San Francisco is a Mecca for food and wine lovers and the
ones I selected were great destinations. I paired each entrée with some
very good wines that are described herein. Some of these are old favorites;
others are new favorites in a week of dining successes. My wife, Barbara, and I
arrived late Monday morning and traveled by taxi to Powell Place atop Nob Hill
and then back across the bay by BART to Oakland for dinner with our friend
Enid.
Toast Oakland 5900 College Ave,
Oakland: 510-658-5900
This is a very trendy area of Oakland near Berkley. To survive
here a restaurant has to know its audience. That means dining al fresco will
generate business and so will an eclectic menu. Good wine for sophisticates is
also a good idea as Napa is just up the road. My chicken breast with wild
mushrooms, fennel and quinoa went perfectly with the 2011 Finca Las Nubes Torrontés from Argentina. This was a new Torrontés
for me and one of the better whites to come out of Argentina.
This is a highly rated Torrontés with an 89 to 91 point score.
Jose Luis Mounier is a reputed master of this grape and the wine shows a fine
hand crafted it. The wine is elegant with good balance, showing flowery aromas
and flavors of jasmine and orange blossom, with wonderful minerality and juicy
acidity. This is a food-friendly or just-drinking-alone wine that will pair
with many foods including Asian cuisine.
No trip to Baghdad by the Bay is complete without a sake
sampling session. I found a couple of new favorites at three of my go-to
Japanese restaurants. Maru Sushi is a
long time favorite two blocks down from our timeshare on Powell. Good sushi and
a good selection of sake keep us coming back. I ordered a small bottle (300ml)
of Ozeki Karatamba Sake. Karatamba
means dry wave and this is fine dry sake of medium body with clean, smooth
flavors. The rice is milled to 70% and the subtle rice flavors permit pairing with
a wide range of Asian fare.
The following day we met friends at Hana Zen, my favorite Japanese restaurant in San Francisco. Nestled
in a corner of the Hotel Nikko, Hana Zen has great sushi and even better
yakitori, a Japanese cooking method where meats and vegetables are skewered
and grilled. Technically the term is Kushiyaki as yakitori means only chicken
meat, but the terms are used interchangeable; less to remember that way. I
again went with the Karatamba, one because I liked it so much, two because it
was well-priced, and three because it was fun to say; Kara-tamba!
Sanraku Japanese
restaurant is in the Metreon complex near Moscone Center. We went to see the movie 42, which was outstanding, with our
friends Ken and Debbie McKenzie. The food again is excellent and the outdoor
seating on a pleasant May day in San Francisco is not to be missed. Summer in
the city is a different experience as the central valley heat mixes with the
Pacific coastal breezes and the fog obliterates the sun. “The coldest winter I
ever spent was a summer in San Francisco,” was alluded to Mark Twain, but was
his most famous non-quote. Twain actually complained a lot about Paris weather,
but not so much about San Francisco.
But I digress. I had the sake sampler along with a salad,
gyoza and the oyster special. The Junmai Otokoyama
(“Man’s Mountain”) and Ginjo Kikusui
(“Chrysanthemum Water”) were my favorites. The Kikusui held notes of a distant
sea breeze and was one of the most delicate sakes I’ve tried. I might mention
here that all these cold sakes are 15% to 15.5%. Some climb up to 16.5%, so be
aware while you are enjoying these elegant sakes you can also get hammered if
you don’t watch it. The relatively coarse hot sakes will do the trick even
faster, but it would be a crime to heat premium sake.
Koh Samui and
the Monkey Thai restaurant: 415 Brannan St., San Francisco, CA 94107 (415)
369-0007
If you came here from my newsletter, it was probably to
check out this item. And yes there is a monkey, but I’m not cleared to discuss
it. Mary Ellen and Michael joined us here Friday. They came in on Caltrans,
which all of us Bay-area denizens use rather than driving into the city, and
worse, trying to find a parking spot. The train terminates near AT&T Park,
where thousands of Giant’s fans are disgorged to find their way to the ballpark
or populate the local bars.
As it happens some of them made it to Koh Samui so we had to
wait a long time to get our cocktails. I had the Cilantro Margarita, which was so
good I’m going to make them for my local friends. The scallop satay was criminally good and the
Madame Sea Bass had just about the best green curry I’ve tasted to go with the
bass. I originally ordered the Eroica Riesling, a joint effort by Dr. Loosen of
Germany and Chateau Ste. Michele one of the best Riesling houses in the
country.
They were out! But disappointment turned to astonishment when
I tasted the 2010 Salomon Undhof Kögl Riesling the waitress recommended. Riesling wines typically go with Asian cuisine, which is why I stuck with this
grape, but this wine was made for
Thai cuisine. Kudos to Koh Samui for having two great Riesling wines on the
menu. Heck they may have even more, but I’d choose this wine every time given
the option.
If you noticed the glass stopper next to the glass, I’ve
been seeing more of these fasteners of late. It has a rubber seal over the
glass and makes a great backup stopper. I recycled mine to use at home;
a bonus from Salomon.
The service is uneven but it was Friday night and a Giant’s
home stand against the Atlanta Braves as well. (The Giants took 3 out of four
games.) Still with our good friends the time went by all too fast.
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