North to Alaska

There may be a paucity of posts these next couple of days as we visit one of w's best friends Karen and her hubby Phil up in Juneau, Alaska. Like I acknowledged previously, "Winter" and "Visit Alaska" aren't two things I would normally be down with. In fact, last night at a dinner party at friends of K&P's (where we had a multi-course feast at their friend's Rory and Jan's with a kick ass bouillabasse as the main course and two awesome desserts. I was thinking how funny that even though we don't know anybody here, somehow we end up with foodies!) more than one person said "You decided to come up in February, why?" But we did happen upon some beautiful weather, and Juneau itself is in a truly beautiful setting, facing the Gastineau Channel on one side with snow-covered mountains rising straight out of the back of town on the other. Today we drove a short 15 or 20 minutes with K&P to the Mendenhall Glacier, which is my first glacier and one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. You walk across a frozen lake maybe 1-1/2 miles to the very front of this, sadly, fast receding wall of ice. To show my gratitude to our hosts for showing me one of the true wonders of my world, I have a big pot of short ribs in the oven as I type. Meantime, here's some pics of our "adventure".....

The front nose of the Mendenhall, about 3/4 of a mile away

At the front wall, with gigantic columns and walls of pure blue ice rising above us

Some adventurous souls wandering between the columns to show some scale. We were told this wasn't the wisest thing to do as this glacier is always on the move, and sudden shifts aren't uncommon. In other words, they'd better be ready to get their asses out of there!
One of the fantastical pieces of ice that break off he glacier
and become frozen in the ice.

But I don't like the real world............

The hard part about leaving a paradise like Playa Escondida is getting dressed to go, and realizing that I haven't had long pants, socks, or real shoes on for the last six days. I haven't even glanced at that long sleeve sweatshirt I wore to the airport when leaving Portland, and now I'm going back to.....that. Cold, wet, dark, while all around me as I sloooowly fill my bag is warmth, sand, sea, and sun. My flip flops seem to be mocking me as I tuck them into the bottom of my bag. Can you say denial? I've already asked for a late checkout. How much would it cost to delay my return by a day? But the truth is without the cruel reality of NW winters, all of this wouldn't have meant near so much.......
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First, setting the scene, my Playa Escondida (hereafter known as P.E.) hideaway is the lower unit of the middle palapa in this view from the P.E. beach. If you click on the link above, it is the Sol 2 unit. Two private decks, an almost outdoor shower to the left, peace and joy within.....

and this view from my bed when I wake up.










now to the delicious parts............













Sayulita Fish Taco and an example of their culinary art. Not bad for two bucks!



Chilling on the beach at Don Pablo's in Sayulita, sipping cerveza and about to slam a fresh camaron quesadilla.







Deliciously fresh & citrusy shrimp & fish ceviche tostadas at El Casteño on the Sayulita beach. A buck twenty each?? Crazy!!






And here's a hot tip for anyone visiting Sayulita anytime in the future. I was looking up information about a tiny town about 8 miles north of Sayulita called San Francisco (aka San Pancho) that I had heard good rumblings about. I read in an online article about how one family in the village owns all the fishing boats and they also happen to be the proprietors of a local restaurant that was reputed to muy bueno. Local fishing monopoly? Great restaurant? Obviously, if you know anything about me, that's all I needed to hear. I grabbed the first taxi I could to find out first hand how fresh it could get. Ten minutes and 80 pesos later I wandered the streets of SF and found the sign for their small open air restaurant called La Chalupa (fyi: a block to the south of the main street, about one block east of the beach). While I was sitting perusing the menu, munching some chips with bright salsa fresca and sauce picante that were dropped on my table, a bunch of burly looking guys marched through the joint towards a back area carrying several huge ice chests. Ever curious, and wondering if maybe they held the key to my lunchtime happiness, I followed at a discreet distance...well, six feet anyway....and right behind the restaurant they started tossing the days catch onto this table where I watched this father/son team of fish filleters make quick work of several delicious looking creatures. Taking my cue that lunch had arrived, I ordered the pescado fritto, and was treated to the best $11 lunch (incl. cerveza) that maybe I have ever had. The fish was brilliantly fresh, cruspy on the outside, moist, juicy, not at all oily inside. Served with tortillas for some DIY tacos, this was what I was looking for. Remember: San Francisco...La Chalupa...fresh fish...happiness.....

Pescado Fritto @ La Chalupa







The kitchen at La Chalupa.....I LOVE it when great food comes out of simple places.






There were several other honorable mention food moments. A plate of butter and garlic/ginger/rosemary sautéed shrimp at the Sayulita Café. An awesome fresh shrimp omelette at P.E., where the food was dazzling at every meal (dinner was always four courses for $25!). And finally, the best dinner I had all trip, not coincidentally also at P.E. ...in fact I ordered it two nights in a row...was a crazily good chile en nogada (right), which is a large poblano chile stuffed with ground beef, raisins, carrots, onions, various spices and smothered in a richly satisfying walnut sauce with pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top, sitting on top of a bed of rice. Freakishly good. Nogada is traditionally a holiday meal in Mexico, and I've only had it a couple of times before and not for years. The P.E. version was the best ever.

In fact, if I could ever recommend a place to stay in Mexico, Playa Escondida would be right up at the top of the list. If you want privacy, beautiful beaches, great food, super comfy accommodations, and employees who seem genuinely happy to be working where they are, this is your spot. It's a 20-30 minute hike to town, and if you don't want to walk back, grab a taxi for 60 pesos ($6.00). Nova, Martha, Sergio, Manuel, and my man Alejandro (killer mojito, A!) were warmly welcoming, and when I got in the taxi to leave for the airport today, it was like leaving friends behind. Which I think is about as good as it can get.


Gracias, Alejandro....good luck in the future, amigo!








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And one of my favorite signs ever, from La Chalupa, on what to do in case of an earthquake. Near as I can tell, at least according to #5 making tea is not the thing to be doing right now, nor is doing a Michael Flatley "Lord of the Dance" imitation (#6). Ducking and covering never seems top get old (#7), and the age old advice to get your ass out of there (#9) always holds true!

Losing Focus

Sorry for the dearth of reporting on the culinary journeys, but when one finds oneself looking out at this.....
Or this.....
And kicking back like this (YES, I do have shorts on! Otherwise those weird crisscross indents would scar my lily white ass).....




You can't blame a person for being a little unfocused. I'm spending a week down in Sayulita, Mexico, about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta. Needed an escape from the cold and wet of PDX, and with w going on a ski trip with a girlfriend, it seemed the perfect time for some "serious" getting in touch with myself. Which would be a lot easier if Sergio wasn't manning the beach bar here at Playa Escondida, distracting me with his cooler of ice cold Pacificos.

"Why yes, Sergio....Now that you mention it I'd love another Pacifico....."








Had some good bites....more on that tomorrow. Okay, maybe one teaser......

Chilaquiles in Paradise.....breakfast poolside at Playa Escondida!






Right now, trekking back in to town to gather more information at Sayulita Fish Taco (btw- based on preliminary investigation yesterday, the tacos are muy bueno!)...will gather further evidence today. Plus have heard tale of a plate of camarons that must be tasted to be believed. Must undertake exploration immediately!!

Hog Island is hog heaven!

I've mentioned this particular obsession before in this space, but with so many new eat.drink.think. readers it bears repeating. Since I really do care about you and your happiness, I'd hate to think anyone is missing out on this! A customer at the wine shack last night was telling me about a trip they're taking to San Francisco and asked what some of my favorite places to eat are. I'm thinking "I don't know.....everywhere??" I mean, any trip to SF is an exercise in over-indulgence and tough decision making for the food savvy visitor. But I told them one place that is always on my must-have-it-every-trip list is a platter of freshly shucked goodness from Hog Island Oyster Company in the food-obsessive mecca that is the Ferry Building. Nothing is better on a sunny, or for that matter even a cloudy, day in the city than sitting at the bar with a platter of their briny fresh oysters and glass of icy cold Muscadet. Absolutely awesome, slurping those salty, oceany bits, then filling your mouth with a splash of the zingy Muscadet, both oyster and wine flavors building on the other with a synergistic explosion of flavor, all the while looking out at the water and sailboats on the bay. For this eater, that is absolute food heaven!

Rewards and Escapes!

I'm all about the reward system, especially personal ones. So after busting ass at the wine shack through the holidays, it seemed exactly the time to bust out of town for a pre-New Year escape Sunday for a day and night of indulgence in Seattle. I knew it was going well when within an our of our arrival w and I had already purchased three pair of new shoes and were comfortably seated having glasses of French rosé bubbly at Café Campagne while waiting for our hotel room to be ready.
















I'm not sure how my shoe infatuation started, but friends are starting to spread vicious rumors about my edging up on shoe whore status. But this time I blame w, who spotted the clearance sale sign at Shoefly and dragged my not-so-reluctant and ready-to-be-newly-shod feet across the street. 40% off everything? I mean, come on, what could we do?! Two pairs for me and one pair for her, that's what! After that quick spending spree and a most satisfying lunch at Café Campagne, my favorite vacation lunch spot in town, we made our way back to the room at the Inn at El Gaucho. Located in the heart of the trendy-cool Belltown 'hood, this is a great, very comfortable small hotel. Plus we both thought our room (#9) with a view (that's the view out of our window at left) of Puget Sound was a great deal at a little under $200. Check it out and book at Seattle Super Saver for the best deal.

We wandered around the neighborhood, checked out Pike Pace until late afternoon, then walked up to Quinn's, the gastropub/hotspot recently opened by Restaurant Zoe owners Scott and heather Staples. We were coincidentally going to Zoe later for dinner, so it was fun to check out the other Staples venture. Quinn's is modeled on the Euro gastropub, meaning cozy, dark, with great food, beers, & whiskeys to soothe ones soul. I had tucked into a perfect Manhattan while w had a glass of fizzy prosecco. We snacked on a couple of exceptional apps: a plate of duck rillete surrounded by a spicy-smokey harissa sauce, and a cute little plate of meatball sliders....big yums to both!

Meatball sliders backed with duck rillette at Quinn's!










After that start, we were more than ready to ponder dinner, so a quick cab ride back to the hotel where we grabbed our dinner wine we brought with us (a stunning '95 Caprili Brunello di Montalcino Riserva), made a short four block walk to Restaurant Zoe, where we were warmly welcomed. I LOVE Zoe. I had been there a couple of years before and had a staggeringly good meal, and reading reviews of equal recent praise had me hungering for a return trip. Zoe has an exceptionally comfortable, perfectly lit dining room, ad provided the choice backdrop to settle in ad enjoy or cocktails, a couple of La Pommettes, their super-delish take on a classic French 75. After working our way through two starters, a salad, and our two entrees, I can happily report that they are still serving some of the best chow in town. Where to begin with the highlights...how does Crispy Kurobota Pork Belly Confit and a Grilled Spicy Octopus sound? Well, I can tell you how they tasted: fucking awesome! The pork belly (picture at right) was melt in your mouth tender, with some nice savory porky chew, and the octopus was a small tentacle grilled to perfection with a blood orange vinaigrette. We spit their Beet & Mushroom Salad which they thoughtfully put on two plates (without us asking!). It was amazing, beautifully composed with its base of quinoa topped with a mix of citrus, chopped mushrooms and beets and arugula with a thyme-shallot vinaigrette. Of course there was more to come, me being the boy who can't say no, or when, or stop, especially where food is concerned. So to table came w's plate of East Coast Sea Scallops with winter squash, smoked bacon, oyster mushrooms, and black lentils. This dish absolutely killed. A plate of perfectly balanced food perfection. One of the best plates of food either of us have had all year. Crazy!! I had their just right tender Braised Beef Short Rib, (which is seemingly on ever restaurant menu these days...with good reason, too, because it's usual really good!). This was good, except for the too prominent hit of horseradish which slightly overwhelmed the rest of the plate. When we mentioned this to our waitress, she agreed and said she'd mention it to the kitchen, which was nice to hear. After these two plates, w's eyes were starting roll back in her head, but how could we not order their hazelnut panna cotta? Fantastic! I had told out waitress when we ordered it that I couldn't decide between it and their tempting butterscotch custard, so that service angel, when she delivered our check, also brought a little bowl of the custard on the house. I love stuff like that!

Hey, it's the next day already. We had to leave early to get back to Portland and get ready for a New Year's do at our friends J&K's, but I had noticed some raves for a Vietnamese place called Green Leaf, which opened at 11. This seemed the perfect counterpoint to our night of indulgence at Zoe. We checked out, hopped in the car, made our way to the "International Zone" where a ton of Asian joints are, and had a fantastic lunch for so little money that it bordered on ridiculous. Absolutely a must stop, and don't you dare miss their appetizers of Ban Xeo, a Vietnamese pancake made with a coconut batter and filled with sprouts, pork & shrimp (or tofu), and eaten wrapped inside green leaf lettuce leaves;, and the Dao Hu Nuong (above), which looked like three grilled tofu popsicles accompanied by a great sweet & sour dipping sauce. I ordered the lemongrass shrimp which was good, but w again rocked the table with her dish of Bun Dac Biet, which is a combo vermicelli which she declared to be one of the best vermicelli she had ever had. High praise because vermicelli is how she grades her Vietnamese joints. This hit it hard! So good, complex, and satisfying. Stuffed again, our wallets lightened by only thirty bucks for all that goodness, we made our way back to PDX, again thanking the Gods of all that is edible for being able to have these incredible dining experiences...wow!!!