We’re well into the New Year, and off to a great start, gastronomically speaking. The holidays saw some fantastic food and beverage, as well as a few misses. Aperitifs are a usual starting point to let’s visit the subject of potent potables. At the top would have to be a limoncello that I participated in with Gastro Gal aka Debs. We used a pure grain alcohol, Everclear, along with the zest of Meyer lemons, homemade simple syrup and water. The result was a dangerously tasty quaff. So tasty in fact one has to remind themselves that it’s still booze. The batch of holiday hooch was crafted with the intent of distributing as gifts. The first reviews came in quickly and went something like “…holy @#%@#$ that is @#$%@$# good!” I think you get the idea. A miss on the beverage side would have to be the cocktail service at the Slanted Door at San Francisco’s Ferry Building. Now I’ve had decent service in the past but I’ve observed that it has always been spotty. I had the opportunity to stop in at The Slanted Door during a recent outing specifically targeting the farmer’s market that takes place on Saturday’s in and around the Ferry Building. The service was off-putting to the point of rudeness. Our party of 5 was gone within 5 minutes. A better bet is Market Place Wine Bar. We went with a couple of bottles of a nicely dry prosecco whichat $20 bottle was very reasonable. Be sure to check on their website as offerings are rotated monthly. On your way to score your beverage, be sure stop by Chris Cosentino’s Boccalone salumeria. Grab a few meat cones and then head a couple of doors down to the wine bar and tuck in.
The food over the holidays was of course great, as it simply has to be as people are putting their very best efforts forward. A personal revelation was my first try of truffle honey. Unbelievably good. Any attempt by me to describe it would be an injustice. It’s definitely a splurge but one of those curios that must be indulged in at least once in one’s life. Pair it with a soft farmer’s cheese. Locally, both Whole Foods and Oliver’s carry this decadent condiment. Something on the bizarre foods list of holiday experiences was an ice cream made with candy cap mushrooms. If you’ve never had candy caps, they feature a pungent aroma of maple. The flavor is more subdued and earthier. The ice cream itself mirrored these characteristics – sweet maple syrup with an earthy almost musty background that made it hard to wrap one’s brain around. Still, it was GOOD. A definite miss was a “meat in tube form” known as cotechino. An Italian dish traditionally served around the New Year, it signifies the prospect of good luck and fortune for the coming year. It is also easily double to triple the girth of most sausages. Its menacing appendage like appearance did not dissuade me from acquiring some at the local farmer’s market from Franco’s Sausages. All of their products to date have been top notch so I was very confident of my purchase. What I didn’t know ‘til later was that cotechino was developed during a prolonged siege somewhere in 16th century Italy. A pork product formed of secondary cuts, skin and fat, there is both a tactile and audible squeak as one bites into their medallion of mystery meat-a result of the rubbery bits of pig skin, no doubt. Again, it did actually taste good but the texture was a definite challenge. While I finished my porcine behemoth, others could not bring themselves to approach even a second bite, having been cowed into submission and defeat by the monstrous meat offering.
As I like to end on a positive note, I should also say there was bacon…my homemade bacon and I have to agree that it is pretty damn good, and will be the subject of an upcoming post.
Cheers!
