On Good vs. Evil

My definition of good and evil is a little more far reaching than a discussion on sustainability, but I can see the connection.

Good cares for the earth and its resources, practicing stewardship and working to obtain balance in all things. Good looks to a future and practices moderation. Sustainability.

Evil; well Drake's Cakes calls them Devil Dogs for a reason.  Mass produced, unhealthy, wasteful, full of chemicals whose production damage the earth and deplete our resources wrapped in plastic which further pollutes.  I can see Good and Evil on those terms.

Dave and I went to see Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert's show "Good vs. Evil" at the Wells Fargo Center (formerly the Luther Burbank Center for old timers) last night.  I'm not sure if the reference to "Good vs. Evil" was meant to refer to Tony vs. Eric - with Tony's acerbic and cynical wit paired against Eric's good manners and charm OR if they were referencing the Good vs. Evil in relation to food and the way it is prepared, distributed and consumed.

Believe me, I'm not a holier than thou locavore and I don't make myself crazy eating only organic.  Hang around long enough and you'll catch me with a bag of Cheetos.  I'm weak.  However, I try to respect what it is I'm eating and appreciate the resources that go into it.  I'm a big believer in balance and stewardship.

Wow - I'm on a tangent.  What I really wanted to talk about was how Dave and I prepared for our big night out with Anthony and Eric (and 2500 other people or so).

We obviously had good food on our minds all day.  How could you not when you know you're about to be immersed in the world of two of our finest culinary talents?

Lunch:  Andy's Sushi on Western Avenue in Petaluma for lunch.  Andy ROCKS!  We've been in four or five times now and the proprietors of this family run, locals favorite have come to recognize us.  They love Dave.  He speaks chef and when they see him, they immediately start thinking up new yummy vegetarian dishes for him.  They make something called a Sweetie Pie roll with sweet potato and pumpkin tempura!  It's the BOMB!  Their Udon is great too.  It's always nice to feel like you're a regular and have a little bit of a fuss made about you.

We followed lunch with a trip to our garden which is actually being grown on a friend's property on the other side of town since our postage stamp size backyard is barely large enough for the herbs and lemons we have growing in it now.  I love living in a place where we can garden year round and some of the winter vegetables are my favorites.  This particular day, we took home fresh broccoli, a lovely turnip and some delicious snap peas.  Sunday night dinner is almost all set with this bounty lined up in the fridge.

A few more errands and we found ourselves with about an hour and a half for a bite before the show.  Dave mentioned a new steak house that he'd been hearing good buzz about that's a little off the beaten track from the rest of downtown Santa Rosa.  I hesitated.  I always feel bad about making him go to places like this because occasionally we find that his menu choices are limited to french fries or mashed potatoes.  Not so at this joint.   This from Dave on dinner.  "Very rarely will you find me ranting about a meal for days on end, but Stark's has done it for me."  That's right.  Stark's Steakhouse has my vegetarian fiance ranting two days after the fact over how amazingly good the meal was.  Figure that one out.

First off, as you walk into Stark's you realize that this is not just some neighborhood joint struggling to get by.  They have worked really, really hard to create a terrific ambiance.  It is reminiscent of the old Stork Club or the famous 21 in New York.  A rich, clubby atmosphere with gorgeous wood, rich leather and a deep sensuality to the decor.  I half expected to see Frank Sinatra in the corner booth holding court.

Because of the hurry we were in and the fact that on a Friday night there was a 2 hour wait for the dining room, we ate in the very comfortable bar which serves their full menu.  This room carries the same terrific ambiance - channeling a bit of Rick's Cafe from Casablanca with it's piano in the corner and a fireplace lighting the room and chasing away the evening chill.  They got the setting right when creating Stark's.  There was no doubt in my mind.

But could they get the menu right too?  We started with a peak at the wine list.  Not a huge selection, maybe 8 - 10 choices each of red, white and sparkling but each was available not just by the bottle, but also by the glass.  And the choices - pretty impressive!  From a wonderful sparkling Muscato d'Asti which almost won my vote to my final choice, Orin Swift's "Saldi" Zinfandel; each of these wines was interesting, intriguing even.  Not the commonplace and it was unusual to see some of the choices available on a per glass basis because of their relative rarity.  The Zinfandel was terrific and the perfect choice to go with my dinner selections.

I ordered a pan seared foie gras appetizer which was served on a small slice of french toast with a cranberry compote on the side and garnished with arugula.  An amazing burst of flavors!  I was left weak kneed after the first bite and it got better with each taste.  I'm now seriously thinking of stocking up on foie gras before the ban on the stuff goes into effect here in California.  Sorry goose lovers.

For entree's we both had a wide variety of choices.  Although the menu is mostly steaks, chops and fish, they also feature a "noodles" menu which has several different types of macaroni and cheese, including a very tempting black truffle variety.  They also have some great side dishes.  Dave ordered a cauliflower gratin, sauteed baby spinach and a delicious dish of brussell sprouts roasted and tossed with blue cheese.  I ordered the chicken under a brick.  Simple, wholesome fare prepared with great care and skill.  My chicken was delicious.  Moist, tender, well seasoned.  Too bad I was already pretty full from the foie gras, but it was a great lunch the next day. 

Dave's meal... well let's just say he's still ranting.  Everything was spectacular.  The gratin was my particular favorite.  The cauliflower still a bit firm, the cheese smooth and creamy and not overpowering.  The baby spinach was delicious too.  I never even got a chance with the brussel sprouts as they vanished from Dave's plate pretty quickly.  Dave was left squirming in his chair about to burst into song.  He is still elated knowing that someone out there in restaurants can make each individual side dish so masterfully that though made to accompany main courses, they were able to come together into a meal with rich robust flavors that complemented rather than overwhelmed one another.  "There's a huge amount of understanding of the craft in the preparation of this food."

Only a well oiled, well trained and happy kitchen crew can pull this off.  The staff in general was excellent.  Our service was really great, the hostess welcoming and helpful, our server very understanding when we told her of our time limits.  Nothing at all to fault except ourselves for not planning well and allowing ourselves the time to sit and savor this meal instead of having to rush out.  Next time we'll know better.

BTW - once we arrived at the show, the question of the ban on foie gras was raised during the Q&A session.  I felt like jumping up and jubilantly declaring "You can still get it and it's marvelous!!"

This is No Culinary Backwater

My fiance is a former chef and a big time foodie.  Despite being a vegetarian for the last two decades, he loves to explore new restaurants, check out food trucks or try one of the many local purveyors of great food.  You see, we live in one of the best places in the world to be a "foodie", Sonoma County, California.  I share this passion with him, but unlike him, I'm an omnivore.

I often find myself the official taste tester.  "You want me to try wild boar salami? Sure, honey."  The tables often turn too.  Me "Honey, can you make me a yummy lamb chop tonight?".  Him "Coming right up, baby!" It's a perfectly symbiotic relationship, although I am occasionally reminded of the story of "Jack Spratt".

Between his experience in the kitchens of some of San Francisco's finer restaurants and my wide ranging travels for work we share a pretty broad knowledge and exposure to cuisine.  Short of Provence or Tuscany, there's not a single other place we know of where the environment, climate and demographics combine to produce a better situation for a foodie.

Within steps of our front door we have first rate cheese makers, the finest bread bakery in the US (according to Bon Appetit magazine), a great wine shop with daily barrel tastings, a micro brewer making award winning beers, three gourmet ice cream manufacturers and a distillery making great local grappa, port and other spirits.  We have an option of over 28 different CSA's in our area that will deliver everything from fresh seasonal fruits to seafood right to our door, two farmers markets within walking distance, several dairies that deliver local products, the USA's first organic chicken distributor and an all season garden from which we're currently harvesting lots of root vegetables, greens and snap peas (it's February).


This is definitely no culinary backwater.  This is Sonoma County, CA!