Category Archives: On Eating Around
A quick list of food related Commentary, Rants & Raves
Settling In and stuff
Settling in at the Cove each summer is always a whirlwind for the first few days, but rarely lasts long. On this trip, we also have a few friends here – so its added some fun additional options.
After a very long coach ride into Provincetown on Saturday . It was nice to just sit back and breath.
Come Sunday we were in full vacation mode. Bikes needed to get rented for the next two weeks, as that makes being able to go to Stop & Shop for groceries much more doable.
So we made the short walk up to the road to PTownBikes (Address: 42 Bradford St, Provincetown, MA 02657, Phone: (508) 487-8735). After getting our annual “rules of the road” reminders, we were off for a short ride to Herring Cove to show the boys around that end of the town.
After we got back from the ride, it was nap time for the boys – so I had some time to connect with local friends and get the skinny on the season and the annual “what do you want to do for activities” ticket discussion begins.
Once we were all refreshed and we had enough coffee in us. Yes, I had made sure to run by Joe’s Coffeeshop (170 Commercial St, Provincetown, MA 02657) . You can check out Joe’s Facebook page for more on this little slice of Provincetown. It was time for the dreaded Stop & Shop run.
So, empty backpacks ready, we got on the bikes and took to the store for supplies to get us through a few days. While we always love eating out – being here in a unit with a kitchen allows me the luxury to also cook some of the days. Especially those when we just don’t want to deal with the crowds. (Note: first time to Ptown? Don’t shop on Saturday if you can avoid it – that’s turnover day in town and usually a mad house. We tend to go later Sunday or even better on Monday am when we can).
It was still early when we got back, so everyone hit the deck for some late rays, while I went in to think about dinner. For tonight, we went with marinated (yes – with bottled italian salad dressing, along with some ginger beer added for zing) to toss on the grill, grilled sweet potatoes and quick pickled carrots.
After dinner we took the first official “ice cream” walk to close out the day.
Monday
Come Monday, we were all in “vaca mode”. I tend to wake up early, so generally out with the camera walking around by 6:15 then heading back to Joe’s coffeeshop around seven. Spent a few hours drafting some notes for a journal article then met up with Brent and Josh before walking back to the house to figure out the game plan for the day.
All in all, it was just a very nice relaxing day at the Cove; lots of sun and catching up. We ended up eating lunch in doing that old standard “make yourself sandwiches” since we knew that evening we will be going to a show and dinner.
After all getting showered we went over to the Canteen (225 Commercial St, Provincetown, MA 02657) for dinner, one of my favorite of the small places here in Ptown. A nice assortment of fresh and fried foods and probably the best crispy brussels sprouts we’ve had. They do their brussels sprouts cooked to get fried crispy and then top it with the vinegar fish sauce working with the natural flavor of the smoky sprout. The
other guys went with some basic fish and chips, I opted for “fish fries”, a.k.a. fried smelts.
After dinner, we walked over the Crown and Anchor where we checked out an early show of the Generations Project (thegenerationsproject.info). Part of a new intergenerational, transnational LGBT queer storytelling project that hopes to serve as a bridge between older and younger folks by sharing different stories frint points in our lives (coming out, risk, dating etc.). Tonight’s specifically highlighted the stories related to Ptwn.
After a really well-done show, we once again took a walk so the men could get ice cream and I splurged at the Portuguese Bakery (299 Commercial St, Provincetown, MA 02657) for a pastry; Malasada is the Portuguese version of a “fried dough” treat. Italians grow up with a similar version serves on Sundays or at street fairs. As they do with the italian version – they cover it with sugar hot out of the grease.
On Tuesday
Paul’s parents were scheduled to come down on the 11 o’clock ferry, so after getting up and doing a few hours of work I went back to the unit and made some breakfast for all of us.
Then we took a nice leisurely stroll to the ferry for his mom and Eddie. Looking for something to do that wouldn’t require them to walk as much, we decided to make use of the new Provincetown Mayflower Trolley tour.
What a great ride. We were able to get to a bunch of locations with the tour we hadn’t checked out before. While we heard some really interesting stories and history of the people who founded Provincetown. Not to mention learning about the environment & ecological structure. Overall well worth the money for the $20 tickets and I would reccomemd to anybody who’s never been here to take advantage of it. And I got a recipe to try as well!
We caught sight of some fun street based art that often can be found tucked away in nooks and crannies.
Travel day
Travel
We all love it, but travel can just as easily go wrong. I have to say the hardest thing about the early morning flight is actually the early morning itself. In order to catch a 6 AM flight out of SFO, it means leaving as early as 4:15 AM.
As luck would have it, it was a pretty uneventful travel experience. The airport was a little more crowded than usual but I managed to get on the plane, make my connections and found myself a Boston, 15 minutes ahead of schedule, albeit 12 hours later.
Next stop, Residence Inn Seaport downtown to meet Paul, with old friends Josh & Brent in tow, who came in from San Diego and would also be staying Ptown.
Residence Inn Downtown
Any visit to Boston for me that is non-work related, usually begins and ends with a stay at this facility. Between the friendliness of the staff, the super convenient location for both water events and inner city Boston events, just makes for it to be a perfect place to relax & recharge.
This inspired, converted building turns the stay into something that feels like you’re actually on a “urban adventure”. From it’s super airy atrium, to the modern desired modular rooms; this place, has lots of nooks and crannies to explore. Each of the rooms we’ve stayed in, has a slightly different layout which is how they all fit into the natural structure of the building. Giving those who live in tradition houses an opportunity at staying in a super cool urban environment.
Close to public transportation, including the ferry for those folks headed down to the Cape. They’ve got in-hotel full service coffee shop that caters to the neighborhood, as well as it’s traditional Residence Inn morning buffet. Much like other Residence Inns, the staff tend toward the awesome side of hosting. Working at whatever they can to help make your stay the best.
Word up though; while not the most expensive of the hotels in this area it isn’t inexpensive. So plan ahead, sign up with Marriott deals so that you can utilize your points or discounts as appropriate. This site also is within a short walk to the childrens museum; so on this visit also staying were more families than previous stays which made navigating the breakfast buffett a little “treacherous” as not all children (and some adults it would seem) have been taught proper public shared food space/buffett curtesies or hygiene practices. So if you want particularly kid or family-friendly you might want to call ahead to find out if there’s a kid focused weekend happening. Another fav feature is the “grocery option”. Many of the facilities will now do some basic grocery runs to stock up the very workable kitchens. Billing your rooms and saving you time.
Dinner and what not
This is a great central location for nice walk to the italian area of town. Which we do each trip for pizzia at Regina Pizzeria (the original one). If you want calm, quiet dinner – this isn’t the place. It’s loud and ethnic as only a small family place can be. The 30 min walk, takes you through several community parks, right by the front of the Boston Children Museum, which is sure to have something fun going on and eventually right into the Italian section of town.
Travel to Provincetown
Our next stop of the trip starts on Saturday am, and brings us to to the Ferry. Which normally would take us out over the water into Provincetown. But for the first time, rough weather water warning meant this trip taking a motor coach supplied from the Bay State Cruise Company to get us to Provincetown. [By the way, “rough weather water” warnings means more than a few passengers on the early ferry, ended much “green around the gills” than normal]
Now, while I will miss the boat ride, I don’t need a tossing boat & seasickness to start my day. I say as long as “someone else takes the wheel, and it’s not me driving” go for it. Needless to say the 2.5 hour drive by coach bus, ended up almost 3.5, but was pleasently stressless it a bit cramped. [hint – this is the Cape, time flows differently so 2.5 hours = 3.5, its new “old” math for the Cape]
Getting Settled
Once we got settled in at Fisherman’s Cove, our “home away from home”, it was time for a short walk and some food. Since it was already 4:00, we opted for sandwiches now and diner later. We walked further down the West End to Relish, (I wrote about Relish in previous trips as well here (2015) and here 2014) bringing them back to the condo and our first waterside meal of the summer. Then it was time for the boys to go down for naps, while I took a walk to get caught up with my local peeps and the “news” around town.
The day slowly came to an end with a pleasant sunset watching on the main deck, while we waited for everyone to get ready for dinner. For the opening night, we took a short walk into town for burgers at Local 186 (I wrote about Local 186 previously here). Closing out the evening with a stroll to walk off the dinner and meander around till we settled in for the night.
Over all, a good first day.
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- El Guapo Burger from Local 186
Another “Salon” dinner saturday night with the perfect “Cowboy” Lasagna.
This was a dinner shot during the last visit
A gathering of the tribe last night for a “salon” dinner. A night focused on food, talk and stories. For this month, my old friend Josh and his husband Brent were in town, taking advantage of “retiree” time and visiting the Bay Area. Now Josh and I have been friends, “sisters”, co-facilitators, both ran focus groups and volunteers for local programs for many years and all around were “those two are trouble together” for over 24 years.
Instead of a dinner out like in the past (the last visit we took them to Old Skool for a great meal), I suggested we eat here and invite some other friends we’ve known for years and just kick back old school style.
For the menu I wanted easy, solid and fun. Years ago Josh and I manned a mens social group called the Social Exchange Network as a way to gather men to get out of the city to camp, eat, remember, heal. This was during a time of great pain and change for us, when so many of our friends were dying or sick with AIDS. So the socials and SEN were an opportunity to “stop the madness” for a few days. We did everything from camping trips to Disney World to house parties.
Often for the weekend SEN events, I tended to do all the cooking (except for the junk food table which often held every sweet treat, salty, sugary snack that we ould pre-buy that would sit on a table for the whole weekend for those late-night munchies) while Josh would serve as the front man-cruise director for the social stuff. On those trips when an oven was available – our first night menu was frozen lasagna dinners with a green salad and garlic bread. As it was easiest meal to get prepared on the day of travel as people rolled in.
With this in mind, I thought it would be fun to recreate a home version, but that wasn’t the old school all day sauce version that I normally would make , which I know he loves. So Trisha Yearwood’s “Cowboy Lasagna” recipe came to mind. I originally tried the recipe back in a few months ago (that post is here) after seeing it on her cooking show to a great success. I recall saying that the mean-sauce was like “crack”, “one spoonful and you couldn’t stop tasting it”. To start the night I re-used another favorite starter; my adapted version of Roasted Carrot Hummus that I have mentioned back in my February post
When all was said and done – it was a win for sure. Two of our other friends Russel (Russell has know Josh almost as long) and David, brought a fresh baked apple pie (crust and all) incredibly infused with rosemary. Which paired perfectly to the lasagna meal.
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- Yea I know – I got a little artsy…
Date night to kick off a 3-day weekend
On Friday as a treat, Paul took me to a resturant neither of us had been too – but often walked by; L’Ardoise Bistro .
This would be one of those “hidden gems” that get so easily overlooked. With so many decadent options I went old school with Coq au Vin while Paul Burke splurged on the Hanger steak. Started off with little Charcuterie Plate with housemade Patés and an incredible carrot soup special was rich with “American butter” and hot. In fact, the entrees were solid sized and rare it seems of late in restaurants – actually HOT and just just warmed under a heat lamp.
From start to finish, an outstanding diner, well prepared and lick your plate good. Reasonably priced and great portions topped only by the welcoming staff. I would go once a week if my waistline would agreed. A new favorite on my list of “go to’s”.
Pardon the fuzzy shots – but the atmosphere is so nice and we had such a lovely time – that I refused to fuss with my camera.
They have a great menu online (http://www.ardoisesf.com) for those that like to review them
L’ardoise Bistro 51 Noe StSan Francisco, CA 94114 b/t 15th St & Henry St. Duboce Triangle
Phone number(415) 437-2600. Business website: ardoisesf.com or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LArdoiseBistro
You know it’s good when I start with the empty plates!
Read my review of L’ardoise Bistro on Yelp
Sessions at the Presidio
So last week we went to the Palace of Fine Arts to see Bernadette Peters in concert. We wanted to go to dinner beforehand somewhere close and when looking for places that had a 6 o’clock reservations we came across sessions.
I don’t have any expectations and what we would find; reviews were mixed from 3 to 5 stars depending on where you looked.
I loved the inside of the restaurant, nice balance of light and airy with substance. They were very gracious, we were seated pretty quickly. They were really helpful when we explained we were going to the theater and our server felt we had plenty of time. But that’s when service got a little wonky. 
We ordered pretty quickly, going with the sliced meat appetizer and then the hanger steak entrée, the chicken entrée and a burger. I think the kitchen may have been having a bit of a off night; our waiter did mention they were short one staff but it sort of feel like maybe the kitchen was a little short. He came out to tell us that there could be a chance for appetizer would be out after our entrées because of timing in the kitchen and with that be a problem for us. Now I appreciated him asking because in some cases we wouldn’t care but it did feel kind of odd.
Now we did notice the food coming out looks wonderful. We got our appetizer first, and just finished when our entrées were served. I was sort of underwhelmed with the burger; it was a seared on both sides but nearly raw inside (and had been ordered medium). The hanger steak looked very and tasted good as did the chicken although I have to say that the chicken portion was underwhelming for the price of the entrée. I’m sort of wondering if some of our food may have been held up so that we could eat ourbappetizers first as both the other entrees weren’t particularly hot, even though the place themselves were. 
Luckily they redeemed themselves at the end of the night with a very very good banana nut cake with salted butterscotch ice cream. I could’ve eaten that as my dinner and been happy. They did remove the cost of the burger from our tab then asked about my not eating it.
So while I wouldn’t rule out going to Sessions again, I probably wouldn’t order the burger. I noticed they do have a squid ink seafood pasta dish that reads good on the menu, that is likely what I want to try next.
Swedish Book Club Day
Since several asked about the Swedish themed recipes last week to go along with our Bookclub title of the month, A Man Called Ove
I’m sharing them here.
Midsummer Swedish Strawberry Compote – Jordgubbskrm Recipe – via Food.com
I didn’t make any changes to this recipe initially, but I did add fresh lemon and lime zest after I took it off the stove and while it cooled.
Note: Don’t second guess it and overcook it. It really does only take until the soft boil.
Swedish Saffron Cake – curtesy of La Cigale
I made this as is but used the wrong pan. But the flavor rocked and Was perfect to be topped with the strawberry compote.
Note: this recipe is easy enough that it’s perfect for low tech cooking for those without a mixer.
Holiday Saffron Cake Recipe | MyRecipes.com
This was the “backup recipe” and was equally as good. More dense, this was the one that begged for a cup of coffee or tea to go with.
The Easter Bread Saga will not be rebroadcasted this year!
Yes – I am afraid it is true.. this year no ester bread.. and for some of you wanting to know why? Let me refresh your memories:
First is the making of the damn thing and all the time for the dough to rise, etc and then it’s the baking. So its a lot of work for a seasonal treat. But You can read about last years “saga” on my post “Easter Bread; the Saga of the Risen” and see the result and recipe on “The long awaited Easter Bread Recipe ( My Mom’s Version)“.
For those of you more adventurous types, the recipe can be found listed in the Recipe Index or below
Mom's Easter Bread
Note: This is a large batch dough and can be both messy and sticky while making. You can use a mixer or processor as well as mix and knead by hand ( just plan to get “close & personal” to your dough if you do).
Also – this uses an over-night rise for the first one – so you are looking at 8 – 10 hours of prep on this before actual baking.
- 12 xl eggs (room temp.)
- 2 1/2 cups sugar (you can add up to 3 cups – mostly to your taste)
- 1 tbsp sugar (this for the Yeast to proof)
- Grated rind of 2 lemons and 1 orange (or two if they are small)
- Juice of 2 Lemons and 2 Oranges
- 1/4 lb of Bakers Yeast or 6 packets of Active Dry Yeast (active live yeast, not rapid rise)
- 1/2 cup of Olive Oil
- 12 cups of flour (more or less)
- 1/2 stick of butter (melted)
- 1 cup warmed milk (118 to 115 degrees)
- Parchment paper
- 2 -3 Sheet try pans unless you plan to do them in batches.
- Big Bowl!
- clean towel and blanket (yes a blanket)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I noted my oven runs hot so I used 325 for the second batch and let it cook an extra 5 minutes.
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Melt yeast in warm milk with the tablespoon of sugar, stir and set aside
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Beat eggs w/remaining sugar till well incorporated
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Add butter, yeast, lemon juice and grated lemon & orange peels mix together well.
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Add the Flour
If you have a large surface area you can mix old school style and pour flour on the table, form a mound, make a hole in the center and add liquid mixture gradually as you work by hand.
or
Use a bowl or mixer and add flour 2 cups at a time to liquid mixture.
The dough will go from liquid to sticky mess so you will want to be prepared.
Around the time you hit the 10th cup of flour, you will want to start to work the dough with your hands as you add the remaining flour*.
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Coat your hands from the 1/2 of Olive Oil to keep it from sticking (Don’t use flour on your hands) and knead dough.
When you can shape a soft dough round that isn’t so sticky and stays together – you are done.
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*Depending go the egg size – you may need less or more flour so take your time.
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Oil the inside of a large bowl ( those old fashioned tupperware ones are great by the way). Place the dough in the bowl. Cover and “burp” if using tupperware or cover with plastic wrap. Drape a towel over the top and then fold the bowl into a blanket and set out of a breeze,overnight or 6 -7 hours.
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Unwrap and punch it down for the first time, rewrap and let rise again for 2-3 hours
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After the second rise
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Role each portion of dough out into a 12- 14 inch role, then either braid or circle around itself ( or any other shape you like). Place on parchment paper lined trays.
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Let rise uncovered for up to 1 hour more. See the notes for more ideas and hints
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Coat with a simple egg wash
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Bake for 30 minutes or until a nice golden brown.
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Cool on a rack and eat! Even better the best day as “French Toast” or in bread pudding.
Note:
Now the timeline we use is:
10:00 pm make dough, wrap like a bundle (and in my Mom’s case – say a prayer – yes really)
7:00 am unwrap and punch it down for the first time, rewrap and let rise again for 2-3 hours,
9:30 – 10:00 am shape into individual loaves and let rise uncovered for up to 1 hour more.
11:00 am Bake
Hints:
Shapes:
If you portion out the dough into 1/2 lb portions you can get 5- 6 loaves.
If you want to do a large braid, use about 1-1/2 lbs (1/2 per lb), But its up to you. I think 1/4 ld loaves would be nice gifts too.
You can also place a raw egg (especially pretty with colored eggs) in the center while they cook.
Topping with an egg wash and sprinkles also add some fun as would adding friend fruit to the batter.
Bistro SF Grill
While I understand it’s a new location, the “vibe” was disorganized at best. It felt like the system (if it had one) was broken tonight. When asked about the soup of the day (at 7:30 at night), the waiter stepped away and after checking came back saying is was being made now and it will be a “white chowder”- they never went on to explain what kind. Another menu item that was asked about, we were told was initially out, but then had “just came in”.
While it has potential to be a fun, casual spot- it felt somewhat contrived to be too established “hipster-chic”.
A few less then stellar notices;
1-they dont have plain Iced tea, and dont let you known when ordering thats its a “flavored one”. (They also don’t have non-sugar sweetner).
2 -while we got seated quick, our waiter mid-order, stepped away to check menu options, ended up seating three parties and then finally returned to take the rest of the order.
3- the volume is on the high side and add in the piano (which is a nice touch) you and your guests can expect a lot of “what? what?. Personally I don’t think they need a amp on the piano in that size please.
4- on the food quality; mostly good. The grilled sardines were tasty but would have benefitted if served with a wedge of lemon. 
The beet & carrot salad was “meh”. Somewhat lacking in seasoning or sharpness but a nice sized portion. The grilled sausage w/ sauerkraut and mash were great. Tasty and crisp but the mash itself was barely warm (in fact the mini tomato 
garnish was wamer). The wiener
schnitzel was good and a nice presentation and had a well seasoned taste. 
So overall, a mixed bag worth a second try.
1305 Castro St, San Francisco, CA 94114
It’s the last of the Cioppino nights @RoccosCafeSanFrancisco for the season soon
Heads up folks!
Some of you know that Rocco’s Cafe San Francisco is one of my “go to” fav places.
Top dishes on the menu include the seasonal Corned Beef & Cabbage we had last week during our annual St. Paddy’s Day Night out. 
But the other seasonal “must have” is the Chippino.
Just got word that the last time of the season for Cioppino is at the end of the month.. see the message below and use the link for reservations.
“The secret is out, so you better make your reservations now because it’s going to get a little crazy in here.LAST CIOPPINO of this season is Fri 3.31 & Sat 4.1, and this is no April fool’s joke!”
1131 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94103-3931(between 7th & 8th Sts.)
Reservations Accepted: https://www.yelpreservations.com/r/roccos-cafe/