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ABOUT ME:

Name: Gutenberg

Location: Somewhere near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Occupation: BRPR (Bunrab public relations.)

 
the BUNRAB blog spot
 

Do you need to answer back? You can send me comments if you want to.

If I want to, I'll post 'em in this very blog.

-Gutenberg



 

November 16-22, 2009

 

go to next week's blogs

 

  Sunday, November 22, 2009
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I get a guilty twinge whenever I deliver my picky specifications for crispy bacon and soft eggs ($10.45):

... at Bubba’s, but I am always rewarded with the best bespoke breakfast in San Anselmo.

Chubby got the corned beef hash ($11.95):

... which was a burlap blanket of beef with poached egg pillows to sauce this salivation-worthy, shredded sheet. The potatoes were perfectly prepared with a maximum of surface area to create the crunchy edges of these smashing potatoes.

This bustling diner continues to be our go to spot for breakfast in Marin.


Bubba’s Diner

566 San Anselmo Ave.
San Anselmo, CA
415.459.6962





 

 

  Saturday, November 21, 2009
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The St. George Spirits Holiday party:

... was a prom done right with an 80’s cover band:

... prom attire:

...snacks:

... and some incredible drinks.

We tasted our way through the tasty ‘tails:

... before graduating to carrot vodka. Lance Winters:

... tapped into the root of this root with his eyesight equalizing elixir. This crisp distillation had us hopping with happiness tempered with a tonic of truth (that there won’t be a commercial bottling.) Lance also pulled out an able cane creation that transported us to Eden. We reveled in his rum which was a complex and sinful solution to fortify us for some holiday purchases of Recchiuti:

... and Hangar One goods.


St. George Spirits

2601 Monarch St.
Alameda, CA
510.769.1601





 

 

  Friday, November 20, 2009
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Caviar and sparkling wine preserved the culture of the Taste & Tribute event at San Francisco’s Four Seasons Hotel.

2 chefs tag teamed each of the 11 tables:

... and we were fortunate enough to enjoy Viognier Chef Preston Dishman’s RioFrio Spanish caviar topped, smoked potato, potato foam, creme fraiche, egg and chive parfait:

... followed by a risotto:

... cooked sous vide with pleasant pheasant, good Gouda and topped with shavings of truffle.

Chef Orlando Pagan coated a tender venison tenderloin:

... with tarragon and saddled it with barley, chanterelles, butternut squash puree and baby root vegetables. The 1997 Shafer Merlot reigned with this deer.

A tender crusted, sweet potato tart:

... with sage ice cream (which beats sage advice) stuck with a Domenico orange muscat to rind down our meal.

Even though we didn’t sit at her table, Elizabeth Falkner was supercool and delivered some of her desserts for our group to fight over as we learned about the world peace ceremony in India.

Many bid well before they bid farewell after Tibetting on the preservation of cultural texts at this annual event which funds their preservation.

Taste & Tribute 2009
Four Seasons Hotel
757 Market St.
San Francisco, CA





 

 

  Thursday, November 19, 2009
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My soup was a cool cucumber with yogurt and dill at Elan Bistro. This refreshing eye-cover, eye opener appeared to be a herald of good chow, but sadly, the ham and Gruyere sandwich that came with this combo ($14.75):

... was more croak than croque. The fillings of tomato and Niman meat were poorly distributed and a deposit of Dijon dominated this Monsieur which was hedged by overdressed, wilted leaves.

Fortunately, my four dollar ice tea included a refill, but the question of the enjoyability of the food was never broached during this tea-livery.

The notation on the bottom of the menu, “in the interest of time, no substitutions please” seems wrong to me. Presenting a chef’s vision of the cuisine is a perfectly reasonable justification, but citing efficiency suggests that the diner’s enjoyment may not be the primary objective (making it advisable to stick to the soup.)

Bistro Elan
448 California Ave.
Palo Alto, CA
650.327.0284


 




 

 

  Wednesday, November 18, 2009
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The 16th annual Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza was a kilty pleasure.

Not only did we learn a neat, dram-atic way to make a Scotch and water:

... we savored sips of the sauterne barrel-steeped Glenmorangie Nectar D’or:

... the floral, 21 year old Glenlivet:

... and a spicy 18 year old Laphroaig.

It was a great opportunity to sample some marvelous malt:

...but we first fortified ourselves at the carving station:

... and mashed potato bar.

Spirits were anything but neutral as attendees casked in the splendor of this event that re-peats each year.



16th Annual Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza

InterContinental Hotel
888 Howard St.
San Francisco, CA







 

 

  Tuesday, November 17, 2009
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The Madras Curry Coconut and Cashew combo:

... from 479 Popcorn was the first to go as we shucked our way through a maize of these locally-made snacks.

The ginger sesame caramel:

... had a pleasing, subtle warmth to this sweet and crunchy, Asian-influenced in-corn-ation, while smooth saline anchored the commanding kernels of the fleur de sel:

Chipotle caramel with almonds:

... and a black trufffle and white cheddar cob-ination:

... added a fungustatory finish to these earpieces.

479 is the popping Fahrenheit for these organic snacks made in San Francisco. There are assortments for purists, spice seekers and the caramel-crazed as well as heirloom kernels for the PIY enthusiast.

If you want to stalk up on chow for the hull-idays, these are sure to be pop-ular.


479 Popcorn


 





 

 

  Monday, November 16, 2009
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Beets ($9.50):

... masqueraded as tomatoes at Roland Passot’s LB Steak:

These ruby rocks with tarragon flecked goat cheese, arugula and candied walnuts were an excellent window into our meal. We successfully logged in to the earthy, root directory of this operating system without bugs.

Divers scallops ($14.95):

... were edged with Oregon truffle, chanterelles and salsify. These big bivalves were seared leaving a moist, ivory interior which we dredged through the parsnip puree and truffle butter and washed down with a citrusy 2007 Saintsbury Chardonnay. This mushroom meets mollusc dish is worth taking the plunge.

The braised pork belly ($9.95):

... was reminiscent of char siu with a slight sweetness from root beer. These abs were toned with quince puree and poached apple.

Alaskan halibut ($24.50):

... wasn’t our thing. Although good, the pan seared fish was cooked slightly beyond our personal preference (to be fair, we didn’t specify) and the honeyed mashed potatoes aren’t in our root-tine. However, the chard and red wine shallot jus were fine by us.

We have a weakness for rare, well marbled, steak with Béarnaise sauce and this classic combo is well done at LB. Wet aged 21 days, our Prime ribeye ($29.50):

... was cooked perfectly and served with roasted shallots and garlic cloves. We relished this ration as we put an al dente in some barley risotto ($3.75):

... and marvelous, marble-sized, Brussels sprouts ($4.25):

... with hunks of bacon brought together with a black cherry charged, 2006 Claudia Springs Klindt Vineyard Pinot Noir.

We hoped that the dessert cart could double as a gurney as we tucked into a pumpkin creme brulee ($5.25):

This was a improvement upon the traditional,Thanksgiving pie. Its shattered sugar shield and silky squash custard complemented their bourbon pecan tart ($5.25).

Our table offered a view of the glass enclosed kitchen:

... which was so inviting that we had to pop by:

... as Chef Nico:

... muscled his way through primetime.

Friendly and efficient service balanced out this beefy basilica dripping with chandeliers and filled with Santana Row shoppers seeking steak.


LB Steak
334 Santana Row
Suite 1000
San Jose, CA
408.244.1180


 




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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