Squeat Mungry

Absonot, I haven't been to Campton Place since Humm took the helm, but I could swear Josh Sens reviewed it in what must be the August issue of San Francisco magazine. (I can't confirm it, because that is the one issue since February that I haven't been able to find in a very frustrating hour-long search of my apartment, but I know I read it very recently. Perhaps you could find it at the library, or it might still be at newsstands.) Anyway, I found a very truncated version of the review at the magazine's website, here. In the (much more informative) print edition, he returns in the end to the classmate reunion metaphor, and concludes something to the effect that after the reunion, the feeling is one of realizing that you won't really miss them, after all. In other words, he's not very enthusiastic. (If anyone has a copy of this issue, I'd really appreciate a confirmation so I know I'm not losing my mind.) Cheers, Squeat Edit: newstands

Me, too, and I was pretty surprised that they had chosen to call it that. But then, I also thought that the word "mulatto" was well within common parlance for most Americans.

Janet, you had me doubting myself, and I thought for a moment you might be right about gimlets and Rose's, i.e. that they were somehow intrinsically connected. But now I think not, and suspect that drinkboy is more on the mark about Rose's having filled a void of available fresh limes. My "go-to" reference, Collin's "Second College Edition" of Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language defines 'gimlet' as "a small boring tool" (but enough about me), and secondarily as "a cocktail made of lime juice, gin, sugar, and soda". American Heritage@dictionary.com gives "A cocktail made with vodka or gin, sweetened lime juice, and sometimes effervescent water and garnished with a slice of lime." Princeton (via WordNet, also at dictionary.com) gives "gin or vodka and lime juice". So it seems clear that the cocktail doesn't require the marketed concoction. I'd suggest a simple taste comparison: take a fresh lime and squeeze the juice into a small container, pour some simple syrup on it, and give it a minute or two at room temperature. Sip it, take a drink of water, and then sip some Rose's. Which would you rather have in your gimlet? Cheers, Squeat

Dude, thanks so much! But, uh, check the corn a bit earlier? Squeat

Add my name to the list of those whose 'culinary lives' were profoundly enhanced and informed by Jeff Smith's television shows. Requiescat in Pace. Squeat

Yes. This is precisely what you should do, even if limes cost $10 each. Throw out your Rose's! Squeat

I despise Rose's. To me, the taste of it is an abomination. As I've said elsethread, I have yet to taste a drink made with Rose's that didn't taste better with fresh lime juice and simple syrup. Orange bitters, however, is good stuff and yes, a bit in a martini goes well. Cheers, Squeat

Fifi, thanks for the book recommendation. I am going to seek it out -- this subject is very interesting to me as well. Are you familiar with Reay Tannahill's Food in History? I found it to be quite fascinating. Ms. Tannahill also includes a very interesting bibliography and quite extensive notes on sources. Cheers, Squeat

Oh, man, am I loving this! Thanks for documenting the process, vengroff, and keep up the good work! Cheers, Squeat

i was under the impression this was a george morrone dish, at least i saw morrone do it on the great chefs tv series. mike mike, for all I know you may be right: I personally have always thought of this as Mina's dish. I've just been googling around trying to find out something definitive, but haven't been able to. A google for "ahi foie gras mina" turns up 166 hits, while "ahi foie gras morrone" turns up 41. For all I know it could have been a collaboration: it certainly became a signature dish for the restaurant. The combination remains on Aqua's menu, though I notice no mention is now made of the Pinot Noir sauce. Cheers, Squeat

Interesting article in today's Chron on tonight's private gala opening of Restaurant Michael Mina in the St. Francis, where the lobby and the former Compass Rose were revamped to the tune of $4.5 million. The article also gives a brief history of the hotel. The venture (which opens to the public tomorrow, I believe) marks Mina's return to the San Francisco culinary scene. Mina left Aqua (where he gained his reputation and developed the restaurant's signature ahi tuna steak with foie gras) in the late '90s and has been busy opening restaurants in Las Vegas, including NobHill and SeaBlue. I won't really miss the Compass Rose, but I was fond of stopping in the lobby bar now and then; and I'm really surprised they moved that clock. Still, I'm hoping I'll have an opportunity soon to check out the new space and hopefully get a taste of what Chef Mina's up to. Cheers, Squeat

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Food Section -- July 7, 2004 Georgeanne Brennan looks at home-ground meat, outlining its benefits not only in safety and hygiene, but also in control over the final product. She includes no less than six simple, basic, essential and quite well-presented recipes (including Judy Rogers' burger!) and a concise summary of why doing it for yourself is best (the grinding, that is). Recipes: Home-Ground Hamburger the Zuni Cafe Way Old-Fashioned Meat Loaf Italian Ragu Sage & Rosemary Breakfast Sausage [bulk] Veal & Caper Meatballs in Lemon-Infused Broth Pork & Chile Verde Burritos: Informative sidebars review tips for choosing cuts of several animals for their ground meaty promise, as well as sources and instructional guidance for the various types of equipment used by home grinders. Marlena Spieler offers a reminiscence of Turkey (via Nottingham), along with recipes for: Cacik (a wonderful version of a Mediterranean classic) Turkish Vegetable & Herb Salad, and Turkish Cypriot Green Olive Spread Continuing the Turkish theme, Amanda Berne travels to West Portal to review Bursa Kebab, which she thinks shows promise. Ron Siegel makes his move today. GraceAnn Walden has this and more in the Inside Scoop. What's New includes the Antidote (Eric Torralba's new place in Suasalito) for what ails ya, fancy garbanzos (ceci) from A. G. Ferrari, and (summer, anybody?): apricots, grapes, melons and yes even white corn at the markets! Cheers, Squeat

Rachel, that's a very good point, and I do seem to remember having eaten both kinds out here, but I just do not think of 'egg rolls' as a commonly-found menu item in San Francisco. Minutes later: Okay now I have to eat crow. I just fished out the menu from my favorite Chinese ('Mandarin Style') place, and they have both 'Vegetable Egg Roll' (appetizer) and 'Steam Egg Roll' (dum sim) and no 'spring roll' at all! I'm sure others like Gary Soup and jschyun know way more about this than I do, and hope they'll help clarify the situation. In any case, I'll do some investigation on my own, and report back if I find anything definitive. Squeat

Hey thanks, Gary! That fourth photograph is really a beaut, and eloquently captures the atmosphere they were going for.

It's just a matter of terminology. What in China are called "chun juan" (LITERALLY "spring rolls") are, in fact, made with a wonton-type wrapper. They are never called egg rolls (or its Chinese equivalent) in China. In San Francisco as well, they are called spring rolls more often than not, except for the neighborhood-type Chinese-Amercan restaurants. I can vouch for this. In fact, I can only remember having 'egg rolls' on the East Coast. Here they are almost invariably called 'spring rolls'. Squeat

That was Hot 'n' Hunky, to be precise. Did you go for the "Italian Stallion?" To be even more precise, the place on Market I was referring to was originally an offshoot of the original 'Hot'n'Hunky' on 18th near Castro. Yet it is an entirely different location, which somehow (I wasn't paying close attention) wound up actually being named 'Hot'n'Chunky' (replete with awning). Other than being able to assert that the menu and execution were exactly the same when the two were eponymous -- and that they no longer are -- I have no information whatsoever. Squeat PS I've always liked "Italian".

[That is a neat trick quoting jschyun from the future!] Anyway I think she is probably correct in the matter of more/better Thai food being available in southern California. Squeat [Edited for time.]

Okay. I couldn't even remember what was there before! Yes, but the sushi place that replaced it seems to have the same relationship with the karaoke drag bar next door (i.e. you can wait in the bar while your food is being prepared). Yes, between 4th and 5th.

jschyun, oddly I don't remember where you're talking about. Do you mean where the burger place is now on Church? The only restaurants actually on Market near the Church/Market intersection (beside the chains actually in the Safeway complex) are Mecca, a sausage place that until very recently was Cafe Cuvee, and Cafe du Nord. On the other side of Safeway at Dolores/Market (where I live), there's that sushi place that used to be Hot'n'Chunky (can people please never again use the word 'chunky' in a restaurant name?!), Destino (delicious food!) and the Orbit Room, which is really just a bar. The only Thai place I can even think of on Upper Market is the Market branch of Thai House. I ate there once and was underwhelmed (though I know people who swear by the original on 15th). Thep Phenom is usually pretty good, although I haven't been there for a while. My favorite Thai used to be Swatdee on 24th, but I just realized I haven't been there for years. The best Thai I've had recently was lunch at Thai Me Up on Mission (which turns into Big Heart City nightclub at night and thus does not serve dinner). Cheers, Squeat

One more for me, Maggie. I was just at the bookstore on a completely unrelated mission when Diana Kennedy's From My Mexican Kitchen: Techniques and Ingredients caught my eye. I picked it up and couldn't put it down, so now it's here in its new home where it belongs! (It really is great, with some amazing photographs.) Cheers, Squeat

Helen, add my thanks for the absolutely terrific blog! I've been making western-style pickles for a while now, but I'm thinking it's definitely time to broaden my pickling horizon! Cheers, Squeat

A couple I'm surprised haven't been mentioned are sassafras tea and sarsaparilla soda. A google search has led me to believe that the latter (a root beer relative) is mostly associated with the Old West, but my only memories of both these beverages are from my North Carolina childhood. And then there was my grandmother's elderberry wine, and the wine she made from wild muscadine grapes. Yum! Cheers, Squeat

I remember once being on the way to a get-together that had been thrown together at the last moment to celebrate what was nonetheless some very special occasion (I forget what, exactly). Since no one had had time to really prepare anything special, I stopped by the supermarket to pick up some of their higher-end prepared offerings: I remember some XO cognac, duck liver pate, caviar, fancy crackers, etc. I wound up at the express checkout behind a young couple buying some chips and Budweiser. After I had placed my purchases on the conveyor, the guy glanced over at them, turned to his girlfriend and said in a loud stage whisper, "Hey! He's got better stuff than us!" Cheers, Squeat

Walt, I'm another big fan of Bistro Clovis, even though I've only had lunch there a few times, and that was several years ago. I even recommended it recently when tana butler was looking for a good lunch spot. Personally, I love the fact that it is a classic bistro. The room is charming yet inviting, and I still remember both the boeuf bourguignon and the cassoulet (a perfect interpretation when I had it) fondly. And the tarte Tatin is brilliant! And what does he mean by "could have lived without", anyway? He didn't like the sorbet itself? didn't think it complimented the bread pudding? Grrrrr... but don't get me started on Michael Bauer... I'm with you on Bistro Clovis, and am only sorry my recently scheduled birthday dinner there had to be cancelled due to (my) illness. I will report back when the rescheduled event takes place in the near future. Cheers, Squeat

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Food Section -- June 30, 2004 Complex Simplicity: Kim Severson gives us a look at the collaboration between celebrated designer Barbara Barry and Chef Michael Mina as they overhaul the former Compass Rose to prepare for the July 9th opening of Restaurant Michael Mina in the St. Francis Hotel. Karola Saekel reports that Remi Hayashi (whose resume includes Stars, Splendido, and Acquarello) has taken over the Cafe at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, a museum in the Marin headlands geared towards kids: A recipe is included for Minted Berry Panna Cotta Parfait.In The Working Cook feature, Tara Duggan gives a "Latino-inspired" twist to Fourth-of-July grilling, with recipes for Rib-Eye Steak & Corn With Chipotle-Lime Butter and Grilled Mango Salsa. Berries and cake are also theme throughout What's New, from the folks at greenbelt.org showin' you where it's growin', to the olallieberries at the markets (and did you say 'tomato'?), to Citizen Cupcake upcake (er, upstairs) at the Virgin Megastore and Earthbound Farms down Carmel way, winding up back at Le Cheminee in Palo Alto in the old L'Amie Donia spot. The Tasters taste grapefruit soda. Rene Caparros likes Victoria Wise' new book The Armenian Table, and quotes very interesting (including microwave) instructions for a Yogurt Bechamel and an Armenian Moussaka, combining the bechamel with potatoes and lamb or beef. Hurley leaves Home to go to the JCC, Sears re-"Fine"s, and at long last the Castillo family expand Limon to the former site of Tannour on Valencia: this and more in GraceAnn Walden's Inside Scoop. Karola Saekel takes what seems (to me at least) to be a new tack for the Chronicle in a kind of readers' exchange of recipes. I have a friend who sends me clips of such a feature in a Columbus, Ohio paper and I have often wished for one here. Yay! Cheers, Squeat Edited hopefully before anyone noticed that the "Tasters" link mistakenly led to a Google search on "chicken pomegranate".