Squeat Mungry

Tana, I think you gave those French women the best possible advice. That place is a treasure. If you haven't been inside Culinaire, that culinary antique place near SLT, it's worth a peek. Some pretty interesting stuff to look at (though nothing I can afford, unfortunately). I am a big fan of the McEvoy olive oil, and always keep it in stock. Also, Frog Hollow Farm makes some damn fine conserves, chutneys and marmalades. Be sure to check out the mushrooms at Far West Fungi and the gorgeous flowers at Oak Hill Farm. And the amazing selection at Golden Gate Meat. Carolyn Tillie looooves the Recchiuti chocolates and, while I don't really care for chocolate myself, I have to admit they are beautiful little works of art, and the flavor combinations are very creative. In fact, I'm stopping in there tonight to pick up a last-minute birthday gift. And a Very Happy Birthday to you, as well! Cheers, Squeat

Sorry we missed you at the market, JennotJenn, but it sounds like you had a good time and got some choice goodies to boot. Where did you eat while you were here? Any memorable meals? Cheers, Squeat

Thanks for the report, Bond Girl! I'm so glad you enjoyed Quince. In my opinion it's one of the best restaurants we've got going in town right now. How did you find the service? I think Lindsay (Chef Michael Tusk's wife) does a great job running the floor. Cheers, Squeat PS It was great fun meeting you and hanging out at the market. My dinner party was a big success, if I do say so myself! I posted about it on the Dinner thread.

Definitely fava beans. Corn. Springtime green garlic or, even better (if you can get locally): ramps! Asparagus. Tomatoes. Peaches. Watercress. Lots more! Squeat

Their reservation policy is here. Generally, they take reservations a month in advance. Two seatings -- one starting at 6 and one at 8:30. I've been on Mondays a couple of times reserving as little as a few days ahead, but I'd say call as far in advance as you can.

The Cafe at CP is wonderful. I love it. Just wanted to tip you off to the Monday dinner downstairs, though, which is an absolute steal at $50 per person. I had a great time hanging out with Bond Girl at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market on Saturday. (JennotJenn were you there?) She was slated to eat at Farallon that night, and Quince the next. Hope she reports back soon! enrevanche have a great trip and don't forget to tell us about it! Cheers, Squeat

The "corn" is the salt used in the brine. We still talk of "grains" of salt. Apparently when this practice became standard, the general term was "corn". Both come from the same Indo-European root, as do "kernel" and "granita", among others. Cheers, Squeat

Greetings, I am a little late to the party here, but beets are my favorite veggie, and I am always looking for new things to try with them. I generally like them simply roasted, but I enjoy pickled beets, and have even gone so far as to try making roasted beet and goat cheese ravioli. I would love to know more about the roasted beet risotto. I guess I am curious at what point you add the beets to the risotto? Are they added towards the end after the rice is nearly al dente, or do you add them earlier? Thanks very much, Jean Welcome to eGullet, Jean! This party never ends, so you're not late! Those ravioli sound amazing. I'm going to have to try that. I love beets as well, and I love risotto, so the combination seemed a natural to me. I usually just quarter the beets, toss them in olive oil and salt and roast them in a hot oven until they're tender. When they're cool enough to handle, I peel and dice them. Then I just proceed with the risotto as usual: soften some onions and garlic in oil, add the rice and toast it, then add some wine (I usually use red wine with the beets, and a healthy dash of balsamic at the same time). This is the point where I add the beets: after the wine/balsamic has been absorbed, and before the first ladle of stock is added. Then just proceed normally with the stock additions and the stirring. As the risotto develops, it takes on the rich flavor and lovely color of the beets. Sometimes if I've sauteed the beet tops in olive oil and garlic, I'll stir that into the risotto at the end when I add the butter and cheese. I do hope you'll try this if you're a beet lover! Cheers, Squeat Edited to add: Welcome also to petite tête de chou! I'm a big fan of chilled soups, and since we've been having some seriously hot weather here (for San Francisco, anyway) I think I'm going to have to try your idea very soon!

Lisa, I can see the pictures just fine, both at work on IE and at home on Opera. Want to add my thanks for yet another fascinating foodblog. Thanks! Cheers, Squeat

From the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market (shopping with Bond Girl, who is visiting from New York): fava beans baby artichokes watercress green garlic french breakfast radishes summer savory dill At Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Building: cheese: - morbier - gorgonzola dolce - cave-aged gruyere - parm reg At Golden Gate Meats also in the FB: 2 racks of spring lamb

This weekend I was house-/dog-sitting for some friends who have a beautiful home overlooking San Francisco's Precita Park. Since my own tiny apartment is too cramped and crappy to entertain in, I took advantage of the opportunity to have a little dinner party. (Yes, I got permission.) I spent Saturday morning shopping at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market where I met the delightful Bond Girl, who is visiting from New York. While showing her around the market and making her extremely jealous (though she was very good-natured about it), I bought the ingredients for Saturday's dinner: Appetizer of Fried Baby Artichokes topped with Sauteed Fava Beans and Green Garlic. (I think I got this idea from Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Vegetables, but I might be making that up. Anyway I read about it somewhere and it was very tasty.) Main course was two Racks of Spring Lamb seasoned two ways: Savory/Green Garlic and Rosemary/Parsley, served with Green Garlic/Fava Risotto and Watercress tossed in Red Wine Vinaigrette. (This made for a very pretty plating with the dark green of the watercress and the bright light green of the risotto criss-crossed with the pink lamb ribs. I was proud. ) Cheese for afters. My guests brought the wine. There was a crisp dry white to go with the artichokes, but I'm afraid I've forgotten what it was. With the lamb we had a quite nice 2001 Pinot Noir from L'Etage on the Sonoma coast.

The Guinness/champagne is known as a Black Velvet. Equal parts. I believe the traditional Black and Tan is Guinness and Harp lager. Also equal parts. Cheers, Squeat

Unfortunately, I don't have a cell phone.

I'm in. 9 am at the Ghandi statue. See ya there!

What an amazing blog! In fact, it's so amazing and so far beyond what I did, I think that pathetic thing I wrote needs a different term: like maybe 'BLAHg' or 'BLEAHg'. Dang! Even the paper cups in France look better than they do here! Thanks so much Lucy, this is great! I love the step-by-step photos and, for the astounding tartiflette, the handwritten instruction. Lovely touch. Keep up the wonderful work. I'm having a great time pretending to be you while trying to forget that I'm, well, me. Cheers, Squeat PS I'll ask you something someone asked me when I was blogging: do you make a list before you go to the market? or just go with what looks best when you get there? Or somewhere in between? In other words, do you do a lot of advance planning (like menus for a week), a little (like 'maybe this would be good for tonight and I could do that with it for tomorrow'), or none at all?

Roasted beets make an excellent risotto. I usually saute the tops as I would spinach, in evoo and some crushed garlic.

I second the recommendation of Ehrenreich's book. She went 'undercover' and gained first-hand insight into the plight of America's working poor. Squeat

Those are ground cherries, also known as "cossack pineapples". I love them! Taste like a cross between a tomato and a pineapple. Did you buy them, or just take the photo at the market?

Vive le blog! Can't wait! What the heck... go ahead and post pictures of the hungry people on the metro!

Hey, thanks for the blog, Tom! It was very entertaining. G'day Mate!

Are any of these people still friends, after that?! misgabi has some interesting friends. While she was foodblogging, she had some friends over for drinks before going out to dinner. They called the restaurant, cancelled the reservation and insisted misgabi cook dinner for them! Then they demanded dessert!! Then they threw her in the pool!!!

Definitely -- I'll be there anyway. I generally try to get there when the market opens at 8:00 am to avoid the serious crowd that gathers around mid-morning, but I realize you guys'll be on vacation, so I'll leave it up to you to decide on a time. There's a prominent statue of Ghandi in the middle of the stalls behind the Ferry Building that served as a handy meeting-place when a bunch of us Bay Area eGulleteers got together at the FM a while back. Just let me know what works. Cheers, Squeat PS: Here's a link to a cool page that lets you see which vendors are bringing what produce to the market. It's updated weekly! There are also links on that page to maps of the front and back sections of the market.

The Anchor tour is awesome. You'll have a great time. I'm at the FPFM every Saturday. If you and/or Bond Girl wanna hook up, let me know. I know you'll have a good time at Zuni, as well. JennotJenn where are you from? I was born in Wilmington, but my folks are from Bladen County on my Mom's side and Southern Pines on my Dad's. Cheers, Squeat

IMHO-none Same here. That stuff is foul!

Yeah, I googled it, THEN I made the mistake of clicking! I may not know art, but I know what I don't like! Gak.