Carolyn Tillie

Me too - on both counts!

Can you give the examples of whom you are speaking of in the phrase written above please, Sandy? I'm curious. Actually, I was -- but that was seriously before the rise of the personal blog. I started the first wine blog (tracking the growth of a wine from sprout to harvest in 2004). I actually got a ton of writing contracts then; Hugh Johnson's World of Fine Wines Magazine, Gayot.com, the Napa Register, etc... Three years ago, there were only a handful of blogs and very few of them were food-centric. But you have to remember how the 'net has changed in three years. If you look at eGullet's traffic on Alexa (putting in a comparison of eGullet.com vs. eGullet.org and then clicking on the 5-year link), you will see that the traffic reached a peak at the end of 2003 and going into 2004. Since then, blogs have taken over and that is where the new writers are coming from. Less and less from sites like this.

Thanks for that heads-up. While walking that end of the Clement neighborhood yesterday (first time!) on the way to Burma Superstar, I realized where Clementine is and will look forward to going back there soon (we spend a lot of time in that neighborhood for its pool tables... )

Burma Superstar [309 Clement Street between 4th & 5th, San Francisco, 415.387.2147] I'm ashamed at how long it has taken me to eat here -- this place is so frigg'n amazing I am tempted to bus here every day for lunch. Happening to be in the neighborhood around lunchtime after visiting a close friend in the hospital, I slipped in immediately and ordered their Burmese version of a sangria; wine with fresh fruit that is so far from the European version to be thrilling. Being a Burmese neophyte, I ordered a lunch special salad, Gin-Dok. Let's see... what do I remember that was in it? Shredded lettuce, sesame seeds, split yellow peas, fried garlic,, peanuts, dried shrimp, jalapeno peppers, and some crunchy noodles. Fearing the salad would not be substantive enough, I also ordered two vegetarian eggroll filled with bean thread noodles, shredded cabbage, celery, and carrots and served with a spicy, glaze sauce. Overall, I have never been a fan of spicy food and I think this is a great place for me to slowly increase my heat-tolerance level. When the waitress brought out the salad and announced that it included jalapeno peppers, in the past I would have immediately tried to pick them out. This time, I went with it, drank additional water, inhaled the amazing curry aromas around me, and enjoyed it all immensely. As the BF is very fond of shooting pool nearby, I see it as my mission to eat through the entire menu and I am thrilled to have a new restaurant that I am so excited about.

I used to have to go to the Red Lobster to placate my family. I got through the meal because their cheese biscuits addictive. By happenstance, the BF blended some Bisquick drop biscuits and stirred in some grated gruyere and parmesan cheese. *Poof* We had Red Lobster cheese biscuits at home!!!!

They are few and far between, but I love stumbling on wine shops that have selections of older vintages.

Geee.... I know there was a bottle of White Star Champagne, but the rest of the stuff that the hotel room service sent up is a blur...

We actually ducked in there this afternoon to get out of the rain! Really good paella (just the right "tooth" on the rice) with shrimp, scallops, roasted bell peppers, and green beans. Also ate a fabulous salad of beets, butter lettuce, pine nuts, and an aioli vinaigrette. Quiet pool table upstairs.

Salsa. Raw onions burn the mouth. Raw tomatoes give me canker sores. Cilantro tastes like soap. All of it together is just hideous.

I am confident they can accommodate you -- there are so many seafood dishes and with Kinch's new garden, undoubtedly a bounty of vegetable courses which should suffice. I have known people who go who can't eat pork and shellfish who dine there often quite well so your wife should have no problem.

Some reconnaissance for a friend brought K & I to Myth [470 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, 94133, 415.677.8986] last evening. For a Tuesday evening, I was surprised at how crowded the restaurant was at 8:00 p.m. We had a center seat with a fabulous view of the open kitchen. Being overwhelmed with the menu, my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach as I admittedly ordered way more than we could consume in one sitting. Starting off, K ordered a split of Veuve yellow label to accompany our first starter, Point Reyes Miyagi Oysters marinated in cilantro and lime with Yuzu tobiko. I confess that I would normally never order any dish that contains cilantro but I am learning to eat it and these oysters have been highly acclaimed in multiple reviews. We were not disappointed - in speaking with Chef O'Brien about it, he informed me he was inspired by Vietnamese fish base to which added depth is brought about with the cilantro. The yuzu was quite simply an added punctuation that brought it all together. Alex, the sommelier, recommended a 2001 Domaine de la Charbonniere, Chateauneuf du Pape for the remainder of our dinner. Next ordered was another appetizer of seared sweetbreads with bacon, quail egg, toast and beech mushrooms. Finding sweetbreads at all on a menu is a rarity and is always ordered when we see it -- this was stunning; the sweetbreads were lightly fried in a rich sauce redolent with bacon and mushrooms. My only regret was that there was only one quail egg. On a hearty recommendation, we were here for the gnocchi and that was the next course; seared marscapone and potato gnocchi with peas, pancetta, and parmesan butter sauce. This was truly ethereal gnocchi, individually wrapped in pancetta with a gorgeously decadent sauce. Where I got into trouble was also wanting to taste the rigatoni pasta with foie gras cream, Maitake mushrooms and Marsala. We really didn't need two starches back-to-back, but was very glad I ordered it just to be able to taste it. Becoming very overwhelmed at this point, we opted to have the rest of our dinner packaged to go; roasted black cod with maitakes, couscous, salsify and bacon jus and cornbread and mushroom-stuffed quail with greens, trumpet mushrooms, and orange segments which were greatly enjoyed for breakfast the next morning. Not quite ready to depart, I did order a cheese course with a glass of Sauterne; Valdeon, a pasteurized Spanish cow served with onion-currant marmalade, Pyrenees la Tommette Chevre a raw goat from France served with apricot and orange blossom paste and Rocchetta, an Italian raw sheep served with Apple Slices. On a service note, the kitchen is extremely accommodating in splitting any and all shared plates and I especially like that much of the menu is offered in small and large portions. Dishes like the incredible gnocchi are so rich as to easily be a full course by themselves. Even as left-overs the cod and quail showed amazing quality and expertise of technique. The last time I enjoyed a quail that good was at Gary Danko. Service was flawless, the food was stunning, and I am greatly looking forward to returning.

Ohmygod... what a flood of memories you just brought back to me! I had completely forgotten about Aunt Kizzy's Back Porch!!! I used to deliberately get off the freeway and drive through Marina Del Rey just to get their chicken!!!

You two crack me up. And RJWong is 100% correct on both accounts regarding the multiple Dinahs AND Roscoe's.

The Wayback archive picks up a lot of that stuff. I know that whenever I'm looking for content from dead websites, I find it using Wayback. ← I killed my blog a year-and-a-half ago, in November of 2005. I didn't kill it as much as I just stopped blogging and stopped paying Typepad its monthly fee. It is still there and I still get hits and e-mails from the media trying to get me to write about their product. Ironically, I am actually considering starting another blog just because I am doing so many different things that my family and friends want to see (travelling, knitting, jewelry) as well as cooking. The intent would be far different from what my previous blog was for; I used to blog to get those writing contracts and it worked. Now I don't care if I write professionally or not but want a place to document my experiences.

Not only spaghetti, but I realized the other night that it is my hands-down favorite when dining on BBQ.

You aren't serious, are you?

Good call on Cafe Esin -- I worked in San Ramon for a six months or so last year and I had forgotten about Esin! Nearby is Pearl Garden which has fairly decent Cantonese food (I wish I had something comparable in my neighborhood).

I'm thinking its about time I made a return trip... It has been over a year for me and back then, Kinch didn't yet have his garden.

Aw, Sam... you just made me sorry I left Napa! That would be some great party and I have no doubt Chef Zare will pull out the punches and do some great food!

There are tons. Literally. The hardest part is that there is no one place that has a "list" of what is exported and not. I recently did the same thing in going to Argentina and the best/easiest thing was, when I found a wine I liked, to check its availability on wine-searcher.com and see what the going rate was. In some cases, even though the wine WAS exported, it was still cheaper for me to buy it and have it exported back than to buy in in the U.S. (I was admittedly buying in bulk on my trip). Sorry I couldn't be more specific help.

Thank you, Ludja! 8-)

Thanks for this -- I'm going to try and make it!

Cheers, Mayhaw.

As it is for college, I am assuming you are referencing Miller's Anatomy of Disgust which is a very fabulous treatise on the subject. For me, it is cilantro (and if you search around, you will find huge websites devoted to those who hate cilantro). To me and many others, it tastes like soap. What is odd for me is that it was not always so -- I enjoyed cilantro until my 25th year when things suddenly changed and I actually accused my then-husband of not rinsing our dinner plates. Most recently, my boyfriend purchased it by mistake -- thinking it was leafy parsley -- and when I started chopping it up, I had to wash my hands multiple times to get the smell to go away.

Yesterday was a busy day... A business associate was in town for a conference and, drawing to the end of his visit, we opted for breakfast at The Grand Cafe in the Hotel Monaco. [501 Geary Street, San Francisco, 94102, 415.292.0101] I rave about this place often because K and I stop in frequently in the front portion -- the Petite Cafe -- for oysters and champagne. Another business associate told me they had the best Eggs Benedict he had ever tasted so I was encouraged. Also, I adore the Nouveau atmosphere so my hopes were high. And then they were dashed. On a Thursday morning, with barely four or five other tables occupied, after ten minutes of waiting, we had to ask the maitre'd to find us a waiter just to get us some juice and coffee. I was poured coffee before I could be told I wanted tea and sufficing with the coffee, poured in cream which was obviously turned and curdled. Another ten minutes we finally got an order taken for food (and some tea with fresh dairy). I ordered the House Cured Salmon and Caviar Tartine with radish, watercress, and egg. At $12, it was very, very good -- the best dish of the meal. K ordered my back-up plan, Duck Confit Hash; two Yukon Gold potato cakes with poached eggs and Bearnaise sauce. I could visibly SEE a shred or two of duck meat within the potato cakes, but only barely and the taste was undiscernable. Shame, really -- nothing more than grilled mashed potatoe cakes with the eggs and sauce. To their credit, however, the bearnaise was quite tarragony, which I appreciate. Our guest ordered an omelet that had mushrooms and other stuff in it. He seemed happy (or at least was hungry) and I didn't taste. Rumor has it that the restaurant has very recently brought on a new chef and I can only hope that he/she makes some changes soon. It is a gorgeous venue with so much potential. The lack of attentive waitstaff was sad as we usually get fabulous service up in the front area. Almost immediately after breakfast (thankfully, I only had a bite or two bites of each dish), I wandered over a few blocks to meet J at Canteen [817 Sutter St (Cross Street: Jones Street), San Francisco, 94109, 415.928.8870] which had been moved to the top of my must-try list after Andy Lynes and Ludja reminded me of it. I ordered a half-bottle of 2005 Sancerre to share and am sorry I didn't write down the producer. J and I shared a salad of arugula dressed in a pomegranate vinaigrette and topped with Carmody cheese. A perfect beginning. She ordered a salmon sandwich which was filled with caramelized onions and a creamy cheese. Being slightly salmoned-out from breakfast, I only had a few bites, but did help myself to the house-made potato chips which accompanied her sandwich. The sandwich slightly messy and there was no problem cleaning that plate. I ordered grilled sea bass served on wilted spinach and artichoke hearts. This was heavenly; perfectly grilled fish with a hint of pinkness inside and both this dish and the salmon sandwich were well-paired with the Sancerre. Discussing dessert, we decided to head out and try the much-lauded Bi-Rite ice cream when our waitress informed us there was one ginger flan left over from the previous evening and would we be interested... Of course we would! Topped with jujubes of persimmon and a light vanilla mousseline, this was ginger at its finest. Not too rich or heavy but just perfect. Being the weaklings that we are, after some art gallery perusing we decided to head out for ice cream anyway. Bi-Rite [3692 18th Street, San Francisco, 94110, 415.626.5600] is in a part of San Francisco that I rarely get to as it is "on the other side of the freeway." I now see I have to get out more often. We opted for four flavors to share; my bowl contained Brown Butter Pecan and Coffee Toffee while J's bowl had Ginger and Salted Caramel. Initially, neither of us were very impressed with the pecan but it began to grow on us. The coffee was rich and not too sweet but the existence of toffee seemed pointless; they weren't huge or really an integral part of the ice cream. I still liked it though. The ginger was just light enough to be refreshing and not overwhelming and the clear favorite was the salted caramel. Another new discovery for me in that neighborhood was Tartine Bakery [600 Guerrero Street @ 18th San Francisco, 94110, 415.487.2600] which is often part of the Mecca-like lists of places to in San Francisco here and other sites. Feeling a bit guilty about my gluttonous afternoon, I brought home a slice of French bread pizza that had been topped with what looked like prosciutto only cut thicker, sun-dried tomatoes, and a soft cheese that kept the bread moist. I never tasted it, but K raved, curious what the soft cheese was which was so rich. I also brought home a Valrhona-glazed eclair which was very enjoyable except that the chocolate was a bit too much for me -- I prefer the flavor of the pastry cream and pate a choux over the chocolate itself. I also brought home an as-yet-untasted croissant which I probably should have bitten into immediately to judge. Now, day old, I won't rate. But I WILL head back and look forward to trying lots more in that neighborhood.