Sunday, September 25, 2016

Moss Landing to San Francisco Journey


Robin had some work-related business to take care of down here in Moss Landing, so we made a fun day out of it, first stopping at Manresa Bread in Los Gatos, then the Succulents sale in nearby Castroville, and finally here we are on Elkhorn Road, waiting at the t-intersection at Highway 1 at the Moss Landing marina. Behind us is this view of the power station. We think there was a marathon as all these folks on road bicycles were wearing numbered red jerseys.

Intersection of Elkhorn & Highway 1. Massive marina, where seals can be heard. Near here are multiple produce stands. We stopped at one and got some perfect-looking artichokes, leeks, and other stuff.

Lunch at Phil's Fish Market & Eatery. Outstanding lunch consisting of seriously fresh seafood & vegetables. Here: Broiled Halibut with sauteed artichoke quarters, vegetables, rice and garlic bread. Everything cooked perfectly.

We were dining Al Fresco. Here's the view from the dining area.

Steamed clams in a Mediterranean sauce: lemon, seafood broth, parsley, tomato, red pepper, garlic, scallions. Clams were slightly sweet and soft. Got extra bread pieces to sop up the sauce. Ate all the fish, but couldn't finish all the sauce. One of those few places that specialize in both high quality fare and ample portions.

A wider view of the power plant.

The marina in Santa Cruz. Fish shop closed here, so we went to the one in Half Moon Bay instead.

Skipping hours ahead. We headed north on Highway One, stopping briefly in Santa Cruz, then Half Moon Bay, and here's these hills rising before us as we approached Pacifica.


Notice the retaining wall to the right. For those of you not familiar with Northern California, these are all over the place in spots where avalanches can occur.



Dramatic views of the Pacific all along Highway 1. This one's close to Pacifica.

Guess where we are now? There's one clue.

And here's another.

Portion of the Golden Gate Park panhandle. Lots of folks with big dogs live near here so they can walk/run them in this part of the park.

My favorite frugal Szechuan restaurant in the city, San Dong Best, 3rd & Geary. Lotus Root & Ginger.

Above and below: hand-pulled noodles with ground lamb and cucumber. Note the several whole pieces of chile.

There's nothing quite like hand-pulled noodles.

Hand-made dumplings, stuffed with lamb & squash blossom. Exquisite!





Manresa Bread in Los Gatos

Kouign Amann by Manresa Bread.
We had read about Manresa, and figured our journey to south of the South Bay would be a good time to check it out. Based on the pastries we tried, this shop is among the upper echelon of bakeries in the Bay Area. Their Kouign Amann is all delicate & buttery dough, comparable to B. Patisserie and Neighbor Bakehouse in San Francisco, the Gold Standard around here.

Pistachio-Blackberry Cake.
Luscious & not cloyingly sweet, this cake is consistently moist and soft, spongy parcels full of fruit and nut notes.


Manresa Bread has an impressive array of breads and pastries to choose from.




https://www.manresabread.com


Succulents in Castroville


On Saturday, Robin and I took off before the crack of dawn to get down to Castroville, midway between Santa Cruz & Monterrey, to check out the succulents here. 












http://sgplants.com

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Urbann Turbann



Chicken Tandoori at Urbann Turbann.


Located just north of the UC Berkeley campus on Euclid, Urbann Turbann has acquired a reputation as a "cheap eats" establishment. But judging on our first visit, I'd say it's one of the tastiest in the less than $10 category. One can say they do everything Chipotle does, but much better.

Chicken Tandoori Bowl. You choose wrap (fresh made Naan or Roti) or bowl--choose your rice, potato option, choose your meat/vegetarian/vegan option, then choose from any number of vegetables, then chutneys. This has brown rice, potato, chicken tandoori, cucumber, greens, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, coconut chutney, cilantro chutney. Closeup below. Doesn't this look beautiful?



Normally I would opt for a bowl, but I saw a fellow in the kitchen rolling out and cooking naan fresh. Sure ain't some machine-made naan flash-frozen then loaded on container ships, and delivered in the alley via cardboard boxes from an eighteen-wheeler. 

I chose Pork Vindaloo (slow cooked Pork Shoulder, i.e. Carnitas, with a whole lot of Indian spices), brown basmati rice, potato, cucumber, chiles, tomato, coconut chutney, and Fiery Tomato Chutney (habanero, tomato, cumin). I must emphasize: these folks don't hold back at all in terms of using spices, and I mean all spices, not just the chiles, but the full range of traditional Indian spices. 

The vegetables are as fresh as could be. Maybe I'm just eating less meat these days, but I gotta say, my Pork Vindaloo wrap was definitely not stingy when it came to the meat. But then again, Pork Shoulder is an inexpensive cut, because most Americans don't have the patience to cook it slow and low (crock pot works great), but when it's done right, like here at Urbann Turbann, it can be moist and tender and flavorful. Perfect medium for spicy food.






http://urbannturbann.com








Saturday, September 17, 2016

Ed Ruscha and the Great American West Exhibit at the De Young in San Francisco

Frank Zappa reference at the Ruscha show.

I realized that I haven't stepped inside the De Young since my first visit to San Francisco, nearly 24 years to the day. There's still the Japanese Tea Garden nearby, but as you can see below, some new buildings.


Arguably my favorite piece in the show, though the photos of every building on Sunset are impressive. So that's what the Whiskey looked like around the time The Doors first played there.

For someone who seems like a West Coast Andy Warhol, this collection of blank signs seems rather appropriate.


Can't help but think of Tom Waits' "Heart Attack & Vine"

Note the medium: Peptol-Bismol





Apparently the expansion of the De Young was done close to the time of UT's Art Museum (the Blanton). Kept noticing similarities, particularly the bathrooms and the gift shop. Though there's much nicer stuff in the De Young gift shop. Very interesting people watching. Saw a woman there wearing fine but unostentatious clothes and some expensive (no-doubt French) perfume being attended by a well-dressed yet discreet butler/servant type who caught my eye as I appreciated the curves of the wood sculptures from Oceania and West Africa. And was regretting not getting one of the art books marked down to sale prices. 


https://deyoung.famsf.org/exhibitions/ed-ruscha-and-great-american-west