Sensory Overload

Because It's Cold Out & Stew is Good

I like to cook, and I love to cook for loved ones ~ people will tell ya, I'm a helluva cook.  But I rarely enjoy cooking for myself . . . I guess because the secret ingredients, a pinch of  lotsa-love and a dash of laughter, feel wasted when I cook just for lil 'ole me, table-of-one.  But on Saturday, after a beautiful 2-mile hilly-as-hell walk around the Claremont Neighborhood in Berkeley, I decided to pamper myself and make a Lentils with Game Hen stew, along with a fabulous bottle of wine, and simple watercress and Clementine salad. . . all, just for me.  Yeah, just me.  I guess because it was a brisk, sunny, beautiful day; or maybe because I was still high off the sight of the posh houses and the breathtaking views in Claremont; or maybe because my friend Sara and I sipped chai and cocoa at Peet's on Domingo Avenue while we watched people stroll by ~~ whatever was in the air, it inspired me to cook . . . and eat ~~ and when that inspiration hits, well, you can't really ignore it, can you? 

The great thing about the Bay Area is that you can get so many amazing, organic, beautiful ingredients ~~ I could call "Matthew" over at Whole Foods and ask him to pull out a couple of Cornish Game Hens so they can start thawing out; and I could find the perfect, crispest watercress; and the tiniest, tangiest, most-luscious Clementine oranges.  The great thing, too, about the simple recipe I used [*pdf] is that it called for only 8-9 ingredients, some of which I already had ~ which means I could shop at Whole Foods and not break the bank.  The best part was that when I was in line to check-out, there was a case of wine that said, "perfect for game and stew" . . . for like $5 a bottle!  Oh yes, the wine was good, very good ~ if you can, find yourself a bottle of Riven Rock's 2002 California Shiraz ~ like their label says,  Riven Rock Shiraz "greets you with the rich contrasts of ripe plum and pepper, chocolate and vanilla."  Hey, I'm no wine-snob; all I'm sayin' is the damn stuff was delicious and perfect for the stew.  ~~  :) 
I searched all over the Internet for the Riven Rock vineyard (the bottle says it's in San Martin, CA) and for more information on this wine but found nothin' ~ so you'll just have to take my word on it: get a bottle !

Anyway, the thing about cooking for myself is, well, often, yesterday included, I end up not eating alone.  As the stew was simmering, my computer decided to implode and I needed to get tech-support fast.  So after I was jilted by SBC and Dell tech support, I decided to bring in the expert so I called an old, sometimes-grumpy friend who happens to know a thing or two about computers. The stars must have been aligned correctly because his dinner plans had fizzled and the timing was just right and I called just at the moment he was crossing the Bay Bridge, and so he came by to fix my computer problems and to enjoy a warm, hearty meal.  And I guess that's what the universe is all about ~ warm, hearty connections, even awkward ones laden with technical difficulties. 

After dinner, we watched "True Colors" a so-so movie from 1991 starring James Spader and John Cusack.  The acting was great but the 80's music was painful ~ still though, the best part was watching James Spader do such a damn good job of playing the Good Guy to Cusack's sleazy and politically ambitious character.  There is a great line in the movie, near the end, after Spader puts his friendship with Cusack on the line in order to "Do The Right Thing," where Spader's boss tells him: "You don't own it 'til it costs you something." And I thought about so many of the difficult things I have been dealing with this past year ~ law school, existential angst, the Bar Exam, more angst, and painful personal enlightenment.   These things have cost me, and continue to cost me, a lot . . . and I guess I should remember that only then are they worth it . . .

Anyway, I digress, as usual.  The best part about the damn stew is that I had enough left over to treat my neighbor Sara to the same dinner Sunday night, and she brought along the documentary, "Great Day in Harlem" about Art Kane's first photograph: the 1958 group photo of 57 jazz legends in Harlem.  The film is only 60-minutes long and a must-see ~ it was so amazing, and funny, to see how it was that Count Basie ended up sitting on the curb with the kids in the photo, or how prankster Dizzie Gillespie got Roy Eldridge to turn around just as the photo was snapped ~ oh man, some of the show footage of Rex Stewart, Stuff Smith, and  Jo Jones was amazing.

Anyway, who knows why I am rambling at such length tonight ~ I guess it's the good food and good wine and good movies and good friends from this weekend ~ maybe this blog posting is my version of a photograph of the nice memory I experienced this weekend ~ so maybe "ME" was the theme of this posting, maybe I want this one just as a personal reminder to me about the things I did and felt and saw this weekend . . . and my apologies if it bored ya . . .but hey, you did get some good cooking and wine recommendations out of this, right?
~~ :)

THE Best New Restaurant in San Francisco ! ~ It's More Than The Food

Dios mio, I am in heaven.  What a meal.  Tonight my friend Drew took me to the opening night of Colibrí Mexican Bistro down in San Francisco's Theater District, near Union Square.  What food!  What a setting!  What amazing people own this restaurant!  Colibrí, which means hummingbird, has a beautiful interior, which is modeled on 19th century Mexican cantinas.  The owner, Sylvia Rallo, and her husband, Eduardo, who are both from Cuernavaca, sum it up quite nicely:

During the late 1800's and early 1900's, Mexico experienced major cultural and political changes.  At the time the country had  strong links to Europe, and particularly France.  French influence was reflected in the art and architecture of buildings, homes, and public facilities, and eventually made its way into restaurant menus.  Many cantinas (featuring a pub atmosphere of casual dining and spirits) opened during that period, and became important gathering places for leaders and the community as a whole.  The décor of the cantinas during this period included traditional  Mexican design elements, coupled with antique furniture common in France.  People would come together at the cantinas to socialize, hear the latest news, and to celebrate while enjoying their favorite home-style meals served on hors d'oeuvres plates (tapas) that varied in fare day to day.

The interior was indeed warm and welcoming and incredibly beautiful ~~ in three months, Sylvia and Eduardo somehow transformed an old California Pizza Kitchen into a sublime dining and socializing environment.  All of the art (including three huge original paintings) and fixtures are from Guadalajara.  The bar is stocked sky-high with a selection of 100 tequilas, and a flat-screen TV nestled into the wall above the bar plays old Mexican movies.  My favorite Lila Downs CD was playing in the background. The open kitchen, creating an air of casual familiarity, and the reasonable prices belie the upscale quality of the food.  Wow, do I sound like a foodie or what?  Sorry, but it was really great.

As soon as we sat down, the waiter brought out a trio of salsas ~ mild green, medium pineapple, and spicy red (all of which were amazing).  Ai, then instead of standard Mexican restaurant chips (which aren't traditional anyway), he brought us a pile of handmade, warm, "mini-size" corn tortillas to dip into each sauce.  Oh Lord, how delicious.  Eduardo sat with us for a while, telling us the story of how he met Sylvia and how they ended up in San Francisco with two restaurants, one more on the way, and three beautiful toddlers.  We shared funny stories about how we forget our English and "think in Spanish," especially about intense visceral reactions like enjoying amazing food and conversation.  I told Eduardo that my good dreams are in Spanish, and my anxiety-ridden nightmares are in English.  And we laughed at how Latinos sometimes mix up English colloquialism ~~ like my friend who says, "C'mon, go out on a branch for me!" instead of "Go out on a limb for me" ~ or how, because in Spanish you do not "blow out candles" but rather say "apaga la vela," I always tell people, "Turn off the candle," to which they usually reply, "Um, is there a switch?"  Oy, we laughed and laughed and Eduardo and Sylvia, whom I just met tonight, were as warm and inviting as their restaurant.

And then we ordered the guacamole, which was made-to-order at our table ~ the waiter brought out a some beautiful avocados with five small dishes containing the traditional ingredients (cilantro, onion, etc), and then asked us how spicy we wanted it.  Que rico.  We shared móle and pozóle and way too many margaritas, and were so excited to see that nearly every table was full on this, their first official night open to the public.  We capped off the evening with the Mexican Chocolate Cake and vanilla ice cream.  The warm cake gently melts in your mouth and after a few seconds you realize, they really use authentic Mexican chocolate ~ you can taste the distinct flavor on the "finish" ~ and so Drew and I had to have a spoon-duel to attack the rest of the cake.

Even better, the restaurant is directly across the street from the A.C.T. Theater and the Curran Theater, so the theater crowds will (finally) have an upscale and nice, but reasonably-priced, place for an authentic Mexican dinner ~ and Colibrí will stay open until 1:00 a.m. during theater season.  The other restaurants in the area are either way too pricey (like Asia de Cuba) or just kinda cheesy (like Maxx's ~ sorry).  You could have a fancy dinner/theater date night at Colibrí (ask for that romantic table in the corner at the window), or just enjoy a few casual drinks with friends at the bar, or even eat solo at the bar.  Tourists and locals and couples and large groups, all ages and races, blended together tonight with the art and music and food and the warm smiles on Eduardo and Sylvia's faces ~ what a fantastic evening!

In May 2003, Eduardo and Sylvia opened Consuelo Mexican Bistro on San Jose's Santana Row, and later this year they also plan to open a Mediterranean restaurant there on the Row.  As I spoke with Eduardo tonight, I was fascinated, impressed, and inspired by the fact that he is clearly a socially-responsible investor.  He told us that, in addition to the restaurants, he is a partner in a pharmacy in Oakland's predominantly Latino Fruitvale District that seeks to address specific Latino health issues.   The pharmacy has been open for about seven weeks, in the new Fruitvale Transit Village near BART, and it's called Farmácia Remédios.  Eduardo wants to address issues such as the high rate of Diabetes in the Latino community, as well as offer wellness, preventative, and educational resources to our community.  When I got home, I googled him to read more about his projects (in a non-stalker kinda-way, of course), and learned that he and a group of friends were the founders of World Wrapps, which "began as a community-based, small business with a mission to be active in the communities where it operates by giving back to local non-profit organizations, schools, and neighborhood organizations, especially those that promote health and wellness and support our children."  Eduardo is also the CEO of Pacific Community Ventures, which "develops and invests in businesses providing economic gains to low-income communities throughout California with a focus on the Bay Area," and he is one of the founders of BrainStorm Ventures, which funds emerging technology companies.  AND they have three kids under 4!  WOW.  They are amazing people and Colibrí is a wonderful restaurant ~ get yourself to San Francisco and check it out ~ and tell them Marisa sent you.  ~ :)