Wrapping Up SF.

Monday, 18th July 2011: was my last day in SF as I was booked on the late PAL flight back home. The plan was that I'd be checked out of my hotel by 11:30am, Apple would pick me up and I'd spend the day at their place in Hillsborough (15 minutes from the airport). We'd check in our luggage early (she and her youngest daughter were to be on the same flight to Manila) and go back to their place to have dinner with Rocky until before boarding time.

All my breakfasts in the city were at the hotel. Unlike Saturday's healthy Fruit Platter w/ Blueberry Yoghurt & Coffee breakfast, Sunday's was a bit more substantial...

...Eggs Benedict, Coffee & Orange Juice; while Monday's was....

...Corned Beef Hash, 3 Poached Eggs, English Muffin, Orange Juice & Coffee.

Needless to state, they were all in US-sized portions, so, aside from Saturday's fruit platter, I barely finished half of my breakfasts. How anyone can function after eating all that is beyond me. Naturally, Apple took me out to lunch that Monday at Ristorante Capellini in San Mateo.

Since Sandy mentioned the day before that the local tomatoes were in season, I had the Insalata Caprese to start - which I absolutely loved. The tomatoes were so fresh and sweetly juicy. Lovely mozzarella too (totally unlike the tired, old, somewhat drying, rubbery commercial stuff we have in Manila)! Delicious!

For my main course, I just couldn't resist having the Spaghetti w/ Meatballs - which happens to be one of my comfort foods. I've loved this dish since I was a small child and have never outgrown it. Though, after my large breakfast, I vowed to eat light the rest of the day, I couldn't help but eat every bit of it except for one meatball (but skipped dessert entirely). Magnifico!

Dinner that night at Rocky & Apple's was a fresh garden salad and an amazingly good grilled kanduli (a.k.a., salmon catfish) - so nice and light, yet so satisfying. That was it - I all was set for the long flight home. I never eat airplane food if I can at all help it - well, aside from some bread & butter, salad and glasses of champagne.

That's all for SF eats and drinks...until the next.

Saturday SF with Sandy.

Saturday, the 16th July 2011:

I was supposed to spend noontime onward with Sandy. I got up around 6am, washed up and decided to walk to the old Pinecrest Diner on Geary corner Mason (around a mile away on foot). Unfortunately, I discovered that I had left all my money and my credit card case in the pair of pants I wore the night before. Fortunately, I discovered that before I ordered and ate my food - otherwise, Sandy would have received a very early and very rude awakening for her to bail me out.

My efforts and appetite frustrated, I trudged back to the hotel and had a distressingly healthy breakfast of a Fruit Platter, Yoghurt and Coffee. A bit later, I hopped on a cab to K&L Wines' SF branch for some bottles of Bdx rouge and champagne. Lady Luck was apparently sleeping in that morning as it took me half an hour to get a cab back to the hotel - and, by then, my left arm was cramping up holding my bottles.

Sandy picked me up just before 1pm, parked her car at her friend's place near the Ferry Building and we hoofed it from there to take in the Saturday Farmers' Market. After wandering around looking at some wines and all the local food products, the aromas of the food got the better of me so we hopped on a bus bound for Haight Street - destination:

The Toronado, a famous bar that Jimmyton told me not to miss so I could get some Pliny the Elder on tap. Jim knows full well how badly I fell for Pliny the Elder ever since he brought some home for us to try during Russian River Night at The Tasting Room. Before entering the bar, though...

...Sandy got us a couple of Bratwurst & Sauerkraut Sandwiches at the equally famous Rosamunde Sausage Grill next door. Brats in hand, we entered the bar,...

...settled at a table near the entrance (which table Sandy had to wipe down) and Sandy grabbed us a couple of pints of my much anticipated Pliny the Elder on tap (she really spoiled me that day, I tell you).

Sandy makes for a great beer & sausage sandwich model, doesn't she?

Sandwiches and a second round of PtE done, we wisely didn't go for a third (we were to meet some of her friends later at another bar), took a cab back to where she was parked and headed to her place on Russian Hill for some coffee and a short breather. After around an hour, we walked over to Saloon, the oldest bar in SF per Sandy, to watch her guitarist friend play there.

On our way, we passed by a Rogue Bar so I just had to stop briefly to get a shot of it for Jim;
after all, I get all my stock of Rogue Dead Guy & Double Dead Guy from him.

At Saloon, the band was already heating up the place and her friends bought me a few rounds of beer. I tried to reciprocate, but the bar wouldn't take my money for some strange reason (I suspect Sandy and/or her friends had something to do with that). In the photo above, people were dancing to the band's cover of the Stones' Sympathy for the Devil (the lady in the yellow sweater seated on the right side of the bar was a dead ringer for Diane Keaton). The set over, we spent a few more minutes chatting with her friends and then made our way to dinner.

Sandy posing beside a really cool street mural of a pair of Boston Terriers.

We thought to take a chance getting into Restaurant Gary Danko though we had no reservations, even just bar seating (I understand it could take up to 3 months or so just to get a table there), failing which, I figured we'd go back to Zarzuela for more Spanish food. As luck would have it, we briefly stopped by one of Sandy's regular bars and the owner told her that one of their mutual friends now works at Gary Danko's. Chances looked better for us getting in then.

When we finally got there, a young Asian-looking lady immediately greeted Sandy and assured us of eventual seats at the bar. Flutes of complimentary rosé bubbly then suddenly appeared in our hands. Sandy's connected in this city, I tell you. Well, it wasn't too long before we were seated and going over the menu.

We were set on getting the 5-course Summer Tasting Menu with wine pairing - that is, until the bartender/bar manager warned us that the portions thereof were much more substantial than "tasting portions" as we know them. Because of the warning, coupled with all the beers that day, we wimped out and just went for the 3-course menu and a couple of half bottles of wine (a white and a red).

We both started with the Lobster Salad with Asian Pear, Mango, Avocado, Cashews and Lime Cilantro Rémoulade. This was very nice, light and refreshingly playful. To pair, I chose the 2008 Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Mont Demi Sec because I so enjoyed the 2008 Huet Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec during lunch with Domaine Huet proprietor Anthony Hwang this past 16th May 2011. I actually had the 2008 Le Mont Demi Sec earlier this year at the Stockbroker's tasting at Masseto, and figured that the Le Mont, being heftier and buttressed with more toasty leesy notes, would do well with the lobster - and that it did.

Lemon Pepper Duck Breast with Duck Hash, Bacon Braised Endive and Brandied Cherries for my main course...

...Seared Filet of Beef with Potatoes Panadera, Swiss Chard, Cassis Glazed Shallots and Bordelaise Butter for Sandy.

With our main courses, we had a bottle of 2006 Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits St-Georges Premier Cru "Aux Boudots" - This is a charmingly precocious 1er cru NSG (then, again, during my barrel tastings of some 2006 Côte de Nuits in Burgundy in early October 2007, I already found the wines generally precocious). With a bit of time in the glass and some swirling, it showed nicely spiced, fresh dark cherry, hint of kirsch, raspberry, bit of violets and slight underlying minerality. A notch or two over medium-bodied now, this had a slight chewiness and rustic feel to it once it started expanding. Still quite young, it is already enjoyable, particularly with the duck.

This was an extra dessert one of the Filipino cooks sent to each of us in appreciation of the Tagalog jokes Sandy passed along to him through one of the waitstaff. By this time, the sadly amusing, rather weird lady seated beside me had, thankfully, already left.

A Baked Chocolate Soufflé with Two Sauces for each of us for dessert.

They certainly weren't stingy with the chocolate sauce...

...or the Petits Fours either. I was too stuffed by then and wouldn't dare venture a single bite more lest I emulate Mr. Creosote.

We then hopped into a cab, hailed by a couple of pinoy doormen. I dropped Sandy home and headed back to the hotel for a much-needed rest. It was a great Saturday in SF spending time with Sandy. Thanks a lot, Sands. We'll see you in Manila in October!

Dinner @ Rocky & Apple's.

Thursday, the 14th July 2011: After lunch at Isobune with Santi & Enky, they dropped me off at Draeger's where I met up with Apple. We shopped for ingredients in preparation for a dinner at her and Rocky's home that evening (they just happen to live in the same neighborhood as Santi's place where I was staying). Done there, we proceeded to Hillsborough where we chatted and caught up over dinner preparations as the kids started trickling in from school.

Rocky arrived soon after and quickly popped open a bottle of 2009 Drew family Cellars "The Gatekeepers Blend" Mendocino Ridge Pinot Noir. I was quite distracted with the chatting, catching up, prepping and cooking that I couldn't really concentrate on the wine, but, ripe, moderately candy-fruited, cola-infused a Cali pinot noir as it was, it seemed to me a bit more of a cold climate one compared to many others I've tried - then, again, I know pretty much next to nothing about Cali pinot noirs.

Sandy, Santi & Enky eventually arrived by the time I was finishing up the pasta sauce and started on the six 1-1/2 inch US "Kobe" Rib-Eye Steaks (a daunting task for me as outdoor grilling has never been one of my strengths - Boozze normally takes care of that department. Apple's cook took care of the rest of the dishes.

We started out with a healthy South Beach Salad to ease the guilt of what was to come.

My Spaghetti Pomodoro w/ Fresh Basil & White Mushrooms - no meat, no added salt. I used to make this fairly regularly, especially when Rocky & Apple visit Manila, but it's been ages since I made this. I don't think it turned out as well as before, but, I thought it was good enough.

Huge hunks of Chilean Sea Bass which Enky said were really good.

Tragically, I over-did the steaks to medium (I prefer mine rare, but medium-rare is also acceptable). Oh, well, more practise needed...sorry, guys.

Thankfully, that didn't stop Santi from attacking and killing a whole slab.

With the steaks, I started everyone off with a bottle of 1983 Château Grand Puy Lacoste which I, unfortunately, forgot to take a phto of. GPL is a well-respected 5th Growth from Pauillac, that, in my book (as well as many others') is a consistently good, reliable performer that punches well above its weight (their '89 and '90 are particularly good). The subject '83 GPL was a few notches over medium-bodied, lightly silken (Thai silk comes to mind), and presented a slightly reticent bouquet of cedar, blackcurrant, minor ripe plum, dark raspberry, violets slight gravel and a faint minty topnote all of which were mirrored on the palate. The fruit had a slight greenness to it and the finish could have been longer; but it was definitely a decent, typical Pauillac.

The above-depicted bottle of 1990 Château Petit Village, on the other hand, presented dark, smoldering, powerful fruit on a heftier, more rounded body with evidently greater depth and complexity. Velvety on the palate; a comparatively more pronounced middle and superior length and over-all balance and harmony. This was much more of a complete wine. Beautiful wine. We were all in agreement that this was clearly a superior wine. Pity the K&L Redwood Branch had only one bottle and the one in SF was all out (I went there to get more, but, alas, in vain).

Clockwise from the left: Sandy, Enky, Rocky, Apple and Santi.

A Cheese Platter to help finish off the reds.

Then came an array of desserts. Apple really went all out here. Good thing her and Rocky's kiddies were around to help us out with them.

A deadly decadent Chocolate Cake.

Some Crème Brûlée.

Home-Made Crepes by Apple's cook. These were stuffed with berries and banana slices, topped with a decadent Valrhona chocolate sauce and served with vanilla ice cream. We also had some Chocolate & Nuts Petits Fours from Sandy (which I forgot to photograph since I was already reeling with all the food by that time).

To cleanse our palates, a bottle of Champagne Henriot Souverain - A decent enough, casual bubbly I thought at the time. I really was too far gone to try evaluating it any more than that.

Many, many thanks for having us all over, Rocky & Apple! Until the next!

Friday Night Zarzuela (SF)

Friday night, the 15th July 2011, SF, Ca.

By around 7pm, I had checked in the OMNI Hotel on California and Montgomery in the city. I then proceeded with Sandy to her place at Russian Hill where she parked her car and we walked a little ways to Zarzuela, her favorite neighborhood Spanish restaurant. It was obviously a very packed night; yet, no sooner had we entered then the whole restaurant seemed to come up and greet her warmly - diners, the owner, members of waitstaff, busboys, you name it. I felt like I had walked into an episode of "Cheers".

The owner, Andy (there was another friend of Sandy's named Andy there who owns and runs The Spanish Table), told us he'd get us a table in a short time and glasses of chilled, nicely fresh albariño appeared in our hands. I then stepped outside for a smoke, joined by Sandy. It was pretty cold and windy outside; but we didn't wait long at all - I didn't even have time for a second cigarette before we were called in and given a cozy, corner table...

...and served a platter of Olives, Tortilla de Patatas and some Jamón;
our glasses of albariño quickly topped up as well.

We took our time chatting, going over the menu, listening to the night's specials and, finally, ordering our meal and wine. This trip was so opportune as I wasn't really able to see Sandy that much during her last visit to Manila.

Our appetizers: Boquerónes Fritos, Gambas al Ajillo & Patatas Bravas.

By way of red, I chose a bottle of 2007 Aalto (Ribera del Duero) off the wine list. I could have sworn I've had more than one Aalto before, but I can't seem to find any notes of mine other than the 2001 Aalto PS (Pagos Seleccionadas) that Rene opened at a long wine lunch at the Prince Albert back in mid-February (maybe it's because I, for some reason, confuse the names of Aalto and Artadi often).

Be it as it may, upon Andy's (the restaurant owner's) suggestion, this wine was decanted for around 45 minutes before we actually got to it - and a very good suggestion it was. This was an evidently deeply-veined, dense, powerfully ripe, oaky, oak-spice laden, full-bodied, concentrated and well-extracted wine (much like the aforementioned 2001 Aalto PS and the 2004 and 2005 Bodegas Mauro VS by the same winemaker - the ex-winemaker of Vega Sicilia) - I easily imagine it would have been quite difficult for me to drink had it not been decanted. Still and all, with my main course of...

...Chuletas de Cordero (Sandy went for the night's special Salmon), it was pretty good, with its considerable alcohol (I'm guessing at least 15%abv) providing me some much-needed warmth.

Though quite full already (and with every good reason to be), I simply had to choose 3 desserts so as to get a reasonable idea of the restaurant's style.

Upon Sandy's suggestion, I got the above Tarta Helada that she described as "frozen mango cheesecake yumminess". This was quite good - as it wasn't as rich as it looked (a good thing for me) and its cool fruitiness and surrounding berries refreshed my palate after the chuletas.

The Brazo Gitano de Chocolate, also Sandy's recommendation, was every bit as decadent as it looked; every chocolate lover's dream, to be sure. The third dessert was one I go for whenever available...

...the Arroz con Leche. This is always comforting for me; and Zarzuela's version was a real treat. We then joined Sandy's friends at the long table where they had eventually congregated. Very nice and friendly people. Aside from Patricia, I had never before met any of her SF friends and they were very friendly and welcoming. Good to know she hangs around with good people there.

By that time, the crowd had trickled out and we eventually took our leave. Sandy packed me into a cab and sent me off back to my hotel as she insisted on walking home. Very nice, comforting evening.

Some SF Snapshots: July 2011.

As previously posted, I was in SF for 11 days this month; 8 of those days work-related, the last 3 for relaxing and eating around. Certain meals were full-blown affairs and will be/have been posted on separately. The following are photos of memorable times and more casual bites.

Saturday, 9th July 2011: After taking the ladies shopping in Union Square, Santi treated us all to an Eat-All-You-Can Buffet.

Eat-All-You-Can Salmon & Hamachi Sashimi!

Ok, so I had some HK-Style Roast Duck, Roast Pork and Century Egg Congee too.

Sunday, 10th July 2011:

Breakfast of Adobo Rice...

...and Adobo Flakes.

Late lunch @ In & Out: Double Cheeseburger with Fries "Animal Style"!

For dinner, I got a rack of lamb + 2 double chops from Draeger's and made my Roast Herbed Rack of Lamb at Santi's place. That's less than half of the lamb left in Santi's photo above. We somehow managed to polish it all off in one sitting. With the lamb, we also had...

...a bottle of 2005 Château Talbot, a very reliable 3rd Growth from St-Julien...

...and some really cheesy Eggplant Casserole by Santi's cook.

Chow time!

Monday, 11th July 2011 (I think):

Long day at work, so we just relaxed and had dinner at home in front of the TV.

Arroz a la Cubana.

Tuesday, 12th July 2011:

I don't recall exactly what the food was, but, after dinner, some of Santi's friends came over for a few beers (ok, many beers). Still being jet-lagged, I fell asleep around 7:30pm, missed dinner and woke up a little past 2am. Enky was headed off to bed, so I figured I wouldn't bother eating and just quickly slug down some beers so I could go back to sleep...

...after all, I wouldn't want these craft beers Santi got at BEVMO to go to waste.

Imagine my surprise when I went to the garage to join them and found Gabby Ladao there. I've known him for ages but hadn't seen him for years since he moved to California. What a small world indeed.

Beery relaxed, baby!

I guess Santi liked the Rogue Dead Guy Ale, huh?

Around 5am: Enky about to re-learn why it's not a good idea
to be the first one to go to sleep during a drinking session.

Wednesday, the 13th July 2011:

Spent the day at the office. Hugo took us to a quick lunch at a nearby taqueria. Damn those burritos were large. I just got the regular size and could barely finish 2/3 of it.

Thursday, the 14th July 2011:

After finishing up some paperwork in the morning, we went out to do some chores. I suggested we have a light, healthy lunch at Isobune in Burlingame. Unfortunately, it wasn't anywhere as good as it used to be - but I thought it was still passable.

Enky, apparently, wasn't overly enthralled with the light, healthy food...

...but he managed to eat just a tiny bit anyway.

The guys dropped me off at Draeger's after lunch where I met up with longtime friend, Apple, with whom I shopped for ingredients for dinner that night at her and Rocky's place. Santi, Enky and Sandy would meet us there that evening. That dinner will be a separate post in itself.

Friday, the 15th July 2011:

The rest of the team was to return to Manila that evening, while I stayed for 3 more nights for some eating and drinking around. After breakfast, we briefly passed by the LBC USA Corporate Offices just to pack some files, finalize and have some documents signed.

"And so where are the documents?"

All done; good job everyone!

We had a late lunch at the infamous Jeffrey's Hamburger in San Mateo. I heard Santi and Apple talking about Jeffrey's the night before so I was quite curious what the food would be like. My understanding was that it is a belly-buster of a place. It didn't take long to find out why.

Enky's Bacon Cheeseburger

Santi with his Double Cheeseburger & Chili Fries.

My Chilidog w/ Onions - quite easily the best chilidog I've ever had.

Servings were typically huge. I barely finished a fourth of my Fries.

Thereafter, we headed back to Hillsborough to relax - they to wait to be picked up for their evening flight, I to be picked up by Sandy to move to my hotel in the city. We were to have dinner at Sandy's neighborhood Spanish restaurant, Zarzuela, that night; but that is an entirely different story altogether.

More on that weekend later.