About 10 years ago while still living in L.A. I was introduced to Cafe Vida and my dear friend Francisco! Cafe Vida is a cute little cafe that sits in the heart of the Pacific Palisades downtown area. The food is fresh, simple, healthy and delicious! Sitting in the Cafe you are likely to have a star sighting or two. Celebs have been known to sneak in the back door to avoid the paparazzi and grab a table inside. Francisco and his partners set up a cafe inside our Manhattan Beach Club – then Spectrum Athletic Club, now a Bay Club. They were, of course, a huge success and their cafe is the heart of the club. Members and non-members hang out at the cafe to gather, socialize and eat! I ate lunch every day at the cafe and probably brought home dinner from the cafe at least 3 nights a week. Menu items include a breakfast burrito (my favorite), cafe steak salad, tacos, mexican pizza and incredible soups (and I don’t even really like soups!) In addition to food, they also serve up smoothies and elixirs. All homemade and delicious like the Perfect Date Shake!
Well now The Bay Club has partnered with Cafe Vida and they will be launching their menu at all the Bay Clubs in the coming year! First up to bat is the San Diego Bay Club and the Courtside Club in Los Gatos.
On Friday, I was able to take part in the unveiling and tasting of the menu. Bay Club and Culinary Edge have worked with Francisco over the past year to document and duplicate the recipes that Francisco has created to make sure that you are getting exactly what he intended. It has been a fascinating process! Little things like brand of tomatoes, bread and olive oil all make a difference in the outcome of a recipe. Also when you say 2 carrrots go in that soup is it 2 very large carrots or 2 regular carrots? These are some of the things that Francisco would tell me as he worked to recreate the menu that was up to his standards. The unveiling was fun! We sampled about 17 dishes and gave feedback as to whether it tasted the same or not. I acted as his official documentor and took photos of the recipes.
I’ve been friends with Francisco for many years and eaten a lot of his food, but to see it in a different light on Friday was a proud moment! To see what he created and how talented he is as a chef made me appreciate him and his talents even more. I was a very proud friend indeed! Francisco is one of those people that when we first met, I just knew we would be great friends! We were instantly simpatico! Partners in crime and like a brother and sister to each other. Congratulations mi amigo!
Here’s a view of what you will be seeing in the coming months!