Category Archives: Eat

Café Puerto Rico, Old San Juan. A must do!

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For the first post of the new year, I am finally following up on the new years eve post with a must do for all of you traveling to Old San Juan. Heather had done lots of research on where to go for local cuisine, and the first place the hotel concierge mentioned lined up with one of her options. Café Puerto Rico. A few blocks walk from El Convento (more on this wonderful hotel to come), we ended up on the edge of Plaza Colon and entered the cafe. It was crowded and lively and we were told to come back in 38 minutes. Yes 38. Never have we received such an exact return time. We wandered a few doors down to the Parrot Club for a cocktail, and listened to a jazz trio for 36 minutes, then quickly returned.

Heather at the Parrot Club.
A mojito seemed like an appropriate first drink, along with a coconut martini.

We were rewarded for our patience with a private table on the balcony overlooking Plaza Colon. I can’t say how lovely a view I, in particular, had without showing you my view.

Heather at Café Puerto Rico, overlooking Plaza Colon.

Heather at Café Puerto Rico, overlooking Plaza Colon.

We ordered mero (grouper) and tiritas de churrascos (skirt steak) mofongos rellenos, and a couple of tropical drinks. This ended up being our favorite meal of the trip!

Refreshing!!
Mofongos, lit with the dimmest of streetlights. Stellar.

Here are a few more visual highlights from the evening. More from Old San Juan to follow soon. Cheers!

A garita at sunset overlooking Bahia de San Juan.
Garita detail.
Bahia de San Juan at sunset. The Bacardi factory is across the bay.
La Rogativa monument.
A view down Calle Las Monjas. Cats are a prominent feature of the area.
One of the many spectacular house number signs that can be seen throughout Old San Juan.

P.S. If those of you who subscribe (thank you so much for following along!), could let me know if the galleries appear correctly in your e-mail, I’d appreciate it.  They look lovely in the on line post, but it showed up in my and Heather’s e-mail all broken and random. I’ve contacted WordPress about it, so hopefully we can get it resolved. Thanks!

Happy New Year! (Old world style)

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This may be an unconventianal New Year’s Eve post, but it really makes sense. Don’t we all ring in the new year by thinking about some highlights from the previous year? And pledging to do more of what makes you happy in the upcoming year? (And kissing your someone special as the ball drops in Times Square!) So….these pictures are from our 5th Anniversary honeymoon trip to Old San Juan — a definite highlight during this past year. And Heather and I call every trip we take together a honeymoon….which I hereby pledge to do more of this year! (Along with kissing her at midnight!)

This latest honeymoon was about eating and drinking in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a lot of cool sights in between sips and bites! I took so many pictures over the course of 4 days that it will end up as multiple posts. Here are a few highlights to get us started!

Garita at sunset.
Heather at Café Puerto Rico, overlooking Plaza Colon.
El Batey wall.
Purple balcony.
Ceviche at El Asador.
Paseo de La Princesa music man.
San Cristobal sunrise.
Old San Juan red door.
The Captain.
The iguana king.
Ceviche on the mezzanine at El Convento.
The view from El Morro.
Sunrise over El Morro.
Tranquil morning on the wall of El Morro.
Sunrise over La Perla.
Angel from Cementerio Santa Maria Magdalena De Pazzis.

So here’s to a happy, healthy, prosperous new year to you all. Cheers!

Café Puerto Rico cheers. Happy new year!!

Café Puerto Rico cheers. Happy new year!!

Have a very merry breakfast!

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Merry Christmas! I hope Santa was good to you. If ever there was a day to do a less than healthy breakfast..this is it! Cookies and a fresh squeezed tangerine mimosa! At least there is a little vitamin C in there for you. I definitely recommend the tangerine juice version versus orange juice. No tangerines? I know all the stores are closed, so the morning light of tomorrow seems like another reason to be merry! Go hug your family and enjoy the peaceful moments of this special day.

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Second Breakfast, Anyone?

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When we heard that Denny’s was featuring a Hobbit-inspired menu in honor of the upcoming Peter Jackson movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, we were so in.

The Hobbit Hole breakfast. Yum!

The Hobbit Hole breakfast. Yum!

I had the Hobbit Hole Breakfast. The menu describes this as “two eggs fried right into the center of grilled cheddar bun halves. Served with two strips of bacon and crispy hash browns topped with melted shredded cheddar cheese and bacon.” I describe this as pure deliciousness. To really take it to the hobbity extreme, substitute a Shire sausage for the bacon. You’ll be glad you did.

Pumpkin Patch Pancakes, featuring pumpkin whipped cream topped with cinnamon sugar.

Pumpkin Patch Pancakes, featuring pumpkin whipped cream topped with cinnamon sugar.

Rich had the Build Your Own Hobbit Slam. He chose the pumpkin patch pancakes, seed cake French toast, Shire sausage, and eggs. He tried to order egg whites, but I told him a real Hobbit would go for sunny side up. Everything was super yummy, especially (in my opinion) the poppy seed French toast.

Seed Cake French Toast.

Seed Cake French Toast.

Denny’s Hobbit menu is only available for a limited time, so hurry in for breakfast. And second breakfast. And elevenses. And luncheon. And don’t forget tea, dinner, and supper.

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As Bilbo would say, “I would give a good deal for the feel of a strong drink in my throat, and for a soft bed after a good supper!”

Happy Black Friday! Happy Thanksgiving! And thank you!

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Yes, this was supposed to be my Happy Thanksgiving post. But we all know that the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. So…….due to this large plate of food and the glass of red wine (Hahn pinot noir, that I will definitely feature in another post) and a small sample of Custom Brewcrafters coffee porter (thanks to my brother-in-law), consumed at my wonderful mother- and father-in-law’s, inducing a nap on the couch with Heather and then an early bedtime (and then this run on sentence), my post never even got started. I was going to try and tackle preparing this year’s Thanksgiving with Friends. That will be coming sometime in the near future….because you can be thankful for good friends anytime!

Heather also pointed out how fitting our son’s school project from 6 years ago is to us and this blog, so I wanted to share it with you. I’m thankful for all of my readers and friends out there….thanks for listening to us, and hope you’ve enjoyed! Cheers!

Salmon Run Sextet

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We recently held a small gathering to taste 6 different Salmon Run white wines. Okay, it was really small – just us and Chef Mark. And six bottles of wine. Yup, we had a good time!

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe……which to pick first? They all look so appealing!

Wanting to start with the driest, we first sampled the Pinot Grigio. This wine’s light straw color – almost clear – would lead you to believe that it was less flavorful than it actually was. Its aroma, with a touch of citrus, was sweeter than its flavor. On the palate, it blended a bit of grapefruit with strong notes of apple, peach, and apricot.

The Chardonnay was very straw-like, both in color and flavor. It had a scent of apple, with a flavor hinting at sour apple and artichoke. Reading this over, it sounds horrible…but it wasn’t. It was good, just not our favorite of the bunch.

The Chardonnay/Riesling blend had us intrigued. It had the sweetest scent of the bunch, with an abundance of honey and peach, as well as a hint of grapefruit. The taste was slightly creamy and sweet to start, followed by a touch of cedar, and a crisp, dry finish. We liked it.

The Rkatsiteli’s scent was a blend of fruit and asparagus, which may not sound like a good start, but this wine ended up being our unanimous favorite. The taste was of peach and apple with a bit of orange creaminess. It was a good blend of flavors that led to a “delightfully crisp finish.” This quote is actually in our tasting notes, but we can’t really remember who said it…

The Gewürztraminer had a touch of pear to start, a bit of creaminess, and a nice spice to finish. It was our second favorite of the bunch. Okay, so our notes got a little thin near the end…

The next night, we were lucky enough to have some Gewurzt left to pair nicely with our grilled swordfish and mango salsa.

We saved the Riesling for last, thinking it would be the sweetest. It was, but not overly so. It had a nice blend of peach, grapefruit, melon, and lemon. We think. My handwriting was a bit hard to read by this point.

Mysteriously, all the corks ended up next to the Riesling bottle….

Cheers to Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars to a wonderful collection of Finger Lakes white wine!

Splendidly spectacular skirt steak

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It takes every ounce of my being to chew slower.  Slow….down….absorb….flavor. Do you ever try to do that when something tastes really delicious? I bet you’ll have a hard time with this splendid combo. If I were to tell you that a skirt steak comes from the diaphragm muscle, please don’t let it creep you out. And if it did creep you out, pretend I didn’t tell you. You should definitely try this….seared on the grill in what seemed like no more than a minute due to it’s thinness….to medium-rare. Cover it with a little guacamole, and serve with a nice red wine. The steak was super tender, delicate and extremely flavorful.

Skirt steak draped in guacamole. This was delicious.

The 2010 red from Pesquie Terrasses brought a stunning 94 points (Wine Advocate) of Rhone Valley Grenache (70%) and Syrah (30%) to the table for less than $15. We picked up a nose of pepper, spice and plenty of red fruit. On the palate was pepper, cherry, strawberry, blueberry, anise, and spice that all lingered nicely. “We need to buy more of this,” Heather said.  It was a perfect match for the delicate steak, and the creaminess of the guacamole really blended everything together…with the jalepeno kicking up the spice in the wine. Try to chew slower…I dare you. Cheers!

2010 Chateau Pesquie Terrasses from the Rhone valley. 94 points from Wine Advocate.

Osteria Rocco (Neapolitan pizza, part three)

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And for the final installment of Heather’s Neapolitan pizza article written for CITIZEN magazine:

Osteria Rocco, 165 Monroe Ave., Rochester, 585-454-3510, roccorochester.com

            Okay, so this pizza wasn’t cooked in a wood-fired oven, but was it ever good! The cooking method here is to use a brick-lined gas oven that runs at about 700 degrees. Yes, 700 degrees. That’s hot, and the nicely charred crust is evidence. This crust was a bit denser than at the other two places. It was crisp on the outside and super chewy on the inside, and we loved it!

First up was the margherita, which had crushed California tomatoes, basil leaves, and – cue the choir of angels – FRESH mozzarella. I did say we were pizza snobs, right? To me, a margherita just isn’t quite the same without the fresh mozzarella. The Rocco margherita was, therefore, my favorite.

Heather cutting the margherita!

Our chef’s choice pizza was the vongole. Its toppings consisted of clams (yes, clams!), pancetta, parsley, chili peppers, and garlic oil. This pizza had a really nice heat to it. The toppings made for a delightfully unusual flavor combination.

The vongole, fresh from the kitchen. Clams on a pizza!

The pizza at Rocco is served in the traditional Neapolitan style, which means that it comes whole, and is meant to be eaten with a knife and fork. This reminded us of our beloved Una Pizza, where the pizza is also served whole. However, Rocco helps you out by providing you with a pair of kitchen shears with which to cut your pizza into slices, if you so choose. How fun!

We had an appetizer before our pizza. Fresh homemade ricotta. It’s worth a trip all on its own!

Fresh homemade ricotta. Incredible.

We’re sure that there are many more Neapolitan-style pizzas out there for us to try, no matter where you are. If you have any recommendations, leave us a comment!

Lucca Wood-fire Bistro (Neapolitan pizza, part two)

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Sorry for the delay (we’ve been a bit busy!) – here is the second installment of Heather’s Neapolitan pizza article for CITIZEN magazine:

Lucca Wood-fire Bistro, 90 W. Main St., Victor, 585-924-9009, luccawfpizza.com

Like at Ember, this pizza is cooked in a wood-fired oven, this one reaching temperatures of around 550 to 650 degrees. We really like this crust, which is a great blend of crunchy and chewy.

For the margherita, the toppings were sliced plum tomatoes, grated mozzarella, chopped basil, garlic, and olive oil. We liked that the basil was put on after the pizza came out of the oven, keeping it nice and fresh, and that there was lots of it! We’re kind of partial to basil.

The funghi, along with the margherita, and a couple glasses of old vine zin!

Our second pizza, chosen by the chef, was the funghi. The toppings for this pizza are garlic and oil, mozzarella and asiago cheeses, roasted red peppers, spinach, prosciutto, white and portobello mushrooms, finished with truffle oil and parmesan. Wow! What a pizza! It is rich, creamy, and decadent, and one that we will certainly go back for.

This is a wonderful time of year to visit Lucca. They have plenty of outdoor seating, and we adore sitting on the porch and watching the world go by while we enjoy our delicious meal.

Good pizza AND good dessert!

I just have to add that while we were there, we also had the chocolate chip cannolis for dessert. They were excellent! Oh, and the boys enjoyed their cheese pizza, too!

The “my father is a photographer” syndrome.

After giving it much thought and consideration, we consider Lucca Pizza to be our favorite pizza this side of the Mississippi. Tell chef/owner Matt Gervasi we sent you!

Ember Woodfire Grill (Neapolitan pizza, part one)

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We were at it again! The next CITIZEN magazine is out. Check it out here, or look for a copy on a newsstand near you! Heather wrote a very nice article which I am going to break into 3 parts to post, as I have a few pictures from each location to add. Here is her intro to Pizza Bliss, featuring some of greater Rochester’s finest Neapolitan-style pizza:

Rich and I are, admittedly, pizza snobs. We favor Neapolitan-style pizza with a nice thin crust that’s chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside. Our favorite pizza in the world used to be found in the East Village of New York City at Una Pizza Napoletana. This amazing pizza was crafted in the traditional Neapolitan way, using a heavenly sourdough crust and delectably simple toppings that were brought into perfect harmony in a super-hot wood-fired oven. Unfortunately for us, Una Pizza moved to San Francisco. Thus began our search for an incredible pizza closer to home.

We’ve tried many restaurants in and around Rochester during our search for the perfect pizza, and decided to share our top three finds with you: Osteria Rocco, Lucca Wood-fire Bistro, and Ember Woodfire Grill. At each place, we ordered a margherita pizza (a traditional Neapolitan with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella), as well as asking the chef to choose a pizza for us.

I can’t elaborate much (except for the extra pictures!), other than to say…this is not your average pizza. And, I would go get some…..now. But, back to the article….

Look for the sign on the wonderfully renovated train station!

Ember Woodfire Grill, 21 Livonia Station, Livonia, 585-346-0222, emberwoodfiregrill.com

            First of all, I have to rave about this building.  The owners took over a year to renovate this old train station before opening in December of 2009, and boy did their efforts pay off! The super-charming interior manages to be open, airy, and traditional all at the same time. The old section of the building blends seamlessly with the new addition to create a very inviting space.

            Now, to rave about the pizza! Being cooked in a 650 to 700 degree wood-fired oven, the crust came out with some nice uneven charring on the bottom and edges, in fine Neapolitan style. This crust was uniquely light and airy, which we found very pleasing, and had a fantastic blend of crispiness and chewiness.

            The margherita pizza had extremely flavorful crushed tomatoes, a nice combination of chopped and whole basil leaves, sliced mozzarella, and was topped off with a bit of olive oil and salt.

The margherita!

            For the chef’s choice, we were delighted by the steak pesto pizza. This was topped with grilled steak, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, fresh basil, walnut pesto, and gorgonzola. The steak was incredibly tender, and blended so well with the other toppings that the combination didn’t overpower the delicate crust in the least.

Steak pesto pizza….grilled steak, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, fresh basil, walnut pesto, and gorgonzola.

            All in all, a fabulous pizza experience!

Yes, we did travel to Livonia! Near the North end of Conesus Lake. It’s really not that far away.

There were many things we wanted to try on the menu, and we will be back soon to do so. They have an awesome patio….go check it out! (Article part two and three coming soon!)

Heather on the porch of a great old building we passed heading east out of Livonia.