Saturday, May 01, 2010
The Linkery
The Meat
Grilled Pimiento Cheese Sliders - Jersey cheddar, mayo, jalapeno & semolina bread.
Grilled Local Organic Snap Peas, cask aged shoyu & ginger.
Chips & Dip - local avocado dip, kettle-fried chips, market produce.
2007 Blue Door Cabernet Franc
Speedway Stout Braised Shortribs - grass-fed beef, smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes, bok choy, pickled horseradish.
Choucroute - Andouille of Duroc pork, black pepper, cayenne & thyme, with house sauerkraut braised in Alsatian Reisling, house cured pork, Winchester gouda, house baked beer bread.
Sweet Tea Fried Chicken - local pastured chicken, Anson Mills white corn grits, grilled corn on the cob, black-seeded Simpson lettuce.
Candied house cured bacon.
Cheryl plots her attack on the Lardo Ice Cream Sandwich - hazelnut Taza chocolate chunk cookies, house cured lardo, ice cream, candied bacon.
Cheryl Attacks!
The "86" Window at The Linkery.
Friday, April 30, 2010
SanDiego
Guzzling for gas.
A beautiful day on the 405.
The beauty of In-N-Out.
Double Double - Animal Style.
It's starting to seem like my cruising speed.
Damn that guy in the Aston.
San Diego
Cappuccino at Caffe Calabria
Most weeklies have escort ads, California has medical marijuana.
Naturally moderate.
A cigar in the Gaslamp District.
Cheryl's prototype golf bag
The Returner
As my trip to Southern California winds it's way down, I'm simply not ready to leave. I could stay here for another two weeks. I don't look forward to the journey back home.
The past two weeks here have been quite enlightening and entertaining. I've visited family and friends, reconnected with old friends, resolved a few questions that have been lingering for the past three years, met a ton of new people, found new opportunities and generally got away from my troubles and tribulations.
Being away has lent some perspective. I've watched from afar as a team of baristas forge something truly new and exciting on the East Coast. I've read the reports, reviews and tweets about people's experiences and it's been very exciting. I've tasted new coffees that I'm sure will be winners when they hit our brew bar and we're going to bring some cool stuff to the people back home over the next several weeks.
The past five months have been difficult and challenging and it was good to be away. But as some things change, others stay the same and I'm not very excited about returning to things that remain the same. This trip has been a rediscovery of everything I enjoyed about traveling and being away. In turn, it's been a rediscovery finding myself again and who I want to be.
There's still more to explore and I cringe at the thought of stepping about that aircraft in a few hours for the journey home. Truth be told, I'd rather be away. In many ways, I feel that it's still too early to return. Two weeks were nice but four weeks would be better.
But even for myself, as with most people, responsibility beckons and one must put aside their personal desires in order to remain responsible and rejoin what I consider to be some of the greatest baristas on the planet today.
The past two weeks here have been quite enlightening and entertaining. I've visited family and friends, reconnected with old friends, resolved a few questions that have been lingering for the past three years, met a ton of new people, found new opportunities and generally got away from my troubles and tribulations.
Being away has lent some perspective. I've watched from afar as a team of baristas forge something truly new and exciting on the East Coast. I've read the reports, reviews and tweets about people's experiences and it's been very exciting. I've tasted new coffees that I'm sure will be winners when they hit our brew bar and we're going to bring some cool stuff to the people back home over the next several weeks.
The past five months have been difficult and challenging and it was good to be away. But as some things change, others stay the same and I'm not very excited about returning to things that remain the same. This trip has been a rediscovery of everything I enjoyed about traveling and being away. In turn, it's been a rediscovery finding myself again and who I want to be.
There's still more to explore and I cringe at the thought of stepping about that aircraft in a few hours for the journey home. Truth be told, I'd rather be away. In many ways, I feel that it's still too early to return. Two weeks were nice but four weeks would be better.
But even for myself, as with most people, responsibility beckons and one must put aside their personal desires in order to remain responsible and rejoin what I consider to be some of the greatest baristas on the planet today.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Caffe Calabria
Rosetta Cappuccino
It's morning and I'm slightly groggy. I wasn't expecting to spend the night in San Diego, I feel worked and there's still the two hour drive back to Los Angeles. Dennis and I hit Caffe Calabria for morning coffee and pastries.
One problem with traveling is that it can be quite difficult to find nice coffee spots. Hell, it's difficult to find a nice coffee spot in your own city, much more so when traveling. That's why it's fortuitous to find a place like Calabria where the coffee is quite good and the technique agreeable.
Our Spread: Cappuccino, Macchiato, muffin and almond croissant.
Since my morning excursions to the St. Veronique bakery in Paris' 7th Arrondissement, I've been searching for similar almond croissants. Much like my continuing search for conchas, my search for almond croissants has typically been less than exciting. And while I think we offer a killer almond croissant at Spro Hampden, I don't usually eat them because why eat your own product and, therefore, your own profit?
Which leaves me to sampling almond croissants elsewhere and the almond croissant at Calabria is pretty darn good. Smooth, lightly sweet and very tasty. I think of having another but the thought of trekking down to Mexico for tacos pushes us forward.
Inside the almond croissant.
Roasting chick - very hot.
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