Meal of the Month: April

There have been a lot of months when I struggled with my Meal of the Month pick. Months when I’ve been on the road and traveling, having one amazing meal after another. Months when it seemed like all of my talented friends invited me over for amazing home cooked meal after another. Months when I was jet setting and in foreign country after another—experiencing new flavors and new dishes. Well, I have to say. This past April may be one of the hardest picks yet.

I celebrated my 30th birthday with a weekend getaway in Sonoma with some of the best friends a gal could ask for. Literally, from breakfast lunch to dinner. Meals were incredible. Wine was flowing. Champagne poured from the moment we got up. Specialty cocktails made my our very own mixologist. And friends everywhere. It was one of the most incredible weekends I’ve ever experienced. And every single one of the meals that we had was amazing. My friend Wendy made a FEAST and I had the most gorgeous birthday cake from one of my favorite pastry chefs, Ian.

Then there was the delicious meal at Blue Plate with a special group of some of my favorite restaurant people catching up. I also caught up with friends throughout the month…over a beer at Monk’s Kettle, over some duck hearts at Alembic, cocktails at Beretta, late night pizza at Pizzeria Delfina with two SF 'newbies' that I love, chicken nuggets at SPQR, cheese and salumi at Amelie and got to know a new friend over some bourbon at Street.

The over the top yummy meal at Incanto, where I was able to share the experience with old college friends (who claimed it was one of their Top 5 meals!)

So those were all amazing meals. There was also the amazing Taste of the Nation Share Our Strength event…where while I didn’t necessarily eat…it’s still worth mentioning. Almost a meal. Definitely one of the most memorable nights of April. Hands down. Maybe filed under proximity to amazing food? More on that night in a separate post.

So how is it possible that none of these were my Meal of the Month winners? It's because of Pebble Beach Food & Wine. I don't even know where to begin describing the amazing weekend I had. And I actually think it deserves it's own post. But for now, there were amazing bites throughout the weekend. The most delicious 'welcome' dinner the first night I arrived. A multi course dinner prepared by Michelin star winners of well known Los Angeles area restaurants. And being surrounded by people that cared so deeply about food.

I wish I had some photos from the Friday night dinner prepared for us especially by Chef Arturo Moscoso at Inn at Spanish Bay's Peppoli restaurant. Since I don't have photos from that meal, I'll leave you with my favorite dish from the L.A. Michelin Star dinner. It was prepared by Chef David Myers of Sona restaurant, and it was a Millbrook Farms venison with crispy brussels sprouts, tomato-kumquat jam, negi power. It was delicious. And well, yes, the tomato-kumquat jam was my favorite component of the dish...although the brussels sprouts were perfect too!

Here's raising a glass to April. I can't wait to see what May brings!