November 14th, 2009
Our final foodie pilgrimage led us to congregate at Yank Sing for Dim Sum in the Embarcadero for one last nosh before going our separate ways. Prior to quenching our urge for Chinese delights we made an appearance at the “Farewell Brunch” presented by Natures Pride at Restaurant Lulu to thank everyone from Foodbuzz for making this an event to remember and to have a light brunch and a few “build-your-own” Bloody Mary’s from Sky Spirits.
After experiencing a minor food coma, we retreated back to the hotel for a brief interlude to collect our thoughts and rest our bellies before setting out again on a far east adventure.
Dim Sum was on our agenda from the moment we booked our trip and San Francisco has become a Dim Sum mecca for foodies from around the globe. When surveying people throughout our visit everyone said that Yank Sing in the financial district was the place to be and that was the consensus among the blogger community.
We shared the table with some foodie fanatics from Seattle and San Francisco and we had an all out chow session. All menu items were fair game from the tame steamed dumplings, to freshly baked pork buns”Bao” and more exotic braised chicken feet. Our group was lively and we were all in our respective zones. We shared the large round table with Naomi Bishop(The gastrognome), Diana Johnson(Dianasaurdishes), Frank Guanco(Going for seconds), Rachel Bjornson(lovelyolio.blogspot), Jennifer Fisher(Foodbat.blogspot.com) and last but not least Loraine Goldberg from Scrumptious Seattle
The “Lazy Susan” did not have a moment to rest as we kept on passing food as if it were forbidden contraband. Everyone had their own favorite items and we all selected enough items for the entire group to share. Freshly steeped jasmine tea kept us all recharged throughout the meal. Dumplings were a plenty along with fried Soft-shell crab, deep fried tofu wrapped in seaweed, har-gao and pork and shrimp shumai. Also on display was a special spicy chili paste made especially for Yank Sing.
We closed our meal with a selection of custards and sweet sesame balls to contrast the savory items we consumed and I have to sadly report that we had to pass on the Roasted Peking Duck because we were all filled to the brim and we had to leave something behind for our next visit. This experience goes down in our books as one of the top 2 best dim sum meals to date.
We have to thank our Seattle foodies for sharing a great experience and embracing Marissa, myself and VivaLAfoodies. We plan on meeting everyone in the next few months in Seattle to explore the best that the Pacific Northwest food scene has to offer, and our door is always open here in LA to serve as guides for more adventures in foodie-land.
This concludes my “Epicurean in the City” series from San Franciso and I hope that everyone now has a few more places to add to their repetures. Until the next adventure, “Savor a piece of life one bite at a time”
Comments Off | In: Traveling Foodie | tags: dianasaurdishes, Foodbat.blogspot.com, foodbuzz blogger festival, goingforseconds, lovelyolio.blogspot.com, scrumptious seattle, The gastronome, Yank Sing. | #
November 10th, 2009
It was 7:00pm last Friday and after the outstanding welcoming reception by the Foodbuzz family, the congregation of 200+ Food bloggers converged on San Francisco’s Ferry building like a biblical exodus from Egypt and all I could hear in my head was the infamous Bob Marley track, Exodus…”Movement of Jah people”
Groups of bloggers united and sought out their respective foodie expeditions. Marissa and I were fortunate to have our noses and bellies as guides as well as our co-conspirator and fellow food blogger Rico Mandel from The Culinary Image. He was chronicling the event in the style of his signature photojournalist approach and he captured Marissa and I from our first pour of Thirsty Bear “Valencia Wheat” beer to our last sip.
Since we are also two Jews who enjoy pork, it was no accident that we reconnected tonight in San Francisco and “pork” was the theme of the evening. From Crispy Chicharones with a tag-line “Got Crispy Skin” from 4505 meats to a Mini rotisserie Porchetta on an Acme Roll with curly cress and onion Marmalade from Roli Roti, our non-kosher cravings were met with open arms and salivary glands.
Cupcakes were next on our agenda and the artisan bakers from Mission Minis had an amazing arrangement of their signature mini cupcakes on display. Since a lot of food had not been touched by us at this point, Marissa and I decided on trading bites of the Swiss Almond Coconut and Ruby Red Velvet to save room for other festival delights before stopping next door at the Straus Family Creamery for the organic micro-produced coffee and Vanilla bean ice-cream.
On a side note, I know the above dining route may sound a bit un-orthodox, but it really didn’t matter because how often do you get the chance to experience an amazing assortment of dining options all in one place specifically arranged for food bloggers.
A few more beers later and we sampled a pizza from Pizza Politana with “Greenstring Farms eggplant, dry-cured olives, feta and parsley that took us both back to Greenwich Village NYC.
We were both in serious need of a deep palette cleansing in between courses so we shared a Beet Salad with Point Reyes Blue(one of my fav’s) and Far West Fungi Voi au Vent medley from Spencer on the Go. Both salads were amazing and for some reason mushrooms kept falling into Marissa’s purse(LOL)
A trio of tacos later consisting of Braised Beef, Chorizo potato and vegetarian mixed bean by Tacolicious brought both classic and modern flavors of Oaxaca to SF by way of chef and owner proprietor Joe Hargrave.
Rico and I reconnected towards the end of the event at the Hog Island Oyster Co table to indulge on a locally sustainably farmed Kumamoto Oysters on the 1/2 shell accompanied by HIOCO’s signature Asian style Hog Wash.
After prying ourselves away it was time for one last indulgence; Savory Vegetarian and meat pies from the Pie Truck. This was an atypical choice for desert, but since we were breaking all of the rules, it was not too far off since a pie crust was involved.
All in all without hesitation we can say that ”We got served”, in a good way by Foodbuzz and amazing street vendors at the “Taste of SF Street Food Fare Pavilion.
No Comments | In: Traveling Foodie | tags: Ferry Building Street Food, Foodbuzz Taste of SF Street Food Fare, San Francisco Foodbuzz blogger Festival, Tacolicious. | #
November 9th, 2009
Below is the first entry in my series “Epicurean in the city-adventures in foodie-land
(An all-a-carte journal of our visit to San Francisco)
Food Bloggers united and converged on the Hotel Vitale; a Joie de vivre property in the Embarcadero waterfront neighborhood for the Foodbuzz Welcome Reception kickoff. The team at Foodbuzz couldn’t have chosen a better location and venue, since the property is located in the shadows of the Golden Gate Bridge, Ferry Building and the Embarcadero Center. All of these elements worked in perfect harmony to create a spectacular evening of gastronomic indulgement and bonding over all things food.
From the moment we arrived to the Landmark Suite and Terrace on the 8th Floor overlooking the Ferry Building, we were welcomed with open arms by our foodbuzz hosts Dorian Asch, Alexa Malott, Ryan Stern and the rest of the team along with the hundreds of foodbuzz blogger attendees.
Skyy Spirits San Francisco, Iron Horse Sparkling Wine and Speakeasy Ales & Lagers provided the liquid fuel to get us all in the mood. While sipping on Speakeasy, Big Daddy IPA, we ran into our good friend and blogger Rico Mandel and connected with some great new folks, Rachel and Lorraine from Seattle as well as a friendly Bostonian, Candice from Beer Advocate who preached the importance of respecting beer. We also spent our time connecting with a slue of chefs from various Joie de vivre properties around the state and were primed and ready for our next destination, the “Taste of San Francisco Street Food “Fare” on 11/6/09.
No Comments | In: Traveling Foodie | tags: Beer Advocate, Foodbuzz Welcome Reception, Joie de vivre, San Francisco. | #
July 19th, 2009
On a warm weekday afternoon after some coaxing from my stomach and buds, taste-buds that is, I decided to embark on a BBQ adventure. My journey took me just slightly North of the Los Angeles county line and brought me to Simi Valley to Smokin Steve’s BBQ joint. The old saying is definitely true and “good things are worth the wait.” When I pulled up my nose knew that I was in the right place because the smell of smoked meats engulfed my senses.
This Brick and mortar location was a long time in the making(5 years to be exact) and Smokin Steve’s BBQ Joint opened its doors in Jan. 09. Smokin Steve’s Catering pre-dates the founding of the restaurant and still provides mobile catering services from casual Barbecue meals to upscale dining options for any occassion. They can handle anything from a small tailgate party/family reunion all the way up to a large wedding celebration
Steve Bayles(aka. “Smokin Steve”) has been cooking and perfecting bbq for most of his adult life. His passion for bringing authentic BBQ to the southern California market is the driving force behind the restaurants success and the success of the catering division.
The menu is small and simple and offers something for everyone. Simplicity helps maintain high quality standards and quality control for all items as well as timely delivery of food to customers.
Two of the most popular menu items at Smokin Steve’s are the Memphis Ribs also known as the “4 bone meal” and the Pulled Pork Sandwich. The 4 bone meal consists of 4 tender ribs coated in Steve’s own Rasberry Chipotle BBQ sauce and served with 2 house special sides. The ribs are slow cooked for 5-6 hours and literally fall off the bone. The same TLC also carries through to the Pulled Pork Sandwich that is basted in BBQ sauces and topped with homestyle slaw(Memphis Style). The slaw provides a good contrast to the pork and the tangyness of the bbq sauce. The sandwich is served on a potato bun and it tops it off.
Smokin Steve’s keeps its sides simple like the rest of the menu but does not spare on flavor and quality. The Potato salad is hearty and home style, cold and refreshing and not overdressed. Like the potato salad, the Slaw had a nice taste and a Dijon zing to it. Steve’s Home-style beans are sweet and savory at the same time and are completely vegetarian unlike some other establishments. No bacon in these beans, but it doesn’t matter because they are so good.
Smokin Steve and his BBQ crew won top honors and the title of Reserved Grand Champion(2nd overall)(all meats) at the Clovis Festival(Fresno, CA). Sign up for newsletter to find out about special smokin steves events and specials. Think Smokin Steve’s for your next gathering, mobile BBQ catering available as well as take out.
Come celebrate the 5 year anniversary on Sunday, July 26th 4-8pm. Enjoy music, food, fun, and more. Smokin Steve’s ain’t your ordinary backyard BBQ…Its extraordinary. Need I say more.
Smokin Steve’s BBQ
1407 E. Los Angeles Ave.
(next to Edwards Cinema)
Simi Valley, CA 93065
805-577-9371
http://www.smokinsteves.com/
http://www.smokinstevescatering.com
No Comments | In: Hidden Treasure, Traveling Foodie | tags: Camarillo, Los Angeles BBQ, simi valley, Simi Valley BBQ, smokin steve's bbq joint, Thousand Oaks BBQ. | #
November 10th, 2008
Miguel’s Cocina in Point Loma has become our second home each time we visit our family in San Diego as we typically indulge in the Sunday Champagne Brunch. The Brunch menu provides extensive selections ranging from traditional breakfast items like Huevos Rancheros, Machaca con Hueveos to more elaborate fusion items including the Calamari & Lobster Omelets. The chips, salsa, white jalapeno cheese sauce, spicy pickled carrots, onions and jalapenos are always plentiful and endless at Miguel’s along with the champagne and orange juice(Mimosa’s/Mimi’s)
Today was no exception when we arrived on a gloomy, windy San Diego day. Today I tried the house special Pozole since I was in the mood for soup. I was initially going to order the Albondigas, but after reading the description was hooked. This stew-like soup from Mexico and New Mexico is made from hominy, with pork, chile, garbanzo beans and other seasonings and garnished with cilantro, avocado and lime wedges. It was the perfect way to warm up to a traditional Mexican brunch of Machaca con Huevos and tortillas. I shared the Machaca and made tacos with the rice and beans provided with the addition of diced cilantro and onions per my request. The onions and cilantro provide a bitter sweet fragrant taste that deepens the taste sensation. It reminds me of Baja style street tacos as well. I also sampled a bite of the Calamari Omelette at our table. It was also quite tasty, but I prefer the Machaca dish that is accompanied by a bountiful selection of tortillas.
After a few glasses of Champagne you will forget that you are next to the Marina in Point Loma and start to envision yourself beach-side singing “Take me home to Mexico, Baja-California”–Lyric Courtesy of the Long Beach Dub All Stars
Miguel’s Cocina
2912 Shelter Island Dr
San Diego, CA 92106-2740
Phone: (619) 224-2401
http://www.brigantine.com/locations_miguels.html
1 Comment | In: Traveling Foodie | tags: Best Mexican Food, Brunch in Point Loma, Miguel's Cocina Point Loma San Diego, San Diego Brunch. | #
