Archive | August, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO + NAPA

31 Aug

you know, i’m a little scared to admit this in public, but… it’s fun to eat.

yes, it is important to be healthy, be skinny and fashionable and all that blah blah blah boring stuff.  but it is also fun to enjoy a great meal, good wine, great company and excellent atmosphere. oh, so good!

(my dad was a lot like that)

here are some places we went to in san fran.  we got so many suggestions from some great people but time was limited.

 

tadich grill.  we heard about it here.

walking distance from our hotel on the Embarcadaro, this restaurant was about an hour wait, but well worth it.

but wait, i’m getting ahead of myself.... we actually went to the famous “house of prime rib” the night before.  i kid you not.  now, i am not a prime rib type of gal.  but i got major brownie points from ROF for taking him here.  and i enjoyed myself big time.  have to admit that i got teary thinking about how much my dad would have loved this place.  we got there early and sat at the packed bar – actually it was a PACKED restaurant.  there were many cool things i liked about this place:

1. we got to know the bartender, pete, who had been there for over 23 years.  he wanted to know all about us – where we were from, what we were doing in san fran.  he was swamped too – but really took the time to make us feel special.

2. while seated at the bar, a group of about 7 or 8 old men in suit coats walked by us – i mean they were in their late 80’s and 90’s.  all decked out.  so cool.  probably have been going there for many years.

3. a local couple sat by us and energetically struck up a conversation about the place and it was a highlight to chat it up with them and get insider scoop. 

4. did i mention i got brownie points from my main man for coming here?

 

hope you have a fantastic holiday weekend!

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cutest damn grocery store: napa 2012

30 Aug

did you miss my review of the grape tasting yesterday?  click here

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schwoosh, sniff, sip: our napa wine experience

29 Aug

here it comes... my disection of our dream vacation and honeymoon to san fran and napa.  we just got back yesterday!

i’m gonna break it down in several different posts because, as you will surely see, our concentration was placed in two specific places:  eating and drinking.  (is there anything else?)

ROF and i work well together.  he loves to plan and, coincidently,  so do i.  but neither of us is obnoxious about sticking to the plans we’ve made.  he takes care of the airline and hotel and i take care of the restaurants and things to do (shopping).  on this trip, ROF did an outstanding job of planning out the wineries we went to see —  and that is what I’ve chosen to focus this blog post on today.

the wineries–the drink.

first off, there are a couple of different things you can do at different vineyard’s in the napa valley.

1. there is the pop-in technique

2. the scheduled tasting

3. reserved tour

there are probably other ways to do napa valley but these were the ways we chose.

we had 3 days in napa valley and wanted to make the best of them.  

side note: ROF and i really enjoy good wine.  so this was a special treat for us to learn more about the things we enjoy.  

the first way to make the best use of our time was to get a driver on saturday.  typically, you could never see as many places in one day as we did, but because we didn’t have to drive or navigate we saw lots of places and then headed back to san francisco. at least that is the excuse we’re using.

saturday, august 25th

andretti winery:  owned by famous race car driver, mario andretti who has a taste for fine wine and food.  the building and adjoined house were unbelievable.  this was a good starting place for us and ROF wanted to go because he is a huge fan of mario and his whole family and has met mario before.  he was actually in town and staying at the house but we didn’t see him.  the shop was eclectic with food, cool clothes, books and great photographs of the family.

for the wine tasting, it was ok.  it was not very informative – just a pour and sip.  underwhelming but not bad.  glad we went but don’t need to go back

silver oak vineyard:  this is a favorite “special” occasion wine for us.  we’ve had it several times and the winery was beautiful and very busy.  kind of like you’re checking in at a hotel.  they were extremely knowledgable and nice.  gorgeous grounds and facility and as mentioned, some of our favorite wine.  they only make cabernet.  and it’s good.  real good. 

i’m starting to get used to the drill by now.  small pour, swoosh in the glass observe the color and clarity, take a big sniff and note the notes, undertones, overtones, peppery, smooth finish.  i appreciate the differences in all .

caymus vineyard:  this is my favorite-wine-ever.  i was drinking it when ROF proposed (thanks to paul & kelly!)  we watched a video on this family – the wagners – before we made this appointment and fell in love with the  family story behind this vineyard.

we arrived early and were met by a very welcoming woman who introduced herself and let us know that we were waiting for a bigger party to join us.  this was a scheduled “sit down” tasting (vs the andretti and silver oak pop in.) she gave us two glasses and asked us to sit in a reserved table outside on the beautiful patio.  she brought us a taste of wine and then a nice guy kept coming outside and filling our glasses.  the atmosphere was so friendly – and fun!

when the wedding party group arrived – of about 10 girls – we all went into a private room and sat around a dining room table. believe it or not, as we were chit-chatting (ROF was the only guy at first) we found out that the girl sitting next to us worked for the marketing arm and works in the same building as me.  hello small world.

this wine was presented to us by a passionate and smart guy who worked for the vineyard.  he gave an hour presentation of five different wines including their special select.  to me, this is the best wine in the world.  it’s so complex and every sip is delicious.  i could go on forever.

miner winery:   this was a pop-in tasting and the view was beautiful.  busy shop and the tasting was ok.  great wine and fantastic being there during harvest.  they had a glass wall where you could see the production.

stag’s leap winery:  another one of our favorite wines.  this place was a full on production and quite cool.  it was set up like a restaurant with a hostess stand.  we were a little bit tipsy at this point (the happy, having a ball kind of tipsy) and told everyone we were on our honeymoon and we got some attention.  not that we like attention.  they had barrels set up as tables inside and out.  inside was dark and they poured us some of their great wine.  we got a pretty hard sell to join their wine club but by this time we said “driver – home!”

sunday, august 26th

we were on our own having just checked out of the san fran hotel and we headed up early to napa.

pride vineyard:   got an excellent tip from dave & laura busker, our good friends from NYC about this winery.  WOW, were we happy we went.  ROF did some homework and booked a tour.  this was our first official tour (#2 above, remember).  first of all, the drive up to this vineyard and winery was UNBELIEVABLE.  it was steep and winding and scattered with houses and winerys and huge trees.

once there, it was breathtaking!  

we got paired up with 3 other couples and our tour guide – jake.  we toured the cave which is where good grapes go to turn into wine.   we had samples from stations stationed  throughout the cave.  jake was young, knowledgeable and answered all our questions.  at one point, we drank wine straight from the barrel.  we learned about how much goes into wine – so many variables:

altitude, humidity, what kind of barrel, how old the barrel, when the grapes are picked, where the grapes came from – the mountain, the valley – everything.

the pride family started this vineyard from scratch.  we would highly, highly recommend.  this was a treat!

sterling vineyards:  we pulled into the driveway here and saw the line to get in and kept driving.  drove next door to where there was no one but us!

twomey cellars:  the two words that got us in here were on the sign out front:  in the SILVER OAK family.  quaint tasting room with a friendly man who knew a lot about the wine.  since silver oak only makes only cab, twomey had merlot and pinot that was fantastic.  we schwooshed/smelled/sipped/sampled.  very glad we popped in here and by the time we left, several other people had filed in after us.

schramsberg vineyard:

background:  ROF went here 6 years ago and spoke highly of this tour and of this sparkling wine.  it has an unbelievable story with it’s beginning in 1862!  schramsberg has also played a role in world history. the blanc de blancs was used for President Nixon’s 1972 “Toast to Peace” with China’s premier Zhou Enlai. schramsberg’s sparkling wines have been served at official State functions by every U.S. Presidential administration since. ROF was so excited to show me this place and go on our second tour.

the reality:  our tour guide stunk.  there is no other way to put it.  he was a teacher during the week and gave tours at the winery on sunday.  he talked so much i thought my legs were going to give out underneath me.  he took us into their cave and KEPT US IN THERE FOREVER!!  he poured us 6 or 7 different sparkling wines with his opinion of what went best with each one.  “this one is great with spicy tacos”.  “this one is good with buttery or fatty fish” “this one is good with chips and oreos”.  he repeated himself several times by insisting that champagne is good to drink anytime like after rush hour.  blahblahblahblah!

he drove ROF and i up a wall – or i should say out of the cave!  we finally got out of there by asking if there was a club we could join.  in which he said yes and (got the hint) picked up all of “his” leftover champaign pouring bottles (6 or 7!) and led us to the door.  we paid $90 for this tour and felt it was very unprofessional for such an iconic vineyard and american success story.  we love the product – when you see it  – buy it and drink it.  but we won’t go back there again.

and as it turns out, ROF and i had a better experience the next day – our own story – so it is ok that schramsberg experience stank.

monday, august 27th

oh no…. we’re not done yet.  you may need to go get yourself a cup of coffee or a glass of vino to finish this!

hall vineyard and cellars:  by far, this was our favorite tour of all the places we went.  this was special to us because we’ve had hall wine in dallas at some of our favorite restaurants.  also because the owners of this vineyard live in dallas and he a business owner there.  ROF has friends who have worked closely with him.  their story – craig and kathryn – is fantastic.  i urge you to read their story in the link i provided.

we got to the tasting room a little early and i have to say, i wasn’t too keen on sampling wine at 10:30 in the morning – also after having such a jam packed last two days.  i may have been a little grumpy even but i put on my smiley face and went in.  this was a private tour – just ROF and me and our tour guide, john.  as we found out – john and robert grew up only 5 miles apart from each other in new jersey.

john was the most knowledgable and interesting person we’ve met on this trip.  he said “hope you’re ready to really see it!” and he took us clear into the vineyard itself where we picked different grapes and ate them out in the field.  we saw the bottling process up close and he took us to the huge vats of wine and told us about the process of creating great wine.  this is a boutique vineyard – producing 75,000 cases a year.  he spent a good hour with us walking around the facility.  but then we sat down in the shade and he brought us a cheese and fruit platter and gave us a tasting of 5 of their wines.  we enjoyed talking with him, learning about this unbelievable power couple from our hometown and sipping some great wine.  perfect start to the day.  and of course, after the first sample of wine, i was just back in the saddle again!

we got an awesome surprise towards the end of our time there when john brought out a bottle of wine for us from a business partner and friend of ROF’s – john wilson.  what a treat!  we were thrilled to say the least.

our next appointment wasn’t for a few hours, so we had lunch and drove near a place that our friend dave anderson’s family owned off of sage canyon road and next to chappellet vineyard.  it was a beautiful drive.  ROF told me of great memories he had at this house with dave and some friends.

last, but not least, was opus one.

known to most as simply the best wine there is –  this was $80 for two glasses of wine.  typically, i won’t be so class-less about putting price in here but i had to for this.  FOR TWO GLASSES.  that is like the same as a decent scarf or something!   this didn’t surprise me, because i’m familiar with the wine, but they basically poured you a glass of excellent ’03 vintage or ’08 vintage and you walk around.  it’s just something that you have to do once.  there is also no where else in the world you can get “just a glass” of opus!  you have to buy the whole $200+ bottle.  anyway, it was a stunning, stunning place.  

well that is all for part I:  the wine.  i hope you enjoyed this – but probably not as much as we did going!  have you been to napa valley?  what did you think?

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raleigh from the sky

24 Aug

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no retirement plan or safety net

23 Aug

he may not have had a retirement plan, but our driver this morning certainly had a life.  we were chit chatting with him on the way to the airport and i found him to be one of the most interesting persons i’ve talked to in a long time.  ROF thought he was a little coo-coo.  he was from the same small town in michigan my aunt and uncle were from – sault st. marie – and he knew of my uncle and the dealership he owned.

as we drove to the airport, he shared with us all the different things he has done from being a correction officer in that small town to putting himself through college by being a card dealer at a casino.  he also owned a transportation company at one point and lived in the wild in alaska one month at a time.  he also raced snowmobiles.   he was in his 50s and i thought it was fun, for a moment, to imagine living a life like that – unpredictable, kind of on the edge.  he said he had a crazy resume but it didn’t make much for a retirement plan.  he said he was more worried about the “end of the year, when the world ends” than what is going to happen in the elections this fall.  he’ll probably get out of dallas and make sure he is somewhere remote.  imagine being scared of that.

i am so predictable and typically play things safe.  what if i lived without a safety net – what would i do?  i think it would be cool if we were all forced to learn a new trade every seven years.  wouldn’t that make us more eclectic, well-rounded people?  you know what i’d do?  well, i’m gonna tell you:

1. learn how to make cheese.  and not mozzarella.  like good cheese.

2. become a sommelier.

3. fitness trainer.  that would force me to get fit !

4. car salesperson.  i think i would kick ass at this.

5. jewelry designer

6. flight attendant

7. chef

8. magazine editor – also think i would rock this.

9. travel agent

10. graphic designer

oh one more…

11. interior designer

the question is – what’s stopping me from doing this?

appreciating: a break

22 Aug

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post #blogshopdallas

20 Aug

so i guess you’re wondering how the class was?  it was really fun and educational.   of course, i’m not showing off my new skills except with this schnazzy new banner i created up above.    i love seeing other people be so passionate and excited about what they do.  i also discovered that i love love love photoshop and designing.  i love being creative. 

check out my “teacher’s” blogs here and here.  then see if a blogshop is coming near you.  if this interests you, grab your mac and go! 

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being comfortable being uncomfortable

18 Aug

is my new mantra.  

and to start off a sea of changes, i’ve signed up for a class that i’m slightly uncomfortable with taking this weekend.

why would taking a class make me step out of my comfort zone?  this begs me to give you a little background.  i started this blog over a year ago for one reason initially – to know how to start a blog for the CEO of my company.  i don’t talk too much about my job in this blog but i shall now – i love it.  i am the self-proclaimed and company backed vp of social media for a national ad agency that handles chevrolet groups across the country.  i have so much more to say about this but that i just decided, will come in subsequent posts.  

so any way… i will get back to this class i’m taking.  

while i have become quite good (if i say so myself) at working at introducing bloggers all over the country to chevrolet (see example here), I decided that i wanted to become a blogger myself , you know, so i would know how to do it.  i could advise my boss, be able to relate even better to the bloggers in the programs we launch are like,  plus, i like to write, design, dream and link to cool interesting things.  so i came up with my theme of the appreciator (see about me). 

being comfortable being uncomfortable

so i am, by no means, a “professional” blogger.  and there are tons of them out there and i will be with them today.  everything is cute.  and everything is perfectly curated and designed.  (love it) so i’m going to learn!  this class today and tomorrow is me, at forty two, stepping out of my comfort zone, getting with other bloggers and making myself vulnerable and open to learning new, cool things.  i’m scared to death they are going to look at my work and giggle a little giggle like “isn’t that cute”.  but that is just my insecurity showing.  and remember, i promised you here that i’d show you that part of me.

so i’m excited to learn new things, learn how to make this blog schnazzier and who knows maybe even become a graphic designer in the making!  this class is a two day immersion in photoshop specifically for bloggers – 20 of us.  watch this video here:

blogshop new york

photos, courtesy of blogshop

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10 tidbits about throwing a dinner party.

13 Aug

i love giving dinner parties.

it’s not as trite a love as you might think …loving throwing dinner parties.  after all, author hermann hesse wrote in his novel klingsor’s last summer:

“this day will never come again and anyone who fails to eat and drink and taste and smell it will never have it offered to him again in all eternity.  the sun will never shine as it does today…but you must play your part and sing a song, one of your best.”

that’s kinda how i feel about having good friends over, cooking for them, clinking glasses, laughing, sharing and making memories.

here are 10 tidbits that have stuck in my head from the experts (or just mom) when entertaining.

#1  don’t wait until everything is perfect to have people over.  things will never be perfect.  your guests aren’t looking for perfect, they’re looking to hang out with you.  don’t wait until you have a perfect matching set of dishes or replace that chandelier that is lopsided. don’t wait until you have enough money to serve fancy wine or cook a julia child french dinner.  just do it.  the most important part is the togetherness.

#2. linens don’t have to be perfectly ironed and matchy matchy.  i learned that from ina.  she said it’s much more casual to have unironed cloth napkins folded simply than perfectly starched ones.  if she said so, then that works for me.

#3. have a dinner box.

#4.  arrange small but multiple centerpieces of flowers all the same color – or a mix of 2.  and design it so your guests and see each other over the flowers.  best to always do an odd number.  don’t ask me why.  everyone knows that. i just use water glasses.  big whip.  

#5.  people always end up in the kitchen so fix a small bar there so people can help themselves. we have a tiny back porch that we dress up as a bar:

#6 consider music.  you can find my playlists on spotify.  i have playlists for specific dinner parties and for general dinner parties.  you can pandora it as well.  good pandora mixes for dinner: john mayer, ella fitzgerald, frank sinatra and some dinner parties:  beastie boys.  i’m just sayin’. 

#7.  think about having a signature party.  you know, one you throw every year at the same time.  ROF and i started a post-thanksgiving chili party in honor of my aunt’s traditions in so-cal.  

#8 ponder having a theme.  i’d love to take credit for this, but we threw a birthday party for suzanne last year and she suggested making it a wig party and that was quite the fun time:

 

#9 use the whole house and be creative!  we love entertaining outside during those 2 days in dallas when it is under 80 degrees.  we have also used our garage.  we’ve put a band in the back yard and “the burger man” in the driveway.  he flipped the best burgers for my mom’s 70th birthday party which we had at the house:

 

 

 

#10.  i can’t think of anything else.  oh yeah i can- mix up the guests.  we haven’t done this as much as we’ve wanted to but would love to have a “random friend” party.  i actually attended one once and it was a blast.  lots to learn about from new people!

what are your favorite parties to throw?  and are you due for throwing one?  over and out.  hope you enjoyed!

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hometown love. edition one.

12 Aug

if you’re ever in the big d, meaning dallas, check out some of our favorite places to eat.  sure, you can peruse yelp.com in search of strangers reviews and taste bud preferences but why do that when you can see what we like.  this by no means is an exhaustive list, just a start.

Get the flounder stuffed with ritz cracker – outstanding! on greenville avenue

start with the ahi tuna tower and then you must have the sundae roll. also on greenville ave.

cane russo. best pizza without a doubt. this is the dessert pizza. go. here. now. hip atmosphere too. if you’re into social media, tweet about @canerusso because the owner jay will retweet you! in deep ellum.

a must visit place with bar in center of restaurant. get anything – it’s all great. on greenville

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mugging down

1 Aug

i’ve always wanted to collect something.

but could never decide on what.  my sister collected hotel supplies (there’s a story behind that) and shot glasses (so 1980’s).  my aunt is a great collector of various themes.  my mom had dabbled in various interesting artifacts.  i used to gather matches from places we’ve been to but no one hands out matches anymore – i guess so they don’t encourage smoking.  they also take up a lot of room.

well, the wait is over, folks.  i’m collecting city mugs by starbucks.  this DOES NOT MEAN i am a fan of starbucks.  i most certainly am not.  way too mainstream for me.  i am a coffee snob.   however, these mugs have driven me slightly coo-coo obsessive.  ask my friend and sister-in-law, susan and her husband , mike. i dragged them to 3-4 (maybe 5?) starbucks in desperate search of a san antonio city mug.  as it turned out – they were out.  like in the whole city.

i find this fun because i travel a lot and i’m starting to get quite a fun collection of colorful mugs.  this does not mean i won’t accept them from friends/family across the country (hint hint) as susan sent us an awesome indianapolis mug (because someone who shall remain nameless forgot to bring me back one when he was there) and a new york (!!) mug.

they have these all over the world and i’d love to get a paris one – obviously from visiting paris.   oh yeah – these are useable mugs.  ROF and i drink our morning joe from these each day.

snagged at the airport starbucks with a screech of sheer joy

got this yesterday, at the airport, once again. this was way up top, like on display and the lady looked at me like i was nuts asking her to get it down for me.

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