Classic Dessert Captured in a Candy Shell

I've eaten a lot of chocolate in my life and to be quite honest, I've become pretty particular about which chocolate pieces I fancy. The most exotic of flavors usually catch my eye, but the very basic fruit flavors, caramel and just plain old chocolate also peak my interest as well.



When I heard about Woodhouse Chocolatier, based out of St. Helena, I was thrilled to plan a trip out to wine country for a visit. The small chocolate shop is located off of Highway 29 on a quaint street with cafes and boutiques galore. Woodhouse is located under a pastel aquamarine awning with a blue elephant insignia. As you walk in the shop, there are immediate indications of the jewelry shop that used to stand on the property. A gleaming crystal chandelier light the glass cases that showcase the chocolate pieces as if they were precious diamonds and pearls. In my opinion, their chocolates definitely are worth their weight in gold.



A friend of mine first described Woodhouse's chocolates to me as the typical; delicious, rich, and all of the above adjectives usually associated with confections. The menu of chocolates highlighted various flavors including Thai ginger, raspberry, and honey. There were so many pieces to choose from, so I decided to go with the combination box just to make sure I got a taste of everything they had to offer. It only took one piece to captivate my taste buds though. This was the bananas foster piece based on the famous ice cream dessert.

This white chocolate piece encapsulated all the essential flavors of a traditional bananas foster into a light and airy mousse. Upon biting the piece and tasting the mousse inside, you can detect a light banana base with a hint of rich, golden caramel and dark Carribean rum. The intense flavors are sweetened with the melting of a the velvety white chocolate coating. With every bite, I wished my little piece of chocolate was a heaping 10 lb chocolate bar so I could savor each bite that much longer. Unfortuntaely, I only bought two pieces on my last trip, so I guess it'll be another trip up to St. Helena soon. Care to join me?

An Italian Dream in the Silicon Valley

There is something about Italian food that brings a sense of comfort and peace to my mind and stomach. Though my lifelong favorites have always been the savory foods such as lasagna and veal scallopini, I've finally taken a stand and I have gone to the sweet side for one of the greatest Italian offerings: gelato.

I think of gelato as an extension of your typical American ice cream. Though seemingly quite similar, gelato seems to pack a huge haymaker punch of flavor especially when it comes to fruit flavors. It's not as reliant on gobs and chunks of chocolate and candy (although there's nothing wrong with that at all) that usually to overpower the creamy base. Instead of all the usual glitz and glam, gelato showcases the base flavor and allows it to shine through to anyone lucky enough to taste it. Lucky Italians!



Of all the gelatos I've ever tried, my favorite variety is green tea that hails from Cafe Aroma in Santa Clara. According to the owner's son who runs the counter in the evenings, he went to Europe and brought back authentic gelato-making techniques back to his shop in California. Whatever his secret is, he is on the right track. He has about 12 different flavors at any given time, most of them fruit inspired. My favorite, the green tea flavor, is refreshing and light and reminds me of fresh, lightly brewed tea made from freshly picked tea leaves. Matched with the creamy base of milk and sugar, the gelato melts quickly and permeates the tongue with a burst of flavor and richness. The color is a very light seafoam green and almost looks like wasabi, but pay no mind to its visual appearance. This gelato has the perfect balance of sweetness, creaminess, and all around goodness!

A Sweet Stop Indeed!

When I was a kid, my summer vacation days were spent in Japantown at the Christ United Presbytarian Church summer camp. Everyday for three months, I donned my green camp scarf and scaled the streets of San Francisco while chanting bubbly campfire songs. The days were long, but my day was always made when my grandpa would take me to Yasukochi's Sweet Stop bakery on Laguna street. The bakery still stands as I remember it to this day nestled inside a corner Japanese supermarket. A husband and wife team singlehandedly run the small shop that supply the neighborhood locals with all their sugar fixes. Jam fingerprints dotted with almonds, custard filled danishes and butter cookies with sprinkles fill the right side of the refrigerated case, while the other half is flooded with scrumptious home baked cakes and cake slices. The case is always quite a sight, but don't let your eyes fool you. If you don't get to the shop before 3pm, count yourself out from the enjoyment of tasting these wonderful treats.

The summer days were warm, so it was only fitting to drop by the air conditioned Sweet Stop at the end of the day, when all the singing and hiking was done. My grandpa and I would round the corner and head into the shop, where my eyes would always be set on the prize: eclairs! To this day, the eclairs from Sweet Stop hold the status of the best eclairs I've ever had. The pate choux dough was always slightly crisp and housed the creamy, rich custard perfectly. The ganache topping was soft and velvety with a robust dark chocolate flavor to it. Every time I took a bite, there was a feeling of pure satisfaction and happiness. A Sweet Stop eclair was always a great ending to a long day.



Many years later, I still find myself at Sweet Stop picking up desserts and treats for my family. The mere speak of the bakery in conversation strikes up good thoughts of the sweets that the bakety produces. Whenever I'm in Japantown, there's always a planned visit to Sweet Stop on the agenda because I know that the fulfillment of my sugar satiety depends on it!

I Heart New York!!! Part Three

While I was in New York, I couldn't believe how many hole-in-wall eateries lay hidden away awaiting discovery by my tastebuds. Each neighborhood had a plethora of places to choose from that offered food from every imaginable ethnic background. One of my favorite neighborhoods was the East Village because of it's many cultural facets that blended together to create the lively hotspot. Within a two block span of walking, we approached yuppies, punk rockers, college students, and who could forget the modern techno Japanese crowd. This was definitely the place to go for authentic culinary treats!

As nightfall approached, hunger was a calling and directed us to a small establishment called Taisho Yakitori. As implied by the name, the restaurant specialized in yakitori, but also served traditional sides and appetizers. Although the the establishment was a restaurant, it had the ambience of a bar that served amazing food. Instead of pints of beers, there were pints of Calpico, a Japanese dairy-based drink. Hot wings and cocktail nuts were replaced by musubi rice balls and french fries served with a smelt egg mayonnaise. The crowning achievement of the eatery was their amazing assortment of grilled meats served on kebabs. Customers had their choice of chicken, beek, pork and vegetables and each choice was grilled fresh right in front of your eyes. Between both Mark and I, we had ordered tongue, chicken with plum paste, beef, and yes you're reading this right, chicken skin! I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of chicken skin, not even of the Kentucky fried variety. However, I was on vacation, and this was the time to live it up and eat it up! As expected, the chicken skin was dripping in grease and goodness. The crisp, grilled exterior and the pure richness of chicken goodness made it easy to finish each and every bite! This place proved to me that sometimes, a restaurant doesn't need a great ambience, flawless service, nor a world class view. What it comes down to for a restaurant to be great is delicious, simple foods in a comfortable atmosphere and Taisho Yakitori provided just that.

When you think of hole-in-the-wall, a few things come into mind: cheap, fast, and above all tasty! With street corners hustling and bustling 24 hours a day, New Yorkers need a place where they can order, pay and eat in a matter of seconds. Enter Papaya Dog, an eatery that showcases fast food or as referred to in Seinfeld, "not fast food, good food, quickly." There were many franchises in the city, but I just so happen to stop by the Papaya Dog at Penn Station. On a Monday afternoon, numerous travelers were running to and fro to catch their respective trains to destinations all over the state. Unlike them, I prioritized my appetite before my travels and I decided to stop by the Papaya Dog to experience a real New York hot dog. After scanning the menu once over, I decided to go with a hot dog and smoothie combo, although it was tough to over look the hot dog and Coors Lite deal for $3.75. Smoothies were stored in large stainless steel tanks with spigots and signs that read their respective fruit flavors. They could be best described as a tropical version of the traditional Orange Julius drink which was a perfect accompaniment to my two grilled hot dogs. Two men manned the grill that had a dozen hot dogs and half dozen hamburger patties on it at any given time. Once the meat was grilled, the customer was to follow it to the condiment bar where the traditional fix-ins were ready to top the dogs or patties. Being a simple girl, I went with good ole sauerkraut. The two medium sized hot dogs were a marked improvement from the traditional steam hot dogs I was used to from home. For a mere five bucks, I deemed the entire meal of smoothie and dogs to be the perfect on the go meal. I also kept in mind that if I ever needed to wind down during the commute, that I would definitely go with the Hot Dog and beer deal in heartbeat.



On my trip I also made these quick stops while I was in the Big Apple. They were definitely worth checking out!

Le Maison du Chocolatier

I had only heard of this chocolatier on TV and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be able to sample some of the world's finest chocolate. The chocolate here was of the highest quality and was smooth as silk. Luckily, I didn't have to wait years down the road when I finally got around to Paris to experience good eats like this!

The Original Soupman

Surely everyone has seen that episode of Seinfeld in which the crew covets this amazing soup from an amazing New York vendor who has the tendencies of a Nazi as far as service is concerned. This is the real soup that inspired that actual episode and it was being sold right in Manhattan without a line and without the hellishness portrayed in that episode. The lobster bisque is definitely worth checking out and in addition you get a piece of bread, fruit, and chocolate in the form a tootsie roll. Can't beat that!

I Heart New York!!! Part Two

The amazing spread of food continued to pour in for the duration of the trip and I welcomed it with open arms! While on the plane ride, I had roughly mapped out all the stereotypical New York foods I needed to have and then I set out to try as much as I could during my stay. My mental list grew and grew, until I realized that I only had so many meals to cover the entire thing! I decided that I needed to prioritize and try only the finest and most authentic foods NY had to offer.

On the west coast, the closest thing we have to a New York bagel is Noah's Bagels, with its pseudo-subway station decor and sarcastic placement of Jewish words on its menu. I prefer Noah's over any other bagelry within my neighborhood, but I was eager to see what New York had to offer. As we exited the subway station, I was ecstatic to see what stood across the street:





H&H Bagel showcased what they knew how to do best: Bagels. Upon entering the shop, a warm humid gust of air rushed to my face and delivered a scent of bagel heaven. A giant, rotating oven was in view to all customers as they waited to purchase their goods. The list items was simple; bagels, bagels and more bagels. Varieties included just the basics such as plain, garlic, sourdough, blueberry and cinnamon raisin. Being a San Francisco native, I opted to try the sourdough bagel. Topped off with some smoked whitefish salad from Zabar's, the bagel was absolutely everything I could have hoped for in a bagel. The crunchy exterior was countered with a chewy and airy interior with a slight hint of tartness. The coarse crumb of the bagel complimented the salty, smoky whitefish perfectly. I responded to perfection by devouring the bagel within seconds (OK, maybe it took me a minute to chew)!

Following my stop at the bagelry, was a visit to the Museum of Natural History located just across from Central Park. Scaling four floors of artifacts and dioramas built up quite the afternoon appetite and since I wanted try an authentic NY deli-style sandwich, we headed back to Zabar's to fulfill my craving.



Zabar's is a specialty market that is a gastronomer's dream come true. As I walked in the doors, the smell of aging cheese and salted olive brine rushed to my nose and I knew that I had arrived at one of New York's favorite local markets. For me, the highlights of this market were definitely centered around the full service lox bar and of course the delicatessen. I had never seen a full service counter quite like this one before. About 25 varieties of smoked fish lined a refrigerated case that was manned by two clerks. Each clerk wielded a filet knife which he used to slice paper thin sheets of the desired fish for each customer. The counter definitely opened my eyes to all the possibilities of smoked seafood, but I guess it was only natural, seeing as how New Yorkers a good accompaniment to a good bagel.

Just ahead of the lox counter stood the delicatessen counter that included a full hot case of entrees, lunchmeats, cheeses, and of course a strudel and knish counter. There were 5 clerks running around frantically from case to slicer and all up and down the aisle serving customer after customer after customer. After a brief glance at the menu, it was clear that there was only one choice for me: the #1 Combination Sandwich, an inventive mix of corned beef, pastrami and sliced tongue served with sauerkraut, russian dressing and swiss cheese. I've always been a fan of reuben sandwiches, so this was an easy choice. The suspense built as the clerk carefully layered each meat on top of the other until the sandwich grew to two and a half inches thick! As he handed me the sandwich, I informed him that I came all the way from California for a good New York deli sandwich and assured me that I had come to the right guy. He was right! The chewy rye bread matched the tang from the dressing and saltiness from the meats in perfect harmony. The sauerkraut and onions on the sandwich topped it all off and made for one heck of a sandwich. I sat on a bench in the middle of the street and watched the world whizz by as I wolfed down the amazing work of art. On that day, I was reminded of two things: I heart New York and I heart sandwiches!

I Heart New York!!! Part One

I am lover of food and travel alike, so when the opportunity arose to visit Mark in New York, I knew I had to jump on it! I had always heard great stories about the amazing food of the Big Apple and I couldn't wait to engorge myself with everything it had to offer! Motivated by numerous Seinfeld food references and pure hunger, I roamed the streets excitedly awaiting culinary adventures on every corner.

My first stop in New York was probably the most classy, but it didn't stop me from walking into the establishment in flip flops and a t-shirt. For my very first meal in New York, we chose to dine at Les Halles, owned by Mr. Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain. The dining room was adorned with dimly lit chandeliers, a dark mahogany bar and crystal wine glasses atop white linen tables. The sophisticated dining room was matched with a traditional French menu that featured all the classics. Of these classics, we chose French Onion Soup, Mussels simmered in White Wine and Garlic, and the amazingly decadent Fois Gras.


The star of the show was definitely the engorged goose liver aka Fois Gras which was sauteed and served with an apple brandy (Calavados) reduction and sauteed apples. I had fois gras for the first time at Nobu inside of the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel and boy was it amazing. My conscience told me to avoid such a rich dish for my first meal which happened to be lunch, but the devil on my shoulder nudged me on to order it, and so I did. Fois gras itself is amazing on its own and has the flavor profile of the fat of prime rib with the texture of smooth liver. The sauteeing process added a slight caramelized crunchiness to the skin and the apple brandy complimented it with sweetness and a slight bitterness. When eaten with the sauteed apples, the fois gras was slice of heaven on earth. As one takes a bite of fois gras, all they can do is simply close their eyes and smile, and we did just that! As we left Les Halles, my stomach and mind were both extremely satisfied. The first stop on my adventure was a success and I eagerly awaited what was to come.

The day's excursion continued with a visit to Bleecker Street located in Greenwich Village. With a slide of the MetroPass and a few blocks of walking, we found ourselves amidst culinary masterpieces of every sort. The jungle-like humid heat signaled us to solicit the nearest source of AC for an extended period of time. Following our noses, we found a small ice cream parlor called Cones and parked there until further notice. The everchanging menu had a variety of flavors, many with South American influence (derived from the origins of the two owners). After sampling a few of the flavors (including Brazilian Corn), I decided to go with a fat free Andean Blackberry sorbet. Although my palette wasn't sensitive enough to detect the difference between the American blackberry and the Andean blackberry, I sucked down the delicious sorbet instantly. It was a perfect trio of sweetness, tartness, and most importantly at the time, coldness.

Refreshed by the sorbet, we continued to scout out the 200-400 blocks of Bleecker Street. Along the way, I just so happened to fall in love with diversity of gourmet foods surrounding me! For the cheese fans, there was the sample-friendly Murray's Cheese Shop that wielded every possible variety of cheese, domestic and international. Next door, there was an Italian deli that made their own coppa, prosciutto and mozzarella in house. Dessert was just across the street at Rocco's, an Italian bakery that featured an very tasty handmade cannoli that was filled to order. Within just two blocks in this neighborhood, there was a fanciful array of gourmet goodness proving to me that the first day of my gastronomic adventure was definitely just the tip of the iceberg. Many more exciting stops were to come...

Island Style Sushi

Ever since the tender age of 3, I've been wolfing down sushi like nobody's business. My expensive, yet expansive palette has brought me to sushi bars of all shapes, sizes, and quality. I find that I am an equal opportunity eater of sushi. I give equal respect to both large rolls slathered in sauce and ocean fresh sashimi and nigiri sushi. Whenever there's a debate about where my next meal is going to be at, it is safe to say that my default choice will always be a good sushi joint.

During my venture out to the Kokua Festival in Waikiki, Oahu, my friend, Mark and I found ourselves searching for a simple, yet fulfilling dinner on our last night. Upon browsing some local websites, I uncovered a seemingly decent joint called Akasaka Sushi. According to local reviews, the place was everything you'd expect from your local sushi bar: typical, traditional Americanized menu, 10 tables, in a small strip mall. With a couple clicks and an address, we were on our way to the restaurant in our classy rental car (a beatup green Geo Tracker for $25 a day).

Just as we were driving down the main street, rain drops fell onto our barren car top and I crossed my fingers that we would find the place soon. Sure enough, we turned the corner and I saw the signage for the sushi bar with a couple of other notable business surrounding it. To the left of the sushi bar was a billiards hall complete with a bar, dark lighting and a kind of sleazy slum feeling to it. To the left of the billiard hall, was none other than a strip club! Most excellent! Could you ask for a better setting for an amazing sushi joint? I think not!



Remaining optimistic, Mark and I entered the restaurant and sat down at the sushi bar. A host resembling a used car salesman served us our drinks and immediately went back to his cubby hole where he seemed to be conducting business unrelated to the restaurant. Despite the shadiness of it, we proceeded to order our sushi from the man behind the bar. In a matter of minutes, Toro (fatty tuna belly), Amaebi (sweet raw shrimp), and Saba (marinated mackerel) appeared before us. I took a sip of my favorite sake and then proceeded to dive in and devour each piece of fish like nobody's business. Each piece of fish was excellent and was prepared just as I knew it back in the states. Unbeknownst to me, the saba took me by surprise and whisked me away to heaven on Earth. The fish was amazingly tender and velvety with an amazing flavor that I will never forget. The fish literally took my breath away to the point where I ordered 6 pieces for just myself! I had to know what made the fish so amazing and luckily my shotty Japanese (3 years in High School, thank you very much) and the sushi chef's muffled English was enough to get me my answer. He informed me that they marinated the mackerel onsite instead of purchasing it pre-marinated. The process of flavoring the fish was very simple, involving only fresh seaweed and salt which enhanced the fish's natural fatty goodness. I'm a self-proclaimed saba afficionado and hands down, this was the best saba I'd ever had in my life.



The rest of our meal was rounded out with more sushi and a decadent salmon belly shioyaki (grilled with salt). The richness of this meal definitely hit the spot for the night and both Mark and I went home happy! I was thorougly impressed with this local joint nestled in between a bit of sleaziness! It was a great gastronomical experience that really epitomized the cliche, "don't judge a book by its cover."

Short Ribs with a side of...

Every imaginable pickled vegetable you can think of! That sums up one of my most favorite Korean restaurants called "Korea House." No joke, if you are hungry and you have about $15 in your pocket, you should go to this establishment and plan on eating your next meal in 2 days. The amount of food that this place gives you is absolutely amazing. It's nothing short of a buffet (and ironically they have an all you can eat lunch buffet as well). All have to do is order one entree and then begins the non-stop extravaganza of goodness!



My personal choice of entree is a salted mackerel similar to saba shioyaki in a Japanese restaurant. I'd estimate the fat content of a cooked mackerel to be equivalent to a stick of butter. The fish oozes with fatty goodness when it hits your lips and is absolutely amazing right down to the salty, crispy skin. 2nd, but not too far behind is the treasured short rib also known as kal bi. I have always hated getting my hands dirty while I'm eating, but the meat on these short ribs is too good to pass up. The soft cartilage around the bones and the tender, juicy beefy meat is FANTASTIC. Man, I love food.



Now for a few details on the side dishes... as I said before, a dozen little plates come out with your entree and boy, are they amazing! My favorite dishes include a roasted seaweed, pickled cucumbers, bean sprouts in sesame oil, and a peculiar white jello flavored with seaweed and sesame oil. Tack on a couple bowls of rice, and I'd call it a nite, a very very full nite!

Korea House, Santa Clara, California

Price of Heavenly Bliss = $44.00 a Pound

In my 22 years of life, I have made an effort to experience the world using one of my favorite senses, TASTE. As you can imagine, that means I've had the chance to eat a whole lot of food! I love all types of food, but there are definitely very specific items that stick out in my mind that have left an amazing lasting impression upon me. It's those special foods that trigger absolute happiness in my life, so I've decided to spread the happiness and share my experiences with you. And so begins a trail of posts that will chronicle some of my favorite foods I've had the pleasure of devouring!

There are so many foods I could begin with, but I figure that there's no wrong in starting the journey with a story about chocolate. When I was 16, I got my first retail job inside of Macy's Downtown San Francisco location. Tucked in between the food court and homewares section was the Neuhaus Chocolatier counter where I would remain in employment for a whopping 3 months. The counter was small and carried about 30-40 different varieties of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, marzipans, liquers, and whatever else you could think of. Each piece was imported from Belgium and made from amazingly fresh ingredients that had very short shelf lives.






This was the kind of fancy schmancy chocolate shop that was boutiquish and served as the sole supplier of gifts (which I gift wrapped and tied up with a pretty bow) for hopeful boyfriends on their first dates. If I wasn't an employee there, there wasn't a chance I'd ever be caught dead buying chocolate from this joint. $44 a pound on chocolate wasn't exactly my cup of tea at 16 years old. On the contrary, I did work at the shop and in order to become proficient in selling, I'd need to establish some product knowledge by the tried and true method of, you guessed it... SAMPLING!



In the span of three months that I was there, I tried everything I could get my grubby little paws on. Hands down, my favorite piece of chocolate from the collection was called the Caprice. Heavenly bliss being sold at $44 a pound meant that my little escape from the real world came out to about $2.50 for one piece of chocolate. The $2.50 was well worth it though. It began with a slightly bitter dark chocolate shell with a thin layer of toffee nougatine on the inside. The nougatine had the texture of rock candy with the flavor of perfectly browned caramel. The very inner core of the chocolate was the moneymaker. Underneath the chocolate nougatine shell, there was the most amazing fresh cream. The cream was extremely buttery and creamy with a hint of vanilla. Put it all together, and you get Neuhaus' Caprice, an amazing combination of all that is good in this world. If you ever get yourself to a Neuhaus, you must try this "to-die-for" piece of chocolate!

All in a day's work...

When I was in school, people always asked me the age old question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I never had a sureshot answer, but I knew for sure that whatever I got into, would have to have some relationship with food. Flash forward to June 2007 and here I am, a bacheolor of science, food science to be exact and on top of that, I work for Fortune Magazine's #13 Best Place to Work in the US. Where is that you ask? The answer is the Nugget Market, based out of Davis, CA.

#13 Best Company To Work For

Though I may be a slightly biased opinion, I'll have to admit that shopping at the Nugget is an amazing food experience. Any supermarket that you can have your choice of 400 specialty cheeses, amazing handmade danishes and croissants as well as conventional toilet paper and cheerios is not a bad place to be. It's the best of both worlds; Super Walmart meets Whole Foods Market is how I like to describe it.

My stint in the deli was just supposed to be a summer time gig, which then turned into a part time gig while I was a student, which then became my full time job. I've been in the kitchen for just about 2 years now and I am absolutely loving it. I've learned so much about food and my tastebuds have definitely become accustomed to good food. I'm a self-proclaimed sandwich queen, salsa queen, cookie baker, and soon to be master of vinaigrettes. Sure, the titles may sound cheesily stupid, but when food is on brain as it is with me, they sound amazing. Every single day at work is grueling and strenuous, but it's worth my time since I get to play with food all day. I also get to work in the bakery from time to time, and here are some of my prized projects...





Here are my Top 5 Favorite items that I get to make every week:

1) Roasted Tomato Pesto
2) Italian Combination Sandwich (Prosciutto, Italian Dry Salami, Soppressata, Ham, Swiss Cheese)
3) Roasted Tomato Pasilla Salsa
4) Tropical Salsa (Mangos, Papayas, Jicama, Bell Pepper, Onions, Habanero, Cilantro)
5) Quiche

Come on by the store in Davis if you ever get a chance and experience a slice of heaven in the form of a sandwich!