GOLDILOCK'S SPARKLES

Newark CA - You know this was coming. Mama and Papa bear returned the favor and went to Goldilock's. Tasted the tuna kinilaw (ceviche), bbq chicken, pork short ribs, fried calamari, garlic rice and everything wasn't just "just right, "too cold", "too hot", but just perfect.

Usually Pilipino food can be too dry, too spicy, too greasy, too soggy and too whatever.

Chef Brian cooks traditional Pilipino food with french preparation. The presentation isn't a blob of this or that, but nicely appeal ling. The veggies are uniformly cut and sauces smooth and flavorful. The tuna dish with a creamy mango sauce is an example. The sauce is not too sweet and it's creamy. The BBQ chicken on a bamboo skewer had a sweet and not too tart (acidic) sauce (achara included). The chicken was plump and moist. Chef Brian's signature dish of the tuna ceviche had the nicely uniformed cut veggies. The tuna was moist. The calamari was crispy (vinegar and garlic dip included). Each bite produced a crunch followed by the softness of the squid. I like the tentacles the best.

The wine: Sonoma Landing 2005 Merlot. It was fruit forward, smooth and nice nose. It matched the dishes we had.

For dessert, we had the coconut pandan. It was fresh, cold and not too sweet. It was very refreshing.

We were invited by our Ate (not really my eldest sister) but our friend from church. The Friday night we had dinner, the band Vintage Plus Dance Band played until midnight. They played uptempo beat music.

The service was surprising attentive. When we were ready to go, we asked for the check. Whatever we needed, we got promptly.

On this Friday night, there was a $10/person cover charge, but it's credited back when you order dinner. We just presented the receipt with the bill and our payment. We'll be back when we're in the area and when there's live music.

It was great to have Pilipino food that was nicely presented. Go Chef Brian!

Garlic-Ginger Dungenous Crab

The other day my wife and I were craving garlic-ginger crab. That afternoon, we were on a mission to buy crab, dungenous crab specifically. We purchased a two pound (about 1 kilo) weighted sized one. About $4,99/lb. We already had the garlic, ginger, olive & sesame oil, and butter. I find the dungenous crab the sweetest and most meaty. And it's readily available in the San Francisco bay area. It turned out delicious. Definitely finger licking good. It's messy, but worth the work. I figure it tastes better when there's work involved.

Ingredients:

1 Dungenous crab

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

4 cloves garlic (diced)

1 Tablespoon fresh ginger (sliced thinly)

In a large pot, fill with water just enough to cover the crab. Boil water and drop crab inside boiling water. Cook for about 20- 30 minutes. Drain crab when done cooking.

When the crab is cooled enough to handle, remove the claws, and legs. Crack the claws and legs with the back end of a knife or seafood cracker. Separate the main body from the top shell. Remove the lungs and discard. Cut the main body into two halves.

In a small bowl, save and remove the crab fat (the yellow liquid & solids) from the top shell and from the main body. The crab fat has the most flavor. Use the liquid and solid later at the end of the cooking period.

Use a wok, preheated on med-medium high heat. Add cooking oils in the wok to heat for about one minute. Add garlic and ginger, cook for 2 minutes. Add butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the ingredients so not to burn. Add the cooked crab pieces. Mix together and cook for about 3- 5 minutes. Add the crab fat liquid and solid.

Serve on a large plate. Side dishes include steamed rice or french bread and steamed green veggie like asparagus, green beans, broccoli, or bok choy.

San Francisco, CA - The chess world had everyone looking for Bobby Fisher; and the food world had us looking for Melissa Perello after her stint in a restaurant located in a hotel pressing the "5" button in the elevator.

She appears here! I don't know how my wife found her, but she did and I'm glad she did. We had my birthday dinner here. Chef Melissa hasn't lost her touch. Everything we had was tasty - chicken liver mousse (fluffy and smooth), steamed clams (mild garlic soup was yummy), slow roasted beef (it was really lean and tender); and the gnocchi (tender duck confit). The Valrhona ganache tart with olive oil ice cream was rich and the hidden candied citrus was a fresh surprise.

For the wine: 06 Pinot Domaine Emile Juillott It was light, taste of berries and had a nice nose.

The Blue bottle coffee served via Comex should be ordered a dish before one plans on eatting dessert. The coffee turned up after we had our dessert.

The seating is tight, acoustics loud; and you'll need some patience finding parking. We had the early seating, but by the time we finished our dinner, the line was out the door. Reservations highly recommended.

A definite go back place. It's very homey, service timely and food delicious. It's great to see Chef Melissa.

CHEZ:PANISSE, Say Fresh!

Berkeley, CA - We celebrate the turn of the decade with Alice Waters...she was actually in the restaurant, in the cafe, and in the kitchen. She came by our table and wished us a Happy New Year and thanked us for being there.

The New Year Eve's menu was a four course prix fix: smoked Bolinas cod salad with salmon caviar and chicory lettuce; Dungeness crab (and uni) consomme with wild mushrooms and green garlic; Roulade of Paine Farm squab breast with black truffles, Pommes Anna, and grilled Chino Ranch veggies; and Chocolate souffle Rothchild. There was an amuse bouche and the additional dessert at the end of the meal. The hearty bread lay on the Prette linen table cloth. A special pear and champagne aperitif was served before the meal.

The wine was a Margaux 2000, nice nose, long legs and really smooth and silky.

The decor was homey and warm. The holiday greens were festive. The fresh whole fruits and flowers in serving platters & vases were placed throughout the restaurant. What was really cool was the custom water carafe and water glasses.

It was a special night. Prior to the strike of midnight, the wait staff passed out the noise makers, hats, and champagne filled flutes. It was a memorable night. The live jazz quartet provided the music all night. The food was fresh, delicious and simple; and the service friendly and unpretentious. A definite special occasion place.

BTW, they passed our napkin test. I left the table, and when I returned, the napkin was folded.

El Dorado Kitchen Is Muy Delicioso!

On the rainy eve of my wife's birthday in December, the comfort food of El Dorado Kitchen helped warm our stomachs. While we waited for the restaurant to open its seating at 5:30pm, we sat on a leather couch in the fireplace room warming ourselves.

The open kitchen permitted our senses to hear the flash frying of the french fries doused with truffle oil. Our noses smelled the truffle oil as the staff whizzed by with pomme frites dish in hand. We could almost hear the wood crackling in the 750F oven baking our pizza topped with sopressetta and egg. The duck pastrami was interesting and tasty. The lamb shank simmered in its pot so tender that when put the fork to the meat, it fell off the bone. We finished with the crepes dessert with vanilla ice cream and passion-fruit sauce . For wine, our Jayson Pinot Noir 2006 went well with our dinner. It was fruit forward, a long finish to the tongue with spice. The service was timely and helpful with our questions. We will go back and bring friends. They passed our "napkin test" when we returned to the table with our napkin folded.

Puffy Profiteroles

My first attempt at making the puffs for a croquembouche turned out flat, but my second attempt turned out these nice puffy ones. I ended up filling them with chocolate custard. My flat ones I turned them into an ice cream filled profiterole .

I split up the flat puff in half and filled it with homemade

vanilla ice-cream, and topped it with chocolate.

My second attempt had a nice air pocket to be filled with chocolate custard. It's nice and airy inside. Instead of a pastry piping bag, I used a small ice cream scoop.

The plain topped puff is filled with vanilla ice cream. What a light taste with a punch of flavor. Wait for my croquembouche. The holidays are around the corner, so my wife suggests I make the crunch in the mouth dessert.

Americano at Hotel Vitale

The Americano offers Italian food. Chef Paul Arenstam got the mushroom pizza with fontina cheese and truffle oil right! The thin crust is crunchy, and the mushroom and truffle oil make a tasty combination. It's surely the taste of Autumn.

For the main dishes, my wife had the butternut squash ravioli. The texture of the the butternut squash was smooth and soft. The ravioli was fresh. The dish was sweet and savory.

I had the duck breast special that night. The breast slices were seared nicely, but I prefer the inside to be a bit more rare. It was served medium-well and I preferred it to be medium-rare. The serving portion was good- about eight slices. The potatoes were cooked just right topped with watercress. Next time, I will order the rib-eye because I know it's more flavorful and could get it medium-rare.

For dessert, the fried creme brulee caught our eye on the menu. It sound interesting and tasted interesting. Usually creme brulee is soft and jiggly in a ramekin, but the interesting characteristic of this dessert was that it was fried. The cream was firmer and drier. What makes the dish is the passion fruit-caramel sauce. It added sweetness to the otherwise flavorless cream. The portion had two triangular pieces.

The Cabernet Sauvignon was very nice. We chose a half bottle of 2005 Opus One. It's a wine collaboration of Mondavi and Rothchild. It had a nice aroma and dark ruby color. There were hints of blackberries and currant. There was a spicy finish. It really matched well with all our dishes. It was surprisingly smooth for an young Cab.

The service was a bit lacking, though our server was very friendly. It was hard to get his attention behind the see through curtain. The dining area can get loud from the patrons at the bar.

We would go back for the pizza if we were in the area.