2020 Holiday Meals

The 2020 holiday season has just ended and we are finally in a new year. While last year was tough and the holidays looked a bit different, there is still a lot to be grateful for. I for one am really grateful that I could spend time with my family and enjoy two amazing holiday meals. Now while my gatherings last year were super different than previous years, they may have been some of the best yet as I had amazing food and spent time with my close family. For Christmas Eve, I had the pleasure of eating a vegan sushi platter from Family Cafe in North Beach. Then on Christmas Day I had the amazing opportunity to try Pyro’s Pastrami and their pastrami sandwiches. So here is what I thought about each meal and why I enjoyed this holiday season.

Family Cafe:

For Christmas Eve 2020, I was not with my extended family. Instead, I was with my mom and brother and we decided to order a vegan sushi platter from Family Cafe. Family Cafe is a tiny restaurant located on Columbus Avenue in North Beach. They serve regular and vegan sandwiches, bento boxes and drinks. The sushi platter that we ordered was a Christmas Eve special and I am not sure if they sell them in the actual store for same day pickup.

Pictured above is the vegan sushi platter that we ordered. Now while it seems like vegan sushi would be a lot different than regular sushi, it actually is not that different as it is just sushi without the fish. Basically, it is just vegetable rolls with the same rice and seaweed used for regular sushi. The plate we ordered served three to four people and we had three people total. We were able to get through most of the sushi but we did have a few rolls leftover for the next day.

When we received the order, it came in a tray and also came with soy sauce, chopsticks and a dried persimmon that is traditional in Japan and can be eaten with cheese and crackers or just plain. The other thing that the plate came with was a list of all the different rolls which was really helpful as it can be kind of tricky to tell which roll is which. Each roll combines whatever vegetables are fresh so the plate can vary based on the time of year that it is ordered. Now without further adieu, let’s get into the review of the actual sushi.

I started off by trying a simple cucumber roll as well as one with pickled radish that was right by the cucumber roll. On a side note, I ate the platter from the bottom of the picture above to the top if that makes it easier for you to follow along and see the rolls. The cucumber roll was a nice start as it was simple and satisfying. It contained pickled dried plum too which added a nice flavor to it. The roll with the pickled radish spiced it up a bit as it had an almost sweet element to it which was amazing. Also, that roll had some turmeric in it which was very faint but added a great flavor and spice.

The next roll that I tried was the big round one next to the cucumber roll called the King George Roll. While this roll had more going on and was better than the first rolls, it was a bit overloaded with vegetables making it hard to eat. It contained a cashew cream and I wish it had a bit more of it as it would have helped to dilute the vegetable flavor a bit and make it easier to eat. But, it was still super good. After the King George Roll, I dug into the purple and orange rolls pictured above. The purple roll combined a beet skin wrapper and a jalapeño top with a wonderful sweet potato and avocado filling. The beet made the roll a bit sweet and the jalapeño on top added a bit of heat. Furthermore, the sweet potato in the middle tasted almost creamy making this one of the top rolls of the night. I ate almost all of these rolls singlehandedly. The orange roll pictured combined bell peppers with a persimmon heart on top and was really fresh and nice. The persimmon made it a bit sweet which combined well with the rice and gave me a flavor pop in my mouth. Furthermore, the middle of the roll contained carrots, shishito peppers and blue lake beans which really combined well with the bell pepper and rounded out the roll perfectly. The beans added a meaty element that was perfect for the roll.

After eating those two rolls, I dug into an avocado roll. I love avocado rolls and this one was no different as the avocado was super fresh. The carrot, squash and cucumber filling worked really well together and added great flavor to the roll. After that was a brown roll with a shiitake mushroom wrapper and avocado on the center. The mushrooms were a unique feature for sushi and added a nice salty and smokey flavor to the roll. Also, the center of the roll contained yellow squash and pumpkin which are very similar to each other and worked well with the mushrooms on top to balance it out a bit. The final piece of sushi that I had was an eggplant Nigiri which was the highlight of the night. I love when eggplant is done right and this eggplant was done super well. It was soft and flavorful and made for an amazing finish to the platter. The ginger and green onion combined with it added a nice subtle flavor and did not overpower the eggplant which was great.

Overall, the sushi platter from Family Cafe was amazing. I loved all the unique flavor combinations and their use of fresh and local ingredients. Furthermore, their plating and presentation (especially their edible flowers) made for a nice touch on the dish. I cannot imagine how long it took them to prep this platter as it was done so beautifully. Thank you very much Family Cafe! Your sushi platter was awesome and I am really looking forward to trying all the other food that is made in your kitchen.

Pyro’s Pastrami!

The second of our holiday meals occurred on Christmas Day and was from Pyro’s Pastrami. Pyro’s Pastrami is a pop up that serves food out of the Port Kitchens Marketplace right across the street from Jack London in Oakland. They serve up pastrami and Rueben Sandwiches using fresh pastrami and bread. Also, they serve latkes with apple butter and crème fraîche as well as matzo ball soup and a New England style celery soda. Pyro’s Pastrami was a product of the pandemic that opened up in September of last year. One really cool thing about them is that they only use the finest quality meats to make their pastrami, use super high quality cheeses and get all their bread baked fresh from a place in Petaluma. Currently, they only take orders in advance and are not open everyday so you have to make sure to check their website or instagram for the latest details. Furthermore, they often sell out of their food for the pop ups so if you are planning to order then I definitely recommend ordering early.

• Website: https://www.pyrospastrami.com/

• Instagram: @pyrospastrami

Experience:

We picked up our food right at 2:00 pm on Christmas Day and drove back home to eat it while it was still hot. At the pickup, the chef I interacted with was super nice and was really appreciative of the support, which was great to see. Although we decided to wait until we got home to eat our sandwiches, we did decide to dig into the fries that came with our sandwiches as well as the celery soda. The fries were fresh, triple cooked and seasoned really well. Sometimes fries are under seasoned but that was not the case with these fries as they had so much salt and also another seasoning ( we could not figure out what it was) that made them a bit sweet. The celery soda was next and it combined Topo Chico sparkling water with celery seeds fresh from Oaktown Spice Shop, lemon juice and sugar cane. I had never had celery soda before so it was great to try this one. I took my first sip and boy was it refreshing. The lemon juice added a nice hint of sourness and the drink was not too sweet which was nice. Also, it combined really well with the sandwich which was amazing!

When we arrived home, it was time to dig into the sandwich, the main event of the afternoon. I first tried the latke with apple butter and crème fraîche. The latke was super crispy and fried really well. Furthermore, the potato flavor was on point and it was seasoned perfectly. The apple butter added a nice sweet element to it and was the right complement to the salty aspect of the potato. Also, the crème fraîche added a nice acidic and creamy aspect to it helping to round out the side dish. Overall, the latkes were super good and I highly recommend getting an order with your pastrami. The next thing I had was the big hit of the night: the Reuben Sandwich. The Reuben combined pastrami, gruyere cheese, sauerkraut, thousand island dressing and freshly baked rye bread. The crunch and grilling on the bread was amazing and allowed for it to soak up the juiciness of the pastrami. The cheese and sauerkraut added an amazing flavor to the pastrami and the thousand island dressing made the perfect complement. The sauerkraut was tangy and sour which allowed it to balance out the pastrami really well. Finally let’s talk about the pastrami. All I can say about that is WOW. It was some of the best pastrami I have ever had. It was full of flavor, super tender and the end bits falling out of the bread were super crispy. Also, it soaked up the flavors of the other ingredients making it special. This was a really really really amazing sandwich.

Pyro’s Pastrami is a must visit for those looking for a traditional pastrami sandwich with lots of flavor. They only use the freshest ingredients and it is shown in how it tastes. Their sides are also incredible and are a necessity to go with the pastrami. Finally, the celery soda provides a perfect punch for the pastrami and is really refreshing. Great job Pyro’s Pastrami and I hope I can be back soon to enjoy your amazing food!

Final Thoughts:

This was definitely an unprecedented holiday season but I still made the best of it and had an amazing time. The food we had from Family Cafe and Pyro’s Pastrami definitely helped to fill our hearts this holiday season. I recommend getting out there and trying these local restaurants right now as they would love your support. I know we cannot enjoy restaurants in the traditional way but they are still open and would like to have you for takeout. Anyways, thanks for reading this blog post and I hope a meal at these places is in your future!