i've got love for chez papa

When it comes to holidays - especially valentines day - I'm a complete sucker for getting into the spirit. I love the romance in the air, the overly affectionate quirky couples and the sickeningly sweetness of it all.

My valentine surprised me by taking me out to Chez Papa RESTO, voted one of the top 10 new restaurants in 2008 by the San Francisco Chronicle. Our experience was magical, memorable and delectable. The atmosphere was simple, but gorgeous. Dark and dim, the black interior was decorated with bright trendy orange accents. Considering that it was a small space, it was nice to see that Chez Papa made the most of it with a sleek, but classic looking bar and a nice iconic long table at the center of the room (similar to the table at asia de cuba in NY). The chandeliers throughout the restaurant also brought a nice romantic element to the dining experience.

Although service (in general) can be pretty inconsistent and unpredictable, I'm happy to say that we had a really good experience. From the hostess to our own waiter, the staff was incredibly hospitable. We had a couple of pre fixe menus to choose from, including a 3-course menu which celebrated calfironia citrus and was very tempting! Instead, we opted to order a la carte. When looking at the menu, citrus was definitely a highly celebrated ingredient throughout. The blood orange margarita seemed like an amazing drink, but I opted for the raspberry gimlet since tequilla is usually the death of me. And instead of focusing on citrus forward dishes, I decided to get an entree with a nice accent - meyer lemon!

To start, I had the Snake River Kobe Beed Tartare, which came with a quail egg, dijon mustard, capers, shallots, garlic and toast points. When initially presented, the beef tartarte was completely deconstructed. Given that it was valentine's day, my waiter wanted to make the experience a bit special. So instead of just mixing the ingredients together, he decided to transform it into a perfect heart. While a heart made of raw ground beef may not seem romantic or appetizing to most people, I really appreciated the little touch and thought it was adorable. If you're the kind of person who appreciates (and can stomach) beef tartare, it's an amazing dish. Chez papa's rendition was incredibly flavorful. The flavors within the tartare were perfectly concentrated and the texture was perfect, not too much liquid. The bread was also perfectly toasted and seasoned well with herbs and olive oil, which made the interactive experience really pleasant.


For my entree, I had the Sautéed Bluenose Bass with braised leeks, meyer lemon beurre blanc and a black truffle emulsion. So gooood. I love seafood and really have high expectations when it comes to how it's prepared. The bluenose bass was excellent. The fish was well seasoned and flavorful. It was almost perfectly cooked, just a bit dry for my liking. The dish was excellent in terms of having really clean, distinctive flavors. The black truffle emulsion was great. It really gave you a nice truffle essence and provided a gorgeous foam visual. Yay molecular gastronomy! The meyer lemon veurre blanc was also a nice touch that accentuated the flavors within the dish.


Lastly, no meal at chez papa would be complete without pommes frites! Plated in a signature waffle cone, the fries were light and crispy with a nice rosemary herb coating. The pommes frites were paired with aïoli, which while fattening, was DELICIOUS. Plus there's something really romantic and cheesy about doing a little french fry feeding action.

valentine's day should be Bittersweet...

Whether you're celebrating with your sweetheart, or spending it alone chocolate is a must for Valentine's Day. While walking around Rockridge (a neighborhood in Oakland, CA) this past weekend, I visited Bittersweet Chocolate Cafe. Like all things in Rockridge, Bittersweet celebrates all things organic and fair trade. They even offered organic milk as a customization option! Organic milk aside, Bittersweet makes a good cup of hot chocolate and offers an interesting selection of delectable goodies.

While Bittersweet is a Northern Californian chain, you wouldn't be able to tell from the charming interior and intimate quarters. When you first walk in you're surrounded by an authentic coffee shop kind of atmosphere - abstract art, bright colors, communal wooden tables , and an offbeat hipster kind of staff. There were a lot of interesting things on the menu, but I chose to get the Spicy! hot chocolate, because I absolutely adore the combination. The hot chocolate was good. Very spice heavy, but not as chocolatey as I'd like. I think that with the perfect spicy hot chocolate, you'd get the chocolate first and a little heat in the back of your throat after. With this hot chocolate, you get spice first and last which isn't ideal. But it was still good. (My favorite spicy hot chocolate is actually from Cocoabella, a chocolatier in San Francisco which I highly recommend!)




Bittersweet also offers an interesting collection of chocolate bars, which I really enjoyed. Lined up against one side of the room, the bars are divided into three sections: "dark," "milk," and "surprises." After carefully perusing the "surprises" section, I chose two to take home: a chai tea milk chocolate bar from Theo Chocolate's 3400 Phinney line and a dark chocolate pink peppercorn bar made by Dolfin, a Belgian chocolatier. While the interesting flavors were the main reasons I decided to purchase the chocolates, the packing certainly helped. (I'm a fool when it comes to things that are aesthetically beautiful...)

Chai Tea Milk Chocolate Bar:


The chai bar was exactly what you'd expect: an instant hit of warm lingering spices. The chocolate was milky, creamy, and delicious. The 3400 Phinney line is well known for being fair trade, organic and creative, which makes it a nice way to indulge in chocolate with a clean conscious. While Bittersweet only had the chai bar, Theo Chocolates also offers interesting flavors like coconut curry milk chocolate, fig fennel and almond dark chocolate, and bread and chocolate dark chocolate which seems really interesting. I really take texture into account during different eating experiences, and actually consider it the second in importance, after flavor.

Dark Chocolate Pink Peppercorn Bar:


While the packaging is obnoxiously pink, it's actually pretty interesting. It looks like normal packaging, but upon closer inspection, it's a laminated trifold that unravels. The chocolate is kept in a sealed package within the envelope. Great idea to keep the chocolate fresh. Theo's Chai Bar led with spice and this bar was the complete opposite. The dark chocolate was really the dominant flavor, while the pink peppercorns offered a subtle pepper flavor that really complimented the richness of the dark chocolate. Not to mention that the pink peppercorns were a nice add that helped the texture.

A couple of days after I went to Bittersweet, I found a couple of other Dolfin bars at Rainbow Grocery, one of the best grocery stores that San Francisco has to offer - given its selection of interesting products. Organic, fair trade, functional, ethnic, you name it Rainbow has it. The two bars were actually on clearance because they were a part of the Holiday collection. The first bar, Sweet Harmony, had nougat and honey. I absolutely LOVED this bar. It's very similar to a toblerone bar, only with a very strong honey flavor and better chocolate. The nougat definitely gave it a nice texture and the chocolate was smooth, creamy and delicious. Exactly how I enjoy my milk chocolate. The other flavor I purchased was the Winter Emotion Rooibush which I hated. While Rooibus is becoming a more mainstreamed trend in the tea and chocolate world, this is not what I expected. RooiBUSH it was. The eating experience was so unpleasant because of the particulates within the bar. While you really got the sweet floral flavor of the rooibus, a granular, getting leaves stuck in your teeth experience is the last thing you're looking for when you're enjoying a bar of chocolate. ;)

Soup or (Sandwich) Bowl

The superbowl is celebrated by football fans and non-football fans alike. While I don't normally follow football, I enjoy all the festivities surrounding the spectator sport - the excitement, the constantly flowing supply of alcohol and the greasy but unbelievably delicious game food. As a BU alum, the past few superbowls have been incredibly exciting (despite last year's epic loss to the NY giants). Given that it's the steelers vs. the cardinals, most of my excitement this year is coming from watching the commercials and getting my grub on. So in honor of the superbowl I'm dedicating this post to my top 5 favorite game-worthy sandwiches. Not only will these sandwiches give you your bang for your buck, they're also insanely delicious.

The Gourmet Nomad's Top 5 favorite Superbowl Worthy Sandwiches: (in no particular order)

1. Bakesale Betty: Fried Chicken Sandwich
5098 Telegraph Ave Oakland, CA

AMAZING. Bakesale Betty was my choice for today's game food. Their chicken sandwich is magical...spicy fried chicken breast with a vinegar infused jalapeno cabbage coleslaw. It's the perfect comfort food.

What more can you ask for? An amazing assortment of cookies, shortcake and pie! In addition to fried chicken sandwiches, we also bought a couple of chocolate chip cookies, and received brownies and frozen lemonade to take on-the-go compliments of the wonderful staff :)


2. Johnny's Po-Boys: Roast Beef Po-Boy
511 Saint Louis St New Orleans, LA

Possibly the most delicious snack in the french quarter (with the exception of cafe dumonde's beignets), the roast beef po-boy is a hearty sandwich filled with roast beef and smothered in a rich savory gravy. It will melt in your mouth and in your hands.


3. Pho Viet's: Grilled Pork Bahn Mi
1095 Commonwealth Ave Allston, MA

Not only is Pho Viet's the first place I've had a vietnamese sandwich, it's also the BEST. The french roll is crisp and perfectly baked, but what really makes the sandwich amazing is the quality of the meat. It's not the "fancy pork" you often find in a traditional vietnamese sandwich...it's more tailored to an American palate using the same grilled pork you find in the vermicelli or rice bowls. It also has fresh vegetables, cilantro and pepper to give it that nice extra kick....all for $3!


4. Carnegie Deli: Hot Pastrami Sandwich
854 7th Ave New York, NY

While it is often disputed that Katz has the best pastrami sandwich in New York, I think that Carnegie definitely takes the cake. As Quizno's so eloquently puts it, Carnegie has "more meat!" I mean just look at that sandwich. One half of the sandwich is more than enough for one meal with nearly half a pound of pastrami sandwiched between rye bread. With a little bit of mustard it's perfect.


5. Lorenzo's Sandwich Shop: #12 - Turkey, Bacon & Cheese
911 Villa Ave Belmont, CA

I went to high school around the corner and Lorenzo's was always a favorite. It's a completely authentic deli experience. You'll be happy whether you the #12 or the #3 because their garlic sauce makes a good sandwich great.