Dish on Dining: Ubuntu Restaurant & Yoga Studio

Eating Green Has Never Been So Tantalizing
1140 Main St., Napa
Downtown Napa
PH: 707.251.5656
Open Mon.–Fri., 5:30–9 p.m. (until 10 p.m. Fridays), Sat.–Sun., 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 5:30–10 p.m. (until 9 p.m. Sundays)
Major credit cards, reservations accepted
www.ubuntunapa.com

NAPA, Calif.
Chef Jeremy Fox is the media darling of the national food press, being named “rising star” for his culinary repertoire of vegetable-only dishes at Ubuntu Restaurant & Yoga Studio. Yep, that’s right. It’s a restaurant and a yoga studio. So like me, you’re probably thinking tofu and lots of thin women in pastel-colored athletic wear.

But that was far from the case from the first moment we stepped into the handsome and open space of Ubuntu’s dining room in downtown Napa. I visited Ubuntu last weekend for lunch with my fellow food blogger, Foodhoe, and her husband, Mr. K, who graciously did the driving for our quick trip up north.

We were all interested in seeing what the fuss was. I’m not a big meat eater, but I do like my protein (typically from chicken, pork and any kind of fish), so I had my reservations about a whole meal based on vegetables. Foodhoe is actually on a fruit and vegetables diet so this was a real treat for her. Mr. K was just game for anything.

Ubuntu (pronounced oo-BOON-two) is an African word that’s not easily translated. It has something to do with community, respect and sharing, and the restaurant reflects this mentality in the environmentally conscious design and the service of the young and friendly staff.

The main room has a warm feel with its richly refurbished recycled wood and reclaimed furniture, and the walls popped with colorful abstract paintings. An unusual decorative item is a sculpture of humanity looking over a very long communal table at the center of the restaurant. I kept thinking it was some performance art and the four statues would come to life. Luckily, we decided to eat in the back patio so I didn’t have to worry about any attack of the artworks.

It was a beautiful Napa Valley day to be outside (in the beginning), and we were surrounded by potted plants of various fruit trees and flowers. From where we were sitting, we could see a yoga class beginning upstairs. (When you’re in the restaurant, you can get some semblance of yoga forms from a frosted glass window.)

I started off lunch with a watermelon wine cooler that was perfectly blended with a distinct and refreshing watermelon flavor.

Ubuntu’s menu is made up primarily of small plates, and we were encouraged by our server to share amongst our table. So Foodhoe got us started with two plates of the “bites” (which looked mostly like bar snacks, but fancy of course). We got a plate of the Castelvetrano Olives ($5) marinated in carrot top pesto and Marcona Almonds ($5) coated in lavender sugar and sea salt.

The olives were unusually green and rounded. How I wished I had a martini right about now. Anywho, the flesh was incredibly soft, almost mushy like mashed potatoes. Mr. K thought it would have been better as a tapenade, and I agreed. I felt the carrot top pesto didn’t really add anything.

The almonds were addictively good like all nuts are, but they had a bit too much of the lavender sugar and sea salt. Some of you know I love love lavender, but even I know it’s not always the best match for certain foods. It’s a very distinctive and dominant herb, and in this case it seemed to be conflicted with the sugar and the savory almonds. A dusting probably would have been fine.

Despite the awkward start to our lunch, the rest that came was a parade of colorful and beautifully plated dishes. (Everything was served on Heath Ceramics, another one of my favorite things in life.)

First up was the Cool Watermelon and Lemongrass Soup ($9). The server brought out the bowl that was swept on one side with a splash of coconut milk and decorated with a mini cascade of miniature wild flowers. Then she poured the soup into the bowl in front of us. I almost thought she gave us the wrong soup because it looked like carrot soup, but she says the cooking of the watermelon turns it orange. Hmmm, I have to test that out one day.

With the hints of lemongrass and kieffer lime, the soup definitely had a Thai sensibility to it. I didn’t get a strong watermelon flavor (like I did with my wine cooler) so I was still convinced that this was carrot soup. At the bottom was this sac of basil seed that Chef Fox presents as “caviar.” While it could resemble caviar, it didn’t have the salty taste. So it was an odd discovery at the bottom of the bowl, but I give him props for thinking out of the box.

Next came one of the restaurant’s signature dish, the Cauliflower in a Cast Iron Pot ($13). This was a tiny pot with cauliflower made in three ways as a real tribute to probably one of the more underappreciated vegetables after Brussels sprouts. Being a fan of cauliflower, I enjoyed the creamy texture of the cooked cauliflower and the roasted puree cauliflower on the top. Again, everything was beautifully plated with some thinly sliced raw cauliflower creating a backdrop. The dish was served with brown butter toast like how you would eat pate.

Definitely not a small plate are Ubuntu’s pizza options. There were two on the menu. One was topped with onions and local chevre but we selected the Pizza Bianco ($16), which was a white pizza topped with bellweather ricotta, a mushroom puree and lemon thyme. The server asked if we wanted a fresh farm egg on top, and we said yes once she talked about the gooey yolk from the sunny side egg being slathered over the pizza crust. She had me at gooey.

The pizza was a perfect Neapolitan-style thin crust pizza and the ricotta cheese was amazing. With the egg, this was the perfect breakfast pizza and was one of my favorite dishes of the day.

While the menu didn’t have the typical vegetarian dishes of tofu and kale, it did have a salad (called Today’s Leaves and Things, $11). And Foodhoe and I wanted to see how Chef Fox can present a salad and make it exciting. Of course, what came out was this beautiful array of field greens with fresh ingredients from the season. So that meant baby heirloom carrots and luscious black mission figs. Many of the greens come from the restaurant’s biodynamic garden further north in Napa. The salad was simply dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt. It was the sprinkling of sea salt that I thought was simply ingenious because it was enough to flavor the greens so you can taste their natural goodness.

One of our final main dishes was another one of my favorites, and that was the Local Polenta with Corn Pudding ($14). I generally don’t eat polenta because it’s just mush to me (unless it’s day old and grilled!), but this dish was wonderful with the seasonal sweet corn kernels blending in with the polenta. Everything was topped with an array of fried peppers (that really looked more like they were roasted). In the center was a dollop of sofrito, which is the Spanish paste made by slow cooking tomatoes and other vegetables like bell pepper or carrots. Sofrito is a basic ingredient in building a good paella, and Ubuntu says it makes theirs over three days! Now that’s slow cooking, and intensely worth the wait.

We moved to desserts, which is prepared by Fox’s wife, Deanie. We started with what’s becoming a signature dessert: the Vanilla Bean Cheesecake in a Jar ($9). It was this cute little jar of cream and huckleberries with a layer of almond-teeccino crumble in the center. On the menu, “cheesecake” is in quotes, so it makes me think that the cheesecake portion of this dessert isn’t made from cheese. But it sure was creamy and thick. It tasted just like cheesecake and I wished there was more of it (the whipped cream on the first layer was a bit too much, I thought).

As the day got hotter, a refreshing Raspberry Sorbet Float ($9) also hit the spot, mostly because it was made with rose geranium soda, and I love the subtle sweetness of rose water. The float included lychee-tapioca pearls that were soft and pleasant. My only wish is that it was served with three straws.

Our last dessert was a trio of mini vegan cupcakes ($5). This is what we would call darling, with the slice of fig and an orange zest on top. The cake itself was Devil’s Food Cake (made with carrots) and was moist as can be, despite being vegan. It was a quick pop in the mouth, and that brought an end to our incredibly inventive lunch.

Despite eating quite a few selections, I did feel the lunch menu was a bit limited. (We probably ate 75 percent of what was available.) So it would be interesting to check out dinner at Ubuntu, which also offers a tasting menu for $125.

Side note: As we left, I spotted Chef Fox in the main dining room by the prep station probably going over some details for the night’s menu. This photo isn’t my best food paparazzi shot.

Although I said the lunch menu was limited, I did feel full with everything we ate (it must have been the three courses of dessert). So I left satisfied and enlightened at how someone could look at dishes that celebrates vegetables instead of a vegetarian looking for sustenance. I’m sure many vegetarians would rush to Ubuntu, like how they did when Greens first opened up in San Francisco years ago. But this isn’t a vegetarian restaurant. It’s just a damn good restaurant.

You can read Foodhoe’s take on our lunch here.

Single guy rating: 4.5 stars (Eat the World)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

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The Trojan Horse of Green Beans

I have an assignment for all of you: If you’re ever at the farmers’ market and you see me, the Single Guy Chef, looking over a tray of purple beans, TELL ME TO STOP AND WALK AWAY.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been so intrigued by these beautifully dark purple beans. I guess you can’t call them green beans, but they are basically green beans in disguise. They’re as intriguing to me as the wax beans, which are yellow.

Awhile back I brought them home and cooked with them, thinking they’ll be a great find for the blog. But I discovered, to my disappointment, that they quickly turned green in the heat. I remember thinking to myself, “gosh, this won’t look good for the blog because they look just like regular green beans and I paid a premium for the purple color.”

So I scratched the idea of a purple bean post.

A few weeks later, I’m at the same farmers’ market and again I see the purple beans. I blocked out my previous experience with the purple beans and bought a bunch—again—this time deciding to mix them with some yellow wax beans for some interesting contrast.

Once I started cooking, I realized that I’ve cooked with the purple beans before. And the same thing happened where they just turned into regular-looking green beans. Still, I made a stir-fry with scallops and it tasted good so despite the lack of purple in the dish, I decided to at least post the recipe. But just so it’s clear, you can just use regular green beans (or mix them with yellow wax beans) but don’t bother with the purple beans.

And don’t forget, it’s your duty to stop me from buying any more purple beans. Even if I didn’t cook them and used them in the salad, the uncooked skin would be too tough to enjoy. So other than a fun show-and-tell item for the kids, just walk on by. Dang tricky color-changing purple beans!

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Stir-Fry Scallops and Beans in Black Bean Sauce

Copyright 2008 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients
6 oz. bay scallops
2 cups green beans or mix of green and wax beans, cut into 2-inch segments
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, smashed and skin removed
1 T black bean sauce
½ T fish sauce
½ T sesame oil
1 T canola or vegetable oil
1 T cornstarch
Salt and pepper

Bring a pot of water to boil and quickly blanch your beans (cooking them for 30 seconds and then placing them in a bowl of ice cold water). Drain in colander and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix black bean sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil. Set aside.

In a wok or large skillet, warm the Canola oil over high heat. Season your scallops with salt and pepper and then add to hot wok, searing them for about a minute. Add the carrots, and then flip the scallops to cook the other side for another minute.

Add the beans and toss everything together, quickly adding the mixture of black bean sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil and toss to coat everything.

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with a little bit of water to create a slurry. This will help create a glaze in your dish. Add it to your hot wok and toss with all the ingredients until thicken, then remove from heat. Garnish with cilantro and serve with steamed rice.

Makes 2 servings.

Pair with a glass of Gewurztraminer.

TIP: When adding the cornstarch, pour a little at a time to get the glaze you want. If it looks too thick, add either water or chicken stock to thin it out. What you’re trying to get is a nice glaze that binds all the ingredients together but isn’t as thick as gravy.

BLACK BEAN SAUCE: Don’t want to get all Sandra Lee on you, but sometimes it’s so easy just cooking with a jar of ready made sauce, like this standard one I always use. I usually buy the Lee Kum Kee brand of Black Bean Sauce with Garlic. It’s made from soaking salted black beans until they’re soften. This can be a pretty salty condiment, so don’t put too much. You can find it at the Asian aisle of most grocery stores or at Asian supermarkets.

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Oxbow Public Market: Return Visit

NAPA, Calif.
Yesterday I was in Napa with Foodhoe and her husband (yes, we were checking out another restaurant, which I'll be reviewing on Tuesday) and after lunch we made a stop at the Oxbow Public Market, the mini version of San Francisco's Ferry Building with various food shops and stands.

It's been almost a year since the last time I've been to Oxbow, so it has definitely changed quite a bit. It had just opened when I first blogged about it so not every store was open. Yesterday, it looked like it was 90 percent done (there's still a few more stores to open).

Oxbow is a bit sprawling, with a main building but several stores scattered around. When you drive up in Napa City on First Street (it's right next to Copia) you see a big Taylor's Refresher right at the corner, along with Fatted Calf. But much of the action is in the main building.

There were several markets opened selling fish, like Kanaloa Seafood Market above ...

... and meat from Five Dot Ranch.

Whole Spice was one of the stores that weren't ready to open when I last visited, but now it's totally opened with a large selection of spices.

Sometimes it seemed like too many spices because you can feel overwhelmed over what to get. I think it's more a place to visit if you've been looking for a rare and specific spice.

The main coffee stand in the back is Ritual Coffee from San Francisco's Mission District. It's funny how many of the stands at Oxbow have San Francisco ties. It's like they just transferred the Ferry Building to Napa. Other San Francisco-related places include the still-to-open Hog Island Oysters and Kara's Cupcakes.

Here's one of the many food stands. This is the Rotisario selling a variety of meat sandwiches. I didn't check out any of the food stands mostly because I just came from lunch. Hopefully another day.

There was a fresh produce market front and center. It was organic and fresh, like you would expect.

Look at these beautiful Romanesco cauliflower. Everything at the store was perfect-looking, and of course, pricey.

I just thought this display at The Kitchen Library store just looked so pretty and Napa Valley.

There's a whole section off the main corridor of the market near the back (and on your way to the restrooms) where you'll find this really large wine store and tasting bar ...

... and this cheese store above.

Oxbow Public Market is definitely more bustling since my last visit. Just like the Ferry Building in San Francisco, there's just a lot of pricey things that are pretty to look at but not sure if I really need. But it's nice to check out, and it's probably great for the tourists visiting Napa Valley.

Oxbow Public Market, 610 and 644 First Sts., Napa. www.oxbowpublicmarket.com

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Dish to Go: Zachary’s Chicago Pizza

Love It or Hate It, It’s a Neighborhood Institution
5801 College Ave., Oakland (two other locations in San Ramon and Berkeley)
Rockridge neighborhood
PH: 510.655.6385
Open daily, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. (until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday)
No reservations, major credit cards accepted
www.zacharys.com

Before there were Pizzaiolo or Dopo, there was Zachary’s, the neighborhood joint dishing out Chicago-style, deep-pan pizza for 25 years.

You can always count on a crowd at this popular pizza restaurant, just as sure as you can count on the aroma of freshly baked pizza dough wafting through the area near the Rockridge BART station and now next door to the Trader Joe’s on College Avenue.

Because waiting for a table can be forever, as you jostle through parents with small kids or college kids from UC-Berkeley, I often just go to Zachary’s for take out. Since I live just 15-minutes away, it’s usually not a problem to get a piping hot pizza on my dinner table.

The take out system at Zachary’s is pretty impressive, although I’ve heard people complain about the service. Most times I’ve gone, I haven’t had a problem getting my pizza. There’s a take out counter in the front right before you turn right to wait for a table at the restaurant. You can order your pizza or phone ahead and pick up. There are also some pre-made pizzas of some of the popular kinds that are half-baked that you can buy and bake at home.

Once I ordered a pizza and then went to Trader Joe’s next door to shop, and 20 minutes later just returned to pick up my pizza. When you’re waiting at the counter, you can see the kitchen staff work like a well-oiled assembly line as they bust out pizza and pizza.

Here’s one of my favorite pizzas. It’s the Mediterranean ($12.45 for a small thin crust) made with red bell peppers, green olives, artichoke hearts, feta and jack cheese. I order the thin crust because I think they do that the best even though they’re originally known for the deep-pan. I love artichokes on all my pizzas and the jack cheese kept all the ingredients melded together. The crust has cornmeal flakes, which can feel odd if you’re not used to that.

Once I thought it might be interesting to try a half-baked pizza. When you pick it up, they give you instructions on what degrees to cook your pizza and for how long. Here’s a small Chicken Pizza ($12.45) coming out of my oven. OK, so the idea with the half-baked is that you can pick it up early in the day and then pop it in the oven right before dinner and you have a hot and tasty pizza. Problem is, if you get distracted like me you end up burning the crust a bit. Anywho, it still tasted good (with chicken, mushrooms, fresh basil, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese) but I probably will leave the baking to Zachary’s since I live so close.

Here’s a sample of their “stuffed pizza,” which is the new way they’re calling their deep-pan. I don’t know why they felt the need to change the name from deep-pan to stuffed pizza, because as you can see, it doesn’t really look stuffed—just totally topped with a layer of tomatoes. This is the Spinach & Mushroom ($17.95 for the small stuffed pizza), which is considered Zachary’s famous pizza that is often ordered.

It’s like a lasagna pizza with spinach and thinly sliced mushrooms all covered with a gooey blend of cheese and, like I said, a lot of tomatoes. I liked it and it was very comforting, but it was a bit too much tomatoes for my tastes. I thought the deep dish was a nice change, but I still prefer the thin crust.

There are many people who will debate whether Zachary’s is the best pizza in the Bay Area (it’s often voted among the best by readers of those weekly papers). I think it has a festive atmosphere and it’s a perfect place for kids, although some people might describe it as a madhouse. For me, it might not be as fancy as Pizzeria Delfina, for example, but it does hit the spot for a quick take home dinner.

Single Guy rating: 3.5 stars (Mad rush but worth it)

Explanation of the Single Guy Chef’s takeout rating system:
1 star = Might as well cook yourself
2 stars = Nice to know it’s an option
3 stars = Definitely will return again
4 stars = I have its number on speed-dial
5 stars = Can I live here?

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Last Days of Summer: Be Kinder

There's just a few more days of summer left, so I decided to take the day off and catch one last baseball game. The Giants are out of town so I went to an Oakland A's game with the visiting Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (or whatever they're called now).

It wasn't a very competitive game because the Angels have already cinch the division. So instead, it was just a day to enjoy the beautiful weather, which was sunny but with the hint of a fall crisp air around the corner. It was perfect. To top it off, I decided to get a BBQ sandwich from Kinder, one of the new vendors at the Oakland Colisseum. (I may have talked about Kinder before, but I can't remember.)

Kinder has something called a Ball Tip Sandwich. I don't know if that's like tri-tip, but it's supposed to be thinly sliced beef. But I hardly eat beef, so I went for the BBQ Pull Pork Sandwich.

This is a close up look of my sandwich, which cost $8.75, the average price for the various Kinder sandwiches. It doesn't really look that pretty, huh? Looks like the sandwiches are put together somewhere else and then placed in a steam bath to reheat it. So that's why it looks a bit pressed up together. The thing about a pull pork sandwich, though, is it always look messy anyway. The pork was tender with a very strong smokey flavor. The BBQ sauce was a tad sweet for my taste, but overall it hit the spot.

I bought a ticket on the field level but in the cheaper sections farther out instead of those closer to home plate. What that means is I found myself right behind the visiting club bull pen, where the relief pitchers hang out. I was so close I could hear them talking with each other and goofing around. In fact, I was sitting right behind Angels pitcher Scot Shields, who was busy taunting the A's fans. All I have to say is, Scot, you crack me up! Too funny.

Looks like a sad baseball season for the Single Guy. Not only did the A's lose today, but the Giants and Yankees both will end their seasons without a perch in the playoffs. So I'm not sure who to root for in the World Series. On to 2009!

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Food Gallery: Global Moon Cakes

This past Sunday was the Chinese Moon Festival and I totally blew it. I was too lazy to go into Chinatown to hunt for moon cakes, the sweet round cakes made of a paste and surrounded by a baked shell with intricate designs. I know, I'm a bad Chinese boy. Anywho, I decided to share some photos from the Web of different kinds of moon cakes from around the world (well, mostly Asia). Some of these are just wild. Happy belated Moon Festival! Enjoy!

These moon cakes are from Japan. I didn't realize they bother to make moon cakes, but I guess they appreciate a full moon like anyone else. Of course, these moon cakes look more like mochi.

Here are more Japanese moon cakes. Those Japanese sure love pretty colors.

Now these are just darn cute. Mini moon cakes! I've actually seen this at Eastern Bakery in San Francisco's Chinatown. But never with that weird baby doll.

OK, if you don't like eating traditional moon cakes, then why not one made of Jello? I don't know where this is from but it's gelatin shaped as a moon cake. They even made the yellow duck egg yolk for the center.

Even Starbucks make their own moon cakes. This is probably at the Starbucks in Hong Kong or Shanghai, I'm guessing.

Apparently, these are the most popular couture moon cakes in China. They're from the Raffles Hotel in Beijing and Shanghai and they're made of white chocolate exterior and a gooey center of different flavors, including champagne truffles. Now that's a fancy moon cake. (BTW, I love the tin can it comes in.)

Here's a closer look at the Raffles' candy mooncakes. Hmmm, I don't know if I can wait till next year to get some moon cakes!

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Monday Dinner with George Morrone

Last night I made a rare trip into San Francisco for dinner. Mondays are hardly the big night for eating out, but only the likes of Chef George Morrone could get me onto BART and across the bay for a fine dining experience.

For the last few Monday nights, Fish & Farm has been hosting what’s been dubbed “Mondays with George.” It’s a special four-course prix-fixe dinner (for only $48) conceived by Morrone and Fish & Farm’s chef, Jake Des Voignes. (When I arrived, the signs actually read “Dinner with George and Jake” to give Des Voignes equal billing.)

Morrone, of course, is the originating chef of the San Francisco classic Aqua restaurant. For the last couple of years, he hasn’t been attached to a particular kitchen, so San Francisco diners have been deprived of his culinary genius. That’s why it wasn’t a surprise that when I made reservations for dinner, the night was nearly fully booked.

This was the first time for me at Fish & Farm, a restaurant that promotes sustainable dining and tries to source its ingredients from Bay Area suppliers. People also call it a Tenderloin restaurant, almost to give it an edge. But when I arrived, I discovered that it was right across the street from the San Francisco Hilton in an area that I consider more to be the theater district.

Anywho, Fish & Farm is a handsome place with a mix of rustic charm and elegant lines. The distressed wood displays reminiscent of San Antonio or Sedona pops against the royal blue walls.

My dinner companion was Foodhoe, ’natch. She and I are always gamed for a special occasion dinner. Foodhoe had dined at Fish & Farm once before and warned me of the dim lighting. Indeed, the lighting from one tiny votive candle on our table wasn’t enough to illuminate the wonderful dishes that arrived. After I desperately used a flash to photograph my starter dish of quail, the neighboring table chided us so there are no adequate photos for the rest of the dinner. (I don’t blame him. I probably would have done the same thing. But he could have sounded less like my dad.)

Overall, the dinner was complex and rich, which reminded me of a wonderful dinner I had a few years ago at The Fifth Floor, which also happens to be a restaurant Morrone worked at and where Chef Des Voignes also called home right before moving to Fish & Farm.

The night’s prix fixe dinner ($48 or $70 with wine pairings) started with a course of Morrone’s creamy portabella mushroom soup. Morrone has made a name for himself with his signature soups, and has even a cookbook out all about soups. And I can see why. This was a flavorful savory soup with so many different textures it was a fantastic overture to the evening.

The portabella soup came with a garlic flan in the center that was very garlicky and good. On top of that was a chanterelle fritter, which was basically like a big fluffy crispy croutons with bits of the chanterelle mushroom inside. Despite mixing the soup with the fritter, it remained crispy and light, creating a perfect contrast to the creamy soup and smooth flan.

The second course was a choice between the Grilled Sonoma Quail and Citrus Coriander Gravlox. I got the quail and Foodhoe went for the gravlox. (We decided that she would be “fish” while I would be “farm” for the night.) The quail was beautifully presented, and also complex with a variety of ingredients, including softened radicchio and a bed of smoked heirloom tomatoes. The quail was tender and nicely browned in all the right places.

Foodhoe’s gravlox was a playful presentation of colors with the gravlox (or smoked salmon) dressed in a citrus cream sauce and dotted with perfectly squared croutons, tiny bits of apple and small flicks of dill. While it looked interesting, the gravlox tasted nice but nothing earth-shattering.

Our entrees included the Alaskan Black Cod for Foodhoe and my Boneless Rack of Lamb. Foodhoe’s black cod was topped with a creamy light green dollop and sat in a broth of smoked chorizo and Manila clams. Everything was perfectly cooked, including the partly raw fish that retained a silken texture.

My rack of lamb was so tender that I thought they were medallions of loin since they were also circular in shape. They were served on top of creamed potatoes and were accompanies by perfectly cooked heirloom eggplant. Now, some of you know I’m not a big fan of eggplant and I did pass on a few pieces to Foodhoe. But the piece I did try was nicely cooked and tasted like eggplant. So there.

The dessert course was a choice of a tasting of local artisan cheese, crème fraiche fritters or a German Chocolate Cake. After some debate, Foodhoe and I both went for the same dessert—the German Chocolate Cake. It came in this interesting plating with a chocolate smudge and the chocolate cake on one side and a dollop of Bi-Rite Creamery’s coffee-toffee ice cream on the other. (I should note that the German Chocolate Cake is on the regular menu, so it’s probably more an invention of Chef Des Voignes.)

The chocolate cake was very rich, a mix between a mousse and a brownie. It really seemed more like a decadent chocolate cake than one of the German persuasion. Still, I loved the red chili oil drizzled around the edges so you can slide your piece of cake onto it to get that nice mixture of sweet and hot. The ice cream was a no-brainer since I love Bi-Rite and the flavor was a perfect match for the chocolate cake. The only criticism I would have was the overly coconut flakes sitting like a nest underneath the ice cream. I felt the dish could have done without it and still be good, albeit not German chocolate.

In the end, it was a filling night of elegant and complex food that left Foodhoe and I dissecting and guessing, which always leads to a fun night. Chef Morrone acted like the perfect host at a dinner party, coming out after each course to check how everything is. He was very gracious and it was an honor to eat at his table.

No rating since this isn’t a regular review. The last scheduled “Mondays with George” is Sept. 22. But if you can’t get a reservation, don’t worry. Morrone says that the dinners have been such a success, he and the restaurant are talking about extending his run until the whole month of October! If they do, do not miss a night with George Morrone.

You can read Foodhoe's rundown of our dinner here, and I would suggest you check out her photos. Her camera was able to catch more decent shots of the meal than mines, so definitely worth seeing.

Fish & Farm, 339 Taylor St., San Francisco. PH: 415.474.3474. www.fishandfarmsf.com

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Horton Hears a Pluot

Sometimes you wonder how farmers come up with names for their creations. Say, for example, this pluot called "Elephant Hearts." WTF? How do you get elephant from this? Well, I can see the hearts part because inside these spotted-liked pluots are these extremely red flesh. And I guess if you really want to see it, the skin of the pluot is a bit spotted and possibly grey like the skin of an elephant? I think I'm giving the person who named this fruit a wee bit too much credit. Anywho, stone fruit season is nearing an end as summer's end approaches in just a week. So there's only a few more weeks of enjoying odd-named stone fruits like this Elephant Heart pluots that I got at the farmers' market. They're speckled outside but sweet and red inside. I can't say the sweetness is sublime as my favorite Flavor King, but it's a nice alternative on weeks when I'm in Flavor King overkill. (Oh, what am I saying? I never get tired of Flavor Kings. But you need a change now and then.) Have you discovered a new pluot this season?

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