Anyway, we really wanted to go to Uva, my favorite place in SF ever—it’s an Italian small plates/wine place (an “enoteca”) in Upper Haight. Cav was much closer to Davies Symphony Hall, so we ended up eating there instead (after deciding Bistro Clovis was not “for us”). I had never been or had any reason to believe Cav would be any good, but it was amazing. The waitress had lots of opinions and advice to offer, and she was SASSY as all get out. (Also I’m pretty sure she was flirting with Chris! the hussy!) We took her advice and had a selection of the appetizers, followed by the cheese and charcuterie plates. No pictures of the appetizers, unfort (*sniffle*) but they were:

• Braised baby octopus with roasted garbanzo beans and cherry tomatoes. Delicious! The garbanzo beans were still somewhat green; this gives your teeth just enough resistance and keeps its flavor “nutty.” The other stuff on the plate was really good too.
• Beer-batter tempura squash blossoms with mahi mahi ceviche and tempura zucchini. Good, but honestly was somewhat over-fancy. Maybe I’m just not easily impressed with $12 plates of “deep fried stuff,” but it was definitely the best of this time-honored appetizer genre I have tasted. Also, I’m not a huge fan of ceviche, mostly because I can never tell if it’s too citrusy.
• Crispy pig trotters with poached quail eggs, frisée, pickled vegetables, and mustard vinaigrette. Om nom nom. I was scared they were going to bring us a whole pig foot, but no, it was three circular disks of deep fried pork… and it was oh so good. The quail egg went perfectly with the pork (though I was sad there were only two of them), and the vegetables also matched quite well. The vinaigrette might have been a tad more sour than I would like in an ideal world, but in our imperfect world this was a formidable appetizer.

The cheese plate! (A choice of three from the list.)

(Picture was on Chris’ phone, which was not made by Steve Jobs… for shame.) There’s lots more than cheese on the plate, obviously. The cheeses were (from left to right)

• Queso Azul de Cabrales. (The cheese of my people!*) A Spanish blue made from a mix of sheep and goat milk! Ours was this interesting deep brown color, and true to both its blue cheese and Spanish cheese roots, it was very very strong. Chris figured out that you have to close your mouth and just let it sit a while, because the pungency sort of tingles your tongue and stimulates different taste buds as it melts… some sort of interesting, unfolding evolution of flavor. The wikipedia entry reports that some cheese tasters report a “numbing sensation” to the tip of the tongue after eating it, and I totally believe this. A++, would buy again.
• Brillat Savarin. A triple cream brie from Normandy named after a French political figure and gastronome (thanks WP!). The texture was amazingly rich and velvety, and it tasted like heaven. It reportedly pairs perfectly with champagne, and I’m going to have to try that sometime if I can hunt some of this cheese down. :9 Maybe the Cheeseboard stocks it? Preparing it en croûte (baked in a pastry shell) would make it even better I imagine… it would come out all nice and oozy. (Oh god.)
• Québec Seven Year Vintage Cheddar. The name says it all… this was our waitress’ choice, and she did not disappoint us. Certainly you all know the difference between the cheez-its white cheddar and the much tastier stuff you can get in blocks at Whole Foods—this cheese was light years away from all that. It was set seven years ago and this is definitely reflected in the taste.

The charcuterie plate!

I have less to say about the plate of meats, though it was also quite good. Cheese is just so interesting and fun to describe (despite the difficulty of conveying gustation and olfaction through clumsy ol’ words). Anyway! Counter-clockwise from the center bottom: (1) Prosciutto, (2) Coppa, (3) Leonese chorizo (The sausage of my people!), (4) Duck prosciutto (I think), (5) Salami, (6) Pancetta, (7) Duck liver pâté, (8) Pork liver terrine, (9) Roast beef tongue with horseradish, (10) Another liver pâté (?), (11) Head cheese, (12) Pheasant gallantine. If it’s not clear, (1-3,5,6) are pork and (11) is beef. In the center of the plate are a bunch of garnishes, including pickled pearl onions, shallots, gherkins, fig jam, and olives, and three mustards: A smooth dijon, a whole grain with crème fraîche, and a whole grain with apple cider.

Steve (the one on the left in the first picture) is from England, so he got to eat most of the stuff I wouldn’t touch (Chris is braver than I), including (11), which sounds pretty gross already (if you don’t know what it is, I do not suggest looking it up). I also shied away from (9), only because I don’t really like the texture of tongue. Everything else was very good though! Number (12) was probably my favorite (first time eating pheasant!), and (4) definitely wins the “decadent sounding food product” prize. I also discovered while in Germany that I really like mustard now. My favorite on this plate was the apple cider one. :v

Unfortunately I had to run out the door before we got to dessert (Chris and Steve only got port, though). But I will definitely be back to see what’s on that menu. =D Also, the wine list looked fantastic, even if none of us were in the mood.

Oh, brunch was tasty, too. (And much cheaper.) We went to Sugar Café where I had the “Tex Mex Scramble,” which I ordered because it involves fresh avocado. (Om nom nom.)

* Well, a bit further north from my people… but close enough. I do have cousins who raise pigs and turn them into chorizo and jamón serrano, though. Apprenticing to one of them is Escape From Grad School Plan #344.Lower

Calzones are a mysterious breed of creatures. Delicious, but remarkably hard to find in this area. (There are two restaurants with decent creations, both about an hour away.) Calzones aren’t as difficult as you might think; more trouble than stirfry, certainly, but making dough, mixing the filling and folding/shaping are all rather straightforward.

Dough: 1/4 oz yeast, 1.5 cups warm water, 4 cups flour (I chose a bread flour, which resulted in far tougher dough that I anticipated. Beware.) 1 teaspoon salt, 1.5 teaspoons sugar, 1 tablespoon olive oil

Proof the yeast, as necessary, add ingredients together, knead until smooth, let rise for ~90 minutes. If you’ve ever watched the I Love Lucy episode on bread, in which bread rises and takes up the entire kitchen, this is about what you should expect. I formed 6 flat sheets (~8″x10″)to roll the filling into. The dough was rather tough and a rolling pin is suggested.

Filling: Here is your chance to go absolutely crazy, put in anything your heart desires! Add some combination of Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil, Mozarrella, Parmesean, Provolone Cheeses, Pepperoni, or anything else. Brocoli works well, but be sure to chop it up, soak it, and boil it first. Unless health issues are of concern, one can never add too much cheese. I added perhaps 3/4 of a cup of filling to each 8″x10″ sheet of dough, leaving about an inch perimeter.

Brush this outer edge with a mixture of a beaten egg and 1 tablespoon water. This will serve as a sort of glue. Fold the dough over the filling and then fold the edges and seal them. This is more annoying than it sounds. If the dough bunches up anywhere, you’ll get a lump of dough without any of the tasty filling. D: Spending more time here is absolutely worth it.

Brush the rest of the egg mixture on top of each ‘zone. I added sea salt, parmesean cheese and a sprinkle of love to the top of each one, just to make it even better.

Cook at 375 for 25 minutes. The surface should be firm golden-brown but not a rock-solid or carbonized black.

Calzone with Fork on Table

Chima is a restaurant in Tysons Corner with a format along the lines of Malibu Grill. You pay a set (mostly expensive) fee, and strong-armed men bring you pieces of meat, as much as you can eat. There is no pressure to leave, or even to eat quickly–everyone is fat. I would recommend going there with an empty stomach, but one that you’ve toughed through. You definitely need to pace yourself, because, to make your 50 (or 40, right now) dollars worth it, you will eat as much as possible.

First of all, the ambience is wonderful. It’s not too chic, and we didn’t have to dress up to go into it. The wait staff was polite and friendly, and the meat bearers called me ma’am. After our somewhat disastrous run in with Asia 9, some pleasant wait staff was much appreciated. The walls are lined with wine bottles, with rolly ladders to access the top racks. I never saw a waiter on said rolly ladders, but I was romanced by the possibility. The restaurant is a twee bit loud–not invasively so. I’m just saying that it’s apparently a popular birthday place, and the well-wishers are boistrous.

But the food… The food is the highlight. The salad bar is unlimited, but we only really made it down there for a full plate once, at the very beginning. I had a delightful creamy vegetable soup (there was definitely pureed potato and red pepper involved), the caesar is plain but inoffensive, and there are a LOT of cheeses, including small balls of I guess fresh mozzarella. I wouldn’t say that everything from the salad bar was phenomenal, but then again, that’s not what you came for.

If you’ve entirely stuffed your face and the end is in sight and you haven’t had any lamb, hold out for it. Ask a waiter. The lamb is out of this world. We tried both the lamb chops and the leg of lamb (one long, pink slice), and they were so well-flavored and so moist that it was almost hard to deal with. Eyes bulged. Pants tented. Et cetera. I had ordered a pinot noir, and the lamb gave it almost a sweet, velvety flavor. Other favorites were the bacon-wrapped filet mignon and the parmesan pork, which kind of melted in your mouth with delightful creamy texture. Oh, als o the fish (swordfish or salmon). They both come with a white, almost tartar sauce, which are flavored. The salmon one was a caper-flavored sauce. It’s a shame that that was the last meat my poor, shattered body could handle, because I’m sure it would’ve been mind-blowing otherwise.

A final discovery: Brazilian Lemonade. This is delicious. Spanky ordered one at the very end of our carnivorous indulgence, and it absolutely destroyed us. We were looking for a palette cleanser, and it was so thick and delicious that it ended up causing my dinnermates to tap out of ordering more meats. We’ll definitely have to make this at some point. I insist.

Go with a small group of people with whom you can have an easy two-to-three hour conversation. You’ll want to slow down and try again, so there are plenty of good, long pauses during which to make good conversation. Also, make sure you have a study Indian fellow to drive you home. If you go entirely with tiny Asian girls, they will all drop into a food coma.

(Also, my roommate’s boyfriend accidentally knocked her dinner over before her 3-hour orchestra dress rehearsal, so to help him get out of hot water, I figured it’d be nice for us to make her a meal to come home to.)

One time I cooked steaks and promptly forgot how I did it. Thus, tonight, I set out to make steaks to remember always. I used Jo’s steak sauce and got a quick guide from Spanky over the phone. 

AND THE RESULTS:

DELICIOUS.