Ciao Italia! Week 1

I  recently spent about 3 weeks in Liguria (specifically Albisola Superiore) with my good friend Barbie.  We had some great food and some not so great.  I will be showing you all the good stuff that I had during my stay. 

After 4 flights, I arrived in Nice, France, but my bag was lost by the airline.  What a great start to the trip!  I then had 2 train rides before getting into Albiosola by nightfall.  Luckily, I was not too tired to go out to eat!

NIGHT 1, 04.06.12: La Bussola (http://www.pizzeriabussola.it/)

We started with Insalata Caprese or tomatoes with mozzarella.  The tomatoes and cheese were both fresh and delicious.  I was advised to get Trofie Pesto, but since that wasn't available, Barbie suggested the Gnocchi al castelmagno e tartufo, AKA Gnocchi with truffles and castelmagno cheese.  It was rich with that cheese, but the gnocchi were nice and fluffy and the flavor of the truffles made it taste even better.  Barbie opted for Muscoli alla marinara or Mussels with tomato sauce - probably one of the best bowls of mussels I've ever had. 

    

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NIGHT 2, 04.07.12:  La Meridiana (http://www.lameridianaristocatering.it/)

I was craving a pizza and decided to get a plain mushroom.  I was surprised to see that they use canned mushrooms, but Barbie said it's always like this.  The crust was thin, but a bit chewy and crispy and cooked perfectly.  A nice little pizza - I ate the whole thing.   Barbie had the Trofie al Pesto which  has potatoes and green beans in it.  The pesto here is amazing.  Not like any other I have had anywhere.  Needless to say, I had pesto many times during my visit. 

For dessert,  I decided to try Semifreddo al Croccantino or Crunchy Nougat Glaced Cream and Barbie had the Panna Cotta with berry sauce.  Both were great - the semifreddo was pretty rich while the panna cotta was lighter. 

DAY 6, 04.11.12:  Genova  -  Locanda Spinola (http://www.locandaspinola.it/)

Genova is huge!  I could have spent several days there.  We headed over to the Aquarium this afternoon but made sure to have a nice lunch.  After walking around a bit, we stumbled upon  this place.  Our first course was a light pesto with fusilli pasta.  Next, we had carrots with butter sauce.  The carrots were super fresh, sweet and tender with little bite to it.  They were seasoned perfectly, and I wanted more!  How could something so simple be so good?  I then had a nice pan fried fish with tomatoes (not sure what type of fish this was), but it was nicely cooked with a light wine sauce.  I ended the meal with a pine nut cake (don't remember the name).  It was a little dry but tasted pretty good. 

NIGHT 6, 04.11.12:   Alibssola Marina -  Ristorante La Caravella

We decided to head over to the marina for dinner that evening and came across this nice restaurant.  I had the Trofie al Pesto which was delicious.  The combination of ingredients is nothing like the pesto you get here in the states.  It's not too heavy, but is rich in flavor and slightly creamy.   Barbie had a creamy gnocchi dish (the name escapes me), which was also delicious.  We then had plates of grilled vegetables, which  I really didn't need after the amazing pasta dish. 

 

 

 DAY 7, 04.12.12:  Portofino -  Da U Mariu Di Denaro

We headed out early with dogs in tow for the train ride to Santa Margherita and bus ride up to Portofino.  It was a lovely day and this place is beautiful.  After some exploring around the city, we decided to have lunch at one of the places right at the water meets the town.   We had a great view of the water and relaxed in the bright sun.  We started with a Caprese Salad and I opted for Spaghetti di Mare.  Our food for good but rather overpriced - you are paying for the surroundings and location in addition to the meal itself!



DAY 8, 04.13.12:  Savona - Ceci Fries!

Barbie took me to a small place in Savona this afternoon where they have fries made our of garbanzo beans (ceci in Italian).  Unfortunately, I did not get the name of the place.  I had them inside a bun with ketchup.  My goodness - they are amazing.  They are light and crispy, topped with a touch of salt.  They are not like any other I have ever had, and I need to figure out how to make these myself! 

NIGHT 8, 04.13.12:  Dinner - La Bussola

Another visit to La Bussola on the 6th night.  We had Caprese Insalata again (presented a bit differently).  I finally got the famous Trofie al Pesto that Barbie told me about.  It was as good as she said.  The combination of rich pesto, along with green beans and potatoes is not something I ever would have experienced had I not visited this region.  I could eat this at least a couple times a week if I could!   Barbie had a mushroom pizza, and we shared an order of profiteroles - 3 cream puffs topped with a rich chocolate pudding/mouse and topped with chocolate sauce.  Rich but a delicious way to end the meal. 

       

        

    

 

 



Stay tuned for more Italian culinary adventures! 

Dottie's True Blue Cafe

I met up with my friend Dave on Friday to check out Dottie's at their new 6th St location. It's definitely a bigger, better space that the one on Jones St, but some might still be weary of where it's situated.  Nevertheless, it didn't bother me, and the food is still good. 

While waiting in line I was torn on what baked good I was going to try, and our server suggested the crumb cake.  I would have liked to have more blackberries (you can barely see any from the photo), and it was a little dry towards the bottom.  The rum infused whipped cream was a good accompaniment.  It was good, but not as good as I was expecting it to be. 

 

We then spilt the grilled chili-cheddar cornbread with jalapeno jelly which is always good, but I would of liked it grilled just a bit longer on the bottom.  We really enjoyed the slightly spicy and sweet jelly that goes with it. 

I decided to go for a spinach, mushroom and cheddar cheese omlette.  A little skimpy on the veg, but it was still tasty.  I love the buttermilk dill bread it comes with!

Dave opted for the Open Road, which comes with everything - juice, 2 eggs, choice of meat and pancakes or french toast (he decided on Dottie's signature whole wheat buttermilk, spiced with ginger and cinnamon).

Needless to say, I was stuffed after eating all this food.  I actually only had 2 bites of crumb cake and brought it home for the family to try (Mav loved it)! 

Shamrock Shake

Feelin a wee bit Irish today, I decided to get a Shamrock Shake from McD's.  I usually never go here, but since it's only  available for a limited time, I had to get one!  It's a lot different from when I was a little kid - the McCafe cup, whipped cream and cherry on top.  It's an upgraded 2.0 version - super sweet with just a hint of mint (I had to share with Mav).

 

PIZZA! PIZZA!

Pizza is definitely one of my favorite foods.  I would eat it more often, if it wasn't so fattening!  Needless to say, during my last trip Chicago, I decided I would forgo my restrictions and eat as much Chicago-style deep dish pizza as possible within a 5 day span!  Here is the list, in order of preference. 

Lou Malnati's - The "Lou" contains spinach, mushrooms, topped with tomatoes and little cheddar cheese.  My favorite I must say.  The crust is a bit crispy on the outside while remaining tender on the inside.  I also love the fact that I could order a personal size for dinner.  So yummy, I went back on my last day to bring frozen pies back to SF.

Gino's East - Spinach & Cheese.  Their crust is super crunchy and golden color with lots of cornmeal.  Not like any other crust I've had before, but I really liked it.  Unfortunately, they only sell personal size pizzas at lunch, so I had to buy a small (4 slices).  Too much to eat in one night, but I surely wasn't going to waste it and finished it the next day!   I found out that they have frozen pizzas available at my local Lucky store - though not as good as hot and fresh from the source!

Uno's - Mushroom & Garlic. A decent pizza, tender crust with some crunch to it.  It could have been cooked a minute or two longer as I would have liked this just a bit more crispy on the outside.  This was 3rd on the list.  I went for lunch on my last day, so I was able to get a personal size. 

Giodano's - Spinach (Stuffed Crust).  My least favorite of the 4.  Super doughy, dry crust and lacking in flavor.  I think there was just TOO much in this pizza, and the middle top layer of dough was not fully cooked.  That ruined it for me.  No personal size available, so I had to buy a small (10", 6 slices).

So, if you are ever in Chicago, make sure you try some Chicago-style deep dish at least once! 

China Delights

    

One of my favorite Chinese restaurants is across the Bay in Pinole.  They're food is always good, portions are generous and prices are reasonable.    

From left to right:  Double Mushrooms & Bok Choy, Salt & Pepper Tofu,  Honey Walnut Prawns and Salt & Pepper Spareribs (I didn't have any of the ribs).   

   

        


        

Ebbett's Good To Go

I stopped by Truck Stop today (http://www.truckstopsf.com/) at 1st and Mission Streets and had an Asian Tofu Sandwich from Ebbett's Good To Go (http://ebbettsgoodtogo.com/)  It has roasted, marinated Hodo tofu and topped with cabbage, carrot, mint, cilantro slaw in a ginger lime vinaigrette with wasabi aioli - all inside and Acme torpedo roll.  It's a $8 sando, but it's "derishious" and  definitely worth a try.

Yakisoba

I try not to eat instant food stuffs, but I really love instant Yakisoba.   If you have never tried it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakisoba), the noodles are like instant ramen, but you drain the water and eat it dry.  It comes with cabbage, yakisoba sauce, powered seaweed and spicy mayo/mustard.  Myojo is the brand to buy and is available at any Japanese market.  Oishi!