i like to eat.

The street food continues......with Chez Spencer.

Charles Chocolate Factory in Emeryville was hosting an outdoor screening of Ratatouille and Chez Spencer was going to be there.

My friends arrived before me and they ordered a whole bunch of stuff: frog legs in curry, braised lamb stew, sweetbreads with sherry and escargot puffs. They recommended the lamb and escargot, so Jason and I ordered those two and garlic shrimp.

Ratatouille cup with almond crust was on the menu, but unfortunately, they were not serving it. How could they not serve ratatouille when they were going to play the movie?! tsk tsk.

My first bite was from the "safe" dish - garlic shrimp, which was what it was. Shrimp drenched in garlic and butter, nothing new.

I'm not a huge fan of lamb, so I was hesitant to eat the stew, but hey, I have to try everything. Very gamey. Exactly why I hate lamb.

Escargot was next. I've only had escargot once a long time ago and don't remember the taste. Deep breath... One bite and I don't know if it was in my head, but I instantly started to taste dirt. The escargot was chewy and all I could think about was to try not to spit it out.

Overpriced food ($7-9 per dish, $2 for each escargot), considering this is from a truck. Street food is suppose to be affordable! Chez Spencer is definitely not my cup of tea and I would never go back.

       

Click here to download:

More_Street_Food_tag_food_fren.zip (924 KB)

My friend, Kate, came back from her month and half trip and I was excited to see her. We chatted and caught up at La Boulange on Fillmore x California.

La Boulange is the perfect day place to hang out with a friend, read a book or just enjoy a cup of coffee. It's a cute French bakery that serves homemade bread, baked goods, sandwiches, other small eats and espresso. I wasn't too hungry so I got a mocha and a vegetable tart while she got soup and fries (no idea they served fries).

I was a little skeptical drinking mocha so late in the afternoon, but thankfully, it didn't keep me awake that night. The warm vegetable tart was on a thin flaky crust topped with grilled zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and onions. There was a little bit of goat cheese here and there. It was a nice snack that went well with my big mocha.

Welcome back Kate!

     

Click here to download:

La_Boulange_tag_san_francisco_.zip (674 KB)

I love weddings. They're fun, you eat good food, it's a reason to dress up and ahem, do I see an open bar? ;)

My cousin got married at the breathtaking Carneros Inn in Napa two weeks ago and it was a night filled with relatives that I haven't seen in years and enjoying each other's company with stunning Napa as our backdrop.

The quick ceremony was outside and then we trekked up the hill to the reception area for hor devours and dinner. I wasn't too hungry, so I didn't have any hor devours, but I saw tuna tartare and corn chowder - heard they were pretty good.

Dinner started with roasted beet salad that came with beet puree, oranges, aurgula and goat cheese crostini. The dressing was light with a hint of tangerine oil.

Second course was a large Dungeness crab cake that was sitting on avocado puree and topped with hazelnut vinagrette. I didn't taste the hazelnut, but it was still delicious and thinly shaved radishes were a precious detail.

Next came the entrees, which were served family style. I had a little bit of everything - beef, fish, potatoes and vegetables. The extremely tender prime filet of beef was moist and served with Bordelaise sauce. It was one of the best cuts of meat I've had.

The white sea bass (line caught, seriously? as the menu notes) was roasted with peppers, chervil and olive oil. It had a beautiful golden crust with a flaky interior. The fish was not oily at all, as sea bass most often tends to be.

I haven't had mashed potatoes in awhile, so I was looking forward to this. They were whipped smooth with hints of olive oil flavor. Yummy.

Lastly, we had sugar snap peas with wild mushrooms. The peas seemed a little over cooked, but had great flavor. Still, my least favorite item of the night.

Of course, you can't have a wedding without a cake. Everyone was served individual cakes by Masse's. There were two flavors, mango and hazelnut. I ended up with mango. It was a light and fluffy cake with mango mousse. I was so full from dinner and all the wine, I couldn't eat it all.

Speaking of wine, our glasses were never empty. We had chardonnay from Artesa and also a cabernet sauvignon from Edge in Napa. I'm usually not a white wine drinker, but the chardonnay was delicious and crisp. I'd definitely buy a bottle the next time I see it.

I've never heard of Carneros Inn before the wedding, but it is seriously luxurious. There are cottages you can stay at that run up to $2k a night! The cottages are super cute and it's like your own little home for the night or weekend, if you're lucky...and rich.

I had a lot of fun at the wedding and it was great to see many faces. I'm definitely staying at Carneros Inn when I hit the jackpot.

Congratulations Melodie and Ser!

               

Click here to download:

Carneros_Wedding_tag_parties_f.zip (1730 KB)

Source: 2-3

The finishing touch to our Napa extravaganza was Bistro Jeanty in Yountville. We were thankfully seated outside (didn't I tell you I love outdoor dining?) and enjoyed more wine (thanks to Hideki and Mark for purchasing the bottles) with good food.

I read about Bistro Jeanty's famous tomato soup in puff pastry, so I wanted to try it. The dish was gorgeous when it came to the table - in it's small porcelain bowl and puff pastry top. The puff pastry was light and it was fun cracking the top. It felt like I was opening a present, anxious to see and taste the soup.

When I first heard about the tomato soup, I was skeptical. I was thinking, what's so special about tomato soup? Anyone can make it. But, oh my, Bistro Jeanty has perfected the creaminess and the flavors of tomato soup. It was amazing. I can eat it any day, with or without the puff pastry.

For entrée, I decided to deter from their regular menu and ordered the halibut special with ratatouille. The fish was cooked beautifully and the ratatouille reminded me of the movie, Ratatouille, with it's perfectly thinly sliced tomato, eggplant, onion, bell pepper and zucchini.

Unfortunately, the halibut and the ratatouille was nothing special. There was nothing that made my taste buds fly, a complete opposite from my previous soup experience.

Other dishes from the table I tried were veal kidneys with creamy green peppercorn sauce - very good, although I'm not that big of a fan of kidney, steak tartare - extremely fresh grounded steak, cassuolet (baked beans with duck confit, sausage and bacon) - delicious and flavorful, but a little heavy and steak with frites - excellent fries (they've won awards for them!) and delicious rib eye with a mouthwatering béarnaise sauce.

For dessert, I ordered a warm apple tart with creme fraiche that again, was nothing to write about. My friend ordered a chocolate mousse creme brulee that was excellent, I wish I ordered it. Another friend ordered crepes with orange butter that were pretty delicious, but I didn't feel like it was anything special.

I would recommend Bistro Jeanty for it's tomato soup. It is truly amazing. Unfortunately, I felt the other dishes I ordered were a bust. Although, the ones my friends ordered were quite good. After trying Bistro Jeanty once, I don't think I'd go back again (except for the soup!) because there are so many other restaurants in that area that I'd love to try (ahem, hello French Laundry).

PS. I just discovered they have the tomato soup recipe on their site! I have to try to make it!

                                 

Click here to download:

I_Love_Napa_Part_3_tag_napa_yo.zip (3856 KB)

Select photos courtesy of Rosa Chou.