Best Birthday Ever

A few weekends past I had the good fortune (thanks to a good husband) to spend my thirtieth year in San Francisco with the likes of a Miss Alice Waters. Well, in all honesty Alice was present only in spirit, her body busy elsewheres (the Governator was inducting her into the California Hall of Fame, otherwise I'm sure she would have joined us ), but forgive me, I'm getting ahead of myself... Saturday began with toasted bagels and coffee at Sandy's before yoga class which is always time well spent. The highlight being a student exclaiming in Casey's general direction, "You must be Wally's brother!" Wally is Sandy's little dog, who by the way wouldn't come near us after spending nearly 14 hours together--and we all know brothers can't just shake hands, brothers gotta hug. Wally is not a good brother, but a cute little dog none the less.

After a nap and a shower we headed over to Berkeley for a gastronomical experience. Tasty spot #1, Monterey Market, a true Berkeley institution. All the locals foraging through multitudes of mushrooms and a bevy of berries. It was there we spotted a bin of the prized morel mushrooms. Which coincidentally I recently spotted on a hike through the woods of San Juan Island. There was a small cluster of the delectables hiding at the base of a tree trunk which Casey insisted I not disturb, let alone eat. I just wanted it on record, that I had in fact discovered the earthen treasures in the wild. There should be a girl scout badge for that... Although that could lead to a lot of poisoned little girls and then when would we get our cookies?? It also should be noted, according to Dr. Sharon Tran, it's more common than one might think for a family to end up in the hospital after enjoying some foraged mushrooms.

Tasty spot #2 was a little pizza place, Gioia Pizza, across from the Monterey Market that John insisted is THE BEST pizza in the bay area. And yes we were having dinner in a few short hours, but we decided to stop in and split a few slices. I must admit, he was right. The crust was crisp on the bottom, but still soft throughout and the cheese was just divine. After our cheezy indulgence we headed for the hills and tasty spot #3, the home of Teddy, where John and a few others have sowed a rather divine garden. Teddy happens to be one of those exquisitely aged women and when I meet my 86th year as she has, I hope I too can comfortably sip tea perched atop a yoga ball. That would be a triumph. After our tea we headed out for a tasting tour of the season full of spinach and snap peas plucked right off the vine. It was a delight and the crescendo of the evening was still before us, dinner at Chez Panisse.



Now I'm not sure exactly how much I should tell you about this dinner. On the one hand I want you to know how splendid our evening was, but on the other I would hate to build up your expectations should you choose to go there for your special day. Well, I'll tell you we had a fabulous time. The service was warm and attentive, the food surpassed expectations and the company could not be beat. Here's what we enjoyed:

Pizzetta with crimini mushrooms
Riverdog Farm asparagus salad with hazelnuts and prosciutto
(enjoyed by all)

Farro pasta with Soul Farm chicken and morel mushroom ragu (Sharon and me)
Northern halibut with green beans, beets and aioli (John)
Grilled Laughing Stock Farm pork leg with peas, carrots, fried shoestring potatoes, and sage (Casey)

Lucerno Farms strawberry shortcake with creme chantilly
Fresh ice cream with bittersweet chocolate sauce and chocolate cookies
(enjoyed by all)