Tyler Florence's Wayfare Tavern

Yesterday I had the great luck of going to lunch at Tyler Florence's Wayfare Tavern with Joanna, Visda, Bonni and Gina.

I would give you a peak at the inside of the restaurant but, unfortunately, most of my shots of the interior turned out blurry. I blame it on the excitement:-)

But, no fears, I managed to recover by the time the food arrived and I did manage some halfway decent shots of the food.

I ordered the oysters for an appetizer and these were the best oysters I have ever had. 

I should add that I just started eating oysters only a few months ago but these are the first oysters I have tried that actually had the 'fresh from the ocean', 'clear and crisp' flavors that oyster lovers always seem to mention.

Kusshi and Fanny Bay oysters.

I LOVED these oysters. I would go back to the Wayfare Tarvern just for these beauties.

Fresh Burrata with mission figs, eggplant caponata, marjoram and grilled sourdough.

The eggplant caponata really put the Burrata dish over the top - delicious!

Steak Tartare with with fresh organic chopped beef, French mustard dressing, egg yolk and garlic popovers.

This was my first time having steak tartare. I have had carpaccio (which to me just tastes like raw beef - go figure) so I was expecting this dish to be similar.


I was so wrong. I could not detect any 'raw beef' flavor all. The amazing flavor of the dressing stood out the most and the raw beef added a nice creamy texture to the dish.

Since we were sharing all the dishes, we ordered an array of entrees:

Petaluma Chicken Paillard.

Fried Chicken.

Lobster Cobb Salad.

Tomales Bay Mussels.

White Sea Bass.

The star of the entrees was the White Sea Bass. The fish was cooked perfectly and the mashed potatoes were so creamy and delicious people were scraping the plate to get just one more taste.

Going to a really great restaurant is about the only time I will bother to taste the desserts. We picked the following:

Wayfare Tavern Chocolate Cream Pie with Scharffenberger chocolate pudding, salted caramel ganache and devil's food cake.

Gooey Brown Butter Cake with fresh figs, local honeycomb, lemon verbena ice cream.

Caramel Pear Tart with cream cheese melt, fried sage, coriander ice cream and nilla wafers.

Which dessert was the winner? Most definitely the pear tart. It was so good that I actually had 2 - count 'em 2 - spoonfuls. 

The tart had a wonderful balance of flavor and sweetness. Most of the time desserts are so sweet all I can taste is the sugar but this tart was an exception. The sweet graininess of the pears was paired perfectly with the savory spice of the coriander ice cream - Yum!

It was a memorable afternoon of great food and delightful conversations.

I hope everyone is having a great Friday!! 

Chicken soup and galas

Chicken soup with broccoli rabe and spinach.

Cold morning are made for chicken soup. I pulled out a packet I had in the cabinet:

I always have hope for these dried soup mixes that are ready in minutes but sadly this one really missed the mark.

Most of the flavor came from the canned chicken broth I added and the spices in the packet left a very odd aftertaste. 

I ended up just drinking the broth and fishing out the broccoli rabe and spinach((

But on a better note - here are some shots of the gala dinner:

Tyler Florence doing his cooking demonstration.

Salad with blue cheese, pears and walnuts.

Filet Mignon.

Dessert.

Brunch the next day was at a lovely location. This was the view from the restaurant patio:

A bunch of people headed over to the Ferry Building which was just down the street.

Stonehouse Olive Oil.

Who can resist tasty salted pig parts?

I was very excited to try the Cowgirl Creamery grilled cheese sandwich.

Yes, I know I just finished brunch but people rave about this sandwich - and I did share it with four other people so I just had a taste.

The Lancashire cheese had a custard-like texture with a nice lemony tang. I was on the fence about whether I liked it or not - but when I got a bite with the bacon and cheese all in one go - the flavor was sublime so it gets a thumbs up from me.

Chinatown.

Wow, I can't believe it is almost the end of the week!

Night, all!