Day 7: Drawing within the Lines at Park Tavern

I think today gets an A for effort. I made two meals at home, went to yoga and at dinner all of the bartenders knew I was on a cleanse. Park Tavern feels like the bar in Cheers "...where everybody knows your name." It's our go-to. Alanna is friends with all of the bar tenders and general manager, we get special treatment, the food and drinks are solid. Even when we try to branch out, we often end up here.
Long story aside, we ended up there tonight.

- Breakfast: oatmeal with mixed berries and almond butter with dash of cinnamon

- Lunch: Spinach salad with roasted sweet potato strips and brussels sprouts, goat cheese, cucumber, avocado and pistachios topped with a balsamic, olive oil and sriracha

- Snack: Banana, pickle, and at least one serving size of Safeway's Ginger Zinger trail mix

- Dinner: Jalapeño and bacon deviled egg, 1/2 serving of pumpkin soup with creme fraiche, pepitas and spouts, 1/2 serving of the beat salad (not pictured), and 1/2 serving of the short rib with potatoes mousseline, roasted carrots and sherry glazed cipollini onion (to die for). Rye manhattan.

My self-inflicted limitations were bread, sugar and dairy (disregard baby amount of creme fraiche). Looking back on it, I easily would have polished off the complimentary Acme bread with butter, and some sort of dessert. I didn't need it and I'm glad I didn't have it, but it took restraint to draw the line. Note to self for the next time...

Day 3: Dinner at Spruce

Cleanses, or any kind of diet, makes being social difficult. In some cases you can warn the people you're with to avoid being rude (i.e. I have book club tomorrow and already emailed the host to let her know I will not be able to have a bowl of her clam chowder in sourdough bread bowl- tragic!). In other cases, when you're at one of the more reputable restaurants in the city, dining on your company's dime, and entertaining clients...you take the cookie. And by cookie, I mean the Italian red wine, fresh cranberry bread with salted butter, and a couple of piping hot out of the oven brioche beignets. Sadly, photos of food at the table is a tiny faux pas, but Yelp had one I could borrow. Pillows of steamy heaven.

Most of the day I was able to keep it within the lines:
- Breakfast: Overnight oats: 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1 cup almond milk, sprinkle chia seeds, 3 chopped dried apricots, 4 large chunks frozen mango

- Lunch: Leftover brussels sprouts and tofu stir-fry over coconut rice. *I solved the second sriracha near-crisis of the 24 hours. My teammate assumed her bottle had run out, so she threw it away. I fished it out of the recycling bin and shook out a few last drops over my lunch. There's empty, and there's empty.
I'm not proud of this.

- Snack: Apple with almond butter (on the go! in an uber). Later, a hard boiled egg and carrots.

- Dinner: A slice of cranberry bread with salted butter

Smip Ranch beets over goat cheese labneh, roti and cocoa nibs

Roasted red snapper with caramelized sunchokes, satsuma mandarin oranges, oil-cured olives

2 Brioche beignets with bittersweet chocolate sauce and creme anglaise 

Bites of the pear and walnut tart, parsnip pudding, cassis, and long pepper ice cream

...and with the bill, a square of peanut butter and chocolate fudge with flaked sea salt

It was a good day.

Clark Lewis ~ Portland

I don’t know about you, but I’m really glad the world didn’t end today. At least not before lunch. My second favorite thing about visiting Portland, behind eating at home, is eating out. Their restaurants rival SF’s, and that is not a statement to take lightly. My mom takes hours (I kid you not) researching restaurants for my visit, and Clark Lewis made the cut for lunch.

Clark Lewis is located right by the water in a historically warehouse/industrial neighborhood that is undergoing restaurant-gentrification. The ambiance is great, with the smell of campfire greeting you as you walk into their wood-piled entryway.

Mom and I were briefly ignored by the waiters, but after realizing their error, gifted us their artisan cheese plate as an apology. The apology and cheese plate were accepted.

For lunch, we split the beet and goat cheese terrine salad with glazed walnuts in balsamic dressing, and the Reuben sandwich.

Every bite was delicious (though I would have added more sauerkraut to the Reuben!). I definitely commend them on great customer service – gestures like free artisan cheese plates win me over every time. Another amazing Portland restaurant experience under my (expanding) belt.

Pasta in Creamy Spinach Sauce with Roasted Tomatoes

Cleanse is now over. I liked it, and definitely will continue avoiding meat and excess sugar, and blending up veggie smoothies for breakfast – it does amazing things for your skin! Unfortunately I was out of smoothie products this morning, so I whipped up an old school bowl of oats.

Strawberry Pie Oatmeal

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5-6 large strawberries, chopped
coconut flakes
1 spoonful peanut butter

In a microwaveable bowl, cook oats, cinnamon and 1 cup water for 2.5 minutes. Stir in/sprinkle on remaining ingredients.

I head to the eat bay to meet up with my family friend, Claire for lunch in Berkeley. La Note is quite the hotspot for brunch, so we discovered, when we were quoted a 1.5 hour wait for a table.

Worth it. Fluffy scrambled eggs with goat cheese and chives, roasted tomatoes and rosemary potatoes, and wheat toast with homemade raspberry jam.

One of my favorite porn site food blog aggregator is Tastespotting. That’s where I picked up this delicious recipe for pasta with creamy avocado spinach sauce and roasted tomatoes. This made enough pasta for lunch for everyday this week, which I’ve sectioned out into (5) Tupperware. I love streamlining my mornings…

Pasta in Creamy Spinach Sauce with Roasted Tomatoes

1 pint cherry tomatoes
olive oil
kosher salt
pinch of sugar
8 oz whole wheat spaghetti
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb baby spinach
1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 avocado, chopped
1/4 cup basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375.  Toss the tomatoes with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, and a pinch of sugar.  Put on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes, tossing once midway through. Cook the pasta according to package directions, reserving about 1/2 cup cooking water for the sauce.

As the pasta cooks, saute the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet until softened, 5-6 minutes.  Add in the garlic and cook about 30 seconds more, or until fragrant.  Add in the spinach a few handfuls at a time, waiting until the previous bunch has started to wilt before adding the second.

Remove from heat and stir the Greek yogurt and avocado into the pan.  Add 2-3 tbsp of the reserved pasta water and, using an immersion blender (or a food processor), puree the mixture until smooth, adding more pasta water as needed to give it a sauce-like consistency. Stir in the basil and parmesan.  Add the noodles to the sauce, tossing well to coat.  Serve the noodles topped with a spoonful of the roasted tomatoes.

Foreign Cinema

I miss cooking. I miss baking. I miss having my own kitchen. That being said, I’m not complaining! I’ve been too busy with happy hours, baseball games, going out to eat with my mom (who came down for an impromptu visit from Portland) and eating meals my host family –of sorts- has been making for me. So unless I were to post on my tuna salad I just packed for lunch, I’ve got nothing to show. A worthy post, however, would be one on Foreign Cinema in the mission, where I went for the second time with my mom, aunt and uncle.

I first discovered this restaurant when my east coast friends were visiting. We were blown away. So I took my family back there and was not disappointed. I split the corn soup, shaved zucchini salad and quinoa bulgur wheat medley with vegetables. Then had bites of everyone else’s. In addition to one of the best bottles of cabernet sauvignon.

(Images from website) My uncle had the sesame fried chicken.

We all split the chocolate pot de crème and the goat cheese cheesecake… I will be attempting to replicate this cheesecake shortly.

My mini-update: I’m moving from the east bay to SF this weekend! It’s only a one month sublet in Nob Hill, but it’s a step in the right direction. Finding an apartment is proving harder than finding a job…

Where I’ve Been…

I have been seriously M.I.A. from the Plate this month. There was really no way around it when you’re living a movie star life, which is what I’ve been doing.

I made my move to SF, got a job (hooray!) and then had a group of friends from the east coast come to visit. It was quite a visit.

Napa, San Francisco, Tahoe… with amazing meals along the way.

I cooked for the group one of the nights we were in Tahoe to go along with a couple amazing bottles of wine. With the help of the boys on the grill, I made grilled steak sandwiches on ciabatta bread with caramelized onions, brie, Dijon and tomato, with a mixed greens salad of strawberries, goat cheese, avocado and almonds.

Other than that, we did a lot of eating out. Some of the amazing places we went that I strongly recommend are: Foreign Cinema in the Mission in SF, Gotts Roadside in the Ferry Building, River Grill and Jake's on the Lake in Tahoe City, and Jimtown Store for sandwiches in Napa.

All good things have to end. All my friends have left and real life is setting in. The bright side is that I start work tomorrow! I’m starting as a Project Coordinator at Hogue, a commercial furniture distributor and project management firm that’s right in the heart of the financial district. My biggest concern at the moment: not having next to enough cute work clothes.

Now begins the hunt for an apartment…

Birthday Dinner at Cocotte

There’s a fine line between appreciating food and over-indulging. For my “birthday happy hour” we wanted to make a summery appetizer while not ruining our dinner. The compromise was Ina Garten’s herb dip with crudité platter… and a basil mojito.

After researching a number of top rated Portland restaurants, my mom and I picked Cocotte Bar & Bistro. My sister and I split the summer fruit salad with goat cheese and pine nut granola.

We also split the “savoury clafoutis” which is essentially a soufflé made of brie, wild mushrooms, caramelized onions and leaks. Rich but light and fluffy… just great. 

And dessert. So unnecessary, but it was my birthday so my hands were kinda tied. The dark chocolate mousse with a pine nut shortbread crust, marshmallow cream and strawberry coulis.

And the almond brandy cake with caramel ice cream, apricot jam and caramel popcorn. Super creative and I loved the crunch of the popcorn. So about that fine line between appreciation and indulgence…

Spring Break in California: Marin County

I don’t know how I spent so much of my life in California without ever crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. On our last day, we made this our mission. But our first stop was the Ferry Building which is a huge, old structure they’ve turned into a foodie playground.

It’s chock-full of specialty food vendors, such as the famous Cowgirl Creamery and Blue Bottle Coffee. Once you step out of the building, you’re on the edge of the bay with a view of the Bay Bridge. It’s no surprise we saw a bride strolling around the building, snacking on samples with bridesmaids and photographer in tow.

We grabbed some espresso chocolate chip cookies for the road, then wove through the city to get to the Golden Gate.

The views were spectacular. Though I grew up as a SoCal hippy child, I think NorCal takes the cake for Best Place to Live. SF’s proximity to the snowy mountains, warm beaches, wine country, and farm country is hard to find anywhere else. A little gem tucked away in the hilly coast north of San Francisco is Sausalito.

This boutique town has one main drag that runs along the water, and right above it are layers upon layers of gorgeous homes with what I imagine are ridiculous views. I’m not sure who lives in these houses, but I’m going to make it a personal goal to befriend one of them and offer to house-sit.

We had lunch at a restaurant right on the water called Salito’s Crab House. I ordered the tomato and goat cheese salad with smoked salmon. I just love smoked salmon. I’d like some now, in fact. Alas, I’m 30,000 feet in the air, flying over Dayton, Ohio with trail mix as my only edible option.

For the rest of the day, I got to hike around Piedmont’s cute neighborhoods, and quickly worked up an appetite for dinner - not that that has ever been hard for me to accomplish. We went to Xyclo, an Asian fusion restaurant on Piedmont Ave. It appears to be a predictable hole-in-the-wall Asian restaurant, but the food blew me away. It started with the papaya jicama salad (check out the waffle-fry shape of the jicama!):

Then the decorative spring rolls with sweet and spicy dipping sauces:

The “birds nest” pasta dish with chicken, prawns and a ton of veggies:

And lastly, the crispy curry fish, which was literally jaw-droppingly tasty. We took a bite and looked at each other like, really?

Needless to say, I ate extremely well on this trip. Thank you mom! I’m not going to lie; I’m craving a big bowl of spinach right about now. But when in Rome, you eat as Julius Caesar does.