Marga's Old Foodblog

Birthday catering at Costco

We threw a birthday party for our 3 yo last weekend, and I was too lazy (or busy), to prepare the food myself. As per someone's suggestion I just went to Costco and got a platter of veggies, one of cut fruit and one of rolled sandwiches. I algo got a couple of big bags of chips and a birthday cake. The prices of everything were significantly cheaper than at the supermarket - though I didn't compare sizes. In any case, we had about twice as much food as we needed for a party of 7 children and about ten adults.

The quality of the produce was generally good. I didn't care for the papaya, but the sweet pineapple was delicious. The sandwiches went over well, though I would have liked them more with baby spinach or arugula instead of lettuce. The most disappointing part (for me) was the birthday cake. The white cake tasted like that from a mix, the chocolate mousse had virtually no chocolate taste, though the cream-cheese frosting wasn't bad. Mike and others liked it but I wouldn't buy one from there again. At about $15 for a huge cake, it was a VERY good deal.

Blue Bayou

Monday I went to Disneyland with my hubby, sister and 3 yo. I heard that the Blue Bayou, a restaurant located at the entrance of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, was the best place to eat at Disneyland, and I was intrigued by its location. I made a 1:30 PM reservation but we had to wait an additional 45 minutes for a table on the water, with a view of the ride and the boats going by. It seems like a waste of time, but I was so tired by then that I welcomed the "down" time.

The restaurant was nice, it was cool being inside the ride, and the nocturnal ambiance made for a potentially relaxing atmosphere. Unfortunately the brisk - even if friendly - service, made relaxing difficult. The waiters clearly wanted you to get out ASAP. Food was brought to the table a couple of minutes after ordering, drinks were replenished every few minutes, dishes were removed even before everyone was done with lunch. I can understand the need to turn tables, the wait outside is very long, but it complete defeats the purpose of going to the restaurant: relaxing after a morning (or day) of unstopped activities. For that reason, I would not go again.

The food was better than I expected, though my expectations were low. I had the famed Monte Christo sandwich (a turkey, ham and cheese sandwich deep fried, sprinkled with a bit of powder sugar and served with some fruit preserve and pasta salad) and it was good, though too rich and it had the flavor of having been cooked in too-old oil. I could only finish half of it and I'd suggest splitting it with someone else.

Kathy was happy with her prime rib, but I thought it tasted like a typical buffet prime rib - at $18, it wasn't a typical buffet price but this is Disneyland after all. Mike liked the jambalaya but it was very spicy. He didn't mind that, but it made it impossible to taste the individual ingredients.

I'll write a real review and post it at http://www.marga.org/food/rest/bayou.html, though I won't have much more to say than what I've written here.

Rotisseried chicken

I have often written about how rotisseried chicken is one of my favorite meals, none the least of it because it's so easy to make and yet so good. So we have it for dinner probably once every two weeks or so. I used to make my own spice rub, but now I just buy a pre-mixed Cajun rub for greater ease. Last time I made it (Sunday) I used a Safeway organic chicken. At about $2.60 a lb this was almost twice as expensive as their Foster Farms, but organic food is expensive. Mike found it to be particularly juicy, which I'm not sure was a good thing - I didn't think it tasted particularly better than regular chicken. Still, when we can afford it I'll probably buy it.

We served it with snow peas that Mike had bought at the farmer's market, I steamed them, he ate a whole bunch of them.

Changed birthday plans

I just read a posting in Craigslist about a recent dining experience at Manresa. Apparently the Chef's Menu (which I would have ordered) contained three raw seafood dishes (Salmon Roe on custard, an oyster in gelee, and minced raw scallops) and several other things that I'm not sure I'd like, and while I'm willing to try a couple, I don't think I want a menu full of things that I may not like. Their a la carte menu does sound good, but I decided to look further a field and see if there was something I'd like better.

That's how I came about the menu at Fleur de Lys and everything there sounds absolutely devine. Plus, it's open on my birthday (Manresa is closed on tuesdays). So I cancelled the Manresa reservation and made one at Fleur de Lys instead. I still want to try Manresa some time, but perhaps not on such a dear occasion as my birthday.

Cherry Tomatoes

Michaela has discovered the pleasure of cherry tomatoes and they have now become a staple in her diet. I suspect that what she most likes is the size, she's very size conscious and always wants a smaller cup, a smaller plate and, apparently, smaller food. She's been a fan of quail eggs and baby carrots for years, and cherry tomatoes fit right in. They're a great snack at home and easy to put in her lunch box for school. They are a good source of vitamin C and they're very cute.

Quesadilla at Los Pericos

For dinner tonight I had a carnitas special quesadilla from Taqueria Los Pericos. As usual it was good, large, though I wish they had better quality guacamole.

Belizean Menu up

I cooked my Belizean dinner sooo long ago that I can't even recall it, but for some reason I never put it up on my website. Yesterday, as I was exporting my food pictures to flickr, I came across the ones from Belize and realized my omission. Apparently the Belizean food I'd cooked hadn't been very good, but it still needs to be up. You can find the menu here

Becks & Posh

I discovered Becks & Posh's blog when they visited me and I haven't been able to stop looking at it since. They have some of the most gorgeous food pictures I've ever seen. Looking at them makes me want to take my food photography seriously. Until now, all I've been doing is taking a quick snapshot of a dish and praying it'll be in focus (our digital camera could be better for these purposes). Their pictures remind me of what my old photography teacher used to say: "don't be afraid to get close".

Cheddar Cheese Fondue

Last night I made a cheddar cheese fondue from that fondue book I bought at the library sale. It was quite simple, I browned about 1/2 cup of chopped Canadian bacon, added a glass of white wine and 1/2 lb of shredded medium Cheddar mixed with a couple of tablespoons of flour. To that I added 2 tablespoons of Calvados. I served it with fresh sourdough bread, apple slices and sliced, grilled chicken and apple sausages.

The fondue turned out OK, but it was too thin and too alcoholic tasting - if you make it I'd only use 1/2 cup of wine. I also wouldn't bother with the Canadian bacon. It was good with the sausages, but it didn't work at all with the apples.

Café Garré

I went winetasting in Livermore with my sister Kathy and her friend Anna a couple of weeks ago, and we stopped at the Café Garré, at the Garré Winery, for lunch. The little café is cute, it has a small dining room inside and a patio area with shaded dining under trees or umbrellas. From the patio there is a view of the grapevines and the road, and unfortunately you can hear the road noises. Still, it's a relaxing place to have a meal in a warm day. The restaurant was less than half empty when we got there around 12:30 PM on a Saturday, but it became packed by 1 PM.

Their menu includes appetizers, salads, sandwiches and pastas with a couple of main dishes. The most expensive entree is $12, but most entrees are under $10.

Lunch started with slices of fresh focaccia bread with toasted onions, it was very good with the olive oil and vinegar provided. Too bad that the oil & vinegar bottles were dirty.

I decided to try their Boar's Nest sandwich: an open roll of braised smoked pork with cheddar cheese and BBQ sauce ($9). I really enjoyed it, the meat was tender and the BBQ sauce infused it with flavor without overwhelming it. My only complaint was that the bun was too thick for the meat. It came with a side of pasta salad, which was quite good. It had very fresh tasting veggies, though I would have liked a stronger tasting cheese. The sandwich was quite big and I ended up taking home half of it.

Kathy and Anna went for pasta. Kathy had the pomodoro ($8), which she liked but wasn't crazy about. The sauce was slightly sweet and would have been better with some Parmesan cheese, but it was satisfying.

Anna was also underwhelmed by her linguini & clams ($9). Part of the problem was that she had actually ordered the seafood linguini, and she wanted more than clams with her pasta, but the light, too-liquid sauce also failed to impress her. We all liked the accompanying garlic bread, though.

Service by two very cute young waiters was affable, though they were a bit distracted (perhaps by my two cute young tablemates?). Not only did they get Anna's entree wrong but they gave us way too much change back. They did refresh our bread and drinks quite often, and were as attentive to me as to the girls, so I can't complain.

Lunch for the three of us came to $32.50 after tax but before tip. In all, I'd go back to Café Garré though I'd probably stick to the sandwiches.

Café Garré
7986 Tesla Road
Livermore, CA
http://www.garrewinery.com/

Winetasting in Livermore II

A couple of weeks ago, my sister Kathy and her friend Anna were in town and I decided to take the girls winetasting. Once again we headed to Livermore as it's significantly closer to us. It was quite fun, we visited several wineries and had lunch at one of them. Anna became exposed to a few new wines, even found one she liked, and while Kathy didn't try anything (she's not a wine drinker) she said she enjoyed herself.

Once again, I was not impressed by the quality of the Livermore wineries. I am not a wine connoseur by any means, and I'm mostly a Cabernet Sauvignon drinker - that's great if you're in Napa, not that great if you are in Livermore where Cabs don't a abound. I prefer complex, smooth, oaky flavors, and these were rare. In all, my impression was that the wines were young and simple, generally easy to drink but not fun or interesting. I didn't find any wines that attracted me. Most of the wines are only available at the winery and at local grocery stores.

The guide below is mostly for my benefit, so that I can remember the experience and decide where I want to go back in future trips.

We started at Garré Winery with lunch at the Café Garré (good sandwich, OK pastas) before tasting. I found their wines easy drinking but unremarkable, often lacking complexity. Their Nonna's Reserve, a combination of Merlot, Barbera and Cab Frank was particularly disapointing, it tasted mostly like cab frank but was very shallow. A 2000 Merlot was very melow, but had a sharp finish. The wine tasting room itself is very plain.

I was happier with the wines at Cedar Mountain, perhaps because they were tasting cabs. I wasn't too excited about the 2002 Cab which was easy to drink, but didn't have much depth, but loved their '98 Cab which was very well balanced - but way overpriced at $50 a bottle. A '99 Duet, a combination of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, was more reasonable at $22, but tasted younger and less refined than the cab. The tasting room here was also plain, but the people were very friendly and very much into wines, which made the wine tasting more fun.

Ríos Lovell charges a $4 tasting fee (you get to keep the glass) which is worth it given the quality of their wines and the friendly attitude of the attendant - who let us taste wines not in the list. In general, I found their wines to be much more finished, more balanced and substantial than those at the other wineries. I really liked their '2001 Reserve Estate Chardonnay ($14), it was somewhat tanic and oaky and not too sweet. Anna enjoyed their '2003 Viognier ($16) which tasted like an explosion of flowers and had a sharp, yet nice, finish. She also liked their 2001 Barbera ($18), an easy drinking yet nice wine. I wasn't impressed by their Cab, which was in need of tanins. The tasting room was one of the larger ones, and had a nice store. I'd go back here again.

Tesla Vintners offers wines from 4 local wineries, the tasting room is very small and crowded but cute and it offers some cool novelties for sale that I hadn't seen elsewhere. The server looked like a grandma and was quite pleasant and there is a grassy area outside and even a little playhouse for children to play in. If I ever came winetasting with the kids along, this would definitely be a spot. Here we tried the flavored champagnes by Little Valley winery. They are a gimmick, of course, but I rather liked the almond one - though I'm not sure if enough to drink a whole glass of it. The other wines we tasted were fine, easy drinking but not sophisticated.

Livermore Valley Cellars is a small, family winery behind a new McMansion housing development. We wanted to like the wines, many of them inventive mixes, but we didn't. Most of them were shallow, tasted too acidic and lacked finishes. The woman serving them to us also gave us a weird vibe.

Finally, we went back to Concannon, where once again I noticed that their new syrahs are almost undrinkable while their older ones are quite good. This is one of the prettier tasting rooms in the valley and it has a nice grassy area outside, so while I'm not crazy about their wines, it makes a nice stop.

Tea time

In Argentina, where I grew up, tea time is an honored tradition carried out by grandmothers and elderly aunts everywhere. Families with children usually have a merienda, a meal that consists of a hot drink (tea, a latte, chocolate milk, hot chocolate, mate cocido) with cookies, toast or pastries, perhaps relegating tea time for weekends or for when they have guests. But practically everyone has a tea pot and a nice set of tea china waiting to be used.

When I was growing up, I had tea time at my grandmother's house twice a week or so, when I visited her. By necessity it was at a little after 5, when I got off school, though the more usual time for tea was 4 PM. Everyday tea, served in a regular pot, was served, like a merienda, with cookies and toast or scones with butter and jam. On special occasions, most commonly when we had guests, special pastries (masas finas) and delicate sandwiches (sánguches de miga) would be bought and enjoyed by all. During our last visit to Argentina, where we enjoyed tea time at the house of many relatives and friends, we literally overdosed on these - variety is not the spice of life in Argentina.

When we came to the US we continued celebrating this tradition at home but I had to drop it after I got married. It just doesn't work well with an American adult lifestyle. Mike doesn't get home from work at least until 6 PM, a time more conductive to dinner than tea. He's not a huge fan of tea either. When my little girls are a little bit older - say 5 and 7 - I may re-establish this tradition, but for now I sip my tea alone, from a tea bag (gasp!), and in the morning.

But I still like the idea of tea and on a couple of occasions I've convinced friends to join me at one of the British-inspired tea houses in the Bay Area. There are more than you think. Some of the nicest tea-rooms are, as you might expect, in San Francisco, and in particular I've been wanting to go to the Garden Court at the Palace Hotel. From the pictures, at least, the room looks fabulous. Tea there is pretty expensive, starting at $30 per person, so I've been thinking of going there for my birthday, and strongarming some of my friends to join me.

Library sale

Today our public library had a sale and I picked up a few cookbooks. They are mostly pretty old (cookbook selection at these sales is never that good) but for $1 for hardbacks and 50-cents for paperbacks, I can't complain. I got:

-La Cuisine Creole A collection of Culinary Recipes, 1956 reprint of 1885 original

-Danish Cookery by Susanne, 1961

-The Fabulous Fondue Cookbook by Carmel B. Reingold, 1980
This is a small paperback but might be useful.

-The French Chef Cookbook by Julia Child, 1968

-The Frugual Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines, 1989

-Indonesian Food and Cookery by Sri Owen, 1980
I already have a newer, longer Indonesian cookbook by the same author, but for 50c couldn't pass it up

-Polish Cookbook by the Culinary Arts Institute, 1978

San Leandro restaurant news

-Today we noticed a change of ownership announcement at Daimo, the upscale Chinese restaurant on E. 14th. I'm not sure if the El Cerrito branch of the restaurant was also sold and what this means to the restaurant. Stay tuned and I'll find out :)

-We noticed several months ago that Daimo Express, which as far as I know wasn't connected to Daimo, had closed. A (cash-only) Hawaiian BBQ place has open in its stead. We haven't tried it yet, but plan to.

-It seems that Hawaiian BBQ has become very popular in San Leandro. In addition to the one mentioned above and Aloha Kitchen, there is also Hawaiian Sista's Cafe on Manor Blvd. and another Hawaiian BBQ place is said to open at Palma Plaza. We love Hawaiian BBQ so we have no complaints.

-According to an article in the San Leandro Times last week, Latté Da, a cool coffehouse on Washington Ave. is closing. We go to Latté Da from time to time, much less often that I actually mean to go, and it's sad to see it go. Apparently the owner cannot afford the increase in rent.

-We've also heard through the grapevine that Perry's Food for the Soul is closing. Apparently they are not doing enough business. There is a community call to go and support this black & woman owned business so if you haven't tried Perry's yet, why don't you give it a try?

-Casa María #2, a Mexican restaurant on E. 14th near downtown, has reopened after being closed down by the health department. A correspondent who lives nearby tells me that the restaurant had had problems with rats, there were rat feces everywhere including plates. Apparently they have solved some of the problems, and now they have a garbage service, but it's not clear whether they use it. He also claims that they bring unrefrigerated food. I'm staying away for now.

-Francisco's, a Mexican restaurant on Bancroft, has re-opened after being closed down for over a year (or so it seems to me). Anyone know the details about its closing and re-opening? I know that Francisco's had gone through bankrupcy.

-I've also heard through the grapevine that a Chilli's will be opening at Bayfair.

Any other news?

safeway free delivery code

I haven't used safeway.com now but I meant to do it. Alas, when I'm ready for it, I never know where the code for free delivery is. So I'm copying it (them) here for future reference.

FREESHIPWB3
Good up to 4/30/05 - $50 minimun

A roasted pork shoulder to die for

Today I finally went to Vatran's - now Joaquin Deli - for the first time since its change of ownership. I was happy to notice that it hadn't changed at all, it looks the same, it's selling the same items, even the people behind the counter are the same. The one change, other than the name, is its expanded menu of cold sandwiches. Their classic roasted tri-tip, pulled pork and sausages sandwiches are still there, don't worry, but now they have things like club sandwiches, grilled chicken, salmon, tuna and chicken salad, and even a classic roast beef. Most of these are served on ciabatta bread and they go for $6.50 including potato salad, coleslaw or chips.

As the title of this entree implies, I went for the roasted pork shoulder sandwich. It was incredible! The pork was supple, buttery and delicious and it reminded me of first grade jamón serrano. It came with blue cheese aioli, spinach and caramelized onions, all of which complemented it rather that competed with it. The quantity of meat to bread was also quite generous.

I'm planning to go back to Joaquin later this week and buy some of that pork shoulder to have around.