Contigo

Patatas Bravas - crispy fried potatoes with allioli and salsa brava.

I had been following the writing of Chef Brett Emerson's exploits for quite some time and the last time I was in San Francisco, I emailed him to see if his battle to open Contigo had been won. Sadly, I was a couple weeks too early and would miss his new restaurant and went to another Noe Valley institution: Incanto.

Two years later, Contigo is no longer "new" and they're sure to have worked out all the kinks. Meeting us at the restaurant is childhood friend Dennis and his new girlfriend (? - one is never really sure) Kelly. By the time we arrive, they've already secured a table on the back covered patio where the gas heaters are running at full bore.


Marinated Spanish Olives - fried marcona almonds and pickled farmers market vegetables.

Contigo is interesting in that it combines the recipes and flavors of Spain and Catalan with the sensibilities of modern-day American Farm-To-Table. It's cute, hip and appealing. The design is clean and modern while remaining warm and comfortable. There's a show kitchen as you walk in and the equipment is gleaming.

But how is the food? As you read the menu descriptions that Farm-To-Table penchant shines through with F2T buzzwords like "Fried Farm Egg" and "Pickled Farmers Market Vegetables" and the pimenton potato chips seem too cute (read:tiny) to really get into without having to bunch up a lot in your fingers and try to eat them with any semblance of elegance.


Jamon Iberico de Bellota - acorn fed spanish heritage "pata negra" ham, aged 36 months.

But everything is good - even the tripe and chorizo with chickpeas, easily the most contested dish of the evening. Everything is fresh and delicious (read: Pork Belly Bocadillo). Sadly, the beef cheeks were already 86'd by the time we arrived.

There's also a Seven Course Tapas Tasting Menu available for $40 per person, served family style. It sounds interesting but our way afforded us thirteen different plates for roughly the same amount of money, including a couple of drinks. The exploratory part of me is interested in the tasting menu, but there's something about selecting a range of dishes based on your whims that also is alluring. Maybe even more so.


A close up.

In the end, Contigo was worth the visit. The food was delicious and fresh. The staff was helpful and friendly. We ate a lot (but not too much) and we drank well (but not too much). Even with thirteen dishes, there's still a lot more to explore on the menu and we'll have to make another visit the next time we're in San Francisco.


Dennis and Ana compare jamon tasting notes.



Kelly anticipates the next course.



Local Halibut Crudo - with seville oranges, olives, kumquats, radishes and wild radish blossoms.



Pork Belly Bocadillo - with harissa allioli, pickled onions and pimenton potato chips.



First-Of-The-Season Asparagus - with mojama, pimenton almonds and an olive oil fried farm egg.



Calamars a la Planxa - with cara cara oranges, black olives, pickled onions and spiced chickpeas.



Tripe with Chorizo and Chickpeas - from our wood oven.



Coca (Flatbread) of Broccoli Rabe - our txistorra sausage, caramelized onions and manchego.



Chocolate sorbet, vanilla ice cream and barquillo.

Contigo
1320 Castro Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
415-285-0250
www.contigosf.com

Journey to San Francisco

Across the agricultural plains along the I-5 North.

For reasons that now escape me, I thought driving from L.A. to San Francisco would be a good idea. I had never done the drive before and thought that it was a drive worth doing. Then, once I arrived in L.A. and started doing the calculations: one day up, one day in Napa, another day back, and I started to realize the folly of my ways. I wanted to fly.

Using all the tricks I know in arranging air travel, I still couldn't find a round trip cost under $700 - I always thought there were $75 commuter flights between LAX and SFO. Maybe for those who plan ahead, but the night before? No. Into the car we would go.


Seven hours later, we enter San Francisco.

I buy from a couple of farmers back in Maryland. I've visited a couple of farms too. I've heard the stories of the west coast farms but nothing has prepared me for what I was about to see. Not just acres of crops but miles of crops and cattle. Easily, we passed at least fifty miles of almond groves. Lettuce (or some sort of leafy green) is also a popular crop along the I-5, as are citrus fruits like oranges and lemons. We even snagged a bag of oranges for five bucks in Kettleman City.

It's difficult to fathom the vastness of the agriculture industry. Thousands of acres of cattle for both meat and dairy. High capacity farms with cattle mushed together getting ready for the slaughter. I'm fascinated while being slightly repulsed, but I also know that it seems impossible to continuously feed a nation of 330 million people without such scale - not to mention all the food we produce for export to feed people in other parts of the world.


Ana and her Americano.

Seeing the fields of green leafy vegetables reminded me of a conversation I once had with a friend whose family operates large-scale lettuce farming in Arizona: that the land had been farmed so much that the only nutrients in the lettuce were the nutrients they sprayed onto the crop while growing. Massive and kind of scary.

The drive north on the I-5 is long, straight and relatively boring (once you get past the fascination of miles of crops). It's tempting to push the speed to 100mph but the flow runs just under 80mph (the cut off for getting pulled over when the speed limit is 65mph) and my KIA Optima just doesn't seem up to the task of prolonged cruising at high speeds.


Four Barrel Head Roaster Tal Mor and Ecco Caffe Founder Andrew Barnett.

With only a lunch stop in Kettleman City (to pick up the aforementioned bag of oranges), we make it to San Francisco during the early rush hour and make our way to the coffeeshops of the Mission District, visiting both Ritual and Four Barrel where old friend Andrew Barnett comes to join us for a coffee or two.

At Ritual we find Ben Kaminsky behind the bar, then at Four Barrel: Zacharay Carlsen. Seems that no matter where you go in San Francisco there are coffee luminaries working and making your drink. It's actually nice to see working baristas doing what they do best.


My double shot prepared by Sprudge.com's Zachary Carlsen.

As we hang at Four Barrel, their entire company is gathering for some sort of rock concert/drinking outing. Last to arrive is Jeremy Tooker who hangs out for a little bit to chat.

In a little while, with a gift bag from Ryan Goodrow, we find ourselves back on Valencia heading to the Noe Valley for dinner and a nice welcome to San Francisco.

Eat That, Kettleman City!

Darn It, And I Bought Lunch!

LNMC #1-11

Control numbers.

While visiting Plasencia Cigars in Esteli, Mike asked gave me this prototype cigar and asked me to give it a try and my feedback on it. So, with a few hours to myself today, I took the opportunity to give it a try. Here's part of my feedback:

" Medium bodied with a nice spice without being peppery. It's the kind of cigar that I can really get into. A great daily smoke without being too heavy."



You ever seen this label?

With any luck, this cigar will make it to market someday and I'll be waiting to buy a box for myself


Ready to smoke.

Tasting Teas

Black Teas on the lineup.

Pappa's BBQ

Beef Ribs, Fries and Mac N Cheese.

I'm back in Houston waiting for the flight home. I've got a couple of hours and remember the Pappa's BBQ in the E terminal. Good thing my flight departs from E12!

The ribs are good. Smoked well and just right with the sauce. Texas is BBQ Country and I'm looking forward to my actual trip to Houston in April to give Texas BBQ a real try.

But for now, a taste at the airport will do.


Oh, yes.

Good Morning Las Flores

Turkey and Cheese Croissant with Americano.

It's early morning and I'm off once again to Houston and then back home to Baltimore. At the airport, I make another visit to Cafe Las Flores where sensory judge Isaura Zeledon is working the bar. She prepares for me an Americano and a pressed sandwich for breakfast. From my chair, I alternate between chatting with the team and watching CNN. It's been a long time since I've kept up with the news and so much seems brewing in the world. I want to go back to sticking my head in a hole, forgetting about the news and the worlds' problems.

As I sit, I contemplate the possibility of buying bottles of Flor de Cana 21 year aged at the duty free shop but I'm lazy to carry it all the way home. Instead, I text Austin and James at Swirl Wine back home to see if they can order my rum. They message back that they will place my order and it's that easy.


Sensory Judge Isaura Zeledon and her co-workers.

As I wait, I notice the empty lounge outside the shop window and I wonder just when the passengers on my Continental flight are going to start gathering. It's about 30 minutes from take off and the lounge looks empty. That's when Isaura asks me if I'm on the Continental flight because they are boarding. I look at her confused when she tells me that the Continental lounge is the next one to the left and out of view from the window. Crap.

As I bid my farewell and leave Cafe Las Flores, I see the Continental departure lounge and it's packed! People are boarding and it's time for me to go.

Out of the heat and sun and back to the bitter and cold. Lovely. And no first class upgrade...

Steak Managua

Condiments for steak: salsa, chimichurri and mustard.

Julio and I are back out on the streets of Managua looking for something tasty to eat. We're off to another steakhouse specializing in Argentine style Angus beef.

But this time we've left the Flor de Cana Gran Reserva off the menu!



Melted cheese.



Roasted Lamb.



Ribeye Bone.



Entrana - juicy, fatty and delicious.

A Day By The Pool

The 5 Vegas Churchill continues...

With near freezing temperatures at home and nothing to do, what better way than to spend the day in the sun and by the pool?

In spite of the fact that my travel schedule has been hectic lately, I never really have a day all to myself. When most people travel, they're on vacation. When I travel, it's usually to do something of what I hope is valuable to others. Meaning that I rarely have time to myself.


Nicaraguan Style Nachos.

Today it's time to take advantage and enjoy. With the remainder of yesterday's 5 Vegas cigar in hand, a bucket of ice, Diet Coke, nachos, sun and a hotel pool all to ourselves, it's like being on Fantasy Island without the fantasy.

Fells Point Meats???

What the...???

After a long drive from Managua, a great day in Esteli and starting the return to Managua, what do I spot on the road? A very familiar looking box truck emblazoned with "Fells Point Meats" - that Baltimore based meat company from whom we used to source our ribs for The Ono Grill way back In The Day. Either the truck is used or Fells Point Meats has an incredible distribution area.

Sometimes you just can't escape being home...

Plasencia

Welcome to Plasencia Cigars.

First, My Father's Cigar. Next? Plasencia. Long a staple and fixture of Nicaraguan tobacco, Nestor Plasencia is a veritable legend in the cigar business. Way before most of the people came to Esteli, it was Plasencia and the Padron Family leading and doing their thing here.

To be honest, even though I've got a wooden Plasencia ring gauge identifier hanging on the wall of my humidor, I hadn't seen nor smoked a Plasencia cigar in many years. Yet, even though I haven't smoked a Plasencia, with 80 brands under their care, I've undoubtedly smoked something made within these hallowed walls.


Tracking the fermentation bundles.

And hallowed they are. While My Father's Cigar is modern, massive and relatively simple, the Plasencia factory is steeped in tradition. The Spanish colonial architecture is gorgeous. Large, thick wooden entry doors, tiled floors, stucco walls, tile roof and a large water fountain in the center courtyard remind you of the hacienda era with images of large fields of tobacco, white guyaberas and stylish Montecristo straw Panama hats. It is how I would like to live.

The rollers here at Plasencia can roll between 30,000 to 35,000 cigars per day, as we tour the factory, I'm offered a pre-release 5 Vegas churchill cigar. How could I say no? The churchill is large, tasty and robust.


Rotating the bundles.

We're here because Claudio The Rancher is childhood friends with Nestor's son, Nestor Plasencia, Jr. We see the fermentation rooms, the rotation and the company cafeteria. At the cafeteria I'm curious to sample what real cigar rollers eat but they're only open for lunch and it's way past lunch.

The aging room is massive and we spy a set of maduro cigars being finished aged for release. Amongst the 50 cigar bundles wrapped in paper, my cigar is pulled from the 200 count aging boxes. I fantasize about having these very 200 count boxes in my humidor back home and how happy I would be.


Stripping out the center stem.

In the rolling room, things are moving at a brisk pace as the end of the day is nearing. Rollers roll and their cigars are inspected, approved and noted on their chits for payment. Each cigar is also tested in a draw machine which ensures that each cigar allows the proper amount of air through and eliminates plugged cigars. Impressive, considering that they make thirty thousand cigars daily.

There's a hierarchy to the rollers room. The best and most senior rollers are towards the front where they roll the larger and complex shapes, like figurados. But one roller catches our attention. He's rolling a camouflage cigar taking bits of colorado, maduro and claro wrappers and pasting them together to create a literal camouflage wrapper. Like any good C.I.A. op, no one seems to know who these cigars are being made for - not the foreman, not the inspector, not even the roller himself. Rumors abound that it's a prototype for the military but reliable information seems difficult to source. Disinformation seems to be the best weapon for this cigar.


The Aging Room.

We end up in the box room. Boxes here are made elsewhere and then filled in this room. Women work diligently affixing the bands to the cigars and then lining boxes with the finished cigars and preparing them for shipment to their customers. I manage to buy a small box of Plasencia torpedos to take home with me.

As we wait in the courtyard by the fountain, someone mentions that Mike Copperman from Bethesda is also in the house tasting cigars and would I like to see him. I find Mike in their formal tasting room sampling a variety of cigars for intended purposes unknown. You know it's a Small World when you find someone from back home not only in the same country or city but in the same cigar factory.

It is a Small World. Afterall...


Maduro cigars aging.



200 count aging boxes.



Bundles of 5 Vegas cigars waiting for release.



Pressing the filler and binder.



Assembling filler and binder.



The forms for getting paid.



Testing the draw of each cigar.



Camouflage cigars - client undisclosed.



Assembling the tobacco bits for the camouflage wrapper. Amazing.



Rolled torpedo cigars - my favorite.



Pulling the pressed torpedos for the wrapper.



Finishing the torpedo tip.



Inspecting for quality.



The inspiration behind the perfect label positioning.



Ana offers a token of appreciation.



Bundles of banded cigars awaiting boxing.



Essentially the cigar cupping and blending room.