The Fro Fro Blog

I Want Candy

It's well-documented that I have quite the sweet tooth.  This week it was satisfied multiple times: 

First, on Thursday evening at The Candy Store's first anniversary celebration.  Congrats to the folks at my favorite source for hard-to-find treats, like my childhood fave Marshmallow Fluff as well as my new obsession ever since Sydney, Violet Crumble.

  

The Candy Store | 1507 Vallejo St. San Francisco | (415) 921-8000 | thecandystoresf.com

Then, on Saturday afternoon at TasteTV's Mini Chocolate Salon at Williams-Sonoma that I found out about through the San Francisco Bay Area Chocolate Meetup.

The demonstration reinforced much of what I'd learned from Chuck at Charles Chocolates two weeks ago -- but this time I actually got to see tempering done by hand up close.  Mary Loomis of Saratoga Chocolates made it look so easy!  Mary made cherry truffles -- fresh cherries with cherry liqueur ganache piped in, then enrobed in more chocolate.  Mmm MMMM.   She also brought lots of samples of her handmade chocolates and I can tell you that there is truth in her advertising -- the Sea Salted Caramel is truly "exceptional."  

Then Chef Dennis Kearney from Coco Delice made us some Bourbon Truffles that were also quite good.  I would have eaten more, but I hadn't eaten lunch yet...but you know what they say.  Life is short; eat dessert first.  I should mention that both chocolate makers make an extra effort to source local ingredients and use locally-processed cocoa.  Chef Dennis is also sweet on corporate customers -- he'll do your branded chocolates, gift bags and boxes, and even hosts corporate team building events.  Great idea, 'cause in my book, nothing boosts morale better than having fun making a great product while getting ganache all over your hands.

Links:

TasteTV

Williams-Sonoma

San Francisco Chocolate Meetup

Saratoga Chocolates

Coco Delice

What you can't see in these photos was that Williams-Sonoma's demonstration kitchen directly overlooks Macys Union Square, where a different kind of candy is currently on display... delicious Mr. David Beckham Eye Candy.  

GOD, I love advertising.

Links:

Becks blogs about the billboard

Thank you, Emporio Armani

  

  

TRIO at the Four Seasons (Austin)

I hadn't read much about TRIO at the Four Seasons, but thought it the most appropriate place to dine given the fact that we were in Austin for a triathlon.  Silly, I know, but I couldn't help myself.  Luckily, my friend Joanna graciously humored me and we ended up having a very nice meal.  Not a "personal best," but a good showing.  

If it truly had been a race, the service would have put Trio at the bottom of the pack.  Sooooo slooooow, and there weren't even that many people in the restaurant.  At one point I recalled having read a comment on Zagat that someone had to call the restaurant from their table in order to get a server!  I started to wonder if we'd need to do the same.  But luckily when the food did arrive it was, in most cases, worth the wait.  

We began with popovers -- a nice alternative to the standard basket of rolls.  They had a bit of parmesan baked into the top which was good while they were warm, not so much the longer we waited for the rest of our food.

The apps finally arrived.  Joanna's English Pea Ravioli with Ricotta, Corn and Morels was worth the wait; my Crab Fondue with Herb Bruschetta was not.  The bread was barely crusty, and too thick to bite into and keep the crab fondue from falling off.  Quite the balancing act.  I eventually switched gears and used the popover instead.  

I was beginning to worry that my strategy of choosing the restaurant by its name was seriously backfiring.  Luckily, the mains and sides reversed that course.  I had the 8 oz Filet Mignon, while Joanna enjoyed theRice Flake Crusted Halibut.  But the real stars were the three sides: Truffle Macaroni, Green Beans andSweet Corn Creme Brulee.  I could have eaten that last one for dinner and dessert! 

Thankfully, the positive trend continued into dessert.  Sticking to my tri/Trio guns, I ordered the Trio of Dark Chocolate (dark chocolate ganache cake, Valrhona creme brulee, and Callebaut chocolate mousse).  Joanna had the Lemon Creme Brulee Tart (with balsamic strawberries, pistachio ice cream and strawberry gelee).  

By the time we finished, we'd decided the restaurant needed to be renamed Creme Brulee.

Check, please!

Race Report: Danskin Women's Triathlon (Austin)

Deja vu?  Perhaps, since this is the fourth year in a row that Jo Jo and I have made the trip down to Austin for "The Danskin."  Of course, it's become much more than just the race.  It's a weekend full of great food, shopping and spending time with Joanna's family.  And while we've gotten some of the weekend down to a science, there are always new things to discover and hopefully keep this report interesting.

Day 1: Friday

First change was our hotel.  I am so over the Omni after suffering through construction noise and housekeeping screaming down the entire hall for turn-down service when we stayed there for the Austin Half in February.  So we made the switch to the Hyatt Regency on the other side of the Congress Street Bridge, adjacent to the "SoCo" 'hood.  I fell in love with the place immediately, mostly because once we ditched our bags in our room, we went on a walk on the Lady Bird Trail (formerly Town Lake Trail) which was right at the hotel's back doorstep.  It was early evening, but the weather was still quite warm.  It was the perfect way to shake off the airplane ride, get our heart rates up a bit and take in the gorgeous scenery (trees...and cute Southern men!)

For dinner I made a reservation at Trio, in the Four Seasons Hotel (see separate post).  

Day 2: Saturday

Rise and shine, bright and early to pick up bikes at Bicycle Sport Shop.  Imagine my delight when I learned that my fab Trek Madone rental bike was grey and pink -- and would therefore match my new tri outfit!  (Like Billy Crystal's Fernando Lamas always said, "It's not how you feel, dahling.  It's how you look.  And you look mahvelous!")

From there it was the usual routine we've come to know so well -- Expo packet pickup, bike transition area drop-off, and lunch at the best Whole Foods in all the land.  My Saturday lunch fare is usually the shrimp spring rolls and a fruit salad.  I also got some cappuccino almonds from the huge Nut Bar.  (That's funny.  That's what people usually call me when I tell them I'm going to do a triathlon...)  The bar has about six times more varieties than I was able to capture in this photo. 

After lunch, I went on a SoCo shopping expedition.  What were some of my favorite finds?  

Big Top Candy Shop:  An old fashioned candy shop that stocks all kinds of bulk and novelty candies.  I found some of my old favorites (Goetze's Bull's Eyes, Swedish Fish), some more recent discoveries (Violet Crumble, which Jacquie turned me on to in Sydney) and some things that were just not to be believed  -- like Burgers and Fries made out of marshmallows, and a Pop Rocks Chocolate Bar.  If you ever liked Pop Rocks as a kid, and you like chocolate, I encourage you to get your hands on some.  

hey cupcake!: The culinary highlight of the trip, I kid you not.  People line up and wait for the chance to buy cupcakes from an Airstream trailer with a huge spinning cupcake on top.  What makes the cupcakes so good?  You know how most cupcakes are decent on the bottom, but the best part is the moist area near the top and, of course, the icing?  Well at hey cupcake! the entire thing is rich and decadent enough to want to set up a tent next door.  As the napkin holder says, wipe that icing off your face, you big disgrace!

Another special treat this trip was seeing Ann -- my college friend and sorority sister whom I hadn't seen in ages. A few months ago we reconnected on Facebook and bonded about races, and before I knew it she'd  decided to come out from Rhode Island to do the Danskin!  Ann, her brother Ken, her sister-in-law Debra and I enjoyed dinner at Blue Dahlia the night before the race.   Between bites of my open-faced Chicken Salad Sandwich with pine nuts and sundried tomatoes, Ann and I tried to put Debra's tri newbie mind at ease about the race.  I don't think we were very successful, but the sandwich sure was good!   

Day 3: Sunday (Race Day)

Arrived at the transition area a little after 6 am, which gave us plenty of time before it closed at 7.  I set up my gear which included:

SFTri Club Towel to dry my feet off after the swim

Bike helmet 

Sunglasses

Camelbak

Socks

Sneakers

Number belt 

CLIF Nectar Bar (unwraped and placed in a plastic baggie to keep the bugs out)

For those of you who have never done a tri before, you've got no more than about one square foot in which to put all this stuff, and you need to be very strategic about it -- placing items in the order in which you'll need them.  My area was well-organized, but unfortunately I got a little overconfident and didn't bother to really take a few minutes to memorize my transition area location vis a vis the entrance and exit points.  (Insert ominous music signifying foreshadowing here.)

Jo Jo and I headed down toward the Swim Start and got body marked.  Yup, 974 on my arms and legs, and the big 4-0 on the back of my right calf.  Before long I was in the water and Sally Edwards was telling me I'm a PHENOMENAL swimmer! (Each wave gets a word - so you can chant to yourself throughout the race.  "I. Am. A. Phenomenal. Swimmer!"  So glad my word wasn't "Awesome."  Gag me.)

Speaking of gagging, it was so windy that I ended up swallowing most of Decker Lake.  But I got through it and was able to remain calm thanks to remembering triathlete Matt Reed's great speech at Sports Basement a year ago. "Relax in the swim."  It really makes a difference in terms of not freaking out.  That said, the first year of Danskin I actually did freak out in the swim but had my best swim time of all four years.  Go figure.

So I finally made it out of the water.  This first shot appears to be me displaying that manicure also made it out intact.

  

Running up toward the transition area I was feeling good -- relieved that the swim was over and ready to get on my bike.  If I could only find it... I finally did, hopped on and rode like the wind. he bike leg was great.  It's always such a treat to do the whole thing without falling or getting a flat tire.  Those are the two things I always worry will happen and, thank God, to date never have.

Back in the transition area, I ditched the bike and Camelbak, grabbed my number belt and Nectar bar and was off again.  As I headed out the Run Exit, I heard the announcer say, "There goes Number 974 looking strong, not a care in the world!"  That gave me a boost and I was feeling great for about 15 more seconds.  Then the Austin heat and the fact that I hadn't done enough brick training really set in.  I just had to keep reminding myself that this was the final leg, I could do it....just keep pushing.   However, the biggest encouragement was at a point where the run course ran by part of the bike course.  Someone yelled to the bikers, "What's your word?"  The answer came back, "Phenomenal!"  Wait a minute, that's my word, and I'm running!  I must be doing pretty well!

It was so hot that at each water stop, half my water went in my mouth; the other half I poured on my head.  Boy that felt good.  Before long I was crossing the finish line at 1:46:59 -- 31 seconds faster than last year.  Another one down! 

  

After the race, it was back to rituals.  A Barton Springs Sandwich at Whole Foods (turkey, arugula, brie and fig spread), and since their Gelato Bar was closed (gasp!) we scurried across the street for some famous Amy's Ice Cream.  Kahlua Ice Cream with Heath Bars and Oreos mixed in, please -- I just did a triathlon!

From there it was down to San Marcos for a quick, productive stop at the outlet mall and then on to what has always been my very favorite part of the trip: time with Joanna's family -- including swimming in the river with the kids, and Texas BBQ for dinner.  

So that's all for this year, folks!  Since next year will be our 5th Annual, we're going to really do it in style.  More style that this, you ask?  Yes - we mean raising money for semi-private bike racks in the transition area and going for a little spa vaca afterwards.  Anyone want to join us?  

Quotes of the Day: Beat the Heat

Temps seem to be reaching record highs here in the Bay Area.  So this morning I perused the June 23rd issue of New York magazine to see if there was any advice about beating the heat. Those New Yorkers should know.  (Notice how I call them "those New Yorkers" as if I'm not one anymore? Sorry, Mom.)

Photo from BravoTV.com

At the 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards:

NYMag:  What should you make on a hot day?

Tom Colicchio:  Reservations.

Amen, crafty one!  That's a particularly good suggestion here in San Francisco, where restaurants are some of the only places that have air conditioning.

Further along in the issue there was an interview with Irvin Andrew, who bills himself as a "Maitre d' and Personal Concierge."  In the accompanying photos he's wearing a terrific outfit that includes a robin's egg blue blazer.

Photo from nymag.com

NYMag: What's with the blazer?  It's hot out!

Irvin Andrew: I was brought up by my great-aunt, who was an old white Jewish woman.  She stressed education, being well-dressed, and respecting everyone.  I want to look good no matter what.  I roll out of bed, I want to look good.  I go to the deli, I want to look good.

I wish more San Franciscans felt the same about their dress code.  Maybe I'm still one of those New Yorkers after all.

Making Chocolates with Chuck

Every once in a while, I want to do something a bit out of the ordinary on a weekend afternoon.  A few years ago, for example, I waited in line for six hours to audition for the Martha Stewart version of "The Apprentice."  (Last words from Martha's people?  "Don't call us, we'll call you.")

Today, it was spending five hours behind-the-scenes in the production kitchen of Charles Chocolates in Emeryville, learning how to make chocolate concoctions with owner and chocolatier Chuck Siegel himself.

At first I was a bit intimidated, since almost all of the other students in the class had extensive chocolate-making experience, and all I had was extensive chocolate-eating experience.  But I pledged to be a quick study, and Chuck put me at ease by promising that what we'd learn today would be hands-on, fun and easy enough to repeat at home.  

We'd lay the basic foundations upon which we could build a myriad of variations.  For example, we started with basic hand-rolled truffles.  The ganache was a plain chocolate, but Chuck gave us tips for infusing it with various flavors at home -- such as tea, citrus or hazelnut.  The best part of rolling the truffles was getting the chocolate's cocoa butter all over your hands.  Better than any lotion I've tried!  Here's the finished product:

Many of the recipes were Chuck's tried-and-true, but we also helped him experiment with a Chocolate Granita.  It turned out to be too much chocolate (dense flavor) not enough granita (iciness) for his taste, but I thought it was terrific!  Chuck's advice is that you should always make things to suit your own taste -- since you can't please everyone else since everyone has a different tongue, you should always aim to please your own palate.  Here's Chuck dishing out those pearls of wisdom along with the whipped cream for the granita:

We also made two different kinds of hot chocolate -- not hot cocoa mind you, but hot chocolate -- meaning thick, liquid heaven.  First we did basic chocolate hot chocolate, then got a bit more advanced with a caramel and cinnamon infusion.

The final treat in the curriculum was learning to make filled chocolates in a mold.  The molds were done for us beforehand, because even with a five-hour class there wasn't enough time to learn tempering, and Charles Chocolates uses a machine to do this anyway.  But we did the rest ourselves, including making the apricot-infused filling.  Here I am mixin' it up with an immersion blender, and sporting the de rigeur hair net:

We piped the filling into our individual molds...

... and refrigerated them.  Then it was time to put the bottoms on, carefully wiping off the excess with a squeegee.  

From there, they needed about an hour to set, so later on at home, I broke them out of the mold and...TA-DA!  

We were sent home with a goody bag of essentials to make our own at home, including recipes, molds, milk and bittersweet bars, and an offset spatula that's great for ganache-smoothing.  All I can say is that this could be very, very dangerous.  But if I'm going down, you're going down with me, people!  (That means all of you in my office who'll be eating these treats come Monday if there are any left...)

For more information on this class and other fun things going on at Charles Chocolates like movie nights and their upcoming open house, check out the Events section of the Charles Chocolates web site.

Quote of the Day

"It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up."

-- Vince Lombardi, legendary football coach born on this date in 1913.

Race Report: See Jane Run Half Marathon (Alameda, CA)

I know what you're saying.  "Fro Fro, I thought you weren't going to do the race-a-month thing this year."  Or perhaps, "Aren't you doing a triathlon next weekend?"  Or more simply, "Are you crazy?"  All of these are appropriate questions to ask.

This time around, my excuse is that I'd read the course was flat. At long last I might be able to achieve the personal best I'd been (literally) chasing since my 2:15:35 time in the U.S. Half over a year and a half ago. I became convinced that the U.S. Half course had been mis-measured, I had been mis-timed, or some other mistake had occurred.  If there were any time to prove that wrong, it was yesterday.  So I laced up my Asics once more and headed over the Bay Bridge to Alameda. 

Thanks to the wonder of microclimates, the East Bay is normally more than a bit warmer than the city of San Francisco.  Unfortunately, when I arrived at the starting line in Crown Memorial State Beach at 7:15 am, it was c-c-c-cold and at one point even started to drizzle a bit.  This didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirits. The all-female race was organized by See Jane Run, the athletic gear store that's all about girl power. At 7:40 there was an '80s-music dance warmup -- and before long the cold around me and inside me began to thaw a little.

At 8:02 am we were off.  As promised, the course was flat as a pancake.  It also helped that the race was well-organized and well-supported but not too well-attended.  With 1,900 participants, it felt like a big event but not so big that you got held up at water stops or had to deal with too much crowding.  

In most races I try to pace myself in order to reach the finish line at my desired time.  Unfortunately as can be the case with even the best laid plans, I just can't seem to get there when I want to.  But yesterday, even by mile 8 I was still on my desired pace.  My internal monologue shifted from, "I think I can do it" to "This could actually happen" to "Wow, I'm really gonna do this!"  Around mile 10 we hit some serious headwind that didn't let up for the final 3 miles.  But by then I knew I had this thing licked and I couldn't have been happier. 

I crossed the finish line and was handed a little bag that contained a silver-y pendant on a black silk cord. Nice, but whether or not it was a nod to the Nike, it ain't no Tiffany necklace.   The 5K finishers got more traditional-style race medals and I think some of the half-marathoners were jealous.

Great snacks 'n' schwag bags at the post-race partay.  There were the usual bagels, peanut butter and yogurt, plus Smart Water, LightFull Smoothies, CLIF Luna Bars, champagne and Schoggi imported Swiss chocolates.  It was still pretty overcast and cold, so I headed to the See Jane Run booth and bought a cute pink hoodie, just so I could stay warm while I waited for the race results to be posted. I had to see it in writing. 

I've always felt that most of your ability to achieve a goal lies in believing that you can, and yesterday, I finally did.  2:07:21.  (That's right, a birthday present a little bit early!)

UPDATE:  Received an email from the head of the company that timed the race, saying there was a technical glitch -- they'd set their timing device to GUN time, not CHIP time.  My heart sank. But I checked the updated results and lo and behold - my personal record remains in tact at 2:10:13.

True to form, and for those of you here for the food, there was a bacon cheeseburger and fries in my future later that evening at Polkers Gourmet Burgers.  Though Perry's is still my current fave, decided to stay away from the Union Street Fair mayhem.  The Polkers folks are a nice bunch, and they made a nice burger.  It was a bit more done than my requested medium rare, but the curly fries -- which came with ranch dressing on the side without having to request it -- made amends.  

UPDATE:  A few photos...

Day Trippin' to Napa

While I do have the Danskin Triathlon coming up in a couple of weeks, I decided to do a different kind of triathlon yesterday -- a day trip to Napa with Rebecca.  Instead of the usual swim - bike - run, it was run - eat - shop (then eat some more).

Leg 1: Run -- 6 miles at the gym

As with all my morning workouts, this set me up for feeling great the rest of the day.  It was also beneficial given how much I planned to eat and the clothes I expected to fit into on the subsequent legs.

Leg 2: Eat -- Oxbow Public Market

Oxbow Public Market is Napa's version of the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Market, featuring farmstands, restaurants as well as artisan purveyors of all kind of gourmet specialties.

Our first stop was Taylor's Refresher.  Taylor's started as a roadside shack near St. Helena. They've gussied up that location and expanded to the San Francisco Ferry Building and now Oxbow.  The new Oxbow location is just as busy as the other two; as we waited for our orders we watched the hustle and bustle of the kitchen...

...and by the time our food was ready, there were still no seats so we ate at a table standing up.  I didn't mind, since you know it's fewer calories that way. (Just kidding, of course.)  Behold the inimitable Taylor's Bacon Cheeseburger on an egg bread bun with secret sauce, and Sweet Potato Fries dusted with chili powder accompanied by a side of ranch dressin' for dippin'.

From there, we headed over to Three Twins Ice Cream, a Rebecca fave. The ice cream is very good, organic, and served in compostable containers with spudware spoons.  But what I liked best was that when I ordered two scoops in a small cup, the woman behind the counter asked which flavor I wanted to go in the cup first.  It makes a difference!  I went with Venetian Coffee on the bottom, Milk and Cookies on top.

The second leg was now complete and we were feeling great going into the next event -- the shopping leg!

Leg 3: Shop - Napa Premium Outlets

The Napa Premium Outlets are approximately a five minute drive from Oxbow, so after a brief transition we were  plunking down plastic at Barneys, Banana Republic, Gap, BCBG, Calvin Klein, Coach and Ann Taylor.  The credit cards didn't suffer serious injury, though, since on top of the outlet prices there were Memorial Day Sales going on.  So all in all, a very successful event.

Post-Race Celebration:  Julia's Kitchen at COPIA

After every race, I celebrate with a special meal, and this was no exception.

COPIA, the American Center for Food, Wine and the Arts, is located next door to Oxbow, so our entire day conveniently took place in a two-mile radius.  Julia's Kitchen is named after you-know-who, and when we walked in, she was on the flat screen TV in the bar area, whipping up something with Jacques Pepin.



We made our way into the sleek yet comfortable dining room, and settled into a meal that fired on all cylinders: taste, presentation and service.  Unfortunately, we also happened to be at a wedding!  Not literally at the wedding, but the event space is right next to the restaurant, separated only by velvet curtains.  I highly recommend calling ahead to make sure you're there on a night when there isn't a similar event going on, if possible.  Or at least don't let the overenthusiastic best man get hold of the microphone.

We were famished from our full day of shopping, so we dove into the bread basket and also enjoyed warm, fluffy, cheesy gougiers as we awaited our apps.

Rebecca had the Seared Sonoma Foie Gras with house-made brioche, strawberry gastrique, caramelized fennel and vanilla salt, and exclaimed that the strawberries made the foie gras fantastique!



I had the Braised Spring Lamb and Purple Potato Ravioli with sauteed Copia spring vegetables, garden mint jus.  The light, perfectly cooked veggies were complemented beautifully by the hearty lamb broth, and the entire dish tasted as good as it looked.

For our main courses, we ordered dishes that were noted in the menu as tributes to Julia Child's original recipes interpreted by Executive Chef Jeff Mosher.  If it looks like a duck, Rebecca will order it, so she had the Liberty Duck aux Cerises Duo: crispy duck leg confit, seared breast, forbidden rice, garden spring vegetables, local cherries and cherry jus...



...while I thoroughly enjoyed the Pan Seared Niman Ranch Ribeye with spring garlic potato puree, king trumpet mushrooms, tempura asparagus and sauce bearnaise.



The waiter couldn't even finish his sentence when asking whether we'd like to look at the dessert menu.  But of course!  One Fromage Blanc Mousse with blackberry jus, hazelnut dacquoise, and blackberries; and one Valrhona Chocolate Caramel Tart with bittersweet chocolate ganache, Copia garden sage caramel, creme de cacao ice milk float, s'il vous plait!




As lovely looking and tasty as the desserts were, they're not what I'd come back for.  The apps and mains were the real stars of the evening.

Check, please!



So, hopefully this "race report" will inspire you to take a similar day trip of your own.  In the meantime, keep checking back here for "training" suggestions!