Ginger & rum, PB&J, bing cherry, olive oil, hazelnut crunch, and meyer lemon.
The French Laundry, Yountville CA
Another dessert freebie! I was SO full that I took my 3 truffles home. They didn’t look as shiny the next day, but they stil tasted AWESOME!
Cinnamon-sugared doughnut holes.
“Cappuccino semifreddo”, a mousse-like coffee dessert.
The French Laundry, Yountville CA
I guess this is a Thomas Keller signature combination that’s no longer available on the regular menu. We got it for free at the end of the meal (thanks again Olivia) and they were AMAZING!
They also brought out a bowl of hard caramel-covered macadamia nuts. Yes, please!
Praline mousse, “dacquoise”, meringue, and roasted banana sorbet. Chef’s Tasting Menu $270
The French Laundry, Yountville CA
This was one of those desserts that has a lot of amazing components but I couldn’t seem to enjoy them all at once. It all tasted great, but I was left with a feeling of disappointment. The tiny pieces of bananas were amazing, lol!
Toasted oats, pomegranate, Oxalis and Osmanthus “nuage”. Chef’s Tasting Menu $270
The French Laundry, Yountville CA
Ah, this was SO refreshing! I really liked the cream yogurt sherbet with the tart pomegranate arils and the crunchy oats. I don’t know what Osmanthus is supposed to taste like, but the “cloud” was cute enough.
All done!
This was VERY good! I loved the ooey, gooey texture of the warm strawberry filling and the soft, caramely crust. The dish was quite large for a single person but I ate it all up anyway, hehe! The perfect ending to a great meal!
The Glass Onion, Charleston SC
George Washington statue in Washington Square Park. ‘Ole George lords over the many visitors in this quaint park.
Homemade peach flavored ice cream. Small $2.75
Hyman’s General Store, Charleston SC
Omg, three scoops of ice cream is a small here! That’s a lot of ice cream! It was very good and I liked the airy consistency. The store is next to Hyman’s Restaurant which always has a crowd of people waiting to dine inside. It looks SUPER touristy though so I prolly won’t try it.
Charleston Waterfront Park Pier. Took a stroll after dinner and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere at the park.
Project 365: Day 124
Ugh, so sad to be back at work today after such a great weekend. At least the weather is holding up. Heading to the gym after work and just gonna spend the night catching up on dvr.
Vanilla flavored ice cream made with local ingredients. Honey from Marshall CA and lavender from Wood Lane Gardens in Fairfax CA. Kids scoop $1.75
Fairfax Scoop, Fairfax CA
This had a softer texture than some of the other flavors at Fairfax Scoop, but it tasted amazing. The honey added a rich sweetness and the lavender wasn’t too overpowering.
Project 365: Day 123
Mmm, had a great dinner at LaSalette last night. It’s a Portuguese tapas restaurant and everything was really good. We ended up walking back to The Lodge from downtown, enjoying the warm evening weather and viewing the Super Moon!
This morning was amazing! We grabbed a quick breakfast snack from the Carneros Bistro counter and just had a lazy morning poolside. David read the newspaper and I jumped in and out of the pool. We had a relaxed, yummy brunch at The Girl + The Fig before wine tasting at Buena Vista Winery, Gundlach Bundschu, and Anaba Wines. Gundlach Bundschu was my favorite of the three! I definitely want to come back at a later date and have a picnic day here.
Now we’re back in The City, having cocktails and getting hungry again, lol! It’s been a great weekend.
Bittersweet chocolate flavored ice cream with red chiles. Kids scoop $1.75
Fairfax Scoop, Fairfax CA
This was a very interesing scoop of ice cream with the red chiles. You could definitely taste the chiles and they added a little bit of “latin” heat. I liked it!
Peppermint flavored ice cream with chocolate chips, Oreo cookies, and fudge swirl. Junior size $2.20
Mitchell’s Ice Cream, San Francisco
Mmm! Mint used to be my favorite ice cream flavor as a kid. Add all the extra stuff and you’ve it even better!
Orange Iceland poppy (Papaver nudicaule, Papaveraceae) with purple Spanish Flag or West Indian lantana (Lantana camara, Verbenaceae) in the background, Dolores Park.
Valrhona flourless chocolate mousse cake on a thin layer of chocolate cake base. 10 inch round, $62
Tartine Bakery, San Francisco
I had some co-workers over shortly after my birthday and served this wonderfully delicious cake from Tartine Bakery. This is one of those cakes that a slice is more than enough. The cake was so rich and dense. I tried forcing people to take slices home because I didn’t want it in the house to tempt me. Suffice it to say I had more than my fair share.
You can see that the chocolate cake base is, indeed, very thin. The rest of the cake eats like a block of soft chocolate. Noms!
I love that the bakery provides a sheet on serving and keeping this cake. It reads, “Chocolate Souffle Cake, Opera Cake: Both of these cakes may be served cool or at room temperature. If served cool they are sliceable with a hot knife (run knife under very hot water and dry off to slice). The cakes may be served at room temperature, although they fillings will be considerably softer and more difficult to handle. The Opera will still be sliceable, however the Souffle Cake will have a soft, mousse-like consistency which some people prefer. These cakes keep well for several days in the refrigerator.”
Earl grey, almond, vanilla gelato. $9
Locanda, San Francisco
This was the best part of the meal! But I guess since it was one of my birthday dinners, dessert is always the best part. Seriously though, this crostata was beautiful and delicious. I’ve never had a date crostata before, but the black adaba dates tasted amazing with the almond. And vanilla gelato can’t disappoint. I’m not sure where the Earl grey was, but I think it was incorporated into the glaze?
Checkerboard cake topped with sugary icing and gold leaf. Complimentary
Benu, San Francisco
This was SO sweet! I hadn’t mentioned that this was my birthday dinner when I made the dinner reservation, but I mentioned it on the side at the beginning of the meal when we handed them our Dom Perignon. Our server obviously took note and brought this birthday surprise at the end of the meal. It came in this large black music box with blue lights on the side (I wish I had taken a photo of it). You turned the handle and it played “Happy Birthday”. I really wasn’t sure what it was, but Silverfox suggested that there was probably something inside so we lifted the lid and this cake was underneath. SO cute! Of course it tasted delicious, but birthday cakes always taste the best!
Vittle Monster 