Much needed serenity at the Japanese Tea Gardens

In the past month, I discovered that my father's health was rapidly deteriorating. Through the years, he's endured asthma, emphysema and two triple-bypass heart surgeries. After several frantic telephone calls and too many unanswered questions, I returned to my birth city of San Mateo to be with my family during this difficult time and to more closely monitor my father's condition. On the day I left Louis Armstrong Airport headed for San Francisco International, my dad was admitted into Peninsula Hospital after they discovered he had a blood infection. Before he was admitted, his condition was so bad that he couldn't walk at all and could barely form his words.

In the past couple of days, I have watched the color return to my father's face and strength return to his limbs after being treated intravenously with antibiotics. Being the father of four children (and two grandchildren), plus being the "alpha" male among his brothers and cousins, when my father loses strength, it's like the entire family feels a loss of stability. My mother and sister were especially affected in their daily efforts to care for him and interpret what the doctors meant behind all of their words, but we all needed a break when the smoke had finally cleared.

We decided to take advantage of an unusually gorgeous day (summers in the Bay Area are notoriously cold) and visit the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Mateo's Central Park.

Although I hadn't visited this gem in at least 20 years, it seemed like the perfect outing. As we entered the wooden gates to the garden, I almost gasped...I had almost forgotten how beautiful they were.

A landscape architect from the Imperial Palace of of Tokyo designed the Tea Garden for the city of San Mateo back in the mid 60's commemorating its designation as a "sister-city" to Toyonaka, Japan. The garden features bamboo groves, a tea house, a granite pagoda and a large koi pond. The flora is gorgeous at any time of year, but it is especially impressive in the springtime and winter.

Although the Japanese Tea Garden is located right in the heart of downtown San Mateo, there is an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquility present in this more intimate version of the gardens in San Francisco. Many people have weddings here and it's easy to understand why.

My sister, mother, niece and I wandered around the little paths, crossed the small wooden bridges and peered into the waters of large koi pond. Strolling through these simple, yet elegant surroundings did a lot to help us renew and regenerate after the stress of almost constant uncertainty. I could feel the tension draining from my sister and mother as we enveloped ourselves in its serenity.

Next time, I hope we can bring my dad too.

An affordable cheat at Cafe Rani

Due to my current financial situation, selecting cheat meal locations that are also affordable can truly be an onerous task.  The spoiled foodie in me can't help wanting nothing but the best (what I wouldn't give to dine at Lilette, Gautreau's or La Petite Grocery!), but any eateries with an average entree price over $15 is, sadly, out of my monetary reach.  Last week I had selected a small restaurant close to my house offering cuisine that had piqued my interest.  Unfortunately, when John and I were standing outside of said restaurant looking at the menu posted by the front door, we felt a bit squeamish when we noticed that there wasn't even one entree under $20.  Needless to say we were forced to change our plans.

After driving aimlessly down Magazine Street for a while just hoping to spot an interesting, yet affordable location to dine, I spotted the elusive sign for Cafe Rani. In a previous attempt to visit the cafe, I had so much difficulty locating it, I simply gave up.  It seemed somehow a twist of fate that its location was revealed to me and I chose not to fight the cards as they were dealt.  This is my 39th cheat and since I lost two of the pounds I gained last week, I am back to a grand total loss of 60 pounds.

Cafe Rani is tucked into the back of a large courtyard on Magazine located right across the street from Belladonna Day Spa.  When we entered the cafe, we were able to select our own table and chose a spot in the back for privacy.  The decor is relatively modern and clean with framed black & white photos of New Orleans spaced evenly along the walls, simple wood chairs and linen covered tables.  I couldn't help noticing that several of the photographs weren't mounted properly in their frames and were slipping down into obscurity.

Pushing the minor irritant aside, I scanned the large menu that featured mostly salads for something naughty to eat.  I realize that Cafe Rani emphasizes healthy cuisine (thus the proliferation of salad entrees), but I was here to cheat, so I selected the heaviest items I could find on the menu.

We started with a Shrimp & Crawfish Bruschetta.  There were rosemary ciabatta "croutons" or triangles topped with shrimp, crawfish, artichoke hearts and tomatoes sauteed in a lobster butter.  Although the dish didn't look very pretty (or it could have simply been a lighting issue), it was quite tasty and even possessed a bit of a kick with some added red pepper flakes.  It was a tad greasy, but hey...who was complaining?

Shortly after we gobbled down the appetizer, our entrees arrived.  John ordered the Tandoori Tuna Steak sandwich served on a wheat bun dressed with mango aioli, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. From a choice of sides, John selected their potato salad to go with it. Although I loved the curry flavor of the tuna balanced against the sweetness of the wheat bun, the tuna wasn't cooked quite right.  John had requested the tuna be very rare (like any good tuna steak should be) and simply seared on the outside.  Whoever prepared it must have not had the grill/pan hot enough because the tuna had just barely turned white on the outside.  All in all though, the dish was tasty and the bacon enhanced potato salad was the star on his plate.

On their website, Cafe Rani touts "one of the best burgers in town" so naturally, I ordered a burger, but not just any burger.  I selected the Creole burger topped with andouille sausage and served with a house Remoulade and cocktail sauce on a wheat bun.  The Remoulade was delicious but spicier than I am used to and I liked the wheat bun and sausage, but the burger itself was rather dry (I requested it to be cooked medium) and there wasn't any real flavor in the meat itself.  It was served with regular Zapp's potato chips sprinkled with Tony's.

I couldn't leave the restaurant without ordering dessert (naturally), so I selected the Double Chocolate Fudge Cake and we also ordered a couple of lattes on a tip from our friend Lorin Gaudin. Apparently, Cafe Rani gets their coffee from The Coast Roast, a Mississippi roaster who has their own retail store front in Long Beach.  The lattes were aromatic and creamy, just incredible and as good as any California roaster I've ever encountered.  The cake was rich and decadent with a moist crumb and a thick vein of chocolate fudge (almost the consistency of a ganache) that we inhaled with ease.

Best of all, we were very pleased when we received the check and noticed that it wouldn't break the bank. Hurrah for a delicious, yet affordable cheat!

Making up for lost time at St. Joe's

As soon as I stepped into St. Joe's on the corner of Magazine and Joseph Streets, I was immediately upset that it took me so long to finally get there.  Ever since that crazy first year in New Orleans with Shalom, I developed an affinity for the "dive bar" and St. Joe's delivers.  The wooden bar is long and narrow with a shortage of available seating; one small table at the front window and stools along the bar.  The combination of dim lighting, religious iconography and a bunch of old fashioned mirrors gives the space a Gothic feel but the drinks are what it's all about.

When I asked for a cocktail recommendation from Paul, a longtime fixture of St. Joe's who's been intoxicating patrons for the past ten years, he suggested I try their signature drink, the Blueberry Mojito.  Since I have been literally inundated by mojitos in the past few months, I really wanted to try something different.

Patient with my indecision, Paul kindly offered another option, a margarita.  But what makes this margarita different from any other?  St. Joe's creates their own sour mix with fresh lemon and lime juice, exactly how a traditional margarita should be.  With speed, precision and a heavy hand, Paul whipped up a delicious, yet classic margarita in a tall pint glass with brightly colored salt around the rim.

The simple cocktail was tart and refreshing (not syrupy-sweet) and I found it difficult not to gulp the concoction like a fresh glass of lemonade.  When Paul noticed me taking notes and snapping pictures, he said "If you've never been here before, you should go check out the back."  I looked past the small pool table and turned back to my most helpful bartender and said "There's a back?"

If he hadn't told me I never would have known, but if you venture through the large door behind the pool table, traverse a small storage room and come outside, there is a wonderful patio space that you never would imagine existing in a bar like St. Joe's.  Past some larger tables, they have built a gazebo-like structure featuring a full bar with a mixed Asian-themed decor!  Large brass Indian statues and Taj Mahal cut lattices are lit from above by a large cluster of red Japanese lanterns.  Although no one was out there (it was still early in the evening), I was told that hanging out in the back was the "place to be."  It certainly looked like a party waiting to happen...I could just picture clusters of people out in the "Shangri-La" patio having the time of their lives.

By the time I returned to the main bar, I had finished my margarita and I was ready to break down and try the Blueberry Mojito.  I was a little nervous because fruity-flavored mojitos I have tried in the past severely disappointed, but this was something else.  By muddling dried blueberries with sugar and fresh mint, they have created a fruit mojito that surprised me by being absolutely awesome.  It wasn't too sweet and the blueberries simply added to the summery feel that is already a distinct characteristic of the original cocktail.

As I sat and sipped, I couldn't help thinking how much fun I could have had at St. Joe's if I had only taken that first step inside the bar almost seven years ago.  A little sadness seeped into my previously chipper mood when I realized how much I had missed, even though I thought my local bar repertoire was pretty complete.

I raised my glass and made a private little toast...here's to making up for lost time!

Books: The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish

In the premiere episode of HBO's Treme, there is a scene where John Goodman's character is ranting about the levee failures to a British television crew.  At one point, the journalist questions the reality behind the rumors that  local city officials blew up part of the levees in an attempt to drastically eliminate the poor neighborhoods on the edge of town and save New Orleans from the majority of the flooding.  Aside from hilarity that ensues (Goodman's character tries to throw the video camera into the river), the reporter actually made a really valid point.  In the flooding of 1927, blowing up the levees and flooding an entire parish is EXACTLY what local government did in a vain effort to save the city.  Why wouldn't people believe they might be capable of doing it again?

Just recently, I finished reading The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish by Elise Blackwell, which was published in 2007, only two years after the Corps of Engineers' most heinous failure.  At first, I thought to myself "Not another Katrina book!" In the past few years, I have been bombarded by them and I'm just not ready to relive that horror again.  But this was something quite different...

It begins with an old man by the name of Louis Proby who has been watching the news, tracking the incoming storm and is reminded of his youth when tragedy threatened his home town of Cypress Parish, the Great Flood of 1927.   

The story turns back to this time of innocence for young Louis and you follow his ascent to manhood alongside the rapidly rising river.  We get to watch Louis mature from worshiping his father and his first fumbling attempts at making love to drinking his first glass of champagne and his impression of women in short skirts...the ones his mother always warned him about.

This book is so simple, yet so full of vivid characters, scenery and plot.  It's a story of generational differences, coming of age and natural disaster all rolled into one.  Along with Louis, you get to experience a multitude of different perspectives on life, even though you stay with him throughout the entire novel. His character is comparable to a sponge, soaking up what he likes and needs about other folk's ideas and discarding the rest.

More than anything, I was glad that this particular novel wasn't really about the 2005 flooding at all.  It was a unique, well-crafted story that offers a tiny glimpse of life along the Mississippi in 1927 and the struggles of one very special and very observant young man as he climbs his way into adulthood. 

Did I mention that this is the second time I've completed this novel?