John and I just returned from Vancouver to celebrate my stepson Pete's 40th birthday. It rained, snowed and was sunny illustrating the fickleness of the March northwest weather. There are restaurants and artisan coffee shops galore and the favorable exchange rate was an added benefit. We enjoyed a return visit to Espana, a tapas place in the West End, the delightful Italian osteria Savio Volpe and the stylish Hawksworth in the Georgia Hotel for breakfast. We loved the Museum of Anthropology at UBC that celebrated the Coastal First Nations Dance Festival the weekend of our visit. Vancouver is a beautiful city, easy to navigate and delightful for a long weekend.

 

At Mustards we continue our celebration of the foods of spring. Spring peas, asparagus, fava beans, baby carrots and black radishes grown and harvested by Omar and Pedro will be quite the treat. And of course we'll serve spring lamb. 86 those winter blues because spring is here at Mustards.

 

Duck and many wonderful ways to serve it are featured at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen this month. Jim will prepare duck a l'orange, duck mole enchiladas, duck foie gras with rhubarb, crispy duck leg with salade Lyonnaise, duck schnitzel and more. I can't wait since duck is one of my favorite birds, right after squab that after 49 years of cooking I cannot get my customers to order. Be sure to let me know what's your favorite duck dish is this month.

 

Spring is one of the best times to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The weather is spectacular and the Monterey Peninsula sparkles. Several of the staff at both restaurants visited recently and have glowing reports of the exhibits and Matt's food at Cindy's Waterfront. The Aquarium is truly a gem and should not be missed.

 

Speaking of gems I was at the Cameo Cinema to catch many of the Oscar nominated movies. We are lucky to have such an intimate, top quality movie house here in town run by the inimitable Cathy Buck. The recent Film and Fork feature, "The Founder" was sold out and we served CBK's gourmet version of the movie's iconic subject at the post-dinner discussion.

 

We recently added Sara and Jonah Beer's debut wine the Pilcrow Cabernet Sauvignon to the lists at Mustards and Cindy's. The 2014 from a small vineyard on Mt. Veeder tastes to John like a classic Bordeaux with restrained fruit, moderate alcohol and a delightful finish that pares well with the foods we serve. Readers of this newsletter get a 10% discount purchasing wine directly from their website  PILCROW. Type CINDY under the promo code.

 

   

Easter Sunday is April 16 and Mother's Day May 14. To get your reservation booked at your favorite Cindy Pawlcyn restaurant, please call Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen at 707.963.1200 or
Mustards Grill at 707.944.2424 today.

 

Cheers!

Cindy