fishing for words

(and tossing out random thoughts)

Category Archives: Food & Wine


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a good season

This morning the air was just that much more crisp — specifically at oh-dark-thirty (actually 5:45 a.m.) — hinting that a change of season will soon be upon us. While I am widely known for rarely choosing a favorite this or favorite that, I will say that the fall is one season I truly enjoy, if for only one reason: the apple harvest and, more importantly, the resulting apple cider. The harvest has begun at Apple Hill, and I hope that we can get up there by mid September. Go early enough and you can avoid the crowds.

This year we are trying a different strategy. Rather than go once during the apple season and hauling six to eight gallons of cider down the hill, we expect to make two trips with more modest cargos of cider. Though there is a sameness to every visit throughout the years, it’s a sameness that is, in its own way, comforting. My favorite stop is Bolster’s Hilltop Ranch. They make, in my ever so humble opinion, the BEST apple cider. (You can also pick blueberries there during the early summer.) Then there’s the Mill View Ranch for apple turnovers and apple cider doughnuts and the various crafts vendors at almost any farm and orchard.

Speaking of appetites…  Another restaurant on my list of those I’d like to visit: Camp 18. More truthfully, I want to eat there. It was featured on the Food Network’s “Secret Life of…” as a theme restaurant (centered around logging) and is about 24 miles east of Seaside, Oregon, at mile marker 18 on U.S. Highway 26. This place — called in one review “the sturdiest restaurants in the West” — serves “lumberjack food” and a Lumberjack Special for breakfast that could easily feed a family of four. (Two “flatcar” pancakes about a foot in diameter with strawberries, a waffle with blueberries, a slab of grilled ham, two grilled kielbasa sausages, biscuits and gravy, fried potatoes, and an omelet stuffed with steak, onions and cheese.) Besides the substantial food, Camp 18 is supposed to have quite a logging museum.


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when I grow up…

Now that I’m closing in on 43 years old, I can proclaim that when I grow up I want to be Alton Brown (aka A.B.).  He is my hero.  When not creating and playing with “Good Eats,” A.B. had the time and resources to tool around our great nation last spring on a 2005 BMW 1200 LT (motorcycle) in an often hilarious month-long search of food found off the beaten path on a show called “Feasting on Asphalt” (F.O.A.).

F.O.A. offers an enthusiastic and skewed look at the burger joints, diners, drive-throughs, pizza parlors, pharmacies — yepharmacies — and sandwich shops that fueled American’s travels during the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s.  The rules are simple for Mr. Brown and his four companions: (1) there will be no travel on major interstates, (2) there will be no eating at major chain restaurants, (3) if they can’t locate food or lodging, they will fend for themselves via camping, and most importantly, (4) there will be no whining.

His F.O.A. compañeros include Tom Munroe (Producer, Security, Omnivore; 2001 BMW 1150GS), Jean Claude Dhien (Photographer, Motorcyclist Extraordinaire, Role Model; 2006 Triumph Speed Triple), and Michael Clark (Motorcycle Maintenance, Recon, Intelligence, 2001 BMW 1150GS).  They are all culled from the staff of Be Square Productions, the team that I think that A.B. might agree elevates “Good Eats” in every measure.  They are supported by a truck manned by Mike Clark (Sound Recordist, Mixer, Navigator), Ramon Engle (Cameraman, Protocol, Dairy Enthusiast), and Lamar Owen (Cameraman, Lighting, Wheel Man).  One of the most unique, although fleeting, aspects of this show is a sharing of the latitude and longitude of the group’s various stops, ostensibly for us GPS fiends.  Very cool.  Very A.B.

After all, how can one not like a guy who calls MacGyver his patron saint and gets “…very uptight paying more than $100 for a meal — and that’s two people — because I expect so much of it that it makes me uptight.”  Another A.B. witticism: “There are only two kinds of food: good and bad. Also, all of life’s big problems include the words ‘indictment’ or ‘inoperable.’ Everything else is small stuff.”

Almost cool.  Somewhat nerdy.  My hero.


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20 burgers, 1 at a time

Our noble quest to sample “The 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die” (according to GQ columnist Alan Richman and featured on Oprah) moved ahead today with a trip to Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa.  Bistro Don Giovanni’s Grilled Bistro Burger, ranked No. 11 on the list, is quite the char-grilled burger.  The thick patty, squeezed between two fantastic buns (this writer believe that “custom” buns can push any great or even good burger into the awesome category), presented a grilled outer crust encasing a wonderfully lean but juicy interior.  Karen loved the fact that the meat is ground in the restaurant and the Grilled Bistro Burger can be served so raw that the wait staff almost needs to herd it to the table.  Karen topped hers with lightly grilled red onions while I opted — surprise — for bleu cheese.  Onion rings rounded out Karen’s lunch; fries completed mine.  (According to our superb waiter, the fries were made from potatoes grown in the garden about five feet from our window seat.)

This topped off a very nice day in the Napa Valley, where we hit Summers Winery & Vineyards, Conn Creek Winery, Domain Chandon, and The Hess Collection Winery.  They all had some good wines, but we ended up picking up Summers Winery’s 2005 Rosé (Definitely not your father’s rosé!), Conn Creek’s 2003 Grand Reserve Villa Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon (a very drinkable cab) and Hess’ 2004 Artezin (a zinfandel with grapes from Mendocino, Sonoma and Amador counties, and very fruity).  It was a great day off!

Oh…didn’t write about it before, but our first sampling from “The 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die” took place a few months ago with a trip to The Burger Joint in San Francisco.  Again, if you like burgers, this is a great place to visit when in The City.  This is your basic 1950’s retro burger place.  The menu only offers hamburgers, cheeseburgers, mini cheeseburgers, Gardenburgers, chicken breast sandwiches and hot dogs.  All come with fries or onion rings.  The beverage list is just as simple.  The Burger Joint’s burgers are made with pure beef (Niman Ranch beef – no chemicals, no hormones, no antibiotics).  They are GOOD.  We visited the Valencia Street restaurant, and once you get past the neighborhood’s run down appearance, The Burger Joint is one of the cleanest (even the bathrooms were among the cleanest I’ve seen) and “best-est” burger places around.

Once we’ve recovered from eating these red meat marvels, I’m thinking that our next stops will be at Seattle’s Red Mill Burgers (for the Double Bacon Deluxe with Cheese), then to Santa Monica for a stop at The Counter (to experience its Build Your Own Burger) and Houston’s (for it’s California Burger), even if Houston’s is part of a larger chain.