The markers of a passing summer are tumbling.
The Kentucky Derby, the Grand Prix of Monaco, baseball’s all-star game, the U.S. Open and the 24 Hours of Le Mans have come and gone. On Sunday the Tour de France reaches its crescendo on the streets of Paris. The British Open — now the Open Championship — wraps up on the same day.
OK — there are other mileposts. For some of us, however, the season is paced by the world’s major televised sporting events, a rocking chair and a cool draft of air conditioning.
Anyway, summer beginning to wane and the year heading into its closing half is reason enough to look back on what has already been a remarkable year for Lake County’s growing food scene.
It began with a new face at Park Place.
Yeah, yeah — if you want to be pedantic about it, the new face at Park Place arrived in the fall of 2016, so should not really be part of a 2017 mid-year review. And he isn’t even a new face.
Jeremy Zabel worked the kitchen of the Lakeport institution from 1991 until 2006, when he took over at the Saw Shop Gallery Bistro in Kelseyville. He returned after a year in Napa as general manager of Park Place splitting his time between the kitchen and the front of the house, greeting guests and serving drinks.
The kitchen staff at Park Place developed a following through 30 years of fundamental skill, of hand made pasta, of fresh ingredients and deft technique. Under longtime chef Francisco Cervantes — who remains at the helm — the restaurant became a mainstay.
But the menu had become predictable. Zabel charged it with seasonal additions and regular specials.
With a perfectionist chef — Francisco Cervantes — providing further guidance in the kitchen, the transformation was remarkable. Park Place’s shrimp and grits, for instance, develops a sunset hue, each layer seemingly more resplendent than the last.
The range of this broth is extraordinary — a top note tangy and sweet, wavering between light balsamic and aged rice wine vinegar; a raspy echo of herbs and a rumble of spicy heat that blends nicely with Andouille sausage. There is also a baritone lifted from the pan, grounded with a bitter trace.
It is simply captivating.
Of course, a seasonal menu means that favored items occasionally drop from the list. But it is the direction taken by several chefs in the first half of 2017. Matthew Metcalf at Greenview in Hidden Valley Lake just completed his new breakfast menu and is revising lunch and dinner.
Fresh & Bangin’ — recovered from chef John Arslanian’s knee surgery — follows the same ethic. O’Meara Bros. Brewing Company in Lakeport is also adopting fresh, seasonal items. And at Loch Lomond Roadhouse, chef Mayme Dyslin introduces regular specials.
Yet there is value in the constant. HDL Farm Gourmet Food Co. & French Bakery prepares many of the same loaves, day after day. And they generally sell out, long before closing.
Yeah, Roger Hue de Laroque opened around Thanksgiving of last year. But word of the Clearlake Oaks storefront began to percolate through the county as 2017 dawned.
It was a welcome addition to Lake County’s culinary landscape.
The unobtrusive little place prepares batards and baguettes, rustic sourdough loaves and breads studded with olive or garlic. Sandwiches of jambon imported from France lend an old world feel. Chicken served on panini is hormone free, as is common throughout Europe. Bread crafted from flour also imported France offers a brittle then chewy bite, but an ethereal presence as authentic as the tri-colour waving out front.
These are just indications of a boom — the little crackles and sparks that forecast a coming explosion. There have been new people, new places, that build upon what Lake County’s established destination restaurants achieved.
But more on that in another edition.
Already in 2017, the county has reaped in accolades. Lou Ann Bauer’s Hill Creek Vineyard Tuscan blend extra virgin olive oil from Coratina, Pendolino, Frantoio and Leccino varietals took gold at the Los Angeles International Olive Oil competition.
Meanwhile Emilio De la Cruz captured Best of Show at the California Olive Oil Council’s annual competition in Monterey. His prize bottle? Chacewater’s Sevillano, an extra virgin oil from a Spanish varietal.
Within in a matter of weeks, two Lake County olive oil producers — one large, one small — had topped their class in major competitions.
Woodland Community College Clear Lake’s culinary program added to the award list when student Jennifer Kooyman won the California Community College Culinary Competition in Los Angeles.
The event is a chopping block for young chefs. Judges pick at dishes for the slightest flaw. But Kooyman not only returned with first place honors, she also earned a perfect score — 140 points — from one judge.
Of course, there were some down moments. The county lost Carli Tippett, who had recently opened People Pleazin’ Pantry in Upper Lake.
The little store sold preserves, olive oils and other local products. But one of the draws — and one we will miss — was her take and bake frozen scones.
Scones suffered undue derision because of so many groceries. But hers were nothing like the dry, clunky biscuits masquerading as scones. No, these were the dense, moist and effortlessly graceful breads that made scones an English tea time treat.
Proper scones.
And they were one of the many highlights of the half year. The lemon-poppy seed version, for example, offered a nutty caress under the shimmering gaze of citrus.
The lemon seemed to lilt through the cake, making you aware of its presence without turning attention from the elegant moment. A desultory rattle of poppy seed — distant and faint — lent an earthy note to the pleasantries. The crust crumbled with a snap, sending flecks of salt to balance the easy sweetness.
Other memorable dishes include hamburgers at The Saw Shop Gallery Bistro in Kelseyville and Cowpoke Cafe in Middletown. Both could make America great again — or at least remind us of why we love the all-American burger.
The fish tacos at Loch Lomond Roadhouse stand out. Then there’s the po’ boy at Park Place, the Cuban sandwich at Blue Wing Saloon in Upper Lake, the pork belly wraps at O’Meara Bros. the …
Well it could take up way too much space, which is why we look forward to the remainder of 2017.
