Fans, friends, and hungry wayward folks – please change bookmarks and go to the new meatmeister (http:/meat-meister.com/), which has better functionality for you to save, add RSS feeds, or forward; plus more stories (and archives), and some interesting surprises coming in fall. Thanks!
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
23 Jun
Beef Bavette (Spruce, SF)
Beef Bavette
The grilled beef bavette steak at Spruce is thick-sliced and flayed out like meaty arrows. dipped in Bordelaise and ready to pierce your taste buds. What an amazing steak; this is one of the best of 2009. The richness of Bordelaise (sauce made from bone marrow, red wine, and broth) soaking the beef bavette can [...]
3 May
New York Steak – Steak Frites
New York Steak – Garcon, San Francisco
Garcon is sadly overlooked as a favored French bistro in San Francisco. But they should be more known because owner Jerome Rivoire and his crew at Garcon serve up some pretty great food. The grilled New York steak is one example. Appropriately rare and wrapped with a dripping coat [...]
4 Apr
Steak Tartine (Redd, Yountville)
Steak Tartine
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The Dish: Steak Tartine
This is probably superstar chef Richard Reddington’s version of a burger & fries. The New York steak tartine, rare and thick-sliced, is mesmerizing in its tenderness, flavor, and juiciness. A bit of aioli and balsamic onions make the small open-faced bites of beef and bread drool-making. The onion rings are perfect, [...]
4 Apr
Roasted Duck Breast (Big Sur Bakery, Big Sur CA)
Wood-Fired Duck Breast
The Dish: Wood-Fired Duck Breast
This is a near-perfect duck dish, and among top duck dishes I ate in 2008. Something about roasting a bird with a wood-fired oven or grill captures the real essence and flavors of meat exceptionally well, and chef Philip Wojtowicz has really mastered the technique in all the great meat [...]
4 Apr
Wood-Fired Pork Shoulder (Big Sur)
Wood-Fired Pork Shoulder
The Dish: Pork Shoulder
Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant offers fantastic dishes of meat, wood-grilled and roasted to enhance each meat’s warm, rich, and natural flavors. Their roasted pork shoulder is an absolutely awesome plate, grilled with a smattering of whole-grain mustard aioli. You can pick your choice of sides from several great seasonal [...]
4 Apr
Lamb Shank (Ralph’s Bistro, Healdsburg CA)
Lamb Shank
On any given winter evening, I’m somewhat prone to order hearty things like ossobuco or lamb shank for dinner. It’s superb comfort food and, in most good Italian, Continental, or New American restaurants, it’s a safe bet. Ralph’s Bistro serves up a very good lamb shank, with well-integrated flavors and decent portions for the price. [...]
4 Apr
Braised Shortribs (Redd, Yountville CA)
Ribs – Braised Beef Shortrib
The Dish: Beef Ribs (Braised Beef Shortrib)
The braised beef shortribs at Redd in Yountville is a terrific beef plate. This beef shortrib is smartly braised, and each bite tingles the palate, which dismounts with a sharp, tangy surprise via the delicate horseradish crust. The rich rib gravy is dark as [...]
4 Apr
Redd Restaurant, Yountville CA
The Spot: Redd, Yountville CA
With all the great restaurants in Northern California’s wine country, it’s hard for visitors to discern which are hype and which are worth the ‘I’m in wine country on vacation so I won’t squawk at the bill’ type of pleasure that all the restaurants here should provide. Thankfully, I found every [...]