Kale Salad at 230 Forest in Laguna. It doesn’t get much better than that!
Yesterday, my daughter and I drove up the coast to celebrate Labor Day. Now, for me Labor Day has always meant just that: I had 2 or 3 dozen people to the house, ‘prepped’ for DAYS, with stuffing dates with bleu cheese, slicing pickles, creating Mac Salad, Coleslaw, Potato Salad and other more interesting side dishes, creating Hamburgers, marinating shrimp and chicken, slicing onions, red peppers, and on and on…. saving the day of the event to cut up all the fruit and make the salad.
I’M HUNGRY CHEF MARIAN!
Me too! lol
Then there was the stress of: Would the sun come out or would it rain!
Although I must say I really enjoy entertaining, these days I stick to 6 around the table and I’m a happy girl! And those days were really jam packed with work.
And I was meticulous about presentation ~ presentation of the food and the house, a gated estate in Olivenhain. And when you live large, there’s this thing about paying attention to detail… every window, each and every chair and table, the bars, etc. outside, wiped down and in some cases the white loungers bleached, (which requires every cushion removed and also wiped down), cobwebs in the umbrellas and on the outside lights wiped away, bird poop cleaned… (don’t get me started) lol and every inch of the house organized and clean. So dump that level on top of everything else. But I was always grateful. It was a great excuse to get the house in order and up to speed. And that’s always how I saw it. It’s only in this Monday morning quarterbacking that I can realize the level of workload and stress (not really during the experience, because I made it fun, singing, laughing, etc).
Now I can’t complain big time, cause I did have household help. And the day of the event? I always had a bunch of friends come early and help me dress the tables, blow up the balloons, etc.
And I had my two kids to help. So that was good.
But I must say, yesterday was way better. A mother/daughter day going up the coast, talking and laughing in the car all the way up and back, eating, shopping and just relaxing with each other. I even got to meet one of her friends from college (she graduated 5 years ago, so this was a long time friend). That was pretty cool too.
We went into an incredible art shop. Vladimir Kush. Look him up on the web.
He is award winning with good cause. And one canvas was more incredible than the next. Over and over we were wowed with his heart felt art. And the people that work there? Perfect!
But at the end of the day, the thing that WOW’d me the most was (and always will be) 230 Forest. It’s an address and a name of a restaurant, much like I’m a person and a brand (Chef Marian). It never, I mean never disappoints.
I’ve been going there since the 80’s. The owner is an absolute doll, the wait staff really rocks, the art on the wall, the music they play…. the layout (inside and outside seating)…. and the most amazing food.
Yesterday there was two standouts for me: the Oysters on the Half Shell: with a vodka pomegranate granita and the Kale Salad ~ with marcona almonds, citrus, dried cranberries, pecorino and lemon vinaigrette. Use the organic baby kale from the grocery store? Yeaaah! I hadn’t thought of that. But it makes kale really edible raw. And the thing that amazed me most? The salad was dressed perfectly. Not to much. Not to little. Just a light tangy, lemony thing that pulled all of the ingredients together.
And that’s what always amazes me about 230 Forest. You look at the menu and go whaaat? The ingredients don’t sound like they would combine or be special. But they always are.
I won’t tell you I had profiteroles for dessert. But I did. We were not in Paris, but we can remember how cool that experience was through the taste of the food and enjoy the now! And we’ve only paid for the gas to go to Laguna! lol
My thanks to my daughter, Vladimir Kush and 230 Forest (and the universe) for giving me such a special Labor Day this year!
Happy Eating,
Chef Marian