Culinary Muse

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

With a glass of bubbly raised high we toast you, dear readers, and thank you for making 2006 a great year. Chocolate beckoned the Muse this year and we followed. What a glorious path it has become and one that we look forward to following. May the coming year bring us all good health, peace of mind and may all our chocolate dreams come true.

LA TERRASSE RESTAURANT & BAR OPENS IN THE PRESIDIO

Every so often you want to enjoy a very late lunch that melts into dinner. It is hard to find a restaurant that happily serves lunch after 2:30. And even if you arrive at 2:00 the wait staff stares at you and declares ‘lunch is over at 2:30'. Well, yes, but it is only 2. Then they huff, shrug their shoulders, take you to a table, toss the menu down and practically make you sign a document that says you will eat really fast, and leave a big tip. This happened recently to the Muse at a certain café that I have been frequenting since 1993. I was not amused. But I digress.....

So who will get my afternoon business now? The warm and inviting LA TERRASSE RESTAURANT AND BAR in the Presidio. We rolled in at 2:30 yesterday (lots of parking) and were greeted with smiles and our choice of any table in the house. When I noticed a pair of tipsy Pacific Heights gals finishing off a bottle of champagne I immediately fell in love with the place. I can appreciate any restaurant that hosts this kind of joie de vie in the middle of the afternoon.

And the food? French Bistro fare. We went for the classics. A beautiful butter lettuce salad, steak frites (with the HOTTEST frites I have ever had), and a pan seared chicken breast that was every bit as good as the one at Chez Panisse Café. In the spirit of a classic French bistro, they serve food all day long. The menu changes depending on the time of day but you will not go hungry whatever hour you walk in. And something tells me this is the sort of restaurant that you could order a bottle of champagne at 8 am and they would be delighted to accommodate. The wonderful thing about a bistro is that they are a food oasis for you at almost any hour of the day. We need this in our hectic urban lives. We wish La Terrasse well....

ROBIN WILLIAMS, LIVE!

Drop everything and go directly to BIMBO'S 365 CLUB WEBSITE. Tickets went on sale 15 minutes ago. They have just announced two more evenings with Robin Williams - Working on Material.  Mr. Muse and I attended last week's performance. Genius. Two hours, non-stop.  What is this guy on?  Sheer talent and a wave of creativity that is unstoppable.  Hurry as the $25.00 tickets will sell out fast with all proceeds going to charity. Have dinner at FIOR D'ITALIA as we did.  Like a scene out of 'Moonstruck'.  The waiter told us that Robin Williams eats there. Could this be true?  Find out for yourself.

HOLIDAY MUSIC JUST FOR US

We at Culinary Muse are very spoiled.  We listen to commercial free jazz radio all day long on KCSM JAZZ 91.  But at this time of year we get an urge to saturate ourselves in non-stop holiday music now and then. Where can we turn? Our holiday CDs are limited to Charlie Brown's Christmas and we can only listen to that choir of children's voices once or twice a day before we begin to feel like wringing one of their pudgy little cartoon necks. Then there is that 'All Holiday Music' radio station.  They do a good job of mixing up contemporary and classic holiday pieces but there are just too many commercials.  And those too jolly, talking heads in the morning are more than we can deal with without a scotch in our hand. Even we know 6:00 a.m. is too early to drink.  The solution? Tune into CHRISTMAS 94109. As we post, Peggy Lee is singing 'Happy Holiday' to us. Cheers!

MENU FOR HOPE III COUNTDOWN

Hurry and buy a raffle ticket for one of the wonderful prizes being offered this year in the third annual 'Menu for Hope' fundraising campaign.  This year's funds will help support the UNITED NATIONS WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME.  Food bloggers from all around the world get together and raise money for hunger relief.  Here are two blogs where you can find out more about this worthy event: CHEZ PIM MENU FOR HOPE and BECKS & POSH MENU FOR HOPE PRIZE LIST.  What a great gift for a foodie friend!  The last day to bid is Friday, December 22.

PARTY WITH THE WILD WOMEN OF KCSM JAZZ RADIO

You are down to the final stretch of the obligatory holiday gatherings.  Just last night you sat next to your spouse's boss as he told you, again, the story of how he founded his company 30 years ago.  This is the fifth straight year you have heard the same story.  Just as you were about to recite the story back to him, word for word, your spouse grabbed you and whisked you out the door. You are now under holiday house arrest.  And frankly, you are relieved because you get to enjoy the ultimate holiday release in the privacy of your own home.  That would be the 14th annual 'Wild Women Don't Get the Blues' Holiday party brought to you on KCSM JAZZ RADIO 91.1 on your FM dial.  Alisa Clancy and Kathleen Lawton are your hosts. Tonight at 9 p.m... This is the radio station the Muse listens to all day long.  Great jazz, no commercials.  Become a member tonight!

SCOTCH AND CHOCOLATE?

A perfect winter's evening pairing. Our rainy and foggy weather in San Francisco for the last few days just begs to be enjoyed with a warming glass of scotch and a nibble of chocolate. When choosing a scotch to pair with chocolate, go for the smoother single malts or less assertive blends like Johnnie Walker Red. One of our favorites is OBAN, a West Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Being from one of Scotland’s six Malt Whiskey making regions, it blends the sea air character of the Island malts with the soft, fruity style of the Highlands. So smooth. We like to pair it with Guittard’s 72% cacao dark chocolate or a fruity Dagoba 59% cacao. The city’s best selections of scotch can be found at William Glen & Son, 360 Sutter Street, SF, 94108, 415.989.5458.

FINE CHARLES CHOCOLATES ON SALE!

CHARLES CHOCOLATES is offering a 'friends and family' discount of 25% on their entire line of chocolates.  Unbelievable.  But not really if you have ever had the pleasure of meeting the generous folks who bring us these delicious artisan chocolates. And any friend of the Culinary Muse is a friend of Charles'. Consider their SIGNATURE EDIBLE CHOCOLATE BOX of elegant tea infused chocolates for your most cherished friends and clients. Be sure to check out the P.M.S. ASSORTMENT for your best girlfriends. The sale continues through Friday, December 15. ON LINE ORDERS ONLY. 

WELCOME BIONDIVINO!

biondivino is a new wine boutique that opened last week in the Russian Hill neighborhood. While the collection of boutique wines is truly divine, it was the collection of AMEDEI ITALIAN CHOCOLATE FROM TUSCANY that had this Muse gasping for air. There is no other place in San Francisco that is carrying the breadth of this great chocolate house. Hurry in before we buy everything! And while you are there be sure to have owner, Ceri Smith, suggest a bottle or two of wine for dinner tonight. Wine prices start at $11.00 and most are in the less than $25.00 range. What you save on wine can be spent on chocolate...biondivino is at 1415 Green Street, between Polk and Van Ness. 415.673.2320.

TARTINE COOKBOOK ARRIVES!

There are lots of delicious ways to spend a morning. For some it is remaining in bed with the covers pulled over their head, a loved one snuggled up close. For others it is the morning ritual of coffee making. Pouring the water in the electric kettle and turning it on. Grinding the coffee beans. Putting away the clean dinner dishes while the kettle heats up. For a lucky few it means throwing on a fleece jacket and heading down the street to TARTINE BAKERY. The light streams in the front windows. The counter is brimming full of just out of the oven delicacies. Are the scones out of the oven yet? What about the croissants? Morning buns? A quiet hum pervades. All is good in the world....And if you can’t get to Tartine every morning? The next best thing is TARTINE COOKBOOK just published by Chronicle Books.