Anglo-Italo Cooperation Results in St. George’s Day Success

In a post last month I mentioned how, on a recent visit to Wellington’s Wine Bar in Sausalito, we both learned of the impending celebration of St. George’s Day at Wellington's, and sampled Wells Bombardier for the first time. A most auspicious day on both counts.

Yesterday was St. George’s Day and I met up with a couple of friends, Kaz and Antonio, at Wellington’s to join the party. Wellington’s was about as full as I have ever seen it and there was a definite festive atmosphere beyond the customary TGIF buzz.

Wellington’s proprietor, Jeremy John, had arranged with Alfredo Ancona to provide the food for the event. Alfredo is the chef at Angelino in downtown Sausalito, and, with his wife, Tara, owns CIBO just across Bridgeway from Wellington’s. Jeremy and Alfredo had settled on a menu for the evening of:

~ Porchetta – the classic herb-seasoned Italian pork loin, which Alfredo prepared rolled in pork belly with the skin outside
~ Minted fresh English peas
~ Mashed potatoes

The meal would conclude with the classic, but curiously-named, English dessert – spotted dick.

I was also eagerly anticipating the event since it would mark the Wellington's premiere of the “caja China” (literally “Chinese box”) – a cooking box originally devised by Chinese immigrants to Cuba in the 1800’s, which is now being manufactured and distributed by a firm in Florida named La Caja China.

The box is made of heavy plywood lined on the inside with metal and has a removable cover with a metal tray. The food is placed on a rack inside the box, the box is covered, and hot coals are piled in the tray on top. The food is then cooked by radiant heat.

Alfredo had recently purchased a caja China and was going to fire it up to cook the porchetta. Here is an excellent video showing the preparation and cooking of a whole pig in a caja China.

When we arrived at Wellington’s, Alfredo and his CIBO colleague, Jorge, were already well along with the porchetta. We ordered some Bombadiers and joined them on the deck overlooking the Bay.

Not long after we arrived, Alfredo lifted off the caja China top and flipped the rack holding the porchetta.

The crowd began to grow a bit restive with the spreading fragrance of roasting meat, but happily the porchetta was soon done and emerged in all its glory.

Jorge then quickly heated the peas...

... and Alfredo began carving the porchetta for the salivating masses.

The meal turned out very well. The porchetta was moist and the skin of the pork belly crispy. I had never had minted peas before and frankly was not looking forward to them, but the mint was not overpowering and it was a good counterpoint to the pork. Alfredo had added some sour cream to the mashed potatoes and they were fantastic.

The spotted dick, prepared by Tara Ancona (CIBO’s pastry chef), also made its appearance and was served seated on some Crème Anglais.

Although I am not sure what recipe Tara used, per Wikipedia:

“Spotted dick is a steamed suet pudding containing dried fruit (usually currants) commonly served with custard, and a standard part of English cuisine. 'Spotted' refers to the dried fruit (which resemble spots) and 'dick' may be a contraction/ corruption of the last syllable of the word 'pudding' or a corruption of the word 'dog,' since 'spotted dog' is another name for the dish.”

For any who are interested, there are some commercial versions available, although one wonders about spotted dick in a can (thankfully we did not have to "go there" last night). On the other hand, obviously someone must buy it!

The only disappointment of the day was that we had been lead to believe that Jeremy would be present in full St. George Day regalia, complete with cape.

However, such was not the case. Perhaps next year? Something to look forward to for St. George’s Day 2011!

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Wellington’s – Our Encounter with Wells Bombardier and St. George

Yesterday afternoon Alex and I met up and caught the ferry to Sausalito from San Francisco. It was a beautiful afternoon and we enjoyed a couple of Lagunitas Pale Ales on the upper deck of the Sonoma during the ride across the Bay.

Since Cass was meeting us at our place a little later, we decided to stop off at Wellington’s Wine Bar on our way home.

As you would expect for a Friday afternoon, Wellington’s was busy, but we were able to get a table inside. Here is a shot taken from our table, and a video taken from outside on Wellington’s deck.

It just does not get any better than hanging out with one's son (at least one of them – Andrew, Rob and Pat, wish you had been there too!) in a pub at the end of the week on a Spring afternoon.

Wellington’s opened a couple of years ago and ever since it has become one of our favorite places to go for a drink, including on special occasions - it was our family’s initial stop for both my and Nancy’s 60th birthday parties.

Wellington’s is very much a relaxed, neighborhood place as suggested by its location outside of Sausalito’s main tourist area. They have a very friendly staff led by the proprietor, Jeremy John, who is originally from London where his parents were publicans.


Wellington’s name also reflects Jeremy’s roots as indicated on their website and by the footwear on the back wall:

“The Wellington boot, also known as the "Wellie," is a type of boot popularized by Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington. The boot became immediately fashionable among the British aristocracy in the early 19th century, and, to this day, has maintained its popularity by becoming required footwear for any Brit taking a stroll through the countryside. As any good Englishman will tell you, one's Wellies have two principal uses: the first is to wear them when walking one's dog across England's glorious pastures green; and the second is to wear them when heading towards the local watering hole for a drink.”

Wellington’s focuses on wine and that is what we normally have there. In fact through their wide-ranging wines by the glass program, Wellington’s has introduced us to some of our favorite wines, such as, just about the same time last year, Allimant Laugner’s fabulous Cremant d’Alsace Sparkling Rosé which has been our go-to drink ever since.

However, yesterday since Alex and I had started with beer on the ferry, we asked Jeremy what he would recommend from their beer menu. He said that they just started offering an excellent British ale called Wells Bombardier, so Alex and I requested a couple of pints:


As described on the bottle:

“Wells Bombardier English Premium Ale is an award winning traditional English Ale, which is noted for its distinctive copper colour. It has a rich and tempting aroma of peppery hops and raisins, while the palate is dominated by more dark fruit, juicy malt and tangy hop.”

Both Alex and I really enjoyed the beer, and the heft and shape of the bottle, and the label (including the red Cross of St. George), were distinctive and attractive. I also discovered through some later research on the company website that they have a very whimsical and appealing ad program.

Jeremy told us that Wellington’s will be celebrating St. George’s Day (St. George being the patron saint of England and no friend of dragons) on April 23.

According to Jeremy, Wells Bombardier will be the featured beverage that day, along with porchetta from CIBO across Bridgeway from Wellington’s.

We’ll be back for that event, but between now and then I will have to see if I can find myself an official Wells Bombardier St. George jester’s hat for the occasion (did I mention Wells Bombardier's whimsical side?).

For any who do not know Wellington’s, it is quite easy to find, and is only about a 10-minute walk north from the ferry dock. See the below map and photo.


It is well worth a visit. Just please don’t take our seats!

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