Farm stand to use closed tire shop

I think this is a much needed addition to the neighborhood!

Farm stand to use closed tire shop

More Cheesy Vermont

Recently, we were lucky enough to visit some points of cheese interest in Vermont.

Taylor Farm, right outside of Londonderry is a small farm of 50 dairy cows that produces some EXCELLENT local Gouda-style cheeses. They are open to the public, and while you are at the farm, you are free to take a walk around the grounds and meet the chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, goats, and cows!! When we drove in around 4:00pm, the cows were literally coming home; it was milking time!

We walked in the shop/welcome center and sampled some of the cheeses. Again, Taylor Farm makes Gouda-style cheeses—Vermont's only! In addition to original, they also have maple smoked, Chipotle, Garlic, and Nettle. My personal two favorites were/are the Nettle and Maple Smoked versions.

After tasting some cheese and talking to the fun fowl, we went to visit the ladies in the barn.

We were able to see the milking process—and even taste some of the fresh milk. I'd never tasted better milk. It kept saying it tastes like the field—in a good way. I wish we were able to buy more raw milk products in the US.

Before leaving, we went back into the shop and began asking some questions. Before we knew it, we were shown the cheese-making room! They'd just made cheese that morning, so we missed seeing the cheesemakers in action, but it was still very interesting.

After the curds are separated out from the whey, they are cut, cooked, salted, pressed and formed, and then placed into a brine/whey mixture.

After brining, the cheese is set to dry and cure in a refrigerated room. In the photo above, you can see the difference in the batches made, I believe, a week apart.

Cheese coated in wax and set to age.

I definitely recommend stopping by Taylor Farm if you are ever in the area of Londonderry, VT. Our next plan is to do an entire Cheese Tour of Vermont. I'm excited for that. I would love to visit some of the farms making the cheeses we sampled last year in Vermont as well as the many others the state has to offer. If anyone knows of a particularly good local dairy farm or cheese maker we should include on our tour, please let us know!

Ginger Pear Upside-Down Cake

I had some pears from my parents' trees in Vermont, and I wanted to do something special with them. I found a recipe for a Ginger Pear Upside-Down Cake and decided to give it a whirl. It was good and pretty nice-looking and easy to make. I think I would add a bit more spice to the actual cake though...either that or make some more of the "topping" as a sauce one could drizzle on top of each slice. Give it a try and let me know if you have any suggestions!


Ginger Pear Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from Leslie Mackie’s Macrina Bakery & Café Cookbook

For the topping:
3 Tbs salted butter, at room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
4-5 medium to large ripe pears, peeled, cored, and quartered lengthwise

For the batter:
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar
2 Tbs peeled, grated ginger
3 large eggs
2/3 cup molasses
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups buttermilk


Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Oil a 9-inch springform pan, and line the bottom with a 10-inch circle of parchment paper.

To make the topping: combine 3 Tbs butter, ½ cup brown sugar, cinnamon & salt in a medium saucepan. Melt the butter over medium heat for about 1 minute; then pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan, completely coating the parchment paper. Place the quartered pears on top of the butter-sugar mixture, lining the pieces up tightly in a decorative circle so that none of the bottom shows through.

To make the batter: cut 2 sticks of butter into 1-inch pieces, and put them in a large mixing bowl. Add ¾ cup brown sugar, and cream the mixture on medium speed for 3-5 minutes, until it is smooth and a pale tan color. Add the grated ginger, and beat 1 minute more. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, beating on low speed and making sure that each egg is fully incorporated before adding another. When all the eggs have been added, slowly pour in the molasses and beat to fully mix. The mixture will look as though it is “breaking” or curdling, but don’t worry—it will come together when the dry ingredients are added.

In a separate medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to fully combine.

Alternately, add small amounts of flour and buttermilk to the batter, stirring and folding with a rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are just absorbed. Do not overmix the batter. Pour and scrape the batter into the pear-lined pan, smoothing the top with a rubber surface. The pan will be nearly full.

Carefully transfer the pan to the center rack of the oven, and bake for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the cake’s center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Cover the pan with an upside-down serving plate; then carefully invert them together. Release the sides of the pan, and lift it away. Gently lift the pan’s base off the cake, and peel away the parchment paper. Allow the cake to cool for a half hour or so, and serve warm, with whipped cream.

Yield: One big cake, likely serving 10-12 people

Panellets - A Catalan All Saints treat

As we get closer to the Tots Sants (All Saints) Holiday, bakery and confectionary windows here in Andorra have begun to advertise for the traditional All Saints treat, panellets. Literally meaning more or less "little breads", panellets are delicious little confections made primarily of marzipan. The most popular and arguably most delicious are those dipped in pine nuts and glazed with egg whites. Any fan of marzipan, almonds, or nuts in general MUST try them. At around 1€ a piece, however, they are not the cheapest sweet habit to get into.

The panellets, along with roasted chestnuts (castanyes torrades), sweet potatoes (moniatos), and a dessert wine like a sweet moscat (moscatell dolç) make up the traditional Tots Sants dessert spread. I'm thinking I need to learn how to make panellets myself and post a recipe ;-)

Sagres - Cerveja Portuguesa

After a bit over a month of residing in the Principality of Andorra and enjoying all the wonderful food here, I think it is about time I shared some of my experiences. I hereby decree the commencement of 'A Taste of Iberia and the Pyrenees', with frequent installments featuring products, recipes, and anything else related to food and beverage in this glorious corner of the world.

For this first entry I would like to recount a small beer tasting we held casa nostra in which we progressively tasted the 3 primary varieties of the Portuguese beer 'Sagres'. Given that the Portuguese make up some 12% of the Andorran population, it is no surprise that Portuguese food and beverage are easy to come by. The name Sagres comes from the Portuguese town of Sagres, located at the Southwest tip of the Iberian peninsula. The biggest selling beer brand in Portugal, Sagres was first introduced at the 1940 Exposição do Mundo Português and has had great success ever since.

The first beer to be tasted was the simple Pilsner Sagres Branca, the flagship brand and biggest seller. The taste was simple and clean, but nothing to write home about. It is comparable to many of the other inexpensive pale lagers produced in Spain and Portugal and would probably be best described as a simple table beer. It has a 5% alcohol value.

Next on the list was the Sagres Bohemia. Launched in 2005, Bohemia lager is a noticeably darker amber color and presumably inspired by the beers of the Czech Republic. This is my favorite of the 3 for an everyday beer - it is aromatic and flavourful but not too heavy on the wheat, which can make one feel uncomfortable after throwing a few back. It has a slightly higher alcohol content of 6.2%.

Last but not least we tried the Sagres Preta (with Preta meaning "dark"). At 4.3% alcohol it is the least alcoholic of the three, but what it lacks in punch it makes up for in flavor. Also available since 1940, it was for a long time the only available dark beer in the Portuguese market. To me it had a slightly smoky flavor, and I was surprised by how light it was considering its darkness. Andrew and Mike picked up some some coffee and nutty tones, but unfortunately my congestion prevented me from any deep tasting insight. I could definitely see myself drinking this while stuffing my face with say...pork ribs, since clearly I would want to fill up on the meat, not the alcohol, but at the same time would still want to have a nice, rich beverage to enjoy.

Still on the list to try are the LimaLight - Sagres' answer to BudLight Lime and all of those other Chelada-type beers - and then the Bohemia 1835 Reserve. Unfortunately I have yet to see either in the stores - and trust me, I have explored the grocery store options here in Andorra. Given the number of Portuguese in Massachusetts, I know as a fact that Sagres is available back home, but as to the Bohemia and Preta varieties, that I couldn't tell you - keep your eyes peeled!

San Francisco Day 4 or "Leaping Menageries and French Deliciousness"

Our second day in Napa started out by Bry and I driving another way into Napa so we could see Sonoma Valley on the way. Sonoma has such a dynamic landscape, we both thought it was much better to go this way, over the Golden Gate Bridge, than over the Bay Bridge as we did the first day. Our agenda for day two was: Frog's Leap Winery, followed by Grgich Winery, lunch at Bouchon, then Stag's Leap Wine Cellars.

I had made reservations for the tour and tasting at Frog's Leap on the recommendation from the NY Times. Before going on the tour, I didn't hold Frog's Leap in very high regards, but afterwards, I consider it, one of my favorite wineries and wines. We met our tour guide Rachel in a beautiful house that was relatively new to the vineyard. It had huge windows facing out onto an organic garden and vases of flowers and straw hats dotted the rooms throughout. The tour began with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc from Rutherford in the dining room of the home. It was crisp and lovely. Rachel took us then outside to get a better view of the vineyard and gardens and gorgeous mountain view. She explained to us that Frog's Leap is an organic and biodynamic vineyard (it's LEED certified). Frog's Leap also believes in "dry farming", this means that the vineyard does not use a drip irrigation system to water it's vines. This causes the vines to grow their roots deeper into the soil, some 22 feet (this is the same method used in France but those roots reach 100 feet deep). Not only does this make the vine stronger but it enables the farmer to till the soil around the vine 4 ft deep. Drip irrigated vines have shallow roots and root balls and if you were to till around them, the roots be ripped apart. Not being able to use a tiller creates the problem of weeds for the farmer so they resort to weed killers, chemicals, and other non-organic fertilizers (since the weed killers destroy the good bacteria in the soil too). On top of all this, since the root system is more shallow, the vine is not as strong and therefor needs to be replaced every 13 years or so whereas the organic deep-rooted vine can live up to 80 years before being replanted. This is one of the reasons why Frog's Leap can produce more consistent, cheaper wine that some of it's competitors. Since each vine costs 1000 bucks to replace (yes, $1000....I didn't type that wrong) other vineyards must mark-up their wine to cover the cost of the replanting as well as their expensive oak barrels that they use (again, these cost $1000 a barrel). Since Frog's Leap is organic, they do not want to mask the flavor of their wine at all so use the oak barrels for about 8 years before they replace them which give a much more subdued oaky taste then brand new barrels and again this causes the wine to be cheaper in price as well.
Each of the Frog's Leap wines were delicious (besides the Sauvignon Blanc, we had a Zinfandel from Napa Valley and Merlot from Rutherford) but the one that really stood out was their 2005 Rutherford wine. At $75 a bottle, it's about half the cost as other wines that taste just as good. The Rutherford wine comes from a single vineyard run by Frog's Leap but owned by a guy that everyone lovingly refers to as Uncle Joe. The tasting and tour at Frog's Leap is only 15 dollars and is worth every last penny. The property, our tour guide, and of course, the wine were all just fantastic.

After Frog's Leap, we headed over to Grgich Hills. Grgich is known for their whites because the man who started the winery Mike Grgich was the wine maker who was at Chateau Montelena when it won the Judgement of Paris in 1976. Needless to say, the Chardonnay and Fume Blanc we tasted were both excellent (as were the reds: a Zinfandel and Cab) but the most amazing part of our tasting was that Mike Grgich was actually there and he signed a bottle of his Fume Blanc for us! I was in happier than a pig in mud. This bottle will definitely be my favorite souvenir of Napa.

After all that excitement, we needed a break so we headed over to Yountville for lunch at Bouchon. Bouchon is owned by Thomas Keller, one of the top, if not the top, chefs in America. Keller owns the French Laundry but since reservations there are nearly impossible, many settle for his more casual, French bistro-style restaurant Bouchon. Bouchon is wonderfully appointed, it's a relaxed Napa-infused French bistro atmosphere where palm trees dominate the dining room and warm reds and tiled floors make diners smile with delight. The food is perfect. Simple but truly delicious. The menu is printed on butcher paper that's folded up and wrapped around your napkin.

After reviewing the menu, I ordered the Boudin Blanc, a white sausage with potato puree and French prunes. Bry ordered the Gigot d'Agneau, a roasted leg of lamb with merguez sausage, braised kale, crispy polenta, pearl unions, and lamb jus. As a side we ordered the Macaroni au Gratin (no translation needed). We were served bread in the shape of a wheat stock which we thought was super cool. The bread was good but we both thought it was slightly a bit too crusty. My sausage was delicious and it was so nice to know that the actual sausage was made right on the property and not store bought and just thrown on the grill. (It's good to note that near Bouchon, and across from the French Laundry, Thomas Keller has a vegetable garden where he grows many of his ingredients. Anyone is welcome to walk around and take in the sites and smells) The prunes and potato puree were excellent as well. Bryan said his lamb was very tender and flavorful, they told him it would be rare but when it came out Bryan said he could have had it a bit more rare. He thought the fried polenta was the most intriguing for him (he's southern) and that everything worked very well together.

For dessert, we ordered the profiteroles which came with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce and the special which was a "bouchon". Many times, when you order profiteroles, the puff is not tasty and you end up enjoying the ice cream the most...the puff becoming just an after-thought. What I liked about these profiteroles was that the puff was so fresh and not chewy. The bouchon was three small chocolate cakes (similar in texture to a brownie)shaped like a wine cork that were served with mint ice cream, chocolate sauce, a champagne gastrique, and a wisp of solid chocolate. These bouchons were delicious. They were warm and soft in the middle and with the gastrique sauce (which I can't even begin to explain) combined with the mint ice cream (that tasted like real mint!) was the perfect end to a perfect meal.

With a full belly and wonderful memories we headed back into San Francisco; another day beautifully spent.

San Francisco Day 3 or "A Slice of Heaven and Some Liquid Gold"

With a belly full of bread, Bry and I headed out to Napa Valley for day 1 of our wine adventure! The ride out to Napa took about an hour and we arrived to our first winery a few minutes before 10am. We decided to try out Plump Jack winery first.

Plump Jack was recommended to me awhile back by a friend; it's owned by the mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom and is famous for it's Cabernet (as are many of the wineries in Napa). The tasting was held right in the store/bar area and cost $10 for 3 glasses. The wines were good, but none really jumped out at us. Apparently, their higher end tasting that costs more has some wines that are really noteworthy. We were in and out pretty quickly and honestly, we soon forgot about Plumpjack after we tried some other wineries that were a bit more memorable for us.

Our next stop was Nickel & Nickel which is located next to Opus One and across from Robert Mondavi. From the minute we pulled into Nickel and Nickel we felt like it was going to be a special experience. We first had to call and be buzzed into the grounds which was fun to do. As the white farm gates opened we slowly drove past a pasture with horses and a windmill. To the right was a gorgeous old Californian style home from the 1880's and a beautiful red barn. We parked and headed inside where we were greeted by our friendly tour guide in a cozy sun room. We checked in for our tour and headed into a beautifully appointed living room where we were given a crisp cool glass of chardonnay. The atmosphere was just perfect and so was the chardonnay (it ended up being one of our favorite wines of our trip). Our tour guide Brendan soon rejoined us to tell us a bit about the history of the winery before we toured the property. N&N is a relatively new winery, founded in 1997 and is devoted to producing 100% varietal, single-vineyard wines. Brendan took us through the grounds (N&N runs very "green". It receives all it's power from an acre of solar panels and if that isn't green enough, 11 sheep live underneath these panels to keep the grass mowed), the fermentation barn and another barn that was recovered and restored. The inside of this barn was actually from another barn that dated back to Revolutionary times, needless to say, it was gorgeous and it housed the lab in which the wine was created. From the barn we moved back outside, past a few workers that were processing grapes for the "crush", and into the basement of the house for our tasting. We tasted four different Cabernet Sauvignons, each from a distinct region of Napa: Stags Leap, Rutherford, Yountville, and Oakville. Our favorite was the wine from the Stags Leap district called Regusci Vineyard-Block 4 (2006). There was a burst of fruity flavor which is characteristic of the area and it was perfumed with mixed red fruits. Our second favorite was the John C. Sullenger Vineyard from Oakville (2006). This wine is produced from the vines directly behind the Nickel & Nickel homestead. It's 30 acres of clay loam soil are planted exclusively Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine had considerable volume and graceful tannins. It focused on ripe fruit flavors of plum and cherry with hints of blackberry. In third place, State Lane Ranch from Yountville (2006). Lastly, we enjoyed the Witz End Vineyard from Rutherford. Rutherford is known for it's distinct aftertaste of soil....something people call "Rutherford Dust". We were lucky enough to finish our tasting with "Napa's Liquid Gold" a.k.a. Dolce. Selling at about 80 bucks for 375ml Dolce is perhaps the best dessert wine Napa has to offer. It's sweet and rich but not syrupy and it's taste is worth it's weight in gold. We left Nickel & Nickel totally satisfied and ecstatic that were were able to experience such an amazing part of Napa.

After a quick lunch at Dean & Deluca we headed over to Caymus Winery. After N&N, the Caymus property didn't really blow us away but it was still pretty. We were excited to taste the wines since we've had some before and always were happy with them. We were able to taste four different types of wine: a Sauvignon Blanc, a Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a 2006 special collection Cabernet Sauvignon (which retails at $130). Our favorites were the Sauvignon Blanc and the Cabernet Sauvignon. One man kept commenting on how simple the wines were and the wine educator, as they are called, kept saying thank you. I guess having a simple delicious tasting wine is compliment!

The last winery we went to for the day was farther up north. Chateau Montelena is known for the 1976 Judgement of Paris. It was in this tasting that their chardonnay won over every single French wine. This wine, along with Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon put Napa on the map and gave it the world-wide notarity it has today. Bry and I shared a wine tasting and at $20 for five glasses of wine, it's a good deal. We got to try the Chateau's Reisling, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and their Estate Cab. The wine was all very good. Bry and I had their Sauv. Blanc in NY and we thought that was the best of the bunch. Unfortunately, they only made 300 cases and the only times you can taste it are at their library tastings or buy it from the one specific store in NYC that we just so happen to find it at. The grounds of the Chateau were nice with a large Japanese Pond as its center-piece.

Our first day in Napa was wonderful and we ended it with a bite to eat at the Rutherford Grill where we sat out in the warm sun and cool breeze on their patio and enjoyed a burger and enchillada and two very big glasses of water. It was the perfect end to the perfect day and we were both excited to do it all again tomorrow.

San Francisco Day 2 or "A 150 Year-Old Mother and a Stinking Rose"

San Francisco plays host to quite possibly the most famous bread in America: Sour Dough. According to Wikipedia:

Sourdough was the main bread made in Northern California during the California Gold Rush, and it remains a part of the culture of San Francisco today. The bread became so common that "sourdough" became a general nickname for the gold prospectors. The nickname remains in "Sourdough Sam", the mascot of the San Francisco 49ers.

One bakery,Boudin Bakery, in San Fran has been using the same "starter" mother dough for it's loaves for over 150 years....since the California Gold Rush. Boudin explains the process as follows:

...Our secret is in our mother dough, a unique combination of indigenous natural yeast and lactobacillus "caught" from the air and cultivated with a mixture of water and flour. Surviving only in our fog-cooled climate, our mother dough imparts a flavor and texture unlike any other bread in the world. Today, we bake a slice of history into every loaf of our Sourdough, starting each day's bread with s portion of the original Gold Rush mother dough, which has been divided and replenished with flour and water each day for over 150 years.

It was because of this history that Bry and I decided to check out Boudin for some morning bread. Luckily, there was a Boudin right over by our hotel in Fisherman's Wharf. The bakery by 9am was already bustling with activity. It was a big open inviting space. To the right was a long counter and behind it were shelves lined with a plethora of different types of sour dough breads. Some were traditional, some had raisins and chocolate, others were in the shape of turtles, teddy bears, alligators, crabs, and lobsters. Bry and I ordered a traditional small loaf as well as a chocolate and raisin one. It could have been the fact that it was just baked or it could have been the fact that the starter dough they use is over 150 years old but this was the BEST (American) sour dough I ever have tasted to date. If you are in the area, it's 100% worth your time and money to stop by to pick up a loaf. The dark-golden crunchy crust, soft chewy center, and distinctive flavor are a slice of Heaven.







For supper, we decided to dine at The Stinking Rose, a restaurant specializing in garlic that is located in San Fran's North Beach neighborhood. We have had it on our radar for a while, and were very excited to finally make it there. Upon notifying the hostess that we had arrived, she took us back to a booth for two in the chianti room. The room was dark--but in a good way; the walls were covered with old photos, and the ceiling was bedecked with chianti bottles hanging en masse. Candles were burning from wine bottles on each table; it was a very fun atmosphere.

Our waiter came, and we ordered the 'bagna calda' and a piticher of Anchor Steam beer. The 'bagna calda was basically a pan-full of roasted garlic bathed in olive oil to spread over bread. It was fantastic--especially with a sprinkle of salt.

For mains, P got the 'Italian Garlic Meatloaf' (pictured right), and I got the lasagna. P thought his was good but says he didn't think it was especially garlicky--although perhaps that was due to our having just inhaled a pot of garlic. My lasagna was fine; it was a vegetable lasagna, and while I thought it was good, I would not get it again but would rather opt for one of the main meat dishes that looked so good on the menu. (I was just still so full from our previous meals!)

Probably my favorite part of the meal was our dessert--it was just so different! We were not even going to get dessert until we saw that there was garlic ice cream on the menu. We knew we couldn't leave without trying it, so we ordered one to share. It came topped with a nice caramel mole sauce. We ate every bit. At first, the ice cream didn't really seem too garlicky, but as we ate, we felt it. The waiter described it as 'sneaking up on you,' and I thought that was clever and a nice way to describe it. Peter described the taste as 'garlic bread dipped in chocolate.' Now, maybe that doesn't sound too appetizing, but do believe us that it is definitely worth giving a try--you ARE at a garlic restaurant, for goodness' sake!

Craft - A Tom Colicchio restaurant in NYC

On the suggestion of Adam, and my love of Top Chef, I decided to try out Craft, Tom Colicchio's restaurant in Manhattan. I was already going to NYC for the weekend to visit Dennis, so I decided that it would be the perfect time. We both enjoy a good dinner and splurging on a fun place every once in a while. We had 9:30 reservations (late for even me), but I was excited so I didn't really care.

We arrived at Craft exactly at 9:30. The decor was very clean, and above the bar was a small catwalk with all there wines prominently selected. The walls were decorated with what looked like large overlapping pieces of leather panelling. A very good looking and well dressed host told us our table was almost ready and we should go ahead and have a drink at the bar. We did, trying out a couple of Rieslings. Close to 10pm our table was ready, and we sat in the back along a banquet with a few other tables.

Our server was very nice, professional and friendly. Gave a laid back feeling to the experience, which I didn't initially expect given the price point of the menu. We stared with a bottle of 2005 Austrian dry Riesling. Very good. Sweet, but not too sweet, which was a good compromise between Dennis' like of dry wine, and my liking for basically apple juice.

I'm always a fan of good tasting menu, but after reviewing that it has two desserts, we decided to go a la carte. For our first course we shared an heirloom tomato salad and the cured octopus. The octopus was clean and well prepared. I'm used to calamari, so it was a treat to just have octopus, not deep fried in batter. It was, however, a very small piece. Basically two bites eats. The salad was phenomenal. Adam suggested the salad and it didn't disappoint. I was surprised because they were basically just tomatoes, but they were well seasoned. I enjoyed the white tomatoes the best although Dennis said they all tasted the same.

Our main course was where we went with our old standby. Steak. Instantly being drawn the the phrase "28 day dry aged" we decided to try the "Cote de beouf." I probably spelled that incorrectly, but it's not on the online menu, so I couldn't verify. We also wanted to have a side of mushrooms, but couldn't decide on which to try. We almost choose "Hen of the Woods" based on the fun name alone. We asked our server and she simply said, "How about I give you a sampling of the first four?" Perfect. We had an assortment of oyster, baby shitake (not from Beverly, for our Catherine Tate fans) , Hen of the Woods, and Trompette Royale. Since the steak was prepared to share, it was served sliced into six long strips, and I can probably honest say it was THE BEST STEAK I'VE EVER HAD. Seasoned to perfection with what seemed like a simple salt-pepper mix, it was so good, and so refreshing, which is an odd word to use for red meat, but that's what I thought when I ate it. Refreshing. I wanted a second steak all to myself. I really hope I haven't ruined my future steak experiences! The mushrooms were slightly crispy and their earthy palate really complimented the steak perfectly.

After the steak, Dennis' cousin Christina showed up and we decided to get a second bottle of Riesling. We went with with the 2003 vintage this time vs the previous 2005, and thought it a lot crisper and dryer, while still retaining it's sweetness. Christina and I got a sampling of gellato and sorbets. Our flavors were green apple, blackberry chocolate chip, caramel, concord grape, coconut, and olive oil. Can you guess which we chose first? Olive Oil! Delicious.

Sitting down at 10pm, we paid the bill and left at 12:45. We were one of three tables left. Our server was fun and amazing, thanking us and as we left we were given a homemande fresh zucchini muffin. I've never gone to dinner so long that they gave you a breakfast treat as you left, but I guess that's New York. I will I could tell you how the muffin was, but after our debaucherous evening that followed, I think I left it at a place called Cibar, a fun little bar Christina took us too.

I'm not sure it was touristy or not, but I very much enjoyed my meal, and would recommend Craft to anyone going to the city for an evening and wishing to have a truly good meal. Good job, Tom. You do not have to pack up your knives and go.

San Francisco: Day 1 or "It's My Birthday I Can Consume as Many Calories as I Want to"

This morning we hopped aboard Virgin America and made our way to one of our favorite cities, San Francisco. We have had this trip planned for awhile now. Our goal is mainly to explore the wineries of Napa Valley. We head out to Napa on Monday but until then we're happy to take in some of San Fran's signature treats. As today was/is my birthday, we decided we could splurge and eat all the stuff we love and not worry about how many evil calories we were putting into our bodies. Our first stop? In-N-Out Burger over by Fisherman's Wharf. We've written about In-N-Out before so I won't repeat too many details but for those of you who are not familiar with the joint, it's a fast food burger restaurant that specializes in fresh ingredients. The burgers taste great, the cheese actually melts on the burger and it's a much higher quality than McDonald's or Burger King. After our burgers I decided we needed to treat ourselves to some ice cream. As luck would have it (and as I planned it), Ghiradelli Square was just around the corner. After feigning interest in the store just to get a piece of free chocolate, we headed upstairs to the ice cream parlor for some sundaes. We both ordered the Gold Rush sundae which came with vanilla ice cream slathered in peanut butter sauce and rich hot fudge. Nuts and a cherry were sprinkled on top of fresh whipped cream to give the sundae it's delicious crown. Well, after all that we decided a long walk was in order and we meandered our way over to the Mission district. The Mission district is known for it's Mexican food, more specifically, the Mission Burrito. The Mission Burrito was invented in the Mission and is basically a huge burrito so filled with toppings and delicious goodness that it has to be wrapped and contained in a tinfoil sheet. The Mission Burrito supposedly was first invented at El Faro, a small restaurant on the corner of 20th and Folsom St. There, they simply call it the Super Burrito and as luck would have it, we discovered it was invented on this very day, Sept. 26th, way back in 1961. Well, the gods themselves couldn't have planned it better: me, eating a super burrito, on my birthday which just so happened to fall on the same day as the day the super burrito was invented. Perfect! Bry and I both ordered the super burrito, mine with chicken, his al pastor, both with everything on it. True to it's name, the super burrito was super....and by super, I mean big. Not only was it filling, it was satisfying and delicious.The perfect end to the perfect day. Stay tuned, we still need to try San Fran sour dough and a few other things before we head out to Napa!