California

[Sundance2020]

Santa Barbara Sightseeing and Seafood

[Logan]

Napa Valley Wine Train

Welcome to the beautiful Napa Valley, California - one of the premiere winery destinations in the United States! Today we have the special opportunity to go on the Wine Train, a historical railroad journey that's been restored as a gourmet food experience. I’m going to share with you a little behind the scenes of what goes into the Wine Train, and all the delicious food on board! Again, thank you to Visit California (and Visit Napa Valley) for sponsoring my trip.

We arrived early and headed to the commissary to learn a little about what happens behind the scenes of the Wine Train. It was also a great opportunity to learn a little about the history of the Wine Train and how it was established and later restored, and converted into a gourmet meal experience and what it is today. We saw a little of the prep in the kitchen and then some of the chef’s loading their ingredients onto the train for the lunch ride. When the time came, we boarded the train, and first sat in the lounge to enjoy a drink and appetizer. For appetizers today we had a tray of cheeses and fruits. After the train traveled from Napa to St. Helena, it then turns around and heads back. We then headed over to the main dining car for lunch. In the kitchen things were buzzing - unlike a restaurant where guests arrived staggered, on the wine train, everyone is there and ready to eat at the same time. So the kitchen car is a frenzy at peak time. Yet as soon as all the orders are ready, it’s immediately calm. It was quite unique to see. For lunch we tried the tenderloin and the herb roasted chicken. Definitely the Wine Train is not only about the food, but really about the atmosphere, the classic heritage of the train cars and decorations, and the gorgeous changing scenery of Napa Valley. I thought it was an incredible experience in California. We took the Gourmet Express train for lunch and depending on season and situation, prices can fluctuate between $265 - $325 per person.

Wine Train: https://www.winetrain.com

Napa Valley Food and Wine Tours

Welcome to the beautiful Napa Valley, just north of San Francisco in California, USA. Today we’re going on an ultimate food tour in Napa Valley. We’ll be taking a tour of a great vineyard and pairing wine with food, then we’ll be eating a number of delicious meals that are produce driven using locally sourced ingredients. So let’s get ready to eat our way through Napa Valley! Again, thank you to Visit California (and Visit Napa Valley) for sponsoring my trip. We met up with Chef Brian who took us on a brief tour of Cakebread Cellars. We then spent some time in the beautiful and lunch garden where much of the produce is grown and harvested. We tried four different wines along with food pairing, all of which was excellent. Next up on this food tour in Napa Valley we met up with Chef Nash at Pizzeria Tra Vigne. One of the best things about Pizzeria Tra Vigne is his attention to detail and freshness and specifically minute made fresh mozzarella cheese. It’s really that good! Compline Restaurant and Wine Shop. Next we met up with Matt from Compline Restaurant and Wine Shop in downtown Napa Valley. They have a small, yet friendly wine shop and restaurant. The food was outstanding! And finally to wrap up this Napa Valley food tour we met up with Chef Jeffrey at Boon Fly Café. Again we toured the vegetable and herb garden to see some of the ingredients used in the cooking. Boon Fly Café is known for its amazing brunch, and they brought us out a feast of all things California breakfast. The food was fantastic, great quality and an incredible variety. Highly recommended for a wonderful breakfast when you’re in Napa Valley.

[Sundance2020]

San Francisco Seafood Tour

Welcome to the beautiful city of San Francisco, California on the west coast of the United States. It’s one of the most beautiful cities in the US and it has a rich history of food. Today, we’re going on a classic, heritage food tour of San Francisco, where we’re going to eat at some of the oldest and best restaurants in the city. We’ll be eating huge amounts of cioppino, a fisher’s seafood stew that was invented in San Francisco! Swan Oyster Depot Total price - $109.50 - First up on this food tour we headed to the legendary Swan Oyster Depot, easily one of the top restaurants I was looking forward to eating at in all of SF. It’s like taking a step back in time from the moment you step in. It’s all seafood bar counter style, fresh, and whatever is in season. I tried a bunch of different dishes, including a Crab Louie (another dish invented in San Francisco), plus smoked salmon on sourdough, chowder, shrimp cocktail, Sicilian sashimi, and crab backs. What a meal and what a way to start off this ultimate San Francisco food tour. Sotto Mare - Next we headed over to Sotto Mare, an Italian American restaurant serving seafood and local dishes. Among their list of dishes, no one goes to Sotto Mare without ordering their cioppino, an Italian American seafood medley with tomatoes and white wine and plenty of garlic. It’s the signature dish of San Francisco, and you can’t visit without trying it. Anchor Oyster Bar Total price - $136.29 - One of my personal favorite restaurants in San Francisco is Anchor Oyster Bar, where they again specialize in both oysters and cioppino. I ordered a nice tray of oysters to begin with, and finished with a huge bowl of cioppino. To me, this is the gold standard - a beautiful tomato broth that’s not too heavy and not too light, accented with herbs and spices, and a huge variety of seafood. An amazing meal. Tadich Grill - Total price - $129.26 - Finally to complete this San Francisco food tour we headed to Tadich Grill in downtown. Dating back to 1849, it’s not only the oldest restaurant in SF, but the oldest restaurant in California! It’s absolutely classic from the moment you walk in, huge wooden bar counter, high saloon style ceiling, and waiters in white coats. I tried a number of dishes including, you guessed it - cioppino. But the real winner here for me were the local sand dabs.

[Sundance2020]

Dungeness Crab Feast in San Francisco

Welcome to San Francisco, California, and when it comes to eating, the king of all foods is the Dungeness crab. Today, we’re going on a Dungeness crab food tour in San Francisco. We’ll start at a local fish market, then to the popular tourist pier 39, and finish with legendary garlic Dungeness crab and garlic noodles. Again, thank you to Visit California (and Visit San Francisco) for sponsoring my trip. Alioto Lazio Fish Co - To begin this Dungeness crab tour in San Francisco we started with a trip to Alioto Lazio Fish Co, a generations-old family run seafood distributor. Among other seafoods, what they are most known for is Dungeness crab that you can buy live. They also offer small cups of pre shelled crab that you can taste test. It was a good way to begin this tour. Crab House at Pier 39 - Next up, just down the road we headed over to Pier 39, probably the most famous of all places in all of San Francisco. Yes, it’s touristy, but it’s really nice and a great place to walk around, and of course to see the colony of California sea lions. For lunch we headed over to Crab House at Pier 39, a restaurant that of course focuses on Dungeness crab. Their famous dish is Dungeness crab served on a smoking iron skillet. The crab is roasted in butter, bathed in a secret spice sauce mixture, and drizzled in white wine tableside to smoke on the hot iron. The crabs were fantastic, sweet, and naturally delicious. Thanh Long Restaurant - The Dungeness crab restaurant I was most looking forward to trying was Thanh Long Restaurant, a legendary Vietnamese American restaurant that was one of the first Vietnamese restaurants in San Francisco. It was amazing to hear a little behind the scenes of how the restaurant got started. The roasted crab and garlic noodles recipes are top secret - really a guarded family secret and they even have a secret kitchen to make them in where only family members are allowed. Their crabs are amazing, so garlicky and peppery, and then combined with the most addictive garlic noodles you’ve ever had in your life - it’s a heavenly combination.

[Sundance2020]

Food Tour San Gabriel Mountains | Los Angeles Area

Welcome to San Gabriel Valley in the greater Los Angeles area. Today I’m going with my great friend Mike Chen ) on a dumpling and noodles Chinese food tour. We’re starting off with some giant head sized dumplings that you have to eat with a straw! Long Xing Ji Juicy Dumpling (140 W Valley Blvd Ste 211, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States) - Total price - $80.28 - To begin this Chinese food tour in San Gabriel Valley we headed to Long Xing Ji Juicy Dumpling, a Shanghainese dumpling restaurant. Along with their regular soup dumplings, the main thing Mike and I came to eat was the massive crab dumplings. They are so big and filled with so much juice and broth that you have to suck them up with a straw. A great start to this food tour. Lan Noodle (411 E Huntington Dr Suite 102, Arcadia, CA 91006, United States) - Next we went to Lan Noodle, a restaurant that specializes in Lanzhou beef noodles, which are one of the legendary noodles of China. We got a chance to see them as they were making hand pulled noodles, and we ordered a bunch of dishes. They also gave us a few extra dishes, which were delicious. Luscious Dumplings (4XJJ+PP Monrovia, California, USA) - Finally to wrap up this dumplings and noodles Chinese food tour in LA we went to Luscious Dumplings, one of the best dumpling restaurants in greater Los Angeles. We met with the owner who served us a mix of some of their best dishes including classic dumplings and some new modern dumplings as well. Some of the best dumplings you’ll ever have.

[Sundance2020]

San Francisco BBQ Restaurants

Welcome to California, USA, and today we’re going on a California BBQ tour, eating lots of tri-tip steak on the grill, and one of the thickest juiciest cuts steaks in the United States! Cold Spring Tavern (5995 Stagecoach Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93105, United States) - One of the greatest legendary and historical destinations in California for BBQ tri tip is Cold Spring Tavern, it’s a hidden gem. You can choose to sit down without the tavern or forest, and they serve up tri-tip sandwiches in a huge way. They are delicious especially when paired with all their signature sauces. Their onion rings are also fantastic. Price - $13 per sandwich Jocko's - Steakhouse (125 N Thompson Ave, Nipomo, CA 93444, United States) - Next up on this California BBQ meat tour we drop to Nipomo, and to one of the most legendary steakhouses in the United States - Jocko’s. Jeffrey had been telling me about their double cut XXL spencer steak grilled over red oak. It’s every bit as amazing and more than it sounds. One of the best steaks ever. Da Hickory House BBQ (2790 Seaglass Way, Oxnard, CA 93036, United States) - Finally to wrap up this food tour we drove over to Oxnard and Raquel took us to Da Hickory House BBQ for a leg sized tri-tip sandwich!

[Sundance2020]

Best Thai Food in Los Angeles

Welcome to LA, one of the best cities outside of Thailand for Thai food - and not just any Thai food but you’ll find amazing regional varieties of Thai food. Today we’re going on an extreme Thai food tour of Los Angeles, where we’ll eat northern Thai food, southern Thai food, boat noodles, and spicy green papaya salad. Get ready for some of the best Thai food outside of Thailand! Sapp Coffee Shop Price - $11 per bowl - We’re starting this Thai food tour of LA with a bowl of classic boat noodles at Sapp Coffee Shop. They are good, really good. Rich and meat, but a good ratio of blood to broth. Northern Thai Food Club ( Next up on this Thai food tour in Los Angeles we headed over to Northern Thai Food Club, also known as Amphai northern Thai food. Here you’ll find an amazing selection of authentic northern Thai food all cooked and ready to be served. Choose some of the dishes that sound best to you, dish them out, and you’re ready for a feast. This place is amazing, and you don’t want to miss it. Price - about $8.99 per dish Luv2eat Thai Bistro - I met up with my friend from Bangkok, but who happened to be in LA at the same time we were and she joined us for lunch. We went to Luv2eat Thai Bistro for an outstanding southern Thai meal. Along with a huge feast for lunch, one of their signature dishes and something you don’t want to miss is their Phuket crab curry with rice noodles. Also, a great place to eat stink beans! Lax-C - Price for 3 items - $12 - For Thai street food in LA, you must check out Lax-C, which is basically a Thai warehouse like Costco, but with all Thai ingredients and necessities. Inside you’ll find a khao gaeng - a Thai style curry buffet where you choose what dishes you want over rice and take it to go. The food is authentic and they have a great variety. Kim Thai Food - Total price - $45 for everything - Finally to end this epic Thai food tour in LA, we drove out to Kim Thai Food, located at the back of an unlikely swap meet. They specialize in Isan food, food from the northeastern region of Thailand. I ordered the spicy duck laap, and some flaming hot papaya salad. Great food, and again the authentic taste, and crazily spicy!

[Sundance2020]

Los Angeles - Sichuan Food

Welcome to LA and more specifically San Gabriel Valley where we’re going to take you on an amazing spicy Chinese food tour today! I’m hanging out with my friend Jing who has a very cool story, which we’ll hear, and then we’ll be eating a Sichuan feast, Chongqing noodles, and finishing with an insanely spicy Chinese hot pot! Chengdu Impression Total price - $262.71 - Jing first took us to eat at her favorite Sichuan food restaurant in LA, called Chengdu Impression in Arcadia. We ordered a huge spread of dishes including pickled mustard greens fish, frog in a chili stew, one of the best mapo tofu I’ve ever had, and dino beef ribs with a mala Sichuan rub. It was one of the best Sichuan meals I’ve had, outstanding food and quality. Chong Qing Special Noodles - Price - $8.99 per bowl - Next up with headed to Chong Qing Special Noodles, a legendary noodle restaurant that serves spicy and tingly Chong Qing noodles. This is the real deal, so addictively tasty that you can’t stop. Chong Qing YaoMei Hotpot - Total price - $117.18 - Finally to complete this Chinese Sichuan food tour in greater Los Angeles, we drove out to Pasadena to eat at Chong Qing YaoMei Hotpot, again another Ching Qing specialty restaurant. This was one of the best hot pots I’ve had and you can order the extra spicy - which I did - and it really was properly spicy and bursting with flavor. The meat and vegetables selection was great, was the dipping sauce. It was an amazing day eating Sichuan and Chong Qing food within the greater LA area, and again thank you to Jing for showing us around!

[Tripadvisor]

2 Days @ Napa Valley