America

Sniffing Around in the Dogpatch

by Reb Stevenson on March 9, 2012

The big sights are easy to figure out. Just ask any tourist bureau or consult a run-of-the-mill travel guide.

It’s the little gems that require a bit more insight. The shop with the local crafts. The hole-in-the-wall restaurant with the wicked good tacos. The weird niche museum in someone’s basement.

That’s why a personalized tour curated by guides with good taste is a welcome addition to any trip of mine.

In San Francisco, I got that with Carried Away. Carried Away is Vikki and Dianne (above), a couple of passionate San Francisco mavens.

Their tours are super intimate – never exceeding four people – and range from “Snacker’s Delight” (an odyssey of local bites) to “Town and Country” (San Francisco highlights combined with Marin County).

Another doozy is “Welcome to the Neighbourhood,” an expedition that delves into ‘hoods that only locals tend to frequent. A good example is Dogpatch, a trendy, former working-class area that survived the 1906 earthquake and fire. Here are some of the highlights of Dogpatch that Vicky and Dianne pointed out:

1. Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous Ice Cream

Ian and Annabelle announce their daily flavours on their Facebook page. It might be something like “The Ballpark” (beer, pretzels and peanuts) or “Old Fashioned” (Maker’s Mark, cherries, orange). Some other interesting flavours I’ve spotted on the FB page: “Caramel Corn,” “Sage,” “Salted Mango.”

Whichever combination, it’s all organic and made in-house.

“Ice cream’s the bomb. It makes everybody happy. It’s nostalgic,” says Ian.

And how lucky is their daughter, Mia, to grow up in an ice cream shop?! BUT STAY AWAY FROM THE BOOZY FLAVOURS, MIA!!

2. Rickshaw Bagworks

It’s a messenger-bag with a conscience: colourful Rickshaw Bags are made right there in the Dogpatch warehouse with as little waste as possible. And if you order online, they’re shipped in a “round trip bag,” with the return postage included.

3. Poco Dolce

This place is a secret chocolate stash in Dogpatch. Unlike Willy Wonka’s ostentatious chocolate factory, there was no way of discerning where or even if an average Joe ought to enter this establishment.

But inside, Poco Dolce offers a yummy selection of fancy chocolate delights. “Poco Dolce” translates to “not too sweet,” so you won’t be surprised to hear that the chocolates often incorporate spice or sea salt.

There’s an olive oil chocolate bar that just melts in your mouth, and these popular “tiles” come in “burnt caramel,” “Aztec chile” and “sesame,” to name a few.

4. 3 Fish Studios

Another husband-and-wife business, 3 Fish Studios does two things:

1) Sells affordable art

2) Teaches others how to make art (really affordable art)

If you’re looking beyond the Golden Gate Bridge Keychain or “Alcatraz Soap”, you might find a unique memento of San Francisco here. Or, make your own during one of their all-day linocut printmaking classes, held each Saturday.

Granted, Alcatraz Soap is somewhat amusing.

And I am immature for thinking so.

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Vail’s Top Restaurant

by Reb Stevenson on February 22, 2012

Personally, I’m not a proponent of blowing your life savings on great big slabs of foie gras every Friday. I can think of about a thousand things I’d rather buy.

Like caviar.

(Kidding)

However, there are times and places for big culinary splurges. Game Creek Club in Vail, Colorado is definitely one of them.

The journey to this restaurant alone is unforgettable.

First, you must board a gondola in the black of night (there are no lights on board – someone in our party made the keen observation that if you were feeling particularly amorous, you might take advantage of this darkness). Pumpkin-coloured blankets are provided as a buffer between your tender derriere and the icy gondola seats.

Like the gondola isn’t whimsical enough, you’re then whisked down a remote mountain road BY SNOW CAT!!!

I had the pleasure of riding up front with the driver, Roy.

“So, do many people reference The Shining when they ride in the snow cat?” I asked (I’m overly familiar with all things Shining because I once visited the hotel that inspired Stephen King to write the novel. Incidentally, it is also located in Colorado).

“Oh yeah…ohhhh yeah,” he replied. “But you know, I’ve never seen that part of the movie.”

I decided not to push it, otherwise twin girls may never have the pleasure of dining at Game Creek.

As if by magic, Game Creek materializes. And, thankfully, it’s far more welcoming than The Overlook Hotel.

Located at 10, 300 feet, it is a private dining club by day and open to the public by night.

The ambiance is evocative of a European ski chalet-meets-hunting-lodge and is both elegant and casual.

As for the menu, it’s prix fixe. You choose between three ($85), four ($95) and five courses ($105). Considering the price includes the gondola ride and the snow cat, I think that’s quite reasonable for an extra-special evening out.

Sometimes, on press junkets, we’re taken to fine dining restaurants that I interpret as “overpriced meh.” I won’t rave about anything that doesn’t either capture my imagination or dazzle my palate. Game Creek did both.

And so, my friends, I leave you with a gallery of “food porn.”

Shrimp, jicama, chorizo, tomatillo, corn, grain mustard, micro cilantro

Sweet onion & endive soup, lobster palla, pancetta, creme fraiche

Elk achiote, poblano macaroni, mustard greens, cilantro pepper

Chocolate valrhona bombe, avocado, lime, licorice, gold. Yes, gold. My mom is going to explode with disbelief, since I recall she was once blown away when orchids were served on waffles at a hotel in Quebec City. At the time, she inquired (rather seriously): “is this what Brad Pitt eats for breakfast every day?”

Well, now we know what we eats for dessert. Any guesses as to what’s for lunch?

Travel arrangements courtesy of Vail Resorts

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10 Reasons Why Vail, Colorado Doesn’t Suck

by Reb Stevenson on February 19, 2012

Skiing is the undisputed attention-hog in Vail, Colorado (if you missed my post on learning to ski, it’s here). But businesses are well aware that when visitors tire of the slopes, they’re ready to move on to additional amusement. And so are their wallets.

So what’s good in Vail Village itself? Here’s my unabashedly subjective take:

1. Mudslides at Bully Ranch Restaurant – with all the shiny snowboards glinting in the sun and the unmistakeable scent of money wafting on the breeze, it’s easy to forget that you’re in Colorado. This bar’s frontier atmosphere, complete with antler chandeliers, provides a good, solid dose of the Wild West.

2. Outdoor skating - when you’ve had a few spills on the slopes, a flat sheet of ice with no downhill gravity may be a welcome sight. There’s a rink at The Arrabelle and one outside Solaris.

And if you think skating is boring…this guy disagrees.

3. John Elway’s newest restaurant – it’s not exactly hot dogs and peanuts. Rather, this is a pricey joint for fancy schmancy steaks and lobster. But don’t you fret, sweaty football guy: the upscale vibe is mitigated by black and white football photography.

4. Thanking your lucky starts that technology has improved at the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum – if you think skiing is dicey now, cast a horrified look at the boots and bindings of the past. The museum traces skiing’s roots (it dates back to at least 2,500 BC in Norway) through its introduction to Colorado in the 1860, winding up in the present. And snowboarding gets its due as well – check out an early model from 1963!

The museum also has a great collection of reasonably priced Vail souvenirs.These retro posters are so boss!

5. The snazzy lanes at Bol – not only is it a sleek 10-pin bowling alley, it’s a full service restaurant with a full cocktail menu and wine list. Indeed, so many distractions that you won’t even miss the stale cigarette stench that usually lurks in a good bowling establishment.

Bol also does double duty as a club of sorts because it regularly features DJ’s. And as for the multiple TV screens – frankly, I’m surprised that they’re not all showing Kingpin.

6. Sausage party at Pepi’s – whenever I’m in a fancy place, I look for an unpretentious, affordable option. My stomach is a social activist.

This place, Pepi’s, has been a Vail staple since 1964.

The interior is all old Austrian charm, with lots of wood and antlers figuring prominently in the decor, and the menu is equally rustic and Euro-flavoured: Bratwurst, Goulash, Schnitzel, etc.

7. Apres-ski massages – in Vail, you can probably justify a hedonistic rubdown. Soothe your ski-strained legs with a customized massage as you inhale The Arrabelle’s signature spearmint and sage oil. Needless to say, the spa is also a choice hideout for the non-skiing wife.

8. Creative fried dough at The Beignet Café – the posh version of the fairground mini-doughnut, these goodies pump a tantalizing aroma straight into the heart of Vail Village. Resistance is absolutely futile. There isn’t a creature on the planet who would interpret this smell as anything other than heaven’s perfume.

Fried to order, the beignets come in inspired flavours that you can mix and match: peanut, chocolate chip, coffee, Oreo, pecan praline, ginger, apple cinnamon and Snickers.

9. Luxury ski apparel at Gorsuch – I thought I’d hate this shop, seeing as how it deals in hoity-toity winter wear and other richer-than-thou sporting goods. But, truth be told, Gorsuch is surprisingly charming and quite welcoming. You should pop in for a look, even if you can’t afford the $2,600 ski jacket.

10. CinéBistro - if you’re getting a feel for Vail now, you understand that a run-of-the-mill movie theatre simply won’t do. Instead, they’ve got CinéBistro, a beautiful 2-in-1 cinema/restaurant.

Yes, they’ve got popcorn and Milk Duds on the menu, but if you prefer steak frites with a glass of wine, followed by creme brulée cheesecake, that wish is just as easily granted. By the looks of it, those guys in the upper row are nursing beers before the trailers even begin. And how sensitive are they that they’ve chosen to see The Vow?

In my next post, I’ll describe an extra-special Vail dining experience.

Travel arrangements courtesy of Vail Resorts.

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