eje
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Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Friday, November 10, 2006
Sass by the glass: Wine bars come of age in the Bay Area, Bill Addison
Wine bars are malleable concepts, and each one seems to mirror the personality of the community in which it opens. Some are tiny storefronts with specialized wine lists that offer restrained nibbles like cheese and olives. Other, swankier spots represent an evolving nexus of wine bar and restaurant where folks can hang with friends, dabble in obscure wine varietals -- and perhaps even stay for dinner.- Whip up a white bean puree to spread on pita chips or crostini.
- Crantini cocktails
- Don't stop believin'
- So much wine, so few people
- For peat's sake
- Thanksgiving weekend is a popular time to escape the extended family for a Wine Country visit.
The Tasting Room: Jeriko, W. Blake Gray
Jeriko is also ambitious in its winemaking program. Only organically grown grapes from the estate vineyards that surround the tasting room are used in Jeriko's wines. But within those 120 acres, Jeriko grows five different varieties; when we asked, the laconic tasting room staffer showed us a map of where each type of grape is located.Bargain Wines: Be thankful for these great values, Leslie Sbrocco
Stuffing with sausages, yams with brown sugar, salty gravy and tangy cranberry sauce are the elements you're really pairing. Since it's a national holiday, this week's picks highlight domestic wines that take on the turkey table with ease.Letters To Wine: Don't rip Napa to praise Oakland
Wine bars vary, just like wine, Bill Addison
San Francisco's wine bars defy easy categorization, as discovered on recent visits to the following 12. Some are neighborhood haunts with basic by-the-glass lists; others are flashy spots that cater to the see-and-be-scenesters and specialize in arcane varietals from around the globe.Spirits: England's classic Pimm's cocktail experiences a Bay Area revival, Camper English
Many of San Francisco's British-style pubs keep a bottle of Pimm's No. 1 on hand, but Pimm's fan Crisson says she's no longer ordering them at neighborhood venues after some negative experiences. "Pimm's is not the kind of liqueur that you keep on the shelf unless you know what you're doing with it. I'm not going to order it from just any old bar. To have a disappointing Pimm's Cup is really disappointing."Recipe:Pimm's Cup
As made at Town Hall restaurant in San Francisco
The Cheese Course: Creamy labneh is perfect for breakfast, Janet Fletcher
Labneh is made just like yogurt, by culturing milk with bacteria. Some producers add cream or nonfat milk solids to the milk. The former adds richness; the latter adds protein without adding fat. Some add pectin or other stabilizers, and some add salt. In any case, labneh is always thicker than yogurt because some of the whey has been removed. Although the consistency varies slightly from one manufacturer to another, you can expect labneh to be closer to sour cream or soft cream cheese than to custard-like American yogurt.Pairings: Gewurztraminer offers pairing solutions, Lynne Char Bennett
Recipe:
Spiced Winter Vegetable Braise with Coconut Milk & Chipotles en Adobo
The Chronicle's Wine Selections: Domestic Gewurztraminer, Jon Bonné
TURKEY TRAINING CAMP: Riesling wins trainees' favor, Stacy Finz
Uncorked: Swirl owner's spin on buying wine, Stacy Finz
Bar Bites: Paragon, Deb Wandell
Bargain Bite: Cafe Pippo, Carol Ness
CRITICS' PICKS: Crab, Plain or fancy, it's delicious, Bill Addison
"East Coasters may clamor for blue crab, but West Coast folks prize the larger Dungeness for its feathery, sweet meat. And one of crabmeat's many virtues is how well it adapts to various cuisines -- as evidenced by its many interpretations on the menus of local restaurants.
Dining Out: Asian flavors dance at tiny neighborhood haunt, Bill Addison
David's Kitchen in San Francisco's Parkside is the kind of good-willed spot any neighborhood needs: inexpensive food cooked by a chef with a quirky but wholly approachable style. Chef-owner David Chang reinforces that amiable quality by visiting the dining room frequently to check on his customers and make conversation. - Whip up a white bean puree to spread on pita chips or crostini.
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I've asked around and it sounds like Brizard Apry should be available soon in the Bay Area.
The general manager at the Plump Jack Wines Noe Valley Store said his distributor should have it in stock next week. Not sure if he's planning on stocking it in the store. He did look at me kind of strangely when I first asked about it, and say, "I don't get much call for Apricot-ey things". But, they're always happy to special order.
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Most of my "fancy" knives...
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[...]
Other charming traditional pedestrian business districts are found all over the Bay Area.
[...]
To me this is the take away message.
I've lived in 3 neighborhoods in the bay area and have friends who have lived in several others. Frankly, it's almost hard to find a neighborhood that is not "foodie friendly".
OK, you might have to adjust your goals of walking to Michelin starred restaurants, if you decide to live in Sebastapol or Petaluma. But, probably, you will find things that are even more interesting! Your neighbor's garden or that enormous Persimmon tree in yours.
In San Francisco, the Mission, Noe, Castro juncture cstuart recommends is particularly magical. If we were younger, my wife and I would probably still be living there.
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Boring technical difficulties resulted in a late return to home.
This is my much "loved" copy of "Classic Chinese Cuisine" by Nina Simonds.
I decided I would make "Stir Fried Chicken with Cashews".
"Classic Chinese Cuisine" is one of the first cookbooks that opened my eyes and taste to new things. "Stir Fried Chicken with Cashews" is one the first recipes I remember making from it. Just between you and me, I checked out "Classic Chinese Cuisine" from the public library. It was due for return on April 22, 1989. I'm sorry if you have been trying to check it out. The "Stir Fried Chicken with Cashews" was just so good, I knew I needed to make far more things from it. It's not something I'm proud of.
Rice goes in the cooker.
Things are chopped and marinated.
Woks are heated...
Manhattans are made.
It really is tasty and delicious.
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After work, I stopped at our local grocery store to pick up some things.
We get most of our day to day supplies from the Good Life Grocery here in Bernal Heights.
This is the meat deli case.
The high turnover items are good.
They have a good selection of cheeses...
...Beer...
..and wine.
The produce is also good...
Really, between the Farmers' Market and Good Life, we get 99% of our groceries.
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Today for lunch I decided my mission would be to travel out to my favorite nearby Asian Market and get some Red Vinegar.
At 19th and Irving you will see something like this.
Kentucky Fried Chicken, a bar, and lots of Asian markets and restaurants.
This market is the closest decent sized asian market.
Today, they seemed particularly suspicious of me in the dry goods section of the store, to such an extent that I was a bit scared to take out my camera.
I got my Red Vinegar (Great Wall brand, thanks Ah leung) and some Maggi seasoning without incident.
After that I decided to try the new-ish PPQ Chicken Noodle across the street.
They were quite nice and I was especially impressed with the chicken diorama above their door.
I took a picture of that, which endeared me to them, and then I took a picture of my soup noodles.
The waitress said, "Oh, I take pictures of my food, especially when I am back in my home country, so I can remember."
Anyway, really tasty Chicken Curry Noodles. I'll definitely be back.
After that I returned to the wet goods side of the store across the street. I'll admit much of what they have there is completely unfamiliar to me. Re-hydrated sea cucumber and other things I can't even guess at.
I've been there before looking for specific things; but, I hadn't noticed the butcher section so much. Today I was especially impressed by the pork display.
I guess you can't see this particularly well. It starts at one end with trotters and proceeds for the length of the case, not all of which would fit in the picture, with different cuts. The whole deli case is parts of pork!
It's like a shrine to the pig! I have never seen so many different parts of pigs on display.
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So, I feel a bit bad about deceiving you.
We got lucky for a couple days, and I'm afraid that it is far more likely that the view from our office in November will look like this:
Really, the ocean, Marin Headlands, and Golden Gate Bridge are out there.
You just can't see them right now.
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Erik, I haven't been around much, so my question may be outdated, but when Mr. DeGroff invented the Flaming Orange Gully, Velvet Falernum couldn't be had for love or money. Has that changed? Did you buy it locally, or have it shipped?
A number of liquor stores here in SF seem to carry it pretty regularly. I forget which one I got it at.
Wow, even BevMo carries it now!
Though, when I run out, I may try making it myself with one of Paul Clarke's recipes.
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Fall and Winter, it's definitely a Manhattan for me, too.
Though if I spy a bottle of Maraschino behind the bar, and the bartender isn't too busy, I might try to get them to make me a Brooklyn or a Red Hook.
Coctail Chronicles Posting (with recipe)
This variation on the classic Manhattan is a fairly recent creation, credited to Enzo Errico, bartender at Sasha Petraske’s Milk & Honey in New York. Named for the neighborhood in South Brooklyn–a former industrial zone with cobblestone streets and Civil War-era brick buildings, now yet another revitalized urban area–the Red Hook is a little more rugged than your typical Manhattan. -
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. RandomIvanPost.
AUTHOR. Ivan.
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
[...]I salute you, sir.
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Wow the Flaming Gully looked good.
[...]
It was really interesting. The nutmeg garnish give it a unique flavor and smell.
Kind of reminded me of some Belgian Beers.
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#!/bin/sh
#Geek Comments, sheesh! This has to be the first C we've seen on eGullet.
GadgetOnTopOfMonitor=Mirror
if [ $GadgetOnTopOfMonitor != WebCam ]; then
echo "The Gadget On Top of My Monitor is a $GadgetOnTopOfMonitor so no one can sneak up on me."
fi
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Today's porridge is rolled oats, with walnuts, chopped dates, and Pavel's Yoghurt.
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It makes a fine monitor stand, don't you think?
I'll ask if I can take a picture of some of my other pets.
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[...]
Do you know Naomi's Antiques to Go, on Polk? Not too far from Swann Oyser Depot. I feel certain Naomi would have a vintage American dinnerware pattern that would be perfect for your kitchen.
Huh, no, I'm not familiar with Naomi's. We'll have to check it out the next time we're over there.
Thanks for the suggestion!
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Hey, who put the good tea in our break room, and what are you doing with my knife? I had that same Chicago Cutlery knife for 20 years, but recently replaced it with a Hattori HD (also very light, but much sharper).
I envy your taco selection. More Salvadorans and fewer Mexicans have settled here, so we see more pupusas than tacos. I find pupusas a bit heavy - do you have them in your area?
Mmm, pumpkin ice cream.
Hah! Funny.
Yes, I've had this knife since I was in college, ack, probably more than 20 years now. For some reason I really like it, despite the fact that I have "nicer" ones. Maybe it's because it's never bitten me.
There are actually a lot of Salvadorean restaurants here in San Francisco, as well.
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As I said we really like Mitchell's Pumpkin ice cream.
Enough to buy our own half gallon.
It was very tasty on some of the Arizmendi Pumpkin Raisin Tea Bread.
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Wednesday in our house is traditionally "spaghetti night".
A lot of times we'll cheat and tart up some Muir Glen sauce with extra vegetables and Aidell's sausage. Sure, that's fine for regular weeks.
This week, the idea was winter squash and chard.
I asked my wife to pick up the stuff.
Once I got home I dissected it.
Sorry, the squash baton are a little sloppy. I'm not a professional any more. But, yes, I do divide everything up like this every time I cook. Oh, and yes, I like my crappy 8" Chicago Cutlery pressed steel knife. It's light and always sharpens up quickly and without complaint.
Once the vegetables had been cut up it was time for a cocktail.
The idea was to start with the Flaming Gully created by Mr. Dale DeGroff for eGullet.
Introducing: The Flaming Orange Gully
There were issues, however. I had no citrus vodka and after a small credit card, ahem, incident, certain persons have been strongly discouraged from purchasing additional spirits.
Not wanting to let a mere lack of infused flavorless spirits to prevent me from flaming my gully, I proceeded as follows.
From one orange half I removed two long zests and two broad zests. I then used a micro plane grater to add the rest of the orange zest to approx 4 oz of white rum. To that I added the juice from two key limes, a few dashes of angostura bitters, 1 1/2 oz Velvet Falernum, and the juice of 1/2 orange.
I curled the two long orange zests and added them to the cocktail glasses. I shook the above with ice until very cold and stained it into the glasses. Flamed wide zests over glasses and garnished with fresh grated nutmeg.
Sheesh, that was a lot of work! Fortunately, it met with approval on all fronts.
Sweated onions and garlic with herbs.
Added my spastic squash baton and covered to cook. After a period added Chard.
Arizmendi "City Bread".
Boiled pasta and added to squash "sauce".
Dinner...
Wine...
I love Wednesdays.
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Lunch today is at Cafe Gratitude.
I splurge and get a fresh squeezed juice drink called "I am Succulent" (Grapefruit, apple, celery, fennel and mint).
And the daily enchilada special called, "I am Elated". I can never remember all the things in the enchilada. Sprouted suflower seed pate and chipotles figured somewhere.
Not only is Cafe Gratitude vegan; but, it is raw. None of the food is cooked above a certain temperature.
But, the problem is, it's really good.
I really wanted to dislike them with their goofy hippy attitude and no cheese.
But, the proof is in the food. And it is darn good. Even my co-worker who is a card carrying carnivore sez so.
So, is it really so bad to ask, "What are you grateful for?"
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First stop today at lunch is the Arizmendi Bakery to pick up some bread for tonight's pasta.
I really like their yeast breads. And they also sell a weekly quick bread. The GingerBread is outstanding.
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Obligatory Work Post...
As you can see, like all IT workers, I am a pack rat. "What, you're going to throw those bar code scanners away? Surely, I can think of something to do with them one day."
One of my co-workers is a tea fancier, so at least we have good tea to drink.
Break Room kitchen...
We have a few choices on campus. The inexplicable appeal of Panda Express has always puzzled me.
Then there's the Courtyard Cafe in the Nursing Building, or Nurseteria. If you get there early enough, they prepare a few vietnamese style sandwiches every day. Otherwise it is Cafeteria style Chinese.
The Moffit Cafeteria in the Hospital is good, if you are fond of the sort of food you might get in a Stouffer's TV dinner served to you on a paper plate.
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[...]
i'm sad that el farolito right next to the bart station doesn't get any props. it is a bit seedy, but definitely flavorful.
[...]
I'm not really huge fan of Cancun or La Taqueria. But, La Taqueria always gets written up in the 50 best restaurants or whatever.
My current favorites, in order, would be Papalote, El Toro, and La Coroneta.
La Fonda, near where I work in the Sunset, is also very good. They have a most excellent chicken tinga filling.
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Have you tried Taqueria San Francisco way on the east end of the 24th st. strip?
It's a bit far for me, but they make a good burrito.
I tend to stick with either El Castillito because it's close and good or Papalote if we feel like jumping on the J or bart.
Have you tried the fish burrito at Papalote? A couple of my friends swear by it. And they tell me it has to be super.
I need to get to Taqueria San Francisco based on their mustache reviews at Burrito Eater; but, haven't yet. It's just kind of out of the way.
My wife gets the fish tacos at Papalote something like 3 out of 4 weeks a month. I've gotten their shrimp sometimes; but, never fish in a burrito.
I usually go with their grilled or mole chicken burrito. I can't believe I'm admitting this; but, I also like their SoyRizo. It's good! They don't do Carnitas or Al Pastor, which is kind of a let down. I'm ambivalent about their chile verde pork. It's OK, and probably as good as the chile verde pork anywhere else.
I gave up the Super Burritos a few years ago; but, sometimes still get avocado or guac as an addition. I just didn't need the goopy cheese and crema.
But always "sin lechuga"!
eG Foodblog: eje - A Week of Porridge
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
Today's porridge is toasted scottish style oats with mixed dried fruit, honey, and yoghurt. I went with my usual 1/3 cup oats to 1 cup water, and they ended up a bit thick.
Finished up digesting the SF Chronicle Wine Section and am catching up on work email while I wait for an Electrician, (or someone like him,) to show up and give us a quote for installing a dedicated outlet for our new stove.