Monthly Archives: April 2012

A soft serving

Posted on by
2

Sometimes when you’ve been shopping for ceramics for an hour, you need a little something sweet before you continue your day.

My mom and I ordered this vanilla soft serve with sea salt and Mandarin-flavored olive oil on a bright, sunny day in Sausalito. I’ve had desserts with sea salt, I’ve had olive oil cake and olive oil gelato, I’ve had chocolate with sea salt, but this was the first time I had ice cream with sea salt doused with olive oil.

I’m going to be drenching my ice creams in olive oil from now on. Because this flavor profile blew my mind.

Take note, really good olive oil and really great salt are needed. Really good soft serve sure doesn’t hurt, either (Nor does a mini blueberry almond pastry).

The artisanal cafe scene is definitely something that I’ve missed since I’ve been in China. In California and New York, coffee shops and cafes showcase the freshest, most local ingredients and products, eaten on long communal recycled wood tables next to pretty hipster boys and girls. My boyfriend makes fun of me for being a “hipster”, but if an artisanal cafe is where hipsters gather, I’ll happily claim the moniker.

Soft Serve and cafe photos taken at Cafe Cibo in Sausalito:

Cibo of Sausalito
1201 Bridgeway
Sausalito, CA 94965
Open Everyday, 7am-5pm

Heath Ceramics

Posted on by
1

I had dinner with my best friend at Foreign Cinema in SF to celebrate our (but, mostly hers) birthdays. She told me about a hot restaurant in the city that used Ikea plates.

“Ikea plates?! You can’t use Ikea plates in a city where Heath is on every table!”

I exclaimed this part jokingly, but also a bit sternly, and she laughed. She had told her husband the exact same thing.

I don’t know when it happened, but sometime in the last few years, San Francisco (and all my friends, it seems) pledged allegiance to Heath Ceramics. It has something to do with their locality to neighboring Sausalito and the whole “local artisan” deal, but I think it is mostly because Heath Ceramics exudes Bay Area aesthetic. That 70’s style, hippie-flavored, earth-toned, solid beauty.

My mom and I were able to make it up to Sausalito to the Heath showroom while I was home. Though we didn’t take the factory tour, we did manage to spend a whole hour in the store, selecting several worthy one-off pieces at up to 50% off their retail prices.

If you’re in the Bay Area and like to look at nice things, I’d recommend taking a drive out to Sausalito- right across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Food just looks better on pretty plates.


Heath Ceramics
400 Gate Five Road
Sausalito, CA 94965
T: (415) 332-3732 x13
Showroom Hours
Monday–Thursday
& Saturday 10–6
Friday 10–7
Sunday 11–6

 

The proof is in the pastry

Posted on by
2

I was in the states for about 2 months, and now I’m back in China. And most importantly, I feel like a normal human being again.

But let’s talk about my time at home. It was wonderful- intentionally unscheduled, with many trips to Whole Foods and lots of fresh air. I started eating like a normal human being again, in case these pastries hadn’t clued you in on that.

My parents shop at their local farmers’ market. Occasionally (every time), my dad will buy himself an almond croissant, but on one special Saturday he came home with a bag full of pastries.

I apologize for the slight blurriness of the photo. I attribute that to the sugar that was buzzing through my veins.