On Monday night my husband and I were feeling a bit lazy and uninspired, so much so that we ended up watching a veritable marathon of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. Which is not to say we don’t enjoy the show; indeed, we applaud his fervent championing of all things pork. But when we’re feeling feistier, his arrogance can drive us up the wall. One episode is usually enough to send my husband channel surfing, mumbling with disdain about chef’s who can’t stomach seeing where their meat comes from.
On the evening in question, the Travel Channel re-aired Anthony’s trip to San Francisco, one of the few big cities we enjoy. I was anxious to see which of the plethora of amazing restaurants he’d hit up, and how many different types of cuisine he’d highlight. I was delighted when he started with a totally fresh and unique place, the Pirate Cat Radio Cafe.
It’s an actual radio station/coffee shop, and most of the items on the menu are vegan, with one outstanding exception: The Maple Bacon Latte. This beauty of a beverage is made with actual maple syrup and the mysterious sounding “refined” bacon. According to DJ monkey, it takes 10 pounds of bacon to make 4 ounces of this condensed meat product, and it sounds like it makes one hell of a coffee. I still don’t understand how a vegan cafe can justify it, but I’m not going to complain. I just hope they’re still serving them next time I make my way up North. As of this writing, you can watch the clip in question at the Pirate Cat’s website.
Bourdain’s very next stop on this magical munchery tour was at the Tadich Grill, where he ate something that sounded absolutely revolting to me. It was called a Hangtown Fry, and it was basically an oyster and bacon omelet. Mind you, this wasn’t breakfast time, this was more like a happy hour snack. I don’t know about you, but oysters almost never sound good to me (with the notable exception of the Oysters Palace here in Santa Barbara). Even bacon doesn’t really make this dish sound any better, but if I was drinking the sizable Martinis that he was, you might just get me to try it. Omelets and martinis…a combination that may hold a place in my future.
I have to admit, I lost interest when he stopped talking about bacon and Brutus started begging for a walk. But it was enough to make me crave a trip to the Bay, and start planning an eating agenda for that eventuality. That latte is SO mine.
