The last time I had an egg salad sandwich was in kindergarten when I lost a tooth in the soft wonder bread of my sandwich, staining the fluffy white a lovely red, and adding a little bloody spice to the mayonnaise-y egg. After that experience, I never particularly had a desire to eat an egg salad sandwich again…
But 7x7 magazine forced me to. Number fourteen on my list was the Egg Salad Sandwich at Il Cane Rosso at the Ferry Building. So I took Mom and Dad to this hoity toity spot and we sat outside by the bay enjoying lunch...
The saltiness of the anchovy garlic butter,and the tanginess of the melted aged provolone gave the sandwich a nice zing. The fresh mustard greens on top added a bit of a spicy crunch. It was still a nine dollar egg salad open-faced sandwich. I enjoyed about half of it before my kindergarten horrors began catching up with me.
This egg salad sandwich would not be the end of my birthday eating. It was March 29, 24 years since I popped out of Mama Guda's womb. I lead my family to one of the oldest and most well-known restaurants in the city, Zuni, for the roasted chicken with bread salad, number two on my list.
I had been warned that this dish takes an hour to prepare, and knowing that my father can't sit still for more than five minutes, I made sure to order the chicken as soon as we sat at our little corner table.
The presentation of the chicken alone is magnificent. If Picasso had done a painting of a roasted chicken, it would've looked like this dish: A whole chicken deconstructed, all body parts piled high on a large plate, blooming with fresh mustard greens, and the bread salad hidden underneath. Calling the bread a "salad" rather than stuffing is not a cop out. The cubes of sourdough are dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette and scattered with sweet currants and nutty pineolas. The dressing would've been overpowering for the bread had the chicken not been there to save the day.
The chicken is roasted for almost an hour over a wood fire, so the crispy skin and tender meat is hot and smoky with the most woodsy flavor. It tasted like a gourmet camping trip. Taking bites of this roasty caramel-y chicken with the acidity of the bread was a unique, and pleasing combination. I never order chicken when I go out to eat, because I generally believe that to be lame and boring. But this chicken was, I believe, the best dish we ordered at Zuni and well worth the shame of ordering chicken.
The meal was long and enjoyable, especially with a bottle of Quincy, a white wine recommended by our lovely waitress (which I described as pop rocks in my mouth). Although the rest of the food was not mind blowing, by any means, that chicken saved my egg-y day.
