Yogurtsoda – Page 64 – Eating my way around the world by Mariam Hosseini

Kauai, Days One and Two

December 30, 2013February 25, 2019

We’re smack in the middle of winter and I’m finding myself wishing for warmer days and reminiscing over the trip to Kauai that Nishan and I took this past summer. I hadn’t been to Hawaii since 2005, but that was for graduate school and I was too young to rent a car then. This time, Nishan and I picked up our car from the airport in Lihue and were on our way.

First stop: Hanmura Saimin. These saimin noodles are reportedly the best on the island, and while they were good, I was hoping for more. The noodles had a good bite to them but the broth was too salty and the dumplings weren’t meaty enough. Still, the restaurant’s casual vibe and the down-home fare was a welcome way to start our trip.

From Lihue, it was a short drive to the south shore of Kauai. We were staying in Koloa, and I soon learned that driving from the north to south shores was only a matter of a couple of hours. Here’s the kicker: there’s no way to drive through the center of the island. Nearly all the roads traverse the shores, thanks to steep inland valleys and Waimea Canyon. The Na Pali cliffs hug most of the northwest coast too, which means driving a full coastal circle around the island isn’t possible. All this nature makes for some incredible scenery, though.

Speaking of the Na Pali coast, we woke up early the next morning to head back to Lihue for a helicopter ride around the island, organized by Jack Harter Helicopters. These glass-bottom (and doorless!) helicopters are scary, but the ride was worth it. We spent a couple of hours seeing Waimea Canyon, Hanalei Bay, and the Na Pali coast.

And of course, the infamous Jurassic Falls. (Spoiler alert: Nishan took these helicopter photos. I was too busy gripping the bottom of my seat during the ride.)

Thanks to participating in the helicopter tour, I have photographic evidence to prove that I too, was once brave.

All that helicoptering makes a girl hungry, so afterwards we stopped by a fish market and picked up some tuna poke to enjoy at Kalapaki beach. Fresh fish on the sand, beachfront view, no complaints here.

I also wanted to grab some produce before heading back to the south shore, so we stopped at the Kukui Grove farmers market for some fragrant papayas, bananas, mangoes, limes, and mint. And I got sidetracked by shave ice. So colorful, so unhealthy. Mmm.

We slowly made our way back to Koloa, with one last stop in Poipu for the evening. In Poipu, we grabbed some popcorn at Paradise Popcorn (hurricane, Hawaiian-style for me and crazy spicy popcorn for Nishan. I also learned that the proprietor used to live in Sonoma County. It’s a small world after all.

Because you can never eat enough after a helicopter ride, we each grabbed a hot dog from at Puka Dog, also in Poipu. I had a Polish sausage with spicy lemon secret sauce and starfruit relish. This was too sweet and way too doughy for me, but there’s always a line at Puka Dog so they must be doing something right.

Back at home (aka our rented condo), we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset with rum cocktails in hand. Those farmers market limes and mint came to good use after all.

La Folie

December 26, 2013

La Folie is a San Francisco institution. An old school, fine dining, all-the-bells-and-whistles affair. I’d booked a table for two for Nishan’s birthday a few months ago, with fair notice from friends that La Folie’s multi-course menus are a decadent experience.

I was not prepared.

Internet, I have never eaten so much decadence in one meal. We chose the five-course menu (big mistake: the kitchen at La Folie sends out amuse bouches in between each course) and found ourselves capping out by the third plate. But it was all delicious. Delicious, delicious decadence.

Our first amuse bouche to arrive was the spring panna cotta. This tasted faintly of English peas and and was smooth and cleansing to the palate.

Next came the truffled egg amuse bouche. This was among my favorite tastes of the evening: velvety liquid egg infused with truffles, served in a delicate eggshell and topped with a potato crisp, served alongside a piece of toast to soak up the truffley goodness.

Our third amuse bouche was the smoke salmon lollipop, served with pickled vegetables. So cute and playful, and tasty to boot.

Finally, four plates in, my first course arrived: the dungeness crab salad. A generous hunk of crabmeat was served atop English pea panna cotta with a yellow curry tuile and curried crab vinaigrette. Absolutely delicious, and I appreciated that the curry flavor wasn’t so strong as to overpower the panna cotta.

Our extravaganza of decadence continued with a tempura duck egg, which is exactly what it sounds like: a huge duck egg, coated and fried in tempura batter. This was served on top of a sweetbreads pancake and almond pesto alongside wild mushroom salad and truffle vinaigrette. This dish was beautiful, and while tasty, it was among my least favorites of the evening. More truffle flavor, please!

Next came one of my favorite dishes of the meal: butter poached lobster. This was plated on top of wild nettle ravioli and truffle beurre fondue, wild argula salad, and almonds. I wasn’t expecting such a giant, succulent piece of lobster. And the ravioli? So velvety good.

My next dish (yeah, seriously) was the roti of quail and squab. This was such a creative dish, and I wish I wasn’t so full that I couldn’t eat most of it. Stuffed with wild mushrooms and wrapped in crispy potato strings with truffled jus, this wasn’t a roti in the traditional sense. Still, it tasted incredible.

Are you still with me? Good, because here come the sweets. We tasted a palate-cleansing sorbet and foam amuse bouche, which was thankfully small enough to finish eating. I was grateful for foam and you know, not a giant steak.

Our millionth dish of the evening was the petit fours. We couldn’t finish this, but I did happily nibble at the miniature cannelles. I love cannelles!

My last dish of the evening was the sorbet and berry cake, which I don’t remember much, probably because I was about to black out from overindulgence.

Insane gluttony aside, La Folie remains one of my most memorable meals to date. The service is impeccable, the food outstanding and unique, and the ambience a glamorous throwback to old San Francisco with a heavy touch of Paris. Decadent indeed, and in the best way imaginable.

Bravas Bar de Tapas

December 23, 2013December 23, 2013

Sonoma County is my home turf, and every time I go home to visit, I’m impressed by how rapidly the restaurant scene is changing. Healdsburg’s Bravas Bar de Tapas is one of the latest offerings: a chic tapas restaurant downtown, with an adorable outdoor dining patio to boot. I ate there with my sister and Nishan one day, and we were instantly transported to Spain.

We started with the marinated olives, pickled garlic, and Idiazabal cheese to whet our appetites as we perused the menu. This was small but solid.

Next came a huge fried duck egg served with chorizo cracklings and toast. The gooey-richly flavored duck egg was made even richer but the chorizo, and the toast was a perfect vessel by which to soak it all up. A+, would eat again.

In between bites of patatas bravas and nibbles of cheese, we also ordered the Dungeness crab fideua. The crab and thin toasted noodles were a tasty marriage of North Bay-meets-Mediterranean and it came served with a generous dollop of garlicy aioli. Perhaps too generous. The aioli was heavy but the fideua was smoky, tomatoey, and super satisfying.

There’s so much more at Bravas Bar de Tapas that I didn’t have the opportunity to try during my first visit that I can’t wait to go back. Sonoma County may be home, it may be the familiar, but it never ceases to amaze me. And these days, there’s always something new.

Nori-Crusted Sirloin with Shiitake Mushrooms

December 18, 2013February 7, 2019

I first made this dish several years ago, adapted from a recipe in the now defunct Gourmet Magazine. Since then, it’s become my most-requested meat entree, and even though it takes a some work to pull off, it’s worth it. Make sure to serve this with plenty of steamed rice to soak up the sauce.

Ingredients:

2 bunches green onions
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded
salt and pepper
1 pound sirloin steak
2 square sheets of nori seaweed, torn into small pieces
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small saucepan of boiling water, blanch the green onions for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set a rack on a baking sheet and arrange the shiitake mushroom caps on the rack, gill sides down. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

2. Season the steak with salt. In a food processor or spice grinder, coarsely grind the nori with the sesame seeds, red pepper and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Spread the nori mixture on a plate and dredge the steak in it.

3. In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until shimmering. Add the steak and cook over high heat until the nori is toasted, about 4 minutes per side. Place the steak over the mushrooms and roast for about 15 minutes, until the meat is medium rare. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, quarter the mushroom caps. In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce with the mirin, lemon juice and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.

5. Slice the steak 1/4 inch thick and arrange it on plates with the shiitake mushrooms and scallions. Drizzle the soy mixture over the steak and serve.

Izakaya Yuzuki

December 11, 2013

Yeah, yeah, I know. Another izakaya. But this one is different, really. Izakaya Yuzuki in San Francisco’s Mission District may be one of the trendiest types of restaurants to pop up in one of the trendiest parts of town, but this place is serious, going so far as to make their tofu and miso in-house.

I met here one evening for a reunion dinner with friends, and we started with the Kyoto-style local vegetables. Light and slightly piquant, these were the perfect palate cleanser for our meal.

Next we shared a plate of simple, unadulterated sashimi. Raw fish isn’t the strongest suit of your average izakaya, but this was an exception. Buttery tuna and rich salmon left me wishing for more.

I was quickly distracted by the seared waygu beef tataki that came next. Served with miso sauce and onion salad, this was one of our heftiest dishes, and among the quickest to go. Speaking of quick to go, my personal favorite dish here was the chawan mushi with uni, an egg-y, custard-y dish so comforting that it was gone before I had a chance to snap a photo.

Next came the grilled mackerel, which was too bland for my taste. I typically love mackerel, but I would have preferred a more flavorful fish here.

Next up: shrimp and root vegetable tempura served with green tea salt, one of Izakaya Yuzuki’s most popular dishes. We loved this so much we ordered it twice.

We finished our meal with the grilled omusubi, a crispy rice dish topped with shoyu-flavored vegetables. A solid end to a solid meal.

True to izakaya form, the servings at Izakaya Yuzuki are small, so keep that in mind when ordering. Our party of four went through nine or ten dishes, and amazingly, it wasn’t too much. Still, not all izakayas are created equal, and Izakaya Yuzuki is clearly paying attention to the details.