With smoked paprika, sweet and spicy peppers, pita bread. $7.50
La Mediterranee, San Francisco CA
I used to hate the texture of tzatziki and hummus growing up so I would never eat them! Boy, was I missing out! I love the stuff now and these at La Mediterranee were pretty tasty. The hummus wasn’t very spicy but it was still delicious.
Cotes du Rhone, Andre Brunel, France, 2010. $9
Tempranillo, Lan-Crianza, Rioja, 2008, $7.50
King palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, Arecaeae), 16th Street.
Pitcher $15
Cancun Sabor Mexicano, Berkeley CA
I loved going to Cancun back when I was in graduate school! It’s super casual and the food is delicious. Hmm, I really need to get back to Berkeley more often.
Rosado wine, Hondarrabi Beltza, Ameztaoi ‘Rubentis’, Getariako Txakolina, 2011. $12
Tinto, Palm Springs CA
Red wine, Tempranillo, Senoriode de Valdehermoso ‘Joven’, Ribera del Duero, 2011. $10
Mmm, the wines at Tinto were pretty good and they were all from Spain so they went perfectly with the meal!
Rainmaker Fountain at night, North Palm Canyon Drive.
Whenever we’re down at the PS house, I always make a large batch of sangria to keep in the refridgerator. I love the stuff because it’s so refreshing and nice to have around on a hot, sunny day!
At the nearby grocery store, I look for a variety of fruit that are on sale or look particularly good. I like to get a nice mixture for extra flavor. Here I have nectarines, pears, oranges, mangoes, and apples.
Slice up the fruit and place in a bowl. I like to keep them in large chunks because eating the alcohol soaked fruit is the best part.
Here’s where I cheat. I mix 1 part bottled sangria (I really like the Cruz Garcia Real Sangria brand) with 1 part red wine (I’ll just get anything on sale because I’m just mixing it with the sangriz mix anyway). I’ve experimented with the different sangria brands and have found that a higher quality brand really makes a difference on the end result. The bottled sangria tends to be too sugary for my taste so adding more wine helps to temper the sweetness.
Pour some sangria into a decorative glass and enjoy poolside. Cheers!
House made potato gnocchi served with braised chicken, summer corn, roasted red peppers, green beans and finished with parmesan cheese. $18
Briscola, Reno NV
Is it just me or does this look like barf on a plate? The presentation is a joke! I should have known not to order this when the the title and description of the dish had contradicting information – roasted or braised chicken? I didn’t enjoy this dish one bit. The sauce was disgusting and tasted like it was out of a can. For some reason I imagined a substantial piece of chicken, not mutilated bits thrown in with the random veggies and gummy gnocchi. They should advertise this dish as their buffet leftovers gnocchi plate, seriously.
As a whole, this meal was a disaster and I would not recommend this place to anyone. The service was horrible and the food was marginal. Argh!
Rodney Strong, cabernet sauvignon, Sonoma 2010. $10
Columbia Crest “Les Cheveaux”, Washington 2010. $8
These wines were decent, but honestly their wine menu is definitely lacking for a “high end” restaurant.
Focaccia. Complimentary
Chopped tree trunks, Mount Rose Summit Trail.
Pitcher $18
Poquito, San Francisco CA
Mmm, I love red sangria! Poquito’s version was pretty good and the pitcher is decently priced. I need to make it out to the Dogpatch neighborhood more often!
The Christmas trees now cover the entrance to the Noe Valley Whole Foods, 24th Street. I’m still contemplating whether I should get a small tree this year.
Bodega Noemia de Patagonia ‘A Lisa’ malbec, Patagonia Argentina 2010. Glass $12
Toast, Oakland CA
We were spending a day in the East Bay and ended up at Toast for a late afternoon/early evening meal out on their front patio. You really can’t beat yummy wines and small plates enjoyed outdoors on a beautiful, sunny day.
Pinot Envy Flight $18 – Tessier Winery, Alameda CA
2010 Russian River Valley, 2009 ‘Trenton Station’, 2010 ‘Las Brisas Vineyard’
Reserve des Vignerans cabernet franc 2009, Saumur, Loire, France. Glass $8
Beast and the Hare, San Francisco CA
Per Linda montepulciano 2010, D’Abruzzo, Italy. Glass $8
Valcantara garnacha 2010, Carinena, Spain. Glass $6
As much as I love my cocktails, sometimes red wine just adds that extra punch while having a yummy dinner.
Thevenet, Bussieres ‘Les Clos’, Burgundy, France 2010
Mouton Noir, ‘OPP’, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2009
Mohua, Central Otago, New Zealand 2008
$17
Social Wine Bar, Charleston SC
This was a cute wine bar and the front bar area was super packed with the youngish after-work crowd. I would say that the girl to guy ratio was 10-1. That’s worse than San Francisco, lol! Anyway, I really enjoyed this flight of pinots. They were all very different and tasted really good.
Sexy “Medicine Cabinet” menu cover. These were metal (maybe tin) and super cute.
Only available on Sundays. Carafe $7.50
Taco Mamacita, Sullivan’s Island SC
Yum, this was really tasty and oh so refreshing for a lazy Sunday. I liked that they used this crushed ice because it gave the sangria a consistency similar to an Icee. The berry flavor was also really nice, double-yum!
Sullivan’s Island beach. The beach here was really odd to me – it was very different from the beaches I’m used to in California. The sand was hard and packed down and it was super windy. Apparently, it’s dangerous to go into the water after a storm because of all the jellyfish that become washed up close to shore.
Savory boiled soy beans in shell with homemade citrus salt. $3
Ken Ken Ramen, San Francisco CA
This was new to me – citrus salt with edamame. It was refreshing and tasted great. A little something different to jumpstart the meal.
House red wine – Merlot 2010. Pretty decent house red and very drinkable. $5
Sneakers sidewalk stencil, Guerrero Street. This corner at Liberty Street has several different stencils. Pretty cool.
Jose Maria da Fonseca, Periquita, Terras do Sado, Portugal, 2009. Glass $8.50
Riviera, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, California, 2010. Glass $9.50
LaSalette Restaurant, Sonoma CA
When in Sonoma, it’s kind of a given that you’re gonna drink wine with dinner. I love my cocktails, but I enjoy wine too especially in this setting. These light reds paired really well with our Portuguese tapas!
Grapevine metal railing, Viansa Winery. I love the metalwork along the ramps at Viansa. I think it’s funny that David was taking a photo of me taking a photo, while I was doing the same. Hehe.
Vittle Monster 