Blueberry Picking June 30, 2010

Today had a magical start. Yes, magical.

I was able to go to a blueberry farm in the Orange Park area at daybreak and literally commune with nature. It was so good for my foodie heart. My intern and I traveled to the Dowless Blueberry farm where we met Stewart and Irmagene (not sure I spelled that correctly) Dowless. It seems like they have been growing blueberries for a long time and love doing it. It really is a remarkable experience to be able to shake the hand of the person who grows your food.

The blueberry bushes themselves were plentiful and large. Unlike some other farms in the area, their crop was large with many more to come. I think we only picked down 3 rows of one of the fields and came up with 3.5 lbs each. Stewart informed us that they do not use any pesticides on their berries. Let me tell you something, they are delicious. One observation we made is that they are much firmer than store bought berries. The berries are almost crisp with a juicy center. I have yet to taste one that is not sweet.

The farm is only open on Saturdays in July till they are picked out. I highly recommend it. Their address is:

7010 Ricker Road  Jacksonville

Oh, and your are probably not going to find a website or facebook page for this farm. =)

Here are some pictures of my glorious morning.

3.5 lbs of deliciousness

Check out this great article June 24, 2010

I think this news is totally awesome. I can’t wait to see more of this happening!

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/business/2010/jun/23/b-gard23-ar-229066/

The Final Day of California Cuisine June 21, 2010

Today is bittersweet. We are ready to be home but it has been an amazing 10 days. Today we tasted some true Cali cuisine. I have to admit that I actually ate a real cheeseburger. Not a turkey burger or veggie burger, but a beef cheeseburger. (This happens about once a year). Brian’s last food request was to go to In-n-Out Burger. Has anyone had this before?? The best we could equate it to is Five Guys. It’s the same idea – only burgers and fries on the menu and a focus on high quality ingredients. I was pleased with what I saw on their website yesterday. Since Brian was not overly excited about my French restaurant pick yesterday, we had to go. I will say that it was actually a good burger. It was not greasy at all and the veggies on it where fresh  and crunchy. For my once-a-year burger, I’d say this was a good choice. This also completely meets my goals of 1- food I would not normally choose and 2- food that is taboo for me.

In-n-Out Burger

I was most excited about our choice for dinner. While we were in Napa, someone who used to live in San Diego recommended we try the Coronado Brewing Company. (http://www.coronadobrewingcompany.com/) It is a microbrewery that is local to Coronado Island. It was soooo delicious. I had the coconut crusted mahi with veggies and mashed potatoes and Brian finally ordered some fish tacos. Both were excellent. On the beer end, we ordered a Coronado Golden and an Orange Ave. They were delicious!! Wish we had these in Florida.

Coconut Crusted Mahi

Fish Tacos

As I reflect back on our trip, I realize that it truly has been amazing. I have seen and eaten so many incredible things. I recommend everyone travel to California. I am inspired to try some new things in the kitchen based on the ingredients and combinations I have experienced. If you are not able to travel afar, try a new cuisine out at home to broaden your horizons. I picked up 2 cookbooks at Borders yesterday ($4/each) and plan to make some Mediterranean and Indian dishes that I have never tried before. Can’t wait!!

The 8th Day – A Taste of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter June 20, 2010

Today we explored downtown San Diego. I had a sad moment because I tried to get lunch from a place called Sushi Deli 2, which I have heard great things about. Unfortunately, they are not open for lunch on Sundays! I was very disappointed. We ended up eating at the Padres game. I was happy to find some more fish tacos though! They were pretty good too. I think this is the third type of fish taco that I have had here.

Yah for fish tacos!

The best food of the day came in the afternoon. I found a place called Mondo Gelato close to the stadium. Apparently it is the only US location with the recipes being created by the founder in Italy. They had incredible flavors, including Nutella!!! Nutella just might be one of my favorite splurge foods of all time and the gelato version is just as good. I am inspired to borrow my parent’s ice cream maker and attempt to make this flavor. It was ridiculously good.

Vanilla Bean and Nutella Gelato

Our last stop for dinner was at Cafe Chloe. A chef in St. Augustine suggested we try this place out. It is a French restaurant, which honestly I do not eat much of. It seemed like a good risk to take. I ordered mussels again and Brian had Coq au Vin. I had a glass of Malbec with it, which was perfect. The aroma of it was so fruity and floral. It was a fun experience although Brian did not think it was a good San Diego experience. I really like that big cities have such a wide variety of types of food. I enjoyed it and would definitely go back to try something else.

Coq au Vin

Mussels Grenobloise with Pommes Frites -- http://www.cafechloe.com

Cali Day #7 June 19, 2010

Today we drove from Newport Beach through Laguna Beach and ended up in San Diego. We stopped in a cool Main Street kind of area in Newport for lunch at a place called the Panini Cafe. We both got great sandwiches. I ordered a veggie hummus panini on multi grain bread. It was really unique though because it had roasted eggplant, hummus, pesto, tomatoes and MINT. The mint was an amazing addition. It just popped with great flavor. Here’s a pic but it doesn’t do it justice. I also had their house made lentil veggie soup.

The Panini Cafe in Newport Beach

We have been anticipating the great food in San Diego for a while. Many people have suggested we go to “Old Town” and go to an authentic Mexican restaurant. There were many in this area, and I’m not sure I picked a true “authentic” restaurant, but it was very good. I wanted to order a tamale because I have maybe only had one in my life. I recently watched Alton Brown make them on Good Eats so I wanted to try a good one. I ordered a Baja fish taco (amazing) and a black bean tamale.

Cafe Coyote

I realized tonight that I have only had seafood on this trip, with the exception of one hotdog at the ball game. I haven’t done this on purpose, it just happened. The seafood here is amazing though and always available. I’ll think about trying something else in the next couple of days. What can I say though?! I love fish and shrimp!

Cali Day #6

So yesterday was more about driving then it was about the food. It was a long day and I just didn’t get to posting anything. Sorry about that. The 2 fun things about yesterday were that Brian and I had a picnic on a beach in Monterey and we ate at a fun restaurant in Avila Beach. The picnic was food we bought in  Napa – excellent cheddar cheese, gourmet crackers and organic strawberries. So tasty!

In Avila Beach we ate at a restaurant called the Custom House, because at one point it was a US Customs building. I had a tasty take on ahi tostadas. Each one was one a chip so it was a perfect portion. I also finally got to try Fat Tire beer on tap, which I had heard was a great beer. I really enjoyed it. It was heavier than light beers but did not have a strong bite. I’m thinking I heard that this is mostly found on the west coast. Bummer.

And I have to throw in a scenic picture from our beautiful drive down the PCH yesterday.

Today we drove through LA and down to Newport Beach. We ate at a seafood-mexican twist place and I had a lobster taco. It was tasty but nothing super special. Hoping for a better story from tomorrow.

Cali Day #4 – More Good Eats June 16, 2010

This morning we experienced our “gourmet breakfast” at the Ink House. It consisted of an artichoke frittata, potatoes, fresh berries, sausage links, toast, coffee and juice. It tasted great, especially because we had just done a 45 minute hike.

We went to 2 different wineries today: Mondavi and Cakebread. They were both great but our favorite is still yesterday’s Frog’s Leap. My favorite wine of the day was Cakebread’s Syrah, which surprised me because I don’t really drink Syrah. It was a very smooth red with low acidity. Just great.

Tasting at Mondavi

Our other food experiences included a trip to Dean and Delucca where I got a Israeli couscous salad, Model bakery for pastries, and Gott’s Roadside (formerly Taylor’s) for burgers. The pastries were one of the “off-limits” foods for me. I tend to avoid danish and croissants because they are so high in calories. But on this trip, I wanted to try some great bakery for an unusual treat, and it was worth it.

Goodies at Model

Organic fruit at D & D

Gott’s Roadside has been on my agenda since we first starting planning our time in Napa. It’s been feature on the Food Network and my friend Karen said it’s a must. It’s grill food done up. I ordered a turkey burger and it had an amazing apple-onion chutney on it. It was a great combination. The burger itself was so juicy. Typically, turkey burgers dry out but not this one. Brian ordered a double cheeseburger which I’m afraid I cannot post a picture of on this website because of how big it was. Sorry. We also ordered garlic parsley fries which were green colored. Kind of weird but definitely good.

My turkey burger from Gott's. The seating was all outdoors at picnic tables... a perfect setting for our last Napa meal.

Cali Day #3 – NAPA!!!! June 15, 2010

People, it’s all true! Napa is amazing. I can’t even describe it in words adequately. It’s just a different world. I am in heaven. We pulled into St. Helena CA around 2:30pm. Check in at our B and B was not till 3pm so we decided to go to one of the wineries I had on my list: Frog’s Leap, an all organic winery. It is located off the beaten path so when we got there, we were surprised by how chill the environment was. We were seated right away and tasted 4 different wines. The sauvignon blanc was our favorite– so perfect for summer. (We bought a bottle of that to enjoy later on the trip.) The winery also had a fruit and vegetable garden and we were able to just wander around.

For dinner, we went to Mustard’s Grill. I nearly freaked out when we passed it on the road driving in to St. Helena. This restaurant had just recently been featured on the food network for their pork chops. We enjoyed a fantastic meal!! Definitely top 5 meals I have ever had. I had a swordfish tostada with black beans, feta cheese, and greens. The fish was cooked so perfectly. I chose a Pinot Noir from the next county over to go with my meal and it was so delicious. I love red wine. Brian chose the famous pork chop in a house made honey mustard sauce. Holy Moly!!! I did not know pork chops could taste so good and tender. I would have definitely ordered them if I had known they tasted so good. For dinner I chose a chocolate hazelnut torte with espresso ice cream.  Hazelnut is one of my favorite food flavors. This is by far one of the best desserts I have ever had!

I’ve realized that you Napa is mostly about eating and drinking really really really good food. Fortunately, Brian and I have exercised every day. Doreen, for the record (our team competition back at the Y) I did weight yesterday for 30 minutes, abs for 10 minute, and biked the Golden Gate (which took about 2 hours). Today I ran for 30 minutes (up a mountain covered with vineyards).

Dessert

San Fran Day #2 June 14, 2010

Today was another whirl-wind day in San Francisco! We were all over the place. Food-wise, I experienced quite a mix of tasty food. We started at the Fisherman’s Wharf and just had to get a sourdough bread bowl with clam chowder. EVERYONE said we had to have some. It was really good. I loved the chowder and sourdough was perfect.

Next we biked over to Saulsalito, which is just over the Golden Gate Bridge. We ate at lovely local diner called the Lighthouse Coffee Shop. It was not anything amazing, but it was definitely a locals spot. We both had salads because we were craving veggies. It was great and the atmosphere was quiet and relaxing.

We finished the day off with dinner at Santorini, a mediterranean restaurant located near our hotel. It was a great meal for a pretty good price. I had a sampler platter of all things mediterranean: hummus, falafel, babaghanoosh, tabbuleh, and spanakopita. There were a couple of items that I haven’t tried before so it was a bit of an adventure seeing what they would bring me. It ended up being delicious and paired nicely (in my opinion) with a glass of Cab. All in a days work!

The First 24 Hours in Cali June 13, 2010

Last night we got to our hotel in downtown San Fran pretty late (according to Eastern time). We decided to eat dinner at the restaurant at our hotel, Ponzu, and it proved to be a great decision. I picked something I  have never had before, Mussels and Clams, and wasn’t even sure I would like it. Turns out, I really like them, or at least the way they prepared them at Ponzu in a delicious saffron broth. I also tried a local beer (which is becoming a hobby) called Rogue Dead Guys Ale. It was also awesome. Here’s a pic of dinner.

Today (Sunday) we enjoyed hot dogs and fries at the Giant game. Nothing super special there except that you have to have a hot dog at a ballgame. They just go together.

This evening we ate Sushi in China Town. The best part though was tea tasting at one of the tea shops. I learned so much about how the different types of teas are made and what their health properties are. I was able to sample a tea that cost $3500 a pound! Pretty special. We came home with some ginseng tea and a super cool contraption for steeping it. Here’s a pic of the shop owner doing his thing with tea: