Portland, Oregon Anniversary Trip

For whatever reason, for B and my 3rd anniversary (back in 2012), I decided I wanted to go to Portland! Don't ask what made me decide this, but I was thinking maybe San Diego or Monterey, but they were both too expensive to stay at for any length of time. Then I thought of how popular Portland was becoming, checked hotel rates, and they were so cheap! We stayed at a place called the Phoenix Inn, in Lake Oswego, about 20 minutes south of downtown, and it was really nice and totally within our price range. We drove and the hotel was right next to a gas station, which was always nice if we needed gas on our way in for the night, or out for the day. It was a very long drive, about 10 hours, I wouldn't recommend it if you aren't trying to save money like we were. But I figured, I've made the 8 hour drive to San Diego and back many times, so another 2 hours is no big deal. The nice thing was we were able to stop in to the Voodoo Doughtnuts that was way south of the city, and there was no waiting, unlike the downtown location.

I also decided that maybe this would be the right time to get my first digital SLR camera, so I bought that along with an additional lens, battery, case, so on. Some of the photos are taken with it, and they sure do look great!

Grain and Gristle - Burger

Grain and Gristle - Our first dinner once we got into the city, we stopped at little bar called Grain and Gristle for some food. We weren't super hungry because we stopped for lunch in the middle of the drive, so we split the burger and added a fried egg. Very delicious, great little place to stop by.

Voodoo Doughtnuts - Voodoo Doll Doughnut

Voodoo Doughtnuts - Bacon Maple Bar

Ike's Lair, Cafe La Tartine, and Roam Burgers

On a visit to see the bf, we did a small little food tour throughout the bay. Our first stop was Ike's Lair. It took me a little while to figure out that Ike's Lair is the same as the famous Ike's Place sandwich shop. They may have different menu items, but they have the same secret menu, so you can order your favorite secret menu sandwich at any of their many locations. (Why they have different names, I have no idea, but trust me they have the same great sandwiches.)

I don't remember the exact sandwich I got, but I remember it had something to do with Halal chicken, ranch, mozzarella sticks, red pesto, everything on it, and Dutch Crunch bread. It was pretty good, but since then I've had better sandwiches from Ike's. 

Krush Burger

SactoMofo had a little food truck event going on right by my work, where the Krush Burger truck was going to be. So, on my lunch break, I took a little trip over there and ordered some mini burgers! I got 2 sliders, including the Cowbell and the Ninja, and some of their Krush Fries.

These are the fries, they were really good. Just the right amount of salt and crispiness.

Off the Grid and Super Duper Burger

B and I decided to go get some lunch at Off the Grid food trucks, then go hiking at Mt. Tamalpais. I decided on one of my favorites, Koja Kitchen, and got the Kamikaze Combo which consists of your choice of Koja, and the Kamikaze Fries. I chose BBQ Short Rib Koja with added pineapple. Sorry the lighting is so bad on these photos, I was in a tent that made all the light orange. 

Monterey Trip - Day 3

It was the final day of our trip, so we grabbed a few things to eat on our way out of town, went hiking in Point Lobos and then headed home. We had heard about a donut place in downtown Monterey, called Red's Donuts, and it happened to be National Donut Day, so we had to go check them out. They had a few left, so we tried a glazed, chocolate glazed cake, banana glazed, and a blueberry donut. The blueberry ended up being the unexpected hit, but they were all very good. 

One the way back home, we stopped at Phat Burger in Seaside, CA. I ordered the special of the day, the Buffalo Chicken Burger with Curly Fries. They have a cool toppings bar, where you can add all the veggies, sauces, and toppings you want to your burger. I opted for red onion, lettuce, tomato, ranch, and pepperoncinis. It turned out really good! The ranch was absolutely necessary, and the other toppings were fresh and were great complements to the sandwich. Their curly fries were also very good. I recommend this burger joint to anyone passing through Seaside. 

Lola Burger

I have seen this burger around the Internet many of times, but I finally got around to making it. It was a lot of work, and I don't know if it turned out good enough to merit all the work, but I definitely liked the idea of a fried egg on my burger. I think you could probably buy the ketchup (maybe go with a fancy ketchup, not just Heinz) and purchase some pickled onions. If you don't keep some of the spics on hand normally, they can start getting expensive if you have to purchase them all just for this recipe.

I'll post for you the original recipe, because I had to make quite a few substitutions and reductions. So, I halved the ketchup recipe, and used jalapeños instead of all the chiles. That's probably why the ketchup didn't seem to have the right flavor. It also probably would have been tasty with just some ketchup mixed with some Sriracha. The pickled onions could be done ahead of time, but I don't really think about these things ahead of time, so I did them last minute, and they didn't have time to sit in their pickling juice for long.

Another problem I had, was that the only dill pickles we had, tasted kind of funky. I seem to have a problem finding a brand of pickles that tastes just like I expect it should. Let me know if you have a favorite store-bought pickle, because I just can't find the right one. My last problem was that the eggs had to cook longer than I wanted in order to prep the burger, so they weren't runny like I wanted.

Despite all these problems, it tasted pretty good! Definitely a very messy burger, but I could tell where this burger would have been if everything was the way I wanted it to be.

Here's the recipe adapted from Michael Symon

Ingredients:

8 slices bacon
24 ounces ground beef, 75 percent lean* (I just used some ground chuck, for convenience)
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
4 thin slices Cheddar
4 English muffins, split
4 large eggs
1 dill pickle, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Pickled Red Onions, recipe follows
4 teaspoons Spicy Ketchup, recipe follows

Pickled Red Onions:
2 pounds red onions, sliced
White wine vinegar
Sugar
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
4 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves

Spicy Ketchup:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
Kosher salt
5 Fresno chiles, seeded and minced
1 ancho chile, seeded and minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 cups water

Directions:
1. Build a medium-hot fire in your grill or preheat a stovetop grill pan.

2. Cook the bacon in a saute pan over medium-high heat, turning once, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon to paper towels to drain. Reserve the bacon fat in the pan.

3. Form the ground beef into 4 patties, each about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Season the patties with salt and cracked black pepper, to taste. Put the burgers on the grill or in the grill pan and cook for 3 minutes. Flip and top each burger with a slice of cheese. Grill for 3 minutes for medium- rare. Remove them to a plate. Add the English muffins to the grill or grill pan and toast for 1 minute.

4. Cook the eggs sunny side up in the bacon fat while the burgers rest.

5. Build the burgers by sandwiching them between the muffin halves along with pickle slices, red onion, bacon, an egg, and some spicy ketchup.

Onions:
1. Pack the onions in 2 (1-quart) jars and cover with enough water to come within 1/2-inch of the rim. Pour the water out into a measuring cup. Note the volume, pour off half the water, and replace it with vinegar. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons salt for every 3 cups of liquid.
Pour the vinegar mixture into a nonreactive saucepan, add the mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, garlic, and bay leaves, and bring to a boil over high heat. Allow the liquid to boil for 2 minutes, and then remove it from the heat.
Pour the hot liquid into the jars to cover the onions and screw on the lids. Refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Ketchup:
1. In a nonreactive 2-quart saucepan over medium heat add the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, and a large pinch of salt. Saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the Fresno chiles, ancho chile, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar, cumin, cinnamon, tomato paste, and vinegar and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of water, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook over low heat for 2 hours.
Remove the ketchup from the heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick. Puree the mixture in a blender and strain through a sieve, pushing down on the any solids. Let cool and pour into a storage container. Cover the container and refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Napa Birthday Trip, Day 2

Day 2 of the birthday trip! So I forgot to mention the wineries we tried day 1, so I'll mention them here. Day 1 was Castello di Amorosa (which is actually owned and built by V. Sattui Winery which was on the agenda for day 2). The castle was very cool, and we opted to do the tour and wine tasting at the end. I just couldn't say no to a tour of a castle, I'm sorry. The tour was very cool and I highly recommend. The wine tasting at the end was very good as well. Even though we were only supposed to have 5 tastes, he was very nice to just pour less of each and give us pretty much whatever we wanted to try. I appreciate that when wine tasting, because if they're stingy with the wine, I'm less likely to find something I really like and less likely to buy something. 

I'm also going to mention that many of the wineries in Napa, and other wine areas have 2 for 1 tasting coupons, or 2 for 1 tour coupons. This was really nice for B and I because we saved a lot of money on the wine tasting itself by using these. They have them right on their websites, and every winery I've encountered has done the discount if I just mention it, or show them on my phone. No need to print it out. Which made it one less thing to forget about doing before we left.

I will preface my selection of my favorite wines from the castle by saying I do prefer white wines and especially sweeter wines, B tends to like reds. But, if we find a white or a red we both really like, we tend to buy it. I love wineries that can make a red I like, those are the kind of wineries I like. We both like Gewürztraminers and theirs at the castle was delicious, and their dry version as well. I ended up buying the Gewürztraminer, the Simpatica and their grape juice. Now, I don't know if you've ever tried grape juice from a winery, but if their wine is good, their grape juice will probably be the best grape juice you've ever tried! I highly recommend taking a taste if a winery offers it on their tasting menu. It may be expensive, but I bought two bottles of grape juice on this trip.

We decided to forgo breakfast out, and instead ate our continental breakfast at the hotel, because there were make your own waffles. And duh...we ate that. The next winery we tried on day 2 was Sterling Vineyards. They had a tram you took to the actual winery, and there were beautiful views of the Napa Valley, but their wine was unimpressive. We tasted, we enjoyed the view, but we didn't buy any wine there.

The next winery was V. Sattui. Now, I know of this winery in kind of a weird way. And you may have heard of it yourself, because I would say it's one of the top wineries in Napa wine country. Anyways, I know of it because I used to go hiking a lot, and whenever we went to a place near this winery, we would stop into their food shop/cheese shop they have there, and get a picnic lunch for the hike. Their cream cheese artichoke dip and a loaf of bread is a necessity if you're ever in there. They have all kinds of sandwiches, cheeses, samples, jams, and all the knick knacks you could ever want. So day 1 we got lunch here, but day 2 was for wine tasting! V. Sattui is now up there with my other favorite winery, South Coast. They are both wineries, where I could walk in, spin around, pick up a bottle of wine, and it would be delicious. 

Everything I tried at V. Sattui was delicious, and I wanted to take it all home. It took quite a bit of time to decide what I wanted to buy, but I finally decided on the Moscato, Gamay Rouge, their Gamay Rouge grape juice, and my splurge item was the Madeira. I had to pick one expensive dessert wine, and I almost couldn't decide between the Madeira and the Angelica, which is wine fortified with brandy. Also, their port is wonderful. I'm thinking of just joining the wine club at V. Sattui and South Coast and just be a happy girl forever.

After the wine, we were finally hungry enough to go get some lunch, at Gott's Roadside. We were trying to save as much room as possible for other meals in the day, so we just ordered one meal and split it. First, we tried the Dulce de Leche milkshake, which they happily split into two containers for us. It was delicious, and I could see myself wanting to try all their milkshake flavors, if and when I go back. I should mention they have other locations other than just Napa, including San Francisco.

We decided on the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, because we tend to like those wherever we go. I was surprised to see it grilled, because a spicy chicken is usually fried. It was very flavorful, and even better after I started pouring ranch on it : D

Their fries were perfect, and their ranch was very good. If a place has good ranch for my fries, I'm happy.

Then we headed out Mumm Napa, which is all sparkling wine. The tasting part was nice, they bring the wine to you, while you sit comfortably on their patio with winery views. What we tried was just their main tasting selection, and he gave us a few others to taste. We liked it overall, but once again didn't buy anything. Sorry, you have to really impress me, to buy a bottle. Life shouldn't be wasted on mediocre bottles of wine.

Next, we went over to the Bouchon Bakery. I'm not rich enough to enjoy a meal at the world famous French Laundry restaurant, but by golly I can enjoy a delicious pastry at the chef, Thomas Keller's bakery! B got an eclair, which he devoured before I got a photo, and I ordered a couple macaroons and a ho-ho. The ho-ho was light and creamy, and I really enjoyed it.

The macaroons were delightful. They were my first macaroons, and very good. I got a pistachio, caramel, vanilla, and an espresso. They were sort of how I imagined the perfect macaroon would be, without really knowing it. I have no idea if that makes sense, but they were just light and airy, crunchy at the first bite, the filling were creamy and tasted of quality ingredients.

We had some time to kill before our reservations at our dinner restaurant, Solbar. It's a Michelin Star restaurant and fairly inexpensive, so we had to go. It was way farther out of the way than we anticipated, and kind of in the middle of nowhere. But, we got there and realized we weren't quite hungry enough for a full dinner, so we sat in the lounge and ordered some appetizers, before heading back home. They've changed the menu since, but we ordered the Solbar Fries for starters, and it had a wonderful lime aioli to dip the fries into.

The next thing we decided on were the Korean Wings (which are also no longer on the menu). I wasn't thrilled with these, I think I was expecting something else, and for them to actually be spicy. They weren't spicy, and were more vinegary and sweet than I wanted in a wing.

The last thing we ordered were the Bacon-Cheddar Sliders with 10 hour caramelized onions. These were good, and the onions were delicious. But, I think we were a little too full to fully enjoy this meal. We got through it, but I think both of us could have gone without. 

Overall, the trip was a success, I came home with several bottles of wine, a full belly, and great memories. Cue the, awww. Anyways, B and I both had a lot of fun, discovered more wine we like, and I had a great birthday. Can't wait for number 24...there will definitely be more wine!

Pre-Birthday Dinner: Sienna Restaurant

Since I was going to be out of town on my actual birthday, I did my birthday dinner with my parents a day early. I decided on Sienna Restaurant, because I had heard it was good food, and it was! I ordered a drink, which was the Sweet Serrano Chilitini. It was tart and a little spicy, although I liked my mom's drink a little better which was sweeter. 

Sweet Serrano Chilitini

My mom ordered the Seared Scallop Risotto, which I tried and it was quite delicious. I don't even like mushrooms that much, and they were in this dish. 

Seared Scallop Risotto

My dad ordered the Grilled Skirt Steak, which I didn't get a chance to try, but he said it was really good. 

Grilled Skirt Steak

Here's what I ordered, the Vermont Cheddar Kobe Burger. The burger had good flavors, but the bun got very soggy. It was like they cooked the burger, didn't let it rest and just plopped it on the bun. I finally had to eat the rest with a fork and knife, which could have been prevented. The fries were very good, but I don't think I could recommend the burger. I would definitely order something else the next time I go to Sienna.

Vermont Cheddar Kobe Burger

They knew it was my birthday, so when I ordered the Doughtnut Holes for dessert, they left this nice birthday message on my plate in chocolate! The doughnuts came coated with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, and 3 sauces: raspberry, chocolate, and Jack Daniel's Creme Anglaise. I liked the raspberry sauce the most, but the doughnuts were good dipped in all three at once.

Sienna Doughtnut Holes

My dad ordered the caramel empanadas for dessert, which I never even got a taste of. I imagine it was good, because he ate the whole thing.

Warm Apple Empanadas

Overall, I really liked this restaurant. I would go back, there are a sufficient number of interesting looking dishes to choose from. Entrees are about $15-30 each, and I had a hard time choosing which to order because there were so many tasty looking entrees.

Smashburger and Blue Nami Sushi

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I've started an Evernote list of restaurants I want to try near my house, and in the Bay Area. B and I try to check these off every time we see each other, depending on where we go. The difficulty with this list is that we add places just as fast as we check them off! We started this tradition with our first SF Food Tour, and we've been adding places to the list ever since.

Part of the problem with this, is that B and I tend to want to order the same item from the menu. (This is partly my fault, I don't want to toot my horn too much, but I'm very good at picking the tastiest menu items. He capitalizes on this, by getting what I recommend. Hah!) Since, I usually post these excursions to the blog, I try to diversify what we order, so as to try as much variety as we can. I let B order what I would normally want, and I try to order something else that is on the menu. That way, I have photos for various menu items, and you guys get to see as many different items as possible. It's all for you guys! ; )

This was another day we checked some places off the list, two in fact; Smashburger for lunch and Blue Nami Sushi for dinner. B ordered the Smash Fries, which are tossed with rosemary and garlic, and the Spicy Baja burger, with spicy chipotle mayo, and jalapeños all on a spicy chipotle bun. (This was what I wanted to order, but let him get it, and instead I ordered something else. Aren't I a wonderful girlfriend?! Of course, I stole many of his fries. Usually, I agree to order something else, on the premise that we will trade tastes of each other's food. He ends up liking his meal too much, and then doesn't want to trade! The nerve!) The fries were very good as well as the burger. I think this would be something I would order every time when I inevitably return. 

I ordered the Fried Pickles and the Classic Burger. The fried pickles were an interesting change from fries, which I pretty much order every where I go. They weren't better than the fries though, so next time I'll probably stick with the Smash Fries.

Here's the Classic Burger, you can see where the derive their name "Smashburger" from, by the smashed, caramelized burger patty. The burger was very good, but I found the American cheese to be a little overpowering in flavor in contrast to the fresh veggies. Perhaps a different cheese would be a little better for this burger.

For dinner, we went to a newish sushi place that opened up, called Blue Nami. As with most sushi places, their rolls are all 50% off, making it a pretty good deal. You can get 2 rolls for about $10. B wasn't really hungry after eating lunch, but I was feeling "snackish" as B and I put it. So, we went to Blue Nami. We each had a beer, and he ordered the vegetable tempura, which is his favorite, and I ordered the fried gyoza (or potstickers) and a deep fried spicy tuna roll, which is my favorite. Blue Nami's gyoza was quite good, the sauce was vinegary, sweet and perfect for the gyoza.

I had ordered this deep fried spicy tuna roll to-go before, when I was at work, for lunch. I found that when you order it to-go, they give you a container of the spicy sauce they put on it, which is very good. When I ordered it in the restaurant, there was barely any sauce on it, and I couldn't get the waitress to come back to the table to ask for more. I think next time I order, I'll make sure to ask for some on the side, as it makes the rolls even better. It still wasn't better than my favorite sushi place in San Diego, Ki Sushi. I have yet to find a place as good as Ki Sushi, no one quite does it justice. But, as far as sushi places go in my neighborhood, Blue Nami is pretty good.

I'll definitely go back to both Smashburger and Blue Nami again. They're great standby places to get lunch at work, when fast food gets old. I'll be coming back, mostly so I can get a Spicy Baja burger to myself! : )

*Here is a photo from a different visit to Blue Nami, and it was also quite delicious!

Jack's Prime and Chao Praya Thai

I went to visit B, and we were kind of not feeling another food truck tour. Plus, he had errands to run, so we found a burger place to have lunch at called Jack's Prime. I ordered the Maytag Blue Ribbon burger with fries. I also ordered some ranch, to dip my fries in, which was very good. I really enjoyed my burger with the sweet caramelized onions, tangy blue cheese, and crisp, crunchy pickles.

B ordered the Angry Cowboy burger, also with fries. He barely let me have bite of his burger, but the small bite that I had was delicious.

B went rock climbing with his friend and then when they were done, we all went to eat next door, at Chao Praya Thai. The restaurant looks like it used to be a house, and they remodeled it to be a restaurant. B and I weren't too hungry, after having a big lunch, but I ordered the spring rolls. B and his friend both got the Pumpkin Curry special with rice. Both were pretty good, but Thai cuisine isn't my absolute favorite foreign cuisine. 

It was a delicious day, and B and I were really surprised by Jack's Prime burger restaurant. We will definitely go back another time.

Burgers and Brew

I have heard many good things about Burgers and Brew restaurant, so I was pretty excited when I finally got a chance to visit! I ordered the Spicy Guacamole Burger based on recommendations I found through the Foodspotting and Oink apps. I got the curly fries as my side with the burger. Since it was only 11:30 in the morning when I went, I didn't get a chance to try any one of their many beers, but hopefully I'll get to go back and do so. 

The burger was fairly good, but I was a little disappointed. It was kind of one dimensional, and had few contrasting flavors. Needless to say, I'll probably order a different burger when I go back. I think the guacamole would have been better with some tomatoes in it, but that's my opinion. The fries were nice and crispy, and overall the food was good! Right as we got our food, people starting filing in, so I can see how this place can get very busy during lunch time, and nights on the weekend, so plan ahead if you are going there during this time. Overall, I would definitely recommend coming here, especially if you like having a nice large selection of beer to go with your burger!