Kauai!

Kauai!

Chris at Hanalei Bay

I’m at 37,000 feet, halfway between Kauai and San Francisco, reflecting on another wonderful anniversary celebrated in the Islands!  We took a break from our usual destination of Maui, and decided to try the quieter isle this year.

Laura and I have a strong bias towards hotels that we characterize as the “National Hotel”.  The “National” is a hotel in South Beach Miami that has fabulous beach access, and while it is surrounded by the Delano Hotel and other “party late into the night” establishments, the National itself is quiet, romantic and relatively inexpensive.  On Kauai, we found our “National” in the form of the Koa Kea Hotel on Poipu beach.  The Koa Kea Hotel is quiet and romantic, without the rushing crowds of tourists, but with very nice rooms, inviting pools and excellent beach access.

A unique aspect of Kauai is that the dirt and everything that can get dirty are colored an intense rust red color from the high level of iron present in the soil.  Kauai is famous for its “Red Dirt Shirts” and its  red salt, which is sea salt colored by the local iron-rich soil.

Kauai's Red Salt

While Hawaii in general isn’t a culinary mecca, Kauai probably has the least to offer if you don’t work hard to find the unusual.   Be forewarned!  If you pop in to a local diner or burger shack in Kauai, some of the folks here aren’t trying very hard to make good food.  We were zero for three on our attempts to find good food by randomly selecting local, interesting establishments.  The only safe bet on these menus appeared to be grilled Ahi sandwiches, which were competently executed most places.

Conveniently, the Red Salt restaurant located at the Koa Kea Hotel is one of the finer restaurants on the island, serving creative dishes that were executed flawlessly.  On the night we arrived, we enjoyed an Ahi poke arranged as a checkerboard of marinated Ahi and Snapper “squares” served over paper thin slices of cucumber.   We followed that with a salad of palm hearts and an entrée of Ono.  Remarkably, breakfast was as creative and tasty as dinner.   The soufflé pancakes with pineapple are a unique creation to Red Salt and tasted fabulous.  The Eggs Benedict, served over pancetta hash with chive hollandaise, qualifies as the best I’ve ever had.

Chris at the Red Salt Restaurant at the Koa Kea

On the north side of island is Hanalei Bay, of Puff the Magic Dragon fame.  We had hoped to sample some tapas at Bar Acuda, but sadly, our time at Hanalei was done before the 5:30pm opening time.  There are quite a few restaurants to explore at this end of the island during future trips.

Laura and the Napali Coast

The big win in local fare was a twenty something blonde running a street stand in Koloa Town, home of Hawaii’s first sugar plantation, with a banner announcing: “Monster Tacos with Homemade Tortillas”!  On a recommendation from another guest at the hotel, we tracked her down at the Friday night art fare in Hanapepe (home to Lilo & Stitch, by the way!) and ordered the fish tacos.  Our “recommender” from the hotel gushed about these tacos, and boy, was he right!  Cajun spiced Mahi-Mahi fish, piled onto a 9” homemade flour tortilla cooked before our very eyes, and then topped with cheese, shredded red cabbage, salsa fresca, tomatillo salsa, and the proprietor’s special “white cucumber sauce”.  Don’t miss this one – as of this writing, she is in Koloa Town on Weds-Sat, 11am-5pm, and in Hanapepe on Fridays 6pm-9pm.

Laura at the Monster Tacos Stand!

The Taco Girl at Hanapepe!

The Hanapepe art fare is worthy of a stop (not just for the fish tacos), since there are twenty or so art galleries that stay open late and sell a wide variety of local art and crafts.  In addition to some local musicians and a few other street vendors, the turnout is at least fifty percent locals, making for an especially memorable evening.  And of course, this is a great opportunity to get a picture with “Stitch”!

Me n Stitch

Turning to the west, we explored the Waimea Canyon, but the only food there you have to shoot or hook yourself.  And then, according to the signs, you MUST go through the “Trout Check” station.  Huh?!  Not really our thing, but there was some great hiking and sightseeing.  On the way back thru Waimea we did a drive by of the Waimea Plantation Cottages, one of the hotels we had considered before settling on the Koa Kea.  Nice looking place, but the beach was rough and not suitable for hanging out.  But surprise – a brewpub on the premises!  While we both enjoyed our draft beers (a hoppy lager and a wheat beer), we did not enjoy the shrimp cocktail, Thai spring rolls, or the numerous flies at all.  We should have been amply warned by the “lunch special” of a “large hotdog with chili”.  Live, learn and keep driving.

We went for reputation on our next evening, and settled on Roy’s for dinner.  Roy Yamaguchi owns a chain of signature restaurants, including one on Maui, one in San Francisco, and I’m sure there are others. My fond recollection from a visit to Roy’s on Maui was repeated (and then some) during our visit to Roy’s at Poipu Beach.  We started with a tasty Ahi poke, marinated in smoked soy sauce.  That was followed by an Ono entrée for me, served perfectly cooked to medium rare.  The dish that made our evening was Laura’s entree, a filet of Alaskan Black Cod, marinated for three days in Miso, and then baked in a way that caramelized the outside of the fish, leaving the inside melt-in-your-mouth moist.   Although no dish could top the Cod on this night, we finished with a close runner up, the pineapple upside down cake decorated with pineapple and kiwi salsa.

Roy's Perfect Finish!

No description of Kauai is complete without addressing the “chicken issue”.  There are more chickens wandering around the streets and alleys of Kauai than there are cows on the streets of Delhi!  These chickens are basically the equivalent of chipmunks at a campground: pests.  Turns out that during the 1992 hurricane, animals were generally set free to fend for themselves.  The chickens have “gone native” and now range free over the entire island.  According to one shopkeeper, “It’s the fault of the Filipinos who kept the roosters for fighting.  Against the law, you know!”  Regardless of fault, seems strange to let the Rooster become your state bird because of a hurricane.  Then again, I’m from Idaho where we have the “potato issue”…

One of Those Damned Roosters!

While we had some minor complaint with the lack of a mid-day, poolside menu at the Koa Kea, the poolside bar helped make up for that deficiency and the hotel is otherwise a wonderful choice and we’d head back in a heartbeat.   And we’d definitely find those “Monster Tacos” again!

Chris

Tapas Crawl in San Francisco

Tapas Crawl

After reading a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle about a Tapas Tour of the City, Laura and I got excited to try that one for ourselves!  As you’ll see by reading thru the blow-by-blow that follows, this turned out to be a fabulous adventure and ranks as probably the best overall culinary experience we’ve had in San Francisco!

My Smile at the End of the Crawl Says it All!

The San Francisco Chronicle article that started it all, accessible at SF Chronicle Tapas walk, describes a tour  by Kevin Hogan that showcases San Francisco’s Spanish offerings.  You can read Kevin’s blog first hand at www.salondelvino.wordpress.com.

Essentially, Tapas are Spanish appetizers, which are typically simple preparations such as marinated olives, sausage, or fried sardines.  The idea, as it’s implemented in Spain, is to serve a simple snack that is combined with the social event of wandering from bar to bar.  There’s a great book by Polly Evans, “It’s Not About the Tapas”, that offers a wonderful sense of the Tapas experience in Spain.

Laura and I frequent San Francisco semi-regularly, but we’ve certainly never attempted to eat at more than one restaurant in a single evening, so the thought of eating at four or five was pretty daunting.  Regardless, using my project manager skills, I printed a map of Financial and North Beach districts of SF and set to work mapping out the restaurants described in Janet’s article.

First, we decided to pull this one off on a Saturday, so we holed up for the night at the Serrano Hotel on Taylor, between Geary & O’Farrell.  From there, the restaurant list looked like this:

• Gitane
• B44
• Bocadillos
• 15 Romolo
• Lalola

Our plan was to start at 6pm from the Serrano Hotel (405 Taylor), and walk to Gitane (0.6 miles to 6 Claude Lane), followed by a short hike to B44 (0.1 miles to 44 Belden Place), and another short jaunt to Bocadillos (0.4 miles to 710  Montgomery St.).  Then, we would work our way up Columbus to 15 Romolo (0.3 miles to 15 Romolo Place), followed by a stroll down Broadway to Lalola (0.5 miles to 1358 Mason St.)   Finally, we hoped we’d catch a cab back to the hotel.  But failing that, an energetic dash up Mason would get us back to the hotel (0.8 miles).  That’s five restaurants and 2.7 miles!

The "Crawl" Route thru the City

I’d never been to any of these restaurants, so I wasn’t sure what kind of reception we’d get by showing up (sans reservations) and ordering one drink each and a single small plate of food, then rushing off to our “next engagement”.  San Francisco is a pretty laid back place and true to form, we were welcomed energetically at all of these restaurants and there were no apparent hard feelings when we moved on to our next destination after a single plate.

We started out with Gitane, a restaurant that is less than a year old and is located a few blocks off of Union Square in a narrow, easily missed alley.   We ordered the stuffed Monterey Squid (very good) and a couple of house special Cocktails (very strong) and the trendy atmosphere made us feel like we were in New York City.

Stuffed Monterey Squid at Gitane

Stop #1 on the Tapas Crawl: "Done!"

Next was B44, also located in a quiet alley, and the restaurant highest on our list for a return visit.  B44 is very welcoming, has a big bar, lots of seating, a friendly and relaxed staff, and great food.  We ordered a pair of Sangrias and the warm marinated octopus, which  was simply wonderful.

Warm Marinated Octopus at B44

From B44 we moved on to Bocadillos, located in the North Beach area of the City adjacent to the FinancialDistrict.  Bocadillos is small, but comfortable and the service is attentive.  We had a spicy snapper ceviche, which was really good, along with a glass each of a big red wine from Spain.

Spicy Snapper Ceviche at Bocadillos

From Bocadillos, we followed our map to an interesting part of town which includes the Hustler Club, the Condor Club and a bunch of shops that sell all kinds of “interesting stuff”, if you know what I mean.  While potentially not for the faint of heart, it’s a pretty safe part of town and very busy, even late at night.

Chris & Laura at the Basque Hotel at 15 Romolo, Stop #4

We arrived at 15 Romolo, a bar located in the Basque Hotel just steps away from the Condor and which clearly does not belong on the list of “good Spanish restaurants in San Francisco.”  However, it turns out this place has a unique collection of sherries, they make a mean sangria, and serve up mighty fine marinated olives and a unique jambalini, which is a deep fried ball of “jambalaya” rice.

Jambalinis! At 15 Romolo

Saying our goodbyes to the kind folks at 15 Romolo (and the homeless folks just outside), we marched off to Lalola, a true neighborhood establishment at Mason between Pacific & Broadway.  There was a unique and pleasant cross-section of locals filling Lalola at 10:30pm, and we enjoyed reflecting on our evening, now 4 plus hours since it started, over a final round of sangrias.  Of course, we sampled the stuffed piquillo pepper, a thin pork loin crostini, and a lovely bean (actually, lentil) and sausage soup to pass the time!

Definitely a Neighborhood Tapas Bar!

Pork Loin Crostini with Brie at Lalola

And so ended our “Tapas Crawl” of San Francisco.  A truly memorable, and worthy of a repeat, tour of some of the best SF has to offer.

Laura's Happy we are at the "summit" on Mason!

Enjoy!

Chris

Customizing Sent Sovi

Customizing Sent Sovi

Anniversary Dessert

For our most recent wedding anniversary, Laura and I thought we’d try something different and turned to one of our favorite south bay chefs, Josiah Sloane at Sent Sovi in Saratoga.  Josiah is very accessible and responds quickly to emails or you can just pop in before or after dinner service and talk to him directly.  For this anniversary, I asked Josiah to create a menu that included the following elements: wild mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, lamb, a simple dessert, and a Gary Pisoni Pinot Noir.

In response, Josiah and the team at Sent Sovi prepared the following fabulous meal for us, consumed on the patio where we could enjoy the warm summer evening:

• Champagne
• Curried wild mushrooms with chickpeas
• Heirloom tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic
• New Zealand chops of lamb
• Plums & berries for dessert
• 2006 Pisoni Pinot Noir

The food, as always, was terrific and the Wild Mushroom Curry was a true standout.  Think you can’t have 5-star food your way?  Call Josiah at Sent Sovi.

Chris & Laura after the Anniversary Feast!

Chris

See my previous blogs/reviews about Sent Sovi:

Sent Sovi Heirloom Tomato Sep 08

Sent Sovi Big Scary Bottle Oct 2007

Sent Sovi Review Aug 2007

A Caribbean Lunch in the Sun

A Caribbean Lunch in the Sun

I’ve received a lot of nice feedback for the Caribbean lunch we served last Friday, August 7^th, (plus requests for recipes) from many of the team.  On behalf of Rose, Dave, Joanna and myself: Thank You!  We’re glad you enjoyed our efforts.

For your pleasure reminiscing, here’s the menu that we served:

• Jerk Rub Baby Back Ribs
• Grilled Gulf Prawns
• Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya
• Coconut Rice & Lentils
• Caribbean Caught Mahi Mahi on Curry Cabbage
• Black Bean Muneta (puree)
• Grilled Fresh Pineapple
• Mandarin Orange and Black Eyed Peas Salad
• Key Lime Pie
• Coconut Cream Pie
• Red and White Sangria
• Jamaican Red Stripe Lager

If you are interested in the recipes and some commentary about each of the menu items, then read on …!

As you know, we made everything except the pies from scratch.  Well, we didn’t brew the Red Stripes either…  The process was simple: On Wednesday night, two days before the big day, I spent an hour or two shopping for all of the ingredients.  Then, on Thursday night, the day before the lunch, Rose, Dave and I met at my house to do prep work. Basically, all of the ingredients were chopped, measured and sorted into Ziploc bags and labeled with the name of the appropriate dish.   Finally, I started the ribs cooking in my house early Friday morning, and the rest of the action took place starting at 10:30am with the grills in the “picnic lot”!

Jerk Rub Baby Back Ribs

Jerk seasoning is normally a wet paste applied to the meat and allowed to soak in for several hours to a day or more.  I don’t always like messing around with making the Jerk marinade, so I scrounged up a dry rub off the Internet that retains the distinctive flavors of Jerk (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg) but is easier to manage and gives a drier finish to the ribs.  The basic strategy for these ribs is to make the rub, coat the ribs with the rub and wrap in plastic and let sit in the refrigerator overnight (or you can cook them right away if time is short).  Then, 2-1/2 hours before serving, put the ribs in the oven, uncovered, at 300 F for two hours.  After the two hours, brush on a generous coat of Mango Chutney and broil or grill on high for 15 minutes before serving.

Here’s the recipe: http://www.itsfoodtime.com/Jerk Rub Baby Back Ribs

Grilled Gulf Prawns

I love shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico more than any other kind of shrimp.  They have a characteristic “ocean” flavor that let’s you prepare them without seasonings of any kind and they taste fantastic.

The shrimp we served for lunch was ordered from Billy’s Shrimp in Bon Secour Alabama.  Tracy ordered it for us on Monday and had it shipped overnight to arrive two days before the lunch.  In fact, Laura and I order shrimp from Billy’s every six months or so, divide the shrimp into Ziploc bags, and put it in the freezer so we always have a ready supply.  If you are a snob about ingredients, then Gulf Shrimp deserve a place in your heart and on your shopping list.  If you are interested, you can read my previous blog about Billy’s at www.itsfoodtime/sweet-home-alabama

To prepare these shrimp, we ordered Extra-Jumbo size shrimp, cut the back of the shell and removed the vein, and used small skewers to hold the shrimp in pairs.  Then, the shrimp were thrown on the hot grill and removed just as they turned opaque in the center.  We used no seasonings or sauces of any kind!

Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya

I’ve been cooking Jambalaya and Gumbos for quite a while.  The best recipes are really simple, and mine is no exception.  I would normally use a cast iron dutch oven on my stove to make Jambalaya, but after seeing a Bobby Flay Jambalaya “throwdown” where the winner (not Bobby!) used a big cast iron kettle, I couldn’t resist buying one of my own.  I got this kettle online for about 85 bucks.  It’s a Bayou Classic, 2.75 gallon capacity – you can google it if you want one.  I bought mine at www.barbecueoutdoorgrills.com.  I use the burner from an outdoor Turkey Fryer as my stove (see www.itsfoodtime/stir-fry-on-high).

The only really important point regarding the cooking pot is to use something that will hold quite a lot of heat, which is basically any large, heavy pot.  The Jambalaya is made by combining all of the ingredients, including the rice, and bringing it to a boil.  Then the heat is turned off, the pot covered and 25 minutes later the rice is perfectly cooked and the Jambalaya is ready to be served!

Here’s the recipe: http://www.itsfoodtime.com/Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya

Coconut Rice and Lentils

This is a very traditional Caribbean/Latin dish.  For our lunch on Friday, I screwed up and accidentally left the lentils at home, so what you tasted was simply Coconut Rice.  As the last minute “scurry around” by Joanna proved, canned lentils are harder to find at a regular grocery store than you might think!  However, middle-eastern grocery stores always have them.

Here’s the recipe: http://www.itsfoodtime.com/Coconut Rice and Lentils

Caribbean Caught Mahi Mahi on Curry Cabbage

This dish is actually comprised of two recipes, one for the fish and one for the cabbage.  Mahi Mahi is a Caribbean fish that runs in the Caribbean in the early spring and elsewhere during other parts of the year (thank you, Steve Markle for the detailed lesson on Mahi Mahi over Red Stripe Lagers!).  Mahi Mahi is a fish that tastes fabulous as long as it is neither under-cooked nor over-cooked.  A thermometer is key to cooking this fish properly – get the fish off the grill when the thickest portion hits 140 F!  My recipe is simple, a basic flour and turmeric dredge, then grilled.

Here’s the recipe: http://www.itsfoodtime.com/Grilled Turmeric Mahi Mahi

The Curry Cabbage is simple and so much more flavorful than you would imagine by reading the recipe alone.  I like to make this dish in a wok since that makes it easy to toss the ingredients and thoroughly distribute the spices.

Here’s the recipe: http://www.itsfoodtime.com/Curry Cabbage

Black Bean Muneta (puree)

Beans are used extensively in Latin cooking and are typically eaten one of three ways: cooked and eaten whole, cooked and then pureed, or cooked, pureed and then refried.  This recipe is the second way: pureed, and the result is simply wonderful.  I highly recommend using a pressure cooker so that you can start with dry beans.  Canned beans will work in a pinch, but nothing beats starting with dry beans, vegetables and broth!

Here’s the recipe: http://www.itsfoodtime.com/Black Bean Muneta (puree)

Grilled Fresh Pineapple

No formal recipe is needed here.  Cut off the skin, cut off the top & bottom, then cut large slices from top to bottom right next to the core.  Discard the core, cut the large slices lengthwise into widths one-half or one-third the original and put them on the hot grill for 10-15 minutes!

Mandarin Orange and Black Eyed Peas Salad

We were missing a salad that wasn’t a traditional greens salad and didn’t overlap other items on the menu. Rose found the recipe for this dish on the Internet, and we substituted Black Eyed Peas for the Black Beans called for in the original.

Here’s the recipe: http://www.itsfoodtime.com/Mandarin Orange and Black Eyed Peas Salad

Key Lime Pie and Coconut Cream Pie

We cheated – these came from Marie Callendar’s.  Those of you who are aficionados of Caribbean food will have already noted that the Key Lime Pie we served was the Southern version, which uses cream with the lime for the filling.  A true Caribbean version uses no cream and is much more like the filling for Lemon Meringue, consisting primarily of lime juice, sugar and cornstarch for thickening.

Red and White Sangria

Sangria is a great accompaniment to Caribbean food (some might say to ALL food) and it’s easy to make.  The simplest sangrias are simply wine, and perhaps some diced apple, served over ice.  It can be jazzed up with a splash or two of sparkling water.  Most Sangria recipes are simply more complex versions of this theme with diverse combinations of fruit, perhaps some fruit juice, and sometimes a splash of brandy or other liqueur.  My version works equally well with either red or white wine and I’ve yet to find a combination of fruit that doesn’t taste great.

Here’s the recipe: http://www.itsfoodtime.com/Red and White Sangria

Jamaican Red Stripe Lager

We cheated here too and bought a couple of cases at BevMo.  This beer rocks: smooth & creamy and not too heavy.

Here’s the recipe: Go To BevMo.

That’s all there is to it folks.  Trust me, it sounds more complicated than it is.

Enjoy,

Chris

The Road to Hana

The Road to Hana

Last August Laura and I made a return expedition to Hawaii, where we had exchanged our wedding vows four years before.  Hamoa beach, located near Hana Town on the island of Maui, is a beautiful black sand beach formed into a perfect crescent and referred to by James Michener as one of the most perfect beaches in the world.

Beautiful Hamoa Beach in Hana Town

Our adventure began with a stop at Mama’s Fish House in Paia, very near some of the best surfing in Hawaii, located just south of Mama’s on Paia Bay.  Regardless of the surfing, a trip to Maui is not culinarily complete without a visit to Mama’s for a tropical drink and some of the freshest, finest fish to be found anywhere in the Islands.  We happened to be at Mama’s when Owen Wilson dropped by for lunch, so we had great food and some TMZ thrill at the same time.

The Entrance to Mama's Fish House

The View of the Beach from Mama's

The Road to Hana is an adventure in itself.  First, learn the Shaka sign (thumb and little finger held out, three middle fingers curled in; think “hang loose”) because you’ll see it a lot while driving to Hana.  The Road to Hana skirts an ancient volcano at the point it plunges into the sea.  Over five hundred hairpin turns, dozens of single lane bridges and several hours of negotiating the narrow, winding road that follows the eastern slopes of the massive volcano Haleakala, brings you to Hana Town, arguably one of the most beautiful locales on the planet.

One of the 500 Hairpin Turns to Hana ...

Hana itself consists of a few stores, a post office, a couple of churches, one restaurant, one gas station and a school.  While there are houses and cabins to rent along the coast in the vicinity of Hana, we opt for the amazing comfort of the Hotel Hana Maui.  The Hotel Hana Maui is the only resort on this side of the island and the resort also owns several of the stores in Hana as well as the Hana Ranch Restaurant, the only other restaurant in Hana outside of those actually on the Hotel grounds.

The Hotel has a collection of seaside cottages that are detached from the main hotel, and are modeled after the sleeping quarters provided to sugar cane workers on the early sugar cane farms.  This is an escape from the real world.  There is no TV, no Internet and no air conditioning.  But the ocean is crashing on the rocks 24 hours a day just a few steps outside the door.  It does not get any better than this!  We like cottage #217.  It’s closest to the ocean of any of the cottages and the view of the ocean is completely unobstructed!

Sleep by the Ocean at the Hotel Hana

As if the view and location weren’t enough, the Hotel has an absolutely world class spa that provides about any kind of spa treatment you could want.  Complete with saunas, whirlpool, ice cold plunge bath and outdoor showers, you’re gonna want to do some spending here.

The two places to eat in Hana are the Hana Ranch Restaurant and the restaurant on the resort grounds.  Hana Ranch Restaurant is casual, with sandwiches, salads, steaks and the usual fare.  It’s good, but is usually bursting with tourists who show up in clusters, looking green from sitting in a small bus with 20 other people rocking from side to side at least 500 times on the road to Hana.  The resort restaurant has a great collection of fish and other local dishes.  While the restaurant doesn’t keep up with some of the great restaurants we have in here in the San Francisco Bay Area, the food was consistently good.  And the fish is really, really fresh!  Regardless of where you eat, be sure to stop by the little general store across from the post office and buy a loaf of locally grown and baked banana bread.  That banana bread totally rocks, especially with macadamia nuts scattered throughout!

Two miles further up the road is the most beautiful beach on earth, Hamoa Beach, a black sand beach that played host to our wedding in August of 2004.  We were married standing in the waves off the beach and then had a private dinner on the beach, cooked on location by a chef from the Hotel and complete with a Hawaiian Ukelele player.  That was quite a day!

Just Married!

Another 15 miles or so up the road is Ohe’o Gulch, with Waimoku Falls located two miles up the slope of Haleakala and the seven sacred pools located on the shore.  The trail to Wailmoku winds its way through a bamboo forest that towers twenty or thirty feet or more over-head.  Waimoku itself is an amazing collection of water falls that crash down several hundred feet of sheer cliff.  This hike is worth it.

The Trail thru the Bamboo Forest ...

At Last! The Waterfall at the Head of the Canyon

And finally, after that hot and sweaty hike, there is a roadside smoothie stand about a mile from the trailhead.  We stopped for a smoothie made with tree picked fresh bananas, coconuts and pineapples just in from the field.  It caught us by surprise to be addressed by name as we approached the stand.   We learned that along with most other businesses in Hana, the road-side stand is also owned by the Hotel Hana Maui!   Apparently the hotel concierge, who knew us well, had smoothie duty the day we stopped …

This year, we are off to Kauai for our anniversary, but our hearts belong to Hana.

- Chris

Trucker Food

Trucker Food

This summer we traveled to my hometown of Howe, Idaho (population: 23!) to celebrate Mom and Dad’s 50th anniversary. It’s been a few years since we’ve done this trek with all of the kids, and it takes some serious planning to avoid an en-route mutiny halfway  across the blazing Nevada desert.

I first notice that I’m not the Bay Area anymore as we merge onto I-80 East, which is the road we’ll be on for the next 600 miles.  It seems every mile brings a higher concentration of big tractor-trailers, all driving faster than us, and all switching lanes with the skill and frequency of a New York City taxi driver.  After a scenic drive through the Sierra Mountains and over Donner Pass, the highway drops down from the mountains towards Reno, and the first glimpse of the next ten hours of our life comes in to view.  And it’s pure simplicity: a four lane interstate stretching into the shimmering distance.  Sigh.

Outside of Reno is the suburb of Sparks, NV that marks the first of our meals for this sojourn.  The Alamo Truck Stop, which has been a mainstay of Chris’s Idaho commute for over 20 years!  Order the fried chicken and the plate comes back with an entire fried chicken piled onto some potatoes.  I like the Chicken Fried Steak – three HUGE pieces of steak, potatoes, gravy, veggies, biscuits, and two years off the end of your life!

Groaning our way back into the car, we make it Winnemucca, exactly half way for this trip, and catch a glimpse of our morning dining destination, the café at the Red Lion Hotel, complete with a few slots, some blackjack tables, a bartender who let’s us carry bottles of Heineken back to our room (thank you!), cigarette smoke, and the biggest plates of eggs you’ve ever seen.  Don’t miss out on the Eggs Benedict – this place actually makes a killer hollandaise, in more ways than one.

Ahh, we’re heading north on US-93 out of Wells, NV where we decided NOT to try the Four-Way Casino Café, which I know from past experience has mighty fine trucker food.  We opted instead for a few snacks and set our sites on Twin Falls, home to Mormon-owned Artic Circle hamburger chain, my favorite anywhere, better even than In-n-Out!  The special sauce just makes this place.

Fast forward a week and we retrace our steps along the hot, desert highways, and I arrive home fully 10 pounds heavier than when I left.

- Chris

Tasty Toledo

Tasty Toledo

My parents are originally from Toledo, so we’ve had ample opportunities to visit Toledo and become accustomed to many of the food joints frequented by my parents during their childhood.  My Grandfather passed away just a few weeks ago, and since he made it to 96 years old, and was independent for 95 of those years, his funeral was more a celebration of his life than a mourning of his death.  But being in Toledo, possibly for the last time with the extended family, I was reminded me of the many culinary institutions to which I’ve become attached.

At the top of the list, of course is Rudy’s Hot Dogs, which serves the world’s greatest chili-dogs, bar none.  Rudy’s is the one place where I have NEVER failed to eat during a visit to Toledo.  My standard gig when visiting my grandparents was to stop over for a day or two at the end of a business trip.  I’d fly in to Detroit, pick up a bag of Rudy’s for the three of us, get a six pack of Labatt’s, and make my appearance.  Grandpa & Grandma, and me, really enjoyed that.  As a memorial to them both, we made a family sojourn to Rudy’s after Grandpa’s funeral, and enjoyed our memories.

Next has to be Uncle John’s, a local pancake house that also serves a mean all-you-can-eat fish fry at certain unpredictable times.  When they have the fish, it’s killer.  We’ve also had many a family breakfast at John’s and a stack of cakes can hold its own!

My Mom’s childhood favorite is Red Wells, famous for its roast beef.  Mom recalls eating at Red Wells with her Dad, who would kibbitz with Red while eating.  A lot of years later, the food is still terrific.

There are a handful of restaurants in the area that have all-you-can-eat Walleye when it’s in season.  I don’t remember any of these places, but my grandparents always seemed to know how to find the friendly little diners that would load up your plate with fish for under four bucks.  I miss that.

Let’s not forget White Castle’s, another venerable favorite where I used to regularly stop. I remember Grandpa deciding he needed some Sliders as a late night snack, and off we’d go. Not so much in recent years, but I have fond memories.

Of course, there’s Dairy Queen, which has a place on my Toledo list since Grandpa would walk with us kids and Jaegar, his Weimerauner dog, down to the local DQ and get each of us an ice cream cone, including Jaegar.  That dog LOVED those cones, and it created quite a stir at the Dairy Queen besides!

And no mention of Toledo food is complete without mention of the hundreds of bologna and American cheese sandwiches my Grandma would make for me.  It’s all I ever wanted, and she was happy to oblige.  I pretty much can’t stand those sandwiches now, but sure did love Grandma’s.

I guess no discussion of food in Toledo is complete without a mention of Tony Packo’s, the Hungarian sausage eatery that Klinger, from MASH, used to remember so fondly.  I’ve never been there – I’m incapable of turning down Rudy’s as the alternative!

Finally, there are Grandma’s infamous Lamb Burgers, which my Dad insists Grandma tricked him in to eating by misrepresenting them as beef.   Grandma would get spun up when this topic would come up, typically after quite a few beers, and denied that story to her last day.  As of a few weeks ago, Dad is still sticking to his version.

- Chris

Hana Hou

Hana Hou

Hana hou. To do again, repeat; encore. [From the New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary by Mark Kawena Pukui.]

My life is fully scheduled, filled with people to meet, decisions to make, children to tend to and adventures to be had. But what if life didn’t involve running to and fro, keeping up with the Joneses, accomplish, produce, accumulate? I know of a magical place where the inhabitants march to a slower beat, where material accomplishment isn’t the metric of success, and self-expression is the most valued personal attribute. It takes more than five hundred hairpin turns and over two hours to transition from civilization to this special land, but when you arrive in Hana Town, Maui, State of Hawaii you are most definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Looming ten thousand feet over Hana is Haleakala, an active volcano that first began to form the southern lobe of Maui about a million years ago. Haleakala’s slopes feature microclimates ranging from dense rain forest and jungle on the windward (east) side to desert on the leeward side. These microclimates support a broad range of agriculture. Fish from the ocean, sugar cane in the lowlands, pineapples, coffee, coconuts and macadamia nuts in the transition regions, while bananas, passion fruit and bamboo proliferate in the rain forest, and finally cattle roam on the steppes and highlands.

Hana, which was founded hundreds of years ago by Hawaiian royalty, is located in rain forest on the southeast side of the island of Maui. Originally Hana was home to tens of thousands of native Hawaiians, and then decades later, fewer than ten thousand sugar cane farm workers, and then many decades after that, to even fewer cattle ranchers. Today, Hana is home to fewer than two thousand full time residents, virtually all of who rely on the tourist trade to make a minimal living. Add to these a few hundred retirees and other parolees from the mainland madhouse, and the population is fully described.

In Hana, life is about the ocean and the people, the land and its history. Co-existing with nature’s extremes, such as hurricanes, volcanoes, and bugs is more significant than the need for air conditioning, shopping and Starbucks. Cell phones? Useful only in the very center of Hana, but not more than a mile or so either direction from the town square. Need access to the internet? Plan on “dial up”. Or perhaps a satellite dish could do double duty, since satellite is the only source of TV. Want a fast car? There’s no point. The speed limit is 10-15 miles per hour everywhere. Boat? No can do. The shore is too rocky and the surf too rough. But at night, the waves lull you to sleep, accompanied perhaps by a soft rain. No loud motorcycles zipping by at high speed, no honking, and no sirens wailing day and night. Quiet, safe, slow, friendly.

It’s a simple life. Hana hou.

- Chris

Apples, Plums and Pigs

Apples, Plums and Pigs

We have a Fuji apple tree in our backyard that is just starting to deliver ripe apples.  Of course, the problem with large apple trees in your backyard is that there is no way the apples can possibly be consumed by the owners.  This time of year is mostly a test of how many of our friends and neighbors can be convinced to take a shopping bag full of apples home.  However, we try to make a small dent, and this weekend the kids collected a couple handfuls of the best looking apples they could find.

In previous years, we also had plum trees that ripen at the same time.  The cul-de-sac where our house is located was once a plum orchard, so there are dozens of trees still scattered about.  Unfortunately, in this part of California, trees that drop fruit like crazy attract insects like ants and flies.  Even worse, they attract wild pigs!  Every year the pigs begin making their evening appearances starting in late August, munching first on the free offering of fruit scattered on the ground, and then moving on to the sod and plants that we’ve call our front lawn.   We’ve tried every idea in the book to discourage the pigs, to no avail.  In fact, after the herd of several dozen pigs completely rooted up our front lawn, I threw in the towel.  Which means our front lawn is currently barren of plant life, pending my delivery of a “desert landscape” design to our gardener.  Fortunately, we’ve a got a fence around our backyard…

Anyway, I digress.  Last year, after the lawn got wiped out, I eliminated virtually all of the plum trees on our property.  However, our neighbors still have quite a collection of them in their backyard, enough to deliver over 800lbs of plums during this year’s harvest.  Conveniently, one of the kids and I were wandering around the fence line and noticed a branch loaded with plums dangling over the fence that divides our property.  We took the opportunity to pick a bunch of the best examples, and along with the apples, delivered them to my beautiful wife and expert baker for transformation into an awesome dessert.  In short order, Laura, along with her mother, visiting from Michigan, came up with a simple apple and plum crisp that totally rocked.  The recipe is in the recipe box on my website, www.itsfoodtime.com, or you can click here: Apple and Plum Crisp.

I hope you enjoy.

- Chris

Dinner at Josiah’s/Sent Sovi

Dinner at Josiah’s

Josiah Slone is the Chef and owner of Sent Sovi, a high end restaurant in Saratoga, CA that was previously owned by David Kinch, now of Manresa in Los Gatos.  One of the angles Josiah uses to put his own mark on the place is to hold “theme dinners” every few months.

Laura and I tried our first of these dinners last year on Halloween when we went to the Bring Your Own Big Scary Bottle event.  The idea is for each person or couple to bring a Magnum or larger of wine and then to share the wine amongst the 30 or so people at the dinner.  The menu is pre-established, so this is mostly a social event and gives fans of the restaurant and the chef a chance to mingle and chew the fat, so to speak.  We went with our good friends Mer & Dave and didn’t know any of the other patrons.  But, thirty minutes into the dinner, with the wine beginning to flow, the place just turned on!  People began to bring their bottles around to each table to offer samples (and to get some samples, too) and it turned out to be more of a party than a dinner.

This year, we happened to have the chance to catch Josiah’s Heirloom Tomato night with our other good friends, Pat & Jennifer.  Like the Magnum night, it was a smallish group, which was perfect for creating an intimate, personal atmosphere with lots of attention from Chef Josiah.  What’s amazing is that every course on the menu included heirloom tomatoes in some form.  On Food Network’s The Iron Chef, competing Chef’s must make a complete menu and utilize the “surprise ingredient” in every dish.  Josiah pulled it off with everything from Heirloom Tomato Bellinis, lots of bite size appetizers showcasing different types of Heirlooms, a most excellent gazpacho, some fine sea bass, heirloom tomato granita, absolutely rockin’ pork tenderloin with tomatoes, and finally, a fabulous brownie-like dessert incorporating a sweet heirloom tomato paste.

We’ve been lucky to have great friends along with us for our two visits, but the people who attend these events are friendly and open, and the Chef and his team clearly enjoy the special nature of cooking for a group of people who have come to Sent Sovi for more than satisfying hunger pangs.

Sent Sovi, Chef Josiah Slone, www.sentsovi.com, 408-867-3110.  Maybe we’ll see you there next time!

- Chris