If someone can explain this, I would appreciate it. I found these breads being sold at the Arequipa Terminal Terreste before dawn. Why would I want to eat bread with the faces of a Ken Doll and Speed Racer on it? Why?
With low expectations and honestly my second choice that night (I really wanted pasta at Diavola, but there were no seats at the bar and a wait that included people outside) how bad could Rustic be with all the money that’s being thrown at this project? The place was packed, with up to 45 minute wait for a table and first come first serve at the bar. The bar itself is somewhat cold, feeling more like a waiting area than a warm bar.
I started with my staple evaluation salad, the Caesar. The Caesar was cold, served in a cold plate and a salad that was well tossed. A wet dressing and flavorful. Two little anchovies were placed on top. Croutons were crunchy. I’d say average or slightly above average salad with extra points going to cold salad bowl and cold crisp greens.
Spaghetti Carbonara is a favorite of mine. As I may have mentioned before, Tarry Lodge in New York is my standard bearer of high quality carbonara preparation. Rustic’s preparation was once again above average. A generous (perhaps too generous) and not quite crispy enough portion of cubed pancetta was the most noticeable item besides the pasta in the bowl. The pasta was cooked an Italian al dente and the egg mixture sauce was well incorporated and without any visible scrambled egg. I’m sure there’s a kitchen technique for making carbonara effortlessly for average kitchen cooks that doesn’t involve cracking and tempering eggs and then tossing the pasta over and over again in the egg and pasta water mixture.
Well, whatever Rustic is doing, they’re doing it well enough for me not to complain. The pasta and salad were both slightly better than average but not brilliant. I could easy bring people from out of town here for both the Coppola excellence in film legacy and a better than average meal for a reasonable price.
An afternoon hiking and exploring the Sonoma Coast brought me to Bodega Bay and The Inn at the Tides. The same hotel in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Tippy Hedren still signs autographs here, for a small fee of course. I think she shows up on major holiday weekends if anyone is interested.
I was more interested in a clam chowder, a half-dozen Tomales Bay oysters, and a Damnation Ale. For all know, it may cost less than an autograph from Tippy. As is my normal custom, I sat at the bar. As a note, the bar has a limited menu which includes chowder.
I started with the fresh oysters. A food that, in my opinion, needs no garnish, no condiment, no cooking, no nothing except freshness. These oysters were slightly briny, cold, and delicious. Some of the simplest and most delicious foods on Planet Earth. All that other stuff on the plate is nonsense. A wonderful half-dozen.
Next up, a steaming bowl of clam chowder. I realize it's not winter (although it feels like it this summer in Sonoma County), but sometimes a warm, mouthfilling bowl of chowder can warm the soul. No silly 'bread bowl' either, just hot soup in a hot bowl. And no, I don't crumble all those crackers in there. A good soup doesn't need water crackers even if they are shaped like little goldfish. The soup was creamy, thick, and well filled with clams and other white fish. I could still taste little pieces of celery as well. I drank a Damnation Ale with my late afternoon meal, of course, a local brew. All quite satisfying.
I'm pleased with my first trip to Bodega Bay and The Tides Wharf. If you're looking for a bowl of chowder and a beer, it's worth a stop. Nothing fancy and there are plenty of people buzzing around. It terms of clientele, lots of families and seniors tend to dominate the area. Sorry, I can't speak to the rest of the food, but at places like this, I tend to keep it simple.
"Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember and remember more than I have seen." Benjamin Disraeli.
The entire reason I starting writing this blog was to tell my friends and family about some of my travels in the world of finance. Perpetual road travel in upwards of 200 days a year. Restaurants, hotels, the Denver International Airport, flight delays, the Hertz rental counter, airport screening, no social life outside the fraternity of financial wholesalers, you name it and I've tried to share a story or two of what it's like to run around the several States.
Well, Up in the Air with George Clooney is a not-to-be-missed flick. The first part of the film was laugh-out-loud funny for me. Swiping the frequent flier card through the automated check-in kiosk, the arrangement of clothing into one carry on bag, the acquisition of "Points", and knowing how to get from point A to B to C smoothly is simply a set a skills one needs to survive.
The later half of the movie was little less funny. I'm not in the habit of spoiling anything for anyone, but the film does have a more serious tone.
I do hope that in the last scene (the one pictured above) that he took a trip somewhere in the world that didn't involve work. I know I made that choice several months ago and I would make the same choice again. And again.
Congratulations to Sir Patrick Stewart on his Knighthood. Star Trek fans know that Captain James T. Kirk as played by William Shatner is still the greatest Captain (or actor or both??) of the Star Trek Universe, but Picard comes in a very close second. Perhaps if Sir Patrick had played an "evil Picard" at some point in the alternate "Mirror, Mirror" universe, he would have risen to the top as Captain. Even William T. Riker played his double as Tom Riker, although not as evil as the alternate Kirk. However, in the episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" we witnessed a less diplomatic Picard in a war with the Klingons, as he jumps out of the 'big chair' and takes over the tactical station during the last battle scene, just as the Enterprise-C escapes. Shoot first, negotiate later, just like Kirk.
Yes, The Ham is a bit of a Trekkie. I can be a bit of a food and wine geek too. But food and wine geek is cool, while Trekkie isn't.
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