Miraval: Putting the "Eat" back in Spa Retreat

Miraval Life in Balance, about one hour outside of Tuscon, is a very special place. The philosophy of the spa is mindfulness and learning how to live in the present moment. The grounds are beautiful and surrounded by desert. There are many lovely spa treatments you can get (Mom and I got one each daily, including a prickly pear sugar scrub, ayurvedic massage, dreamy creamsicle massage with vanilla oil and orange water, and manicures and pedicures, though there were many more on offer) and pools to bliss out by. There are also fabulous activities from seminars on bringing mindfulness into different areas of your life, to hiking, mountain biking (which I learned to do-- scary but so much fun!), all kinds of aerobics and conditioning classes, yoga, guided meditation, photography, trail riding, and more.

There are also the challenges, which are basically these wild outdoors challenge courses. I didn't think I would partake being a huge fraidy cat, but I ended up completing three of them-- the one where you climb up a 25 foot pole and jump off, the one where you traverse a wire 30 feet up, and the one where you are hoisted 40 feet up on a rope and have to let go and swing like a human pendulum, and it looks a little something like this:


Patch flies through the air with the greatest of ease!

All three challenges were crazy and taught me so much about myself and the way I approach other challenges in life, plus they left me with a new image of myself as this powerful, fearless woman. ROAR!

But, the point of this blog and therefore the topic of discussion today is the cuisine at Miraval. Unlike many other spas, Miraval does not make its guests diet or starve, two things in which I have no interest. In fact, this is one of the reasons I chose this particular spa while doing my research (and also, they are not dry). I did joke that we would all waste away, though, because the food, while delicious, is super healthy and shockingly low-calorie. How do I know? By every dish there is a little card giving you the calories, fat, protein, carbs and fiber along with the suggested serving size. The chefs do a fantastic job of making things that are colorful and tasty using little tricks to make them healthy. And deprivation is NOT on the menu.

Breakfast

There is a set breakfast menu at Miraval with about 6 entree choices each morning. My mom and I fell in love with the smoked salmon on a potato cake. It came with fresh tomatoes, capers and onion, and featured delicious salmon piled on a salty and hot potato hash-brown patty. All this at, if I recall correctly, under 200 calories. I also like the huevos rancheros, which came in under 100 calories. (Crazy, I know.) There is also a breakfast buffet which always has steel cut oatmeal (45 calories for half a cup, according to the card) and fresh fruit, along with egg entrees including a fabulous 150 calorie breakfast burrito in spinach wrap and buckwheat pancakes that were similarly non-fattening. Basically you could eat to your heart's content knowing it was nearly impossible to overdo it. A diet-conscious person's dream come true.

There was also strong, good coffee and other drinks you could order from the coffee/smoothie/juice bar, which also had delicious frozen yogurt. This bar stays open all day from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M., and all the coffee, wheat grass shots, juices and smoothies you could ever want are included in your stay.

Lunch

At lunch, two different entrees were on offer every day. One was usually a fish, and the other a vegetarian dish or a salad. On the first day, I had a chicken tostada that was FIFTY CALORIES (crazy low) and was actually delicious. From then on I often ordered the fish which included escarole, halibut and more. It was usually great. There was also the buffet which was always available. It usually had a different hot and a cold soup daily (the mango jalapeno cold soup was a favorite), baked sweet potatoes, bean salads, hot entrees such as turkey burgers, a sandwich bar, and a well-equipped salad bar, along with fruit and many tasty and disturbingly low-calorie desserts such as little brownies, tarts, and cookies (which, due to their healthy nature, were hit or miss). Also on offer was iced tea in mango green, china black, raspberry, or prickly pear. We tried them all and loved them. My favorite was mango green.

Dinner

Dinner was the best part of the cuisine, in my opinion. You sign up outside the smoothie bar every day for your time slot. Like the other meals, this could be taken in Miraval's air conditioned dining room or outside on a patio with a beautiful view of the desert mountains (where my mom and I literally sat every day of the trip, even with the periodic and stunning torrential thunderstorms-- Arizona has a monsoon season, who knew?). The dinner menu had around 5 First Plates including appetizers, soups and salads, and 5 Second Plates which featured a variety of entrees including one or two vegetarian options per night.

Many of these spas don't have alcohol, but Miraval does, which is wonderful. Before dinner, my mom and I would have some of the cheese and veggies that were put out each evening and sit at the bar with the sommelier, Warner Forth. Warner, who has been with Miraval basically since it opened over ten years ago, is incredibly knowledgeable about wine with passion to match, and a fantastic conversationalist. While we chatted, he would recommend one of Miraval's many very good wines by the glass depending on our mood. He also made a killer martini and a lemon drop to die for, his own special recipe, which he gave me permission to post here and is below. This was my favorite part of each evening.

Then we'd move on to our table where we might order a second glass of wine while we ate. Some of my favorite first plates included snow crab claws served with cocktail sauce in a martini glass, and prosciutto and goat cheese salad. The best entrees I had (though all were great) were pistachio-crusted lamb chops and a delicious venison with wine demi-glaze. As always, the calorie and nutrition stats for each dish appeared on the menu and as usual, they were shockingly low.

There was a set dessert list each night along with excellent herbal teas served in a beautiful personal-size cast iron kettle tea set. The desserts included a decent creme brulee, coconut sorbet, hazelnut roulade, and more, and occasional specials. Like some of the other things I ate at Miraval, I found these desserts just too healthy for me to really enjoy. For people who want something sweet and a large-ish portion, the dessert was perfect. I would rather have one bite of something "real" (a.k.a. bad for you) than a huge only-okay dessert any day, so I was not much impressed. (There were a couple of other dishes, too, that couldn't be made healthy without losing their goodness, such as the lobster bisque.) However, I was impressed by the commitment to keep things healthy.

Conclusion: Healthy Gourmet Achieved!

All in all, we were well-fed and well-fueled for each day's adventures. Lovely, leisurely and healthy meals were one of the many pleasures of being at Miraval. I can't wait to go back!!!


Warner's Lemon Drop

2 parts lemon vodka (i.e., Stoli Limon)

1 part Limoncello (an Italian lemon liqueur)

1 part fresh lemonade (fresh lemon juice and simple syrup)

Shake all ingredients together until very cold. Serve in sugar-rimmed martini glass with lemon twist garnish. Enjoy and be happy. (Thanks, Warner!)

:-P

PS: Another cool feature is that at every meal, you can ask for little cards to request recipes. The spa will mail them to you or email them, your choice. I have some recipes coming!

Back from Vacay- to El Maguey!

I'm back from vacay! It was wonderful and restorative, and I'm ready to get back to work and to posting on the lovely blog with new vim and vigor.

After our amazing spa trip at Miraval (whose scarily healthful and tasty food I will write about soon), my mom and I decided to use our time in L.A. for a day trip to Mission San Juan Capistrano, South of L.A. The mission was wonderful and the little town was adorable, too. Lots of little shops and fun historic buildings. I would highly recommend visiting this beautiful and peaceful place.

For lunch, we felt for Mexican, and one of the ladies at the mission recommended that we skip the impressive-looking but touristy place we had found in the AAA guide and go to El Maguey instead.

El Maguey is in a little white building with a patio in front and has a separate take-out section. The inside has cozy booths and cute but simple Mexican decor, plus Latin music videos playing silently on a TV. The menu had a mix of combo platters (combinations of tamales, chile relleno, enchilada, taco, etc.) and house specialties. I ordered the enchiladas en mole, since I love mole and having slaved away to make it a couple of times really appreciate a good one. My mom ordered Mary's tacos, which are tacos al pastor (pork) and with beef, with some green peppers and mushrooms, in corn tortillas. Both dishes were served with Spanish rice and refried beans. We also ordered two of their margaritas, which are made with wine.

Chips and salsa came first. The chips seemed homemade and were really greasy, crunchy and good. The tomato salsa was hot and really tasty. The wine margaritas were also really refreshing and nice. I asked for the recipe but the waitress said they get it pre-made. I imagine it had cheap white wine and lemonade, something like that. With a salt rim of course, on the rocks. It was really good, I will probably try to recreate it sometime.

The dishes were HUGE. (Next time, we will share.) My enchiladas, one chicken one cheese, were delicious. The cheese one had tons of stringy cheese that choked me in a good way. The chicken was well seasoned and tender. The mole sauce was very good and flavorful, though it was a bit sweet for my taste. My mom's dish was very good also, though it was not spicy in the least which the waitress had warned her it was.

The rice and beans were fabulous. FABULOUS! I would bet dollars to donuts they use manteca in the beans and it tastes just right. The rice was fluffy and pleasing. I would go back just for these. These are a few of my favorite thiiiiings.

They also had churros which looked yummy, but we had no room left, alas! And a shockingly large selection of La Michoacana popsicles and ice cream bars, too. Next time I am in SJC perhaps when I have other visitors in town, I would definitely return to El Maguey. It was homey, simple food, no tricks, and not touristy or Tex-Mexy. My dad is Mexican and I grew up traveling and eating homemade food all over Mexico, so I have had some good stuff, but I am not an expert and can't say authoritatively how "authentic" the food was. However, my opinion is that it was quite authentic indeed. All in all, the service was warm and friendly and the food yummy in my tummy, making El Maguey a solid choice I would recommend.

Food: (3)

Experience: (3)

Overall: (3)

For an explanation of our rating system, CLICK HERE!

:-P

Nuts about Betelnut

Recently, a girlfriend of mine took the California bar exam. Remembering how that felt for me last summer (and because of a computer error, again in March!!) I decided I would take her out for a nice celebrator dinner. I thought long and hard about the kind of restaurant that would be perfect for a celebration....and came up with Betelnut.

Betelnut is in the Marina district of SF. This is an area I don't frequent as often as, say, the Mission. This is partly because it is so far away, and partly because the scene there isn't so much my style. But there are a couple of good restaurants there, and Betelnut is one of them.

The theme of the place is sort of polynesian/asian fusion. They have a long bar menu of very fruity drinks with umbrellas in them. I started withe a Sake Colada - which tasted like a pina colada, only lighter. It was surprisingly refreshing and REALLY tasty. My friend L. had a Mai Tai, which came in a little barrel. I tasted it and it was very fruity and fit the CELEBRATION theme of the evening.

Then we moved on to food - SO much food, and it was really good. We started off with the pork springrolls with wood ear mushrooms, glass noodles, and szechuan mustard. The dipping sauce was nice and spicy, and the springrolls were hot, crispy, with delicious hearty filling. They were a great way to start the meal.

Next we moved on to a green salad with oranges and nuts, and an asian dressing. Simple but good, a nice contrast to the spicy spring rolls.

For our main course, we had ribeye steak, which was served sizzling hot on an iron plate with spring onions and roasted garlic. The sauce on top of the steak was REALLY good - lots of flavor, and it caramelized into the hot place. With that we ordered a side of jasmine rice, which was a little undercooked, and the delicious szechuan green beans served with fried garlic and soy sauce and all sorts of delicious things. The steak was tender and REALLY delicious, though I wish they had brought us a spoon to help us with the sauce.

Other times at Betelenut I remember having the korean charbroiled pork with scallion pepper sauce. It was sort of a misnomer, because it was actually shredded/cubed and served in lettuce cups, which it doesn't say anything about on the menu. There is another chicken lettuce cup dish on the appetizer menu, but that is clearly marked.

In general the food at betelnut is REALLY good. I do find it a bit on the salty side, and I really like salt, so I always have to drink about a gallon of water when I get home. The one other complaint I have about the place is that both times I've made a reservation there I had to wait even though I got there right on time. Then this last time, though we had a reservation, we were seated at a tiny table near the bar and the door, and right next to a couple with a baby. The tables are REALLY close together and the baby was just crawling around on the benches so it was slightly unpleasant (I have nothing against babies, but we were trying to celebrate here!). When I asked about another table they said it would be at least a 15 minute wait - go figure. Also the bar area is poorly laid out and you end up constantly standing in someones way.

All in all its a great place for some asiany fusiony food. If you are relaxed and carefree about the semi-annoying service issues, then it is the perfect place for a mai tai in celebration of....whatever!!!

Food: (3.5)3.5 -
Experience: (3)3 -
Total: (3.25)3.25 -

For an explanation of our rating system, CLICK HERE!

For yelp reviews of Betelnut, CLICK HERE!

I'm nuts about it!

Emilia

Longboard Lager, by Kona Brewing Co.

I am a beer lover. Have been ever since I snuck my first sip of Coors Light at the age of God knows but I was still speaking French so you do the math.

One of my favorite things is beer tasting. Whenever I go to a brewpub that has a beer sampler, I'm there! While in Palo Alto, I often partook in the flight at Gordon Biersch. These things are great because they are both enjoyable (like channel surfing for the taste buds) and educational. See, America, this is what our schools need! Kidding, kidding.

But seriously, folks, whenever I see an interesting beer that I haven't tried at the market, I grab a six pack and put my highly scientific beer palate to work. It's very hard work, I know, but somebody has to do it.




Image: www.maletis.com/products.html

One of my clients is Hawaiian, so lately I've lately been on a Hawaii kick which has included trying to learn all the islands and capitals of Hawai'i (the map is on my PC desktop, as I am employing the world-map-shower-curtain theory of geography memorization) and also writing it properly with an apostrophe. So of course when I saw Kona Longboard Island Lager on the shelf at Albertson's while shopping for tomatoes, I decided to give it a gander.

The friendly people at Kona Brewing Company, which by the way, totally sounds like my kind of place, say: "Longboard Lager is a smooth refreshing lager fermented and aged for five weeks at cold temperatures to yield its exceptionally smooth flavor. A delicate, slightly spicy hop aroma complements the malty body of this beer."

I agree that this is a very smooth and easy to drink lager, with a nice golden-yellow color. It is mildly hoppy in a pleasant way and has a slightly sweet, nutty and light flavor. The beer is really nice poured cold in a glass with a snack of cheese or just on its own. It is both yummy and refreshing, and also has a cool label with a Hawaiian beach scene on it. This would be a good choice for when you feel for a more mellow beer, as drinking it is not such an event.


All in all, I recommend the beer. If you see it and are intrigued, and in the market for a really easy drinking brew with some distinctive flavor going on, too, say Aloha to Kona Longboard Lager! I will definitely keep my eyes out for Kona Brew Co.'s other varieties, which look intriguing. If you have tried them, leave us a comment!

:-P Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Ici, Uci, We Allci.......Great ice cream in Berkeley, at ICI.

A few weeks ago I was in Berkeley having dinner with my mother, aunt, and cousin. After dinner my aunt insisted that we head over to Ici, a relatively new ice cream shop right on college ave. My cousin and I were hesitant, as we both wanted to get back to the city, and there was a line out the freakin door for this place. LONG LINE. But, ice cream did sound good, and I had read about this place in daily candy, so we waited.

It was definitely worth the wait. Ici is housed in a small but stylish shop - the line was long because there was nowhere to stand inside. The service was good - people came from behind the counters to take orders and make the line go faster. You could also see people making ice cream in the back, which was fun. They had a great display case showing a few scoops of each ice cream, plus their ice cream sandwiches and cakes (they call them bombs). They also sell some cookies and things on the counter.

Ici prides themselves on using local ingredients to create their flavors. On the day that I was there, they had orange creamsicle, malted chocolate chip, basil, chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, and a couple of other strange flavors that I can't remember at this time. Oh, cherry - some really good cherry ice cream. I had a little taste of each of those and they were all good, but I settled on the malted chocolate chip. It was served in one of their hand rolled waffle cones - the smell of these things wafts out onto the street outside the restaurant. The cones have a little bit of melty chocolate in the bottom - yum, yum, yum. I thought the servings were good sized - I just had a kids scoop, which is one scoop. A small is two scoops, and so on. It was a nice sized scoop, much more and I wouldn't have finished it. The ice cream itself was deeeelicious - creamy, rich tasting, with these little chunks of malted chocolate all throughout it. The orange creamsicle was also really refreshing - that is one delicious flavor combination. If I had brought a cooler I would have taken home some ice cream, and I definitely want to go back and try a sandwich (they were pretty much out by the time we got there).

I'm not going to rate ici like we do our regular restaurants - but I will say that it was great ice cream, and not too expensive. Perfect to eat as you stroll past the shops on college. Go there, get ici-ed.

For yelp reviews of Ici, CLICK HERE!

Emilia

Starbucks Sandwiches

I like Starbucks, I'm not afraid to say it. That's right, you too-cool-for-school Starbucks haters, hear me roar! So that being said, I shall soldier onward...

"RAAAAAAAR!"

Image: Wikipedia.com

When it comes to most of the food at Starbucks, my motto is "Look, but don't touch." The pastries are notoriously high calorie and full of sugar and/or fat. Sure, I'll have the occasional treat (like the other day when Emilia and I indulged in their delicious chocolate cake doughnut. We had to get our energy up for a 4 mile hike!) but for an everyday snack, I usually look elsewhere.

However, Em and I recently noticed that Starbucks has started carrying a whole new line of fresher and healthier snack alternatives, including fresh fruit, various little salads, and SANDWICHES.

I must preface this by saying that for years I would answer the "What is your favorite food?" question with "Anything between two pieces of bread." I loooove me some sandwiches. Emilia does, too. They're my snack of choice and I'll eat them for any meal, though they have become first runner up to Miss Sushi since my recent trip to Japan. But rather than wax poetic about sandwiches here, I would like to spread the good word about two very decent and quite healthy sandwiches Emilia and I have been enjoying at the Bucks. (By the way, they don't talk about these sandwiches on their website, so we're not bothering to link to it, although you can check your Starbucks Card balance and stuff on there which is cool.)

In this corner...TURKEY FOCACCIA*: This sandwich, which features turkey, aioli, and roasted red peppers on focaccia bread, weighs in at 330 calories, which makes it perfect for a light lunch. It's great if you are craving a mayo-ey, basic turkey sandwich. The cheese is missed, but that's the price you pay for so few calories. I found the sandwich tasty and simple. The size is a bit on the small side, but it was filling enough. *: might not be its real name. Witness protection program?

And in this corner...LOW FAT TURKEY & ARTICHOKE. This sandwich, which is a bit larger than the previous one, contains "Hickory-smoked turkey breast with our mild tapenade of artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and herbs, topped with red bell pepper and spinach on Ciabatta." What you get is a dry-ish flour dusted Ciabatta, a decent sized stack of salty turkey cold cuts, and a very little bit of the other ingredients, making it a fair, plain turkey sandwich. However, at 190 calories, it is a real fast food find for those of us consciously looking out for our girlish figures, and makes a great snack. I just had one after running around on a busy day at the office and realizing I was starving and, oh look, 3 P.M. already! It filled me right up, did the job, and did not break the calorie bank.

For taste, I prefer the Turkey Focaccia because the aioli makes the sandwich moister and more flavorful. The Low Fat Turkey & Artichoke's advantage is clearly its low calorie content. Either one is a perfectly acceptable option for mid-day hunger. Neither is the best sandwich you've ever had, but as far as grabbing a quick bite to go, these humble fighters are pretty darn good. You can grab one on your coffee run and feel good that you made a good, healthy choice in the same three minutes that you grabbed your daily Jones.

E pluribus sandwich!



:-P

Play Ball! Food at AT&T Park

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I am a huge, huge baseball fan. Specifically, I am an SF Giants Fan. I'm a season ticket holder and I've been going to games at AT&T Park (formerly known as SBC park, formerly known as PacBell Park) since it opened. Being a foodie, I have also had the pleasure of sampling every type of food offered in the park over the years, except for the sushi because that just seems ridiculous, and any fake meat products, because why eat fake meat when there is perfectly good real meat to consume. Here are some of my favorite foods in the ballpark.

Club Level
I'll write about this first to get it out of the way. The food in club level seating is much better than the food elsewhere in the park. However the tickets are also more expensive. If you get a chance to sit here, definitely come hungry. The burgers and hotdogs and sausages are better quality, hotter, and more nicely prepared up here. Fries are fresher. All of that stuff. Some of the highlights of club level that you can't find elsewhere are fancy pizzas, really good panninis, corned beef sandwiches, DELICIOUS strawberry shortcakes, and sometimes they have really yummy perfect little sliders at the main grill area. When my parents are in town we generally get club seats. However my seats are with the real fans, in view reserve....

Third Level - View Reserve
I sit in section 310, which is really prime location for food. Right outside of my seats is a stand with the amazing gilroy garlic fries. These are thick-cut french fries, smothered in chopped garlic, salt, and parsley. In my case, also ketchup. These babies are so, so good. Sometimes all I eat are garlic fries. Because they also sort of make you feel sick....but its worth it, believe me. If you like garlic, you will love these. I'm obsessed with french fries, so these are perfect for me.

Outside of my seats are also various hot dog stands. I usually go for a normal polish sausage, which are really good here - more flavorful than your average dog. Sometimes, especially when my dad is around, we get a Sheboygan bratwurst - really delicious, HUGE in a giant bun, with tons of grilled peppers, onions, and sauerkraut. These are sold in a stand, not at one of the normal food locations. They are GOOD! You can also get grilled homerun dogs at this stand.

Close by is a Compadres mexican food stand, another one of my favorites. You can get a burrito, taco salad, or two huge tacos full of yummy spicy beef, cheese, cabbage, and salsa, in crispy shells. These are great on days when I've been to a few games in a row and I'm sick of hot dogs (it is possible to get sick of hot dogs). Speaking of hot dogs, there are also stands that sell various other kinds of sausages - italian, lemon chicken, etc.

Also on the third level, you can get your average nachos, pizza, pretzels, and normal ballgame snacks. At the other end from my seats is a fry bread stand, another one of my favorites. They have various funnel cakes and indian fry breads with toppings - SO delicious. Lastly, on the third level you can get the delicious Ghirrardelli ice cream sundaes. It used to be these were only sold on the third level, though now you can find them at field level also. Two scoops of vanilla ice cream are topped with a ladle of chocolate sauce, whipped cream, nuts, and a cherry of course. View reserve has some good food.

Field Level
There are a few things at field level that you cannot get at view reserve - just stop there on your way up to the top. One is the emerald roasted cinnamon nuts - I think you can get these upstairs at view now, but they are fresher down here. Almonds or walnuts, roasted and toasted with cinnamon and sugar. Nuts are good for you, right?

Also there are a few specialty stands down here. There is a fish and chips place, which is actually pretty good. Also North Beach Restaurant has a stand with 40 cloves of garlic chicken sandwiches, and some other yummy italian goodies. I believe there are also a few safeway deli sandwich locations down here - there might be one upstairs as well. Just sort of a normal deli sandwich, but tasty. Another thing down here (and I believe there is one of these upstairs too) is a stand that sells chili and clam chowder in big bread bowl. This is hard to eat at baseball games, I wouldn't exactly recommend it. But if you are in the mood go for it!

Center Field Pavillion
Out behind center field is a plethora of different food options. One of my favorites is the Orlando Cepeda Cha Cha Bowl. Yummy rice served with jerk chicken and a really good mango salsa. Another good option if you are sick of the basic ballpark food. Up here there is also stand that sells crab and shrimp cocktail, crab and shrimp poboys, fried fish, and calamari. There are some nice tables up here too, you can sit and relax and look out at the boats.

Below the Pavilion
Down below the pavilion used to be the only place to get the indian fry bread - now that is all over the park. But it IS the only place for one of my favorite foods - slow cooked bbq pulled pork and brisket sandwiches, with extra sauce on the side. Sometimes its hard to find your way down here, but if you are in the mood I would suggest it. These are great!

Other food and drink finds
Other foods that you can find randomly all over the park that I really enjoy - the fresh squeezed lemonade, huge delicious bags of kettlecorn, big bags of popcorn with real butter, peanuts/crackerjacks, small pink bags of cotton candy (not the multicolored stuff), and beers of course! If you come up to a counter and they have a beer you aren't fond of, don't despair. Basically, every single food counter sells a different beer. In addition there are liquor carts with different beers, margaritas, and wine all over the place. I've seen everything from pabst, to coors light, to Stella (yum!). Just walk around for a minute and you will find something you like.

Things to Avoid
The churros are atrocious. Don't waste your money. They are cold and just not worth eating. Really, that is the only bad thing I have ever consumed at this ball park.

All in all, AT&T is a great place to eat. There are tons of food options, the weather is great, the park is gorgeous, and you can see Barry Bonds hit some home runs (love him or hate him, he is fun to watch.) Come on out to the park and enjoy some.....food. And baseball too.

bye bye baby!

Emilia