Author: Mariam

Boccalone Salumeria

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I’m a huge Chris Cosentino fan. Incanto is one of my favorite restaurants, and ever since Boccalone Salumeria opened up in the Ferry Plaza, I’ve been a regular visitor. Cosentino was pushing offal before offal was cool, and thanks to his efforts, more and more people these days are willing to try things like tuna heart and beef kidney.

For the squeamish, Boccalone Salumeria offers more traditional salumis, but in a myriad of flavors. During my last visit, I bought a brown sugar and fennel salame sandwich to snack on.

Brown sugar and fennel salami sandwich

The slow-aged salame was perfectly spiced and the sandwich had bits of sweet fig to balance things out. My only wish is that the sandwich had more actual salame; the bread to meat ratio was a little higher than I prefer. But Boccalone makes a great product, and I’m due to return and try another one of their cured meats.

Boccalone carries soppressata, prosciutto, guanciale, pancetta, paté and all the usual suspects, but what I’m really interested in is their nduja, which they began carrying earlier this year. Nduja is a soft, spreadable, spicy, salame that originated in Calabria and I’ve never heard of anything like it. Intrigued? So am I.

Oh, and they carry mortadella with black truffles. As an Iranian-American, mortadella holds a special place in my heart (the pistachio-flecked, garlicy variety is the preferred deli meat of Iranians around the world), so I know I’ll be picking up a pound or two of Boccalone’s version when I visit next.

Chris, if you’re reading this, God bless your offal-loving soul. Offal is no longer something that elicits cries of disgust when I mention it to fellow eaters. On the contrary, now they welcome it with open arms.

Isobune Sushi

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There’s something kitschy to be said for sushi boat, or conveyor belt sushi restaurants. It’s not a particularly traditional presentation of sushi, and who knows how long that little plate of tekkamaki or hamachi has been making the rounds.

Still, there’s a novelty to it that I just can’t resist. And if you choose a sushi boat restaurant that is busy and well-regarded, you can ensure that your sushi hasn’t been sitting out there for too long. My favorite is Isobune, which bills itself as the “original sushi boat.” I’ve been a frequent visitor to both their Burlingame and San Francisco Japantown locations for years.

Both branches offer several varieties of sushi, but the Japantown location is always more crowded and so the boats are refilled more quickly. Both locations’ selection range is good, offering everything from the Americanized crunchy roll to broiled baby octopus maki. If there is something you want in particular but don’t see, Isobune’s sushi chefs are always more than happy to oblige. (I often go for a cleansing and slightly sweet kampyo maki at the end of my meal.) My only wish is that Isobune offered less American-style sushi and more traditional variations.

Isobune’s sushi boats offer a few non-sushi items as well, like edamame, mango pudding and deep-fried shrimp heads.

Deep fried shrimp heads

These shrimp heads may not look appetizing, but they’re delightfully crunchy and flavorful. Plus, the looks of horror from those dining around you as you bite into a piece are totally worth it.

Isobune’s sushi is fresh, the service is good (particularly in Burlingame), and best of all, the anticipation of not knowing what kind of sushi will come around the corner next makes for a really fun dining experience.

Bouchon

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Bouchon may not be the holy grail of American restaurants, but it’s right next to it. During my weekend trip to Napa, I arrived at Bouchon with my dining companion early enough to explore Yountville’s Washington Street and to my delight, the French Laundry is just a stone’s throw away from Bouchon.

This meant I had plenty of time to take photos and gaze lovingly at the French Laundry’s garden. (Thomas Keller, if you’re reading this, I swear I’m not a stalker. I just really wanted a reservation at the French Laundry!)

Once it was time for our Bouchon reservation, we walked back to the restaurant and to my surprise, Bouchon is far more intimate and casual than I thought it would be, in a good way. The seafood bar was busy and looked like the kind of place I could visit regularly if I lived nearby. As soon as we were seated, our waiter brought us a toasted baguette with white bean puree and butter.

Toasted baguette with white bean puree and butter

The white bean puree was delicately seasoned with the faintest hint of herbs. I couldn’t stop slathering it on my baguette. Who knew the humble bean could be so elevated?

We ordered the boudin de lapin et figue, or rabbit and fig sausage, as an appetizer. The sausage came served atop a bed of polenta cake, sweet corn, mission fig and tarragon jus.

Boudin de Lapin et Figue

The sausage was delicious, and not too sweet. It could have been easy to let the fig’s intense flavor to overwhelm the rest of the dish, but it was all perfectly balanced.

For my entree, I chose the classic moules au pistou, which came served with a massive (and I mean massive) cone of frites. Even though Anthony Bourdain famously quipped about the dangers of eating mussels in restaurants in Kitchen Confidential, Bouchon can get a pass, right?

Moules au Pistou

The Maine bouchot mussels were steamed with white wine, sweet garlic, basil and cherry tomatoes and I sopped up the briny juice with my frites. The mussels were tinier than I would have wished, and the sauce was not as strong as I was expecting, but it was still a good dish.

My dining companion ordered the steak with puree de pomme de terre, a pan-seared prime flatiron, served with maitre d’hotel butter and the most ethereal potato puree ever.

Steak with Puree de Pomme de Terre

I had to stop myself more than once from picking at his potatoes. The steak was incredible too: rare, succulent, and topped with savory minced onions.

I’m happy to say that I’ve crossed one Keller establishment off of my to-eat list (well, two, if you count Bouchon Bakery). But the French Laundry remains, and so I left Yountville with unfinished business. Bouchon felt like a (delicious) taste of things to come, and I can’t wait to return.

Oxbow Public Market

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When I first learned about Oxbow Public Market last summer, I imagined it to be something like San Francisco’s Ferry Building Marketplace: Unique to its locale, full of vendors selling seasonal foods and bustling with visitors.

I visited on a Saturday afternoon, and Oxbow was mostly empty, a far cry from the city’s Ferry Building. I guess that’s partly because there aren’t nearly as many vendors at Oxbow as there are at the Ferry Building, but I probably shouldn’t compare. Napa is not San Francisco.

While walking down its aisles, I could tell that Oxbow is being marketed to tourists, but it’s not quite there yet. A Hog Island Oyster Company outpost was being advertised as coming soon when I visited (and is now open) and the Oxbow Wine Merchant and Wine Bar seemed to be attracting customers. But the Ritual Coffee Roasters outpost was without a queue (unthinkable in San Francisco’s Valencia Street location) and the Fatted Calf had all of two people lined up to order.

I was craving something Latin American, so I had lunch at the market’s Pica Pica Maize Kitchen. I started with the bululu salad.

Bululu salad

The salad was fresh tasting and although I usually don’t like fruity salad dressings, this one packed a punch, and was almost oniony.

Next I had a pelu’a arepa, which was tasty and filling, without being too greasy.

Pelu'a arepa

I finished off with some yucca fries with tamarindo salsa, which was not what I was expecting.

Yucca fries

The fries didn’t have a fry-like texture, and while I absolutely love tamarinds, the tamarind salsa was syrupy sweet instead of tart and sour.

Oxbow Public Market is still relatively new, and things are still changing. I’m hopeful that in time, it will get the traffic it deserves, and in turn, encourage more vendors to move in. Until then, I’ll be at the Ferry Building.

Mumm Napa

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Growing up in Wine Country, I’ve visited my fair share of vineyards. But they’ve all been primarily in Sonoma County, and to be honest, I’ve only visited a handful of wineries in Napa Valley. As part of my efforts to rectify that, I made quick trip to Napa Valley a few months ago to dine and wine for a weekend.

The wine part mostly took place at Mumm Napa in Rutherford, where I spent an afternoon in one of the most inviting tasting rooms I’ve ever visited. Now maybe that had to do something with the ten or so glasses of cuvee I tried, but the service was warm and the view was incredible.

Sparkling wine tasting at Mumm Napa

Mumm Napa wines are made in the Carneros region of Napa using the same process that is used in Champagne, France, the méthode traditionelle. The result is a wine with high acidity. My guide encouraged me to identify the flavors in the sparkling wines we tasted, and we did pretty well. I tried the DVX (my favorite), the Brut Prestige, the Rose, and the Blanc de Blanc, and uh, I sort of lost track after that.

Even if you opt out of a wine tasting at Mumm Napa, the view is spectacular and well worth the drive. The winery also boasts a fine art photography gallery, though it can be easy to miss if you don’t get past the wine tasting terrace. If you can stand the Napa Valley heat in the summertime, now is a wonderful time to go.