Spring weekend - Art Murmur

We had an amazing time at Oakland's Art Murmur on Friday... just walking around uptown looking in galleries and stopping here and there. It was so great to see the streets and sidewalks filled with people. This used to be a questionable neighborhood - there was NO ONE on the streets after 5pm. Now it's full of cool restaurants and bars and clubs and galleries... and people! Do you know about Art Murmur? It's the first Friday of every month and you just walk around. A whole lot of indie art galleries are open and there are food trucks on the street and vendors and all the cool restaurants and clubs are open. This last Friday we stopped a few minutes at an old school drive-in/hamburger joint on Telegraph at about 22nd. Can't even remember its name, but it was so cool...the parking lot was filled with cherry classic cars from the 60's and 70's and someone was spinning tunes from the time. Like a warp, it was! Later we stopped by the Art Deco-y restaurant Flora for a drink and a nibble, and then sauntered into Van Kleef's for one of their famous greyhounds. The music was lame that night, so we left,, but Van Kleef usually has cool music.

Trader Vic's Emeryville

Yes, you can revisit the past. Trader Vic's was an icon of my early years in San Francisco....an un-attainable goal, a dream. For a time it was located in an alley off Union Square, and you had to line up behind limousines, possibly to be admitted. It was exotica, a whiff of Hawaii and Tahiti. That storied restaurant closed, and my dreams shifted to other things.

Tonight I went back to Trader Vic's, now in Emeryville...much closer to its origin, which was in Oakland. It's a very cool place, still. We had No Tai Mai Tai (a nod to Wayne, the designated driver) and a Bahia. Both drinks were excellent, the Bahia a mixture of rum, coconut milk, and pineapple. The glass the Bahia was served in was beautiful - for a moment I considered liberating it, but then the "good me" prevailed.

I was surprised. It was a great bar, and I will bring friends here. It is a bit kitchy and I wondered why all the men had on Hawaiian shirts, but hey - why not?!! Two interesting (amazing!) facts: The Mai Tai (which means the very best in Tahitian) was invented at Trader Vic's in Oakland, and the legendary SF Chronicle columnist Herb Caen once wrote "the best restaurant in San Francisco is in Oakland...Trader Vic's". There you go.

Spring gardening

Finally, two days of sunshine in a row! I planted part of my herb garden yesterday . . . sage and thyme and oregano and cilantro. Mmmm, it makes my mouth water :=) In fact, I nipped a few leaves off my baby sage plants to make Chicken Breast with Sage, one of my faves, for dinner.

Today I planted climbing peas and green beans, mixing them all up near a fence so they'll climb together. Always Ms. Grace, I dropped a clipper on my ankle and gouged a hole, which of course bled. I was cutting back those vines that are trying to take over the left side of the yard. They're so pretty with their pink flowers and then later the wisteria with their long purple blooms, but they're deadly. If you let them go they'll smother everything, so I attacked. Then I was attacked, but only by a clipper.

The Best Mojito

An abundance of mint prompted me to perfect this refreshing drink. Mmmm.....heaven on a hot day. You'll swear you've taken a rocket run to the tropics - well, that's where the mojito originated!

Put a few ice cubes in a shaker glass, then add 4 or 5 fresh mint leaves. Fill shaker with ice.
Add 2 oz. Jamaican rum, 2 oz. fresh lemon-lime juice (equal parts fresh-squeezed lemon and fresh-squeezed lime), and a good splash of simple syrup. Shake, preferably to a reggae beat.
Pour all, including ice, into a tall glass. Top with club soda, and garnish with a sprig of mint and lime slices.
Adjust glam shades, apply sunscreen, and enjoy.

The Best Tom Collins

I read in the New York Times that commercial sweet & sour has ruined the taste of a classic Tom Collins, and it made me curious. Sweet & sour is really nothing more than fresh lemon juice (sour) plus simple syrup (sweet), so I gave the "real" thing a try:

Fill a tall glass with ice and add 1-1/2 oz gin (see Best Basil Gin Gimlet for Bar Tip about gin). Add the juice of a lemon (no seeds, of course) and 1/2 oz of simple syrup. Fill the glass with club soda and a generous squeeze of lime. Stir and sip.

It tastes amazing! And if you use vodka instead of gin, you have a John Collins.

Bar Tip: You can easily make your own simple syrup by bringing 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar to a boil in a small heavy saucepan. Simmer on low to medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool to room temperature before using. Keeps for a week in the refrigerator.

The Best Basil Gin Gimlet

I had an amazing gin gimlet the other day at Five, a new lounge in Berkeley. Julio the Bartender generously shared the secret with me:

In a shaker with ice, put 1-1/2 oz gin, 1-1/2 oz fresh lime juice and 1/2 oz simple syrup. Add 2 or 3 basil leaves that you have torn in half or thirds. Bruise, don't muddle, the leaves gently with the back of a bar spoon against the side of the shaker.

Shake briefly and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Sip and savor your tasty, frosty, refreshing drink!

Bar Tips:

• Fresh lime juice is crucial here; the plastic lime or Rose's won't do.
• There's a lot of difference in taste from one gin to another. You do have to use a good gin. There are many, but my fave is Tanqueray, which is around the mid-point of the expense continuum.

The Best Cadillac Margarita

I call the Margarita my specialty....here's how it's made:

Moisten the rim of a barrel glass with a cut lime, then dip in salt. Fill the glass with ice.

Add 1-1/2 oz tequila, 1/2 oz triple sec, 1-1/2 oz orange juice, and 1-1/2 oz sweet and sour (or substitute 1 oz fresh lemon juice and 1/2 oz simple syrup for the sweet and sour).

Stir, then float 1/2 oz Grand Marnier on the top and squeeze a wedge of lime.

Yum!

Bar Tip: Don't waste "sippin'" quality tequila on a mixed drink - save it for shots or sippin'. That said, a decent tequila is important even in a mixed drink. My fave is Zapopan Reposada, available at Trader Joe's for $9.99.