Pumpkin Bliss

My quest to stuff my maw with every morsel of pumpkin I can during the Fall season continued today with a double-whammy courtesy of Starbucks.

I started off with their pumpkin bread. If pastries had asses, this would've kicked the ass of the Tully's pumpkin bread, hands-down. Whereas Tully's bread was weak on pumpkin flavor, Starbucks packed in the pumpkin and topped the bread with pepitas for an extra texture and flavor.

To wash it down, I went for a Tall Decaf Soy Pumpkin Spice Latte, No Whip. My coworker & friend, Susan, got me hooked on these last year, and I expect I'll be indulging a few times before egg-nog overshadows pumpkin later this month.

White Satin

Dan & I worked our butts off in the yard this morning, then decided to reward ourselves with a trip down to Rainforest Cafe & Bahama Breeze - our dirty little them restaurant secrets that we neither feel dirty about nor keep secretive.

At RC we had our usual bartender who recognizes us right away (yes, we're officially regulars at the Rainforest Cafe bar) and remembered what we like to drink.

And at Bahama Breeze, we showed up just as a new seating area in the bar opened up, around the fire pit, and got a nice table by the open windows where we could enjoy the sunshine and the tropical landscaping. The service was great, as usual, and the food was delicious, but one thing stood out that I couldn't resist sharing:

White Satin

One of the most unique & delicious cocktails I've had, the White Satin is a mix of coconut rum, coconut milk, orange liqueur and ginger. It truly has a satiny mouth-feel and the ginger/coconut combination has a freshness that balances out what would seem like a heavy combination of ingredients.

It's not the manliest of names, however, nor is the description on the menu very macho:



But it's damn good, and I'm not too proud to indulge in a little White Satin. And I like to imagine a commercial for it from 1983 with shots of Dynasty-styled ladies sipping them at some opulent manor house, intercut with billowy white drapes, all with a voice whispering "white satin" again and again.

Close up on her diamond ring encrusted, French manicured hand resting at the base of the cocktail glass.

"white satin"

Long shot of men in all white playing polo while riding all white horses.

"white satin"

Close-up on her mouth sipping the drink.

"white satin"

Bloody Mary Brunch @ Lottie's Lounge

Before a matinee of Sex & The City 2 at the Columbia City Cinema, Dan, Ruth, Paul & I met up for brunch at Lottie's Lounge.



Their brunch features a variety of Bloody Marys ($6), from cucumber infused vodka to wasabi spiked. I went for a classic, and both Dan & Ruth tried the Bloody Maria - which uses tequila in place of the vodka. Given the salty garnishes and mix of vitamins you get from the juice, a Bloody Mary really is the perfect hair of the dog.



In keeping with the boozy theme, Ruth & I both ordered the Amaretto French Toast ($8.50), which comes with a generous portion of scrambled eggs plus a few slices of bacon. The Amaretto flavor was subtle, but the toast was good. Dan went for a Breakfast BLT ($5) served on a cream cheese bagel, which he really enjoyed. Paul went for the 'Basic' Breakfast ($6.75) of eggs, choice of toast, bacon and coffee.

Flying Squirrel Pizza

Tonight we headed out to Columbia City to hit Bob's Meats, but found it closed at 6pm, 18 minutes before we arrived. So we discussed options and decided to go to Flying Squirrel Pizza instead.



My meal started with a Lactaid, because I decided to try something I've been eying on the menu but never ordered before...



A Guinness Ice Cream Float! ($5.50) They use Molly Moon Vanilla ice cream for their floats, and it was definitely creamy and delicious, adding sweetness to the Guinness balanced it nicely.





Dan & I split a large Spinach Salad ($8), which was packed with flavors in the form of bacon, bleu cheese and walnuts, and was a hefty portion even for two.





Then we dove into a Corleone pizza ($17.50) - one of the current specials, featuring Rapini and Fennel Sausage for a notably bitter, but incredibly fresh taste.

As always, the place was packed to the gills, but the service didn't suffer and was just as friendly and quick as always - which will keep us going back.

Celebrating Anna!

Today we celebrated the 40th birthday and recent graduation of our dear friend Anna. It was supposed to be a surprise party, but she hates surprises, so we did our best to keep what we could a secret from her. Friends and family poured into their Northgate-area home with gifts, food, drinks and lots of love for Anna - who gives out all of the above in spades, and deserves every bit she gets in return.

Her husband, Jason, had some catering done by Madres Kitchen, and her boss brought a bunch of desserts. That's most of what I captured in the photos here at the start of the party... then more and more food arrived with every guest, turning the banquet table into an overflowing cornucopia of delicious foods and treat.

Dan & I were asked to make up a special cocktail for the event, and Dan quickly thought up the perfect Spring drink in honor of Anna: Santa Maria Cat Wine Sangria.



You see, Anna LOVES a particular type of Reisling that comes in a cat shaped bottle, and it's become a tradition at parties at Anna & Jason's that a cat bottle comes out - often refilled just so we can drink from the cat. Anna also grew up in Santa Maria, California and went to Santa Maria High School, thus the name.

The Sangria recipe we used as our jumping off point was one Dan found online. It was pretty general, so I consulted with a new little cocktail book called Just Margaritas and Sangrias: A Little Book of Liquid Sunshine I picked up as a secondary reference.

We used up seven bottles of cat wine, two 2-liters of club soda, 1 or 2 bottles of apricot brandy, two 64oz cartons of orange/pineapple/banana juice, a pound of strawberries and a whole pineapple. Here's the original recipe, for reference:

White Wine Sangria
2 - 750 ml. bottles of dry white wine (Pinot Gris, Chablis, Chardonnay, Riesling, or Sauvingnon Blanc) chilled
1 cup fruit brandy
Fruit juice of your choice (I use fruit juice instead of sugar to add some sweetness)
Granulated sugar or Simple Syrup to taste (optional if not using fruit juice)
Fresh fruit (use whatever combination of fruit and berries that are in season), sliced*
2 cups club soda, 7-Up, seltzer water, lemon-lime soda, or sparkling water (optional)
Ice cubes

In a clean vessel, large enough to accommodate the wine, brandy, and fruit (pickle jar, sun tea jars, etc), combine the wine, fruit brandy, and fruit juices. Pour in the sugar or simple syrup, stir or shake the pitcher thoroughly to mix. Add the cut up fruits of your choice.

Add ice. Allow the mixture to sit for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the fruits flavors to come through.

Serve the Sangria over ice in large wine glasses. Fill serving glass half full with ice. Pour the sangria over the ice. Add a few slices of the marinated fruit along with some fresh berries. Garnish each glass with a mint sprig and serve immediately.

The Tonga Room!

Not surprisingly to people who know us well (and know our first priority when we moved into our house was to build a tiki bar), the reason for our trip to San Francisco wasn't to see the sights or try hot new restaurants... it was to visit The Tonga Room.



Created in 1945 when the Fairmont Hotel turned their swimming pool into a lagoon, the Tonga Room is about as over-the-top as you can get. In the pool is a boat that move forward and back in the lagoon, while musicians plan on board and people dance nearby on the deck of an actual ship (the SS Forester) reclaimed as part of the remodel. And every so often, rain pours down on the lagoon while simulated thunder and lightning overtake the restaurant.



And all around the lagoon, the restaurant is decorated in full-tilt-tiki splendor. Thatch huts. Wall hangings. Lava rock. Bamboo everywhere. And of course, some tikis.



Before flying in, Dan booked reservations for Friday & Saturday nights, and once we settled into our room Thursday, our first stop was the bar. One fun touch is that every seat in the restaurant (though not the bar) has a lei on the chair - bringing all the guests a little further into the theme.



The Cocktails
A lot of people know the Tonga Room for it's cocktail lounge, and it regularly appears on lists of the best Happy Hours in San Francisco. Our first drink was a Scorpion bowl for two ($17) - a potent mix of rum, brandy and fruit juices that wasn't my favorite, but certainly got us relaxed after our flight in.



After that, I switched to Blue Hawaiians ($10) and Dan went for the Tonga Itch ($10). My drinks were blended - or perhaps just mixed with crushed ice - and more to my liking than the Scorpion. I like a sweeter drink, and the brandy and perhaps just the amount of liquor in the Scorpion pushed the cocktail into a more bitter zone I didn't adore.



The next night, I switched to Pina Coladas ($10) - one of my favorite indulgences, but one I have to be careful about indulging too much in, given they have like 300 calories each. Their version was mild and subtle, thanks to the use of only light rum and the combination of coconut syrup and cream, rather than coconut cream.



Although we'd hoped to try more cocktails on the menu, our 35 year old bodies just don't allow us to go crazy anymore - so our last night we tried the Mai Tais ($10). The Mai Tai is known for being made a little different every place you go - with fervent competition about who makes the best, or most 'authentic' version. The Tonga Room's rendition, however, diverges more from what Dan & I have come to expect than any other place we've had them. They forego many of the signature ingredients (orgeat, light rum, and grenadine) and instead mix dark rum, triple sec and fruit juices. Although it was pretty good, it was so different that I hesitate to even call it a Mai Tai.



The big surprise of the cocktails for us both was actually the garnish. The ubiquitous pineapple wedges on the edge of every glass weren't just there for show - they were fresh, delicious and incredibly sweet. I'm glad our server urged us to try them the first night.

The Food
The dinner menu at Tonga is a mix of traditional Hawaiian dishes (kalua pig, huli huli chicken, loco moco) and various Asian dishes (hot pots, curry, Mongolian beef) - like the cuisine of Hawaii itself.



The first night, we failed to starve ourselves beforehand (even having to push our reservation back a bit) so we opted out of appetizers and went straight to entrees.



I'd never had Kalbi Ribs before, so picked that. Served like a Hawaiian plate lunch, the ribs came with a scoop of white rice, a scoop of macaroni salad (featuring black truffle) and a bit of delicious, spicy kimchee. The ribs themselves were really flavorful, and I resorted to eating them with my hands to get all the meat off the bones - since my attempt at using a knife and fork was failing miserably.



Dan went for the Seared Divers Scallops ($27), which came with bacon and sweet corn, giving the lighter scallops some heavier balance.



The next night, we skipped lunch to make sure we'd have appetites worthy of the Tonga room.



We started out with the Ahi Poke ($16), which was dressed simply with a little ponzu sauce, and came with beautiful, crisp taro chips.



For my entree, I was waffling between the Dragon Fire Chicken ($23) and the Fire Cracker Prawns ($25) - wanting something spicy. Our waiter (who took great care of us all three nights) let me know the prawns were a bit spicier, and also brought me a dish of chili sauce to help kick it up a bit more.



There wasn't a lot of heat in the dish (until me and the chili sauce stepped in), but the veggies and shrimp were stir fried well and the served in a great sauce.





Dan chose the Chicken Katsu for his entree - which was simple but satisfying.



During our first dinner, we ordered the signature Tonga Room dessert: the Flaming Tonga Volcano - a combination of cake, ice cream, and meringue topped with actual flame. Based on previous menus, I believe the exact flavors change over time, but our version featured an amazing passion fruit tapioca mixed with mango chunks, and was topped with a ultra thin fortune cookie tuile (which caught on fire).



Our last night, we were stuffed after the poke and our entrees - and decided not to do dessert - but our wonderful waiter brought us another Volcano to enjoy, and we couldn't say no.

Our experiences all three nights were great - from the drinks to the food to the service to the ambiance. It was just what we were hoping for when we booked the trip. We could've tried other restaurants, or other bars, but I'm glad we spent our evenings at The Tonga Room. It was fun to be a regular by our third night, and to try as much of the menu as we did. With so many Polynesian restaurants closing their doors in the past year or two, I'm also glad we got to check out the Tonga - in case it, God forbid, falls prey to the same trend.