Café Fanny/Acme Bread Company: Simple Bay Area Pleasures

Outside Cafe Fanny and Acme Bread Co.
Credit: amorimur. http://www.flickr.com/photos/amorimur/2412911226/

Few meals have been able to compare to my recent epic Tolani experience. Living in the SF Bay Area, however, gives me ample opportunity to try to discover a meal that compares. And, though I haven’t quite met Tolani’s equal yet, I have been eating some pretty delicious food along the way. Two examples: Café Fanny and Acme Bread Company. As next-door neighbors, these North Berkeley eateries pack a mighty one-two culinary punch, so to speak. Café Fanny serves breakfast and lunch, with freshly baked baguettes and bread from Acme next door. They also serve wine from their (other) next-door neighbors, Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants. Their lovely outdoor area is the perfect place to enjoy good food in the sunshine, and observe people in the long line coming from Acme next door. Acme itself is a wonderful place, filled with all the enchantment that fresh-baked goods are supposed to instill in eaters.

Acme Bread Co.'s Adorable Poster. Credit: http://www.acmebread.com/

I first discovered these two gems when I met up with of my relatives for breakfast and at my uncle’s suggestion, we checked out Café Fanny. I ordered Poached Eggs with vinegar and oregano on levain toast, which was pretty delicious in and of itself; although, being the curious eater that I am, I couldn’t help but try some of the other dishes that were ordered. By far, my favorite had to be the baguette with organic butter and honey. It was so simple and so delicious. In other words, it was the best kind of food: the kind where the ingredients speak for themselves. I also enjoyed the fruit and organic yogurt along with the baguette, also a very simple, but very delicious and healthy addition to breakfast. Afterwards, we got a few baguettes from next door and, at the recommendation of the woman in front of me, I got an apple turnover. One bite in and I was in love. It was so flaky and buttery, but not too buttery, and its filling was sweet, but not too sweet. Someone put a lot of care into making that turnover and it showed, that much I could taste.

So, so good.
Credit: ParlaFood. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7205884@N07/4904429972/

I went back to Café Fanny a few days ago, this time for lunch and it was just as good as breakfast. I ordered the Baked Goat Cheese with garden lettuces and levain toast with a peach iced tea to drink. It was a refreshing lunch, to say the least. The lettuce was only seasoned with a little bit of salt, taking a back seat to the baked goat cheese, which was the true star of the meal. I would never have thought of baking goat cheese, but it was so delicious, I wondered why I hadn’t heard of it sooner. While, overall, the meal blew me away, being nitpicky, I could have done with a little less goat cheese and/or a little more lettuce. The goat cheese was delicious but powerful…it needed a stronger supporting cast, in my humble opinion. Besides that nearly negligible complaint, the meal was fabulous. My boyfriend, Ben, also had a good meal from the tastes I got of it anyways. He ordered the Chicken sandwich, with savory yogurt dressing, fennel and greens and Café au Lait to drink. While not as good as mine, his meal was pretty delicious. The Café au Lait was to die for (and, coming from a person who generally steers clear of coffee, that is something).

Baked Goat Cheese with garden lettuces and levain toast. Peach iced tea. 

After the meal, I couldn’t resist getting another apple turnover and Ben got a chocolate croissant and a baguette from good ol’ Acme. We also got the chance to check out Kermit Lynch’s shop a little more this time, although I still haven’t tried anything from there yet. Next time, for sure…as I plan to return to this little culinary corner as often as possible.

Tolani Wine Restaurant (NYC): The Meal That Inspired This Blog

Before I get into this post (and the meal that inspired this blog, as advertised), I have a confession to make. I have not had the best track record with starting blogs. In fact, my relationship with blogging might even be called dysfunctional.

I usually begin with an idea, an idea that leaves me thinking that I am super creative, despite the fact that it's 2 o'clock in the morning and my judgement is already sleeping. I then spend a few days of doubting my earlier self-aggrandizement, but eventually decide to go ahead and create my blog.  The next roadblock: crippling indecision. I toil over every last little decision, from formatting the layout to picking fonts. Once I finish the painful process of creating the blog, I spend five hours one blog post and promptly forget all about the whole thing.

For this blog, I've decided that I need to keep it simple. You know, deal with something that I love and that I encounter on an everyday basis. Something elementary. Or should I say...alimentary? And so, I've started a food blog! (Here's hoping it's more of a success than the last few...)

But beyond the motive of overcoming a dysfunctional relationship, I was also inspired to start a food blog because of one very happy accident: Tolani, Wine Restaurant.

So here's the story: my mom and I took a trip to New York City about a month ago and we met up with a friend of mine in Upper West Side for the last dinner of our trip. Both my mom and I wanted to go all out on our last night there and we were both craving something that we could only describe as "fresh gourmet" food. Somehow (hallelujah) we happened upon Tolani. What happened next can really only be described as heavenly. Eating off of each other's plates, we enjoyed every last little bit of our (rather large) dinner. Here's what we got:

[Appetizers] Honey Roasted Peach Salad, with mache (a type of lettuce), goat cheese, spiced pecan and crispy serrano, for me. My mom ordered the Beet Salad, also with goat cheese, horseradish, mizuna (Japanese mustard), walnuts, and red wine vinaigrette. My friend got the gazpacho of the day, which I believe was avocado and cucumber.

[Main course] We shared the special: Lamb Chops with Ratatouille and a Blackberry Sauce. Also, ordered Rosemary French Fries, which were so god damn addictive, and Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan.

Photo Credit: Miraya Berke.

[Dessert] Bread Pudding with vanilla creme sauce, which was so delectable. And Nectarine and Blueberry Cobbler with a scoop of Vanilla Ice-Cream, which was even more delectable, hard to believe as that may be.

Overall, there are only two words to describe that meal: too good. That meal was just too good. And actually, that's what Tolani means: it's South African slang for 'too good'! But really, words cannot do it justice. And sadly, I didn't have my camera with me for this meal, so photos can only do a very limited job in capturing the experience. (In the future, I will try to give you all a bit more to feast your eyes upon). Though some of the details of this meal have faded in this last month, its impact was unforgettable. I've been raving about it ever since and it may well have been the best meal of my life. Having reignited my passion for food, Tolani has helped this blog get off to a good start.