Sassy Epicurean

Salted Caramel

2010-01-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things to do on a sunny afternoon in San Francisco is enjoy a scoop of salted caramel ice cream from Bi-Rite Creamery. Bi-Rite ice cream is made with local organic ingredients and they always have unique flavors. I have never tasted anything like the salted caramel; it tastes like a sophisticated rich caramel flavor with a slight bitterness to it. It’s almost like eating dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. Other flavors include balsamic strawberry, lavender honey, ginger, crème fraiche and roasted banana. Because they use seasonal/local ingredients the menu changes regularly.
Grab a scoop or two and walk across the street to Dolores Park. I like to sit towards the top of the hill for a fantastic view of this one of a kind city.

Enjoy!

Bi-Rite is located on 18th street at Dolores.

Christmas in a Cup

2009-12-06T22:58:00.000-08:00

Cheers! The holiday season has officially begun for me. My tree is up, cards are out, shopping list done and most importantly I found the perfect holiday drink. The best parts of the holidays are the foods, flavors and aromas that bring the magic of the season to life. The Coffee Bean Tea Leaf has a latte that captures the essence of Christmas better than anything I have ever tasted. I usually have peppermint lattes, pumpkin spice drinks or hot chocolate during the holidays. But this is my new favorite. I can close my eyes, take a sip and every happy emotion that comes with Christmas fills my mind as this warm and deliciously cheerful drink fills my mouth. It's the perfect escape from a long day of holiday shopping. The latte is appropriately named Winter Dream Tea Latte.

Sweet Spot in San Francisco

2009-11-15T22:17:00.000-08:00

It’s no surprise to anyone that knows me that I LOVE candy and basically anything with sugar in it. So I love visiting candy shops everywhere I go. Sweet Dish is one of my favorites. Sweet Dish has an assortment of candy and a sweet-contemporary look. It is located on Chestnut Street in the Marina District of San Francisco. The walls are lined with glass jars full of gummies, licorice and old favorites. In addition, they have tables of unique packaged gifts such as gourmet marshmallows. The candy lined walls are what give the store such a unique look. The glass jars are beautiful and the candy gives the room a pop of color in contrast to the white floors and walls. One of the cutest features is the lamps that hang like gumdrops. I always stop here and get a bag of my favorite candy and I suggest you pop in and find a sweet little treat. For only a few dollars you can walk away with a baggie of your favorite childhood candy or an imported surprise – the hard part is getting just one.

Three layers of deliciousness

2009-11-15T21:59:00.000-08:00

I had the best candy apple in Laguna Beach so I’m writing a quick post to tell you about it. If you have ever walked by a store window of a Rocky Mountain Chocolate shop you have seen the huge selection of sugar covered apples. They have so many options its hard to decide which one to try. Almost all of them have at least three layers of sugar coating on them. The one I had is called a snowflake. The green apple is covered first with a layer of caramel, then a coat of white chocolate and topped with sprinkles of coconut flakes. I love all of these ingredients separately and together they were a luscious combination. One apple is probably enough for two people so have them cut it into slices and share it as you walk along the beach boutiques.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company

248 South Coast Highway

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

www.rockymountainchocolatefactory.com

Shots of milk and cookies

2009-11-02T21:04:00.000-08:00

Shots of milk topped with cookies...What a great party idea! This party idea, from Diana Sproveri, was featured in the November issue of Sunset Magazine. I went to her web site and found many ideas for dessert parties. She is in the LA area and actually caters dessert parties. This one is easy enough to do yourself. Just bake miniature versions of your favorite cookie recipe then fill a shot glass with milk, put them together as shown and you are done. I'm going to try this with my Christmas cookies this year.

French toast heaven

2009-11-02T08:42:00.001-08:00

These sugar and fruit filled breakfasts are both from Judy's Cafe on Chestnut street in San Francisco. My last trip there definitely included a lot of eating so you will see more posts from the area.

Judy's is a small cafe that is packed every weekend for breakfast and brunch. They serve home style cooking. The French Toast on the left is made with sourdough bread and the one on the right is stuffed with cream cheese and topped with fresh bananas and strawberries. I loved them both. The sourdough bread is a true San Francisco experience and the cream cheese filled is an indulgence for breakfast. If you are more of an eggs and toast kind of person I suggest you try the garlic omelet. It is huge and every bite is bursting with flavor.

Chestnut street is a perfect place for a leisurely weekend walk and brunch. So you can spend a few hours there and try the French Toast at Judy's and do a little shopping.

Colorful Goblets

2009-11-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

Love these goblets from Anthropologie!

Pastrami in Hollywood

2009-10-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine had been telling me about a mouth watering pastrami sandwich he once found by accident. I heard about this sandwich a few times so I was excited at the opportunity to try it. It happened by chance that we were in the area and had some time to spare. He led the way as I drove down Sunset Blvd into a little parking lot where all the spaces said “Greenblatt’s only.” We walked in the back door of a building and down some narrow stairs into a fine wine shop. On the other side of the wall was a take-out deli and towards the front some booths. We sat in a booth and ordered pastrami sandwiches. I ordered a Reuben on rye and he had a plain pastrami sandwich on rye with mustard. A few minutes later we had our sandwiches, with high expectations I took my first bite. Each bite was warm, juicy and full of flavor. I didn’t want to put the sandwich down. I have had plenty of pastrami sandwiches but with this one all the flavor came from the meat itself. The sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and rye bread were just accents to the savory flavor of the pastrami that filled my mouth with each bite.

Once our plates were clear of the sandwiches we decided to splurge on dessert and coffee. Below is a picture of their carrot cake. One was enough to split after all that pastrami but it hit the spot perfectly.

I will definitely be going back to this deli to eat pastrami and browse their wine selection. If you are in the Hollywood area be sure to stop at Greenblatt’s Delicatessen and let me know what you think. They are open 365 days a year 9am – 2am. http://greenblattsdeli.com/

From Greenblatt's

Classic Combo

2009-10-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

Butter, gravy and syrup: what an extraordinary combination. I heard about chicken and waffles a while ago but never actually had a reason to try the combo. However, my friends Bubba and Lisa raved about Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles so I decided to give it a shot. All I can say is it exceeded my expectations. The sweet, salty, creamy mix was surprisingly delicious. I ordered the Carol C Special which included one waffle and one chicken breast. I highly recommend ordering it SMOTHERED with gravy. The dish is served on two plates so you can mix the two at your own pace. Trust me, once you get all the flavors in your mouth you will combine everything and go for it. I also recommend the Eclipse; this is a beverage mix of fruit punch, OJ and Lemonade. It’s fun and refreshing. Check out their web site for more info www.roscoeschickenandwaffles.com.

Funny note: after our breakfast at Roscoe’s we went to catch a movie. We saw Funny People with Adam Sandler. And guess what, Adam Sandler wears a Roscoe’s t-shirt in one of the scenes! Go figure. It seems like Roscoe’s is not a big secret in the LA area. Where have I been?