Warm weekend sunday

May 29, 2016 by FV Strona

Im home again from a week in DC. It’s a sunday after a superwarm saturday here in San Francisco.

The monster Dino is walked, fed and napping. His Daddy is still sleeping but coffee is brewing.

So I guess it’s breakfast time. let’s see what I can toss together;

Crustless mini egg, cheese, veggie & ham “quichatta-cups”. Sorta a cross between a less custardy quiche and a frattata baked in cupcake pans lined with my favorite silecone cups for easy removal and cleaning.

So while in the mood; whipped up a new recipe for a gluten-free take on a base to be used for strawberry shortcakes later today so a pal can enjoy while we eat ours topped over poundcake.

Fresh out of the oven they look ok. Taste and crumb isnt bad. Its’ dense, and could have baked longer; but given it’s a base for marinated strawberries in a chocolate-balsamic sauce it might be a perfect match.

Old School Lunch as a Post-Urban Walk Day

May 15, 2016 by FV Strona

Lunch today hit the spot; after a short walk from the Saulsalito Ferry dock, we decided on a visit to The Lighthouse Cafe. Now this is an old school – diner style spot. Nothing fancy or glam. In fact its barely got room for some booths/tables & counter. But the food rocks. Check out the “dance” the cook team do, as the three of them navigate the open grill/prep area. With a casual and welcome feel, it’s bound to feel like you are a regular from day one.

I had the dish called the Great Dane; underneath this perfectly egg is an incrdibly cooked round of ground beef, homemade pickles & beets alingside perfect morning potatoes.

Paul went classic with the house chicken club; but this isnt your “sliced chicken loaf” version, instead its got thick bacon and fresh, real lemon marinated chicken breast cooked right in front of us.

This is definately an “insiders favorite” worth sharing.

The Lighthouse Cafe, 1311 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA 94965. (415) 331-3034

http://www.lighthouse-restaurants.com

Rocken old school Turkish and Lebanese flavors done right at Agora

May 1, 2016 by FV Strona

On a recent visit here to DC for work, I got a chance to visit with some friends. On Friday night after a long workday my pal picked me up and we decided to take a walk for dinner. Not having reservations we were not really sure what we would find at 8 o’clock at night. We came by the restaurant, which he had tried before and spoke highly of, so figured we would give it a shot. Even without reservations, they really did great effort to fit a deuce in. Which in a busy city like DC or San Francisco you more often find the less then engaged hosts working the door barely raise an eyes when they say no reservation? 30 to 45 minutes wait and then they look back at the book.
We were seated fairly quickly and by 830 had something to nibble on and wine at the table. The waitstaff could not have been more friendly or conscientious; while it was clear who was our waiter was, they definitely had a tagteam approach with other waitstaff walking by, offering to clear or bring something. So you had a feeling of being attended too without being smothered.

Dishes are tapas style which means several opportunities to taste lots of things We managed to polish, off between the two of us, six different dishes. I think the average they recommend is 2 to 3 per person. But ask the wait staff. They were great at suggesting (and telling me what I missed to note for next time). The octopus by the way was fork tender! Something not as easy to manage as sime think. The flatbread was crisp and lamb rich. Overall a win win place for drinks, md week dinner with pals, girls night out or special occassion.