Savvy Restaurants: Coqueta

Coqueta is located along the embarcadero at Pier 5 in San Francisco.  It is a Spanish tapas concept created by Chef Michael Chiarello (Bottega).  Carlos and I would put this up on one of our favorite restaurants for 2014.  The food was delicious and the cocktails (get one of their Spanish gin & tonic cocktails) were amazing!

The "Sunny Side-Up" Huevo and the Albondigas a la Feria are must have dishes.  If you have room for dessert, you must have the Salted Caramel Manchego cheesecake pops.....I can't even talk about them without my mouth watering. 

Happy eating! 

Cheers,

Tasty Treats - Waiheke Island Yacht Club

Gorgeous view of Coit Tower from the massive windows in the front of the restaurant, our beautiful table set for brunch and the open kitchen, which allows you to watch as your food is prepared!

Mixed melon salad with kaffir lime, mint granita & greek yogurt sorbet,  our hosts: Tony Stewart & Nisreen Gardner, our fabulous server from New Zealand and the delicious French toast & anglaise with coconut fromage, peaches, nectarine, maple and Heilala vanilla.

MOA Breakfast beer that was paired w/the French toast.  I am not a beer fan, but the MOA beer was a delicious pairing.

Pork Belly, abalone mushrooms, caramelized shallots, pickled red cabbage, hollandaise & free range eggs = WOW!

A couple weeks ago I was invited to a media preview brunch at Waiheke Island Yacht Club at Pier 29. Waiheke Island Yacht Club is a pop-up New Zealand restaurant that is here through December for the America's Cup.  They recently invited us to sample their new brunch menu that according to them is reflects their New Zealand sensibility in the San Francisco marketplace.  

I was pleasantly surprised how they could create such a cool and inviting space in a warehouse.  The food was delicious and the flavors did not disappoint.  If you are down by Pier 29 watching the America's Cup or looking to try a taste of New Zealand, I highly recommend trying Waiheke Island Yacht Club. 

*Brunch was provided gratis, but my opinions and my tastebuds are my own! 

Cheers,

Tasty Treats - Grilled Summer Squash & Peach Salad

With summer in full swing, I'm craving summer fruits (peaches, cherries and plums) all day long.  When I found this grilled summer squash and peach salad with manchego cheese and white truffle from Roost, I new I found the perfect salad for summer.  I know what I'm going to be making this weekend! What is your one of your favorite summer tasty treats?

image and recipe via Roost

Cheers,

Tasty Treats - Chickpea Radicchio Wraps

image via Love & Lemons

I've been on my Project Lose Baby Weight since December and as part of that plan I've been eating a lot less carbs than normal (most of my carbs are coming from fruits and vegetables).  So, I'm always on the hunt for good recipes that would give me that feeling of having a sandwich or a wrap without the carbs that go along with it.  When I saw Love & Lemons recipe for Chickpea Radicchio Wraps, I knew I had to put it on the menu to make this week!  It looks so like it will be a crisp, tasty and refreshing snack.  I highly recommend adding Love & Lemons to your must read blogs if you are searching for healthy, tasty and mostly vegetarian recipe inspiration.  

What are some of your favorite low carb meals or snacks?  I can use all of the inspiration I can get! 

Cheers,

Tasty Treats - Valentine’s Day Red Velvet Trifle

image via Super Sweet Life

How cute are these Red Velvet Trifle desserts in Mason jars from Super Sweet Life?  Red velvet cake, chocolate mousse and chocolate pudding all layered together - yes, please!  You can find the recipe here! 

Cheers,

Tasty Treats - Heirloom Tomato Burrata Eggs Benedict

This past Sunday, Carlos and I had brunch at Baker and Banker during our staycation.  I ordered their heirloom tomato eggs "benedict" with burrata and wild argula pesto.  It was outrageously delicious and fresh tasting.  I loved this different twist on a classic dish!  I think that this would be pretty easy to duplicate at home.  I've always been a fan of eggs benedict and was thrilled to see that 7x7 did an article in September on the 10 best eggs benedict around San Francisco.  Check out the list here!

*image via my iPhone

Cheers,

Tasty Treats: Apple, Ginger & Cranberry Vodka Cocktail

I saw these beautiful images taken by the fabulous food photographer, Katie Quinn Davies, and thought they would be the perfect 4th of July cocktail!  For the 4th, we are headed to Stinson Beach for some fun beach time (hopefully minus the fog) with friends and then back to our house for a little BBQ and pool time!  How will you be celebrating?

Happy 4th of July!

recipe and images via What Katie Ate

Tasty Treats: Farina

Over the three day weekend a couple of weeks ago, Carlos and I went out on a date night on Sunday night to Farina in the Mission.  It was nice because it wasn't crazy busy like I suspect it is on a Friday or Saturday night at Farina.  There are so many fabulous places to eat in the Mission, but we always dread parking over there, so if a restaurant has valet parking, it's a huge plus!  

We started with the Foccacia di Recco con tartufo nero.  It is stracchino cheese (similar qualities to sour cream) melted between two layers of thin dough with shaved black truffles.  This dish is Ligurian specialty and Farina was first to serve it in it's authentic form here in the US. 

Mark Bittman said about Farina, “I have not had a pasta dish here that wasn’t perfectly cooked and well worth eating."  We ordered the two pastas dishes which were outrageously fresh and delicious.  I ordered the Mandilli di seta al pesto ligure di mandorie (handmade handkerchief pasta with Genovese basil and almond pesto).  Carlos had the Genovese Pansotti filled with meat.

Both Carlos and I agreed that the food was delicious but the prices were definitely on the pricier side.  The pastas run about $24-$28 and the meat/fish dishes run $34-$46.  Everything seemed to be priced $10 more than it should be (even for San Francisco).  It was still quite a treat! 

An extra perk was that Conan O'Brien walked in with his family and went upstairs to a private room.  They have also added a roof deck that looks amazing that is scheduled to open in the next month.     

Of course, afterwards we had to walk the half block over to Tartine Bakery and Bi-Rite Market to pick up a couple of goodies for the next day.  

Tasty Treats: Hot Chocolate Mousse Cups

How amazing do these Chocolate Mousse Cups look by Jane at A Taste of Koko?  Not only do they look delicious, but I think that these would be so fun to make with the bambinos.  They would love to dip the balloon (make sure to use water balloons - not filled with water) into the melted chocolate.  Plus so much fun for them to eat.  Might need to serve them at our next dinner party!

images via

Tasty Treats: Aziza

Happy Valentines Day to everyone!  I hope you have some fabulous plans for today or that you will at least treat yourself to a little something special!

For today's tasty treat I wanted to share one of Carlos and my favorite local neighborhood restaurants, Aziza.  It is an amazing Moroccan restaurant in the Richmond District in San Francisco.  The restaurant is located on Geary Avenue and from the outside you wouldn't realize that inside is this romantic and delicious restaurant.

One of my favorite things about Aziza is how Mourad Lahlou (who is in the running for hottest chef in San Francisco by Eater SF) blends fresh and local California ingredients with the taste of Morocco.  Not only is the food amazing (the spreads with flatbread and duck confit basteeya are definite must haves), but their cocktails are outrageous.  They use fresh muddled herbs, spices, vegetables and fruits that are in season to make their cocktails and the results are so very tasty.

There were rumors that they were moving to Jackson Square, but supposedly that is off the table and for now they will remain in the Geary location (yeah for the Richmond locals).

Now that we have kids, Carlos and I have started going out the weekend before or the weekend after to celebrate Valentines Day instead of on Valentines Day.  We really enjoy doing this for three reasons - it's not as crazy busy, not as expensive and we always feel that the food is better.  We always find that the food is never as good on busy holidays because the kitchen is always slammed.  Instead, we make a romantic dinner that we eat at home and pull out our wedding china (oh we be fancy) after the bambinos have been put to bed.  We will be going to Fifth Floor this Saturday and I am excited to see what David Bazirgan has done with the menu and the food.  We went there years ago before David was the chef and we were not that impressed.  I will definitely be sharing my experience with all of you!

What are your plans for today? Happy Valentines Day!

Tasty Treats: S'mores Cookie Bars

I hope all of you are having a lovely week!  I thought I would share a tasty treat with you today.  This past weekend, my friend CC (who is an amazing baker), brought over some delicious S'mores Cookie Bars to our Superbowl party!  They were outrageously decadent!  The only change that she said she would change is that she would use regular size Hershey bars instead of king size Hershey bars (like the recipe calls for).  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
3. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Makes 16 cookie bars.

Now I am off to go make some more kale chips to balance out the naughtiness of the s'mores bar bars I ate this weekend. This has been part of my "homework" for my New Year, New You session tomorrow that I am taking from the lovely Lacy & Lisa of Group Health Coaching (more posts to come on this).  

recipe and image via Lovin' from the Oven