As I mentioned before, I went out to California for work - we're having a big event there in 2015 and many venues are wining and dining us to get our business. We were wined and dined (and snacked) a lot last week. Here are some of the highlights (actually, since I'm so longwinded, I'm going to have to divide the food chat into more than one post. I need to work on my longwindedness):
Wednesday, we landed in San Diego, then drove about a half hour out to Rancho Bernardo. This is a spectacular resort and they pulled out all the stops to attract our business. We arrived a little early, and our rooms weren't quite ready, so we stopped at their Veranda restaurant for lunch. Veranda is a lovely, airy spot, looking over the beautifully manicured golf course on site, and you can also see the mountains. It's very peaceful and serene. I got the grilled chicken sandwich - it came on a ciabatta roll, which was so delicious, and it also had a pico de gallo on it, alongside guacamole and bacon. I asked them to leave off the cilantro aioli, which seemed like gilding the lily to me. It also came with a basket of fries, which I was happy to share. This was a very substantial sandwich and I couldn't quite eat it all, but it was also very yummy. It was a nice food start to my trip. 
Rancho Bernardo gave us all spa treatments, which were INCREDIBLE, and then we met near one of the fire pits for a cocktail and nibblies before the special dinner the chef was preparing for us. I decided to hold off on the alcohol (for the moment) and asked the charming bartender for a ginger ale. He then preceeded to show me how to make a ginger ale when you don't have ginger ale (did you all know this? I had no idea!). You fill a glass about three-fourths full with a clear soda (he used Sierra Mist), then put in a splash of Pepsi until the drink was the color of ginger ale. And it tasted like ginger ale! I couldn't believe it! Well, maybe not as gingery, but still good! I was quite happy to have learned something new.
After snacking and drinking and chatting, we moved into the private dining room at Rancho Bernardo in their AVANT restaurant. There we were served an incredibly delicious five-course meal. Well, a four-course meal plus an amuse bouche. I believe you all know how I love an amuse bouche. That first taste we were presented was totally amazing: it was a spoon with orange blossom water, on top of which was a small piece of uni, then a tender young pea shoot, some proscuitto and a pickled pepper. WOW! That little spoon packed such a big punch of flavor, it was incredible! We got everything in one bite - spicy, salty, crunchy, soft, acidic. Really terrific. 
The second course was to be a sashimi of tuna. Well, I do not eat tuna. I'm shuddering just thinking about it. So I asked to substitute for something/anything. They brought me a very nice heirloom beet and citrus salad. It was enormous! It also had green goddess dressing, hibiscus and pumpernickel crumbs. I have to admit that I didn't adore this salad as much as I did the other courses. I found it a bit one-note and thought it could perhaps use some acid or something. But maybe it was just because there was so much of it, I got a tad bored. Anyway, it was yummy, but not my favorite.
The next course WAS my favorite - the bob white quail done two ways, served over a sweet corn risotto. it was served with some cipollini and picked blackberry. Jeepers, this was SOOOOOOO yummy!!! It hit all my high notes. The quail was beautifully seasoned and so tender, the corn risotto was earthy yet light, and that pickled blackberry could've been my absolute favorite taste of the whole weekend! So good. 
Next (and I was starting to slow down here - these were pretty big portions for a four-course meal) was the "pure" lamb loin, served with whipped chickpeas, eggplant, charred cauliflower and a harissa sauce. This dish was also incredibly delicious. So rich, but so good. And the harissa was an excellent spicy counterpoint to all the other richness. 
This dinner was an incredible start to our trip in Southern California. Already, on the first night, I felt like I had eaten enough for the whole weekend. Oh, but I was wrong. There was much much more to come. Enjoy the close-up photo of the brandied cherry bacon lollipops below, won't you?? I'll be back... :)
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