Foodbuzz Tasting Pavillion

After trying out different cheeses at the Cowgirl Creamery tasting seminar, we headed over to the Metreon for more tasting. This time, we were treated to little bites combined with wine and beer. Little cattle herded off to pasture, we were set loose to sample the many different offerings from an array of vendors. Trying to outwit, outlast and outplay, I went directly to the end to avoid the crowds. It would've been a masterful plan if it wasn't merely wine tasting at the back. Don't get me wrong, I like wine; but I wasn't really in the mood for wine at noon. I did get to sample a 2008 Sauvignon Blanc and 2005 Merlot from Black Stallion which were paired with a savory tart. Why 2 wines you ask? Well, the white was intended to go with the pastry and the red with the filling. Interesting! I actually liked both wines since they were not extremely strong. I'm not a big fan of bold wines and much prefer subtle flavours.

Before I talk about anything else, I must rant and rave over the "Seafood Ceviche" I sampled from Fuego. I put ceviche in quotations because it was not prepared in the traditional sense. Rather, Executive Chef Jesse Perez quickly blanched the seafood and marinated it in lime, lemon and orange juice. Think of it as more of a seafood salad with a citrus vinaigrette. It consisted of Mexican shrimp, bay scallops, octopus, sweet potato and yellow teardrop tomatoes. I don't care what you call this dish, it was plain delicious. The seafood was fresh, the textures were pleasing and the flavours were refreshing. I went back for more this. Another little treat were the meatballs from Americano. Not sure what was really in these; however, they were soft, juicy and the sauce was a nice compliment which didn't detract from the meat flavour.

At the Aquarius Restaurant table, they had some Savory Tarts which consisted of goat cheese, beat tartar, fennel oil and Meyer lemon meringue. It was nice bite with a bit savory, a bit sweet and aromatics provided by the oil. Mezzetta, normally known for its glass-packed peppers and olives, were featuring their sauces. One particular dish was the braised short rib served on polenta. That was a tasty treat; but then again, I'm a bit biased when it comes to short rib. Mission Minis made another appearance at the tasting pavilion. They look so much nicer in natural light! Better pictures too...

I'm a huge popcorn fan, in fact, I always get it when at the movie theatre even though it is a complete ripoff. Thus, I was pleased to see the 479° Popcorn table. My favourites were Black Truffle & White Cheddar and Madras Coconut Curry & Cashews. I liked how the flavours were present without being salty and overpowering. While perusing the tables, something that resembled a takoyaki caught my eye. It wasn't takoyaki, rather, it was Aunt Else's Æbleskivers. They're actually Danish spherical pastries made in a stove top mold much like takoyakis. They're fluffy and filled with pieces of apple.

As I was making my way out of the pavilion, I stopped in my tracks because there was a table of meat. C'mon, I can't pass up meat! It was the Prather Ranch Meat Company and there was Beef Hot Dog, Sweet 'n Spicy Beef Jerky and Bockwurst. Naturally, I tried them all and I think my favourite was the Bockwurst. Another overwhelming amount of food, snacks and spirits from Foodbuzz. Only another 3 hours until we eat again at the Foodbuzz Awards dinner!

Cowgirl Creamery Cheese Tasting

I love cheese. Ever since I was a little kid, I would never say no to cheese. Since I never really fancied regular milk, I guess my daily intake of calcium was satisfied by the fermented kind. I'm no cheese expert by any means; but I do eat it and like it. In fact, there are very few cheeses I dislike. Today, as part of our activities for the Foodbuzz Blogger's Festival, I signed up for the Cowgirl Creamery cheese tasting. Prior to this session, I'd already had a meat cone from Boccalone Tasty Salted Pig Parts and food from Out the Door in the Ferry Marketplace. Hungry I was not. As I was waiting for the cheese to be setup, I moved in to take my requisite photos. Naturally, everyone else followed suit. It's so cool that I'm not the only wacko taking pictures of cheese. I felt comfortable, a sense of belonging and most of all, no shame!

Sue Conley along with Peggy Smith opened Cowgirl Creamery in 1997 in Pt. Reyes which is an hour north of San Francisco. Today, we were lucky to have Sue running the cheese tasting session. I was in awe of her knowledge and sensibility while discussing the roots of her company and the process of making cheese. There is more than curdling milk!

We started with the most basic of cheeses - Fromage Blanc. They take Albert Straus milk and heat it to 185 degrees. To it, they add renet, acid, salt and creme fraiche. The result is a creamy, slightly tart soft cheese. It went really well with the accompanying crunchy crackers. The next cheese we sampled was Inverness which is made with milk that is high in fat and protein. Sue stressed that milk needs to be made into cheese within 48 hours because the proteins start to break down after that. With the high fat content, the cheese is naturally smooth and creamy. I found it slightly gamy and had a strong aftertaste.

By far, the creamiest cheese we tried was the Mt Tam, which is an aged cheese. It is also made of Albert Straus milk; in fact, they add more cream to it (triple cream to be exact). It tastes a lot like Brie and was quite rich. Sue said that they use the same process as making Gouda for Mt Tam. The last cheese we sample was the Batch 11, which is an experimental cheese that has not been released yet. Along the same lines as Asiago, it has a strong taste and it was a bit dry. Not exactly smooth, it exhibited an earthy, nutty flavour. It is also made with Albert Straus milk and is targeted to be less expensive than most other similar cheeses. Definitely an interesting session and now I know more about the cheese making process thanks to the Cowgirl Creamery.

Out the Door

Alright, after eating a meat cone from Boccalone Tasty Salted Pig Parts, I was a happy man; yet not a completely satisfied man. I needed more food! What to have? Yes, there are many choices at the Ferry Building; but I really wasn't in the "sweets" mood. That eliminates half of the vendors right off the bat. I walked back and forth trying to decide what to eat. Another meat cone? Brilliant idea! But I needed variety. There was a caviar bar that intrigued me until I saw the price. No thanks. Finally I decided to give Out of the Door a go. It's the take out, fast food outlet of the Slanted Door Vietnamese restaurant.

I have heard that their sandwiches are really good; but I didn't want anything heavy since there was some cheese tasting and tasting pavilion later. Furthermore, the sandwiches are not available during the morning hours anyways. One thing that struck me was that the food was not really all that Vietnamese because I ended up with 2 dishes we most often associate with Chinese cuisine - Duck Congee and a Steamed Chicken Bun. Whatever the case, the congee was both thick and full of tender duck. It was a bit sweeter than I am used to; but it was flavourful nonetheless. I wasn't really into the chicken bun. It wasn't exactly bad; yet it was similar to most other steamed chicken buns I've had. Too bad I didn't get to sample their sandwiches since it was not quite lunch yet. In terms of authenticity, I'm sure that is not really what they are about anyways. The Slanted Door, which is their parent restaurant, is more fusion than true Vietnamese food. I guess one should expect something similar with Out the Door as well.

The Good:

- It's quick

- The food I had was pretty solid

The Bad:

- Especially with the food I had, not sure if it's necessarily Vietnamese (even for fusion)

- A little bit pricey for what you get

Boccolone Tasty Salted Pig Parts

On my first go around in the Ferry Marketplace, I noticed a store named Boccalone "Tasty Salted Pig Parts". Now with a name like that, I just knew I was going to love it. C'mon, what's better than tasty pork products? This place is surely a pork lover's paradise. They have everything from cured meats to lard soap. Lard soap? To me at least, how do you get clean by lathering up with lard? Well, at least you'll suddenly seem more tasty, much like how Kramer slathered himself with Butter in an episode of Seinfeld. Although Newman wanted to eat him afterwards... Anyways, there is a nice selection of sandwiches and even lard cookies (uh... yum?) here. I didn't want to spoil my appetite for more food, so I went for the meat cone. Yes, that's right folks, a cone that is made of meat! What can be better than a cone of meat? For $3.25, I got a random trio of pork. If you pay a buck more, you can choose your meats.

The first sliced meat was an absolutely delicious Orange & Fennel Salami. There was no shortage of fennel in this salami with just a hint of orange. Moreover, it melted in my mouth. That's what pork fat does best! Second was the Pistachio Mortabella. Exhibiting similarities to a summer sausage, it was mostly sweet with a salty and nutty component thanks to the pistachios. Lastly, was the Prosciutto Cotto which resembled meaty corned beef. It wasn't too salty and had a good meaty texture and flavour. I also got the sample the Nduja which is a spreadable spicy salami. You gotta love that, meat that you can spread. Reminds me of cheese that can be dispensed out of a can (Easy Cheese), but let's not go there... Crackers, bread, chips and your tongue could all be used as a vessel for this delicious concoction. I tried it and I loved it. Smooth, spicy and salty, I would spread this on a plate and lick it if I had to.

The Good:

- If you like pork products...

- Reasonable prices

- It's fun

The Bad:

- Lard cookies and chips fried in lard... need I say more?

Absinthe

After a day of endless eats, you might be wondering why I was at Absinthe at 10:00pm. I wasn't particularly hungry. In fact, I was dead tired from being up since 5:00am. Was it because Jamie Lauren, from Top Chef fame, is the executive chef? No, not particularly, even though I do have a love for scallops. In reality, it's a restaurant that is highly spoken of and I just wanted to try it. My cousin Sal was picking me up and we were going to head over there together. However, it was a bit mind-boggling that she really wasn't sure where we were going. Watching Sal navigate the streets of San Francisco was akin to watching someone trying to escape from a corn maze in total darkness. Eventually, we finally made it albeit a little late; but the staff were pleasant and understanding.

If you were looking for a quiet place to eat, then you'd better move on. Don't get me wrong, the place does have class; but it's a bit noisy. That didn't really bother me all that much, so it was a non-issue. Sal decided to order 2 items which were the Chestnut & Mushroom Soup and the Poached Quince. The soup was actually not too heavy and exhibited strong mushroom flavour. Definitely earthy and creamy, this soup was a winner. The quince was accompanied by escarole, cinnamon toast croutons, goat cheese and pear vinaigrette. The salad and quince were nice; but the croutons were much too heavy. It was like eating cinnamon cake. The pear vinaigrette was gentle and aromatic.

Alright, guess what I ordered? If you can recall, there was one dish that Jamie consistently made on Top Chef. Yes, it was scallops. The judges even went as far to declare that it wasn't "Top Scallop". You know then I had to order the Pan Seared Scallops. Hey, if that's in her comfort zone, I'm all over it! The perfectly seared scallops were accompanied by bacon (yum!), wild mushrooms, braising greens, caramelized onions and black truffle oil. These babies were tender, sweet and cooked just past the point of raw. The mushrooms and truffle oil gave a nice earthiness while the bacon just did what bacon does best.

I wasn't really all that hungry and the scallops did the trick. Moreover, Sal is not a particularly big eater; thus between the 2 of us, we really didn't order a whole lot. We didn't even order drinks! Yet, the service was still friendly and prompt. I personally liked the ambiance, it was bustling and lively. Absinthe is definitely a hot spot for eats any time of the day - even good for 2nd dinner late into the night.

The Good:

- The dishes we tried were executed well

- Lively atmosphere

- Good service

The Bad:

- If you wanted quiet, then it's not for you

- Seating is a bit tight

Foodbuzz Blogger Festival Mixer & Street Food

Alright, after posts on Showdogs and The Burger Bar, you might be wondering why I'm in San Francisco. I do have quite a few relatives in the Bay Area and I do visit every 3 years or so; but the main reason was due to the 1st ever Foodbuzz Blogger Festival. For featured publishers, all the programming food and booze was comped. The only catch was that we needed to arrange our own airfare and accommodations. I originally hesitated on attending; but my inner foodie overtook me and in no time, I was booking my airfare and hotel. Thank goodness I have an understanding wife because I actually extended my stay by 3 days to visit my relatives.

The day I left for San Fran didn't start off very well though. I found out that my flight had been delayed by 30 minutes (cutting into my eating time!). However, the actual plane was a treat. Apparently, it was the chartered tour plane for U2; thus all the seating was business class! Score! The fun all ended when I arrived at SFO, the BART was shut down due to some moron on the tracks. I had to resort to taking a shuttle instead which wasted another hour of my time. By the time I got to the hotel, it was 1:00pm - I was supposed to arrive at 10:45am! Being very hungry, I decided to grab something quick. One problem, it was pouring rain and I had left my umbrella at home after seeing the weather reports saying otherwise. Thus, I walked a good 20 minutes for a hot dog in the rain. I'm committed or I should be committed.

Thankfully, the rain subsided for our 8th floor rooftop soiree at the Hotel Vitale. Although, it was a bit chilly despite the heaters. There were fantastic views of the Bay Bridge and the Ferry Building. It was nice to mingle with fellow bloggers and Foodbuzz staff. Skyy Vodka was available (score!) and I ended up trying the Autumn Apple cocktail. It was pretty balanced, not being too sweet; yet not overly strong either. Michelle Mah of Midi prepared the Pork Rillettes Crostini and Gruyere, Bacon & Marscapone Gougeres for us to sample. Plus, Eddie Blyden of Henry's presented his Angry Mac 'n Cheese Poppers. I liked the crostini, it was crunchy with plenty of meat. I just didn't like the pickled onions on top. They were a bit overwhelming. I really didn't like the Gougeres. The texture was way too dry and the filling was overwhelmed by bacon (and I love bacon!). However, I really liked the mac 'n cheese. Infused with a spicy kick, it was a fine departure from the usual.

After awhile, we noticed people were heading over to the Ferry Building for the "street food" tasting. A closed off section was open only for us to sample items from an impressive array of vendors. The first thing to greet us was Speakeasy Beer. I didn't actually get to try the beer; but everyone seemed quite happy with it or was it they were happy because of it? Before I even got a chance to head over to a vendor, someone from 4505 Meats brought over some Chicharrones. That was a welcomed sight! Perfectly crisp pork rinds that were airy and flavourful. There was a nice kick at the end. Starting with dessert first, I tried the Pink Grapefruit mini cupcake from Mission Minis. Light and not too sweet, these minis were the perfect one-bite snack. Then heading over to where the crowd was, I had a very tasty Braised Shortrib Soft Taco from Tacolicious. I gotta tell you, this was one yummy taco with tender short rib and choice of sauces. I could've eaten many more of these. The biggest lineup of all was at Roli Roti. They were serving "Mini" Rotisserie Porchetta on an Acme Roll with curly cress and onion marmalade. The fatty pork was absolutely divine. Chomping down on the sandwich revealed crunchy treasures of which can only come from a pig. The Rosemary Roasted French Fingerling Potatoes were cooked directly below the rotisserie pork and its drippings. Believe me, they were very good. However, I wasn't fond of the roll, it was a bit hard and every bite forced the pork to slide out of the sandwich.

I love oysters and when I saw that Hog Island Oyster Co. were shucking fresh ones, I was all over it. A little squeeze of lime, some vinegar and Tabasco, it was buttery sweet and flavourful. What a treat! Directly to the right was Pie Truck serving up a Gruyere and Meat Pie. Hot, flaky and bursting with meat, these little pies were sinful. Finished yet? No, there is more! Extremely thin crust pizza from Pizza Politana was waiting at the very end of the hall. Consisting of eggplant, olives, feta and parsley, this pizza was very easy to eat. I would've preferred a less limpy crust, but I guess it's difficult to cook in such mass quantities at this venue. Nearing the end, I gave the Fungi Vol au Vent from Spencer on the Go a try. There was plenty of delicious mushrooms in a rich cream sauce over hollowed-out puff pastry. Mercifully, I ended up at the last vendor, which was actually near the entrance (go figure), Straus Family Creamery for some Coffee Ice Cream. Rich and not too sweet, the ice cream was pretty good. The coffee flavour was a bit understated which I prefer since I'm not a big coffee drinker. Boy was I stuffed, an impressive event organized by Foodbuzz spoiled us all. Now would you believe I was headed to Absinthe after this???

The Burger Bar

It appears the simple burger has come back into fashion of late. You have In-n-Out and 5 Guys leading the way with quality fast food which is both fresh and inexpensive. Beyond that, many fine dining establishments offer some gourmet variation of the modest burger. Going a bit further with this concept is the devotion of restaurants solely to burgers. It's certainly interesting that Hurbert Keller embraced this concept and opened the Burger Bar in Las Vegas, then St. Louis. Now he has a location in San Francisco, which is where his flagship restaurant resides (Fleurs de Lys). Situated on the 6th floor of Macy's in Union Square, the Burger Bar is not much to look at inside. It's merely a functional restaurant which serves freshly ground meat which is cooked-to-order. This is probably the only safe way to under cook meat without a side of E-Coli.

Not feeling all that hungry after a Showdog and with the Foodbuzz welcome party 2 hours later, I still wanted to try these supposedly tasty burgers. I had previously discussed this intended visit with local food blogger Foodnut.com. This place has been open for only about a month and there were still some kinks that needed to be worked out - such as wait times for food and execution. There were only 2 burgers I considered ordering - the Rossini or the Hubert Keller. The HK burger won out because I didn't want to shell out $60.00 for a burger despite the addition of fois gras and shaved truffle. It appears they worked out the kinks because my burger arrived in less than 10 minutes. Impressively stacked high with blue cheese, caramelized onions and baby spinach on a ciabatta bun, the buffalo meat was cooked medium (a little closer to medium rare). This resulted in a very tender burger with plenty of meat flavour. Cooked any longer and the meat could've been dry since buffalo is quite lean. Despite the strong taste of blue cheese, it did not overwhelm the other components.

The accompanying Skinny fries were crispy and light. Nothing much else to say about them really. I added the Zucchini Fries to try them out and honestly, they were not very good. They were limp and overcooked on the inside and the batter was a bit soggy on the outside. I pulled some of them out of the batter and if they ever made Viagra for vegetables, this would be a good time to use it. So was my burger worth $22.00? I guess it depends if you like burgers. I personally do and I would do it again. Still not sure if I'd try the $60.00 one though. The table next to me had it and said it was like eating meat with butter. If you like fat running down your hand and arm, then the $60.00 is well worth it. The fat content is not necessarily a bad thing in terms of taste; but it certainly takes a few years off your life.

The Good:

- Freshly ground meat and cooked-to-order

- Creative ingredients including some really expensive ones

- Service was solid

The Bad:

- If you go beyond the basic burgers, it gets expensive

- The zucchini fries are terrible

- It's very busy, go early or late