Wayfare Tavern, San Francisco

One of my best meals in San Francisco to date was at Wayfare Tavern. A very hip yet down to earth casual place, Wayfare Tavern is the place to go if you are looking for simple hearty food done well.

Wayfare Tavern was started by celebrity Chef Tyler Florence.

The place looks exactly as the name implies: a tavern. The rustic dark wood used throughout the restaurant, combined with the antique looking stools at the bar and the ragtime type music playing in the background gives the whole place a retro feel.

I especially liked the bathroom, which is the photo you see at the top! I have a thing for cool bathrooms, and yes...I am a little strange at times.

Our meal started with these light, airy, delicious popovers. They were so good, I had to eat two. It was a nice change from the regular dinner rolls!

Popovers

To start, I ordered the roasted bone marrow with sea salt and smoked olive oil. This was served thin slices of grilled sourdough. The bone marrow was very lightly seasoned.

Roasted Bone Marrow

My lunch was the steak and eggs: a petit filet mignon with Dungeness crab and a soft egg on top.

Steak and Eggs

It was a heavy lunch but so freakin good! The tender filet mignon, combined with the crab, soft egg and Bearnaise sauce was heavenly! I left NOTHING on my plate.

Steak and Eggs

I wanted veggies with my meal, so I also ordered the roasted organic beets. The beets were mixed with a fragrant citrus oil

Roasted Organic Beets

J ordered the organic fried chicken with buttermilk brine, roasted garlic, lemon, herbs, and lots of rosemary. This was a really good choice! The chicken was seasoned perfectly, and cooked nicely. Crispy and salty on the outside, juicy on the inside.

Organic Fried Chicken

JM ordered the salmon dish, but modified so that his stomach could handle it (he's got a very weak stomach from years of dining out and drinking!). He basically asked for salmon with a little salt and pepper, with a slice of bacon on top.

Salmon

I can't remember exactly what we ordered for dessert, but it was the chocoalatiest dessert on the menu :)

Chocolate Dessert

I was blown away by pretty much every dish we ordered, and I highly recommend this place.

Wayfare Tavern
558 Sacramento Street
San Francisco, USA
Telephone: 415-772-9060

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Ki' Xocolatl Chocolate

I've got another great product to share...I get very excited when I do.

When I met up with my friend, J, who recently got back from her vacation in Mérida, Mexico, she presented me with this beautiful flashy bright pink box. When I looked down, I noticed that it was chocolate from Mexico, Ki' Xocolatl chocolate to be exact. I looooooove exotic chocolates, so this was the perfect gift for me.

Ki-Xocolatl is a collaborative project between Belgian chocolatiers Mathieu Brees and Stephanie Verbrugge, and cocoa producers of Chiapas and Tabasco in Mexico. Ki-Xocolatl means delectable chocolate in the Mayan and Nahuatl languages.

The company works directly with the farmers of the Chiapas and Tabasco regions, and the cocoa is organic certified. Instead of insecticide, the fertilizers are a mix of plants, veggies, and cocoa by-products.

J brought back the dark chocolate with pink pepper bar for me. It was a smooth, dark chocolate with a hint of pink pepper. Subtle and not too strong. This bar also had hints of all spice, which was different.

Other flavors include: semi-bitter chocolate with chili and spice, and chocolate with milk and Cocoa seed Criollo Tostado

The only Ki' Xocolatl boutique is situated in Mérida, so if you're lucky enough to go, check it out.

Tienda Ki'Xocolatl
Santa Lucía
Calle 55 Número 513
Entre 60 y 62
Colonia Centro
C.P. 97000
Mérida, Yucatán

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Atom Thai Restaurant, Sydney

I have an obsessive personality. I'm all about extremes. I either love it or I hate it. I either do it big, or don't do it at all. It is the same with food: if I love something, I will eat it everyday until I'm sick of it. There's just no in between for me.

I WAS obsessed with Thai food when I lived in Sydney. I came to Sydney indifferent to Thai food, and I left craving it every day. Every meal. Sydney has a reputation for cooking up amazing Thai food, with flavors and freshness that cannot be compared to any other place in the world...even Thailand! This resto review is an example of what I am talking about.

When I decided to move back to Ottawa, I dined at a different Thai restaurant everyday for the last few weeks, knowing that I would miss it dearly. Atom Thai was one of my last Thai meals with my friends.

We started our meal with the miang goong. This is the restaurant's signature dish and understandably so. A simple dish of cold prawns, special chili sauce, fresh lemon, cashew nut, betel leaves, and roasted coconut. It was insanely flavorful and fresh...I could have eaten an entire meal of these things.

Miang Goong

Our next dish was the stir fried crispy soft shell crab served with hot chili basil sauce, fresh chili, onion, garlic, green bean, and fresh basil leaves.

Stir Fried Crispy Soft Shell Crab

The kai pad phet was chicken breast stir fried with fresh chili, lemongrass, Thai marble eggplant, kaffir lime leaves, and onion.

Kai Pad Phet

The next dish was the crispy barramundi with Thai celery: crispy fried barramundi fillet, celery, salty bean, fresh chili and ginger.

Crispy Barramundi with Thai Celery

The chili basil noodle was my choice. I just can't go without ordering a flat rice noodle dish for some reason. This noodle dish was stir fried with Thai hot basil, bamboo shoot, and fresh chili. It was very saucy.

Chili Basil Noodle

All the food was very good. Fresh ingredients. What really stood out was the miang goong. I recommend that dish for sure.

I also ordered a Thai coffee with milk to go with my meal. Sadly, I didn't enjoy this drink. Way way too sweet for me.

Thai Coffee with Milk

Atom Thai Restaurant
130 King Street
Newtown, NSW
Telephone: 02 9550 5965h

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L'Avenue, Montreal

I have a slight problem in my relationship...I LOVE brunch, but my husband does not! Whenever we plan to go for brunch, we always end up arguing because of his lack of interest for the meal. How can one not get excited about brunch??? To me, it just doesn't make any sense.

This is how our conversation went:

Me: "So, what do you feel like for brunch?"
CK: "I don't care."
Me: "You don't care? You've got to be in the mood for something!"
CK: "I hate brunch, you know that."
Me: "How can you hate brunch? Who hates brunch!?"
CK: "I don't like eggs, bacon or sausages so that doesn't leave me with much. The menu is always the same...."

I'm not sure why I can't accept the fact that he doesn't like brunch, but I can't. It's insane to me. After going back and forth for a while, we FINALLY decided on L'Avenue, a hip little joint in the Plateau area. Luckily, we love dining out together, so in the end, that's what really mattered.

When you first walk into the place, it almost has a funky club like feel. There is loud music playing in the background, and the front of the resto has a graffiti'd wall with a motorcycle hanging off the ceiling.

They have an extensive menu with both breakfast and lunch choices. Make sure you brush up on your French because they do not have English menus. The wait staff are all very nice and are willing to translate if needed.

The menus also had a funky feel to them. To me, it resembled a record album.

Menu at L'Avenue

After waiting outside in line for 30 minutes, we were finally able to order.

To start, I ordered a cafe au lait. I was pleasantly surprised at the size of my coffee. The cup was massive. What can be better than to start a Sunday morning with a caffeine overload.

Cafe au Lait

I debated between a few options, and ended up with the chorizo II eggs benedict. This was served with hollondaise sauce and pieces of sauteed chorizo, onions, red peppers, and potatoes. On the side were garlic & herb potatoes and a fruit kebab. What I loved was that the eggs were poached perfectly! Soft and super runny...just the way I like it. I highly recommend this dish. A perfect salty/spicy combination.

Chorizo II

The fruit kebab came with cantoloupe, honey dew, grapefruit, banana, pineapple, and watermelon.

Fruit Kebab

CK ordered the french toast with strawberries, bananas, and blueberries. It was fresh, light, and delicious! This dish was massive. CK got a little embarrassed when it arrived because everyone was staring at how huge it was.

French Toast with Strawberries, Bananas, and Blueberries

We were both insanely stuffed - and satisfied - by the end of our meal.

L'Avenue
922 Avenue du Mont-Royal Est
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Telephone: 514-523-8780

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Bofinger, Paris

When I asked my Parisian friend, Philippe, to recommend a good restaurant in Paris, he replied Bofinger. It is a very traditional French restaurant he said, good food...very popular. He regrettably could not join us that evening, so he sketched us a quick map of how to get there, and sent us off.

Bofinger is a historical Parisian brasserie. Over 100 years old, Bofinger has a reputation as a place where French presidents, prime minsters, politicians and writers frequently dine and meet up.

While the food was not knock your socks off spectacular, there were elements that were done superbly (like their foie gras), and the whole vibe of the place screamed old world French. It is a place worth checking out.

Our meal started with pretzels and olives.

Pretzels and Olives

My appetizer was the home made foie gras with brioche toast. The foie gras was just perfect...delicate, smooth, and rich.

Home Made Foie Gras

Brioche Toast

My main was the medium rare duck breast with polenta. I didn't care much for the polenta but the duck was cooked very nicely. It was suprisingly tender...not even the slightest bit chewy.

Duck Breast with Polenta

My American friend, Y, ordered a steak well done with diet pepsi. The one thing about the French is that they are not shy about being snobs. When the waiter heard Y's order, he was completely flabbergasted. He rolled his eyes, and started to insult Americans in front of her. After a good minute of listening to how Americans don't know good food, he stood there expecting her to change her order. Y was firm on her order and refused to change it. From that point on, we were invisible to them. I found the whole situation humorous, and had quite the laugh. Y felt otherwise...she was both embarrased and angry...I didn't blame her for feeling that way.

Well Done Steak

Her steak was served with fries, tomatoes, beans, and gravy.

Fries, Tomatoes, and Beans

Gravy

For dessert, I forced Y to order the cherry clafoutis. By that point, she had had enough of the place but I convinced her to stay for dessert. Y loved her clafoutis, and did not regret ordering it.

Cherry Clafoutis

My dessert was the apricot soup. This was just perfect for me...tart and light.

Apricot Soup

Bofinger
5-7 Rue de la Bastille
75004 Paris, France
Telephone: 01 42 72 87 82

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Laduree, Paris

While I was in Paris, the only place I really wanted to check out was Pierre Herme. The moment I checked into my hotel, I went straight to concierge for directions on how to get to the shop.

I started explaining to concierge about how I was excited to try a Pierre Herme macaron, and her eye brow instantly raised. "Oh, you want macarons? You know, if you really want the best traditional macarons and cakes, Ladurée is where you want to go. If you want to try modern macarons, then go to Pierre Herme." After a bit more discussion, she finally convinced me to go to Ladurée first. I figured I could check out Pierre Herme afterwards.

If you're a food enthusiast, I'm sure you've read countless articles and posts about Ladurée. Laduree is most famous for their macarons. According to David Lebovits, the four shops in Paris sell 12,000 macarons a day. That's ALOT of macarons!

It turns out, macarons didn't always have that creamy ganache filling that you see today. They actually had no filling. The two macaron shells were joined together while still warm, allowing the shells to fuse together as they cooled. It was Pierre Desfontaines (second cousin to Louis Ernest Ladurée) that suggested adding a filling to this almond delight.

Today, once baked and filled, Ladurée macarons are set aside for 2 days before hitting the store front. This is apparently the perfect length of time to achieve the perfect texture and taste. It's all a science.

There was a huge line up outside the store when I arrived. After waiting patiently for 20 minutes, I ordered my macarons.

I had 6 different flavors: licorice, black current violet, orange blossom, caramel with salted butter, rose, and cherry.

Macarons

As you can imagine, the texture and flavors were perfect. Of all the flavors I tried, my favorite, surprisingly, was by far black licorice. The sweetness of the almonds and sugar, combined with the subtle anise flavor was a winning combination. The rose and caramel flavors were also high on my list.

Ladurée is very anal about taking photos in the shop. So many people got yelled at for taking out their cameras. I wanted to buy one of their cakes just so I could get a photo, but decided that was just crazy.

I may not be a cake fan, but I do love candy:

Candy from Ladurée

Candy from Ladurée

In the end, I didn't go to Pierre Herme. Like Ladurée, the line up was long. I was running late for my date - a boat tour along the Seine - and just didn't have the time to wait.

La prochaine fois, next time!

Ladurée
21 rue Bonaparte
75006 Paris, France
Telephone: 01 44 07 64 87

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Olive et Gourmando, Montreal

One of my favorite places in Montreal is Olive et Gourmando. Situated in Old Montreal, this is a charming place to get fresh food! I love introducing this place to people, and will take a special trip to Montreal just to do so!

This place is always buzzing with people - regardless of the time. On my last visit, P and I got a seat right beside the kitchen, where we had a great view of the chefs in action.

View from our Seat

We both ordered a home made strawberry vanilla lemonade to start, and me needing a caffeine fix, I ordered a latte as well. The home made lemonade was refreshing, and the coffee was awesome.

Strawberry Vanilla Lemonade and Latte

To start, P and I split the fresh fruit bowl, a medley of fruits including pears, currants, melons, grapes, and figs! Need to get my fibre.

Fresh Fruit Bowl

My favorite dish is the house made Ricotta. You can order this salty or sweet...for me, it was a no brainer: SALTY all the way. The ricotta was drizzled with olive oil, and topped with rosemary, parsley and chives, sea salt, and pepper. Served with the ricotta are roasted tomatoes and toast. This dish is just mind blowing...so simple yet a subtle burst of flavors.

House Made Ricotta and Roasted Tomatoes

P ordered the cubain: a hot panini with ham, braised pork, Gruyere cheese, and homemade mayonnaise. The mayonnaise made of chipotle peppers, pickles, lime, and coriander made this dish!

Cubain Panini

For dessert, I chose a flaky cheese croissant....yes, you heard right, a cheese croissant! The waitress was sweet enough to cut it into two pieces for P and I to share.

Cheese Croissant

P's choice was the house made turtle bar: fresh shortbread, caramel, chocolate, and fleur de sel. Everything is house made!

House Made Turtle Bar

Olive et Gourmando
351 Saint-Paul West
Old Montreal, Quebec
Telephone: 514-350-1083

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Merguez Lamb Sausage Cous Cous

I don't cook much with lamb, and have honestly been a little afraid of it because it is somewhat foreign to me. I love eating it, but that's about it.

When hubby came home with some Merguez lamb sausages, I had no choice! I'm glad he did because my cous cous turned out to be a hit. I wanted it to have a North African flare, so I threw together some ingredients I had around the house, and BAM!

Merguez sausages are spicy, so be careful when adding the cayenne pepper if you can't handle a lot of spice!

This recipe yields 4 small servings.

Merguez Lamb Sausage Cous Cous
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 slivered almonds, toasted
- 250g Merguez lamb sausage
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 small onions , finely chopped
- 1 red pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (depends on how much heat you want)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
- 1 cup cous cous
- extra virgin olive oil
- pinch of cinnamon
- salt + pepper to taste

Method
1. Pan fry the sausages on medium-high heat with some olive oil until fully cooked. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Set aside.

2. In a pan, saute the onions with some olive oil until slightly translucent. Add the red peppers and zucchini and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, turmeric, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, cinnamon, and bay leaf and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Add the cous cous, and stir occasionally until the cous cous has absorbed most of the broth. Stir in the sausage, raisins, and almonds. Mix well. Discard the bay leaf. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

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