west coast snacks: SWEETS

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Of course we had to have snacks during our West Coast sojourn as we hit different destinations and took a little road trip. Check out the sweet thangs we devoured up and down the coast!

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Minamoto Kitchoan, San Francisco

I love Japanese sweets. Love. We walked passed Minamoto Kitchoan on Market Street on our way to the Ferry Building, so we stopped in on our way back. I got the yummy tsuya pancake—bready, sweet, and filled with red bean; a kusamochi rice cake—gummy and goey, filled with the textured ultra sweet red bean; a stunning crispy waffle cookie filled with tasty sweet custard; and finally a yummy mochi ball studded with red beans and filled with the famous red bean filling. I was in heaven with every bite I took. Obvi need to restock.

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Carmel Bakery and Coffee Co., Carmel

After a less than satisfying lunch, we needed something sweet for the beautiful ride down the Californian coast. Enter Carmel Bakery and Coffee Co. and their cinnamon pretzel pastries and giant macaroons. The pretzel was huge, flaky and delicious, though it made a mess of the rental car. The eggy macaroon was definitely a favorite, dense with coconut and almost custardy.

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RER 8.29.14

DK’s Donuts, Santa Monica

So, these doughnuts blew my mind. There is no other way to put it. I’m deffo still dreaming about these doughnuts. DK’s Donuts was our last stop in LA, right before getting on the plane back to Jersey. We got the beautifully purple ube bacon flavor, which was salty, sweet, crunchy and earthy; the Boston cream—soft and sensual, creamy, chewy with just the right amount of chocolate; the red velvet— cakey with a tiny hint of chocolate and tang from the sour cream cheese frosting; and the apple fritter, which had just the right amount of sticky deliciousness and tart apple bits. Like I want to go back ten minutes ago.

Stay tuned for the savory stuff! Those treats were just as delicious!

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RER 8.29.14

the most bomb BRUNCH: Brenda's French Soul Food

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There are few words to describe the deliciousness that was our meal at Brenda’s French Soul Food in San Francisco. This was the most bomb brunch the most bomb meal I’ve had in a while (though, this was the beginning of a run of pretty delicious food, stay tuned).

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We went all out and pigged out—there was no other way. So what the three of us had a wedding to attend in two days and wanted to fit in our cocktail attire? Brenda’s was so worth the calories and even the awkward looks when we ordered half the menu…

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Beignet flight

Please, do not skip the beignets. You’re doing yourself a huge disservice if you do. We got the flight, a taste of everything in the fried dough department. That plain ol’ classic beignet was beyond delish—warm, soft and fluffy middle, sweet and not too greasy. We weren’t wild for the Ghirardelli chocolate filled one, but the cinnamony apple beignet was reminiscent of fall delights. The last was a savory beignet, oozing with cheese and crawfish dusted with dark and spicy chili powder—ridiculous.

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Fried Chicken

This skin was crispy and flavorful, keeping all the moisture in the meat of the chicken parts. The thin fries were great company, but the biscuit was out of this world. It was sweet and salty, doughy, hot and fresh. Perfect with butter, perfect without, perfect with gravy…just perfect (sigh).

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Hangtown Fry

The house favorite combines fried oysters, bacon, and scallions, served with chucky potato hash and a too delicious biscuit. It seems peculiar, but it was really tasty. Plump fried oysters, crunchy and soft at the same time, littered a mess of scrambled eggs, while the bacon brought salt and the scallion added a light freshness. Truly yummy.

Pork Belly Special

This was just out of control. The breakfast special was a giant bowl of creamy, cheesy, smooth, almost divine grits, topped with a thick rasher of fatty tender pork belly, a perfectly poached egg, some spicy onions and bright green scallions. The base of extraordinary grits made each element melt in my mouth, dense, rich and made like a true New Orleans grandma. I would have an affair with those grits.

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Special Peach Clobber Pancake

As if we hadn’t gorged enough, we (I) had to try the special pancake. Lucky our full bellies, we were able to order just one. Of all the things we tried, this peach studded pancake with crunchy nut and sweet crumble was the least great. The thin caramel syrup and thick whipped cream added moisture, but hardly hid the pancake’s lack of flavor. Still pretty tasty.

Go to Brenda’s and eat all of the food! It’s an order.

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DINNER before the show: The Oak Room Restaurant

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Dark and majestic, The Oak Room in the Westin St. Francis in Union Square, San Francisco, is the kind of place where established people dine before a show at the theatre. The lights are dim, the furniture heavy, and the ceilings high, but there is the kind of refined coziness similar to that hidden in a smoking lounge of an old gentlemen’s club.

It is easy to sink low into one of the couches, graceful with tall backs, or get settled into one of the rigid armed chairs, but the food brings a different kind of comfort. It is familiar but translates elegance and luxury like the decadence of the room.

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Four plump Maine lobster ravioli cuddle in a thick and buttery cognac cream, silky and sweet. Chewy pasta hides smooth succulence of lobster which echoes the sweet of the creamy dark sauce, while micro greens highlight earthy undertones. And toasted bread nestles warmed fresh burrata floating perfectly on a consortium of slow roasted tomatoes, acidic and sweet. The smooth cheese mellows the aggressive tart attributes of the cherry while a chiffonade of basil adds cool refreshment.

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Texture is tossed around in the West Coast Chopped Salad, a rhythm of juicy roasted chicken, smoky salty bacon, wet cucumbers, buttery avocado, smooth egg and pungent blue cheese. The chop of the romaine adds more surface area for toppings and sparkling champagne vinaigrette.

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The braised short rib, perched on a bed of root vegetables, swiss chard and lima beans, redolent of Sunday suppers offers something more hearty. Its tender meat strings and shreds practically melting into the rough hash pile, caressed with meaty liquids and classic flavors.

The dessert menu presents traditional favorites, like tarts, cheesecake and crème brulee, and undoubtedly displaying the same precision and quality of the restaurant’s more savory dishes. But when running late for the theater, there is no time for dessert!

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