwich of chèvre, monterey jack, applewood-smoked bacon and apricot-jalapeño relish. A classic Moustrap ($6) comforts with Tillamook sharp cheddar, creamy havarti and monterey jack. I love the concept, feel, look and friendliness of this place and trust it can become and SF institution with time.

Chairman Bao, follow on Twitter for location – All the Chairman Bao vs. Baohaus in NY controversy has only aided business to Chairman Bao, the new Chinese bun truck roaming the Bay Area with artwork designed by a DC Comics artist and steamed ($2.95) or baked ($5.75)  buns stuffed with five-spiced duck confit, meatballs with kimchi, and naturally, pork belly. For $9, you get two steamed buns and a shaved ice (normally $3.50). The Mango Matcha Green Tea Shaved Ice I tried lacked much flavor but was refreshing. Next time, I’ll get Pineapple Salted Caramel. It may not be life-changing, but it is tasty, good fun and (bonus) often parked near my work.

Mr & Mrs. Miscellaneous, Dogpatch – Dogpatch’s new ice cream shop also has homemade candies, brittle and baked goods. It’s an airy, spanking fresh space. But you go for the goods, which, so far, have been killer Maldon Sea Salt Caramels (75 cents each), minty-fresh White Grasshopper ice cream, and the soon-to-be-signature Ballpark, a stellar ice cream made with Anchor Steam beer laced with chocolate pretzels and peanuts ($4 for 1/2 pint; $8 a pint).

Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, North Beach - I’ve raved about this favorite before. It’s been, hands down, one of the best additions to SF, and certainly North Beach, in years. I’m just hear this time to say I finally ordered the Jersey-style Original Tomato Pie ($15): simple, reddest of red sauces and crispy crust… freakin’ A, it’s amazing. It fulfills my East Coast homesickness. Ditto the giant Sicilian-style foccacia pizzas ($26-29; feeds a few) glistening with olive oil, like a Colombo, dotted with pepperoni, chopped garlic and Italian sausage.

MID-RANGE

Palio d’Asti, Financial District - As this FiDi Italian classic hits its 20th anniversary, it’s an accomplishment to still be alive and kicking in today’s restaurant climate. I’ve always liked the Il Palio theme and flags (from enchanting Siena) lining the spacious restaurant, even if I don’t make it out more than once every few years.  A recent visit delivered filling, four course Italian food in the form of a simple but heartwarming Fedelini con Granchio: linguine with fresh Dungeness Crab, San Marzano tomato sauce, oregano and a little heat from Calabrese chilies. Proscuitto San Daniele paired well with strawberries instead of the traditional melon. Paglia e Fieno was another pasta pleaser with “grass and hay” green taglierini tossed with braised suckling pig, sweet peppers, smoked Provolone.

Palio often offers some of the best happy hour deals around, like free pizza with the purchase of two cocktails, or a current special of a $1 Martini or Manhattan with their 3-5 course dinners, the only dinner menu options (no a la carte). Come prepared to gorge on any combination you crave (e.g., antipasti, pasta, pizza or salad, pizza, entree, dessert): $29 for 3 courses, $37 for 2, $45 for 4.

To celebrate their 20th, they’re having an unusual contest where all diners, whether eating lunch or dinner, can win prizes. These are sweet prizes, like an Iron Chef-style Mixology Class for you and nine of your friends. Or Wine Tasting Dinner for six.

I love the touch of Chocolatier Blue truffles for dessert, a Berkeley chocolatier I wrote about a couple years ago when they first opened. I ‘heart’ the Peanut Butter & Jelly truffle!

Cocktails

TWO NEW STANDARD-SETTING BARS

(From my print article in the Spring SCENE issue of the SF Bay Guardian): These two new bars debuted at the end of May, quietly ushering in what I hope might be a new “trend”: mellow, sophisticated bars creating expertly-crafted cocktails, both classic and contemporary… without attitude, exclusivity, and, dare I say it (?), mobs of douchey crowds turning an otherwise fabulous bar into a place to be avoided unless it’s 5pm on a Tuesday (and sometimes even then). I want to see these bars thrive but hope they won’t lose that wonderfully executed vision they’ve begun with as places where community happens lingering peacefully over fine drink.

BURRITT ROOM, Downtown/Union Square

If I could imagine a dream “speakeasy”, it would be one tucked away from the masses (maybe in the second floor of a hotel), rich with atmosphere (brick walls, chandeliers, a piano, black and red accents on velvet stools, couches, pillows), a reasonably-sized menu (say, 18 rotating cocktails?) of classics and inventive new drinks, classic jazz floating softly from the speakers, and a complete lack of pretension or “sceney” obnoxiousness. Enter Burritt Room, which quietly opened upstairs in the Crescent Hotel in the shadow of the Stockton Tunnel.

Master bartender behind Burritt is Kevin Diedrich, whose experience ranges from East (PDT and Clover Club) to West (Clock Bar and Bourbon & Branch). He sets the welcoming tone, devoid of snobbery, appealing to cocktail aficionados and those who want a classy, mellow place to sip a beer alike. There’s other fine bartenders on board here, like Kelli Bratvold (Bourbon & Branch, Rickhouse). You might want to ask for Bratvold and Diedrich’s off-menu creation, Black Rose, an unusual mix of Bols Genever and Junipero Gin with Creme de Yvette, rose water, blackberry simple syrup, splash of Maraschino liqueur and a rose/pepper tincture (most cocktails $10).

Pull up to the bar or get cozy on a red couch with a layered Evening Shade: cognac, Grand Marnier, lemon, orgeat, peach bitters. I’m impressed with the seemingly light (but it sneaks up on you), refreshing Hitachino Sour: bourbon, orange marmalade, lemon, sugar, orange bitters, topped with Hitachino White beer. A Champagne Julep comes beautifully frosty in a proper julep cup, bourbon intriguingly switched out for sparkling wine and cognac. I will always prefer a traditional julep, but this is a pleasing change of pace.

A spirituous, boozy Kentucky Stinger has a hefty hunk of Kold Draft ice allowing the punch of rye and cognac to stay strong, the drink accented with Amaro, dashes of Angostura and chocolate bitters, and a creme de menthe rinse apparent on the minty finish. End an evening here with the awesome Smoked Peach (scotch, sherry, lemon, muddled peaches) and just try not to fall in love with this place.

COMSTOCK SALOON, North Beach

Comstock Saloon is truly a beautiful space in a 1907 building on the Barbary Coast trail restored to the glories of its past with antique mahogany bar, Victorian furniture, wood-burning stove (faux, though it may be), upright piano and the bar’s original spittoon. Jeff Hollinger (author of The Art of the Bar) and Jonny Raglin both came from Absinthe, bringing a mastery of cocktail classics to their own bar. Here you’ll find straight-up classics, the kind found in pages of The Savoy Cocktail Book or Charles H. Baker’s Gentleman’s Companion, the latter displayed (first edition) in glassed-in shelves lining the wall, along with other historical cocktail memorabilia… a mini-Museum of the American Cocktail, if you will.

Besides making perfected Sazeracs and South Side cocktails, they’ve honed other lesser known classics, like a Hop Toad, with Jamaican rum, apricot brandy, lime and bitters ($8-12 for cocktails). Though Comstock, like Burritt Room, is an ideal place for lingering on plush Victorian couches, or in wood booths, it is also much more than bar.

It’s a restaurant with full menu, offering lunch and dinner, from Chef Carlo Espinas, formerly of Piccino Cafe. At first glance, a Beef Shank with Bone Marrow Pot Pie ($17.50) may look like a store-bought pot pie, but just sink your fork into flaky crust with a meaty, heartwarming interior and you’ll taste the love.

I also adore tender Potted Pork ($12) with a side of country ham, mustard, veggies and warm bread to spread it on.

A welcome addition to North Beach, this comfortable saloon is also a loving tribute to turn-of-the-century SF history and cocktails popular back in our wild Barbary Coast days.

The Latest in Cocktails in NEW YORK CITY

My May New York adventures brought me to some of the city’s newer treasures I’ve been desiring to partake in… a couple of them literally just opened weeks before, others open about a year.

Brand new

CIENFUEGOS (upstairs through Carteles sandwich shop), East Village – Open barely a month when I visited, this intriguing new rum bar is through a Cuban sandwich shop just a couple doors down from Death & Co. (and same owners).

A rum-centric bar with punch bowls, varying sizes of cocktails and rum shots, what immediately converts here, after a walk through the humble sandwich shop and up a set of stairs, is the magical wonderland interior. I’m not a pink girl, in fact it is my most loathed color, only palatable when paired with something to give it heft, like black or brown. But here, pink entices, teases, even charms. There’s yellows, soft greens, white, a pastel profile I would normally hate, but here becomes a glowing explosion of color.

It plays like old world Havana meets Alice in Wonderland. You have fallen down a candyland rabbit hole and awaiting you are vibrantly fresh cocktails and bowls of rum punch, served in both the restaurant (will have to try next time) and bar area.

I adore their little cardboard-bound menu with old-fashioned drawings and a mix of classics, punches and modern creations. Initial intrigues? The Vesperone ($15) wowed by mixing Zacapa rum with rye whiskey, Green Chartreuse, agave nectar, blackberries and sage leaves. Musky and bright. Rosa Verde ($14) is a salad in a cocktail. I slurped down arugula leaves from a bright, pink glass of Flor de Cana rum, watermelon juice, celery bitters, lime, arugula-infused simple syrup and pink peppercorn.

LA BIBLIOTECA, East 40’s/Midtown East - Again, this just opened a couple weeks before I arrived in the basement of a new restaurant, Zengo. I’d go to Mayahuel (below) for the best tequila cocktails in NY and a hip, festive atmosphere, but La Bibilioteca offers tastings of over 400 tequilas, NY’s biggest selection yet, in an expansive underground lair.

La Bibilioteca is a tequila storage library (similar to, but larger than, SF’s Taverna Aventine) in a subterranean lounge where you are leisurely educated with tequila flights or your server’s suggested tastings. The night I visited, a tequila brand ambassador was giving a tasting, offering further opportunities to educate New Yorkers, who, it was apparent, have barely scratched the surface of the tequila world.

Thankfully, this place is attempting to narrow that gap. Servers are still in the process of beginning to try all they offer, so you may  want to do some research ahead of time and go ready to ask for tequilas you would like to taste (for example, I noticed the Del Maguey line sitting in one cabinet – a fine place to start for mezcals).

But it doesn’t have to be complicated. Their servers are friendly and willing to offer guidance, while the menu offers flights with varying themes. I appreciate the Barrel Aging Tasting ($16) theme, three tequilas aged in different barrels: Don Julio Reposado, the best of the three and one I’m already a fan of (bourbon barrel), Riazul Anejo, with vanilla and caramel notes (cognac barrel), and the interesting, but not necessarily winning, Asombroso Reposado (wine barrel). There’s Anejo flights (mine had Don Julio, Casa Noble, Patron), brand flights where you try reposados through extra anjeos of one particular brand, and so on.

I sipped palate-cleansing shots of their bright tomato sangrita, and best of all, their house Horchata Blanco using Jose Cuervo traditional. Creamy and lush.

Sink back into black couches lining the large room (with touches of red), order guacamole and chips, and get schooled on tequila, New York.

2009 Openings

RAINES LAW ROOM, Flatiron – Opened in early 2009, there is a whiff of pretension when one locates  an unmarked door and hipster doorman (a new guy on his first day). But there is no pretension within. In fact, this is now one of my favorite bars in NY.

The bartenders and staff are relaxed, knowledgeable, willing to explain stories and ingredients behind their recipes. Linger in the brick-walled, elegant main room, on black leather couches, cozy chairs next to the fireplace, pulling little wall buzzers  signaling you are ready to order. This is an elegant, Prohibition-era den evoking a wealthy but approachable friend’s living room.

Head back to The Kitchen where, under pressed tin ceiling and atop a marble butcher block countertop, mixologists concoct drinks as you interact with them.

Most enchanting is the back garden, where herbs used in their drinks are grown. On a warm May evening, candles flickered in Moroccan lamps, lounge chairs inviting me to recline and take in the night air. The garden was refreshingly empty on an early weekend night. An idyllic respite.

The menu runs the gamut from classics (Negronis, Old Cubans), to seasonal (utilizing herbs and produce), to signature house drinks (all $13). There’s even a “Fancy Cocktail” section with elaborate drinks from $16-23.

My visit included a boozy but smooth special of the day, Alice’s Evidence with Asyla scotch, lemon, lime, simple syrup with absinthe rinse, and a signature Harold & Maude: Johnnie Walker Black, Zacapa 23, lemon, rose & lavender syrup, aromatic bitters, shaken and served down. Beauties, all.

Their former doorman is a chocolatier and after expressing interest in his chocolates (listed in the menu; available by the box), our server brought us a couple to sample. Chocolate Meurens are creamy, Belgian-style truffles in flavors like Aztec (cinnamon, cloves, cayenne, anise, orange flower water) and Early Century (absinthe and Grand Marnier).

MAYAHUEL, East Village – Tequila doesn’t flow on the East Coast like it does in California. In fact, our bartender at Mayahuel talked about the difficulty accessing tequilas we are easily able to procure in Cali. But that’s where Mayahuel, from the crew behind Death & Co., steps in.

I’d been eager to visit since I first heard about it’s opening last Spring. The tequila selection is comprehensive with the likes of Del Maguey and Fortaleza stocking the shelves.  The mezcal selection is excellent, bartenders are informed and passionate about spreading the tequila gospel, and the space is a charming, half-underground Mexican bordello with shiny tiles, wrought iron, snug booths, and loads of citrus and herbs lining the bar. If this was in my ‘hood, I’d be a regular.

It made me reflect on the tequila bars we have at home, and though there is no tequila selection to match Tommy’s, I wish we also had a spot like this: tequila in an subterranean, cozy, hip space with top notch cocktails (SF’s Cantina has a superb tequila and South American spirits cocktail menu but the decor is not Mexican, which, gimmicky or not, I love about Mayahuel).

I didn’t eat here, but they have a fun menu of good-looking food. If you’re not sampling straight tequila, there are a slew of fine tequila cocktails. I particularly liked the balanced heat in Herb Alpert ($14 – love the musician’s moniker): El Jimador Blanco infused with jalapeno, mezcal, fresh oregano, lime, and enjoyed a layered Slynx ($13): reposado, bonded applejack, pear & whiskey barrel bitters with a mezcal rinse.

PERSIAN PUB GRUB at ZARE at FLY TRAP – 6/3-5

www.zareflytrap.com

It is a joy when our city’s food/drink greats team up to form something unique. Such was Zare at Fly Trap’s three nights of Persian Pub Grub, as envisioned by Zare’s chef/owner, Hoss Zare, and Monk’s Kettle’s Sayre Piotrkowski and Ryan Corbett.

The exuberant, hospitable Hoss created a menu lovingly melding traditional elements of his home country of Iran with creative expressions. Though Hoss admits that “Pub Grub doesn’t really exist in Iran” (nor would the alcohol pairings), he dreams up a Persian dinner as it might look in a modern, hypothetical Iranian Gastropub. Each course was happily far from typical, and most were downright heartwarming. My two favorites ended up being Caspian Seafood Stew, a smoky, saffron-heavy broth (enhanced by black garlic aioli and sour, pickled grapes) loaded with plump calamari, octopus, mussels and smoked sturgeon with a dollop of caviar. The other? A brilliant take on traditional Ghormeh Sabzi, an Iranian herb stew and national dish, one Hoss says would win your sweetheart’s affection if you perfect in Iran. This Persian Chili was redolent of herbs, paprika, harissa, and a spicy, crumbled lamb sausage mixed with organic kidney beans. I could not get enough.

Certified Cicerone, Piotrkowski, and his equally passionate-about-beer co-worker, Corbett, paired a stellar list of beers with Hoss‘ food, facing off directly with wine pairings from Zare’s Wine Director, Mario Nocifera. At two convivial communal tables, we debated which paired best with any given course, and I can honestly say there no afterthoughts on either side. But the final score? In my book, it’s two for two. 

My two favorite wines were the impressively elegant, layered acidity of Niepoort Codega’s 2006 “Tiara” white from Branco, Portugal, and an earthy, dark berry/pepper, mineral, but balanced, 2008 Borsao Garnacha, “Tres Picos”, from Campo de Borja, Spain (quite a value at $14.99 a bottle at K&L ).

On the beer front, though I was delighted to see Hitachino’s “XH” and Midas Touch for dessert, I was blown away by grapefruit brightness in Stone Brewing Co.’s dark, bitter Sublimely Self-Righteous, and the Belgian-style, caramel-y but bone dry Goose Island “Pere Jacques”.

Hoss has hosted other special Persian dinners and I hope will throw plenty more. Bookmark their website’s event page to be prepared for the next one. Or go for dinner or lunch to sample Hoss‘ heartwarming cooking paired with Reza Esmali’s Middle Eastern-influenced cocktail menu (there’s a classic cocktail list, too) or Nocifera’s wine list. Monk’s Kettle is thankfully always ready to pour one of these fine or other equally exciting, and often, rare, beers.

Here is the Persian Pub Grub menu ($75 per person, including all pairings):

Sumac Couscous Salad with Dungeness Crab

Victory, “Prima” Pilsner, US| Yarden, Brut Traditional, Galilee Israel

Caspian Seafood Stew with Mussels, Cod, Sturgeon and Black Garlic aioli

Hitachino “XH” Ibaraki Japan | Niepoort Codega “Tiara”, Blanco, Portugal

Chicken Wings “Fessenjoon” with Pomegranate Walnut Sauce

Stone, “Sublimely self-righteous” Ale, US | Coroa Godello, Valdeorras, Spain

Persian Chili “Ghormeh Sabzi” with Spicy Lamb Sausage

Goose Island, “Pere Jacques” Belgian Style Ale, US | Borsao Garnacha “Tres Picos”, Campo de Borja, Spain

“Faloodeh” Lime Sorbet with Rice Noodles and Pistachios

Dog Fish Head, “Midas Touch” Ancient Ale, Milton US

“Love, with very young people, is a heartless business. We drink at that age from thirst, or to get drunk; it is only later in life that we occupy ourselves with the individuality of our wine.” – Isak Dinesen

Is it really Summer? Just returned from a bustling trip to New York, this issue is NY-centric with Manhattan Cocktail Classic coverage. But SF locals pay attention to details on a new Mission burger and wine bar concept I’m particularly excited about in The Latest. I only begin to scratch the surface of my latest NY visit, so stay tuned for more food and drink recommends in future issues.

Wandering Traveler eats well in NYC from bagels to burgers to breakfast… with a little creative Indian food thrown in for good measure. On the Town covers the best and the worst that was the first annual Manhattan Cocktail Classic, including the top sips I tasted during the event. Imbiber gets all coffee snob on the hunt for a proper espresso and cappuccino in the Big Apple. 

I’d love your feedback on any spots visited from my site. Please tell your friends and have them sign up for the newsletter. As your personal concierge who tells it to you like a good friend would, I also create personalized itineraries: trips, meals, explorations (under “Services“).

Let me guide you to the perfect spot!

Virginia

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ThePerfectSpot

Here’s recent entries in my SF Bay Guardian column, Appetite:
Firelit: Coffee with Benefits
Giant Legs & Willy Wonka – my adventures at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic

**Unless otherwise noted, all photos by Virginia Miller**

B3 … and The WINEMAKER’S SPEAKEASY
1152 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Tue-Sun, 3pm-2am (wine happy hours: 3-6pm; 10pm-12am)

I had the privilege weeks back of a sneak preview test dinner with friends at B3, a new project set to soft launch June 15 in the former Senses space on Valencia, which they are currently repainting and decorating in warm, neutral tones [as of early June, the owners have to postpone opening. The new date should be end of June but I will update this page with actual date once it is confirmed.]

I’m excited to give you the preview scoop as I have been following this concept since inception. Once they are fully up and running, you won’t see a similar wine list elsewhere.

Wine guys, Johnny Gato and Ron Elder, invested personal passion into a hand-selected list of affordable local bottles difficult to procure (much less taste), from such small production winemakers, most do not even have a wine tasting facility at their wineries. Many are influenced by Old World technique with modern interpretations.

In the soft opening phase, selection will be limited, but I have seen (and tasted) what’s coming down the pike and it is good. Be patient with the initial launch as these wine lovers plan long term to offer a range of options from tasting pours to bottles and cases for consumption or take home, sold at un-inflated, retail prices. Just start talking to Gato and Elder and you’ll begin to discover all kinds of Wine Country gems you had no idea were there… these are not your typical California wines.

Through Gato, who has worked at Moussy’s and Bouchon in Napa, I have discovered such incredible wineries as Napa’s Forlorn Hope, bittersweetly named after the term used to describe the front line of soldiers in a high-risk military operation. I’m smitten with their floral, bright ‘08 La Gitana Torrontes, fabulously layered ‘07 Nacre Semillion, and ‘05 Gascony Cadets Petit Verdot. Then there’s Poem Cellars in Yountville, who’s wines are often sold out completely, particularly their light and spicy 2006 Tastevin Napa Valley Red (only 140 cases produced). Or Beaucanon’s ‘07 Cabernet Franc, Y. Rousseau’s ‘08 Russian River Valley Colombard and ‘08 ‘Milady’ Mount Veeder Chardonnay, Peripolli’s ‘06 Sauvignon Blanc. These are the kind of wines you’ll find here. Just ask Gato, who has followed these wineries closely in his years up in Napa, and he can tell you not only about the wine itself but stories behind the winemaker and winery, making each glass personal, fascinating.

Though they’ll start off small with 10-15 bottles (under $25), the selection will continue to expand, evolving into what they call a Winemaker’s Speakeasy, with a wide range of under-the-radar tastes and bottles to take home at minimal mark-up.

Chef Kevin Ahajahnian is keeping it real and straightforward with cheese and charcuterie platters and burger and dog-themed menu. Wine will be the star, but if the test dinner I tried is any indication, you won’t suffer on the food front. The menu is developing since I was there, but I filled up on juicy, gourmet burgers, crispy, addictive fries, fresh, lush salads, overall hearty deliciousness.

It all bodes well for Valencia Street… and with a twice nightly happy hour, it’s going to be a casual wine bar where you can discover and fall in love with what you never knew was there.