Tuesdays at Rosamunde (and Toronado)

Six days and seven nights a week, Rosamunde Sausage Grill makes it their business to grill up what I'm told are some of the best sausages available on the streets of San Francisco. I wouldn't know, though, as I've only been for lunch on a Tuesday, when the usual offerings of forced ground pork and game make way on the open-top grill at Rosamunde for hand-formed patties of ground beef.

Tuesday at Rosamunde's is "secret burger day," a weekly ritual that begins with a delivery of of fresh, Niman Ranch beef and ends as soon as the last of the day's 200 half-pound hamburgers is ordered by one of the legion of the hungry that began to line up along this otherwise relatively quiet block of the Lower Haight well before 11:00 AM.

A quick lunch break it's not, but you've got to be quick if you want in. The doors at Rosamunde open at 11:30 AM. The first order is taken shortly thereafter but it's another half-hour or so before the first burger is served. It's not too terribly much later that the last order is placed, usually sometime just after 1:00, and I'd guess you'd need to be in line a good hour ahead of that time to ensure you've got a chance. Sounds like an exercise in lunacy, I know, but it's damn well worth the wait. Read on and ye shall see.

We'd agreed to meet a friend at Rosamunde around 11:00 but made better than expected time on the crosstown train from Ferry Plaza, where we'd spent a leisurely morning working up our appetites by ogling the gustatory treasures at spots like Cowgirl Creamery, Acme Bread Company and Far West Fungi. At 10:45, the line had already snaked its way well down the block, tailed up when we arrived by the hat-headed guy above, who told us he never misses a week.

The sausage list looked tempting indeed, but we were there for one thing. The Tuesday burger. Three with everything, please. We decided there was no need to request a specific temperature, sensing that things would be just fine.


We were right. The guys at Rosamunde turn out what may just be the utmost example of textbook burger perfection. One generous patty, flame-grilled a perfect medium rare and set atop a toasted onion roll slathered with copious amounts of ketchup and mustard, and topped with melted cheddar, sauteed onions, lettuce and a slice of ripe tomato. A fistful of juicy, moan-and-groan-inducing goodness. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.


And we were getting thirsty waiting for it. Thankfully, that half-hour plus waiting period from order to delivery can be spent right next door at Toronado, a solid, neighborhood dive bar that happens to have a seriously killer on-tap beer program. When the runner from Rosamunde finally comes over and calls your name, it's no problem to bring your burger right back to Toronado, just in time for round two (or three if you're drinkin' like you don't have to go back to work after lunch).

It's tough enough finding Russian River Brewing Company offerings on tap back east, where the brewery has a cult following and the beers are tightly allocated. And at $4/pint... forget about it. Time for a little RR Blind Pig IPA, a bright, snappy contrast to the wholesome richness of the Rosamunde burger.

The man responsible for leading us into this mid-week, mid-day hedonism: Wine & Spirits Magazine editor, Wolfgang "Spume" Weber. Wolfgang first let me in on the "secret burger" over a bottle of Poulsard in New York a few months back. When I told him I'd be SF bound in the fall, he suggested our mission and I held him to it. Killer tour guide that he is, WW even suggested a post-burger walk that led us to what's got to be one of San Francisco's most photographed sites, just a few blocks uphill from Rosamunde. We needed some way to burn off some of what we'd wolfed down, after all.

Is the Rosamunde and Toronado combo the ultimate burger and a beer experience? I'd be hard put to argue otherwise.

Rosamunde Sausage Grill
545 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 437-6851


Toronado
547 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 863-2276

Intro only...

Urban Winemaking at Dashe Cellars

Ask any hundred people what they consider the heartland of California wine country and Napa will no doubt top the list, followed closely by Sonoma. Ask the same group – and this implies the participants have at least some basic familiarity with the subject matter – about California’s new frontier and I’d hazard a guess that Santa Barbara or Paso Robles, maybe the Santa Rita Hills, would come out ahead. Yet more and more, some of the most compelling wines being produced in California today are coming from winemakers based within the urban landscape of the San Francisco Bay Area.

The godfather of this “new school” is no doubt Steve Edmunds, who’s been producing characterful wines that buck the trend of over-saturated, Californicated fruit since 1985 and doing so right in the heart of Berkeley. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that his neighbors at Edmunds St. John include the likes of Alice Waters and Kermit Lynch…. On the more freshly cut edge of the movement is the Natural Process Alliance, leading the locavore, low impact and natural wine front from its headquarters in Santa Rosa. Sandwiched between those two – both geographically and chronologically – is Dashe Cellars.

Michael and his wife Anne Dashe produced their first Dashe Cellars release, a Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, in 1996. Over a dozen vintages later, they’re going strong, having slowly but surely garnered praise from the traditional wine press – they’ve made Wine & Spirits Magazine’s Top 100 Wineries list on several occasions – as well as from, more recently, natural wine cognoscenti. In 2005, Mike and Anne moved their winery to its current home in an industrial district of Oakland where, in the shadows of I-880, they share a 16,000 square foot warehouse/winemaking facility with JC Cellars. Dashe now produces approximately 10,000 cases (120,000 bottles) of wine per year, about 85% of which is Zinfandel.

During my recent trip to San Francisco, I had the chance to catch up with Mike and to visit Dashe Cellars in the full tilt of autumn harvest season. I’ll let the pictures, captions and tasting notes below tell the story. For more information, check out the Dashes’ website and be sure to (re)visit the interview I did with Mike earlier this year for 31 Days of Natural Wine.

Dashe Cellars shares a barn-red, relatively no-frills warehouse (located at 55 4th Street in Oakland, CA) about 60/40 with JC Cellars.

JC works the new barrels (look ma, no stains) to the left of Dashe’s three foudres, while Mike’s production inhabits the remainder of the warehouse, populated primarily by racks of older barriques and the ubiquitous phalanx (not pictured) of stainless steel fermentation tanks.

As mentioned above, we visited during a very busy day in late September, at the heart of NorCal harvest season. This was the second of three truckloads of grapes of the day for Dashe. The first, Petite Sirah, had arrived in the morning hours. This load of Zin arrived shortly after we did in the early afternoon, while a third truck pulled up with the day’s final delivery of Zinfandel just as we were saying our goodbyes. The Dashes, who own no vineyards themselves, source their fruit from primarily organic farms, with which they have long-term contracts, in the Dry Creek, Russian River, Alexander and Potter Valleys of California.




With freshness always foremost in mind, the fruit is moved quickly from the truck to the bin turner in half-ton crates. The process is pretty much business as usual, with Mike and his crew aiming to keep handling and manipulation of the fruit to a minimum. All fruit is hand sorted to remove leaves and any sub-par grapes, not to mention the occasional earwig. From there, it's on to the crusher/destemmer, from which the crushed juice is gently pumped into the waiting tanks inside the winery. All of Dashe's wines see a high percentage of whole berry fermentation; however, all of the Zins – and other wines at Mike's discretion – also receive a dose of press juice (that's Mike's pneumatic press in the bottom right photo) to ensure enough structure to support their ample fruit.


Back in the winery, the work is all focused on keeping the wines pure and expressive, with as little manipulation and adulteration as possible. Mike and Anne do much of the work themselves, helped by a rotating group of interns from enology schools such as UC Davis or by visiting wine makers from other regions. Mike commented that his interns are nearly always shocked to find that very nearly nothing is added to the fermenting and aging wines. Dashe ferments all of his wines, including the white and rosé, on their native yeasts. No commercial yeast, enzymes, acids or other additives/adjuncts are ever used (and Mike does not believe that cross-contamination occurs from the commercial yeast strains being used in the same warehouse space by JC Cellars). A small dose of sulfur dioxide is added at crush and again, though only if necessary and never for "L'Enfant Terrible," at bottling.

Mike is particularly happy with (and proud of) the results he's getting with the three foudres he purchased new from Tonnellerie Rousseau. The majority of Dashe's wines are still aged in older barriques but Mike plans to move more and more toward aging in larger casks as time and cash flow (those foudres are expensive) permit.


Our pals from Monterey, Steve and Stacy, had visited Dashe a few months earlier, not long after reading my interview with Mike, so they were already well acquainted with the wines. While pouring us tastes of a few of his current releases, Mike regaled us with some pretty hilarious stories of his past days writing technical user manuals for Atari. I guess a winery profile like this wouldn't be complete without at least a couple of tasting notes, so:

• 2008 Dry Riesling, McFadden Farms, Potter Valley (13.8%). Very ripe, round aromas of yellow plums and pineapple. Firm acidity. Succulent. Not as bracingly mineral as I might like but a very fine Cali Riesling.
  
  
• 2008 Grenache, Dry Creek Valley (13.8%). California Grenache under 14% alcohol? Yep. Very fresh, vibrant red berry fruit. Aged in old wood only. Gentle tannins and, for Grenache, good acidity. This reminded me very much of the style of Mike's "L'Enfant Terrible" Zinfandel. Lighter, brighter and fresher than more typical CA varietal expressions.
  
  
• 2008 Zinfandel "L'Enfant Terrible," McFadden Farms, Potter Valley (13.8%). California Zinfandel under 14% alcohol. Yep. The fruit for "the wild child" is sourced from the same cool, high altitude farm from which Mike purchases his Riesling. Macerated strawberries and pepper on the nose. Brightly textured and fresh, though a bit richer than the '07 version. In 2007, 280 cases of the 600 case production of "L'Enfant" were sold at The Slanted Door. As hinted at in the Grenache note above, Mike is considering creating other "L'Enfant Terrible" bottlings in the coming years.
  
  
• 2006 Zinfandel, Florence Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley (14.5%). Produced from young vine fruit. Super ripe on the nose and palate, full of raisins, chocolate and plum pudding but balanced by crunchy tannins.
  
  
• 2007 Zinfandel "Old Vines," Todd Brothers Ranch, Alexander Valley (14.7%). From 50 year-old vines. This was a stark contrast to the Florence Vineyard bottling; a much more elegant, structured style, showing coffee, licorice, blackberry and dark chocolate notes but on a finer, more restrained frame.
  
  
• 2007 Late Harvest Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley (14.1%). Harvested at 40 brix, finished at 9% RS. Mike allows the fermentation to stop naturally then filters the wine to remove any yeast cells (and to prevent the possibility of re-fermentation) prior to bottling. Pretty damn tasty served, as the Dashes did, with a nibble of dark chocolate.

Clearly less comfortable at the computer and cash register than amongst the barrels, Mike called his wife Anne down from the winery office to meet us and help with our end of visit purchases. In case you've ever wondered about the winery's logo, I can now unequivocally confirm that Mike is the monkey and Anne is the fish.


Dashe Cellars is just a short walk from the Merrit Lake BART station, a quick drive across the Bay Bridge from downtown San Fracisco, and is also easily accessible from the greater Oakland and Berkeley areas. (We popped over to West Berkeley for pizza and beer at Lanesplitter after our visit.) Their tasting room is open to the public Thursday through Sunday from noon to 6:00 PM.

Dashe Cellars
55 4th Street
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 452-1800

Intro only...

NorCal 2009, Day Five: The Allure of Terroir

Not having been to San Francisco for the better part of a dozen years, it was eye opening to walk through the Mission District, our first stop upon driving into town, and see just how much things have changed. It’s not that gentrification has put a complete whitewash on the neighborhood. No, it’s still got a certain undercurrent of grunge to it. But it’s become hipster central. Bike shops, record stores, cafés and indie boutiques dot every corner and – just like in Philly – it seems everyone's riding a fixie (or at least a single speed). There’s still quite a divide between Mission itself and Valencia, just one block away, where most of the hipstrification has occurred. But changed it all has. Whether that change is for the better is, I’m sure, a matter of debate among longtime SF residents.


The new development I was really looking forward to, though, was in the pipeline for later in the afternoon. A first time visit to Terroir (aka, Terroir SF), where natural wine, little if any of it from California, is served up by a handful of guys who are passionate about what they’re pouring, what they’re spinning, the vibe they’re making, and how it all comes together in a little storefront spot on a quiet, somewhat neglected block of Folsom Street.

In light of the timing of Eric Asimov’s piece – in which I play a referentially credited supporting role – on New York wine bar The Ten Bells in this week’s New York Times (with a cross-post at The Pour), comparisons between Terroir and The Ten Bells seem only inevitable.


Terroir's by the glass list on the day of our visit.
In one sense they’re actually quite different. The Ten Bells (check out my recent write-up) is a bar that just happens to feature a small but eclectic and fantastic selection of natural wines. Terroir, on the other hand, is actually a wine shop, albeit one that looks and feels much more like a casual wine bar. Their by the glass list is similar in scope to that at TTB, with a dozen or so decidedly natural wines poured by the glass on any given day. The bottle list at Terroir, though, is long and deep, the kind of list that can take an hour to digest if one is so inclined. And every one of those bottles is available for retail sale. For now, the wine bar is the dominant part of the business but that may change as the shop matures, especially if the owners are able to execute their goal of establishing an e-tail presence.


Terroir co-owners, Luc Ertoran and Dagan Ministero.
In a larger sense, however, the two spots share a great deal in common. I’ve found few wine-oriented bars in this country that share a similar sense of spirit, fun, passion and comfort. As dangerous as is The Ten Bells for a certain ilk of wine lover, Terroir might just be even more potentially addictive. It’s warmer, softer or “homier,” as my pal Wolfgang, the “wine writer from San Francisco,” called it. There’s pretentiousness to be found in both, I suppose, if you go looking for it. But at root, Terroir is just a place run by guys who take their wine seriously and want to share the common experience that great wine can evoke with the people who find their way in the door. There’s no guarantee you won’t be greeted with a mild dose of attitude, though that’s perhaps less likely than in the past given the recent departure of founding partner Guilhaume Gerard, who has left Terroir in order to pursue other ventures in the wine world. But you’re much more likely to be turned on to something new and to have fun, whether it’s geeking out or just enjoying the company of friends, in the process. The inimitable Joe D. sums it up:

“The sad thing is that only 10 Bells and Terroir in San Francisco have this ambiance. You would think there would be copycats cropping up all over the place. Part of what makes these two wine bars unique is the owners and staff at both places travel frequently in Europe, meet and make choices in the cellars, and know the vignerons on their list. They are not waiting around to taste wines from importers and wholesalers, but are going out into the vineyards to find wines that they love.”

Joe’s thoughts may be considered a little biased given that his portfolio features heavily on the lists at both Terroir and The Ten Bells, but I think he’s actually pretty dead-on. It’s the clear love of wine at the very root of the shop’s mission that makes Terroir such a fantastic place to hang (though the excellent vinyl collection certainly doesn't hurt).


Our starting pours. Bonus points to anyone who can ID all three. (Hint: they're all from the by-the-glass list.)


In a somewhat freakish twist, it turned out to be an almost all New Jersey affair. At one point or another, just about everyone in the place (Sunday afternoon is a very mellow time to visit Terroir, btw) had lived in the Garden State – my wife and I, our friends Steve (at left, above) and Stacy (far right), their friends Dan and Maria (center), the chef from a local restaurant, another guy who just happened to stop by for a glass on his way elsewhere…. Co-owner Dagan Ministero, it turns out, grew up at the Jersey shore. Only Luc was left out....


Our Sunday afternoon visit, conceptualized as a quick stop for a glass or two before dinner, quite naturally morphed into a four-hour affair. No one wanted to leave, plain and simple, so we didn’t, at least not until the closing bell.

Terroir
1116 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 558-9946



Addendum:

Such was the draw of Terroir, and my comfort/fun level once there, that I felt no compunctions about spending a solid chunk of Sunday there even in full knowledge that I’d be right back the next night for a little pre-planned wine blogger mash-up. Monday night’s get together almost had its legs cut out from under it, though, when it was reported that Terroir had suffered water damage late the night before as the result of flooding in the apartments located upstairs. Luckily, things were cleaned up enough for the show to go on, so Joe Manekin of Old World Old School, Cory Cartwright (who now works at Terroir) of Saignée, Wolfgang Weber of Spume (and Wine & Spirits Magazine), wine nut and Disorder man extraordinaire Slaton Lipscomb, Emily Straley, Dagan (who had no choice in the matter), and I all got together to share a few glasses and talk about life, wine and, of course, music. I won’t even attempt tasting notes from the evening’s festivities, as Joe’s already provided the full lowdown at OWOS.

It turns out that the flood damage has taken its toll after all. I don’t have full details on the extent of the damage but I do know that, as of this past Monday, October 5, Terroir has closed its doors for approximately one month to allow for repairs. That’s a long time for a small business to close, but something tells me these guys will come back ready and rarin’ to go, maybe even with a few new discoveries made in the course of their forced vacations.

Be sure to check Terroir's website for updates before planning your next trip and, in the meanwhile, please join me in wishing the guys best of luck with the repairs.

Intro only...

NorCal 2009, Day Four: Carmel Valley and Big Sur

After a few days on the run – working, shopping, cooking and bopping around town – this was our day to relax and truly enjoy Monterey before heading north to San Fran.

Day 4 AM: Carmel Valley.


On to another hike, full entourage this time, to burn off the previous night’s celebrations of the Jewish New Year. Heading south from Monterey toward Carmel by the Sea, a quick turn east took us inland into the low mountains of the Carmel Valley and through the heart of one of the less heralded areas of California’s northern Central Coast vineyards. Not long after spying Bernardus Lodge nestled in the hills to the north, we turned off the main road, bypassed the state park entrance, and headed for a trailhead that promised lighter crowds and the possibility of more than a little elevation gain. Our outbound ascent led us through old redwood groves, scarred by decades of wildfire damage, while the return descent revealed beautiful vistas and the occasional glimpse of late morning fog rolling over the hilltops.

Day 4 PM: Big Sur.

Having missed out on any wildlife sightings on our morning hike, we headed to what our hosts refer to as Condor point –a particular scenic overlook along CA Coastal Highway 1 that they’ve found a near foolproof spot for California Condor sightings. Sur(e) enough, within five minutes or so of our arrival the big birds started to arrive. A red-tailed hawk, several turkey buzzards and then, not long after, the anticipated Condor. A severely endangered species, rescued from the brink of extinction through captive breeding programs, the California Condor is North America’s largest land-dwelling bird. A beauty it’s not but unmistakable it is, dwarfing the other birds of prey and bowing the top of the full grown tree on which it landed. Birdspotting mission accomplished, we lingered cliffside, taking in the breathtaking views of the Big Sur coastline and enjoying the warming setting of the sun.


After all the condor watching, steep trail hiking, whale sighting hoping and twisty road driving? Dinner, of course. Big Sur Bakery’s roadside location – sharing a parking lot with a gas station and its structure with a collection of arsty-craftsy galleries – makes it the kind of place most pass by without a second thought, assuming it’s just another tourist trap or basic greasy spoon. Too bad, as there’s seriously satisfying food to be had. A bakery by morning, BSB opens its doors wider at night to become a full-on country inn, with a menu that focuses on seasonal California cuisine and a daily selection of wood oven pizzas.

Though I’m told the wood grilled steak is damn good, the $35 price tag steered me more toward other options, while our waitress steered me on to the house specialty, the meatball pizza. Well seasoned and ridiculously amply spread meatball slices, fresh mozz and judiciously applied, tangy tomato sauce made for a fun meal, just right to cap off our day. Just a touch more spring and yeastiness to the crust and it would have been dead on.

To drink? Affligem blond with our appetizers, then a bottle of Beckmen Vineyards 2007 Santa Ynez Valley “Cuvée le Bec” red with the ‘za, a good deal at only $32/bottle on the rather sparse wine list. It’s a Rhone-style blend I’ve sold for ages yet one I hardly ever drink for pleasure. In tastings over the last few years, I’ve noticed it getting darker and darker, oakier and oakier, to the point where I’d nearly written it off in spite of the fact that I kind of want to like it (it’s estate grown and biodynamically farmed after all). On this night, though, it was tasting surprisingly good. Fresh, not too big, well-defined fruit, not overtly manipulated and, most surprisingly, barely oaky at all. Not what I’d remembered. So yes, I actually do drink and enjoy Cali wine once in a while. When in California....

Next up: on to SF.

Big Sur Bakery
47540 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
(831) 667-0520

Intro only...

NorCal 2009, Day Three: or Yes, I Went to Monterey for Rosh Hashanah

The irony doesn’t escape me. I’d gone from the suburbs of Philadelphia to, well, the suburbs of Monterey to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. At least it seems ironic to me. Perhaps I’m just ignorant of the depth of Judaic culture in the Monterey bay area. In any event, it was pure coincidence that my trip happened to coincide with the beginning of the Jewish New Year. I’d gone for vacation, to relax, drink and eat of course, and, more importantly, to visit friends, some of whom just happen to take their high holidays pretty seriously.

While most of our day on Friday would be spent shopping and prepping for the evening’s feast, we did manage to keep the morning free to explore some of the natural beauty in the environs of Monterey. Images of the breathtaking vistas and windy roads of the California coastline tend to be conjured first when thinking of this part of the world, but there’s a different kind of beauty, perhaps even more pacific (yes, the pun’s intended), to the arid interior of the northern Central Coast. During a loping, two-hour hike that criss-crossed Fort Ord and adjoining acreage overseen by the US Bureau of Land Management, only a bobcat (far too quick for my camera yet very cool to spot), the occasional jay and scampering lizard, and a few other nature lovers shared the landscape with us.

Clockwise, from top left: California oaks more than dot the landscape, looking old and wise yet lacy and fragile, their beauty enhanced yet their health undermined by adornments of hanging moss. Recently abandoned cliff swallow nests, built under the eaves and ceiling of a decaying pagoda, part of an abandoned military picnic ground on Fort Ord. A playground of another type, built and showing the signs of regular use by the local BMX crowd. From flat and wide open to hilly and twisting, the trails here are great for both hiking and fast, relatively non-technical mountain biking.

Smart enough, at least I’d like to think so, not to shop hungry, we sated our hike-driven hunger with a lunch of fish tacos and shrimp burritos in downtown Monterey, followed by a stroll around the marina.


A classic local scene: California sea lions have made a permanent sun worshipping station of the breakwater along the Monterey pier. Less common were the swarms of jellyfish, not little guys, mind you, but big suckers, the size of basketballs and sporting waist-length dreadlocks of potential nastiness.

Lunching and tourism done for the day, we finally buckled down to the biz of preparing din-din. Dinner would start with a loaf of round challah (not raisin, all sold-out) served with honey, the shape of the loaf and sweetness of the accompaniment both symbolic of health and happiness in the new year to come. The rest of the meal would be less traditional, perhaps, but still very much in keeping with the spirit of the holiday and the observance of culinary customs.

My pals had gone off to visit Dashe Cellars after reading my interview with Michael Dashe a while back and had come back with a cache of 2008 L'Enfant Terrible, a bottle of which we happily dispatched while working in the kitchen.

As seriously as my pal Steve takes his holidays, his observance (happily) doesn’t extend to diving into the depths of Kosher wine, so we were able to put together a pretty decent little line-up to accompany the meal. In spite of my general distaste for grocery store wine shopping, I did find wine worth drinking at the local Whole Foods, including something I’d been meaning to try anyway, the Touraine Sauvignon from François Chidaine, one of the products of his recent expansion into the négociant end of the wine biz. Mind bending juice, no, but at $12 a bottle it’s a solid value and made for a nice pairing with roasted tomato and pecorino bruschetta. The star of the night, wine-wise that is, was undoubtedly the 2008 Bandol Rosé from Domaine de Terrebrune, one of the little gems I’d picked up at Kermit Lynch’s shop the day before. Firm and herbal, I’d love to check in on it a few years down the road but it was hard to say no to now. Spot on with Stevie’s orange-braised artichokes and the fillet of halibut I grilled up and topped with olive tapenade.

The evening's dead soldiers.

So, happy belated new year to those of you who observe. And stay tuned for more CA adventures to come.

Intro only...