{Travel Tuesday} Marlowe in San Francisco, CA

One of the reasons we like to dine out is to discover new dishes we could make at home.  Last month, we discovered the airiest Brussels Sprouts chips while we were in San Francisco.  We had trekked all the way over to the SoMa district from our hotel (30 mins walk) to grab a late lunch at this relatively new bistro, Marlowe.  Though located near the AT&T Ballpark, this bistro serves anything but your average ballpark fare.

Walking inside Marlowe, we found a small, but comfortable space with an industrial decor.  My husband ordered the locally brewed Trumer Pils (Berkeley), a German-style Pilsner that made for a refreshing afternoon drink.

Marlowe Burger with Brussels Sprouts chips ($12): My husband ordered this juicy, rare burger and quickly devoured it.  With caramelized onions, bacon, melted cheddar cheese, and horseradish aioli, this burger had a nice balance between spicy and salt.  The burger itself has 80/20 ground beef with some mild lamb mixed into it and it's held together by an Acme bun.

But what I loved about the dish was that the kitchen let us substitute the side of fries with Brussels Sprouts chips  These chips were wafer-thin and crispy.  To make them, the chef takes the outer layers of Brussels sprouts and fries them in rice oil.  The chips are finished off with sea salt and freshly-squeezed Meyer lemon juice.

Little Gem Salad ($8):  I ordered this colorful plate of various shaved radishes, pickled onion, and avocado laid on top of bibb lettuce and dressed with a light citrus vinaigrette.  Though too small for a complete entree, the salad was bright and light.

After the salad, I definitely had room for dessert.  Believe it or not, this dessert was their version of Pumpkin Whoopie Pie. The Pumpkin Whoopie in a Jar ($6) had a very strong bourbon ice cream, bourbon caramel, vanilla bean, pumpkin spice, and pecans.  As excited as I was for this dessert, the bourbon flavor was too overwhelming for me (I was hoping for more pumpkin and vanilla).  My husband, however, enjoyed it and emptied out the jar.

Marlowe is located at 330 Townsend St in San Francisco, CA.

{Wine Wednesday} Lynmar Estate and Merry Edwards

It's dark, rainy, and cold here in NYC today.  So we thought we would share photos from sunnier days when we were in Sonoma County last month.  We hope you enjoy our winery visits to beautiful Lynmar Estates and free tastings at Merry Edwards.  We're going to try to keep dry and count down to happy hour!  Happy Wednesday!

{Travel Tuesday} Commonwealth in San Francisco, CA

Elegant food in a casual atmosphere, with proceeds going to charity - dinner at Commonwealth was the perfect way to end our San Francisco trip earlier this month.  We were really cutting it close - enjoying a multi-course dinner in the Mission District before rushing to the airport to make our red-eye flight.  But it was well worth it!

We debated between the 6 course $60 tasting menu ($90 with wine pairing) or the a la carte menu.  For every tasting menu order, Commonwealth will donate $10 to charity, which made me want to get the tasting menu.  But the night we were there, both proceeds from both tasting menu and a la carte menu went toward Meals on Wheels.  So instead, we decided to order off the a la carte menu to try more dishes.  Our first taste of the night were complimentary (and addictive) homemade chips with seaweed and pimenton (Spanish paprika) with a malt vinegar mousse (similar to an aoili) for dipping.  A tasty and playful alternative to bread and butter - we were in for a fun dinner.    

The kitchen provided us with a complimentary taste of their Shaved Carrots and Radishes dish.  It was a great starter with ash coated goat cheese, quinoa, spicy greens and walnuts.  

Asian Pear with chicory, pomegranate, cured ham, idiazabal cheese and peppers ($12).  The cheese, presented in a spherical shape, becomes runny and adds a creamy texture to the salad to match the tart pear, bright and sweet pomegranate, and soft fatty ham.  My husband loves salads like these - with so much cheese and salty ham that he does not realize he's eating a salad.

Kabocha Pumpkin with black kale, yuba, sprouting broccoli, coconut milk and peanuts ($12):  I love Kabocha pumpkin - it's sweet like butternut squash, with a pumpkin/sweet potato-like texture.  Yuba is a tofu skin that was fried and added a nice crunch.  Loved the deep, earthy kale and broccoli with the light coconut milk foam too.

Sea Urchin with sweet potato tempura, chrysanthemum leaf, shiso, scallion and yuzu kosho ($15):  I haven't been a fan of uni (sea urchin), but after having it at Marea in NYC and now here, I'm gaining a greater appreciation for this dish.  My husband loved the briny urchin with the sweet tempura, tart yuzu, and herbal chrysanthemum, shiso, and scallion.

Squid and Pork Belly with jidori egg salad, potato croutons and a drizzle of a herb vinaigrette ($13):  Two of my husband's favorite things to eat - squid and pork belly - combined on one plate.  Pork belly is one of those ingredients that we gravitate towards on a menu.  The vinaigrette and crispy squid keeps the dish from tasting too heavy. 

By now, we were both full, but I could not pass up on dessert.  I ordered the cinnamon mille-feuille with cardamom marshmallow, chocolate ganache, and burnt honey ice cream ($8).  I love mille-feuille (it's a French pastry that is normally filled with vanilla or custard cream in between layers of puff pastry) and found this cinnamon version interesting.  My favorite part of the dessert, however, was the homemade cardamom marshmallow.  I love the taste of cardamom and how it balances the sweetness of marshmallows. 

And then the chef came out to bring us a complimentary dessert of Olive Oil Cake with yuzu curd, huckleberries, pinenut brittle, and creme fraiche ice cream.  I was contemplating getting this dessert too, so I was thrilled when we were presented this dish by the chef. The cake itself was moist and the yuzu and creme fraiche ice cream was nice and light. 

We enjoyed briefly chatting with the Chef, who had also worked with the equally friendly, generous, and talented Chef Kate from Plum.  We found the staff superb and timely throughout the evening.  And though the plates are relatively small (similar to a tapas restaurant), we were very full by the end of dinner.  Overall, we had a great time and enjoyed dishes that reminded us of Coi but at a fraction of the price.

 Commonwealth is located at 2224 Mission St. in San Francisco, CA.

{Travel Tuesday} Sons & Daughters in San Francisco, CA

 

Date night in San Francisco started off with a walk up a steep hill to the newly-opened restaurant, Sons & Daughters in the Nob Hill area.  Thankfully, it was only a couple of blocks from our hotel and I was wearing flats.  Walking into the restaurant, I felt like we were back in NYC, dining in a neighborhood joint in  Brooklyn.  The interior was black, white, with shades of gray; while the staff were young and pleasant.  The kitchen was in the middle of the dining room and there was a waiting lounge downstairs.

The changing menu is short, with only 11 dishes (which includes the 2 dessert options) on it.  I liked that the whole table doesn't need to participate in the tasting menu, so my husband went with the bargain 4-course $48 prix fixe tasting menu while I ordered a couple of items a la carte.

After we ordered our glasses of wine (Syrah-based 2009 Cotes du Rhone from St. Cosme ($9) and a easy-drinking lemony white Bordeaux blend from Chateau Lamothe de Haux ($10)), we received this complimentary amuse bouche.  The Raw Oyster finished with cucumber juice and lime was bright, briny, and refreshing. A good start to our meal!  We were also given warm homemade brioche with very local San Francisco sea salt (not pictured).

My husband's first course:  Raw Lobster Tail with Basil Lime, Pomegranate and Caviar.  The lobster was pounded thin and was pleasant with the salty caviar, sweet pomegranate seeds, and microgreens on top.  This dish tasted even better than it looks (my husband proclaimed it to be one of the best appetizers he's ever enjoyed).  

My complimentary taste of the Herb Salad.  The kitchen nicely brought me a taste of their "curds and whey" salad (maybe they thought my husband wouldn't share his lobster appetizer and didn't want me sitting there without anything to eat?).  It had curds, whey, radish, sliced fennel, airy eucalyptus oil foam, and crispy quinoa scattered on top.  This was certainly an interesting salad.

My husband's 2nd course: Sweetbreads with Lobster Claw, turnip, and bronzed fennel. A great choice for the tasting menu option - a few bites of the sweet shellfish paired with the browned yet melt-in-your-mouth sweetbread with tender vegetables was excellent.

My dish:  Squash with White Chanterelles, Rapini, Dried Fruit, Pineapple Sage, and Nasturtium ($13) A lovely fall dish that was surprisingly delicate and hearty in flavor.

My husband's 3rd course: Lamb loin cooked sous vide and then pan seared and served medium rare with quail egg, spinach, toasted barley and chunks of lamb cheek.  We love dishes with a runny egg that you can mix with the jus and in this case the barley.  My husband enjoyed this dish, while I preferred my squab dish below.

My entree: Squab ($20) breast, Confit leg, and pate with poached pears, hazelnuts (crushed and puree), and shallots.  I loved this dish!  The meat was juicy, the rustic pate was insanely rich, and the hazelnuts enhanced the dish by bringing out the flavor of the meat.

Complimentary palate cleanser:  Blueberries, vanilla bean, and airy vanilla powder.   I liked the light, playful bite which paired blueberries with a vanilla cloud.  When I looked up from my bite, however, my husband had blown the powder all over himself and the table. I laughed as he sheepishly explained he was trying to sniff the aroma before taking a bite.

My husband's 4th course (dessert):  Foie Gras, pickled apple puree, lemon verbana, and almond brioche crumble.  To me, this was not a dessert dish (very savoury, not a lot of sweet), which is probably why my husband loved it. He really enjoyed the buttery and salty richness of the foie gras paired with the intense pickled apple to cleanse his palate.

Sons and Daughters is located at 708 Bush St. (at Powell) in San Francisco, CA.

High/Low's Bi-Coastal Celebrity Chef adventures

When High/Low recently went bi-coastal for a weekend, we each had our own celebrity chef adventure.

I was in San Francisco enjoying an Anthony Bourdain-inspired culinary adventure, while my husband was in New York meeting one of the greatest chefs of all time, Thomas Keller!

Join us as we take you through each of our adventures.

I met with Mardi at R&G Lounge for their famous Salt and Pepper Dungeness Crab and Lychee martinis (yes, even Anthony Bourdain drank one!)  This restaurant is also a favorite of Michael Mina's.

I love lychee martinis (This one was $10).  I'm not sure how this version was made, but here is my recipe that has been very popular amongst my friends:

Lychee Martini

Ingredients:

1 can of lychee fruit

 Soho lychee liqueur

vodka

Directions:

In a martini shaker, add 1 oz Soho, 1 oz vodka, 2 oz syrup from the can of lychee fruit, and ice.  Shake well.  Pour the drink into a martini glass.  Add a couple of lychee fruit from the can and serve.

Our meal was very photogenic!

The crab ($35) was fantastic - meaty, crunchy, and simply seasoned with salt and pepper.

The next day, Mardi met me again, this time at Bourdain's favorite quick bite at the Ferry Plaza Marketplace:  Primavera.

I had the breakfast ($9) of eggs, beans, salsa, and tortillas.

Mardi had the tomales ($9), which were also Bourdain's choice.  One had mushroom and the other had pork - both very filling, but delicious. 

With so much fresh and substantial dishes, it's no wonder Alice Waters counts herself one of Primavera's many fans.

Lastly, I passed by San Francisco's (and California's) oldest establishment, Tadich Grill, where Bourdain went to grab a drink.  I peeked inside, and with its dark, glossy wood-panelling and cozy, enclosed booths, it looks like San Francisco preserved in time.

My lucky husband got to meet (and take a photo with) one of our idols, Thomas Keller!

Keller was signing his new cookbook, ad hoc, at a nearby Williams Sonoma store.

 While waiting in line, my husband got this Cauliflower Soup sample (which was not a recipe in the book)...

 

...and this Chocolate Chip cookie from the ad hoc cookbook.

Though I wished I could have been there, I'm glad we got this keepsake!

Bourdain's SF Adventure:

R&G Lounge is located at 631 Kearny St
 Primavera is found on Saturday mornings at the the Ferry Plaza Marketplace.
Tadich Grill is located at 240 California St. 

Brunch at Lulu-SF

The final event of the Foodbuzz Festival was the Farewell Brunch at Lulu Restaurant.  Those who managed to wake up from the prior night's festivities were on hand for the last food event of the weekend before attendees left for home.

Glad to see lots of salads available including this one with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, olives, baby lettuce, and Ivernia cheese.

We probably would not have seen this Californian produce for another week or so in NYC.

Make Your Own Bloody Mary bar...

After all the wine tasting and dinner pairing, we settled on OJ and as much of the buffet as I could fit on my plate:

Pear, blue cheese, and walnut salad
 Frittata with aged cheddar, whiskey, and wild mushrooms

French toast

Vegetable salad

Another fun event, including meeting Jaden from Steamy Kitchen and Marc from No Recipes.  (See if you can spot them in the crowd!)  Can't wait for next year's conference!