Boudin: San Francisco

One reason (among many) I was so looking forward to moving to California was the food. California is known for hip and trendy restaurants, great farmers' markets, fresh seafood, and...good wine. Wait, what? Y'all, don't even try and tell me that wine isn't a food group, ok?!

Anyway, my husband and I moved to, what we believe to be, the best part of California: the San Francisco Bay Area. It is perfection, really. And we're enjoying every minute of it. 

We made it up to the city (SF) last weekend with friends. It was decided that Boudin would be our destination for dinner that evening at Fisherman's Wharf. I had heard great things about Boudin's sourdough bread bowls from my husband, who was able to enjoy them on a trip out to the area last year.

I had also heard great things about their clam chowder. Um, excuse me?

Sure, I've posted fish recipes on here. Sure, I'll try various types of fish. Lobster, crab, clams? Er...

I so desperately wanted to order the tomato soup as I nervously stood in line at Boudin. But peer pressure sunk in, folks. Fine - I'll try the clam chowder!  


Dare I say I enjoyed it? No - I don't think I'll publicly admit that. That's a rather big commitment.


So I'll say this: it was actually pretty good. Of course, when I chomped down on an actual piece of clam, it was a little seafood-y. But, I ate it. A lot of it.

And the bread bowl? Oh, friends, the bread bowl! Carbs are truly a wonderful thing, and the bread bowl did not disappoint!


Boudin has several locations in San Francisco. If you're ever visiting the city, definitely check it out!

Wine Wednesday: MOM

I've realized that by acknowledging Wine Wednesdays every week, the weeks seem to go by rather quickly. Here we are again!

Don't think I've been lacking in the food area - I have plenty of simple recipes to share with you in the coming days.

I'm sipping on some absolutely delightful white table wine as I type this post. Remember when I had the best time at Festa Rappahannock? My husband and I didn't walk away empty handed from that wine festival. Oh no, we bought ourselves a bottle of wine in remembrance of a wonderful day!

It was the white table wine titled MOM from Narmada Winery that won over our taste buds that day. We finally popped the cork and enjoyed it with some homemade pizza. Because really, wine does go with everything.

MOM, named after the winery owner's mother (and in honor of all moms!), is a very light & crisp wine. The aftertaste is just beautiful. It pairs well with spicy Indian food, but as we also found out, it's very good with pizza! I highly suggest this wine to any and all white wine lovers and to loyal red drinkers. My husband is such a fan of red wine, and even this table white brought a smile to his face!

Wine Wednesday: Charles Shaw

Welcome to the first Wine Wednesday post! Let's pop open those bottles and get the wine a'flowing! 

I thought I'd start this new series with an educational post about one of the most affordable, yet delightful brands of wine. This topic is great for my friends and family back in Nebraska, as they'll soon be able to marvel at the glory that is Trader Joe's. 

source

I proudly introduce to you: Charles Shaw. Charles Shaw is sold in Trader Joe's across the country (except, for instance, Maryland because of their stupid laws). Do you recognize it? Maybe not by its official name, but what about when I say "Two Buck Chuck" - anything now?

Yes, winos, Charles Shaw is the famous Two Buck Chuck. It got its nickname back in the day (i.e. before the economy went downhill) when you could buy it for the mere price of $1.99. Um, that's cheap.

Cheap, indeed. And even at its price today - $3.19 - it's still a very affordable brand. But price isn't the exciting part here...it's what you get for the price that makes it a steal.

Seriously good wine. There's really no other way to put it. In fact, the Charles Shaw 2002 Shiraz won the double gold medal at the 28th Annual International Eastern Wine Competition. Oh, and it beat 2,300 other wines to do so!


Still not convinced? At the 2007 California Exposition and State Fair, the 2005 Chardonnay won Best Chardonnay from California. Sounds like a real winner, folks!

You'll get full reviews on specific Charles Shaw wines in the near future. My husband and I just stopped at Trader Joe's this past weekend to stock up. We walked away with four wine bottles that day and spent around $13. Life is good, isn't it?!

Festa Rappahannock: Full Recap!

Foodies Winos, I had the best day on Saturday. When a day is filled with wine, local food and great music, can it really be bad?! My point exactly.

My husband loves being out of the house and doing something. For those of you that know me, you know that I while I enjoy being socially active, I really enjoy being a homebody. Having these two personalities in a marriage is great though because we get to experience fun things, but also get to enjoy being lazy around the house. Compromise, people!

This leads me to our wine-derful (no?) weekend! Evan found out about this great wine festival called FESTA RAPPAHANNOCK. With 15 wine tastings and local food, who were we to say no?! Plus, part of the proceeds benefited the Hospice of Rapidan. Drinking wine for a good cause, that's how we saw it!

It was held at Rappahannock Cellars, which is a winery located about an hour west of Washington D.C. Four other wineries were also a part of this event: Chester Gap Cellars, Gadino Cellars, Narmada Winery, and Sharp Rock. 

In exchange for the purchase of our event tickets, we were each given 15 raffle tickets (each raffle ticket = 1 tasting). Each winery had three to sample, and you could use the tickets any way you wanted. We decided to try all the wines, to get the most out of this experience!

We stopped at Narmada Winery first, and they completely won us over. The owners are from India, and their tagline is "Experience India...Taste Virginia." So fun. We actually purchased one of their wines titled Mom - it's supposed to be a great pairing with Indian food - which we love! I'll be sure to post a picture of the bottle with a full review once we crack that baby open! Side note: having an advertising background, I also fell in love with their bottles and labels. I can't WAIT to show you it!

 

Next we stopped at Rappahannock Cellars and had a great conversation with the man in charge of the tastings. One conversation turned into another, and somehow our move to California was brought up. The owner happened to be walking by, so we were able to chat with him. He's from California and actually attended Stanford (which is where Evan will be attending grad school in the fall!). He used to own a winery near Palo Alto, so we're excited to check it out once we get there. Small, small world. 

We thought food sounded pretty good at this point! The food was prepared by Marriott Ranch, and Evan enjoyed a hamburger made from grass-fed local beef. I opted for the grilled chicken. We both had the chilled rice with veggies, as well as the cucumber and tomato salad. 

To wash down our food, Evan enjoyed a glass of Rappahannock Cellars' 2008 Cabernet Franc.

Me? Well, winos, I sipped on some sangria. That's summer right there, folks! 

 

We were able to enjoy music from the Mark Brandt Trio while eating - it was wonderful.

We finished our tastings at Sharp Rock, Chester Gap and Gadino. We must say that Rappahannock Cellars and Narmada Winery stood out the most, but we really did enjoy all five.

We ended the day with a cellar tour. Jason, the Winemaker, at Rappahannock Cellars gave us a wonderful tour of the winery. We were able to see the machines that break down the grapes, as well as the stainless steel and wooden barrels that store the wine. It was very interesting!

All in all, it was a great festival. It was absolutely gorgeous outside: not too hot, no humidity and hardly any wind. A great summer day!

How was your weekend? Was wine a part of it?! :)