Awesome Bars

Today, I'm continuing my series of reviewing different types of bars.  I started a few weeks ago with the most generic granola bars out there: Quaker.  I've touched on nutrition bars like LUNA.  Now, it is time to go in the complete other direction, to a small, local San Francisco company, that makes a single product line: wholesome granola bars, aka, Awesome Bars.

The company is run by "The Granola Sisters".  Their products are sold in a few places around town, but I've most commonly encountered them at various artisan's markets and special events.

They make 5 (now, 6!) flavors of bars, but all are made with the same oat base accented with flax seeds and sea salt, with a dark chocolate coating.  They are sweetened with agave and brown sugar, and use coconut oil.

I do like the idea behind the bars being made with real ingredients and no extra crap, but I haven't really enjoyed them very much.  I think it is the flax that I don't care for.  I know it is very good for me, and I want to like these more than I do.  I still eat them fairly regularly, hoping they'll grow on me ...

• Apricot Walnut: This is their newest flavor, and I don't even see it on the website yet.  Same base as always, but with dried apricots, walnuts, and brown sugar.  This one had a very different feel to it, much gooier.  The walnut flavor was strong, so if you like walnuts, this one is for you.  It was also much sweeter than the others, I think because of the brown sugar, which the other bars do not have.  It also was the only one that didn't have the chocolate coating.  I think this may be a bar still in development.  The flavor in the dried apricots was really, really good, but I think they were far too chewy.  I loved the chunk size in that you really got to taste the fruit, but, it just wasn't a pleasant eating experience.
• Blueberry Almond: Standard base with roasted almonds, dried blueberries, and wheat bran.  Tasting notes:  All I could taste was the wheat bran and flax.  Very bitter.  I couldn't find any sweetness, not from the blueberries, nor the chocolate coating.  Least favorite. [ On second try, it was better, slightly more gooey, and I think the gooey component is the sweet part.  The little dried blueberries were very flavorful, but there were not many.  The almonds seemed to be mostly whole, but again, only a few in the whole bar.  If you carefully constructed bites you could get a bit of everything, but, creating the "perfect bite" is just not what you generally want to be doing when grabbing a granola bar. ] [ The chocolate in here is a joke, just a thin coating on the back that you absolutely cannot taste.  I liked the little blueberries though, super flavorful.  But I don't get a granola bar just to pick out blueberries :) ]
• Cherry Almond: Same base with roasted almonds, dried tart cherries, and wheat bran. Tasting notes:  The dried tart cherries were very flavorful, and went well with the chocolate.  The sweetness and tartness from the cherries was able to mask a bit of the wheat bran and flax flavors for me. I liked the large chunks of almonds within.  But overall, not a winner, second to least favorite. [ This tasted fairly dry and unremarkable. No flavors jumped out. Mostly just oats and flax.  Bites with the cherries were nice, but there was only 2-3 in the entire bar.  Would not try again. ]
• Coconut Pecan: Same base with pecans, unsweetened coconut flakes, raisins, and wheat bran.  Tasting notes: I liked this!  The coconut added a lot of flavor, masking the wheat bran/flax taste.  The raisins, something I normally don't like, added some needed sweetness. [ Again, it didn't have the bitter wheat bran/flax taste of the others, and was pretty sweet.  I had it sitting the sun, so it was also slightly gooey, which was nice. I didn't really taste coconut or pecan distinctly though, which I would have liked, since I like those ingredients.  And again, I liked the raisins, they were plump and not dried out, gave it a nice texture.  The chocolate coating isn't think enough to make much of an impact however. ]
• Cranberry Trail Mix: Same base with pecans, almonds, cashews, and dried cranberries.  Tasting notes: Lots of flavors, good crunch, decent chocolate. [ Lots of flavor from the assorted nuts, but the cashew flavor was fairly pronounced, and I don't really like cashews. A good mix of stuff in it though, and I think this would satisfy most.  My third pick. ] [ Very nice mix of nuts, the cranberries were still pretty plump and not dried out, added some sweetness to cover the bitter from flax.  The chocolate also was good in this one, more pronounced than some of the others. ]
• Salty Peanut: Same base, with peanuts and wheat bran.  Tasting notes: Decent balance of sweet and salty, good peanut flavor, decent chocolate. [ You could really taste the wheat bran and flax. Tasted too healthy.  There were whole peanuts, but you didn't get any peanuty goodness, as the other flavors dominated.  Also couldn't really taste the chocolate.  But my second pick overall. ] 

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Sausalito Cafe

I've been seriously craving breakfast or brunch foods lately.

Our cafe at work used to really mix things up and have a constantly changing selection of breakfast foods, but for the past few months it has been exactly the same.  The yogurt parfait bar with house made granola and fresh berries, the waffles made to order with real maple syrup, the house baked pastries, the bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese, etc, were all exciting and delightful at first, but after several months of the exact same thing every day, I've been seriously wanting a change.  I'm not sure why they stopped mixing it up.  Even the pastry team just makes one flavor of muffin and one variety of scone and they rarely change.  I realize how ridiculous and spoiled this sounds to members of the real world where you don't have a cafe providing you free amazing breakfast every day.  But this really is my reality, and I've been desperately wanting things like pancakes, french toast, eggs benedict, and other more "interesting" items.

So, when we had a long weekend for the 4th of July, I decided I was going to take advantage and go out to a weekday breakfast, something I never normally do.  Living in the Financial District, there are a slew of cafes that are open only M-F, only for breakfast and lunch.  And since I work somewhere that provides exactly those meals, I never try them.  I was really excited to check out the places that are always closed when I walk by!

Of course, because it was a holiday, pretty much everywhere was closed on the 4th, and many were closed on the 5th as well.  And I really wanted to find somewhere that served french toast.  Finding and reading the menus for every place around seemed like a very tedious task, so I let technology do the work for me.  I knew I'd be limiting my search somewhat, but I decided to only look at places that were available on Seamless.com, since it has a "food item" search.  I could select the time of day/day of week and find everywhere that had french toast, sorted by distance from my house.  Perfect.  I wasn't going to use Seamless for delivery (seriously, cold soggy delivery french toast? People do that?) but this was an easy way to filter through the options.

It turns out, not that many places offer french toast.  Being my crazy self, I cross referenced each place on Yelp.  Most were located near Union Square, clearly catered towards tourists, and got horrible reviews.  But Sausalito Cafe jumped out.  They have 3 locations in the city, all close by, but only one was listed on Seamless.  They all get decent reviews, except that there are no reviews of the french toast, as they are known for their lunch offerings the most (falafel, gyros, etc) and for their breakfast burritos.  But if the cafe got decent reviews in general, I decided it was worth checking out.

I eagerly pulled up Seamless on Friday morning, ready to place my order. Unfortunately, Seamless said they weren't open.  Oh, no!  My plan was foiled, which confused me, since I'd checked with them before to make sure they'd be open.  So I called, and ... yup, they were open.  I let them know that they weren't listed as open on Seamless, and she took my name and number, and said she'd look into it.  I didn't expect much to happen, but amazingly a few minutes later, my phone rang, and she apologized, and said that Seamless had taken them off for the holiday and forgot to turn them back on.  Fixed!

I placed my order for the french toast to have right away, along with a bagel to save for later.  Unfortunately, in the time it took to figure out the whole Seamless open or not issue, they ran out of the type of bagel I'd been wanting to try (asiago).  They nicely called me again to let me know of the problem, but I was pretty disappointed, as there weren't any remaining flavors I wanted.  The bagels  are from House of Bagels, who also provide the bagels at work, so I've had them many times, although we only get the plain flavors.  I was excited to try a new one, not just have another plain bagel.  (Side note: stay tuned for an upcoming bakery review day for House of Bagels!)

Ok, back to Sausalito Cafe.  I promise I'll stop rambling soon!

I was really impressed with the service, from dealing with the Seamless issue of being offline, to calling me when the bagel selection wasn't available, to greeting me when I arrived to pick up my order.

As I mentioned, they are known more for their lunch items, and I'm definitely interested in checking out their falafel wraps, complete with housemade hummus, or perhaps trying the breakfast burritos or pancakes.  I don't have a lot of reason to skip my free meals at work, but next time we have a holiday, and Sausalito Cafe is open, it will be at the top of my list to return to.  Or, perhaps I'll get sick enough of my same old breakfast everyday that I'll venture there on a normal workday, and, gasp, pay for breakfast :)

French Toast.  $3.99.

At the top of my list of breakfast cravings is french toast.  Now, french toast comes in many varieties.  It can be just standard white sandwich bread, dunked briefly in some batter, and barely seared, like the boring version from Soma Inn Cafe.  Or it can sound amazing, like the white chocolate french toast with roasted apples and pears from Sierra Cafe, that turned out to just be an oily flavorless disappointment.  Or it can be a bit more exciting, like the almond crusted thick sliced brioche french toast with vanilla bean cream cheese and roasted yellow peaches at the now defunct Axis Cafe.  Or it can be absolutely amazeballs like the a brioche french toast bread pudding with stewed apples and quince, crème fraîche whipped cream, and candied pecans at Baker & Banker, which is still the best french toast dish I've ever had.  The most memorable is the one from a cafe in my hometown in NH, that makes theirs from ... glazed crullers (yes, the donuts).  A serving of their french toast is literally, three full size glazed crullers, dipped into french toast batter, grilled, topped with fruit and whipped cream, served with syrup, and a side of bacon fat fried homefries.  Oh my.

Anyway, the description on Seamless for the french toast at Sausalito Cafe was devoid of any details.  Where in the french toast spectrum would it fall?  If it is just standard white bread served with nothing on the side, there was no reason to even consider it.  I know that is classic "french toast", but I find it to be kinda worthless.

Since Sausalito Cafe's version is only $3.99, I didn't imagine it had any frills.  The website had an inquiry page, so I wrote in asking, not really expecting a response.  I was amazed when they replied telling me that it was thick sliced, served with powdered sugar and syrup, along with with butter if I liked.

Sounded quite reasonable. While not brioche, thick sliced is certainly better than regular sandwich sliced.  Syrup is definitely required.  So I went for it.  But of course I did it Julie-style, prepared to spruce it up if necessary.  I brought some fresh sliced strawberries and blueberries from the farmer's market, in case I needed to freshen it up, and some toasted coconut and chopped pecans, in case I wanted to add some crunch.  I pondered bringing whipped cream, but carrying a full can of whipped cream seemed insane, and that kind won't hold up once out of the can.  I very seriously considered bringing my own maple syrup, as I thought there was a good chance that they would not be serving real syrup, but I didn't have any easy vessel to transport a small quantity in.  I do have my limits!

My order of french toast contained 4 slices.  I wouldn't describe it as thick sliced, perhaps just a bit thicker than regular sandwich bread?  It was wheat, not white.  About what I expected given the price.  But while it wasn't anything fancy, it was surprisingly well executed.  The spicing was good, with the cinnamon coming through.  It was eggy, clearly soaked a little bit, making it more interesting than regular toast, but not strangely eggy or anything.  Not burnt, not dried out, not soggy.  The back crust was a little crispy, adding a nice texture.  I was really pleasantly surprised.  This was standard french toast, but a good version of it.

As you can see in the photo, it did indeed come with "syrup" ... "Chef's Quality Breakfast Syrup" at that.  As you may recall from my IHOP adventures, I grew up with a godfather who made his own syrup, and never encountered this "pancake syrup" stuff until college.  I was pretty sad when I saw the packet, although I did pretty much expect it.  I kicked myself a little for not bringing my own.  But then I tried it.  Maybe I've been living away from the land of maple syrup for too long, but honestly, it wasn't bad.  Yes, it was flavored corn syrup.  But it was sweet, it was mapley, and it really tasted pretty great with the french toast.  I quickly put away my coconut and nuts, they were not needed.  I had a few bites with my fresh fruit, but I actually preferred it with just the syrup.  Who knew? (Seriously, don't tell any of my east coast family!)

The only thing I didn't like about it was the butter.  I'm not sure if you can see in the photo, but it must have had some pats of butter served on top of it, that melted into giant pools of butter in the container, and soaked into several of the slices.  There was far too much of it for my liking.  In some bites, all I could taste was butter, no matter how much syrup I added.  I've actually never thought of adding butter to french toast, as it oil from searing it is always enough, and I am usually soaking it in syrup.  The very top slice wasn't soaked in butter, and it was the one I liked the best.  Several of the other pieces were kinda ruined from the butter, and unfortunately, there was no saving them, as the butter had melted and soaked in.  I wish it was served on the side, or listed as an option.  When I'd asked how it was served, he did mention "butter if you like", which made me think it was something I'd have to opt into.

Anyway, while this wasn't a crazy decadent french toast extravaganza like some of the other ones I've had, I can safely say this was the best standard french toast I've ever had.  And for $3.99, it is an insanely good deal.  Just make sure to get the butter on the side.

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Breakfast at Rosa Mexicano

Rosa Mexicano opened its SF location, right down the street from me, a few months ago.  I walked by many times as the restaurant being built up, and it looked swanky.  I read the initial menu and got so excited - tacos, but with scallops and pork belly!  Enchiladas, but with crab! Some of my favorite ingredients, put into a cuisine that I love for the flavors, but so often uses lower end ingredients.  It of course had price tags to match, but I'll happily pay for great food.

But then the reviews started rolling in.  They were not very good.  The only thing I saw anyone praise was the tableside prepared guacamole, and since I'm allergic to avocado, that was out.  So I filed Rosa away in the back of my mind, as a place to check back in on if I ever exhausted my endless list of other restaurants to check out.

A while later, I saw they offered brunch, featuring a mascarpone stuffed french toast with plantains. OMG.  I love a good french toast, mascarpone or other cream component is always a plus, and I'm somehow always craving plantains.  But, alas, it is served Saturday only, and I always have other plans on Saturdays.  So again, filed away in the back of my mind.

I'd honestly completely forgotten about Rosa Mexicano, until I received a very exciting e-mail.  They were trying out a new idea: breakfast, Monday - Friday.  Now, I get free breakfast at work during the week, so I rarely go out for breakfast, but sometimes, I do want a change from the norm.  And it is so close by. And better yet, they were offering a free breakfast to test it out the first week.

The menu provided stated many times that it was a sample menu, and that items would change and rotate, but it did have the french toast listed.  I was so excited.

Now, I must now give another detail: the breakfast is done as ... a buffet.  Yes, a buffet. Breakfast buffets generally have a pretty bad reputation: think uninspired hotel breakfasts, cold rubbery eggs, soggy pancakes, food that has been sitting around poorly maintaining heat for who knows how long.

I was determined to still give it a try, and figured it if was awful, I'd just turn back around and go back to my office, and enjoy something there.  And, I decided to drag myself there right when they opened at 8am, so at least I could combat the issue of food that had been sitting for ages.

I went on the second day of service.  I was greeted warmly at the front door, and handed my ticket to exchange for a plate (or togo box) at the bar.  I'm not sure what the setup will be like once they are running normal service, but I think it makes sense for the togo style to remain, so people can grab their breakfast on their way to the office.  The buffet will normally be $11.99, and includes beverages.  I exchanged my ticket for a plate, again, greeted very warmly, and made my way to the buffet line.

Overall, the food was quite tasty, far better than most buffet fair.  The flavors were where they really excelled.  If the chef can season, spice, and sauce like this in simple breakfast dishes, then I definitely want to return to try their regular food!

The Breakfast Buffet Line.

No items in the buffet were labelled, but the chef was behind the line, happy to describe any of the dishes.  In my review below, I pulled descriptions from the sample online menus.

The buffet featured 3 hot main dishes, 4 hot sides, along with yogurt and fresh cut fruit.  At the end of the line was real silverware and napkins for those staying to eat, plastic packaged silverware for those leaving.

The coffee station had coffee, a few types of tea, cream, and assorted sugar and substitutes.  One fellow patron was a bit upset that they only had cream, no skim milk for her coffee.  They had ceramic mugs if you wanted to dine-in, togo cups if you were leaving.  The coffee was astonishingly good, and I got decaf.  I almost wonder if it wasn't decaf.  I think that once they are in full swing, they'll also have orange juice and aqua fresca available.

Most folks just took their togo boxes and breezed out the door, but I chose to dine-in.  The buffet was set up in the bar area, so you just seated yourself in the bar after you got your plate.  Again, not sure how this will work when they are offering it for real, if they'd have table service, or open up the full restaurant.

One thing that was missing was any condiments.  There was no salt and pepper, ketchup, syrup, etc.  For the most part, the food was so flavorful that it wasn't necessary, but I did have one dish I wanted salt and pepper on.  I asked if there was any, and was nicely provided a set of shakers, but we all had to pass that set around, as there was only one set, and several other people wanted it too.

Mexican Breakfast! Chilaquiles, black beans, migas, potatoes, soft corn tamal. (clockwise, from top)

Sadly, the french toast I was so excited for was not on the buffet.  I was fairly disappointed when I saw the line up, all egg based main dishes.  Now, I can love a good benedict, or a perfectly fresh fried eggs, but scrambled eggs never do it for me.  Not that the type of eggs I like would ever do well on a buffet, so I didn't want those either.  I'm also not generally a fan of mexican food for breakfast, as I tend to go for something sweet rather than spicy in the morning.

That said, I was there to give it a try!  The main dishes offered were chilaquiles, migas, and an egg white burrito.

I started with the jamón con chilaquiles, "corn tortillas tossed in smokey tomatillo cream sauce, topped with scrambled eggs and grilled ham".  This is a buffet-friendly version of their regular brunch chilaquiles, which features a ham steak on the bottom, rather than chopped ham cubes on top.

I've never been a fan of chilaquiles ... why would I want soggy tortillas? And, as I said, scrambled eggs, meh.  But I have a good friend who LOVES chilaquiles, so I figured I'd try a few bites in her honor.  I'm so glad I did.  This was, hands down, the dish of the morning.  The tortillas, even though on the bottom and coated in sauce, somehow still maintained some crunch.  But it was really all about the sauce.  Just the right level of spicy, not too much for the morning, but enough to wake you up a bit.  The eggs were soft and fluffy, but I was too busy devouring the sauce soaked tortillas to pay much attention to them.  The ham cubes were on top, but I avoid them, since I'm not really a ham fan.  Did I mention the delicious sauce?  I hope this, or something like it, is offered in some of their other dishes!

Next, I moved on to a vegetarian selection, the Mexican Scrambled Eggs: "scrambled eggs with spinach, tomatoes, and jalapeños, served with salsa verde".  Again, another variation from their brunch menu, where you can add bacon, chorizo, or chicken as well.  I tried a bite of this just to give it a try, but as I said, I could kinda care less about scrambled eggs.  And, that is how I felt about these.  Very plain, although nicely loaded up with veggies.  The scrambled eggs is why I wanted some salt and pepper, as they needed ... something.  I didn't see any salsa verde as listed on the menu though, perhaps that would have helped.  My least favorite dish, would not get again.

The third main dish was an egg white burrito, filled with "herb-scrambled egg whites wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with oven roasted piloncillo tomatoes, arugula, and queso fresca".  This is available in the same form on their brunch menu.  I didn't try it, as it really didn't sound like something I'd enjoy.  It is nice to see a light healthy option though, and I heard others remarking on that fact.

Next, it was time to move on to the hot sides.  They had refried black beans, potatoes, bacon, and something that looked like polenta.

I started with the refried black beans.  Like eggs, I kinda hate on beans.  My cafe at work has them every day at breakfast.  And at lunch.  And they use all sorts of beans, in all sorts of preparations, but I never, ever want them.  I'm honestly not sure when this happened, as I used to love refried beans, and all sorts of bean salads.  Anyway, I wanted to at least try them, so, as you can see, I took a tiny little dollop.  I wish I'd taken more!  (Side note: I'm not sure what the return trip policy is ... when you are paying, is it all you can eat? Or do you need to advance decide what you'll like?)

Anyway, the beans were the second surprise dish of the day, my second favorite overall, and my favorite of the sides.  They were soooo creamy.  So flavorful.  I'm not sure what else was in them, as they were listed just as "refried black beans".  They went perfectly with the chilaquiles too.  Would gladly get again, and hope to see featured in their other dishes.

Then I moved on to the breakfast potatoes, little cubed potatoes cooked with slivered onions.  The potatoes themselves were fairly unremarkable, but the onions had been nicely cooked down, soft, and caramelized.  I loved mixing the onions into the beans, but I'd probably skip the potatoes in the future (unless I had some ketchup or syrup to dunk them in ..).

The dish I was most interested in was the soft corn tomal.  It looked like a bowl of grits or polenta, and I've been really, really into both of these items lately.  I've been enjoying them at lunch or dinner as sides, all cheesed up with herbs, fried into cakes, or topped with all sorts of tomato based sauces.  But I've also really gotten into making breakfast hot grain porridges.  Add a ton of cheese and top with a fried or poached egg? Perhaps a little hot sauce?  One of my gotos these days.  And, being the sweets lover, I've also been making sweet versions, loaded with maple syrup, cinnamon, and sometimes nuts or fruit.

The soft corn tamal was creamy, and as you'd expect since it was a Mexican meal, spicy, with bits of chopped jalapeño throughout.  But those weren't the only bits of goodness.  There was also ... bacon!  I enjoyed this, particularly with some of the beans, or a bit of the sauce from the chilaquiles.  Without either of those elements, they were somehow a bit boring, even though loaded with spice and bacon goodness.  I really wanted some syrup to drizzle in ...

Speaking of bacon goodness, they also had bacon strips, which I skipped.  I wish I hadn't, as I later saw that they were "piloncillo bacon" ... aka, candied bacon!  Next time, I must try this.

Finally, there was some cut fruit, but since it contained watermelon, which I'm allergic to, I skipped it.  There were also cartons of assorted flavored Activa yogurts.  They normally have an interesting sounding yogurt and granola parfait on the brunch and buffet menus, so I'd be curious to see that make an appearance instead.

Overall, a very satisfying plate of food, and I'd definitely return, particularly if that french toast makes an appearance!

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Say Hey! Sausage Specialties at AT&T Park

You can't go to the ballpark and NOT get caramel corn, right?  So after my lunch of crab and garlic fries it was time to move on to something sweet.  I didn't research the caramel corn in advance - rookie mistake.  From my reading now, I see that there is a place that makes it to order.  But that is not where I went.   I just got in line at the first stand I spied that had caramel corn, enough though it seemed to be a hotdog stand.  Seriously, I know better ... I think all the wine must have gone to my head!

Caramel Corn. $6.50.

It is a bit hard to see from this photo, but this was a decent size cup of caramel corn.  Certainly enough for two people to munch on while enjoying the game.  I was a bit weirded out by the fact that it came with a fork.  Who eats caramel corn with a fork?

I quickly realized why it was provided.  This was not at all what I was expecting.  First,  the caramel corn was warm.  Not a bad thing.  But it was also very, very gooey.  I still tried to eat some with my fingers since it felt so wrong to use a fork, but it was way too sticky.  Very messy.

The popcorn itself was kinda soggy and didn't taste very fresh.  The caramel flavor was decent, but the whole sticky, soggy thing just didn't work for me.  I wanted to crunch and munch on popcorn!  It also was just popcorn, no nuts or anything else added in.

And $6.50? Um, no.  Would not get again.

I ended up bringing some home with me, and I stashed it in the freezer.  I enjoyed it much better this way, as it got crispy and formed little popcorn balls.  I still wouldn't get it again, and I wouldn't recommend getting it just to bring it home to freeze, but it did save it :)  It turns out the freezer is a great place for popcorn in general, my freezer always has glass jars of different popcorns in it, perfect for a quick snack! (I learned this trick from my mom.  There is a kettle corn vendor at their local farmer's market that makes this insanely good kettle corn, and she knows I love it.  So she always gets it and stores it in the freezer for when I come to visit, just in case I can't make it to the market while I'm there.  Such a good mommy!)

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Emily's Chocolates and Nuts

A few weeks ago, while working my way through a backlog of chocolates, we tried out a dark chocolate bar infused with specks of dried strawberries.  It was good, but left me seriously wanting for something with MORE strawberry, as the little flecks were just a tease (stay tuned for that review, as part of a much bigger series).  What I really wanted was fresh strawberries dipped in dark chocolate, but I settled for something more easily attainable: dark chocolate covered dried strawberries.

This is the only product I've had from Emily's Chocolates & Nuts, but apparently they make a large line of, well, chocolates and nuts :)  They offer plain nuts, and milk and dark chocolate covered confections: nuts, dried fruits, fortune cookies, graham crackers, etc.  Fun packaging and gift boxes are available, if you are looking for that sort of thing.

Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries.

These were good.  The dark chocolate was decent quality, certainly higher quality than most of the chocolate you get wrapping other ingredients.  The dried strawberries were flavorful.  The ratio was a bit off for me, focusing too much on the chocolate, and not enough on the berry, although, I guess I didn't really want a giant dried strawberry.  It was fun to have something chewy, but just like the aforementioned bar with flecks of strawberries, it really just left me wanting chocolate covered fresh berries.

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Vintage 58 Wine Bar at AT&T Park

Continuing my Tuesday series of reviewing establishments at the ballpark ...

Like good ballpark goers, we started with all the classic foods, like the famous Crazy Crab'z, the legendary Gilroy Garlic Fries, and of couse, a hot dog.  But then it was time to move onto drinks.  Sure, most people at the park were drinking beer.  Or perhaps Bloody Marys or Margaritas.  We started that way too.  And Emil even unfortunately got the champagne at the Crazy Crab'z stand.  But then we moved up in the world, to Vintage 58.

Vintage 58 looks a bit out of place, as it is a wine bar.  With pretty good wine.  At the ballpark.  Yes, welcome to San Francisco.

Emil happily awaiting some bubbles!

It was adorable.  It did look a bit like a real wine bar, with decorative wood planking and wine bottle displays.  They had a surprisingly large selection, including wine on tap, and at least 6 different sparklings (including a Giant's branded Mumm), a bunch of reds, and a few whites.  The bartender was pretty knowledgable about her offerings and was quite friendly.  My only complaint is that they wouldn't let you try a wine first to decide what you wanted, but would let you order a single, taste it, and then upgrade to a double if you wanted.  Which we of course did.  She also did pour a couple sparkling that had gone flat, recognized it immediately, and opened fresh bottles.

Sparkling Mulderbosch rosé, Giant's Mumm.  $14.50 each.

The sparkling wines were served in these cute plastic flutes.  The Mumm had a special Giant's label on the bottle, but was really just Mumm.  The rosé but was sweet and dry, quite refreshing, but I was in the mood for something sweeter.  We tried a few others as well, but I don't really remember any details.

The price was shocking.  While almost everything else at the park seemed ridiculously over-priced, these were reasonable at $14.50 each.  I'm pretty sure the champagne Emil got at Crazy Crab'z was more ($16?), and this as much better.

The still wines were offered in two sizes, single or double. They were also totally reasonable, $10.25 for a single, $20 for a double.  I wish I had photos of the double glasses, as they were very serious glasses of wine!  Given that people were paying $9 for a bottle of beer, these prices were incredible.

For reds, I tried both the Quattro Mani Barbera and the Trivento Malbec.  Both were full bodied, and decent, although I liked the Malbec more.  I also had a Sauvignon Blanc, but I didn't catch the name of the maker.  It was my favorite of the wines I tried.

Vintage 58 was a big hit with our group.  Decent wine, reasonable prices, and certainly where we'd return if we go back to the park!

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Catering by Trace

Trace is the restaurant located in the W hotel in San Francisco.  I haven't visited since it turned into Trace, but I went a few times back in its previous incarnation (the XYZ), although only for brunch.  I wasn't ever blown away, but it was always solid, and easy to get a reservation, which is certainly a nice thing in the SF brunch scene.

Trace provided catering for an event I was at recently, so I got to sample a few of their items.  Unfortunately, they ran out of the dish I was most excited to try, panna cotta, right when I got there!  That is what I get for arriving fashionably late! I love panna cotta, and was very grumpy at the hoards of people who were all walking around with multiple panna cottas in their hands.  Couldn't they have saved one for me?  Boo.

Anyway, their offerings were more interesting than standard apps at an event like this, but nothing was remarkable.

Smoked salmon, cream cheese, chives.

The ratios were all off in this.  Way too much cream cheese, making it impossible to taste the salmon at all.  There was also a very thin cracker-like layer, but I also didn't taste it.  All that came through was mediocre cream cheese.  Meh.

Pickled beets, goat cheese, pistachio.

Who doesn't love salads on skewers? :)

This was actually a pretty tasty bite, even though it involved goat cheese and pistachios, which I don't tend to like.  The beet was tart and really well pickled.  I think they have a pickled beet salad at the restaurant, which I'd totally consider getting after tasting these beets!

Chicken liver mousse, pickled rhubarb.

I was overjoyed to see this.  Sure, it wasn't the panna cotta, but I do love my liver mousses.  The mousse was creamy, smooth, with a nice liver flavor.  The pickled rhubarb was a nice crunch on top, but I didn't taste it much.  It likely provided a bit of acidity to compliment the rich liver.  The tart shell was unremarkable, but you needed something to serve the mousse on, and it was better than a crostini.  The mousse is also on their regular menu, and I'd order it if I was there.  Tastiest bite of the evening.

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