rslux

Honestly, any of the ones you listed will probably be fine.

Hi Andrea! Where do you stand on the academic training versus field exprience question as it relates to becoming a sommelier? Also, do you think the field has special challenges for women?

Ton Kiang has excellent dim sum!

You know, not all career switchers are bored yuppies doing it to indulge their whims. Some people switch careers because their old career dried up and blew away. Here in SF, there's a lot of ex-dot com folks who don't have a career to go back to. Ageism is often nothing than a desire to keep wages down. Older people with more experience and/or families to support tend to have this annoying habit of wanting to be paid more money.

I think this marks the first time that I've heard of someone being denied at The French Laundry. You get the impression--from all of the incredible stories and press--that Thomas could whip up just about anything at a moment's notice. He's got to be the best chef out there with respect to pleasing the customer. I wonder what happened. Maybe they had a supplier problem. It happens.

I have a friend who ate at Masa's back in December and absolutely raved. Sorry your experience was less than expected.

I'm a little late to the party on this one but I just wanted to add - Mario - love him! Can't stand how cheesey Rooney is though. The only time I enjoyed watching R was the episode where they're going back to Mario's old restaurant and Rooney is asked to chop some mushrooms. He gets this big grin on his face, puts some English on his knife, and chops like a demon. It was nice to see him not acting like a jerk for a change. Emeril - His older shows, without the live audience, show more real cooking and are worth a look. The live audience stuff is about entertainment, not food. Ming - I love Ming! His ideas about fusion cooking are IMHO sound and I like it that he always closes the show with suggestions about which wines to drink with his food. He also did one episode with Iron Chef Morimoto that was amazing despite Morimoto's obvious difficulties with English. Iron Chef - a bit campy at times but still a lot of fun. I'm amazed by what these chefs can do with food in just 60 minutes. "A Cook's Tour" is fun too. I particularly liked the episodes in Japan and Vietnam, although I could have done without the rabbit hunting bit in Scotland. And what happened to "The Thirsty Traveler"? Bobby Flay - can't stand the guy. Jacki must have very low self-esteem, why else would she put up with it? Martha - can't stand her either.

Mario B did a whole "Mario Eats Italy" episode about limoncello and what to do with it. Check the FoodTV archives.

You're joking, I assume. There is some excellent sushi in San Francisco.

Welcome to San Francisco! This transplanted NYer has found a lot to enjoy about the place, although the common complains about lack of decent pizza, deli, and bagels are all too true. It's not exactly ethnic but I'm a big fan of a small French bistro in the Richmond district called Chapeau! You'll also want to try Thanh Long in the Sunset for Vietnamese and the dim sum at Ton Kiang on Geary. And then there's Betelnut in the Marina, which some folks think is Yuppified but I rather like.

Steps of Rome is pretty decent and not expensive. I've eaten there a handful of times. I wouldn't go out of my way to go there but if you're in the neighborhhod it's fine.

For those who were wondering, here is an explanation of why kosher birds taste good: http://www.empirekosher.com/chicken.htm

I cook for people who don't feel bad. And, especially, for those who do. i pity those who don't cook for people who feel bad. I feel for people who cook for bad people. I feel people who cook and aren't bad people. For I cook people who don't feel bad. I don't cook for bad people.

http://www.tommystequila.com/ The website focuses more on their tequila than their food, but it's a good, solid place to eat, and accessible by Muni - the 38 Geary bus drops you 1 short block away.

Hey Zeb - my hubby & I eat at Tommy's about once a month. Glad you checked out a neighborhood joint as well as some of the SF big names!

Agreed. It's pretty much the only 'real' food on Mulberry Street. Some of the other places are fun for the atmosphere - La Mela is one example - but the food is not the first reason to go there.

wingding & jciel - you're probably right. I chimed in because Fat Guy had mentioned the dearth of older people in cooking schools and I am not sure if what my hubby is seeing is a trend change or a local phenomenon.

This may be a phenomenon restricted to the CA Bay Area / dot-com fallout, but my husband just started at CCA and he tells me about 1/3 of his class are 30-something career changers.

If you need a free image dump, a friend runs this one: www.frutsel.org. Don't worry about the message about files moving, just click on the file dump link, create a directory, and go for it.

Am I a nutjob for using root vegetables (generally rutabaga or maybe turnip) in my chicken stock along with the carrot, leek, and celery?

I really hate mayo so for me, it's German style potato salad or nothing.

I did not enjoy going to Tu Lan at all. I found the seediness to be off-putting rather than charming. Also, the neighborhood (6th and Mission) is not one I felt comfortable walking in at night, even when accompanied by two guys. Most of all, though, the food was not as good as I had expected it to be given its relatively high Zagat rating. I don't recommend it.

I ate at Commander's Palace back when Emeril was running things there & loved it but haven't eaten at Emeril's own places. Ate at Mesa Grill once -- was not all that impressed. Haven't been to Babbo but my parents, whose food taste I trust, were there last month and enjoyed it (and yes, Mario really does wear the orange clogs IRL). I recently got Mario's "Simple Italian Food" cookbook & am enjoying it. We're on a budget, so I don't buy cookbooks frequently. I'm not sure what will be next on the list. And props to Jamie Oliver. I know he's easy to make fun of, but I've printed out & used several of his recipes off the FoodTV.com website and they're quite good.

Zucchini and mushrooms.

I haven't seen it here is CA yet. Trader Joe's OJ is pretty good though.