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Johnny Alamilla, ex-of Postrio, Boulevard, Farralon, and Alma in San Francisco, has opened a restaurant called Sol y Lago somewhere up there. Website I enjoyed his food at Alma, (though never quite got over my mourning for the passing of The Rooster). edited to add restaurant name.

Nijiya is the market on the corner of Post and Webster in the Japan Town complex, isn't it? I am addicted to the house brand of organic soy sauce and have to restrain myself from going crazy in the shochu/awamori aisle. There is another smaller market across on the north side of post and about a block and a half east that is also fun to check out. The last time I was over, looking for asian citrus, the other market had a little better looking produce than Nijiya and I believe slightly better prices.

Made a version of her Yankee Pot Roast Redux last night using a 2 pound hunk of boneless chuck roast and it turned out quite well. Instead of studding an onion with cloves to cook with the beef, I added a cup or so of mirepoix; but, other than that followed the recipe fairly closely. I also went with the stove top browning option, not the broiler method she suggests. Since my piece of chuck was a little smaller than the recipe's, it was finished closer to 2 and 1/2 hours, not three. The only thing I would do differently would be to add the vegetables 45 minutes from the end instead of an hour and a half. They were a little well cooked for my taste. Served it with the braised vegetables and a salad of arugula and wonderfully ripe fuyu persimmons in a pomegranate vinaigrette. A bottle of 2000 Greenwood Ridge Cabernet Sauvingon complemented the meal wonderfully. added salad and wine comment.

Or, instead of vodka, use shochu. At the japanese markets here they even sell one with the plums still in it (Ume-Shu).

Infusing things in liquor, like vodka or brandy, works well because alcohol is such an efficient solvent. I'm not sure that sake really has enough alcohol to act in the same way. Probably, it would work OK for water soluble flavors and essences. In addition, vodka and other high proof alcohols act as preservatives and disinfectants for items steeped in them. Again, I don't think sake has enough alcohol to act in this manner. If you steeped fresh plums in sake at room temperature, you would probably end up with vinegar in relatively short order.

Ultimately, I think it comes down to money more than anything else. You certainly have to have a willing and able chef of a certain bent; but, you also have to have backers who are willing to shell out for the lab like setting, experimental equipment, staff training, be patient through the experimental phases, etc. Certainly, we have chefs experimenting with those techniques; but, until whoever holds the purse strings on San Francisco restaurants sees they can make a profit, we won't have a restaurant devoted to the "hypermodern".

Am I mistaken or is that article recommending the use of American Cheese (Pasturized Process Cheese food) in Mac and Cheese? Was she paid by Kraft or Sysco? Why bother with American Cheese? You have to unwrap all those slices, after all. Why not just get the cheese sauce in a can? It's even easier.

← 223 milligrams per 16 oz is quite a bit different from the "250 milligrams per 8 oz cup" that consumer reports came up with, and certainly not at all unreasonable. Very large portion, though.

My wife has an amusing story where after tasting virgin pina coladas on vacation with her family, she and a group of her peers skipped school to head out ask for them at a bar in Wausau, WI. I don't think I've ever had a Pina Colada, so since hearing the story, (and reading about them in the first issue of Mixologist,) I've been itching to give them a try. One of my perennial problems is an inability to completely follow a recipe, I had no fresh pineapple juice, (who does?,) was making thai chicken soup, and I still had some Brazilian Daiquiri left, so I went at it thusly. 2 oz Brazilian Daiquiri 1 oz Coconut Milk 1/2 oz Simple Syrup 1/2 oz fresh lime juice Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a glass. My wife said it smelled like a Pina Colada; but, she remembered them being blended. Very tasty, though. PS. Consuming "girly" drinks like this may result in eGullet posts using words like "yummy". If you are at all concerned about the appearance of masculity in your eGullet persona, you might want to stay away from the computer while under the influence. PPS. After making this it occurred to me that a Ramos Gin Fizz made with Coconut Milk instead of cream might be a very fine thing. edited for grammar.

It certainly isn't haute cuisine in setting; but, one of the single most amazing Asian meals I've ever had was at Jai Yun this last year. Jai Yun The man is a true artist with texture and a wizard with a knife. If you go, I would recommend a group of 4-6, you will get the best selection of dishes.

Didn't get to my ginger syrup tonight; but, this week's cocktailian column includes an Aviation variant with Lemon Grass syrup called the Thai Lady. Sounds yummy. It's magic: Turn a White Lady into a Thai Lady in one step If I make it with Ginger Syrup instead, is it a Shanghai Lady?

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest, Thursday, January 05, 2006 Zelma goes long: California pioneer finds independence in South Africa, Thom Elkjer The wallaby that conquered America: A success story, W. Blake Gray Pairings: Delicate crab needs a light touch and a sleek Chardonnay, Joyce Goldstein Recipe: Fettucine with Crab, Fennel and Lemon Zest The Chronicle's Wine Selections: Monterey County Chardonnay, Linda Murphy The Cheese Course: If you can't build a better mousetrap, make more delicious bait, Janet Fletcher Grapevines sleep through the flood, W. Blake Gray Letters to Wine Pruss is new Stag's Leap Winemaker, W. Blake Gray The Cocktailian: It's magic: Turn a White Lady into a Thai Lady in one step, Gary Regan Recipe: Thai Lady Adapted from a recipe by Jamie Terrell at the Lab Bar in London. Beer of the Month: New beer ferments in old wine barrels, Linda Murphy Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale

Was reading a recipe for a home made ginger beer on my lunch break and the following procedure occurred to me. Make a 1:1 simple syrup and cool to room temp. In a blender jar combine simple syrup with a half cup or so of sliced ginger. Puree. Line a strainer with cheesecloth, and strain combined syrup and ginger through. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. I'll try it tonight; but, I bet you'd get pretty good uncooked fresh ginger flavor.

Slushy Margaritas? edit- I remembered that the technology for slushy margaritas didn't really exist when I was drinking in the 80s. Those were blended margaritas. Jack Daniels also seems very 80s. I seem to recall many pictures of the bassist from Van Halen clutching a bottle of Jack.

Since they are talking about liqueur, I'm gonna guess they mean a bar measure, which, in England is usually 35 ml.

Eek! 40 euros for something you can do with a spoon? CocktailMaster.net They do seem to ship to the US. At least they allow you to pick it as a shipping location. Of course they also have ze bottle sexy and deformed glasses available, so perhaps you could make it a splurge.

I've used a lot of tumeric in recipes and never noticed it taste particularly bitter or tinny. It has an earthy taste. How much did you use?

I'm about half way through and finding it entertaining. It's a funny, lightheared, and irreverent, read. Mostly about alcohol history and culture. If you're looking for recipes, it has none (so far). Lots of alcohol related quotes from literature and many famous alcoh... Errr... DRINKERS. Yeah, "drinkers," that's the word. Short biographies and several quotes for especially noteworthy imbibers like Humphrey Bogart, Winston Churchill, and W.C. Fields. I find the historical notes about the different sorts of alcohol entertaining and informative, though, as the author states in the introduction, he is no historian. I wouldn't base a thesis around it; but, if you are looking for an entertaining and conversation starting book about booze and its history around the world, you could do a lot worse.

On our server's recommendation, with dinner we had an interesting French wine from Domaine Laffont in Madiran called 'Hecate'. I've not drunk wine from this region or producer before. It almost reminded me more of an Italian red than a French wine. For our year end sparkler, later that evening we had a bottle of Navarro's 1999 Brut Blanc de Blanc. I will admit I was a little jaded by then; but, the wine didn't impress me as much as it had when we tasted it in Anderson Valley. Pear flavors really seemed to dominate. Might have been my tired out taste buds, though.

I was wondering about this last night. Most recipes for ratafias or vermouths call for some percent of liquor. At what point does it become illegal to serve? Is it an ingredient or a percentage thing? Could you, for example, create essenses of ingredients using high proof alcohol, and then use them to flavor sake? This would make something like a gin-like sake drink possible.

I will note Keller does serve cocktails at per se and both bouchon locations...

And I'd never thought of adding root beer to booze, as it was enough to enjoy on its own! Actually, that isn't true, when I was in college and living in the dorms, before settling down to an exciting night of music video watching in the student lounge, my usual tipple was root beer or mr. pibb spiked with e & j brandy. bacchant036, there are a few threads in the Soft Drinks forum about root beer, sarsaparilla and the like. Like cdh, I've found it to be fairly strongly disliked by friends from the U.K. edited for speling

Brandy isn't considered hard liquor? Are liqueurs allowed to be served mixed in drinks? Or are you "limited" to fortified wines and (hopefully) bitters? In CA, I know Shochu (essentially low proof Asian vodka) is allowed in restaurants with only beer and wine licenses.

This week's Bay Cafe TV Show featured a day in the life of Delfina. Delfina While the feature was pretty light, the host was a little less dominating than he usually is, allowing his subjects to speak for themselves, and it did give some small glimpse into restaurant culture.

Not sure if this is really the right place for this...I couldn't find a ZAP specific thread, so will post it here. Speaking of large scale tastings, the annual Zinfandel Advocates & Producers festival is again looming on the horizon. Website The tasting event will be held Saturday January 28, 2006 in San Francisco at the Herbst Pavillion at Fort Mason in San Francisco, CA. Entry is $40 US for ZAP members, $50 US for non-members, and $60 US at the door. There will be over 300 Wineries in attendance. If you are not spitting, please arrange to be carted from the festival in some manner. Sadly, I believe most of the special events associated with the festival are already sold out. I went a few years ago, and as much as I enjoy Zinfandel, I found it a little much for me. Sort of a Mardi Gras of Zinfandel. YMMV.