Danger ! Scary Dog

You can't pick up a food magazine or newspaper these days without some mention of food trucks or carts, some of them legal and some not. People looking to eat cheap or make a living in this crazy economy have taken to the streets. I've always had a hidden urge to run a hot dog stand so, after reading articles about street vendors in LA Weekly and the NY Times that produce Mexican Style hot dogs, I thought I would try and come up with dog that could compete. These dogs are also known as scary or danger dogs because of the clandestine nature of production.

My dogs are probably not so scary because I used products I had on hand in the house. If I was making these on the street I might not be using organic hot dogs, apple wood smoked bacon and whole wheat buns. On the other hand, that might be a good selling point here in the Bay Area. I added some sharp cheddar, pickled jalapenos, barbecue sauce and a short shake of hot sauce. Danger Will Robinson! Pass the Pepcid AC.

Not so danger dog

Wine Country

Back in my bar tending days at hotel fancy I noticed that most of my upscale guests would not consider a trip to San Francisco complete without a requisite trip to wine country. They would load up in limos, vans and buses and be off en masse to day trip and return later clutching their cardboard wine boxes. We are lucky here because wine country is a leisurely drive away. Now is a perfect time to visit, the weather is grand and the grapes hang heavy on the vine. Wine in the raw, if you will.


Dry Creek 2009

We chose Sonoma County wine country last Sunday. We toured the Dry Creek and Alexander Valley designations. There are so many wineries to chose from, but as they say travel is the journey and not the destination. The views are beautiful and the pace is easy. We stopped at Preston Vineyards. On Sundays they sell Guadagni red table wine, it reminds me of days when the small Italian wineries sold wines in large jugs. At Preston you go into the cellar and the jug is filled and labeled as you watch. Of course we also purchased some of their homemade olive oil and bread.


Preston's Jug wine and olive trees

We started early and decided it was time for lunch. Man does not live by wine tasting and bread samples alone! We motored over to the Jimtown Store which is located northeast of Healdsburg on Highway 128. This place is so fun! They have an eclectic collection of doodads and thingamajigs that will bring out the kid in anyone. In addition they have some really good food. We split a huge ham and brie sandwich with butter and Mendocino Mustard. I'm giving this sandwich an official OMG! award.

Windsor Farmer's Market

All farmer's markets are not created equal. Each has it's own personality and flow. Normally if we go to market on Sunday we head for the Marin Market in San Rafael, a large and popular place. Today we ventured a little farther north to Windsor, Ca. We arrived as the market was just beginning. The vendors had just finished setting up their displays and were ready for business.The market has a small hometown feel and the smell of brewing coffee and breakfast burritos beckoned. We purchased some vegetables to fill the larder at home. Our find of the day was McClelland's Dairy Organic Artisan Butter. This Petaluma dairy's butter is creamy and rich. Samples are offered spread on a small bread stick and will convince you to to take some butter home. Behind the stand is a photo logo of the beautiful daughter of the family that appears on the product. It is a bit surreal to see the daughter Jana standing in front of the sign. Almost like a mirror in a mirror.

Flash Back Flash Foward

We took an afternoon in Mill Valley to watch my son play club soccer. The game had a late start time so we took a brief detour over to Sausalito to visit Heath Ceramics. April has been wanting to tile the entryway to our humble abode, so we decided to check out the goods.

As we walked through the doors we were graciously welcomed and asked if we had been there before. The question interrupted my gazing upon displays of rustic, colorful dinnerware. I answered yes we had, about a million years ago. This response drew a few laughs, but my mind was flashing back to the seventies when we had received a few pieces of Heath dinnerware as wedding gifts. We had visited the place a couple of times on dates in Sausalito. It remains pretty much the same as it was then, perhaps a little more upscale but still earthy and wonderful. If you are in neighborhood check it out.



Heath Ceramics
400 Gate Five Rd.
Sausalito, Ca. 94965