I'm Down With Decatur

My #1 enclave in the suburban Atlanta sprawl is Decatur. Feels like a walking city, with lots to do and see and experience in a very small footprint. Eclectic, youthful, upscale, but accessible... this is Decatur (and a great place to raise kids if ya got the dough).

My brother-in-law took us to a killer spot there on my most recent vist. Place called The Brick Store (http://www.brickstorepub.com/). Man, what a setting: tavern-like feel, all authentic, lots of nooks and crannies to look at, from the antler chandelier, to the mile-high vaulted ceilings, to the chalkboard menus of beer... and aged scotch! Sensational craft brew selection to choose from... almost too many options. The menu is dotted with Belgians, Stouts, Porters, most of them obscure (at least to me). We tasted a few, and they were all muy interesante.

Instead of a meal, I chose the "meat and cheese" tasting offering. 2 cheeses. 1 meat. Decisions, decisions... under advisement from our knowleadgable waiter, I went with Bentons Farm Country Ham for my meat selection. Aged 18 months, "proscuitto-style" from a farm in Tennessee, it was outstanding. A real farm-to-table feel. Same thing with the cheese, although 1 of the farms is decidedly far from the ATL...like across an ocean! That would be the Ivernia cheese --from Ireland. Likened to "Ireland's parmesan," it was a bit nutty, a bit salty, and a touch sweet. Great overall balance and I loved the firm texture. The second was a local yokel -- from south Georgia (outside Thomasville, to be exact). Sweet Grass Dairy Asher Blue. Robust, dense, and creamy. Good cows they got there in Georgia!

I Heart San Francisco

Always the most highly anticipated part of a media tour, coming to my wannabe adopted home of San Francisco. My mind hums and buzzes upon arrival, concocting a culinary game plan for my abbreviated stay. Thanks to my 'local' friend, and co-host of "View From the Bay," Janelle Wang (the show I am to appear on), my first night's dinner is spent at Hubert Keller's Burger Bar. It is a growing trend, this 'comfort-food-cum-haute-cusine' movement (if you can call it a movement), but it is right in my stomach's wheelhouse. http://www.hubertkeller.com/
My meal consisted of an Abita Amber beer, and Abita has now vaulted to the upper echelon of boutique beer labels for me. Native to Louisiana, it was so well-balanced, the somewhat contradictory way I'd describe it is "simply complex." Didn't want to push it with another one, but it goes without saying I will be seeking out their top-seller, Purple Haze, stat. http://www.abita.com/
Now for the eats: I went with the eponymous Hubert Keller Burger: a buffalo burger with sauteed spinach, caramelized onions, and bleu cheese on a toasted (and more importantly, lightly buttered) ciabatta. A side of perfectly crispy-outside/tender-inside sweet potato fries with aioli complemented the burger to perfection. I left off the top half of the bun; there simply was no need for it. I dove in with a fork and knife and gusto to spare.
Let me tell you, if you haven't yet tried a buffalo burger, you are missing out. Slightly different (crumblier) texture than your standard fare; a bit gamier to the taste. There's also a slight hint of sweetness to the meat. Something about a quality bison burger leaves me with an undeniable feeling that I just ingested something more... authentic.
I indulged myself (shock of shocks) with an order from Keller's inspired milkshake menu of desserts: the Twinkie Milkshake...
NEED I SAY MORE?!?! A freakin' half a Twinkie perched tantalizingly atop a lofty mount of thick whipped cream, which gives way to the shake itself, all vanilla and cream and big bits of (the remaining half of) Twinkie, the further you slurp.
As far as "Last Meal" requests go, this one, in it's totality, has to rank right up there for me...

Sunlight comes, and thankfully, the "View From the Bay" airs at 3pm local time, giving me the morning to a) work off my meal from the night before, and b) rev up the engines for a great SF breakfast...
Gotta love the internet (esp. on a Smart Phone), because, concierge be damned, all I do is type in 'San Francisco Breakfast' into my BlackBerry, and the restaurant that jumps off the screen and calls to me is Dottie's True Blue Cafe.
A real hole in the wall (in the most endearing sense of the term), there is little or no elbow room at the counter, what with all the patrons and the bricabrac on the counter. The place is just starting to buzz at 7am, and I count myself as fortunate to have gotten there and staked out my postage stamp of real estate when I did, because almost immediately after, a line snaked out the door and onto Jones St. (off Geary).
I ordered 2 scrambled eggs with chicken-apple sausage and their homemade toasted wheat bread, forgoing the breakfast potatoes in lieu of fresh fruit (see... even I can show restraint sometimes!). OK, so I can't break my arm patting myself on the back -- I had to order a stand-alone blueberry cornmeal pancake on the side... chalk it up (read: rationalize it) to research.
I marveled at the man working the griddle and burners so fluidly, like a musician, really. A scrape of the spatula here; a shake and jiggle of the fry pan there... needless to say, my eggs were tender and buttery soft, the sausage was sweet and fragrant, and the bread was hearty and oh so fresh. But it was the pancake that stole the spotlight. I fell hard for cornmeal pancakes in Albuquerque (where they favor blue corn), but this was next-level stuff. The cornmeal batter gives a pancake a denser texture, but this one still managed to be light-tasting, and the blueberries were perfectly nestled inside and all over... what a great way to start a day!

My TV segment went swimmingly. I love coming to this station: live audience, dedicated set, real pros in front of and behind the camera. Today was a special treat, because I got to meet the HOFF. Yes, Mr. Baywatch Knight Rider was in the house, spreading joy to all who came into his view. He was pimping his upcoming reality series as well as a concert (!) at a nearby casino.

Lucky for me Postrio was just a couple of turns away from the station. http://www.postrio.com/
I've always wanted to try it, mostly because I remain an unabashed fan of Wolfgang Puck, but also because it still has a solid rep in a cutthroat-competitive food city, and has remained staunchly ingrained in this town since 1989.
They only offered up their Cafe Menu, because the main dining room is under renovation, but that was no loss for me. I ordered the Pork Belly Yakitori, which was small (as I suspected), with only 3 cubes on a skewer, but the taste more than made up for it. If you've never tasted pork belly, think: the very best, most succulent part of your favorite spare ribs at a Chinese restaurant, and you're almost there. The semi-thick sauce/glaze and a wedge of orange were a nice touch, adding both sweetness and some citrus to each bite.
My entree was Wolfgang's Prosciutto-Fig Pizza. Simply otherwordly. No matter what else he puts on a menu, I can't escape the pull of a Puck Pizza! The dough is crispy throughout, yet chewy at the outer ring of crust. Layered with marscapone, generous slices of prosciutto, chunks of fig, together with slivers of red onion, a tangy balsamic glaze, a touch of truffle oil, and topped with fresh shards of Parmigiana-Reggiano. Heaven on Post Street...

I leave San Francisco post haste tomorrow, dreaming and planning for my next visit...

Homage to Franco's

The other night we had our friends over for dinner, and decided to do something I can't believe I hadn't yet done: recreate my all-time favorite dish from my family's bell weather Italian restaurant in New Jersey. It was Franco's (Montvale, NJ) every Friday (at least that's how my rose-tinted memory sees it from my youth), and we never needed to look at a menu. My mom and sis always has the Eggplant Rollatini (it was a special,; he even made it for them when it wasn't on the menu), my dad would usually get the special that night (he trusted Franco's taste), or the Veal Parmigiana, and my order was.... Veal Pillows. Just the sound of those 2 words together puts my salivary glands in a state of euphoria... The key to this entree is the layering of flavors and textures just so: breaded veal cutlets, prosciutto, ricotta, marinara, and mozzarella, in that order, from the bottom up.

For my rendition, I opted for chicken in place of veal, to appease the masses, but the results were still fairly exceptional. There's a lot going on in each bite: a little crunch from the bread crumbs (I use Panko), the tenderness of the white meat, the salty prosciutto, the creamy ricotta, the slightly sweet and acidic tomato sauce (I used Putannesca), and the melty mozzarella......... heaven, and on a Monday night no less!

I urge you to try this dish...maybe it becomes one of your favorites, too! Just make sure to give the credit to Franco!