Put Your Mouth Where Your Money Is

Well, a childhood dream is finally being realized - I am going to be on television. At the prompting of some friends, most notably my friend Spring, I filled out an application to be on the local public television show "Check, Please! Bay Area". I've been watching it for years - the premise is that 3 people pick their favorite restaurant, which the other two have to visit, and they meet in a round-table format to discuss their experiences. The discussion is moderated by a host, Leslie Sbrocco, who knows a little bit about each restaurant and asks specific questions about dishes, ambiance, and wine.

I filled out an application a few weeks ago, and was delighted when I got a phone call from the associate producer at KQED. We did a short phone interview, and the next day I went in for an in-person interview at the station (exciting!). I thought I would help them out by putting together a packet of information about the restaurant, my take on it (Yelp review and a blog post from a couple of years ago), and some information about me (resume). Well, the combination of things seemed to do the trick, because they called last week and said that I'd been chosen as a guest!

Now I have 2 weeks to go to the other 2 restaurants, as well as the one that I chose, and write reviews which I will submit to the program so that they can get ready for taping. We tape on Feb 23rd, which will be about a 3 hour process. All of the restaurants are visited anonymously, and then they will go back and interview the owner, film the restaurant in action, and highlight a few dishes that we discussed. When it is all finished, they will air the program and also publish it on the blog.

I am very very excited to have a chance to do something that I love - talking about food with others. I realized as I was gushing on and on during the interview that it really is my passion. I just hope that my enthusiasm translates to the small screen!

Basquing in the Glow

Last week I was watching an episode of Check, Please! Bay Area, and one of the chosen restaurants was at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco. The tv show made it look really appealing, with traditional home cooking and a family style atmosphere.

My dad was going to be landing at SFO with a layover on Friday night for a couple of hours, so I thought, what a perfect time to try the Basque restaurant, given that it was only a few miles from the airport, and offered many of the hearty dishes that he loves, but does not get to have often.

I made a reservation, and we arrived on time to find the place packed with people...old people. We almost felt like we had stumbled upon dinner at a retirement home. There was also a wedding party and a lot of families, which was keeping the staff busy.

Upon ordering our food, it was easy to see the draw. While most entrees were around $18-20, which isn't exactly cheap, that price included soup and salad which made for a very hearty meal.

They bring out the soup in a huge metal tureen which is left on your table. This definitely set the standard for the rest of the meal - no sooner than we took our first bite, it was "pass the salt, pass the pepper" for the rest of the evening. The soup was very watered down, so that while the quantity was impressive (at least 2 bowls worth per person), the taste was not interesting enough to make you want to go back for more.

We ordered 2 of the 3 appetizers offered, the Escargot and the Pate de Campagne. The escargot were good and garlicy, but the Pate was extremely fatty and again bland.

The entrees were ok, again nothing great. My dad had veal osso bucco, my husband had pepper steak, and I had their house favorite, rack of lamb. Mine was the best of the three, well cooked and seasoned, but the potatoes and vegetables were like afterthoughts.

All in all, it was nice to see a community space and a restaurant full of people celebrating various occasions. But for the cost of the food, what appeared to be a bargain was really the result of hotel-food or institution-type preparation. They definitely cook for their clientele, so the seasonings are on the light side - but I would have loved to have seen more of traditional Basque cooking and flavoring. Ah, well, it's always nice to get out of your element once in awhile and try something different, and this certainly fit the bill.