San Francisco’s Most Delectable Petit Dejeuner

I can’t think of a more delectable way to start the day in San Francisco than by heading over to Tartine Bakery & Café in the Mission District for a bon petit dejeuner. As my husband Mario and I walk toward an unassuming café on the corner of Guerrero and 18th, the scent of freshly baked pastries ensconced in melted chocolate and butter helps lift the city’s morning fog.

Inside, the simple, white room is already people-packed at 9:20am. We wait in a line that spills out on to the street and ogle the perfectly curated array of tempting treats. There’s frangipane, pain au chocolat, cake aux olives (a savoury loaf of gruyere cheese, olive slivers, Niman Ranch ham pieces and rosemary), bread pudding with fresh, seasonal fruit, “Breakfast Buns” made with orange sugar, éclairs (for the decadent) and the best black pepper and thyme gougeres (large, golden glorious cheese puffs). And that’s just for starters. We order a round of café au lait beverages to accompany our selections and feel as if we’re on the Left Bank.

We’re joined by Olga Katsnelson – a San Francisco-based food publicist who knows something about what’s wallet-worthy food-wise in the city. At her behest, Texas-born, Culinary Institute of America trained Chad Robertson stops by to say hello. Chad and his wife Elisabeth Prueitt are the “quality obsessed” owners (as Olga would say), of Tartine. We learn that he worked in Burgundy, France for years, along with Elisabeth before returning to the US to put into practice all that they’ve learned. San Franciscans are appreciative patrons.

“For a city of 800,000, seems to me like you lot dine out more than most,” I remark to Olga. She nods in agreement- “Yes,” she replies, “this is a city that takes its food seriously!”

Mario asks Olga why, with the myriad choices available in town, this is possibly the most beloved French pastry shop in San Francisco. She says, “because they do everything the hard way. There are no short cuts and you can taste it.” She’s dead-on. My quiche, made using market-fresh, organic tomatoes, peppers, herbs and crème fraiche is the best I’ve ever had. And bless their hearts- the staff here have the good sense to oven warm their quiche (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had my order micro-waved resulting in a soggy, almost water-logged disgusting crust).We wait until 10am at which point Mario gets his wish- an open faced Croque Monsieur sandwich with Niman Ranch ham, gruyere and tomato slices over the bakery’s own rustic, crumb-perfect bread.

By the time we leave, there’s a new wave of patrons lining up for their mid-morning snacks and coffees. Olga tells us that by 5pm, when Chad and Elisabeth put out their daily freshly baked bread selections in time for dinner, they will be sold out in 15 minutes. It’s no wonder the dynamic duo behind Tartine have won a spate of awards. Their newest book, “ Tartine Bread” is due out this year- so if you’re a bread aficionado, keep your eyes out. It will be a tasty tome.

20 restaurants, 9 bars, Adult Only Beach Club and party till you drop: Is this the life of a Bon Vivant?

On July 2, country legend Reba McIntyre christened the latest large ship to set sail the Norwegian Cruise Lines Epic. Industry insiders are comparing the 1200 passenger ship to Las Vegas. The vessel boasts 20 restaurants including an elegant French Bistro Le Bistro Restaurant, Cagney’s Steak House serving classic American beef dishes, the Manhattan Room designed to replicate a private NY supper club and several Asian and European restaurants. To complement the large selection of Free Style Dining, the Epic also features the first and only ice bar at sea. The Svedka Bar was inspired by the Scandinavian ice hotel concept and of course serves up a full menu of you guessed it vodka inspired delicacies.
Guests who want to experience something really unique can make reservations at the New Cirque Dreams & Dinner. This one of a kind dinner theatre is located in the Spiegal tent which was built on 2 decks of the Epic. The show features 16 performers and a cast of 15 – 20 servers that are also part of the show.
And that is not all. There is non stop entertainment throughout the ship. From state of the art beach parties, to the Blue Man Production, the Second City Comedy Show, Fat Cats Jazz Club, Legends in Concert or Howl at the Moon. For those seeking a more relaxed atmosphere the Epic is home to 9 unique bars including a Sake bar, a whisky bar and of course a martini bar. And if a Cuban cigar is what you seek there is a lounge to accommodate your pleasure. With all this stuff to do a Bon Vivant can spend a month on such a ship and never get bored.

New York City Eating – From High to Wallet Friendly

You want to take a bite out of the Big Apple but don’t know where to begin? Worry not intrepid eater- there’s a world of choice out there alright, but I’ve taken the liberty of narrowing it down a bit with a few of my favourites that are tried and true. So wear stretchy pants- you’re gonna need them!

High:
Esca- The restaurant name means fish lure in Italian and makes some of the best Italian-inflected seafood outside of Bari. Head chef and fisherman (more like fish obsessed!) David Pasternack put the Italian coastal staple “Crudo” on the map after trying it for himself in la Bella Italia with business partner Mario Batali. Citrus dressed and finished with some exotic sea salts and olive oils- crudo is the freshest, most beautiful way to eat seafood aside from well-crafted sashimi or Latin American Ceviche. His house-made pastas always please too if you’re not so seafood adventurous (your loss I tell ya!). And yes, meats are also on the menu.
Porter House New York- I have TONS of respect for Chef Michael Lomonaco. Not only because the man used to helm the kitchen at Windows on the World in the former Twin Towers (he’s alive to tell the tale because he went in to get his glasses when the first tower was hit), but because he started a fundraising drive for his deceased staff’s family AND he’s an incredibly talented cook. Like steak? Then you’ll love Porter House where Lomonaco’s dry aging program renders choice cuts drool-worthy, grilled works of edible art.

Mid:
Rosa Mexicano- I don’t usually recommend chain restaurants – in fact, they usually give me a bad case of the hives. But, this is not your typical chain restaurant- it’s elegant Mexican that doesn’t do “Tex Mex” (amen!). Mexico’s own Chef Susana Trilling flies around the US teaching the restaurant’s head chefs how to make the meanest mole, the most perfect pipian and tremendous tamales so that lucky Americans can feel like they’ve flown to Oaxaca to eat at her cooking school. The table-side guacamole- made fresh before your every own ojos is also a thing of delicious beauty.

The Spotted Pig – British-born April Bloomfield worked alongside uber-celeb Jamie Oliver before he was a household name. She had to cook for co-owner Mario Batali before landing this gig to prove her salt. Her culinary chops knocked ‘em dead and she was hired post haste. Gastropub fare using local, seasonal goodies that are infused with an Italo-Anglo touch is just the ticket for a hungry traveler. Her Banoffee Pie is a cult classic- which could explain why at 11:30pm at night, there was a line up outside the door and down the block. Call ahead first- you’ve been warned.

Cheap and Cheery:

Arepa Arepa- Venezuelan style arepas (the ultimate version of a sandwich made using white corn meal instead of bread) can be found in Brooklyn- accessible via subway so no excuses! For under ten bucks, you’ve got a feast fit for a king- robust arepas stuffed with anything from spicy chorizo, flakes of fish, chicken or skirt steak ribbons. Fried plantains and queso freso, a natural jugo and you’re good to go!

GROM Gelato- On Bleeker Street, you’ll find one of the Italian gelato makers only US outposts and you’ll be glad you did. Pistachio, Amalfi lemon, traditional Turinese Gianduja chocolate- these and other flavours will seduce the taste buds. You’ll feel like you’re in Florence without leaving the continent!

Ceviche - Who makes the best?

Summer always makes me want to eat more seafood. Maybe it’s the fact I was born in Southern Italy and fish was plentiful in the summer and somehow it brings memories of unspoiled (they were when I was a kid many decades ago) beaches dotted with colourful umbrellas and the sweet smell of sun tan lotion. In Italy we ate fish plain grilled with some olive oil a squirt of lemon a bit of salt and pepper and voila dinner. Here is Canada we are blessed to have all kinds of seafood available all year long. But the only problem is it’s not the same as that fresh catch you get in the Med or the Caribbean. So in order to make the most of whatever seafood I might have around I love to prepare Ceviche. I chop up shrimp, scallops, and salmon and bathethe mixture in lime and lemon and lots of garlic. Then I refrigerated for a few hours and before you know it I have delicious ceviche my way. I love to serve it in martini glasses with a little parsley (never cilantro I HATE cilantro)

In the last few years ceviche has made its way on the menus of many restaurants and like myself every Chef or Cook creates their own version of this Peruvian dish. If you travel through South and Central America you will find hundreds of different versions of ceviche with each country claiming to make the best. In Panama they use mostly White Sea bass (corvina) and prepare it with lemon juice, chopped onions, celery, habanero peppers and sea salt. In Ecuador its shrimp ceviche made with tomato paste, lime juice and salt. In Chile it’s often made with halibut or Patagonian toothfish which is marinated in lime and grapefruit juices garlic and red chile peppers and my much hated cilantro is added. In Cuba they use mahi-mahi, lime juice, salt, onion, green pepper, habanero peppers and a bit of all spice. The mother country for Ceviche is Peru and here is one of the best Peruvian recipes provided by Chef and food writer Stephanie Ortenzi:

Ceviche Peruano (Serves 6)
An appetizer or late-night snack eaten with Pisco, the Peruvian brandy
600 gr halibut
3 large Scallops
1 small red onion, thinly julienned
juice of 12 limes, or enough to cover the fish
1 aji amarillo pepper finely diced
salt to taste
2 cobs of corn, boiled and cut in thirds
2 large sweet potatoes, boiled and into thirds

Cut the halibut and scallops equally into one-inch pieces.
Season with salt, cover with lime juice, and set the red onions on top.
Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until the fish has firmed up and becomes opaque.
When ready, drain and serve in cold bowls with corn and sweet potato to garnish.

Try it and as the Peruvians would say ‘Bon Provecho!)

Bon Vivant Hits the Road!

Sort of...Our travel experts in the Vancouver area will be at the EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival this weekend to talk about our "Flavours of Tuscany" tour and other culinary trips that might tempt some tastebuds.

If you are in the Vancouver area and attending the show, please drop by booth #507 to say hello and participate in our contest for a Bertozzi imported italian food gift basket. All you have to do is have your picture taken in our "little Italy" scene featuring a red hot Vespa from Vespa Metro Vancouver and fill out a ballot. The best shots of the day will be posted on our facebook page if you want to have a peak at what we're up to.

Have a great weekend and we hope to see some of you at the show!

Casa de Los Sabores- Oaxacan for Food with Heart

There’s an unimposing door on Calle Reforma in downtown Oaxaca that announces I’ve reached “Casa de Los Sabores” (or House of Flavours). Passing through the metal door, I enter a world where culinary history, tradition and Oaxacan staples meld under the canopied courtyard of Chef Pilar Cabrera Arroyo’s much-lauded cooking school. Bougainvillea flowers shower the white cotton bands hanging over the brightly laid out dining room table as we gather around the spacious island to hear about what we’ll be making today. But first thing is first- it’s time to shop for our ingredients.

I’ve always said Mexican food is the original slow food. You can’t rush a good mole sauce any more than you can a braised roast. Chef Pili (as she’s often called by friends) walks our group to the neighbourhood market called La Merced where ingredients are explained and examined. Chickens the colour of sunflowers? That’s because they eat Marigolds as part of their diet. Every kind of chile- dried and fresh, herbs like the eponymous epazote which flavours sauces and soups (and is known to fight any parasite that might be lurking in your system- hey, this a multi-purpose herb!) are purchased and then, it’s back to the kitchen.

Our group starts by plucking organic rose petals from thorny stems for Pilar’s spectacular Rose Petal Sorbet. Delicately pink, flavoured with fresh and dry rose petals, a hint of rosewater and almonds, it’s refreshing and elegant at the same time. Then it’s on to searing and peeling peppers for the soup while the sorbet sets, making a fresh salsa with avocado and peppers, and the filling for the stuffed peppers. Everyone is put to work while a happy hum of activity surrounds us all.

The group’s efforts yield richly delicious rewards- a lunch fit for a Rey with the gurgling courtyard water fountain serenading us while Catrina papier machier dolls (symbolic of Day of the Dead celebrations near our Hallowe’en) watch on with toothy grins. A shot of mezcal (Oaxaca’s answer to tequila) starts us off and we enjoy an al fresco lunch in the cradle of Mexican culinary creativity. The Australians, Dutch, Canadians and Americans in our group all agree, this is one of the most memorable meals we’ve ever had.

La Petraia -True Tuscany, True Luxury

Ethereal, fabled, stunning- these words dance around in my mind as we drive up the cyprus tree-lined path leading to La Petraia. A fully restored and expanded 12th Century farmhouse stands proudly in the distance while the bright purple blossoms of fragrant lavender beckons gently in the breeze, perfuming the air with nature’s aromatherapy. La Petraia, or “Place of Stone” is a special place, made all the more idyllic by Canadians Susan McKenna Grant and her husband Michael Grant.

The couple scoured a few continents for a place to call their own; it had to have architectural integrity, unpolluted land suitable for organic farming and it had to inspire in them a sense of wellbeing. In the rolling Tuscan countryside of Chianti Classico, they found these ideals and more.

After years of painstaking restoration, La Petraia is considered one of Italy’s best agriturismo destinations that also happens to be a bit of a hidden gem (until now). Bon Vivant travelers will get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the life of this pristine working farm and what it takes to keep centuries-old Tuscan traditions alive. A guided tour of the organic gardens, olive groves and vineyards will wrap up with a walk past the forest where a special herd of Cinta Senese pigs might just “pose” for the camera. This classic heirloom breed (with their distinctive white band or collar) dangerously dipped in numbers until recently when folks like Susan started breeding the free range forest pigs, prized for their rich, lean flavour.

After working up an appetite, the group will be treated to a special “Afternoon Tasting.” Four courses of just-picked, farm-fresh fare will be created for you by Susan herself, who has studied with culinary greats in Italy and France. You’re in for a gustatory delight because I’ve had the pleasure of dining at La Petraia and had one of the finest meals of my entire stay in Tuscany that night.

Tuscan wines will be paired with each course and if you’re lucky, you’ll end your afternoon savouring a piece of heaven on earth as the rose-tinted sun sets over the ancient, verdant hills. And the best part? You’ve got three more days of exploring the region before saying arrivederci to Italia.