Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Class @ Cabrillo farmers market
Cheers, Tabitha
Friday, July 6, 2012
Damn it foiled again...........
We cruise in at four an hour before service was over and well here we go....down the rabbit hole with nothing but the Madhatter(server) to unfortunatly guide us to the wrong door three times.
We were chatting and enjoying the sun outside and hadn't cracked the menu. Our enthusiastic server let us know service for chow ended at five. No worries we were giving the proper que that we were in no hurry. We then order drinkys n nibble before the server came and sat with us ....She hovered oddly while service wasn't over for another forty five minutes....
She returns after taking order (keep in mind this is end of shift not beginning) "we are out of flat bread " ok. Why she didn't know or check the chefs 86 board is beyond me but not terminal. So lets do mac n cheese..........she returns again. "we are out" now before I start guzzling the little "drink me" bottle I think to self...hmm wasn't she just in kitchen and got updated 86list? Understood it is end of service and pars haven't been set being so new but......communication between kitchen and front house is key to being more than a nice looking spot. Ok. Fish tacos it is. She never asked what side as the server last weekend asked me when I ordered same dish. Food arrives...WTF mac n cheese is put in front of us.....
WED I bumped into my friend and she said she and some girlfriends went for drinkys n nibble. Friend was one of my servers back in the day so I value her opinion. Service sucked. Lack of menu knowledge to not being acknowledged for 30min. They all just sat there.....lame. A good server knows if you are in the weeds SAY HELLO FOR Fs SAKE.
Are we looking at another piece of eyecandy that is just a box of rocks behind the scenes?
I Dont know about you but going out ain't cheap and Im not one to keep giving chances on my dime.
In my food biz id be commiting suicide if sometimes a jar of jam was ok or not good because I had a bad day.......
Don't open until staff is trained. Don't open just because you gotta start paying for the interior and don't think this town gives too many chances. So many promising places have come and gone due to lack of details. It is always the details that folks remember. You are only as good as the last plate served.
I'll try again in a month.
Friday, June 29, 2012
A little Estonian HEART with a Swede and a Russian at the helm in the HEART of the Point
Monday, June 4, 2012
Blessed be spring is here....
Taylor @ Live Earth Farms called last week and said...."THEY'RE HERE!" A squeal, giggle and a "Bring it" reply and 10 flats of organic outdoor strawberry love landed on my kitchen stoop. What to do what to do......well being that I will gag if I see one more jar of Balsamic Strawberry anything so while the world goes right I took a hard left.....into Tarragon territory and the berries thanked me. Tender Meyer lemon, Tarragon, strawberries n brown sugar with little influence other than an introduction and jarring the spring berry offering is here. Enjoy. You can't swing a Cardoon without hitting a local shop with this gem on the shelf. Don't hesitate this season is short.......
Not all eggs are pickled equally
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Love, Lanterns and full moon Sunny Cove Santa Cruz May 5
My dear old friend Brian found love once again and we all celebrated on Santa Mo Beach....BBq, booze ,old friends and new a sunny day on 18th Ave was just what the Dr ordered for us...
The band was keeping our collective feet moving and the huge blond afro wig made its rounds. Folks passing by on their Sat afternoon ride stopped for a beer and a wiggle....I turn around and the Leals of EXTRA LARGE stopped by and got their grove on then hopped back on their bikes to continue their day....
That's just how it is here in the 831 ...when the sun is out the gate is open and the wafts of BBQ is an invite to all and any enjoying our little slice of paradise.
I think The POCKET was pretty empty that day and for good reason....it was Brian and Shellys day in the sun.....
This is why SC is my home...A friend is never far a beach is always close and there always be another perfect day waiting for you to enjoy..
Ok back to the kitchen churning away my fruity love dreaming of my next perfect day in the sun........
The pictures are @ Sunny Cove all of us sending lanterns out to sea....A promise for another day.....
Xoxoxo Mama loves You...
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Hi Ho Hi Ho its off to Sonoma Cheese Fest I go.....
Ha the toast stickers are band aides. Found @ Palace arts. Love it. Toast N Butter. Gotta love it.
Ciao.
T
Monday, March 19, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Rosies Hip Jelly
On my many random drives all over this county I've not only have noticed the daffodils and flowering Quince are in full early bloom yet the fields are rows of chocolate cake crumbs with out the new green shoots of a strawberry promise......Berry vines cultivated or wild are in complete dormancy....sigh. Yet! Alas! Ahoy! Rose hip orbs are twinkling in the sun road side to garden these Vitamin C rich Sceptors are so abundant I could not ignore.......
Soooooo...Taa Daa
ROSIES HIP JELLY
A blend of Roibos tea rose hips from all over the county , orange peel,ginger root, lemongrass (grows great in SC)and a hint of cinnamon. Spicy bright and a perfect promise to summer to come.
Chevre season is about to commence and a pat of Rosie on a piece of Sour dough toast or with the last of winter milk soft Ripened cheeses(Tellaggio Itlaly) or even on a waffle...well Fois would be my pick.....
Love this one. A Pleasure to make and the perfect bridge from winter to Spring...
April fools day she will be on your local shelves.
Woop woop!
HA! I make my first batch and NOW we are to get 3 days of rain.... So happy. Which means I'm gonna go. I have 2 baby Turkens under Oprahs tail in a box in the living room and a fire in my near future. Oh and Bourbon....
Oh the Chicks......Whitney Houston and Lindsey Lohan.......Lindsey hogs the water and rides Oprah back and Whitney seems lost...perhaps looking for Bobby.
Good night
Monday, February 27, 2012
Whoa Nelly spring .......Ghetto haircut
My Buttercups, Grape Hyacinth,flowering Quince and Daffys are all in full glory at least three weeks early....
I guess Ill stop, drop and roll with Mother Nature and hope for the best. Oh but berries .....my fingers are crossed cause last years late rains made for a lame season and me just using what is offered each season might mean another lean berry jam/jelly year. Shit.
Alas Green Rhubarb is on my spring hit list and no fear of running out. Yes Green Rhubarb. Never had it? Ill fix that.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
"EWE" woulda had a grand time getting TWISTED
Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing hosted this SF BEER WEEK event downtown Santa Cruz this last Friday night with Twisted beers from all around Nor Cal and food pairing from Honey, Cheeses, pickled eggs, Duck tounge, little baby cakes, awesome spreads with savory cheese cakes, Salsa, breads, nuts, salmon jerky, ice creams and me with my little pairing to twist is up with Corralitos Brewing. Full house 400 people ready to eat drink and have a great time. Now I've done so many like events through my travels as a fruit n curd wrangler and its always a coin toss on the jack hole factor. This night we all were in a groove that made for a great night. The DJ was keeping the mass in a funky sway and the fire chicks (didn't even know it was happening) was a great display (so I was told) in the balcony of the Rittenhouse looking down on our downtown Fri night scene......
Only kinda bummer....A few of the food folks (we all are local) were friendly enough to come by and say hello. You know who you are.......and I love the sense of community with those of us that have a similar business or know friendliness builds bridges. There was one.....walked by me when setting up. " HI THERE!"Came from me three time! Not even a glance. Ok he/she's busy setting up I get it. Ill hit he/she up on flip side.
End of night......ahhhh finally.
Down by the service entrance with Betty Ford getting packed up and chatting up some guests and fellow food freaks n brewers....again this person is loading up too. So I thought ok he/she sees my car with the Co. name and has to have a second to say HI how was your night. Yea No.....I waved and asked "HEY HAVE A GOOD ONE?" I guess he/she was too busy or didn't hear me......sigh. I guess its time for me to stalk this person......If this town is comprised of islands we never will be a community to be reckoned with. I will poke you with my olive branch until you say HI. At the very least you never know where a beautiful collaboration can occur until you take that first step...HI.
Ok . Guests. At these kinds of events we get all sorts of folks, personalities, diets and quirks. Its our job as the providers of said good time to be as flexible and gracious as possible. SOOOOOOO when there is a clear sign of what you are about to eat don't ask if the VENISON is vegetarian or pop it in your mouth before you know what it is....shame on you. Your mouth people; your sacred vessel. Respect it by knowing what you put in it before hand. Ask us all the questions you want none are stupid or not worthy of answering. But don't hold up 30 people from enjoying the fare as well. Sense your surroundings. If you want to further a topic wait till I can give you the proper attention. It also is not necessary to tell me if another food or beer was bad. Its all relative and I will not stop what I'm doing to be a mean kid on the playground.
Last.....my head may be down pumping out my delectable bites but I saw you. So please: it is a free for all event. Don't even pretend its your first taste by saying EVERY time you come back"ohhh I wonder what this taste like?" Honey own it I love to see folks come back and keep nibbling it means I did something right. I've got plenty so don't be shifty. I'm just laughing at your thinly veiled attempt at I don't know what......
Great night in my great town.
Kristen @ Serendipity you are so sweet and I love your product!
Farmhouse culture great chatting with you my lacto ferment friend
Delk honey well I just love you, pulled pork and your Habenero honey HAOO BABY
Nut Kreations Mina thank you so much!
Mrs As salsa you rock
Farmhouse icings I love your Choc Beet cake! Can't wait to work with you in future
Companion Bakery, Erin and crew I'm tickled to pieces that we have your love of bread for our fair town! Yum_O
Fresh Prep well Jody you know
Crispin cider...divinity, thanks for the trade making chili tonight to go with my bottles of cider.
SCM brew yum of course
Corralitos brew, Luke n Natalia n Mike you make me wanna do a little pop n lock every time I drink your magic elixir
OHHHH who ever had the Beet beer I'm a convert and the German Sour Beer was amazing.
I didn't get to nibble the duck tongue but I have a feeling it was a fun one, the crowd around that station was pretty thick all night.
Santa Cruz Salmon Jerky boys got something pretty special goin on
Penny Creamery your showman ship and awesome "pops" looked fantastic! I love a good toasty meringue!
If I missed anyone I apologize.
Ohhh the Cheeses I wish I had time to chat with our local cheese producer...on my to do list this week......
Nice. Now its time for a glass of Cava and I'm going to go lay in the grass and look for inspiration in the clouds......
Tell someone you love them you will make their day........
Mama loves you
OHHHH SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN BREW Thank You so much for a great evening!!!!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Beauty is in the eye of a wall eyed over bred fruit bat.....
Tomorrow TWISTED TASTING to celebrate SF Beer week. Traa lalalallalalalalalla My favorite local brewer Corralitos Brewing and Moi; Friend in Cheeses Jam Co are goin in for the TWIST....Almond Joy Porter with hints of toasted coconut will be sharing the spotlight with an espresso dusted Pecorino (sheep, italy, aged, cooked curd) and atop will sit my SCM Pinot Cherry.......Twist that!
Then C.B. Has a Witt Belgian with hints of toasted corriander that I'm doin the flavour hustle with Venison salumi my Onion jam and a dusting of sheeps milk Bulgarian Feta....HOLLA!
Which means I gotta go and start getting ready. The rest of you look around soak in the sights of what some times we all take for granted, like that perfect sun set that I'd never seen if I didn't look up.....
Big Kitty says good night!
Bourbon ohh sir I need a Bourbon please......
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Some days ya just gotta see the world from another view
I came home and saw this little purple girl blooming away like a flower show was coming in her honour. Ahhhh that's all right
Go on make dinner....
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
corn dogs and taxidermy and bourbon oh my!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Breathe in the aroma;change is in the air
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Hippophagy.....its what's for dinner.....
Now as I scratch my head the puzzle gets all SUDOKU on me when I think about all the horse consumed by our European brethern. From the French who we usually so closely watch what's on their plate (up to 4lbs annually per french person and one in 3 consume it regularly) Belgium, Italy, Germany, Russia and the Dutch to name a few. This is more lamb ,Veal or Mutton us Americans eat annually....In Japan it is becoming a very popular Sukiyaki dish rising to 3% of Japans meat consumed is Nelly the Horse.
Ohhh I know they are so smart and we would NEVER eat an intelligent beast...I put my bet on a Pigs intellect over a horse any day.
This equine beast has had his highs and lows in the worlds culinary history....let's dip into this trough and see what we find.......
Way back when Grandpa was a teen during the Stone Age, hunters gorged themselves north and south of the equator on Wild Horses. The Asiatic pastorialists who first domesticated this beast enjoyed its bounty as did the PRE Christian folks of N Europe;NOM NOM NOM. Then during the rise of the Middle Eastern Empire the taboo began... Romans refused to indulge and during early medieval times the horse was receiving the European Sacred Cow status. Some crazy papal decree kept starving Midievalans from having this rich protein . Then a few years pass(yes Pat my PHd of history everyone know more than a few years) French Revolution brought the Equine treat back to the Euro plate. By the 19th century is was WHATS FOR DINNER all across Europe minus Britain.( They said blech) By WW1 13 thousand tons eaten then by WW2 the trend reversed again. Why the green light red light acceptability of this protein source is so interesting. AND why did the Brits and americans avoid it all together?
I could blather on and on about the Mongol warriors feasting on the blood and flesh while washing it down with fermented horse milk, or about ......crap my Sciatica is donkey punching me in my back I gotta stop ......I'm not done with this so bare with me while I go lay on my back legs in air and a opium drip...
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Foodies in exile set a proper table
The happy reception of ease for the guests is the opening strain of the evenings agreeable rhythm to lull your people to gentle culinary submission.
Brillat_Savarin " To entertain a guest is to charge ones self with the guests comfort and happiness,during all the time he is under ones roof"
Such preparation takes time and thought. More so than the menu at large. If the feeling is cold and sharp no matter the perfection of a brulee'd hunk of Dolcetto will ever cure such chill.
Sooooo caught up in the task to woo and amaze this age of TOP CHEFS and MASTERS the art of entertaining is becoming lost in a cloud of Porcini dust.....
Relax... food is our friend. The Glue that binds most relationships, and like a good relationship try too hard and the souffle will fall.
Enough utensils . A plate of proper temp. ( Keep your cold plates cold your hot plates hot ; if you have to ask then meet your friends @ Chilis) A glass to fill and some interest of season represented some where. The rest is on you to be the glitter to be taken home in your guests hair and bra. The memory of a good time with out the vision of the little man behind the curtain.
A perfectly executed PBnJ is a better party than a nervously presented Pheasant...........
I felt it was time to blather a bit I've been oh so neglectful of my dear Blog. Starting a biz becomes a child and mine has spit up got colic and a mean case of the shits...This too shall pass.
mama loves you