Date Night in San Carlos: Johnston's Saltbox

Last Friday was date night for Joe and I which we were both looking forward to after a long week of work. We have been trying to find local restaurants near our place in San Mateo to go during the week as an alternative to driving to the city. We struck gold with Johnston's Saltbox in San Carlos! The restaurant has only been open for 13 weeks but you wouldn't even know as it was packed with locals when we arrived. They don't take bookings and due to size can only seat parties of 6 or smaller but pay no attention to those details because the food and atmosphere is worth the wait. To accommodate diners, the patio (pictured above) is open while you wait with direct access to the bar. We arrived at 7pm and were told the next available table would be ready in about an hour. To hold us over Joe got a beer and I had a glass of sparkling Rosé with some marinated olives. The chalkboard menu reads "Wait and Wine" which I found quite clever.

After waiting for only 35 minutes a table became available and we were quickly seated inside and on our way to a fabulous dinner. We started with a daily special of Yellowfin Carpaccio with a tomato salad and avocado paste. The Yellowfin was extremely fresh and the tomato salad brightened up the fish while the avocado added a soft balance. We could have ate 3 more servings each it was so good! We then moved on to a simple Rooftop Garden Salad that was made up of the restaurants daily harvested lettuce, radish, goat cheese and local olive oil and sherry vinegar dressing. The owner, Sean Johnston, started a rooftop herb garden and tries to incorporate as many items from the garden into his menu. Anyone is allowed to check it out too which adds to the dining experience. 

For the main course Joe ordered the Pan Seared Salmon over green rice with almonds and summer squash while I had the Roasted Chicken with summer vegetable succotash, potato mash topped with chicken ju and fried okra. Both dishes were full of flavor and the perfect size. My chicken came with the bone in and roasted crispy skin (the best part in my opinion .. although my scale would say otherwise!). Joe's salmon was a perfect medium rare and the almonds added a nice crunch. The vegetables in both dishes were so fresh and the chef highlighted their natural flavor by not adding any overpowering spices or sauces. Our wine of choice was Morgan Twelve Clones Pinot Noir from Santa Lucia Highlands which complimented the chicken and salmon well. 

To finish off our meal we sampled the warm peach pie with salted caramel, vanilla ice cream and graham cracker crumble... it was amazing! It was served as a mini individual pie and heated through so the peaches melted in your mouth. The contrasting cold vanilla ice cream sat on a bed of graham cracker crumble and the salted caramel was served on the side so you could add as much as you like to the ice cream. 

Needless to say - Joe and I were members of the clean plate club on Friday night. I'm so happy we found this hidden gem in our neck of the woods and I can't wait to go back and try their weekend brunch and lunch menu too! Plus everything is seasonal and always changing so we will never get bored. Date night on the Peninsula was a complete success - can't wait for our next one :)   


  

Father's Day in SF

One of the reasons I wanted to move back to the US was to be closer to family. This past Sunday was a perfect day celebrating my Dad and I couldn't be happier that our family was all together in the same city and I wasn't frantically trying to Facetime him Monday morning before heading to work in Sydney.

The plan was to surprise him with Giant’s tickets so I made up a brunch reservation near the Ferry Building so that my parents could take the Larkspur ferry and meet us in the city. We met them at Hog Island for some “pre-brunch drinks” where we gave our dad a Giant’s t-shirt and tickets for the 1PM game. Success! He was so surprised!

The line was at least 25 people deep before the doors even opened at Hog Island (not shocking) but thankfully we were able to get a seat right away. They have the system down and everyone who works there is very efficient. Plus menu isn't huge so the food comes quickly. 

We started off with a couple Bloody Mary’s and some beer to help with our hangover from the night before. I usually prefer a mimosa in the morning but lately I've been trying to expand my horizon. The Bloody Mary isn't spicy but there are various hot sauces on the table so you can add as much heat as you need which is nice. With our drinks came a dozen fresh oysters – half Kumamoto’s and half Hog Island Sweetwaters. The Hog Island Sweetwaters are a pacific oyster that are sweet tasting (the name kinda gives that one away) with a smoky finish. They are slightly larger than the Kumamoto’s which are my all-time favorite and will usually sell out by the end of the day. The “Hog wash” that accompanies the oysters has become quite famous and Hog Island even advertises the recipe on their website (they also add it to their Bloody Mary’s – super yum). 

              

We quickly proceeded to our main courses: 2 clam chowders, sriracha grilled oysters, cowgirl creamery grilled cheese with homemade pickles, old bay fries and a mixed green salad with sherry-dijon vinaigrette. The clam chowder and grilled oysters stole the show while the grilled cheese was good but the Gruyere was a little strong. The chowder broth was a perfect consistency (not too thin, not too thick), well balanced with flavor, perfect for bread dipping, and the bowl was overflowing with fresh manila clams. The potatoes were cooked perfectly and the bacon didn't overpower the overall dish. I will definitely order the chowder when I go back especially if it’s cold outside.

Hog Island is one of my favorite places to go and I will continue to frequent their Ferry Building restaurant as often as I can. I would crave their oysters when I was living abroad and I’m so glad we stopped in for Father's Day.

Unfortunately the Giants went on to lose to the Rockies in the 8^th inning which was pretty heart breaking but all in all it was a perfect day and I’d like to think my Dad would say the same :)