El Porteno

El Porteno has a stall inside the Ferry Building. They serve Argentinian empanadas. I didn't have enough stomach room to try one but I had space for an Alfajor.

 

Alfajores de Dulce de Leche--$2 each. This was delicious. The cookie was almost like a shortbread but crumbled like a Mexican Tea Cookie. The dulce de leche filling wasn't overwhelmingly sweet.

2013 07 20

Recchiuti Chocolates

I initiated my husband to the art of noshing. While at the Ferry Building, we stopped at Recchiuti Chocolates.

 

 

We tried a Fleur de Sel Caramel--1 piece cost $0.95. It's a small piece and I thought it had an off taste. It was a little bitter and the bitterness didn't come from the dark chocolate. I still prefer the salted caramel from Mendocino Chocolates.



2013 07 20

Roli Roti

The last time I went noshing in San Francisco, my husband was out of town. We went to San Francisco to see the America's Cup activities and stopped at the Ferry Building to have the Porchetta Sandwich from the Roli Roti truck.

 

Porchetta Sandwich--$9.50. It's a delicious pork sandwich with onion marmalade, arugula and rosemary salt. My husband loved it and he's hooked now!

 

I decided to try their rotisserie chicken as well. 1/2 chicken for $7. It was flavorful but not as good as the porchetta sandwich. Next time, I'll stick to the porchetta.

 

 

 

2013 07 20

Oliver's Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake

I needed to get a birthday cake for my husband. I didn't have time to drive to the South Bay to get a Chocolate on Chocolate from the Prolific Oven so I stopped at Oliver's in Santa Rosa to see what they had. Oliver's is a specialty grocery store and there's a location at 560 Montecito Center.

 

This is a 6-inch Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake for $22.99. This was beautiful but I still prefer Prolific Oven. The Devil's Food cake was slightly dry.

 

 

 

2013 07 17

Thursday Night Dinner

Another Thursday night at Flavor Bistro. Dinner & wine pairing is still $24.95.

 



Gamberoni Con Couscous--Grilled Jumbo Prawns, Black Olive-Arugula Couscous Served with Warm Shallot & Herb Salsa paired with 2012 Starmont Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley

  

 

Ravioli D'Anatra--Filled with Duck Mousse Served with Roasted Mushroom-endive Confit Topped with Crispy Herb Butter & Parmigiano-Reggiano paired with 2011 La Follette Pinot Noir, North Coast

 

Maiale Al Forno--Slow Cooked Pork Medallion Served in Sugo Di Brasato Flavored with Pancetta, Cannellini Beans & Garlic-Herb Gremolata paired with 2010 St. Francis Winery & Vineyards "Old Vines" Zinfandel, Sonoma County

  

 

Crostata Di Ciliegie--Cherry Galette Garnished with Mascarpone Vanilla Custard paired with 2011 Navarro Vineyards Riesling Cluster Select Late Harvest, Anderson Valley

2013 07 24

Ledford House

Our vacation rental housekeeper was on vacation so we needed to clean our vacation rental Sanctuary By the Sea before the next guests arrived. We drove up to Albion for the day and had dinner at the Ledford House after we finished cleaning.

 

The homemade bread is delicious--crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The marinated olives were tasty as well.

 

Appetizer Special for the night--baked oysters. We got 1/2 dozen--3 with bacon & breadcrumbs and 3 with garlic butter & pastis for $14. It was too heavy on the breadcrumbs. I still liked the oysters at GW Fin better.

 

The Bistro Dinner for the night included a green salad with green beans. It had a nice Dijon vinaigrette.

 

Lamb Stew was the entrée for the 3-course Bistro Dinner. This was tender. I thought the sauce was too sweet but my husband liked it.

 

I ordered the Mussels Provencal--$19. The sauce had garlic, parsley, olive oil, white wine and lemon and tt was delicious.

 

The dessert for the 3-course Bistro Dinner included blackberry mousse, chocolate mousse or apple tarte tatin. The Bistro Dinner is a good value at $30.

 

 

 

2013 07 17 

Pasta Pomodoro

A friend was visiting from outside the country and she wanted to eat at Pasta Pomodoro. There are multiple locations in the Bay Area--we visited the one at 300 W. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale. I'd never eaten there but it wasn't too bad for a chain restaurant

 

Bread with pesto dip. The bread was warm and the pesto dip had a nice vinegary zing.

 

 Calories are listed on the menu which is a dangerous thing. There were a few things that looked tempting but at 1200 calories, I wasn't about to order it. The Pomodoro Express lunch menu ($8.95) offered some items with reasonable calorie counts. The lunch menu included a bowl of minestrone for 206 calories or Caesar salad (309 calories) or Insalata Mixta (290 calories).

 

One of the choices on the lunch menu was Rigatoni Bolognese--380 calories. This was al dente and had a nice sauce. It was just the right amount of food too.

 

Pollo Griglia--$12.50. Fresh grilled chicken breast marinated in fresh garlic, thyme and lemon, served with sautéed faro--698 calories.

 

 

Chicken Marsala--$14.25. Fresh chicken breast pan-roasted with mushroom and marsala wine sauce, served with sautéed kale--718 calories.

2013 07 14