Santa Barbara Weekend

I can't believe I had the pleasure of living in this beautiful place for 4 years. With each visit back, I discover treasures of SB to which I was completely oblivious (as a resident). Maksimus and I drove down for the weekend. We stayed on the beach, walked everywhere, the weather was perfect! A handful of photos below and the rest on Flickr.

Sambo's for brunch.


That Bloody Mary packed with a KICK. Uh. Enough to get the day started if you know what I mean ;)


Some sort of a parade was happening at same time...






We walked the peer. The homeless in SB are a creative bunch:





Ahh...Memories!


Day 2: "Sightseeing"



Santa Barbara Old Mission - Museum


View the entire album @ Flickr

Happy Birthday to Alex G

The Director matured another year. Here is a brief clip, of the happy crew returning from an awesome dinner-with-a-view at the Carnelian Room.

Upcoming Event: FESTA DI TARTUFI BIANCHI DI ALBA

Below is the sample menu for the Truffle Week that I mentioned in the Upcoming Events section (on the left). I am planning to make reservations for either 11th, 12th or 13th. If you are interested in attending what is promised to be an amazing dinner/evening, keep your eyes peeled for the Evite - within the next couple of weeks.

FESTA DI TARTUFI BIANCHI DI ALBA
BOTTEGA RISTORANTE
December 7-13th, 2009
$95per person / $130 with wine pairing

STUZZICHINO

Truffled Chestnut Vellutata

Deltetto, Spumante Brut, Piemonte


ANTIPASTO

Crispy organic farm egg with Truffle and Tallegio fonduta, braised spinach and grilled brioche

2008 Vietti Roero Arneis, Piemonte


PESCE

Sauteed San Pietro with Truffle and Fingerling potato puree
warm frisee insalatina with Truffle vinaigrette

2007 la Scolca, Gavi di Gavi, ‘Black Label’, Piemonte


PASTA

Howell Mountain Porcini Mushroom and Truffle Fettucine

2006 Bruno Rocca, Barbera d’Alba, Piemonte


CARNE

Tournedos Rossini alla Bottega Piedmontese filet mignon, Truffle Duck Liver pâté and Truffle Marsala jus

2004 Elio Altare, Barolo, La Morra, Piemonte


DOLCI

Blood Orange Tortino with meringue baci

2008 La Spinetta, Moscato d’Asti, Piemonte

----

YUM!

Napa Valley On A Whim

I woke last Thursday morning with a strong desire to drink wine and eat amazing food. Consequently, I got in my car and drove to Napa - Pasha joined me. Little did I know, this was going to be his FIRST time EVER visiting Napa Valley. I was thrilled to be apart of his adventurous journey!

Monty, the food connoisseur that he is, recommended Bottega Ristorante and we obliged. The rest is history!







Pecorino cheese pudding with crispy soft-boiled egg & forno roasted rapini. The flavors were delicate yet refined.


Burrata Creamy mozzarella burrata with roasted butternut squash, caramelized mushroom & shallots, brown butter vinaigrette, balsamic caviar. My favorite dish. Flavor profiles worked very well together; each component was isolated so well, it was as if your taste buds were able to explore ingredients individually.


Cream of cauliflower. WOW.


Unfortunately, due to my 'carnivorous' appetite that afternoon, the last dish did not make it on camera :) Trust me when I say, "It was orgasmic!".

We decided to walk around town and explore a bit.




Bouchon Bakery! Forggettaboutit! NOT!





Domaine Carneros. What a wonderful way to end an amazing day! Check out the rest of the album on Flickr!

"Spontaneity" Is Our Middle Name

The yellows met the green and the adventure began! We started the day off with a 5, 7 and a 9 iron @ the driving range. Here are the results...
Misha, the expert

Sasha taking a peak at a neighbor for some tips

I most definitely underestimated the difficulty of this sport! Awkward at first, proved to be quite a fun activity!

130 balls later we found ourselves at Whole Foods. We walked away with $100 worth of good food and great wine and were off to the secret location Sasha found on her iPhone...and what a location!!!

Max's $13 sandwich. Contents included ham, turkey, salmon, veggies and much much more. It was a mouth-full, literally...

We learned about our future friend, Kesha. Um, Kesha, if you're reading this...I have a few ideas for the $80M, call me!

Misha's wondering whether Kesha would entertain the idea of purchasing that boat...

I was thinking something along these lines...

This is just the tip of the iceberg:

Here we go...

Misha: "Sasha! What are you doing?! Do it like she's doing it!"

Um

Crazy Couture Pose

We made a tent...and Max almost fell off the cliff...

Then we saw something out yonder...

Can you find what we were looking at? (Hint: white)


Fishing for crab, almost

Almost...


This ended in scrapes and bruises...

Driving back to SF

We got hungry...and thirsty

Really thirsty!

Cheers!


Lets do it all again soon!