Food with a view

What happens when a group of people who love to write about food meet in a home with a glorious view of the San Francisco Bay? Food bliss! Thank you everyone and behold the feast.

Awful Awful

We are hanging out in Reno this weekend visiting family. My brother Tom knows I'm always looking for fun and cheap food adventures. He has been recommending the "Awful Awful" burger at the Little Nugget in downtown Reno. The "AA" burger is a $6.00 half pound burger served with a huge pile of french fries. For whatever reason we never made it there. We were up early and taking a walk and looking for coffee when I spotted the place and went in to check it out. As it turns out they also serve breakfast we couldn't resist.

We rolled through the smoke filled slot casino and the bar filled with patrons drinking beer at nine in the morning to the small diner in the back. The place is not long on atmosphere but the staff was smiling and welcoming. We ordered a couple of the inexpensive breakfast specials thinking we were not really that hungry. April ordered the two pancakes and and one egg special for $1.99. I had the biscuits with sausage gravy for $3.50. When our food arrived we realized this place was not for lightweights. The pancakes were the size of truck tires and the biscuits with gravy would probably feed a family of four. Both were excellent. We ate what we could and were about to leave when one of the aforementioned Awful Awful's went by. Definitely a two handed burger in need of a lot of napkins. Oh yes we will be back with an appetite. Huge breakfast including coffee for $8.04 now that's what makes my day.

A little bit country

Somewhere in one of the many pounds of food related literature I read weekly I saw an

ad for Sonoma wine country. It touted Sonoma as the part of wine country that still was "country". We have always loved the town of Healdsburg in Sonoma County and used to visit many times a year. We have been suppressing our urge to drive lately but when we had to go to Santa Rosa Junior college with our youngest we decided to pay a visit to the weekly farmer's market.

Healdsburg has gone a bit upscale with pricey hotels and expensive restaurants but it still has a hometown feel to it. As we walked in the downtown area it was a unique United Nations diversity of people. The hotel guests in their finery and the day laborers standing in the park hoping to get a day's work. It's great people watching. Pick a nice spot and watch the world go by.

The farmer's market is one of my favorites. Lot's of great produce and food, a band, flowers and funky old pickup trucks. We bought some housemade chorizo from Santi Restaurant, peaches, apples and chard. To top it all off we obseved a local chef demonstration sponsored by Relish culinary adventures. I would say Healdburg is a little bit country and little bit rock and roll. Oh now I've gone and quoted a Donnie and Marie Osmond song! It must have been a senior moment.

Plain brown wrapper

I always associated the plain brown wrapper with clandestine products that were delivered to avoid the prying eyes of your neighbors. Perhaps that is why I think I should not reveal the location of this blog. I can tell you this. It is a focaccia bakery and has a nondescript exterior and has been on the corner near a church in San Francisco for many years. I always look over my shoulder to make sure no one sees me enter. I know that most of the locals know of this place but as they say "loose lips sink ships". I don't want to let too many people in on the secret.

Once inside there are no fancy displays like the Ferry Plaza market place. Just a plain sign that lists the types of focaccia and the price. The workers go to the back room grab the product you select and then wrap it ceremoniously in plain white paper with white string. Then it is placed in a plastic bag with no logo. If you crane your neck a little you can peer into the back room and see the massive oven that produces tasty bread. As a camera nerd my mind dares to ask if could go back and take pictures but I feel I might be banished forever. Please don't tell anyone about this place because it only makes a limited amount of bread and when it runs out you're out of luck. Let this be our little secret.

Plain white wrapper

Rosemary Focaccia