monday afternoon amuse bouche

I recently attended a chocolate tasting at CocoaBella Chocolates. If you have never been to CocoaBella, either in the Marina or the Westfield Centre, you are depriving yourself of a toe-curlingly decadent experience. Owner Michael Freeman's self-described mission is to scour the world looking for the best confections. He only carries small, handmade chocolates, and there is representation from Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland and the U.S.   

In anticipation of the holiday season, CocoaBella has put together a box of chocolates carefully culled from their collection of boutique chocolatiers. With a name like the World's Greatest Box of Chocolates, it had a lot to live up to. I kind of pooh-poohed the idea, honestly; despite having sampled a lot of the contents and falling head over heels in love, I had an unconscious bias against the notion of an assorted box of chocolates. I have been conditioned throughout the years by Whitman's, See's and Godiva to expect a few winners and a lotta losers. Not this box. Everything I ate -- the caramel with pink Hawaiian sea salt from Knipschildt, the walnut in its bed of coffee caramel and chocolate from Pralineur Van Coille -- made me wish I had another one just like it for Mr. Food Musings to taste or for me to gobble up all over again. What started out as a "let's just have one or two" tasting turned into a full out gorgy. After the crinkly wrappers stopped flying and the chocolate dust had settled, we looked at each other and agreed that a box of these chocolates and a bottle of champagne would make the perfect holiday gift for several of our friends (really, really good friends...).

My favorite? The white chocolate rosemary caramel from Christopher Elbow (painted in hues of red, green and blue in the photo). It sounds strange, but it is divine. The rosemary-infused caramel is exotic, warm, a bit spicy, and the white chocolate adds just a touch more sweetness. I want a whole box of those!

***

I took my first class at the Cheese School of San Francisco a few nights ago. There, farmstead cheese maker Wil Edwards, formerly of Harley Farms Goat Dairy, led us through nubbins of everything from four-day old goat cheese to chevre stuffed with raspberries and walnuts to a cow/goat blend and more. Along with wines poured by Alex Fox, the ever dapper sommelier at Myth, we sampled cheeses and learned what it takes to make them. Farmstead cheeses go artisan cheese one better: both are made by hand according to traditional methods, but farmstead cheese makers also raise the animals (goats, cows or sheep) that produce the milk.  While we munched our way along, Wil and Alex entertained us with stories about what it's like to tend goats, squirting your daily coffee with fresh milk (Wil) or how Beaujolais Nouveau has given all Beaujolais an unfairly bad reputation (Alex). The thing that most stood out to me is something Wil said: "It's not just what's on your plate, it's who's on your plate." Meaning, know who's made the food you eat, where it comes from and maybe even how they do what they do. Appreciate that someone had to get up and milk goats twice a day, every day, no vacations or exceptions, for nearly a year to produce that deliriously creamy cheese you're slathering on your bread. Typing it out, it sounds sort of self-righteous, but all he meant was that we should truly appreciate the food in front of us. I think it's akin to what the Native Americans used to do when they'd kill an animal for food and send up a small prayer of gratitude for the animal's sacrifice. Thanks very much to tuttifoodie, the DailyCandy of the food world, for organizing the event.  If I can convince any of my friends to join me, I'd love to sign up for a cheese class this winter, maybe the art of the cheese tray (currently sold out but I'm sure another one will pop up next year, so friends, holler if you want to come along).

***

Went to Brick last night and drank so much that my friend R. hugged the waiter goodbye. (Better her than me.) As for the food, it was inconsistent. Two dishes were utterly brilliant and we ordered several rounds. One was shrimp with creamy grits, and the other was confit buffalo wings. They were like high-class popcorn chicken bites skewered on a chicken bone and coated with the tangy, lip-numbing sauce that makes a buffalo wing a buffalo wing. A bit of slaw came with it, which we didn't bother with, but the Gorgonzola "foam" -- more of a whipped cheese, really -- was a nice touch. We ordered 3 plates -- we just couldn't get enough. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the meal was hit and miss. Fries dusted with cilantro and served with curried ketchup had great crispness and flavor, but they were way oversalted -- waaaay, waaaay oversalted. The hamachi sashimi was obviously old fish and they should have just taken it off the menu until their next shipment (tsk, tsk). The steak was blah, the duck two ways was good if a little tough, and the gnocchi were delicious but suffered from death by pesto -- they were absolutely drowning in it. Overall, the chef would benefit from buying better ingredients and using a bit more restraint. But I liked the vibe. It was cool and mellow, with exposed brick walls hung with lacquered art, and we could actually hear each other talk. Big kudos for that. Next time I go, I"ll probably just nip in to the bar for a glass of wine and an order (or two) of the confit buffalo wings.

Comments

[cookiecrumb]

"Gorgy"!!
Ha ha ha.

[Robyn]

Cookiecrumb beat me to it. 'Gorgy' is my new favorite word.
Cheese classes -- I don't often miss living in the States ... except when I read your blog!

[Little Sister]

i want to take a cheese class! too bad i'm not in SF.

[Carter]

Howdy, There was an intersting interview with the founder of CocaBella on KCRW's Good Food. It never came up that CocaBella is in San Francisco! (Darn those LA folks) Thanks for the tip.