Three Appetizers

As I mentioned, my wife and I went to Northern California this past week. This post is on three particularly tasty dishes that I was able to enjoy.

Now, I don't normally eat food to enjoy the taste. I've always viewed food as a source of energy and nourishment, and not really for the gastronomical pleasure inherent within. But I make exceptions for the following.

Sandwiched between the awesome coastal masterpiece known as Monterey and the idyllic town of Carmel, we were able to have dinner at a beautiful restaurant known as Tarpy's Roadhouse. I half expected a roughhouse bar and grill with bikers and strippers, given my cinematic knowledge of Patrick Swayze movies, but it was anything but.

With a distinct and soothing Tuscan flavor (delightfully and haphazardly melded with Americana), Tarpy's is perhaps the dining destination for those in the area. I won't go into all the food I gobbled down, but I will mention an appetizer. Now, there are thousands of restaurants that have fried calamari on the menu, and I've tried hundreds of calamari dishes. But this was the first time that I've had fried battered calamari where the squid pieces were actually the filets rather than the rings or tentacles. And what a difference it makes (along with the lime-thai sauce on the side). Absolutely fantastic.

Earlier that day, we were fortunate enough to stop by Santa Cruz on our way to Monterey, and found this cute little restaurant called The Crepe Place to visit for lunch. By the by, I am not a huge fan of savory crepes (rather than the desserty-type crepes), but the place lived up to its must-taste billing. We shared an appetizer medley of jalepeno poppers, shoestring fried onions and spicy chicken wings.

The wings and poppers were above average, but not worth spending time discussing. It was the shoestring onions that deserve mention. Most fried onions are done in ring form, battered and deep fried. These were cut into thin straight strings, and crispy but not crunchy. The result was the best appetizer that I've ever had (until later that evening when Tarpy's knocked The Crepe Place off of the top pedestal). I was unable to figure out what seasonings or ingredients went into the batter for the shoestrings, but they got it exactly right. If I had even slightly less decorum, I would have licked the crumbs off of the appetizer plate.

Finally, on the day before we left Northern California, we toured the wine country of Napa Valley. In the heart of Napa, surrounded by the pastoral and picturesque plots of Cabernet and Savignon grapes, we were able to secure an outside patio table at the Rutherford Grill, a Tuscan style restaurant with adobe walls and a firepit style kitchen where food is prepared in front of you, should you wish an indoor seat. Now, imagine a beautiful fall day in Napa Valley with a cloudless crystal blue sky disappearing into the purple mountains on the horizon of the valley, and sitting in the shade of olive trees that line the edges of a rippling triplet of fountains. Then imagine watching as a sizzling cast iron skillet being brought before you.

The smell of the cornbread hits you, and it smells like home. The slight tang of jalapenos flitters through your nostrils and then your teeth pushes past the slightly sweet crust.

Combine that with a bottle of a crisp Chardonnay, and you cannot even remember that you have a flight to head back from whence you came.

Food is still just energy, calories and joules for the body to use, but there are times when it transcends mere fuel.

-David

(Honorable mention - the clam chowder at the Fisherman's Wharf (Pier 39) restaurant called Neptune's Palace. Have that with the piping hot sourdough bread, and the day will not have gone to waste).