Foodie find: Blue Bottle New Orleans Iced Coffee

For many, many years, I had a fairly serious addiction to New Orleans’ style coffee and chicory.  Each morning, lingering for longer then necessary, I would sit and watch the sun rise with my oversized mug of strong, milky café au lait.  I always brewed a couple of extra cups each morning so I would have plenty left for my favorite afternoon pick-me-up: a tall, chilly, creamy iced coffee that was even more delicious then my morning cup.

I blame the Sunflower for weaning me from my longtime chicory habit, turning my affections now towards dark espresso topped with a lovely portion of thick steamed milk.  I had almost forgotten just how much I adored a New Orleans’ iced coffee until I recently stumbled upon Bay Area cult roaster, Blue Bottle’s adorable little carton of chicory iced coffee.  A perfect afternoon treat: a blend of rich, dark chicory coffee, fancy full-fat milk, and just a hint of sweetness.  It is not only scrumptious and provides a much-needed caffeine jolt, but is so fun to sip straight from the cute carton.  Find it locally at the coffee bar at Whole Foods.

Finally open: Aventine

I ate three pizzas this weekend.  Yes, three.  One was seriously thin, scattered with truffle and honey and absolutely yummy with a freezing cold glass of Prosecco.  The other was a simple, chewy Margarita.  My favorite though, was loaded with teeny meatballs, tangy pickled red onions, and a lovely, rich tomato sauce.  There was pasta, too: beautiful, soft cheese-filled ravioli moistened with plenty of salty butter and tossed with fresh spring peas.  I ate a hefty portion of the most delicious, cozy, cinnamon-flecked, meaty, cheese-laden lasagna I have had in years.  

It wasn’t all cheese and noodles. I ate seafood.  There were gorgeous, massive sea scallops, which were tender and perfectly seared, and a classic, unadorned filet of Branzino.  I definitely hogged most of an addictive octopus salad, the wonderfully mustardy potato salad heavenly with the briny seafood.

I ate meatballs.  I ate polenta.  I ate meatballs and polenta on the same plate.  There was salad too, before you get all judge-y.  Oh boy, and there were desserts.  Insert swoon here.  An insanely decadent glass of thick caramel budino left me practically a-flutter.  Petite, crisp cannoli were stuffed with more cheese, sweetened slightly and finished with a pretty scattering of pistachios.  I drank more wine than I might in an entire week.  Oh, and shot some fancy organic tequila.

By late Sunday night I was in such a happy food coma I could have died and gone to heaven, well as long as there are meatballs there.  All of this wonderful, carb-filled debauchery happened at this weekend’s grand opening of Aventine in Glen Ellen’s Jack London Village.  The charming Italian eatery is now open for dinner nightly, closed Mondays, with a sure-to-be atmospheric Sunday brunch beginning early July.  Visit their website at aventinehospitality.com for more information.

Best thing I ate this week: Fried Rabbit

There are several things that, when I see them on a menu, I will most certainly order.  Quail, as you know, is one.  Rabbit, is another.  During a recent, languid, wine and golden light-filled dinner on the enchanting back patio at Harvest Moon Café, I cut into one of the most delicious dishes I have had in quite awhile.  The entire, multi-course meal was saturated – as it always is here – in beautiful, seasonal ingredients simply, but expertly prepared.  Although, it was the fried rabbit which truly blew my mind.  The rabbit was gloriously crisp and ridiculously moist, the epitome of a Southern fried preparation.  A rich, herby jus pooled on the plate running happily into the lush, butter-loaded mashed potatoes and, more Southern goodness, braised greens.  The crust had an awesome mahogany hue and practically shattered against my teeth.  A hunk of rabbit swiped through the deep sauce and then into the potatoes, was a happy dance inducing mouthful…the whole saucy, meaty, potato-y bite, perfection.  Obviously, the combination was created by a truly food-obsessed individual, one of my people for sure.  Find more information on Harvest Moon’s daily changing menu online at harvestmooncafesonoma.com.

At last, tomatoes!

Tomatoes have officially arrived!  Juicy, sweet Early Girls and teeny, candy-like cherry tomatoes are in abundance at both Farmers’ markets.  From now until November, there will be endless drippy tomato salads sliced and chunked onto big ceramic platters, spicy basil leaves torn and scattered over them, and my creamy, peppery, dill-laden dressing spooned over the whole beautiful thing.

You’re only as good as your buns

It is burger season, right?  I can only imagine how many burgers the American home grilling enthusiast cooks up everyday this time of year.  They may be turkey, veggie, tofu, tuna, or the good old all-American ground beef; topped with cheese (or not),  possibly slathered with mayonnaise, ketchup, or a zillion styles of mustard, and adorned simply with a perfect slice of tomato or all manner of onion from sautéed to fried to pickled. Ethnic versions may include guacamole, a teriyaki glaze, or the peculiar addition of pineapple, or the pièce de résistance of burger nirvana, a mega-fresh, fried farm egg with an ooey-gooey, runny yolk.  Yes, all of these burger elements are very important… but none so much as the ever-crucial bun!  When most home grillers — and most restaurants for that matter — choose to grill a burger, the bun is an afterthought.  You know who you are, “grocery store burger bun buyers.”  If you know me at all by now you know that bread is of the upmost importance to a meal no matter what you’re putting on it.  A really amazing, rare, juicy blue cheese burger is a special occasion and when I indulge, my burger must be on a killer, English muffin lovingly baked each morning at Napa’s Model Bakery.  You’re burger, it’s only as good as your bun.  The Model Bakery is located in the Oxbow Marketplace in downtown Napa.  Call 259.1128 for more information.