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Interesting correction in today's Chronicle. I guess the misplaced the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in their top 100! Corrections

Ah Leung, Made your version for dinner tonight, and it turned out really well. One of the tastiest meals we've had in a couple weeks. Thanks! -Erik

Celebrate Brew Years Eve We'll be celebrating with a growler of Blind Pig from Russian River Brewing. What are you drinking tonight?

I've not found much apricot anything other than the DeKuyper, Bols, and Potter apricot flavored brandy products at the larger liquor stores. It's interesting that most of the smaller liquor stores don't even stock those. I guess apricot is just not the flavor of the moment, as evinced by this article about CA apricot orchards being plowed under for grapes and almonds: Apricots fall from favor I did find a single dusty old bottle of Vedrenne Liqueur de Abricot on the back of a shelf at a hole in the wall liquor store near work, so that does me for now. PS. I looked for apry when I was in Boston and Providence recently and didn't see it at any of the liquor stores I stopped at. Gasparro's in Providence was awesome for booze/Italian Wine and Charles Street Spirits in Boston had one of the coolest collections of beer I've seen in my life. It is probably good that neither of these stores is in SF.

The Agaves that are used for Tequila, Mezcal, and Pulque are what's called "monocarpic" plants. They grow for years, building up a huge reserve of carbohydrates, flower once spectacularly, and then die. They don't tap (or harvest the hearts) of the Agave until they are fairly close to flowering. So, really, the plants are close to the end of their life, anyway.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Thursday, April 06, 2006 Taming of the screw: Diners and restaurateurs alike are confounded by corkage fees, Amanda Gold Grape growers fret about persistent rain, W. Blake Gray Fetzer closes hospitality center, W. Blake Gray Wine Business Insider: Without hostility, Constellation buys Vincor, Cyril Penn Five drinks that bartenders just hate to make, Bianca Antonacci And it's a good thing bartending is a second career for you!? Bargain Wines: Thirsting for a twist? Try screw caps, Leslie Sbrocco Pairings: Market fever dreams inspire dish, years later, Lynne Char Bennett Recipe: Stuffed Pasta Shells The Chronicle's Wine Selections: 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Under $50, Linda Murphy The Cheese Course: Savor Manchego's nutty cousin, Janet Fletcher 96 Hours Bargain Bite: Aux Delices, Tara Duggan CRITICS' PICKS: Gourmet Ghetto, Amanda Berne "Foodie Central: The Berkeley neighborhood along Shattuck Avenue between Rose and Virginia is known as the Gourmet Ghetto for its concentration of great eating. Here's a selection of restaurants." Dining Update: John Bentley's, Miriam Morgan Dining Update: Cortez, Michael Bauer

The other day I was searching the cocktaildb for recipes containing the phrase "mac". There weren't very many palatable selections. However, the "Jock MacDonald", composed of 1/3 rye, 1/3 lemon juice, and 1/3 lillet with a splash of apricot liqueur seemed somewhat promising, especially since I had recently come into posession of a bottle of apricot liqueur. However, upon creation, it seemed a bit, "eh?" Soooo... 1 oz rye, 1/2 oz lemon, 3/4 oz lillet, 1/4 oz apricot liqueur, couple dashes peach bitters. A little "girlie"; but, not bad at all.

You say that; but, I know you really want to make one of the original native american fermented beverages. I know I do! Growing my own corn, though, seems a bit much. Perhaps some seed corn from the local farm supply store.

Five drinks that bartenders just hate to make "Being in the hospitality industry, bartenders don't like to grumble. But there are certain drinks they hate to make." Lemon Drop, Manhattan, Cosmo, Mojito, and "another bar's specialty cocktails"? I can see being sick of making all those Lemon Drops and Cosmos, and that Mojitos are a bit of a pain. But, if you're a bartender and sick of making Manhattans or learning new drinks, it seems like maybe you're in the wrong field... Are there any drinks that spark fear or hatred in your spleen? Or, on the other hand, is there a drink order that brings a smile to your face and cheer to your heart?

I believe the ceramic sharpening rods are intended to sharpen steel knives. Wouldn't you need to use something harder than your ceramic knife to sharpen it? How do I sharpen ceramic knives? "You can resharpen your ceramic knife by sending it back to Kyocera or by bringing it to a qualified knife shop which has a powered diamond sharpening wheel." edit - add link

Or you could make your own according to the amusing pages below. Most folks compare it to a sour belgian beer like a lambic. The Chicha Pages

Yes, thanks for the great pictures and commentary! Initially I had a little sticker shock about the prices on the website; but, seeing this travelog it looks like it was well worth it. I especially enjoyed the market pictures. I hope the day after the pulque party wasn't too painful.

Doornkaat is a juniper schnapps (also made by Berentzen) usually found in the gin section of the liquor store. If you like the caraway flavor, I would recommend you try one of the better scandanavian aquavits like Linie. edit - spelling

In addition, it appears Die Toten Hosen have a song dedicated to the wonders of ice cold Bommerlunder! Hip Hop Bommi Bop Hmmm... With my very rusty German, I can't quite tell, either, if Bommerlunder is a flavored spirit like Aquavit or a liqueur like Kummel. Their website seems to indicate it is a German version of Aquavit. Is it sweetened?

Lemon Balm and Catnip also spring to mind as fairly invasive. I've never had that much trouble with my particular Catmint plant; but, I've read some of them will self seed profusely. Greek Oregano and French Tarragon will sucker a little bit; but, nothing like the mints. Oh, and, while not invasive, in my climate, rosemary, lemon verbena, and lavender get to be big plants eventually. edit - add a few more herbs.

Weird. I knew mites were responsible for Mimolette's crusty exterior; but, that whole fermented mite excrement thing with this cheese is pretty weird. How on earth do people come up with these ideas originally?

It's been so wet for the past couple weeks, I haven't been to the community garden much. Plans: Yellow pear tomato and some other short season tomato, Thai Basil, Cilantro, Chervil (I really like Chervil!). In the Ground: Persian Star Hardneck Garlic, Nintoku Giant Broad Beans, Walking Onions, Chard. Casualties: Killed my marjoram bush by pruning it back too hard in the fall. Probably replace it with something I use more frequently. Was too wet for the totem pole cactus and it rotted.

I haven't had Boissiere vermouth and have only had the dry Vya so far, so really can't compare that specific example. I think the dry is more interesting enough than Noilly Pratt to justify its purchase if you are really into Martinis or are running a high end drinking establishment. On the other hand, it's different enough from the stock dry vermouths, that I don't think it can really be subbed in to any old cocktail that calls for white vermouth and produce predictable results. I expect a perfect Vya manhattan would be quite different from a perfect Noilly manhattan, for better or worse.

I haven't been to either of these and don't currently work in food service. I did work as a cook and manager for a Southwestern restaurant many years ago. In San Francisco, it seems like burrito stores either have the customer interact directly with the person who is putting their burrito together or have the cashier take the order. Having the food preparer interact with the customer, means the cook has to devote him or herself to each transaction exclusively. The places that do it this way have three or four cooks on during busy times to alternately serve customers and escort them through the assembly line. El Toro, Carmelitas, La Coroneta and others are examples of this method in SF. However, since you have to have a counter person there anyway, or you'll be washing your hands between each order, it seems to me that that having the counter person take the order is the more efficient way to go. It seems to confuse customers less, especially if they are unfamiliar with the menu. In addition, it enables your kitchen staff to prepare food more efficiently by grouping orders etcetera. As an extra special bonus, you don't have to worry about training your kitchen staff to interact with customers. Papalote, La Fonda, Taqueria Cancun, La Taqueria and others work this way. The beautiful thing about a taqueria, is that 99.9% of the work is prep work. As long as you skip enchiladas or tamales, quesadillas are probably your most time consuming item. I would recommend investing in large pressure cookers for your beans and braised meats (if you are doing braised meats). They are a bit of a pain to get used to; but, the time you save in the long run, is a big bonus. Good luck! Be sure and keep us posted how things are going. I look forward to having a decent burrito place to stop at in Bakersfield. -Erik PS. Check out Burritoeater.com for the most comprehensive list of taquerias in San Francisco. edit - tried to make more clear.

I just made a Kennedy mole with a Niman Ranch shoulder and it turned out great. Country spare ribs are another great (and reasonable) cut to use for these sorts of things. Cook a little faster than shoulder, though. My nemesis, however, is the Niman cut my local butcher sells as "boneless pork roast". So darn lean! It's like a 3 pound chicken breast.

Didn't get a picture, as we were too busy enjoying; but, tried Cherimoya for the first time last Saturday. My they are tasty! Creamy, almost avocado-like texture, and a mild flavor a little similar to pineapple or guava. I can't believe what I was missing for all these years. If they still have them at the farmers' market next week, I'll document their freakiness.

You could probably do something with lutefisk like English Fish Pie or boxty and it wouldn't be too bad. Though, why on earth anyone would choose to use lutefisk instead of regular dried cod or fresh cod, is beyond me. I would try to get an independent confirmation. As others have noted, lutefisk tends to be more of a Norwegian-American immigrant "delicacy." Not something modern norwegians would choose to eat. And, yes, I too, grew up in the midwest, and attended more lutefisk and lefse suppers than I care to remember. I don't remember my mom or grandma ever making it at home, though.

Hey look! They've got a website. A bit more information here on this bevnet page: WELCOME BLAK! Coca-Cola Blak Arrives in the United States 45 calories per 8 oz bottle. How many calories does normal coke have per ounce? Is the black actually less sweet (that would appeal to me) or are they using artificial sweetener in combo with sugar to get the calories down?

Aside from the fact that the vast majority of Americans seem to be increasingly disconnected and uncomfortable with any of their foods' natural states, the thing that bugs me the most about this, are the people who believe that somehow they are making the world a better place by mandating that Trigger live a long life and die a "natural death" before being carted off to the rendering plant to make dogfood, soap, and jello.

Horses still can be killed for food -- meatpackers got rules changed However, "...the Department of Agriculture, lobbied by the owners of the plants and their allies in Congress and in the horse and cattle industries, issued new rules last month allowing the plants to keep operating by paying the $350,000 annual cost of the inspections." Animal Welfare groups and the legislature are "stunned" by the reversal.