Davis

UC Davis. What do you think of? I think of spread out, barren fields. A "cow-town". I mean, Davis is pretty rural, or at least I thought so. UC Davis' mascot is the Aggie, and for those of you who don't know, "aggie" is short for agriculture, so every university with Aggies as the mascot means its an agricultural school.

So this past weekend when I went up to Sacramento for Kevin's law school graduation, the plan was that we would go to a restaurant in Davis afterward for dinner, and my initial response was something along the lines of "Davis? What the heck is in Davis?". I spoke too soon... way too soon.

So we get in all the cars and make the 15 minute drive out to Davis. I didn't know Davis was so close to Sacramento. I thought it was farther. Anyway... as we pull into Davis, I get the small town kind of feeling, which well, Davis is a pretty small town. But I actually mean that in a nice way. Almost immediately, my impressions of Davis being nothing but cowfields quickly went away. And let me tell you, when we pulled up to the restaurant, I was almost blown away. It was right on the corner of the street and as I looked down to the far end, I got even more of the cute, small town feeling. The only thing that would have made it perfect was seeing Buick's and Pontiacs from the 1950s.



The restaurant we went to is called Seasons. As you can see from the photo, it is right on the corner of the street. The restaurant itself is moderne with dark wood tables and cream-clothed seats. We had arrived before the dinner crowd, so it was empty upon walking in. We were greeted by a 3 course prix fixe menu. There was a choice of 2 appetizers, 4 entrees, and 1 dessert. The appetizers were either a dungeness crab quesadilla with monterey jack, served with housemade salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. The other choice was fried calamari with an arugala and sweet pepper salad. I selected the calamari.



The calamari was a little overdone, but the arugala was a nice peppery balance to the sweetness of the calamari. I actually did decide that I should have gotten the quesadilla instead. Oh well.

The entrees were a choice between sea scallops, roasted chicken, cioppino, or a grilled ribeye with foie gras butter, potatoes au gratin, and roasted broccoli. I think you can guess what my choice was. And with any tender cut of beef, I always order it at most medium rare. I haven't been brave enough to try rare, but I don't think it's the best idea anyway.

*Sorry folks, I was so entranced by the beauty of my steak that I forgot to take a picture. It was big too, I'd say it was about 16oz. My kind of cut.

So, moving onto dessert, which was entitled "Scharffenberger Brownie" and it came out with a very simple and clean presentation. The brownie sat on the plate, swimming in a small "puddle" of chocolate sauce, and had a large scoop of caramel gelato resting on top. The plate was garnished with cocoa nibs and a light dusting of powdered sugar.



The brownie was not too sweet and a little bit more cakier than your typical fudge brownie. It had a nice texture to it. The caramel gelato was pretty light in flavor. Like, I didn't really have much of a caramel flavor. I liked it. Wasn't the best, just REALLY honest, but I would definitely order it again.

Overall, I really like the restaurant and if I ever go to Sacramento again in the near future, I would definitely want to go back to Davis and to Seasons restaurant. And actually having been to Davis really changed my stereotype of that town.

Holes in the Wall

This type of eatery can be a bit of a mystery and even a scary thought for most people. A restaurant that is considered a "hole in the wall" would actually probably be high on a germaphobe's list of places to never go to. I do agree though, the cleanliness and sanitation of these places is almost always in question. However, that does not stop me and hundreds of thousands of people from frequenting these places. Case in point, Pollo de Oro in Santa Ana. A group of people from my church this past Saturday went up to Santa Ana to tour a Children's Activity Center as well as walk around Downtown Santa Ana, ultimately having lunch there as well. Our group ultimately decided on Pollo de Oro because it seemed to be the only place large enough to seat 15 people. I think it's the fact that these places are a little less than perfectly clean and that they do a not so great job of keeping their kitchen appliances clean either makes the food taste SOOOO good. I ultimately decided on a carne de res torta and a chicken taco.





I know, I realize as a chef, what goes on in these places goes against perhaps about 90% of what I learned and know about sanitation, but ultimately, as long as I don't get sick, which I haven't yet *knock on wood*, then it's all good.

Bakeries & Cafes

It wasn't until recently did I start on my hunt for local bakeries and cafes. I especially believe as a pastry chef, it helps me know what's out there and allows me to find and use the best ingredients available. I probably have the biggest sweet tooth out of most of my family and friends, and I probably wouldn't be a pastry chef if I didn't.

Living in Southern California, I've been fortunate to have plenty of both big and small restaurants to go to no matter where I venture to. I still love me my steakhouses and sushi bars, but my current love has been bakeries, cafes and patisseries. I love discovering a new small place with freshly made breads, pastries, and exquisite desserts. I am the type of person who once I find a place that I like, I am very loyal to that place. Case in point, Cafe Blance in Costa Mesa.

Cafe Blanc
298 E. 17th St. Unit B
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
www.cafeblanc.us


*image courtesy of www.cafeblanc.us*

This is currently my Orange County hot spot. I discovered this place through a friend of mine, who one of her clients had brought her a cake from there and she said it was so delicious and said we should try the place. Well, she became too busy so I took it upon myself to drive out there and try it by myself. I in no way was disappointed. Slightly hidden from the street, once you walk in the door, you are greeted by either Chef/Owner Tomi Harase himself or one of his friendly employees. It may be hard for a first time visitor to decide what to get, because they have wide selection of approximately 20 individually sized pastries and desserts, a small variety of chocolates and truffles, and about 24 flavors of gelato and sorbet.

I have since become a regular there, with Tomi greeting me with a "hello", wave, smile or a combination of the 3. I have tasted just about everything in their pastry display case, and the gelatos and sorbettos they offer are just as divine. If time permits, order your dessert and enjoy it on location with either a perfect cappuccino or ice cold glass of milk. Or if you are on the go, they will be happy to box up your selection (or in my case, selections) for you to enjoy at home. I try to bring them business by recommending it to friends. And so far, nobody has been disappointed. I suggest the Miroir or the T Maisson. They also offer larger, multiple serving versions of their pastries for birthdays or parties.

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But aside from Cafe Blanc, I've discovered other places that I would be happy to visit again. In the South Bay, there is Patisserie Chantilly in Lomita. I got a very similar vibe that I got with Cafe Blanc, but Chantilly is different in their own rights. I do admit that the sesame cream puff puts the somewhat ordinary cream puff at Cafe Blanc to shame. Their flavors are also a little bit more delicate than at Cafe Blanc.


*image courtesy of www.patisseriechantilly.com*

Patisserie Chantilly
2383 Lomita Blvd.
Lomita, CA 90717
www.patisseriechantilly.com

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On the Westside, there is the ever popular Jin Patisserie. More than just a patisserie, they offer a wide variety of teas and sandwiches to precede your dessert. Their outside patio is perfect for lunch on the weekend.


*image courtesy of www.yelp.com*

Jin Patisserie
1202 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291
www.jinpatisserie.com

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But I think what started my whole love for small cafes and patisseries is all the way down in San Diego. I'm talking about Extraordinary Desserts. Just about everything they have are mostly cakes, but they also have other pastries and offer a variety of teas as well. They in fact have 2 locations. One is in Little Italy near Downtown San Diego, and the other is closer to Balboa Park. Their menu changes everyday, rotating between the 15 or so cakes they have, so every visit is a little bit different. The Balboa Park location has plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, although parking may be a bit of a challenge, it's definitely worth it.


*image courtesy of www.extraordinarydesserts.com*

Extraordinary Desserts, Little Italy
1430 Union St.
San Diego, CA 92101
www.extraordinarydesserts.com


*image courtesy of www.extraordinarydesserts.com*

Extraordinary Desserts, Balboa Park
2929 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
www.extraordinarydesserts.com

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I've also been able to find some other small bakeries that offer not just confections, but breads and pastries as well. One such place is Europane in Pasadena, which actually was voted one of the top 10 bakeries in Los Angeles in I believe 2003. This place is in not an ideal location, but that does not stop crowds of people from visiting this local gem. You walk in and there is not really anything special about the decor, however the person behind the counter is usually very friendly. They have a small list of sandwiches, salads, and pastries. What's nice about the sandwiches is you have a choice between I think it was 8 or 9 breads, as opposed to most other places, which give you a choice of only 2 or 3. You can also take their breads home and use them as you please.

Europane Bakery & Cafe
950 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 577-1828

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Next is Le Pain Quotidien. A friend of mine actually took me here, but I had been wanting to try it since it opened in Oldtown Pasadena. I wasn't at all disappointed. The decor was very cute. The floors and all of the furniture was made out of unfinished wood, giving it a rustic look. I had the grilled chicken and smoked mozarella tartine, which is an openface sandwich. Yet the American in me took 2 sides and made it into a normal sandwich. I think what reeled me in about it was the decor. And overall the service was good as well.

Le Pain Quotidien
88 W. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 396-0596
www.lepainquotidien.com

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Lastly is a place that I originally went to on a dessert recommendation but turned into multiple visits of getting various items on their menu. I'm talking about Champagne French Bakery. They actually have several locations throughout Orange County and South Bay. I was originally recommended to this place by a friend for their Cappuccino Mousse Cake, which is absolutely divine. However upon subsequent visits, I found that both their breakfast croissant sandwich of eggs, cheese, and bacon served with a side of seasoned red potatoes and their garlic chicken panini, which is served with artichokes, roasted red pepper, swiss cheese, and garlic mayonnaise are just as delicious.


*image courtesy of www.champagnebakery.com*

Champagne French Bakery
www.champagnebakery.com

Introduction

Welcome the my food blog. This blog will be dedicated to just food. Food I make, food I love, food I've eaten, food I've seen. That's pretty much it. I will try to accompany my posts with photos, as that is probably currently my 2nd passion behind food and cooking. That's it. Nothing else to it.