Travel: Late Summer Weekend in San Francisco

As I mentioned in my last posting, my current work assignment is located quite a distance from Detroit (i.e. in Reno, NV). So last weekend I decided to avoid the 7 hours of travel time and take a quick flight over the mountains to visit a friend in my favorite city - San Francisco. Christine, a food lover like myself, had a ton of great places picked out for my visit. Thanks to her planning, we essentially ate our way through the city (with walking and hiking in-between, of course, to work off all those calories).

Thursday: When I arrived on Thursday evening, Christine picked me up from the airport and took me to Circa on Chestnut Street. There, I had a nicely prepared, flat iron steak with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and a delicious, smoky asparagus (the asparagus was the highlight of the dish). The steak was plated with a red wine demi-glace and topped with horseradish foam (Christine and I had a discussion about foam - we're not really sure we'd categorize it as a food). We shared the Truffle-Parmesan Fries for an appetizer, which were good, but I prefer metro-Detroit's Town Tavern's version. By the way, I've already decided I want to check out Laiola the next time I'm in San Francisco. It's next door to Circa and the menu (and atmosphere) looked excellent.

Friday: After wrapping up the work day on Friday, we took a long walk from the Presidio area to Union Street. While doing some window shopping, we passed by a sweet shop (Miette) and decided a small, pre-dinner treat was in order. I tried an old fashioned cupcake (a very tasty chocolate cupcake with french meringue frosting and a candied peanut on top) while Christine had a delicious, pistachio macaroon. Then, after browsing in a couple of cute stores, we decided to eat dinner at Mamacita. Mamacita was jam packed and everything they brought out of the kitchen looked delish. We waited for our meal and snacked on "guacamole al don" - i.e. guacamole with fresh tortilla chips and crushed tomato salsa. I had the pan-roasted halibut with poblano chile-polenta and roasted chile-tomato salsita and Christine tried braised meyer ranch tri-tip beef enchiladas baked with oaxacan mole coloradito, leeks and goat cheese. Both dishes were savory, filling and very good. We were so full when we left the place, we decided it was a good thing we had a couple mile walk home -and- that next time we should probably skip the guacamole and chips and wait for the main event.

Saturday: Saturday we started the day with crepes (I love the fact SF has a ton of creperies!) at Crepevine. Both of us selected savory crepes (I had the Greek since I love spinach, feta and kalamata olives). We then took some time out to visit the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building (I'll blog about that experience later). After the Farmer's Market we visited J-Town for a festival and then went to Rose's Cafe for lunch. The brunch menu was still in effect so I ordered the Crescenza-Stuffed Focaccia with white truffle oil. It was very good, but I think what they served me was the pizza crust with crescenza and truffle oil instead of a stuffed foccacia bread. Christine opted for the roasted Turkey Breast, Avocado, Provolone & Dijon on Brioche. It seemed to be lacking tomatoes, so when she ordered some on the side you can imagine our surprise when they showed up with a gorgeous plate of heirloom slices (I stole a few as well as some arugula from her side salad to add to my "pizza"). The highlight of the meal were Italian sodas - I had peppermint, Christine had curant. After lunch, we joined one of Christine's roommies for a hike near Muir Beach and after effectively working off both breakfast and dinner on our 4+ mile hike, we cleaned up and had a late dinner at Nopa. We started the evening with flatbread of house smoked bacon, grape tomatoes, goat cheese. It was excellent and better than any sort of BLT you can imagine. Christine ordered their famous, grass fed hamburger with pickled onions and french fries, and I tried a roasted chicken dish served with a salad of purple heirloom tomatoes, purslane, croutons. Although it was fun to eat the purslane (purslane is pretty much a weed you can find in your own yard if you'd like...and the flavor is fresh and lemony) and the tomatoes were super-fresh and flavorful, my chicken was a little dry. Next visit I would definitely have the hamburger or the pork chop...the two dishes for which they are famous.

Sunday: My last day in town, Sunday, we started the day intending to go to brunch at a funky little place called Liverpool Lil's. However, since they weren't yet open when we arrived (why do so many places in San Fransicso open super late for breakfast?!?), we opted for Judy's Cafe. My favorite thing I ordered was the delicious, fresh-squeezed OJ (although it was quite pricey at $5 a glass). I had a farmhand omelet that had a little too much spice on the potatoes, but was good. If you visit Judy's (and many small restaurants in SF) by the way, be sure to bring cash - they are a cash-only venue. If I visited Judy's again, I'd try the huge plate of Sourdough French Toast (sharing with a friend is probably a good bet). After breakfast, we wandered around the fabulous new Academy of Sciences, checked out the Sutro Bath Ruins, relaxed on Crissy Field for a couple of hours and saved up our appetites for dinner at Zuni Cafe where we feasted on their famous "Chicken for two" (which takes an hour upon placing your order) and shoestring fries. The bloody mary we had for a pre-dinner drink was excellent with balsalmic, finely diced onion, and plenty of spice. And the chicken was perfectly, perfectly, perfectly cooked and served with a warm, chewy, flavorful bread salad. We did notice it the dish was very salty though (between the brine from the chicken skin and the cooking juices poured over the bread salad). So you may want to take that into consideration when placing appetizer and drink orders. For those of you who are unable to visit this San Francisco institution, Zuni has a cookbook (or rather the awesome Judy Rodgers has a cookbook)...with fantastic descriptions and instructions (it may change the way you cook). You can find it at several retailers including Amazon and Overstock. You can also find their recipe for their famous chicken and bread salad here.

Click on the image below for a better view of what we ate.

Dining Out: Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill

My current job requires a lot of travel and unfortunately, most of the places I visit aren't particularly exotic (i.e. small, midwestern towns with not much around other than industrial manufacturing plants) and, as a result, the dining selections are usually less than desirable. For example, I'm currently traveling to Reno, Nevada. And if it gives you any idea of the restaurant situation out here, my Local Eats iPhone App only lists 5 restaurants for the entire city! Yes, the outlook for fine dining is not pretty.

Luckily, last week, I traveled to Las Vegas to speak with one of my client's customers. Since it's a rareity for me to have great food while on the road, in the spirit of food-sharing, I'm forgoing the mantra "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," and posting all the recipes for a delicious meal I had at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. How awesome is it I was able to find every single recipe on the web?!?


At Mesa, I started the evening with a bowl of the Tomato Tortilla Soup and a delicious jalapeno, onion, cornbread muffin from the bread basket. The soup was warm, spicy and flavorful - and I think it'll be a perfect recipe for using up excess of steaky tomatoes I'll have in my garden in a few weeks. The muffin was a great compliment - hot and flavorful with just the right amount of kick. After this starter, I enjoyed a mouth-watering main dish of New Mexican Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Tamale and Pecan Butter and washed it down with a cool glass of Duvel (Belgian blonde ale). Although I really enjoyed everything I ate, the Sweet Potato Tamale stole the show. It was slightly sweet, hearty and warm and had a great texture.

Since thinking about the four recipes together is quite overwhelming, I suggest you split what I enjoyed into two meals: Soup and Muffins and Pork and Tamales. You could make the soup and muffins for a relaxed summer dinner one evening and then try the pork with the tamale on a more special occasion (this recipe would probably really impress company). Also, although the Bourbon-Ancho sauce with the pork was nice, if I were making this dish at home, I'd probably only prepare the pork with a similar version of the spice rub (the sauce and rub are both super spicy and I didn't feel like the sauce added any new flavors to the dish). If you try anything, however, make sure to put the tamale first on the recipes-to-try list. It was fantastic! Just thinking about it makes me hungry.

Tomato Tortilla Soup
Recipe by: Bobby Flay
Source: CBS News

Fried Tortillas

Ingredients

• Canola oil or peanut oil
• 2 flour tortillas, cut into long, thin strips
• 2 blue corn tortillas, cut into long, thin strips
• Salt

Directions

1. Heat 1-inch of oil in a high sided medium sauté pan over medium high heat until it reaches a temperature of 350 degrees.
2. Add the tortilla strips in batches and fry until just crisp, 20-30 seconds.
3. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels and season immediately with salt.

Tomato-Tortilla Soup
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 8 overly ripe beef steak tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
• Water
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped cilantro
• Diced avocado
• Grated White Cheddar Cheese
• Fried Tortillas

Directions

1. Heat oil in a medium sauce pan over high heat.
2. Add onions and cook until soft, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
3. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes and enough water to cover the tomatoes by 1-inch.
4. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and simmer until tomatoes are very soft and start to break down, approximately 30 minutes.
5. Carefully transfer the mixture to a food processor and process (in batches if needed) until smooth.
6. Return to the saucepan, season with cayenne, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cheese, cilantro and a few fried tortillas

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Blue Corn Muffins

Recipe by: Bobby Flay; Source: Food Network

Ingredients

• 2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons finely diced onion
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno peppers, finely diced
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen corn, thawed
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves
• 3/4 cup blue cornmeal (can substitute yellow)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Directions

1. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Grease a 6 slot muffin pan with non-stick vegetable spray.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, bell pepper, jalapeno, corn and cilantro. Whisk in the butter mixture.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, soda, salt and sugar. Mix into the liquid mixture.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the muffins slots and bake for 16 minutes or until set, turning the pan once for even baking.

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New Mexican Rubbed Pork Tenderloin
(Serve with Sweet Potato Tamale and Pecan Butter)

Recipe by: Bobby Flay
Source: Food Network

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
• Salt
• New Mexican Spice Rub, recipe follows
• Bourbon-Ancho Sauce, recipe follows
• Sweet Potato Tamale with Pecan Butter, recipe follows

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat olive oil in a medium saute pan, over high heat.
• Season pork with salt on both sides. Dredge pork in the spice rub and tap off any excess.
• Sear the pork on both sides until golden brown. Cook in the oven to medium doneness, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Let pork rest for 5 minutes before slicing into 12 slices. Plate 3 slices per plate.
• Drizzle with the Bourbon-Ancho Sauce. Place a Sweet Potato Tamale, topped with Pecan Butter next to the slices of pork.

New Mexican Rub
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon pasilla chile powder
• 2 teaspoons chile de arbol
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons allspice

Directions

• Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Bourbon-Ancho Sauce
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large red onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 3 ancho chiles, soaked, seeded, stems removed and pureed
• 6 cups homemade chicken stock
• 1 cup apple juice concentrate, thawed
• 8 whole black peppercorns
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onions and cook until soft.
3. Add the bourbon and cook until completely reduced.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until reduced by half. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, return mixture to the pan, and cook to sauce consistency, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of bourbon and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt.

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Sweet Potato Tamales
Ingredients

• 20 dried corn husks
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, preferable fresh
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 head roasted garlic, cloves removed
• 2 cups chicken stock or water
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 large or 2 medium sweet potato, roasted at 375 degrees for about 1 hour or until soft, then peeled and flesh mashed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• Pecan Butter, recipe follows

Directions

1. About 2 hours before you plan to form the tamales, clean the husks under running water. Soak them in warm water for 2 hours, or until softened.
2. Puree the corn, onion, roasted garlic, and stock in a food processor. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and cut in the butter and shortening.
3. Using your fingers, mix in the cornmeal, honey, and salt and pepper until there are no visible lumps of fat. Fold in the sweet potato puree, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and maple syrup. The mixture will be a lot looser than you think it should be, but when the tamales are steamed it will dry out.
4. Remove the cornhusks from the water and set aside the best 20 husks. Drain and pat dry. Tear the remaining husks into 1-inch wide strips to be used for tying. Lay 2 husks flat on a work surface, with the tapered ends facing out and the broad bases overlapping by about 3 inches.
   Place about 1/3 cup of masa mixture in the center. Bring the long sides up over the masa, slightly overlapping, and pat down to close. (If the masa drips out a little at the seam, that is no problem.) Tie each end of the bundle with a strip of cornhusk, pushing the filling toward the middle as you tie. Trim the ends to about 1/2-inch beyond the tie.
5. Arrange the tamales in a single layer on a steaming rack, cover tightly with foil, and steam over boiling water for 45 minutes.
6. To Serve: slice a slit on top of each tamale and push both ends of the tamale toward the middle to expose the masa. Top each with 1 tablespoon of Pecan Butter.
7. Pecan Butter: 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 1/4 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped 3 tablespoons maple syrup Pinch cinnamon Salt and freshly ground pepper. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Scrape into a ramekin and refrigerate until solid, about 2 hours.