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Brunching in the Bay

In my opinion, one of the best ways to spend a weekend morning is "brunching." Brunch is the best of breakfast and lunch, combined into one delicious meal. The only downside is having to wake up a little earlier, but as I get older, the option to sleep until noon because less and less feasible. This weekend was perfect because I made it to brunch both mornings!

On Saturday morning I met a friend at the Mission Beach Cafe. This place has great reviews on Yelp and I've heard there can be quite the line. When we went there was only a 15 to 20 minute wait, which for a buzzed about brunch place in San Francisco is not bad at all. I've spent multiple times waiting 45 minutes at Brenda's. The restaurant is pretty small and cozy, so we ended up being seated along the bar facing the window. This was actually a great spot to be on a sunny day, soaking up rays and people watching in the Mission. Our server was super friendly and hilarious, so that automatically made the dining experience better. We ordered some Blue Bottle iced coffee, although MBC just ended their contract with Blue Bottle and will be switching to someone else moving forward. We ended up splitting the pork and duck confit hash and the crab and shrimp eggs benedict. I started with the confit hash, which was tender pieces of braised pork and duck over a sweet potato- butternut squash hash, topped with two over-easy eggs and creme fraiche. The flavor profile was well-balanced and fresh, with everything prepared well. The only downside is that the dish was a little on the greasy side and since it was served in a bowl, whatever ingredient was making it greasy made everything a little greasy. The benedict was two english muffins slathered in their house-made guacamole and topped with shrimp and dungeness crab. The eggs on top were slightly over-poached but good for people who don't like runny yolks. The hollandaise sauce drizzled on top was good and balanced out with an orange reduction to cut the creaminess a bit. Overall, I had a pretty good experience there. It wasn't amazing for me, but definitely enjoyable and affordable. And apparently they have Pot Pie Tuesdays, which I wouldn't mind going back to try. We Midwesterners love our pot pies and I never see them out here.

Sunday morning I went with the boyfriend to The Liberty Cafe in Bernal Heights. I'd only been to Bernal Heights once before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. This cafe ended up being near the top of the "heights" so there were plenty of nice houses with amazing skyline views. The neighborhood was very quaint and family-filled (although the fact that it was Father's Day may have been a factor in this). The Cafe has inside dining, patio dining and a back area dedicated to the bakery. Once again the wait was approximately 15 minutes, so not too bad. I had not heard of this place before so I went in with no expectations, which was kind of refreshing. Sadly they were out of the seasonal frittata, so I opted for the meat lover's scramble. The scramble was delicious. The eggs were served with bacon, sausage, chorizo, onion and Monterey cheese. It would probably be hard to go wrong with such a combination. The breakfast potatoes on the side were average. I chose the whole wheat walnut toast, which was pretty tasty so I think it's safe to assume their bakery selection has a lot to offer. Parking in this area is a lot better than most spots in the city, so if you have a car and your headed that way, this cafe is worth a stop.

My Movie Season Begins

Now that the the 2011-12 TV season is over, I've finally have enough time to start making a dent on my Netflix queue (although I give credit to the USA/TNT-esque cable networks for trying to create better original content for their summer seasons).

The first film I viewed was "The Iron Lady," which is the Margaret Thatcher biopic. Margaret Thatcher is one of those historic figures that I have hugely conflicting views on. The feminist in me cheers for the fact that Britain's longest-running Prime Minister is a woman. The political side of me strongly disagrees with her conservative views on privatization, taxes and industrialization (although she did vote for legalizing homosexuality and abortion). At the end of the day, the movie lover needed to see what the buzz was all about. Meryl Streep won the "Best Actress" Oscar (along with countless others) for her portrayal of Thatcher. So it should be of no surprise when I say her performance is amazing. She encompasses both the younger, ambitious Thatcher, as well as the senile elderly ex-Prime Minister. As for the actual film, I wasn't a giant fan. The primary focus seemed to be on her old age and dementia. The film just skims her background growing up and the reason she became so interested in politics. From there, it was a series of brief flashbacks of her rise to power and battle to find her place in a man's world. The Falklands War, one of the key moments of her career, was covered in only a few minutes. Overall, I felt it was a movie of missed opportunities but Streep is perfection as always.

The next movie up was "J. Edgar," the biopic of J. Edgar Hoover, who started and ran the F.B.I. for almost 50 years until his death in 1972. This movie paralleled with many elements of "The Iron Lady." We meet Hoover as an old man, dictating to a series of younger agents. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hoover, which seems to be him simply reprising his Howard Hughes role from "The Aviator." Naomi Watts, Judi Dench and Armie Hammer make up the other leads and pretty much only parts of Hoover's personal life. I feel like this movie ran into issues because there's so many interesting conspiracies about Hoover and the FBI that they didn't know what to focus on. They ended up focusing on the the debate if Hoover was gay or not, which has never been proven either way. The movie doesn't leave any room for guessing by clearly drawing the line between Hoover and his close friend, heir and associate director of the FBI, Clyde Tolson. I wasn't particularly impressed with this movie as well.

Lastly was a movie I knew was going to be bad going into it. It was"W.E." and it was written, directed and produced by Madonna. Need I say more? Shockingly, it didn't star Madonna though. However, she did decide to take one of the most beautiful, real life romances and massacre it. The movie centers around the historic, romantic scandal of Prince Edward VIII, who gave up his crown to be with American twice-divorcee Wallis Simpson. Madonna paralleled this story with the modern tale of a woman obsessed with that story of romance, who's trapped in a cold and abusive marriage. The movie tries to force similarities in story lines, which makes the moves from one decade to another very forced. This film won a Golden Globe for "Best Original Song," by who else, Madonna. I would avoid watching this movie and read one of the many novels about the iconic couple.

Movie Confession

I want to get it all out in the open at the beginning of this post. I cried at the end of "The Help." I didn't see it coming, it just snuck up on me. I read "The Help" a couple months ago and didn't cry at the end of the book. And I knew what I was in store for plot-wise. I can't remember the last time I cried at the end of a movie. That probably ended when all rom-coms started rolling out the exact same plot lines. Or when I realized that I am not a cute crier. Some people look like sad, big eyed little puppy dogs. I look like a wet mess. Like the fat kid who dropped her ice cream in the sand on beach day (and started using mascara at an early age).

Anyway, I digress. Let's start with the book by Kathryn Stockett. I thought it was good. Not great, but not "Twilight." The book spent over 100 weeks on the New York Times Best-Sellers list. It won a bunch of literary awards. I'm told it's part of Oprah's Book Club, but what isn't these days. The plot itself is interesting and had the potential to be hugely impactful. Unfortunately I just didn't think it was that well written. This was her first novel and apparently it was rejected by over 50 literary agents. Stockett jumped abruptly from one character's view to another. There didn't seem to be any additional insights by adding various viewpoints. And I agree with the reviews that called this book racist. Why did the maid parts have to be in poor, broken dialect while the white women didn't have any Southern inflections? I just kept reading because it was an easy read and I just wanted to be done with it. 

I think what really got me about the movie was the superb acting. It was stacked with amazing actresses, making an uninspired book something worth watching. The casting was incredible. They somehow found the perfect actress to encompass each role and personality like how you imagine them exactly from the book. The movie actually won a SAG for "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture." Viola Davis won a SAG as the main maid in the story, Aibileen Clark. Octavia Spencer won a SAG, Golden Globe and Oscar for playing Minnie Jackson exactly like I pictured her from the book. Poor Jessica Chastain was up for all three as well but didn't win any, even though she was very convincing as the clueless flake Celia Foote. I feel bad that Emma Stone didn't get any recognition as Skeeter. Same with Bryce Dallas Howard, as the hate-able Hilly Holbrooke. Also, Allison Janney and Sissy Spacek are scene-stealers with their smaller roles. It's a pretty sappy movie, so prepare yourself. What I think maybe got me the most was just viewing that struggle and thinking about all the things that haven't changed very much since Jackson, MS in the 1960s. If you liked the book, you should probably rent this if you didn't already run out to theaters. If you didn't like the book, wait for cable. If Oprah's cable network lives on, I'm sure this will be a staple.

Eating Eight Courses

A few Saturday nights ago I went on a date to Sons & Daughters, which I've been wanting to go to forever. It's right around the corner from my apartment and I keep hearing rave reviews about it. The chef/owner team was just named as one of the Californian finalists for Food & Wine's 2012 Best New Chef. The two chef-owners, Matt McNamara and Teague Moriarty, met in culinary school. The restaurant is named for the fact that when they opened in 2010, the entire staff was pretty young. They received a Michelin star just one year after opening. Their cuisine blends Californian style and flavors with the modern flair of gastronomy. The view walking by the restaurant makes it look quite small, however half the restaurant is extended into a back area. It's still pretty cozy, only seating 29 people. The decor feels like simplified elegance with an unexplained rustic feel (no, there are no deer heads or fireplaces so I'm not quite sure where this vibe comes from).

When we went two weekends ago, they were offering a Spring or vegetable tasting menu. Each menu is eight small courses and with the option to get wine parings with each. We went for the Spring menu, because as wonderful as veggies are, who wants a meal with no meat? How anyone could come from the Midwest and be a vegetarian is beyond comprehension (but if you are, read Christine's blog Ruminations on Food!). The first amuse-bouche was trout roe on top of a buttermilk crisp with green onions. I wasn't afraid at first because I associated roe with the miniscule balls that give sushi a crunch and have relatively no flavor. Unfortunately, I was then warned that trout roe is actually nothing like that. I went with the no fear technique and just shoved the whole bite into my mouth. It was disgusting! They're these big eggs the size of tapioca pearls you would get in bubble tea. And they were intensely fishy tasting. Popping those in your mouth is one foodie craze I am not a fan of. At least it was paired with a crisp Cuvee Brut Champagne, which was less dry than expected for a Brut. Luckily, they redeemed themselves with the remaining seven courses. Next was the Kampachi, with crispy fish skin on top. I realize this sounds weird, but the flaky skin was not strongly flavored and added the needed crunch to the soft fish. The dish was topped off with lime kosho, adding that citrus and soy flare that compliments fish so well. Riesling was the wine for this course, which seemed a little sweet for the dish. However, I get the progression of wine in a meal and that this had to be served earlier on. For course three, we had green garlic soup, with garden radishes and a fried mussel from Marin. This was possible my favorite course. The soup was unbelievably flavorful and I love garlic. I'd never had a fried mussel and it was just a juicy as eating them steamed. The pairing was a Savignon Blanc, which was my favorite white wine of the evening.

Onto course four (in case you're already getting full from reading this, there are still 4 more courses to go after this). This is where the mini-sized entrees started. First we had quail egg, with asparagus and spring onion. The broth it was served in has some flavor bur there just wasn't any remarkable flavors or techniques that stood out as memorable (which you would expect from them). I will say though that their food presentation skills are top notch. Next was the pork belly, served atop an English pea puree with cat mint (not catnip). The puree was really tasty but with the pork belly on top, the skin of the pork needed to be more crisp. Lastly we had the squab, with pistachio and fennel. Delicious, well cooked, beautiful presentation but no amazing quality to bring the dish to the next level or make it that memorable. At least it was finally time for red wine by this point! The dish came with a smooth Grenache. If this wasn't enough food, they also bring you three homemade breads dispersed amongst these main courses (homemade, sourdough and pretzel).

There was a quick palate cleanser (which counted as a course thankfully because I was stuffed by this point) of citrus, poppy seed and rhubarb. Then it was on to the dessert course, which after the soup, was my favorite course of the evening. It was a slice of fromage blanc, drizzled with local honey and lavender. The cheese was light and fluffy. Basically it's fat-free, drained cow's cheese which retains the good flavors from raw milk. Honey and lavender were the perfect compliment. I'll be honest, it was paired with Late Harvest Furmint dessert wine, which I did not drink. Dessert wine and port are just way to sweet and thick for me (but this is a case of personal preference).

This whole meal was definitely a wonderful dining experience. The meal itself consisted of some amazing dishes and some just good dishes. The only thing that I did not enjoy was the trout roe. So, would I recommend this restaurant to others? No. And this is 98% based on the price. I read an article that said when they opened in 2010, eight course tasting menus were $36. Two years later it is substantially more than that. I'm pretty sure the costs aren't on the menus at all. The only place I could find the prices are in small gray print at the very bottom of their online menu. San Francisco is a city full of amazing food and chefs (and restaurants with Michelin stars). In this city, you can get the same quality of food at a lot less cost. I hope Sons & Daughters comes back down to reality at some point because they have a lot to offer. However, they did just open a more casual and affordable eatery, Sweet Woodruff, so this may be a better option to check out. Their brunch menu looks pretty delicious.

*Thanks to Justin for this amazing meal experience. The company was the best part.