Reflections: Melbourne

When I told my friends that I was going to Australia and that I was going to be in both Melbourne and Sydney, what was the response I got? “Oh, you’re going to love Melbourne.” I had no idea how right they'd be.

Melbourne is like San Francisco in many ways. There’s a lot of unique neighborhoods. The city is fairly easy to navigate through. And there are a lot of options of things to do, places to see, and restaurants to check out. It's got a bit of the same feel as many European cities, and as my friend Sabine pointed out to me, a bit of an artsy feel (like another one of my favorite cities, Portland!)

The funny thing is, when I asked people for specific recommendations of restaurants or places to check out, there wasn’t many. People seemed to have lots of recommendations for Sydney, but when it came to Melbourne, all they could say was “just explore it!”

Well, explore it we did. And here are some of my favorite sites and moments from the short time I spent there.

The People
Have you all noticed? The Australian people are nice. Seriously. All of them. I don’t know if it’s something they teach here in school, or maybe it’s the drinking culture that brings out the niceness in them, or maybe it’s even as simple as the fact that they’ve got these great accents so everything they say seems nicer, but I’m not joking. My mate Shaye and I had the opportunity to meet so many different people. Just from chatting with them at the bar, or because they were friends of friends, or even just because they happened to be sitting near us at one thing or another. I think they’re onto something here. Maybe the Americans can learn a thing or two from them.

The Trolley’s
No, not cable cars, actual trolley’s. Like the F line. Going all around the perimeter of the Central Business District. Not only did it make it easy to get around, but it made me think of my favorite city.

The Alley’s
Explore the alley’s!! Go against your instinct and don’t avoid the alley’s! Down these different alley’s, you’ll find rows and row’s of restaurants, unique boutiques, and other interesting spots. Many of the most popular bars in the city are down one of these infamous alleys.

The first night Shaye and I arrived, we were exhausted. We had been up early to catch our flight, and had had very little sleep while on Hamilton Island. By the time dinner time rolled around, we were exhausted. During dinner, I could see Shaye’s eyes dropping…and I saw an early night in our future. Part of me was equally tired. But the other part of me wanted to explore. We had just gotten there after all, and it was our first night in town!

We decided to go into one bar, have one drink, and then head home. As we walked down one of the major streets in the Central Business District (CBD), we realized we weren’t coming across anything. So we quickly went down the back alley of the street, and began to realize there were tons of cute boutiques and shops down this alley! We walked by a restaurant that seemed to have a great crowd, and good music playing and we ducked in for a cocktail.

Stumbling into Hairy Canary was one of the best things we did. Richard behind the bar made one of the best drinks I’ve ever had, called a Bourbon Street Sour. And I could see by the way he was mixing the drink, I had found myself a mixloligst! At that bar we ended up meeting people, learning of other restaurants and bars to check out in not only Melbourne, but Sydney as well. It was definitely the perfect spot for us.

Late late nights
So, after our first drink at Hairy Canary that night, do you think we left and went back to the hotel? Ha! We actually ended up having three there, and making spots at two other places that night and getting home at 6:30 am!) Which leads me to another favorite thing about Melbourne! Things are open LATE!

All around Australia, we noticed signs that read “Trading Hours: 5 pm- Late”. We got a kick out of it. What exactly did ‘late’ mean? 10 pm? 2 am? Later? And if you didn’t know what time the restaurant or bar closed, how would you know when to go? While I envy the Aussie’s and their ability to stay out late, I will say. There is something easier about the way it’s done in the states. There’s a closing time. You know when you have to go home.

In California, you can pretty much bet that your night will end shortly after 2 am (Ok, not always true…there are those late night clubs, and late night restaurant/bars, and even better, those certain bars that will sometimes let you stay past closing—I can’t disclose which bars those are, I want to enjoy them still!)

But as an American on holiday, I loved the fact that the night didn’t have to end. Similar to how I feel about New York, there’s something special about being able to stay out late, and continue to check out spot after spot. (Like New York though, I often find that you’re in a time warp, and even though you don’t mean to stay out late, the next thing you know it’s 4 or 6 am, and the sun’s coming out, and work’s calling in just a few more hours!)

But if you are up for a mellow late night, check out Supper Club Bar. It was truly one of the coolest wine bars I've ever been to. With views of the Parliament House, there are wines from around the world on this list. Our night here was made even better by one of the best practical jokes that have ever been played on me...ask me about 'snickerdoodle' and I'll fill you in. But regardless, go check out this spot.

Queen Victoria Market
The San Francisco Ferry Building is my happy place. Shoot, most farmer’s markets are. I really enjoying seeing the local produce, what’s in season, and meeting the locals. Well, Queen Victoria Market is a MUST SEE on my list. Whether or not it’s truly a tourist attraction or really a place the locals go, doesn’t even really matter in my book. Click on the photo below for a slide show of my favorite pictures from the market.

Queen Victoria Market

First, there’s the meat and fish area. Literally dozens and dozens of stalls and shops selling fresh meat down one side of the hall and then dozens and dozens of stalls and shops selling fish down the other side.

In another back area, there were dozens and dozens of vegetable stands. Selling tons of fresh produce and fruit. I saw some things I have never seen before, as well as plenty of familiar fruits and vegetables.

There was a food court area, not unlike other food courts I’ve seen, but this one was prettier. There was even a wall filled with black and white photos of the market, some old ones (showing the history of the market), and other newer ones.

There were other tents and stalls filled with things to buy. Knick knacks, almost like the night markets in Hong Kong, or even a flea market. Some cheesy touristy things (yes, I did make a few purchases). Nevertheless, interesting to walk through and peruse.

All of this was amazing, but my favorite area of the market was the deli. There were stalls and shops, all specializing in one thing. For example, the little French Cheese shop, or the Polish shop selling polish sausage and condiments. There was the tofu guy, selling all things tofu, and then the Greek deli selling what looked like hundreds of special dips and olives. I was amazed by each and every one of these stalls, and took the time to really look at what each one was offering. It was pretty amazing.

This was the point during my time in Melbourne when I found myself really wishing I lived there. I just know I would be at this market often, and not only buying items to take home to make, but buying some of the cooked food items from the deli area, and also getting to know each and one of these shops.

I was lucky enough to explore the market alone for a few hours while my mate Shaye went for a run one morning (yea yea, we obviously know who the healthier one is, I prefer walking, hiking, yoga, pilates, biking, swimming...but run? No thank you. And besides, I’m a food lover, there’s nothing better than exploring the market early!) I struck up conversations with a number of the vendors and farmers, and even chatted with a few chefs while I was there while they were making some early morning purchases. It was nice to see a piece of the Melbourne food scene.

All and all, Melbourne has quickly joined my list of Favorite Cities in the World...I hope to make it back soon.

If you want to see other sights and sounds from the city, click here for a link to more photos of fun in Melbourne!

Reflections: Down Under

I recently came back from the most amazing trip to Australia. I was there for 10 days with my mate Shaye, and we explored three different parts of the country. We went to Hamilton Island, a resort island out by the Great Barrier Reef first. Then we spent a few days in Melbourne, and finally we ended up in Sydney.


Over the next few days, I'm going to share my reflections and stories (and photos of course!) from my trip. I have a bit of that Type A personality in me, so would like to go in chronological order of our trip, but sadly, I'm still waiting for some of our photos from our first stop! SO. Rather than keep all of you waiting, I'm going to start with Melbourne, the move to Sydney, and finally end with a recap of our time on Hamilton Island (probably the most beautiful photos are from this leg of the trip!)

All in all, Australia is a country filled with amazing sights and kind people. Every where we went, people asked us where we were heading and what we were going to do and see. And every person we talked to, was eager to offer up their suggestions of things to do, sights to see and restaurants to eat at. We collected a number of small pieces of paper with notes jotted down eagerly.

And speaking of the people, boy can they drink! No matter what time of day, or where we were, I felt like we say people drinking. Beer. Wine. Cocktails. All of it. Pubs were open all day long (and all night long), and you could almost always guarantee that there'd be at least a few people sitting there drinking. (Our lists of recommended 'must see places' included a healthy number of bars and pubs!)

While Australia was never super high on my list of places to visit, I have to say, I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong! It's a unique place (that has qualities similar to the U.S., and yet, reminds you that you are a world away.) Everyone reading needs to make a trip to Australia at least once in their life. It really is a unique place that we should all be so lucky to see.

To me, Australia will always be a country filled with beautiful places, lots of great experiences, and memories of all of the people we met along the way. Enjoy!

The Life I Missed

It’s always great being on vacation. Exploring a new place. Meeting new people. Being away from your normal, day to day life.

But what happens when you’ve been gone for a little while? What do you start missing? Me? Here are a few things I found myself missing when I was on vacation in Australia:

My family
I don’t necessarily think it was the number of days I was away from my dad and sister, I’ve been away from them for longer. But it was because it was over the Thanksgiving holiday, and also my mom’s birthday. All of that combined made me miss them more than normal. I found myself wondering what they were doing, how they were celebrating Thanksgiving, and what it would have been like if I was home with them. I also found myself seeing things and thinking of them, and wanting to pick up the phone to call my sister to share with her.

My friends
I realized, as much as I adored my traveling mate, I missed many of the people that are in my daily life. From friends that live near me in San Francisco, to friends that I email frequently with, to my friends at work. You don’t realize the people that play such an important role in your daily life until you’re away from them.

Cooking!
Mainly in my own home kitchen, but also in the Postrio kitchen. There is something comforting about making your own food, and doing all of the prep work (and even washing the dishes after…)

Blogging
I know, dorky. But seriously. Blogging’s become a bit of a diary for me, and I had lots of random thoughts and observations I had jotted down throughout my vacation. I really couldn’t wait until I came home and could put all of my thoughts together and share my adventures online.

My own familiar apartment and bed
There is something hard about picking up and ‘moving’ every three nights or so. I found myself confused a few times when I woke up in the middle of the night, wondering where I was. After awhile, I realized I missed my own little apartment.

Don't get me wrong, the vacation was amazing. I'd go back in a heart beat! And I was a little sad when it was all ending. But it did make me appreciate my own simple life in San Francisco.

Meal of the Month: November

End of another month. Time for another Meal of the Month recap! Sorry for the delay, I know you’ve all been anxiously waiting. But hey, better late than never, right? Blame it on vacation.

So aside from my amazing New York trip earlier in the month (click here for the recap on meals from that trip!), I’ve had plenty of other really fine meals. Many in San Francisco, but many in Australia as well. From fun and casual meals with my dad and sister, to having the girls over for cheese and nibbles at my house (along with yummy crème fraiche ice cream!).

I also had the chance to eat at Poleng Lounge with my good friends Wendy and Mark (where Chef Tim Luym spoiled me!!), as well as eating at Baraka with JT, Troy and friends (where Chef Chad Newton continues to amaze me with his food.) I was lucky enough to have a homemade meal at my friend’s Sabine and Rohit’s house—where we feasted on braised short ribs and a pesto faro salad. Yum yum.

I enjoyed pizza at Beretta with two friends from out of town, as well as a delicious meal at Postrio with some of my favorite PR people from around the country! And that was just all in San Francisco.

In Australia, I had a delicious Italian meal overlooking the ocean, dinner at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in Melbourne (where Tobie Puttock is the executive chef), a delicious Thai dinner at Longrain, dinner on a historic tram, and an amazing lunch in Hunter Valley wine country. WOW!

So, from all of that, which is my Meal of the Month? Lunch at Rockpool restaurant in Sydney.

Neil Perry is a famous Australian chef, with restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne. His Rockpool restaurant is in the Rocks neighborhood of Sydney, and is a beautiful spot, with a great open kitchen. I ducked in for a solo lunch (my traveling mate isn’t much of a foodie), and I settled in at a table with a great view of the kitchen. Lucky me, I was looking right into the pantry (or garde manger) station, which made me both so happy, and also sad and missing the Postrio kitchen.

In any case, I started with thinly sliced serrano ham, served with slices of pear. It was light and perfect. A great balance of salty and sweet.


I moved onto the fried fish over rice, served with a ginger and shallot sauce. Simple yet perfectly prepared.

All of the food I had was great. I wish I had a table full of friends with me so that we could have ordered the whole menu! But what really made my experience? Having a view into the kitchen. From where I was sitting, I could actually hear the chefs talking to one another. The first thing I noticed about this kitchen? It’s QUIET! They were working with their heads down. There was very little talking and interaction with each other. This was a serious kitchen.

What else did I notice? There was a flat screen TV mounted on the wall—and it was video footage into a kitchen. I looked closer, and I noticed it wasn’t the kitchen of the restaurant I was in. I asked the waiter, and he explained. It was looking into the kitchen of the Rockpool restaurant in Melbourne. And what were they seeing? Into the Rockpool restaurant in Sydney of course! At the time I thought this was absolutely one of the coolest things ever. (I still kind of do.) But when I was telling this to my friend Tim, he commented “Oh, like Thomas Keller’s kitchens.” Oh. Hmm. Guess Neil wasn’t the only one that had this idea. Well, until I make a visit to the French Laundry or Per Se, Neil did it first in my book.

I saw that they had three people working the pantry station, and from where I sat, I could see five working the line in the back. A smile quickly came to my face when I started hearing the sound of a ticket coming in. Oh how I had missed that sound! How I missed being in a restaurant and cooking at Postrio!

I saw one of the gals working the pantry line kind of picking on one of the other guys working the station. She kept looking up to see what he was doing, and I even saw her go over to him, and re-plate the salad he was working on. As I paid closer attention to their interaction, I could tell he was new.

As the lunch service came to an end, I was one of the remaining guests in the dining room. I could see the cooks begin to loosen up. Now they’d have a few hours to regroup and relax a little bit before dinner. I saw one of the cooks grab a clip board and went down a long list of what prep needed to be done before dinner. I saw deliveries come in. I saw laughter and cooks joking.

And I saw the gal talk to the new guy. She asked when he had started, where he was cooking before, how long had he been cooking, and on and on. I felt bad for him. I could relate. That was me. The newbie. Getting all of the questions. Not knowing what I was doing in the kitchen. Getting tested. I wanted to go and talk to him so badly. I could sympathize. As they were talking, I could see her warm up to him. At one point, I even heard her say, “It’s ok. It really is all just practice, you know?”

Taking all of this in, I realized why this slower down time was one of my favorite times of day in a restaurant. The calm before the storm. It also really made me miss the cooks and team at Postrio.

The other reason this special meal is my Meal of the Month? Because I met Chef Neil Perry. A very well known chef throughout Australia, I had read a lot about him before my trip. I knew he had a mini empire in Australia, and not expect him to be at the restaurant the day I was there.

Through my conversations with the manager and my server, they came to learn that I had come a very long way to eat at this restaurant. They had learned that I was a foodie, and had even spent a little bit of time cooking in a restaurant kitchen. When I asked whether or not they sold Chef Neil Perry’s cookbooks at the restaurants, the manager told me yes, and then leaned in, as if to tell me a secret. “Chef Perry is here today, he could autograph and personalize your book if you’d like.” Sold.

Not only did Chef Perry sign my book (and spell my name correctly!), he came out to talk to me. When he learned I was visiting from San Francisco, we launched into a long conversation about San Francisco restaurants. His favorites? Zuni Café and Quince. He was extremely kind, and interesting to talk to. He seemed genuinely interested in hearing what had brought me to his restaurant and about my eating experiences in Australia. He was truly a classy guy. And made this not only an amazing meal, but an amazing experience.

Reflections: New York

I’m still thinking about my last trip to New York. This is what always happens. I come back from a place, and think about the differences between that city and my own beautiful San Francisco. I find myself exploring each city thinking, “What do the locals do? Could I live here? Which neighborhood would I live in? What would I do? What’s different between here and San Francisco? What do I like more? Less?” In the case of New York, a few observations are sticking with me.

The honking!
Yes, the cabbies there are crazy with the horn! And it’s everywhere! No matter what part of town, what time of day. It’s all around you. I think they should start making NYC taxis without horns. I think New York would be a much nicer place.

Cab drivers not knowing where they’re going
Yes, I realize, Manhattan is big. Toto, we’re not in San Francisco anymore. I get that. BUT. When I get into a cab and ask to be taken to a major hotel, or well known restaurant, it still shocks me that a cab driver can have no idea where it is. I know there are TONS of hotels and restaurants and stores and landmarks in New York. But I see it is kind of their jobs to keep tabs on the city. To at least have a sense of where things are.

Produce goes to NYC to die
Do my other Californians wonder what happens to produce when it goes bad? My new guess? It gets shipped to New York, where New Yorkers will pay three times what we would have paid for it when it was healthy. Seriously. I found that everywhere I looked, from corner stores to grocery stores to even the Farmer’s Market, produce just wasn’t the same. Beets were soft to the touch. Veggies were limp. Colorless. Sure makes life in Cali seem even better.

Diversity
We hear it a lot. New York is one of the most diverse cities in the world. I think it’s true. After spending time exploring multiple neighborhoods (even checking out the coolest Indian specialty foods store, Kalustyan's, with the largest selection of Indian spices I have ever seen in my life!), I believe it. I tend to think San Francisco is pretty diverse (in case you can’t tell, I really do think San Francisco is one of the most special places in the world.) But in terms of ethnic diversity, New York may have us beat.

Just some of the amazing spices at Kalustyan's

It’s a small city if…you have a community
New York always seemed so big to me. Harsh and cold. You know, the theory that the bigger the city, the lonelier you can actually be? Well, this last trip to New York opened up my eyes to another thought. That any large city, no matter how large, can seem small if you have a good community or network. I know this sounds like I’m stating the obvious, but let’s take me for example. I love food. And the restaurant business. I have a network of friends in my industry and with this same interest. Well, through this network, I continue to meet more and more interesting people. This isn’t limited to just San Francisco. Through my network of friends, I’ve met so many equally amazing people all around the world.

Just takes time to get use to…
Like anything, it just takes time. Because of multiple trips to New York within the recent years, I feel more and more at home there each time I return. I have a better sense of the neighborhoods, how to get where I need to go to, and how to even make suggestions of where to go. More than any other trip before, I could actually see myself living there after this last trip (I think I even know what neighborhood I’d live in!!)

All in all, my last trip to New York was amazing. And as always, it continues to be one of those cities that I want to live in. Until next time…

Morning Regulars

How much do you know about the people around you? I don’t mean your colleagues at work, but what about the people living next door to you? Or the people that you interact with on a daily basis?

I grew up in a suburb south of San Francisco. It was a wonderful neighborhood and community. We knew all of our neighbors, we knew the people walking down the street with their dog, and the kids riding their bikes around. Parents knew each other. My friend’s younger brother might be in the same grade as my younger sister. Their older sister would have been our babysitter. We were all interconnected.

When I moved to San Francisco, it all changed. Not only did I know longer know my neighbors, but I was living by myself, and I felt more cautious. I’m lucky, I generally feel extremely safe in my neighborhood, but I still don’t let down my guard, and have to remember that it is a city. And things are just a little different.

I found myself thinking about this a few weeks ago when I was waiting in line to cast my vote in the elections. (There sure is a price for civic duty—lines at voting booths were long that day as it was one of the highest voter turnouts in history!)

In any case, I found myself looking at the people in line—they were all in my precinct, which meant they all lived nearby. Since I live in a pretty high density neighborhood, it meant that everyone in that line was literally living within a few blocks away from me (as there were 2 other voting stations within blocks!). And yet, not one familiar face. It was odd to me how little we know about the people around us.

After I voted (or Ba’rocked the vote if you will), I headed up the little hill and stood waiting for the cable car (some days I walk, some days I take the bus, but when I can, I enjoy taking the cable car to work. It’s early enough so none of those pesky tourists are on and it really is the most enjoyable way to get to work!). I looked around me. Now here were my many familiar faces. The school crossing guard lady that I see every morning. She was talking away to the kids and parents. The lady walking up to the corner restaurant, unlocking and opening her doors and beginning her long day. Then there was the guy that ran the corner liquor/grocery store. He was outside smoking, smiling at his regulars walking by—including a nod and smile to me as I walked by. I looked across the street and who did I see? My cable car buddy. An older gentleman that’s on the same schedule I am, and almost always on the my cable car I’m on when I take it to work. Always with briefcase in one hand, and book in the other. And always a serious look on his face.

I didn’t know any of their names, and they don’t know mine, but I see all of these people virtually every day. In some creepy way, there’s something comforting about that. It’s not a suburb. It’s not the type of place where you do know every one of your neighbors. But yet, every morning, I could count on these people being there.

As I got on the cable car, I thought about the conductor I haven’t seen in weeks now. He’s my favorite. Really smiley and talkative. He grew up in the Mission neighborhood, and has since moved out to Alamo. He’s got kids (a son and a daughter) and his parents still live in the same house that he grew up in. He’s great. He’s literally held the cable car in the middle of the street waiting for me when he seems me half way down the block walking up. He knows the stop I get off at. And when ever I’m leaving and we’re saying good-bye, he always leaves us with “Bye, have a good day kids. See you all tomorrow, now don’t be late!” I never had to take a school bus to school, but I’d imagine this is what it would be like. He’s great. Oh, what’s his name you ask? No clue.

Well, I have been secretly fearing that he was gone. Retired. Or off the route. Or what if something happened to him? It had been weeks since I’d seen him. So on this morning, as I was thinking so much about my neighbors and ‘morning regulars’, I asked the other conductor about him (also a guy I see regularly, and ummm, yes, also another guy who’s name I don’t’ know!) After he finally realized who I was talking about (I guess not having the name didn’t help), he said, “Oh! Just on vacation, he’ll be back next week!” Phew!!

Cheerfully walking down the street, I was excited that I’d be seeing my regular conductor next week. Next week—I’ll learn his name.

As I continued on my short walk to work, I realized. There were ‘morning regulars’ everywhere! The doormen of the three hotels I walk by each morning—all of them always wave or smile at me. The guy that opens up the doors to the convenience store by the tunnel, so cheerful always! And what about the maintenance guy at the French church/school? He’s always outside sweeping or cleaning the steps and sidewalk with a hose—he’ll see me walking down the hill from a distance and stop the watering so I don’t get wet, and then smile and say “Good Morning”. Every time.

Speaking of ‘morning regulars’—what about the most important one of all? Your Starbucks barista! We all have our local, corner Starbucks (or ten or twenty), and at mine, I have a favorite barista. He knows my name. He knows my drink (grande soy chai on a cold day, grande non fat iced latte on a hot day). He greets me by name, and is always smiling.

A few months ago, I was going in for my coffee and after he handed me my order, he told me, “Today’s my last day.” I literally stopped in my tracks. WHAT?? How could this be? What would I do without him? He excitedly told me that Apple had recruited him and hired him to be a manager of one of their new stores they were opening. Wow. Good for him. With his fantastic customer service, Apple was lucky to have him (I’ve been a fan of Apple for a while—but ever since their public support and generous contribution to the NO on Prop 8 campaign, I kind of have an even greater love for them.) I wished him luck, and as I walked out, I realized. All these months, and all these conversations, I didn’t even know his name. How rude of me! I was only comforted in that I saw him on his last day and hadn’t decided to skip my Starbucks indulgence that morning. Otherwise, I would have never even have known what happened to him.

Most people I know have some type of routine. Whether it’s a morning routine in getting out the door for work, or that yoga class Monday nights that they love to go to, or even that meandering path to the Bart station to avoid the pesky pigeons, everyone’s got some type of routine at some point of the day. Something. If you’re paying enough attention, you’ll realize, you see a lot of the same people around you. They may not be people you have an actual interaction with, or you may just make small talk with them.

But regardless, would it be so bad if we all took a little bit more time to get to know the people around us? Could we create a better sense of neighborhood in some of these high density city neighborhoods? Don’t tell me we’re really that busy and can’t take an extra minute to say hello to someone. Why not start by learning their name?

Me? I’m going to vouch to start with my cable car conductors. If a man can back up traffic for me and keep the cable car waiting for me, I should at least know his name, right??

Giving Thanks

Wylie might be thankful that he’s still open for business (a tough feat during these tough economic times, even Eater has eliminated DeathWatch), but what are you thankful for?

I'm thankful for many things...but most of all, I'm thankful for:

My family
I honestly don’t know what I’d do without my dad, sister and Uncle Young. I love them! They’re my back bone. My foundation.

My friends
I have a lot of friends. I have a lot of really good friends. I am one of those lucky gals that has friends from a lot of different times, places and stages of my life. And I love that. I cherish and value each and every one of them for everything they’ve taught me, all that we’ve been through and all of the good times. I’m looking forward to many more fun memories with them!

Passion
I have a passion for life. A passion for challenges, for personal growth, for new experiences and for new adventures. Oh. And then there’s my passion for travel and food of course. I’m thankful for all of it! It’s what makes me, me. It’s why I get giddy over silly things, it’s why I tend to always say yes to new challenges, it's why I jumped out of a plane (skydiving!), why I like to explore new places and try new foods and it’s why I love life.

I am thankful for those things today.

Missing Mom

Happy Birthday Mom. I miss you so much and think about you every single day. Not a day goes by when I don't have something I want to tell you, or find myself wondering what you'd think, wanting to ask you a questions, or wanting to pick up the phone to call you and talk.

Wishing you were here with us now...you're in my mind and heart.

Heading to Australia!!

I'm heading to Australia tonight, yay! I can't wait to get away and to explore and experience a new country.

I've written a few posts that will be popping up while I'm away, so please continue to tune in. But expect a slew of new posts, observations, photos and stories when I return! G'Day Mate!

Meal of the Month: November - New York City

It’s only the middle of November…but I have to give an update about my meal of the month. In an unprecedented move, there is going to be MULTIPLE meals of the month for November. Yes, it’s true. Given the month I’m going to have, I just know, that I’m not going to be able to pick just one outstanding meal. Heck, I’ve already had about half a dozen or so meals that in any other month would be the Meal of the Month. Slam dunk. No doubt about it. And yet in this month? Not so easy. In a month where I’m spanning the globe, and eating in San Francisco, New York, Sydney and Melbourne, there is no way I can choose just one favorite meal.

SO. We’re going to start with a recap of the many meals I had while in NYC. Let’s see…starting with an amazing experience at Insieme (which by the way, has a pasta tasting menu—what could be better??) My friend Marshall was behind the bar that night (umm, why else do you think I went here?), and we tasted so many delicious special cocktails and had perfect wine pairings for each of our courses. My favorite from the night? The classic and simple linguine con vongole—perfectly cooked linguine with clams, garlic and hot pepper and parsley. Delicious! Simple and perfect for a chilly NYC evening. The sweet potato tempura dessert was also unlike anything I’ve ever eaten before.

Another fantastic meal? Bobo! It’s a fun space (if you blink, you’ll miss it—there’s no sign, and it’s a non descript brownstone with small stairs that lead you down to the restaurant). Because we ate downstairs, we were able to order from both the dining room menu as well as the bar nibbles menu. Chef Patrick Connolly prepared a great meal for us (he’s adorable too!), and the gals and I enjoyed bone marrow tots (YES! Like tater tots!) with a house made catsup, braised short ribs, a yummy crab salad, fried pickles, a hamburger…and of course, delicious cocktails! Tons of cocktails and wine.

And then let’s see…a delish cheese course at Artisanal Fromagerie Bistro Wine Bar (can we just say, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a restaurant with more cheese!) A great brunch at Pastis, where not only did I have a perfect Eggs Benedict, but I ran into an old coworker (who would think I would run into Mr. Jimmy Suh himself with his wife and new son?!) Small world!

Another yummy brunch? Restro, near my wonderful 70 park avenue hotel, where I ate the Hangover Pasta, cause as it turns out, I was a little hung over. Also the place where I had my first Dutch Baby! (You always remember your first!) AND, a place that has one of my all time favorite cookbooks, Pork & Sons behind the bar. Gotta love a place that’s got the Pork & Sons cookbook in house.

Then let’s see…there was the perfect rainy Saturday mid-day snack. Ramen, smoked chicken wings and David Chang’s famous pork buns at Momofuko Noodle Bar. With a large Japanese beer of course. Nothing better than slurping up ramen noodles with a good friend (coincidentally, another West Coast gal!) on a cold rainy day.

Let’s not forget the casual Monday night dinner at Blue Smoke…perfect spot for a casual and comforting meal after a long weekend of eating, drinking and staying up late. They also have one of my all time favorite beers there—the Allagash from Portland Maine! Yum.

On top of that, there were endless nights of drinking…and yes, to some, these count as a meal (haven’t you ever heard of a liquid diet?) Those liquid meals include:

- Drinks at Tailor (where there was a Sam Mason sighting!)

- Beers at The Room (such a cute place! Awesome beer and wine list!)

- Too many to count yummy Plymouth gin drinks mid-day at Bar Milano from Ross the bartender (my friend Jamie would be proud!)

- A local Brooklyn distilled beer at the Spotted Pig (a beer 'that'll put hair on your chest!' according to my friend Tim)

- Drinks at PDT, from Mr. Jim Meehan himself…where not only did we try most of the drinks on the menu, but I met two awesome OZ industry folks who gave me a long list of places to check out, but also where I had a yummy late night snack of tater tots and a David Chang dog (yum!!)

THEN, to top it off, I was able to attend the new Boqueria Soho opening night party…where I ate more padron peppers than I’ve ever had before…and where there were sightings of local NYC chefs such as Anne Burrell, Marco Canora, Patrick Connolly, and supposedly Johnny Iuzzini made a late appearance (I was LONG gone by then, Barry please don't be mad!) In addition to the yummy pardon peppers, there was quail eggs and chorizo on toast, lamb skewers, cheese, olives and much more. YUM! (Go Baltz team for throwing such an awesome party!)

So! What if not any of those meals, is my Meal of the Month: New York, you ask? (And just how many days was I there for?? I know, it’s a lot of food and drink…) My Meal of the Month would have to go to Dell’anima. I haven’t been able to stop raving about it since I’ve been back. Our table of five took one look at the menu and almost ordered the whole thing. Luckily for our stomachs, we refrained and just ordered ALMOST everything from the menu (they were also kind enough to bring us a few items we didn’t order.) Let’s see. Where do I begin?

Well, first, we ordered all five of their bruschettes…chickpea with preserved lemon, avocado with sea salt, octopus aioli, a soft scrambled eggs bottarga, and a ricotta with sea salt. It was all so good. I could have just eaten these and been happy. The bread was grilled and rubbed with a little garlic. Not too garlicky, but just enough. The soft scrambled eggs were my favorite!

From there, we moved onto some other starters…grilled sweetbreads, braised boar with polenta, and escarole hearts (we had to have one order of something green--Sam and Jamie insisted!)

As if that wasn’t enough…we haven’t even gotten to our pasta course! (And those of you that know me know that I sure do love pasta!) We ordered the tagliatelle alla Bolognese, linguini neri puttanesca, trofie with bacon, tomato, shallots and rosemary, and the garganelli with funghi trifolati, lemon and parsley. How could five people eat all of this?? We’re pros. Not a bite left on the plate. But wait. There’s more.

We finished off with the pork chop, served with sunchokes, prosciutto and mustard fruit, as well as the chicken ‘al diavolo’ served with braised escarole and raisins. The pork chop was a huge piece of meat, and yet when we cut into it, it was perfectly cooked and so moist. Too bad it came at the end of the meal and I was too stuffed to eat more!

Dessert you ask? Sigh. I know they brought us some. But what you ask? I’m a bad blogger and I have to admit, I think I was starting to creep into food coma by then (after all, we had a ton of wine and I was exhausted after a really long weekend.) All I can remember was the perfect shot of fernet I had. Yummmmm, just like at home in San Francisco!

So, what else will this month bring? No doubt lots more good food? When's the next time I return to New York? No doubt, very soon.

Thanks to all of my friends that made this such a fun trip...all of the thoughtfully planned meals, reservations, invitations, suggestions, etc., MUCH APPRECIATED! When are you all coming to San Fran?? Happy to return the favor!