Zut!

I love discovering new restaurants.  Granted, I'm usually also nervous about venturing out because sometimes adventures can be fruitful while other times they can be rather disappointing.  

Zut on Fourth was anything but disappointing, though.  

I have a confession to make,  I have developed a fondness towards specialty pizzas more because I love cracker thin crusts and unique cheeses and toppings though, rather than for the price.  I'm well aware that you can get a more than perfectly delicious pizza at Bobby G's in Berkeley, but sometimes I just can't help myself. 

I didn't used to like brussel sprouts.  But then again, I didn't always eat them cooked in bacon and topped with cheese.  Well, regardless, I'm a huge fan of them now, even when they're not coated in rendered pork fat. 

These fried brussel sprouts were spectacular. Mind blowing.  Phenominal.  Need I say more? The outter leaves were light and crispy while the center of the brussel halves were still very green and tender.  The thing that I love most about brussel sprouts are not only their intense cabbage flavor, but they're like these little bombs of goodness.  When cut on a bias and cooked in whatever oils and seasonings you please, the flavors get trapped between the little layers and a burst of flavors and aromas come out with every bite.  How can you not be a fan? 

I know that vegetables cooked in bacon and topped with cheese sounds really rich and seems to defeat the purpose of eating greens, but a little fresh squeezed lemon juice spritzed over the top easily makes you forget that these are vegetables in disguise.  A really good disguise at that!
 

Here's the pizza I was talking about, cracker thin crust with Pt. Reyes blue cheese, fig jam, carmelized onions, balsamic, and fresh arugula.  I didn't really taste or see any fig jam on the pizza which was a little bit of a disappointment at first, but by the time I was halfway into my first slice I had completely forgotten about it.  The combination of the cracker crust, the sweetness from the carmelized onions and balsamic vinegar, and the zip from the blue cheese complemented each other so well, and I completely devoured my first slice in 10 seconds flat.  Maybe I'm exaggerating. 
I'm usually turned off by blue cheese, after a horrible experience when I was younger eating a poached pair and blue cheese salad.  But, I don't know, I think it's growing on me (at a very, very slow pace though). 

I couldn't help myself but to order fries as well. You know me, I'm a French fry (for lack of a better term)whore.  Yes, I'll take 'em in almost any form--garlic, curly, seasoned, McDonalds...Just as long as they're not soggy or waffle cut.  Still not really sure what I have against waffle fries, they're just not...fries.



Wheat pot de creme.  Pot de creme always sounds good after a meal, doesn't it? 

Moscato d'Asti.  One of my favorite summer sipping wines.  I've obviously been very heavily influenced by A.G. Ferrari Foods. And I don't know that that's a bad thing...