Spring Break '08: Days One and Two

I've been in San Francisco for almost two full days now, but up until now, I haven't felt clear-headed enough to actually post a message. Pedro picked me up from the airport around noon on Monday, and we've been busy, busy, busy since.

We went from the airport to lunch at a little place in Cole Valley called Zazie, a French bistro type place, where I kicked off my vacation with two glasses of champagne and a 'croque royale' (a croque monsieur with prosciutto instead of ham and bearnaise sauce instead of plain old white sauce). Spectacular!

After discovering that the DeYoung Museum was closed (it was Monday) we settled for an ice cream cone from Mitchell's in the Mission district, eaten on a park bench in Bernal Heights, which offers some of the best views in the city.

Next, and somewhat irresponsibly, we stopped off at Jade Bar downtown for $2 Happy Hour drinks, after which we returned to Pedro's condo to "freshen up" and decide on dinner. We did some online research and eventually chose a Brazilian/Argentinian/Spanish place the name of which we still can't seem to remember. What I do remember, though, is MEAT, more meat than I've ever eaten in my life, I think. In typical Brazilian restaurant style, the waiters circulate with giant skewers of meat--every kind you can imagine--and cut off slices as you request. In this particular restaurant, each diner is given a coaster that is green on one side and red on the other. Green means go, meaning "bring on the meat." Red, obviously, means STOP.

We returned home somewhat early to rest up for the next day's activities, but, before retiring, finished off another bottle of wine, which proved deadly for me the next morning. Needless to say, an afternoon on the Napa Wine Train did not sound very appealing when my alarm went off at 7 the next morning, but a couple of ibuprofen, a handful of Tums, and a half-gallon or so of water got me well enough to at least make the hour-long car trip up to Napa. By the time we arrived, I was feeling great, good enough even to stomach the two "tastes" they gave us during our supremely tacky "wine lecture" prior to departure.

The Wine Train itself was surprisingly un-tacky and really a lot of fun. The food was very good (I had the grilled quail; Pedro and his friend Yomiko had grilled halibut), and the wine (all Napa Valley) excellent.

We stumbled off the train around 2:30 and went in search of coffee and a place to lie down and take a nap. We eventually found the former, but not the latter, so we settled for a little shopping at the Napa outlet mall, and, later, Dean & DeLuca, with just ONE stop at a winery in between. Because we had several hours to kill before dinner at 8, we bought some cheese, olives and salami and headed up into the hills (where our restaurant was located) to find a likely pre-function spot. It turned out that our restaurant, attached to a luxury hotel and spa, had a lovely courtyard out front, and the staff kindly granted us permission to hang out for a while. Can you picture this? It's sunset in Napa Valley; we're gathered around a little table in the courtyard of a Tuscan-style hillside inn, nibbling on crusty baguette and local olives, rehydrating with fancy imported Dean & DeLuca bottled water. Needless to say, it was a beautiful way to refresh ourselves before dinner.

Dinner, by the way, was the highlight of the day. We dined on the terrace at Auberge du Soleil and were able to catch the last bit of the sunset just after the waiter had poured our wine, carefully and painstakingly selected from a wine list WITH A TABLE OF CONTENTS. I took lots of notes on dinner, and I'll probably post those later, when I have time to wax poetic, on Sauce and Sensibility, but I'll make a few comments here. From the fixed-price menu, I selected a first course of seared foie gras served on a little crostino and with, if you can believe it, rhubarb and a mole-style chocolate sauce. At first glance it looks like something that could only be concocted by Letitia Cropley, but it was absolutely awe-inspiring. It was also my first time eating foie gras, and let me tell you, Auberge du Soleil is a perfect place for a foie gras virgin to be deflowered. For the fish course, I chose the seared ahi tuna, which was served with a tiny square of braised pork belly. And for the main course, I selected the duck, served with yet another morsel of pork belly, perfectly cooked local artichoke hearts and spring onions, and a drizzle of a sauce that involved curry (I'll have to go to the website and check on this). Dessert was chocolate-filled phyllo dumplings with (wait 'til you hear this) tarragon ice cream! At this point I'm almost reluctant to go to Chez Panisse: what if it doesn't match up?

This morning I'm feeling great after a LONG night's sleep that started on the long drive back from Napa. Pedro and I are heading to Chinatown for take-out Dim Sum and a picnic in Golden Gate park, followed by the much anticipated trip to the DeYoung museum. Tonight is vodka tasting at Hangar One and dinner at Chez Panisse. More on that tomorrow.