Tales of the Stylish Traveler

My Lunch With Frances: An Authentic Experience

Frances Mayes with her Arancini at 54 Mint

It has been more than 20 years since I had last seen Frances Mayes over dinner at Cynthia’s on Third Street in Los Angeles.  Her New York Times bestselling book, Under The Tuscan Sun, catapulted her to fame and good fortune as one of America’s most read and popular authors, whose memoirs, set in Cortona, Italy, have entertained and informed those about life in this charming Tuscan town.  Her home there, Bramasole, has long been a must-see landmark for travelers the world over.  It is also the name of a new olive oil, a result of the 400 olive trees on her property and a new project by Ed and Frances Mayes.

My dear friend, Steven Rothfeld, whose brilliant photographs have graced her books, calendars and other products, brought Frances and Ed to lunch as they were in town for the Wine Writers Symposium at Meadowood Napa Valley.  Frances was an invited teacher that joined many renowned writers including Eric Asimov of the New York Times.  It was Steven who brought them down from Napa Valley, who I sent to Italy just a few months ago to photograph the most important traditional balsamic vinegar producer, Acetaia Malpighi, along with their products and the Malpighi family.  By the way, his photos will soon appear in the family’s new website, House of Balsamic, which will be launched within the next month.

Where should I take Frances, Ed and Steven to lunch?  That was the big question I had pondered for a while.  They are, naturally, foodies and have had the best of the best in Italy.  Dare I suggest an Italian restaurant in San Francisco?  Almost all of the best ones are not open for lunch including Delfina, Quince and Aquarello.  Dan Howard, who manages our Los Angeles office, told me we must go to Mint 54, a new Italian wine bar and restaurant that opened last year.  I trust his taste implicitly and he said it is truly authentic.  If it wasn’t authentic, Italian just wouldn’t work with these lunch companions.  I had previously thought of Peruvian and La Mar, but it was the restaurant where Frances’s agent was taking them that night for dinner.

Now, it’s not easy to find authentic Italian.  Many popular Italian restaurants, even in San Francisco, don’t fit the bill when it comes to authenticity.  One of my favorites that do, La Ciccia, the Sardinian spot at 30^th and Church, unfortunately, is also not open for lunch.  For those that don’t know about it, or have heard but haven’t been, do try it.  It is one of the best Sardinian restaurants in the country, not to mention one of the great neighborhood gems of San Francisco.  Warm welcomes and service don’t get any better!  “You need a glass of Prosecco!” proclaimed Lorella, the wife of co-owner and Chef Massimiliano Conti, when I arrived on a Friday evening after a long week.  She new exactly what I needed and brought it herself with a big smile and hug.

Back to the real stars of this column, Frances and Ed Mayes, Steven Rothfeld and Mint 54. 

54 Mint is a bright, airy and charming modern restaurant that is part of the Mint Plaza renovation.  Now don’t look for 54 as an address, it doesn’t exist.  It is actually located at 19 Mint.  I arrived first and saw a group of Italians eating outside having a great time.  You get to know the quality of the ingredients upon entering the restaurant with the traditional balsamics from Modena and Umbrian and Tuscan olive oils on display.  There is an upstairs with a wine bar and a downstairs area (open for dinner).  The modern metal tables and resin chairs were comfortable and each table was set with white Italian pottery and simple glassware.  The dining room, with brick walls and lots of glass windows and natural light, is decorated with Italian antique water jugs, olive oil and other products which can be purchased to go.

It was great to see Frances.  Her smile beamed and she looked elegant bedecked with Italian jewelry and fashionable Versace sunglasses.  She spoke about her new book, Every Day in Tuscany, due out in early March and the extra work now needed to market books on line and for the digital world.  Now in the States until sometime in March, the Mayes lived in San Francisco a long time ago before moving to North Carolina where they love the lifestyle of Durham and the intellectual stimulation from Duke University. 

Menù

PARMIGIANO AL BALSAMICO    $  16.00

slivers of 3 years aged parmigiano reggiano dressed with extra aged balsamic vinegar 

PECORINO ALLE MELE COTOGNE    $  14.00

2 years aged pecorino cheese served with house made quince jam

SALUMERIA    $  16.00

selection of imported and domestic produced charcuterie

PROSCIUTTO DI SPALLA IBERICO    $  18.00

2 years cured Fermin shoulder prosciutto served with fresh melon or figs

FRITTATA LAZZA AL TARTUFO NERO DI NORCIA    $  18.00

loose Norcia summer black truffle omelette

TRENETTE AL PESTO TRAPANESE    $  16.00

house made 100 % kamut pasta served with Sicilian pesto

RAVIOLI DI RICOTTA E SPINACI    $  16.00

house made 100 % kamut ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta cheese served with butter and sage

PACCHERI ALLA NORMA    $  14.00

durum grain pasta served with pachino tomato sauce, eggplant and grated salt cured ricotta

BUCATINI CACIO E PEPE    $  14.00

durum grain pasta served with grated “fossa” aged pecorino cheese and black pepper

SPAGHETTI ALLA AMATRICIANA    $  14.00

Durum grain pasta served with pachino tomato sauce, pork cheeks and grated aged pecorino

LINGUINE ALLA PESCATORA    $  18.00

durum grain pasta served with sea food and shell fish

BUCATINI ALLE SARDE    $  16.00

durum grain pasta served with sardines, pine nuts, resins and wild fennel flower

GNOCCHI AL RAGU’    $  16.00

house made potato dumplings served with meat ragout

PAPPARDELLE AL RAGU’ D’ANATRA    $  18.00

house made 100% kamut pasta served with duck ragout

PORCHETTA    $  20.00

Niman Ranch rolled pork roasted with wild fennel flowers and spices

A Sample Menu from 54 Mint

The menu, above, shows most of the offerings but changes based on ingredients and specials.  It is simple with dishes that reflect the rustic heart of Italian food.  Ed had the octopus salad, shaved ever so thin, and linguine alla pescatora, Steven the pappardelle with mushrooms and a simple salad.  I had a buffalo mozzarella, tomato and basil salad and hand made ricotta ravioli and a butter sage sauce, which melted in your mouth.  You could taste each ingredient as if you were eating it alone but they all melded together to create a perfect simple symphony in my mouth.  And Frances had the beautiful giant ‘grapefruit-sized’ Arancini, the fried rice ball that was stuffed with a meat ragu. She adored it and we all loved the place.  One of the owners came by and introduced himself, spoke Italian with Frances, Ed and Steven and explained he was in the hospitality business with Starwood Hotels for many years working around the globe.  He asked Frances for an autograph.   He has two other partners in the restaurant, which was just named one of the top 10 new restaurants in America by GQ’s Alan Richman, one of our best-qualified food writers.

Frances and Ed talked about their olive oil, Bramasole, named after the house they painstakingly restored over the years in Cortona.  It is now available through Frances’s website www.thetuscansun.com  You must order a case of the olive oil but, for those that love to cook, even a case won’t last the year.

The beautiful Bramasole Olive Oil from Frances and Ed Mayes

Hopefully, the olive oil will be made more readily available in the near future but for now, the best way to find it is through the website.  Frances and Ed spoke about how misunderstood olive oil is here in America.  Most people don’t know it is a seasonal product and doesn’t last forever on the shelf.  They also don’t know that there are 280 varieties of olives harvested in Italy and the handwork and labor that go into the production of each bottle.  We know that Americans don’t know much about the traditional balsamic vinegar either so an education in olive oil and vinegar is needed here to truly appreciate quality ingredients.  I’m hoping 54 Mint will be one place to learn more about these products.

Before we departed, I had an espresso (actually an Italian mocha) and Ed and I traded bumps with our iPhones to exchange our contact information.  It actually worked!  It was the first time we both bumped for contacts.  It was easy and exact. 

I’m hoping to see Ed and Frances before the next twenty years are up, perhaps over an olive oil and vinegar tasting and lesson.  As we left, the same group of Italians was still on the patio overlooking Mint Plaza with views of the Old Mint building.  Frances commented that the building looked like something in Rome.  That is one of our antique buildings here in San Francisco, hardly old by Roman standards but certainly authentic San Francisco.  For more info on 54 Mint www.54mint.com.  For more info on Frances Mayes, www.francesmayesbooks.com

-PB

Teatro ZinZanni – Under the Gypsy Moon

I suspect it’s no accident zany is part of the name of this wonderfully colorful show. Their brunch performance, Under the Gypsy Moon, includes wild theatrics, spunky performers (bringing new meaning to being a morning person) and high-energy staff sure to wake-up even the groggiest guest.

From the second you step foot into the blue and yellow dome on the Embarcadero, the cabaret scene is set. Waiters and waitresses are decked out in fanciful period attire, and frequently integrate into the show. Audience participation is also appreciated, and sometimes hard to say no to, so if you want to be part of the show, I suggest floor seats.

 

Juggling, jazz and a modified strip-tease from an adorably un-sexy man; it is a family-friendly show but does not forget its cabaret roots, especially in some of the high-flying acrobatic scenes. Under the Gypsy Moon is held together by a very talented group of international performers, whose resumes include stints with Cirque du Soleil, Broadway’s The Lion King and NBA half-time shows. I loved the cohesion of the show, and the music that highlighted each act. Between high-flying adventures you are rewarded with delightfully light-weight courses, and the opportunity to sample numerous creative cocktails.

 

This variety show provides not just a well-choreographed mix of comedy, circus stunts and song but also fresh, tasty food, in a festive tented enclave on Pier 29. The show truly delights from the minute you walk in to the very end when you’re showered by confetti and farewells from the cast and crew. Teatro Zinzanni is a true San Francisco institution and should not be missed.

Frascati - San Francisco's most underrated Italian

Life has a lot of ‘perfect’ moments, but usually, they are only recognized in hindsight.  The key to happiness is recognizing you are in a ‘perfect moment’ the very second it is happening.

Last night, I had one of those experiences and was present enough to it as it was happening for the moment to be seared into my mind for all times.  The restaurant responsible for this phenomenon was none other than San Francisco’s Frascati, on Russian Hill’s Hyde Street.

There are so many restaurants in San Francisco that it is very hard to make the ‘hot list’ and stay on it.  Every time I sit down to dinner at Frascati, I am reminded that this should be one of the most difficult and expensive tables that the City has – and am so grateful that it isn’t, so that I can enjoy the very best without crowds or noise or poor service.  This is truly the most underrated of all of San Francisco’s fine dining experiences. 

Two big windows expand across the front of the restaurant which sits directly on the Hyde Street cable car line.  It is a charming location.  Parking has traditionally been next to impossible, but recently a garage on the very block (same side of the street) began offering valet service at $8 for two hours.  Problem solved.

 

We were able to request a window table (I recommend it if you can) to take in the color of Russian Hill.  Service must be among the warmest, friendliest in any of the City’s neighborhoods.  The Italian flavor of the restaurant is far more than that found in its food.  It is in the warm smiles and personality of the tremendous, competent staff from the maitre ‘d straight on through. 

And now to the real reason one sojourns to a restaurant.  The cuisine of Michael Pawlick is consistent and superb.  Assuming you don’t have a gluten-free diet, there is no excuse to ever miss the gnocchi here.  Fresh peas and corn complement the garlic and onion base and the perfectly prepared pillows of pasta are, in a word, sublime.  I had the black sea bass and it was as flakey, moist and flavorful as one could hope to have.  The ½ chicken was also superbly prepared.  The wine list is extraordinary.  As we sat in our table and raised our three red wine glasses to toast a perfect meal, a large group of San Francisco tourists rode by on a completely packed cable car and witnessed our perfect moment.  We nodded to them and they to us – it was right out of the kind of image that stylish hotels and restaurants try to capture in filming the perfect commercial.  And we had created it on the first take.

 

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the vast and beautiful selection of cheeses offered pre-meal or for dessert.  And those with a sweeter tooth CAN NOT miss the sorbets that are home made at the restaurant.  The generous scoops of delectable peach alongside scoops of ripe banana sorbet cannot be captured in words.  Do yourself a favor and enjoy this highest quality San Francisco secret that outperforms so many of the media darlings. Bravo Frascati!                          - DH

Passover Dinner at Delfina

  

While I’m not at all religious I do always identify myself as Jewish and like to partake in the traditions and holidays that brings families and friends together.  Since I don’t know many Jewish families here in San Francisco I had a yearning to try a gourmet Passover dinner at a favorite restaurant so Brian and I went to Delfina last night as it is one of our favorite Italian restaurants in the city and is only a short walk from our home. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t a kosher dinner but that it celebrated the traditional foods associated with my childhood.  My mother cooks excellent Jewish foods from beef borscht to light and fluffy matzoh ball soup to home-made gefilta fish (which I never really developed a taste for) to potatoe latkes, brisket, cole-slaw (where did that word come from?).

We were with two close friends who were celebrating Easter so they didn’t have to partake in the Passover offerings.  My dinner included the following:

Delfina's Edible Seder Plate

with farm egg salad, Ancona-style haroset and lamb shank ciccioli crostini 12.00

Matzoh Ball Soup  8.00

Pinot Nero - St. Michael-Eppan 2007 Trentino-Alto Adige 34.00

 

Neiman Ranch Beef Brisket with horseradish-creme fraiche  24.00

Moscato d'Asti - Sori del Re  Piemonte 2007        (5.5oz)        9.75

Sage-Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Fresh Oranges and Caramel  9.00

The Edible Sedar Plate arrived and, although it wasn’t presented nearly as beautiful as I remember it, every morsel left the plate, except for the salted water (to represent the tears shed during the time of the Jewish people’s escape from Egypt).  It was servevd in a rustic style on irregulary torn mazahs.  The farm egg salad was delicious as was the lamb shank seasoned lightly. I never got to taste the apple and cinnamon haroset but I assume that was also good.

 

  

I liked the soup but I have to say, my mothers matzoh balls are much better.  The walnut in the middle was a nice surprise but they were too heavy and dense.  The stock was tasty, rich and filled with carrots and onions. 

Brian ordered us the Pinot Nero and it was quite delicious and typically of Italian wines had an earthyness where you could almost taste the soil it came from.  It was a wine from Alto Adige, Italy’s most northeastern region which borders Austria.  Light-medium bodied it went well with the soup and the sedar plate.  Since it wasn’t bold enough to stand up to the rich brisket I ordered a glass of a cabernet and sangiovese which paired nicely with the brisket.  Now, the brisket was perfectly cooked, moist and very tender.  However I would have liked a bit more horseradish in the horseradish crème fraiche.  Didn’t have enough texture and spice to compliment the meat.  For a restaurant that prides itself on taste and texture, this accompaniment didn’t measure up.

 

 

I loved the dessert!  Caramel, orange and panna cotta made a superb end to my meal.  I just picked a dessert wine to try with it and found an amazing match with the Moscato D’Asti.  I don’t often have dessert wines but it sounded appealing.   I would highly recommend this combination for those wanting an elegant and light way to end a meal.

The restaurant was its bustling self with busy waiters shuffling and offering attentive but a bit frenetic service.  I liked the dinner but I guess I expected a bit more.  Perhaps next year I’ll try Perbacco! Or, adopt the name of Elijah and visit a nearby Jewish home.                                                        - PB

La Ciccia

 

 

Traveling, sometimes, isn’t about getting into a car, an airplane or a train. It can be about going to a park, a restaurant or a museum in your city to have an experience that transcends your workaday existence. (Currently, I am obsessed with Turkish coffee at Samovar because I really want to go to Istanbul and I always want great cheese from France). Such is the case about La Ciccia located on the far-side of San Francisco’s Noe Valley (at Church and 30^th).

The stunningly beautiful Charlotte Capan, from Letz Cook, an event planning company recently invited Paul and me to this recognized Italian restaurant specializing in food from the island of Sardinia. And, we had the best time!

I have never been to Sardinia but Paul has and as we were served our first couple of dishes, Spaghittusu cun Allu Ollu e Bottariga (fresh spaghetti with spicy olive oil and Sardinian mullet roe), Pani Guttiau, ( a scrumptious and traditional flatbread made with olive oil and pecorino) and Fregua cun Bagna de Pisci a su Nieddu de Seppia (fregula with seafood sauce and squid ink), Paul commented, “I feel like I am in Sardinia.” (See image above.)

 

Sardinian cuisine uses olive oil, fish, bottarga (dried fish roe) and capers and could be thought of as blending Italy-lite with a good dash of Greece thrown in but that doesn’t really describe some of the true flavors of the cooking which is also sprinkled with rosemary and myrtle.  Supposedly, there are only five “true” restaurants in the U.S. devoted to Sardinian cuisine and this is the only one west of Houston. (That’s what Massimiliano Conti, chef and co-owner, along with his wife, Lorella Degan, says of La Ciccia).  Who am I to dispute him?

Regardless, it’s pretty phenomenal with the fresh pasta slightly al dente with the delightful chewiness that you want to have. Sprinkled with the bottarga, it becomes a bit of the ocean. We didn’t order as Charlotte made special arrangements but each dish was more delicious than the next as we had the Prupisceddu in Umidu (Octopus Stew in a Spicy Tomato Sauce), Inzalaredda de Mari cun Ollu e Limoni (Seafood Salad with Lemon Oil Dressing) and Pisci Arrustiu con Loia (Oven Baked Cod Filet with Sardinian Olives Tapenade).

I was also drinking a delicious glass (or rather glasses) of Vermentino di Sardegna “Costamolino” Arigolas which was priced at $32 for the bottle and $8 per glass. It was such a steal and had a lovely crispness and zest that characterizes this particular grape, but best of all it’s the lightness that went exceedingly well with the food that we were eating. Charotte, Paul and Charlotte’s guest, the world-famous, Matthew Poole, were drinking a light red also from Sardinia. They have one of the City's finest Italian-centric wine lists. 

I have to highly recommend this restaurant and it should be put up there with destination restaurants such as French Laundry, Boulevard, A16 or SPQR. Service was incredibly friendly and hospitable, food delicious and fairly inexpensive, although Charlotte bought (!) but, best of all, we didn’t have to buy a business class ticket and go through customs to get there.

La Ciccia

291 30^th Street

San Francisco, CA  94131

(415) 550 - 8114

 

Nathan Lockwood at FORK, San Anselmo

Dan and I discovered Nathan Lockwood last night.  Arguably, one of the Bay Area's most underrated chefs, Lockwood scored some high points with us during our three course tasting of his Italian inspired menu.  With an emphasis on  local and fresh ingredients of the highest quality, Lockwood's presentations are polished and elegant. His two and a half year tenure at San Francisco's beloved Aquerello combined with stints at One Market and Fleur de Lys provides the foundation of his impressive experience.  The olive oil preserved Kona Kampachi with Fennel & Celery Salad, Alici Anchovy and Beldi Olive was fresh, perfectly cooked and allowed me to taste the fish with a variety of flavors with his deconstructed plating.

Dan's first course of Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi, Abruzzese Lamb & Beef Ragu matched perfectly with the 2008 Greenstone Point  Pinot Noir.  Actually, the wine was a great pairing with our whole meal.  This wine, at $26 on the menu, was a steal!  If you have the chance to buy it retail  do yourself a favor and  buy a case!  Our third course included a potato crusted local halibut with Sauteed Nettles, Black Trumpet Mushrooms on top of spinach and creamy mashed potatoes.  Dan's seared diver scallops, perfectly crisped on the outside and moist on the inside were accompanied by a Frittole of peas, garbanzo and cornmeal.  We would have been perfectly satisfied after finishing every morsel but we did order a cheese plate with French cheeses and a vanilla rum Panna Cotta with Huckleberry, Pistachio and brown butter cake. 

Our warm and gracious service was made even more endearing with the owner's inquiries and deliveries. How often does an apron donned owner deliver his chef's food to your table?

The room was well lit with candles on the table, if perhaps a little stark.  But one should really go just because the food is so good!

Highly recommended.  This man Nathan Lockwood is 'going places'! Tastefully yours, Paul.

2009 New Year's Resolution: Eating Burgers

  Photo: Kim Sunee

Sometimes it's really hard to believe that once, I was a vegetarian. I didn't wear leather, I didn't eat real cheese  (soy cheese) and I was so committed to eating this way probably the worst thing I ever made or cooked was a Peanut Butter and Lima Bean Loaf.

I did snap out of it because my doctor said that it was essentially killing me and also I started seeing someone French. Since then, I have eaten my share of meat, fish and poultry. Always trying to keep it sustainable, organic and buying locally which I am adhering to even more as the years pass.

Anyhow, Paul and I were with Jay Theiler and Kristin Thorton from Snake River Farms for lunch at Boulevard in San Francisco. Kristin and I order the burger and truffle fries and Jay and Paul ordered the steak. From the moment I bit into this burger, I thought it was the best that I had ever had. Forget the fact that it's served at one of the top dining establishments in the Bay Area, it was quite simply delicious.Tim Quaintance, Sous Chef, who prepared it that day came over to the table and explained that it was just the beef ground and salt and pepper, thus it had to be about the quality of the product. I highly recommend trying it. Please know that it is available only for lunch and you need to call ahead to make sure that it's on the menu. It's a special item and the burger isn't always available. (This burger made it on to my friend's blog, Kim Sunee. She is the former food editor for Cottage Living and writer of the fabulous book "Trail of Crumbs".)

BURGER #2: Paul and I were walking along Polk Street in the Russian Hill area of San Francisco. I was getting grouchy because my blood sugar level was dropping so we went into this little establishment called Bar Johnny. Now, in this cute place, I ordered the burger with truffle fries and Paul orderd a niciose salad. To my surprise, the sandwich was really good. I mean REALLY GOOD that I started to compare it to the burger at Boulevard. 

About a month later, Paul and I came back and I met the chef and the owner. The chef told me essentially the same thing. He got beef from Mayer Ranch but they did a custom meat grind blend for him. He also adds three different types of pepper and salt to his creation. It's pretty amazing. Furthermore, everything on the plate the kitchen makes including the ketchup, house made pickles, onions and a brioche-like bun. (It's a little denser then brioche and Chef named it but I have to remember what it's called.)

So, two burgers that I am willing to go back and eat. Time and again. I decided to write my reviews of some of the great places to get a burger in SF. I have tried a couple of other places that have great reputations but nothing has come close to these two establishments. Thus, by the end of the year, I will write about my "best burgers" in San Francisco.