Right after the Master Chef audition, I got on the plane the next day for the Fancy Food show. I was glad I attended the show. Never seen so much food with terms like: organic, antioxidant, gluten-free, L-Theanine, cancer-prevention, omega-7 and on and on. All of these medical terms make me think that any future chef or food manufacturer needs to have at least one year in medical school to make sense of these new and 'magical' ingredients.
We got the chance to meet with founders/producers of wonderful products. It is interesting to hear stories from an IT professional who got tired of the technology world and turned his attention, skills into producing sauce (not me....it is a guy we met who resides in San Diego, CA). I met the family of a Vietnamese famliy who produces miso sauce because the father used to work in a Japanese restaurant. Now, his two sons are working very hard to push the sauces to market. Many stories are so inspiring and they make me feel that I am in the right 'company' with our sauces.
Overall, there were some wonderful products and there were some that will need major improvement. There were more than 2000 exhibitors so you can imagine how much food was there. On the last day, the vendors practically 'begged' people to take all the food for free so they don't have to ship them back. That would be something we will do next year....bring a big box to collect all these free food. Jeff and I are thinking seriously about exhibiting next year and submitting a few of our sauces for the SOFI competition. But before that, I am going to put some 'refinement touches' to some of the sauces to make me feel that we do have the very best products.
Other highlight of my trip was to see my sister and brother and their families. We saw each other on Xmas holiday but it was so nice seeing them again - less hectic this time - so it was so nice.
One of my trip's mission is also to have lunch/dinner at the Slanted Door - my obssessed eating establishment. I also wanted to check out the sister/brother establishments of Slanted Door called Out of the Door. Then also wanted to check out Heaven's Dog - the Chinese establishment from the same famed owner of the Slanted Door - Charles Phan. Why am I so obssessed, you asked. Well, Mr. Phan was an architect in his previous life and turned into the most successful Vietnamese restaurateur that I know of. Granted, my knowledge might not be one-and-only but they are very close to reality (as I have done extensive research). His Slant Door restaurant has one of the highest gross revenue in San Francisco/Bay Area/California...That is impressive given the fact that he was not a trained chef, did not work in the restaurant at the age of 3, did not have much money to start with. I read so much about him and his establishments (in Food & Wine, Saveur, all restaurant reviews in San Francisco...) that I am obssessed and it was a MUST to eat at Slanted Door.
Okay, it was not as good as I dreamed it. Besides the sticker-shock (lunch for two without any beverage was $62.70), the food was alright but did not compel me to run into their kitchen and ask if Mr. Phan is around (or his Mom) so that I can kiss their hands out of amazement. We had their famous Shaking Beef and they were okay. The filet mignon was dried and they could use more seasonings. Actually there was so little sauce that my sister and I had to scrape the bottom to coat the cubes with. We also had the cabbage salad with peanut sauce - which gave me the inspiration to use our popular Coconut Peanut sauce for. We also ordered my favorite Lemon Grass Chicken but neither of us was impressed with the dish. It was a bit salty for our taste, on the dry side and lack of lemon grass aroma I was anticipating. We got a complimentary eggplant stir-fry dish. It was good - a nice balance from other saltier dish that we had. But not all was lost. The place is amazing in term of the view. You got the view of the Bay and the water seem to be just a few feet away. It is located in the Ferry building right on Embacardero street and the bustling activities inside the Ferry Building at various food stores made you feel like you want to be there - no matter what the cost. Anyway, the service was great (it was so interesting to see close to 20 servers for lunch). Would I go back and try more dishes? Yes, I would and did! About two hours later, we wondered around Market street and at my insistence (and at my sister's dismay); we stopped at Out of The Door so I ordered one of my childhood favorite called Daikon Cake - pan fried rice cake (I know, it sounds all carb and carb and might not at all be what Douglas County people would consider good food)...They were good. Not great but good enough to take me back to the time when I was a young girl in Viet Nam and had these cakes on a daily basis. That cake spurred another inspiration for me - which is to introduce them to our daughters once I get back.
So, all and all, it was a wonderful trip. Mission accomplished!
Here are a few pictures from SF.
Me - in front of the patio of the Slanted Door
Slanted Door's Shaking Beef (lunch - $28)
Lemon grass chicken (Lunch $18)
The salad (We love!)
The Cheese shop in Ferry Building (feel so Paris to me - which is a good thing...)
