#1 Zagat Rated in Cali! :o

potato pancake FAIL

Continuing my warp-speed job transition weekend, I accompanied mi padre to Sonoma for some drive-by touring. We started out getting breakfast in Healdsburg. My dad kept telling me we were going to some creamery, but once we got there, he decided he'd rather go to the cafe next door. I was excited at first because they claimed to have potato pancakes... but as per usual, it ended up being a mush of crappy hash brown things. sigh sigh. The homemade peach coffee cake was kind of crappy too :(. Now I'm reading reviews and see the creamery place was on the Food Network for being amazing. Lame.

Onward we traveled all around Sonoma checking out wineries and all the scenery. It was gorgeous out and quite a fun trip. It was highly epic as I freaking tried some champagne at one of the stops!!! :O. I didn't actually like it that much, but still, wow. Crazy. We ended up driving to the ocean and playing around on the beach while wasting time before going to Bodega Bay for dinner. 

#1 rated??

This is beyond bizzare, and I'm not even sure if it's a kink in the system... but for some reason the 2011 #1 Zagat CA restaurant is Terrapin Creek Cafe in BB. This place ended up being very tasty, but still, with cities like LA & SF competing, it blows my mind that the top dining in the state is in some rural coastal town. 

cute bread dishes

We had the earliest reservations (4:30) so when we arrived, the place was still getting set up for dinner. It is very family owned & oriented with the (highly attractive) husband waiting and managing, and the wife busy as the lead chef. They even had their baby hanging out while the prepared everything. It is decorated rather simply but with a modern flair, and there is a tiny patio which has a view of the water.

I was super starving and highly appreciated the bottomless 3 bread basket (which cost $1.50 >: |). For appetizers, we split a roasted beet salad and grilled octopus. Both were delicious!! Along with the beets, there was goat cheese, almonds, and some vinagrette. It was extremely flavorful and so fresh tasting. The octopus was also amazing. It was cooked to the perfect consistency and didn't have any sort of fishy taste that you usually get with calamari. I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

grilled octopus

Next, for our entrees, I tried the meatballs and my dad got the sea bass. My dish was very different since I'm only used to getting meatballs with spaghetti, or at IKEA. I really liked it because instead of pasta or potatoes, they were served on a bed of tomato sauce covered pecorino cheese. I'd never had pecorino before, but it's a creamy, subtle tasting cheese similar to ricotta in consistency. The dish was super filling, but really unique and terrific. My dad's fish also tasted great, and he seemed to really enjoy it. 

Even though we were stuffed, we had to get dessert. I ordered the mini cheesecake and it was the star of the meal. I have never had such a perfectly prepared cheesecake. It was so incredibally smooth and creamy and was not obnoxiously cream cheese flavored. The graham crust was very buttery and crispy, and it came with a delicious raspberry dipping sauce which really highlighted the flavors. My dad's dessert was a little pot of choco-hazlenut with mini cookies to dip. It was a bit too rich for my tastes, and I think he was jealous of mine.

 

best cheesecake ever

It was a very incredible meal. I definitely think it should be highly rated; however, I'm not sure I agree it's the best in CA. I guess that's a very subjective rating. I have kind of ghetto tastes... haha I'd probably pick a fad place like Straw as my favorite :) that's why I don't work for Michelin

Kartoffelpuffen Quest #1

Ever since I had those most amazing potato pancakes at the Apple Farm, I have craved to find the delicacy closer to home. I asked around and found out #1, they are called Kartoffelpuffen in German, and #2, they aren't that rare. One night, Eugi and I were at the local Cupertino Yogurtland <3 and I randomly decided I must have some potato pancakes!

After a quick yelp, I found that Heidi's Pies in San Mateo had them listed. I was super ecstatic at this revelation because I live on the same street as HP! We arrived and immediately ordered the "sweet" potato pancakes. Little did I know that one small adjective would make a whole big difference :(

What came was not the savory delicacy of San Luis Obispo, but rather a very sweet, rather gingery, almost pumpkin pancake. Although they weren't bad, and I ate the whole plate despite having already consumed dinner and mass froyo, it was such a bummer/fail. I will have to press forward in my search, and take careful note of the type of potato pancakes I partake in. sigh sigh

they looked so good. Well.. actually they were. but not right. :(

P.S. in general, I REALLY like Heidi's Pies. They have such good slices :) raspberry cream and key lime and peach mmmmm. Someday I'll do a better post about them

Fun at the Apple Farm

ROAD TRIP!!! Eugi and I decided to celebrate the long weekend by making a 1.5 day road trip to Santa Barbara. It's always a dangerous line to walk figuring out where to stop for food on the road. You don't want to end up at a chain, but at the same time you don't want to go to some crap-ass random diner in the middle of nowhere. Also! It's hard to know when to stop, cuz you don't want to waste your intake on a truck stop if a fun town is on its way, but then you don't wanna be 3 hours with nothing :S:S:S. We lucked out this time, and guessed perfectly to stop @ the billboard advertised Apple Farm in San Luis Obispo. 

I LOVE POTATO PANCAKES!!

From the outside, this place appears tiny. Once you enter you realize it's actual a huge place, kitschy country store included :). rock on!! We got seated in the furthest of four wings of the restaurant. Each one had it's own cottagey feel. I totally wish I had come here when I was 8. The menu was massive and dinerey, but I immediately eyed "potato pancakes." I've never had those before, nor did I know what it meant... it seemed like the perfect breakfast/lunch fusion. Well played Sharon :D. They were AWESOME!! It reminded me a lot of a Chinese green onion pancake. The texture was like a normal pancake, but the flavor was much more savory with a hint of like, onion? chive? iono, it was good though! It came with sour cream spread, mmm. 

Eugi ended up getting mac + cheese, my second choice, so we split half and half. It was also quite tasty, baked and crispy, but not quite as stand out :O as the potato pancakes. Either way I was mucho satisfied. 

baked mac and fruit

Since I'm still a kid at heart, I had to buy a couple of the specialty flavored candy cane sticks. They totally remind me of being young and going special stores with my mom :). The one I had was kind of gross and melted to the wrapper, but I don't regret dishing out 20 cents purely for nostalgia.

nostalgia flavored candy sticks

P.S. Does anyone have recommends for more places I can try potato pancakes?? Totally loved them :D I tried to look it up on Wikipedia on my phone on the drive back, but it was kind of a fail. It called them "Latka" and then informed me for information on "Latka Gravas" I needed to click thru to a diff page. If there is one thing that will distract me in to laughter fits, it's unexpected Taxi allusions. How can I do research after that?!?!