“Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies. Nobody that matters, that is.” – Edna St. Vincent Millay

Summer ends and San Francisco’s “summer” begins with pristine days and balmy nights spent sipping scotch on my front stoop with good friends (and the occasional cigar). Concerts in the park give way to SF Cocktail Week (9/21-9/27), while the truly awesome Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and Fleet Week arrive early October. It’s my favorite time of year both as a season and in the city.

Top Tastes highlights lamb/eucalyptus pizza, sushi and pasta, and kimchi burritos.  Imbiber sips at Rose Pistola, the world’s first fair trade spirits‘ line, and at a Tasting Panel event. Bibliophile studies drink with three excellent books.

Wandering Traveler returns to New Orleans, exploring CBD. The Latest is a sneak preview of Daniel Patterson’s soon-to-open Plum. Around the Bay treks to Livermore for dinner and a Chris Isaak concert under the stars.

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:
Twists on the Negroni challenge the original
SF Cocktail Week is coming September 21-27
Plum sneak preview dinner amps up anticipation
Drinking in the Wente Vineyards concert series

**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

HRD COFFEE SHOP, SoMa – I’ve had Korean-style burritos before (like the ones at John’s Deli in FiDi), but at HRD Coffee Shop it’s done with their own comforting flair.

The sweet, helpful guys behind the bar at HRD’s humble, friendly diner are doing it right. Their Spicy Pork Kimchi Burrito ($6.75) is a steal and easily two meals; spicy and bright red with kimchi and tender pork, kiwi salsa seals the deal. Don’t miss their Mongolian Cheesesteak Sandwich ($6.75), oozing with mozarella and spicy hoisin sauce. They do a Korean-style Loco Moco (hamburger patty & eggs) and Korean bibimbap. But I particularly love their cheeky takes on American food. Look for specials combining Southern American notes with Korean flavors. This is where HRD shines.

Mid-Range Restaurants

CHAYA, Embarcadero - Chaya has been a longtime fixture on the Embarcadero with three other worldwide locations and a Japanese/French/Italian-influenced menu.

On a radiant, sunny Friday, I recently savored a media lunch at the giant picture window facing the Bay Bridge. The inspiring view and setting feels right for sushi, and despite the sound of a pricey Salmon Lover’s Roll ($18), loaded with spicy salmon, white salmon, smoked salmon, cucumber, tomato and avocado, the simpler Hamachi Crunch Roll ($10.50) was more satisfying, with spicy hamachi and cucumber, rolled in tempura flakes.

For their 10th anniversary this month, there’s new menu items and a special $20.10 three course lunch menu, which is a fine deal for the amount of food. Their daily Chaya Medley ($21-26) is also a deal with three to four small servings of sushi dishes. Merely for the sake of trying a variety of things, I ordered pasta and was surprised to find this dish my favorite of the meal.

I did not expect such tender Angus Beef Bolognese ($16) over house Farfalle pasta with porcinis, cherry tomatoes, Pecorino Romano cheese and a white truffle oil drizzle. It was sweet from the warm tomatoes, earthy with mushroom and truffle oil.

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding with caramel ice cream ($8) was an airy, warm, lightly creamy finish.

TONY’S PIZZA NAPOLETANA, North Beach – I can’t help but continue to bring up Tony’s Pizza.

With a new take-out pizza, sandwich and Italian ice shop next to door to the restaurant, Tony’s eating options have expanded, much to the gain of North Beach residents and savvy tourists. Tony scored with yet another brilliant new pizza: Lamb & Eucalyptus ($23) is scattered with tender braised lamb (not even a hint of gaminess), crumbled feta, marjoram leaves, and drizzled with an aromatic eucalyptus reduction. Every time I want to order a Tony’s favorite again (like Cal Italia or Original Tomato Pie), I’ll remember this lamb pizza and why it pays to try a new pie every time.

 

COCKTAILS & SPIRITS

ROSE PISTOLA, North Beach - Lovely bar manager Aurora Siegel maintains a fine cocktail menu at Rose Pistola that could be easy to miss in North Beach’s tourist bustle. Finely-wrought takes on classics like Rose’s Manhattan ($10 – Bulleit Bourbon, sweet vermouth, bitters, Amarena cherry juice, essence of orange) mingle with bright refreshers like The Q ($11 – Hendrick’s Gin, muddled cucumber, house-made ginger syrup, lemon juice, salted cucumber slice).

Bella Bolle ($10) is an ideal pre-dinner or warm night imbibement with Encanto Pisco, seasonal fruit (in my recent visit, strawberries), fresh lemon juice, house elderflower syrup, topped with a prosecco float. Siegel skillfully whipped up cocktails on the spot based on my friend’s request and I sampled her cocktail for next week’s SF Cocktail Week, utilizing Encanto Pisco with fall-like spices. Sit at the bar with appetizers or specials like steaming mussels or a dreamy flatbread covered in prosciutto, Mission figs, creamy stracchino cheese, drizzled in white truffle oil, and one feels transported to a European bar.

FAIR SPIRITS - It was exciting to witness the first certified fair-trade spirits released at a Burritt Room private party on 7/31. FAIR, a France-based company, has created a vodka, a Goji Berry Liqueur, and a coffee liqueur… all fair trade.

I am partial to the quinoa-based vodka and FAIR.Cafe Liqueur myself. I am likewise inspired by the years of work to certify ingredients used in these spirits, a truly pioneering effort. They have a rum and tequila in the works but there is little in the way of fair trade agave or sugar so the hurdles are many. Co-founder Alexandre Koiransky flew out from France for the release of FAIR in the US cities it’s currently available: NY, LA, Chicago and SF.

The night turned into a “crawl” at three superb bars, Cantina, Rickhouse, and Gitane, where bartenders invented their own  FAIR cocktail creations. There were highlights at each bar, not the least of which was the (intentionally) ridiculously named Cartoons Can Be Midgets at Burritt Room, boozy and bright with FAIR vodka, Cynar, chipotle tincture, and peach bitters, in a Chartreuse-rinsed glass, garnished with orange peel.

As  we were admonished that night, “We can now vote with our dollars at the bar…” by ordering fair trade.

9/13 HARLEM SHOT COMPETITION at Tasting Panel’s Tour -

Tasting Panel hosted a tasting of the Double Gold winners of 2010′s San Francisco World Spirits Competition and International Wine Competition at  Hotel Monaco Monday. Highlights included 2009 Germana Heritage Cachaca, Vizcaya VXOP Solera Rum, El Jimador Anejo Tequila, Jules Taylor’s 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, and Lynmar’s 2007 Russian River Chardonnay.

But the most fun portion of the afternoon was HARLEM’s shot competition where 11 SF bartenders concocted creative shots using HARLEM liqueur. Besides the two below, I also was taken with the spirituous balance of Brian MacGregor’s Shot of Courage (HARLEM, Yellow Chartreuse, Bols Genever, lemon) and Sierra Zimei’s (of Four Seasons’ Seasons Bar) bright Cherry Poppins (HARLEM, unsweetened cherry juice, homemade cinnamon/vanilla bitters, egg white).

The winning drinks were…

Judges choice: Carlo Splendorini from gitane’s SAN FRANCISCO LATE SUMMER NIGHT
1oz HARLEM
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz mission fig reduction
Muddled lemon thyme
Candied fig for garnish

Combine all ingredients excluding garnish into a shaker, muddle lemon thyme, shake for 5 seconds. Fine strain into chilled shot glass and garnish with candied mission figs.

Fan favorite: David Ruiz from Mr. Smith’s HARLEM MARMALADE
1oz HARLEM
3/4 oz lemon juice
1 bar spoon homemade triple citrus orange marmalade

Combine HARLEM, fresh lemon juice, jam and ice in shaker. Shake hard to break down jam. Double strain and pour into a shot glass.

NEW ORLEANS

“In New Orleans, gluttony is a way of life.” – Morton J. Horwitz

I’m getting those Basin Street Blues again.  I’ve done articles on the Uptown, Carollton and Garden District, more Uptown & Bywater, on French Quarter food and drink, and the Fauborg Marigny and Treme neighborhoods.  Now I cover the more commercial, high-rise-littered CBD, where some of Nola’s best food and drink is found.

CBD

CBD (or, Central Business District) is Nola’s downtown with high-rises and a slew of hotels. As corporate as some of the buildings look, there’s inspiring architecture interspersed. I find it to be one of the most vibrant Nola ‘hoods for drinks and restaurants. Best of all, this where you can get an unforgettable drink from Chris McMillian and visit the Museum of the American Cocktail, of which he is a founding member.

Drinks

BAR UNCOMMON at Renaissance Pere Marquette – You’ve heard me mention Chris McMillian many a time and with good reason. He’s the bartender I credit with changing the way I drink. Certainly over the past decade in San Francisco, I have changed, matured, evolved with my own study and many of our country’s best bartenders here in SF illuming the way.

A few years ago I had drinks at Chris’ bar multiple times in one week, the highlight of my first visit to New Orleans. His level of craft and care with the classics, not to mention his poetry recitation in ode to the julep, showed me more fully than anyone ever had before the history, art form, romance and possibility inherent in a cocktail. He has also best exemplified the customer care and lack of pretension a great bartender exudes. I came home inspired, working carefully on my Old-Fashioneds and Mint Juleps. He makes the I’ve ever had of either. Any other drink (including his Aviation) will likewise leave it’s mark. If you claim to love drink at all, order from McMillian.

SWIZZLE STICK BAR in Loews Hotel next to Cafe Adelaide - Though I have mixed feelings about some of the light, sweet drinks I sampled here, including a signature Adelaide Swizzle ($7.50) – Amber rum, lime, bitters, soda – I dig the lush, playful lounge setting in  velvets and pastels. I respect the reputation this bar has amongst bartenders I talked to in Nola and appreciate the personality behind Cafe Adelaide’s name.

POLO CLUB LOUNGE in Windsor Court Hotel – It’s old school, 1980′s elegance, to be sure. More fitting for older gentleman in suits with loads of cash. But with live piano jazz and extensive scotches and champagnes, I find it a worthy Nola respite for whiskey and romance.

Restaurants

AUGUST – Yes, John Besh is Nola’s great chef and his signature restaurant is easily my top recommend for fine dining in this city. Certainly it’s one of my top restaurants in all of Nola. Service is impeccable, the wine list strong, atmosphere is elegant, quiet but not stuffy. Pricey tasting menus please gourmands with refined execution and heartwarming Southern touches in dishes like Sugar & Spice Duckling with stone ground grits, roasted foie gras, candied quince. The lunch prix fixe is a steal and budget way to try this landmark Nola restaurant.

COCHON -  Cochon gets much acclaim. I enjoyed first visiting it back in 2008. While I wouldn’t call it the best in Nola, it does place Southern food firmly in updated territory, re-interpreted for city folk. Traditional dishes that make me crazy happy, like Crawfish Pie ($8), Grilled Shrimp Chow-Chow ($9) and Fried Boudin ($9), appear here in fresh iterations. Their famed Louisiana Cochon ($22) isn’t any less fatty because there’s turnips and cabbage in it. Cracklins confirm this is one rich dish in a pig-centric restaurant. They do everything with finesse and though not every plate tastes as wonderful as it sounds, this is one of those spots where merely perusing the menu makes me salivate. Head next door to Cochon Butcher for sandwiches or meats to go. 

CUVEE – If you’re going to Cuvee, you might as well visit the superior August instead, but that doesn’t make Cuvee an unworthy CBD stop, especially for the $24 lunch prix fixe, which, similar to August, is a more affordable way to sample their fare. They serve a superior version of Gulf Shrimp Napoleon ($11): crisp mirliton, rémoulade, cayenne beurre blanc, frisée, or creations like Carne Cruda ($13): filet mignon, rioja reduction, mahon, peppadew peppers.

STUDYING DRINK: Three Books to Up Your Cocktail-Making Game or Historical Knowledge

LEFT COAST LIBATIONS - Ted Munat with Michael Lazar
Left Coast Libations, which came out September 1st (catch the launch party this Saturday, 9/18, at Heaven’s Dog), is, as far as I’m concerned, a must for the library of any West Coast cocktailian, not to mention drink aficionados everywhere.

Ted Munat clearly displays a fan’s love of drink and the bartenders behind them in his cheeky, delightful bartender bios, Jenn Farrington’s pristine photos give the book a sleek, pure look, and Michael Lazar painstakingly made every recipe to ensure workability for those of us trying these recipes at home. Naturally, San Francisco makes a strong showing with LA, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver bartenders sharing many of their greats, all highlighting the innovation happening in cocktails on the West Coast.

You’ll find recipes for local favorites like Daniel Hyatt’s Southern Exposure or Joel Baker’s Pear Sonata. I’ve been making many of these at home and the book is rich with possibility. In the midst of intriguingly unique recipes calling for homemade syrups or tinctures, I am also grateful for simple beauties like Murray Stenson’s (who won American Bartender of the Year at Tales of the Cocktail) Stephan’s Sour with Beefeater gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and Bitter Truth celery bitters.

VINTAGE SPIRITS and FORGOTTEN COCKTAILS – Ted Haigh
After meeting attending his Hollywood Cocktails seminar at Tales of the Cocktail, I can say Ted Haigh is one crazy guy… and one of the best resources in the world for history behind drinks (just read his regular column in Imbibe magazine). With a well deserved win as Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book at Tales, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails feels like the kind of tome that would be a definitive resource in any era. Focused on the classics, it’s rich with historical notes, vintage artwork, and approachable, standard-setting recipes every bartender (or at-home novice) should know. Kudos for the spiral bound presentation, making it easy to use while mixing drinks.

LAST CALL: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition – Daniel Okrent
Last Call is an almost textbook-detailed approach to the history, people and circumstances surrounding Prohibition and how it changed the face of America in issues as far-ranging as personal freedom to organized crime. Daniel Okrent is best known as the first public editor of the New York Times, but is also a Pulitzer nominee. His painstaking research reveals fascinating stories (Carry A. Nation, the temperance “saloon smasher” with a hatchet, for one), and debatable but thought-provoking conclusions. Just delve into the introduction with eye-opening stats on just how much America drank pre-Prohibition, and you’ll be hooked.

PLUM PREVIEW DINNER at Il Cane Rosso

Daniel Patterson is one of our city’s true visionary chefs, willing to push the envelope, gifted with technique, but, yes, able to make it taste damn good. I’m a big fan of Coi, delight in Il Cane Rosso and try not to resent Oakland for getting both Bracina and Plum, his upcoming ventures.

Thankfully, Plum sneak preview dinners were held here in SF at Il Cane Rosso, every Monday during August. A simple, four-course menu was presented at $45 per person, representing what might be on offer once Plum rolls out. It’s a smart idea: try things out, get diner’s feedback, hone the menu… all before the restaurant opens.

Of course, I am eagerly anticipating the bar menu from none other than Scott Beattie with bar manager Michael Lazar, co-author of Left Coast Libations. This is going to be a good one, folks.

Patterson, Il Cane Rosso chef Lauren Kiino and pastry chef Bill Corbett are behind the food. From the preview dinner perspective, I first noticed the menu’s straightforwardness: lamb stew, roasted beets, and the like. But the food belies a brazen spirit you won’t catch reading the menu, one married to understatement. Ask questions and you’ll find there’s much more to a dish than meets the eye.

What is labeled “potato chips” are russet potato strips and skins prepared like chicharrones: crispy, dusted with cayenne and fennel pollen. These would make incredible bar snacks. Roasted beets display radiant hues of gold and red, accented with onions, sorrel and the crunch of pistachio.

A pure, seemingly simple mushroom dashi/broth with yuba, tofu and greens, is contrasted by pickled radish. This dish is an excellent example of what I’ve seen from Patterson before: balanced flavors, impeccable technique but approachable, not playing any games.

Lamb stew with sunchokes and wheatberries deserves applause. When I found out what was in the dish, it seemed a shame not to list it on the menu, but it’s smart on the Plum crew’s part to encourage the average diner to order something they are comfortable with (lamb, for example), while gently expanding their horizons.

The stew is tender chunks of lamb neck, shoulder and head, while accompanying grilled toast is covered in “brainnaise”, Patterson’s term for brain mayonnaise. Never fear, it tastes delicious with radicchio. You’d never know that mayo was creamy with lamb brain.

Dessert is fresh huckleberries accented with airy goat cheese foam on a ‘liquid’ graham cracker, followed by a grapefruit and wild fennel pate de fruit: a bright, tart finish.

The marriage is right: the food is straightforward and comforting, accessible to your general Bay Area diner, but simultaneously bold, unapologetic and lovingly prepared. This bodes well for Plum.

8/19 Chris Isaak Concert & Dinner at Wente Vineyards, Livermore

There may be other Bay Area concert winery venues (Mountain Winery, for example), but none like family-owned Wente Vineyards in Livermore.

Run by the same family for five generations and set on a 3000 acre expanse of golden rolling hills and vineyards, Wente is managed by delightfully down-to-earth family members who keep the business alive, yes, with wine-making, but also with a scenic golf course, a restaurant and the aforementioned concert venue.

It’s magic sitting out under the warm Livermore night sky, cradled by palms, vineyards and foliage, in a venue big enough to feel like an event, small enough to offer visibility. On August 19, I trekked out for a Chris Isaak show. I was a fan in high school, pleased to say he’s utterly charming in person, maintaining old-fashioned showmanship and witty banter in a sparkly, classic country/Elvis-style wardrobe. The setting could not have enhanced the enchantment of his music more. The range (and randomness) of shows is wide, whether it be from my longtime hero, Harry Connick, Jr., or the likes of Liza Minnelli, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Fray, even ZZ Top (!)

The rest of this year’s line-up includes Willie Nelson with Ryan Bingham on Monday, September 13, the one-and-only Harry Connick (sadly, his show is sold out) on September 21st, and a just-added Don Henley show on September 20th. Tickets are pricey, running just shy of $90 to nearly $150 for seats, or anywhere from $150 to just below $300 with dinner, whether it be outdoor picnics or a multi-course meal, wine included, in their restaurant. Of course, you can eat at the restaurant on non-concert days without concert prices.

But the combo of the two certainly makes for a memorable special occasion or date, and what surprises most is the quality of the food in a full, three-course dinner. My dinner was paired nicely with bottles of 2006 Murrieta’s Well, a melon, vanilla-tinged white Meritage ($11 glass; $40 bottle), and a 2006 Annika Syrah, rich with plum and wild blackberry ($24 glass; $96 bottle).

Executive chef Eric Berg uses produce and herbs from their own organic garden (there’s even a master gardener, Diane Dovholuk, on staff) and unusual offerings, like Bison Tenderloin Tartare with yellow beets, green onion, creme fraiche, sorrel puree and beet greens. It was a treat to eat bison raw, tender and fresh with garden accents. Simple and pure shines in the case of Frog Hollow Peaches with red onion, toasted hazelnuts, mizuna greens and pancetta vinaigrette. A perfect Summer dish.

Liberty Farms Duck Breast “Scaloppini” with leg confit, horseradish gnocchi, charred lemon zest and smoked eggplant puree was appropriately prepared medium-rare, the confit leg adding succulence.

Wagyu Flatiron Steak & Maine Lobster is a pleasing “surf and turf” combo, prepared with stewed heirloom chiles, fingerling potato fondant, in a lobster-veal sauce.

Though I especially liked the sound of Frozen Horchata with hibiscus soup, local strawberries and mint, it was more a bright palate cleanser than spiced with horchata dish, while a Local Nectarine Tartlette with sweet corn ice cream and salted caramel lingered longer and pleasurably.

Needless to say, it’s a hefty splurge, but the whole package, both dinner and concert, is a uniquely California experience: vineyards, palm trees, garden-fresh cuisine, even an Old West feeling of remoteness out amongst dry, rolling hills, combine into a bewitching evening.