Category Archives: Seafood

Carneros Inn Offers Produce Baskets to Guests, Dessert Time in San Francisco & More

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Fresh fruit, veggies and flowers to take home from the Carneros Inn. (Photo courtesy of the resort)

Guests of Carneros Inn Get Gift of Organic Produce

Guests who depart the Carneros Inn in Napa on Sundays can now receive a free brimming bag of fresh-picked fruit and veggies from the resort’s 1/2-acre biodynamic, organic garden to take home.

Those goodies might include heirloom tomatoes, kale, Swiss chard, watermelon, cucumber, carrots, peas, strawberries and raspberries, as well as a bevy of herbs and flowers. The good-for-you goody bag is available for the asking at check-out and even comes with a recipe, too.

Peter Stonebraker, the property’s culinary gardener, grows an abundance of produce for the resort’s private dining restaurant, Hilltop Dining Room, as well as for its FARM restaurant and  Boon Fly Cafe. And he’s more than happy to share the wealth.

Culinary Gardener Peter Stonebraker tends to the fruits of his labor. (Photo courtesy of Carneros Inn)

Dessert First? You Bet!

Life is short, so why not go for the sweet stuff first?

Project Open Hand invites you to do just that at its 11th annual Dessert First extravaganza at the InterContinental San Francisco, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 14.

This year, 16 pastry chefs will dazzle with their decadent creations. Among those participating are: Patti Dellamonica-Bauler of One Market Restaurant, Sara Spearin of Dynamo Donut, Francis Ang of the Fifth Floor, Elizabeth Faulkner of Citizen Cake and Orson, and Jake Godby of Humphry Slocombe.

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Rose Pistola Still Blooming After All These Years

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Asparagus and lamb pizza at Rose Pistola.

There’s no denying that North Beach has to be one of San Francisco’s most touristy neighborhoods.

But it’s also full of enough charm, vivacity and quality Italian food to continue draw locals, as well.

That’s one reason why after 15 years Rose Pistola, a short hop from the Hilton San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf, is still going strong.

The Ligurian-inspired restaurant recently got a face-lift with a new, softer color scheme in grey, burgundy and brown. The tile floors have been restored and the rich mahogany gleams.

Last month, I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant to try the updated menu by new Executive Chef Mark Gordon.

All around me, tables were full of locals, as well as out-of-towners carbo-loading for the next day’s spirited Bay to Breakers race through the streets of San Francisco.

We started with stuffed calamari ($13), tender soft tubular bodies stuffed with seafood mousse, then grilled until smoky.

Tender, charred stuffed calamari.

Grilled, crusty bread spread fava bean puree and lusty olive-oil preserved tuna.

Next, the simple yet sublime bruschette of chunky, mashed favas and tuna conserva ($12). With a glass of racy, white wine, you could make a light dinner of these alone. The creamy, sweet favas were a wonderful match to the the rich, silky tuna preserved in olive oil. It’d be a great nosh to make at home, too.

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“Top Chef” Tour Rolls into San Jose

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"Top Chef'' favorite, Fabio Viviani, cooks in front of a crowd in San Jose on Tuesday.

It’s not every day that I get kissed on the hand by “Top Chef”’s resident Italian charmer, Chef Fabio Viviani — while simultaneously getting kissed on the cheek by fellow hunky “Top Chef” alum, Ryan Scott.

Yes, Tuesday was that kind of heart-fluttering day.

It was all in a scorching afternoon’s work when the Bravo TV “Top Chef Tour,” which has been winding its way across the country, rolled into San Jose for two days of madcap fun inside a tent set up behind the AT&T store on Stevens Creek Blvd. Although this is the fourth year that contestants have gone on the road like this, it was the first time that the tour stopped in San Jose.

Another "Top Chef'' alumn, Ryan Scott, prepares to battle against Viviani.

Yours truly was asked to judge one of the “Quick-Fire”-style battles between Viviani, who owns two restaurants in the Los Angeles-area, Firenze Osteria and Cafe Firenze, and San Francisco’s Scott, who used his “Top Chef” earnings to start a catering company, Ryan Scott 2 Go, and a mobile sandwich truck, 3 Sum Eats. Look for him to open his newest venture in a month — Brunch Drunk Love (how cute is that?), a brunch-only restaurant that will be open only on weekends at the Bruno’s site in the Mission District.

Those signs of affection from Viviani and Scott were humorous attempts to butter up the judge. But being the professional that I am — ahem — I did not let any of that sway me.

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Scenes From “Cooking for Solutions” at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Chef Chris Cosentino shows off his fave T-shirt that's a hoot -- at the "Cooking for Solutions'' gala.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium hosted its 10th “Cooking for Solutions” conference last weekend, bringing together chefs; food purveyors; marine scientists; fishermen; government officials; and celebrities such as Isabella Rossellini, Alton Brown and Ted Turner; as well as journalists such as yours truly, to learn about environmental issues gripping our oceans and planet.

There was good news: Experts from the Environmental Defense Fund don’t expect to see any health issues arising from Gulf seafood resulting from the dispersants used to combat the oil disaster.

Alarming news: Former Gourmet magazine editor Barry Estabrook and creator of the James Beard award-winning Politics of the Plate blog, uncovers in his new book, “Tomatoland” (Andrews McMeel), how many of the popular grape tomatoes sold in supermarkets are picked primarily by women of child-bearing-age who are exposed to pesticides regularly.

Troubling statistics: In California, cotton and rice make up only 3 percent of crops grown, but receive 44 percent of federal subsidies doled out in the state. That leaves the bulk of the farmers, who grow fruits and veggies, with few subsidies.

News to use every day: Experts agreed that of all the ecolabels out in the marketplace now, the most trustworthy ones are — Certified Humane, Free Trade, Certified Organic, Marine Stewardship Council, Country of Origin, and Seafood Watch.

Isabella Rossellini -- still stunning and still making powerful films.

Alton Brown, whose next project will highlight the 25 fish you're not eating, but should be.

And charming moments: Rossellini — who attended the conference with her son, who is studying marine biology — talked about her educational yet humorous “Green Pornos.” Rossellini produced, directed and stars in these short films, produced for the Sundance Channel, which highlight the reproductive lives of marine animals. These offbeat films are memorable with their sets made of paper and Rossellini portraying each species in costume. If you’ve never seen a “Green Porno,” they are definitely worth checking out.

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New Seafood Online Retail Store and A Food Gal Giveaway

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Fresh Loch Duart salmon delivered to my door that I cooked up on a grill pan.

Family-owned Anderson Seafoods, Inc. of Orange, Calif., which has supplied premium seafood to retailers such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, has launched an online retail store for consumers.

Imagine both fresh and frozen fish sent to your door via overnight delivery.

Now, you’re probably thinking that shipping fish in doesn’t sound very PC, but Anderson Seafoods has teamed up with UPS to offer carbon neutral shipping to help mitigate that. You can purchase carbon neutral offsets that UPS will match at a very affordable 20 cents per package delivered.

In this day and age of heightened concerns about where our seafood comes from, though, I only wish the Anderson Web site had more detailed information on where some of the types of seafood come from. For instance, it sells “fresh Atlantic salmon,” but doesn’t mention that it’s farm-raised. It also sells Chilean Seabass, even though this species remains on the “avoid list” on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Guide because it is still considered overfished.

Recently, I did have a chance to sample some of the seafood products, including fresh Loch Duart salmon ($22.01 for 12 ounces), billed as a sustainable farm-raised salmon from Scotland; fresh ahi ($28.50 for 12 ounces); and frozen mahi mahi ($24.11 for 12 ounces). The fish comes vacuum-sealed in insulated containers.

The fish is vacuum-packed for delivery.

The quality is definitely high. For instance, the beautiful piece of salmon was fresh and rich tasting, and arrived sans any pesky pin bones at all, which was quite impressive. I also tried one of Anderson’s frozen entrees — salmon potstickers ($12.38 for 14 ounces), which were very plump with a substantial filling of salmon, water chestnuts and panko bread crumbs.

Salmon potstickers crisped up in a pan till golden.

Contest: If you’d like to try some of the seafood, I’m happy to be able to give away a $125 gift card to Anderson Seafoods. Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight May 28. The winner will be announced May 30.

How to win?

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