Margaret Pilgrim

"Loaded" turkey-dog at Mohamed's hot dog cart, Laney Flea Market, Oakland. Mustard, catsup, mayo, lettuce, tomato, red onion, cilantro, dill pickles, jalapeño. $3.50

To me, this is utter food porn, I shun the interior of a baked potato but kill for the skin and the clinging flesh....

Makes me wish I were six again. Stunning,

This is essentially the treatment I gave our family party salmon, albeit we baked the sealed foil packet on a cookie sheet in the oven. Cooked just through, plattered with watercress and served with aioli. Nothing left at end of day.

Regional differences are so interesting, Mahi Mahi is a luxury where I live. $15-20/lb, But all fish is expensive here. Even my favorite Asian seafood market has markedly raised prices over the past year.

So I opened a can. But it was a can husband insisted on bringing home. Reflets of France is a reliable brand that you find in supermarkets' local products section. All I did was move to a baking dish top with crumbs sauted with garlic and parsley Bake for half hour at 400F to achieve crusty casserole. Was impressed with the good quality (Tarbais) beans, large chunk confit and two sausages. Decent seasonings Can said it served 2, but leftovers will be lunch for at least one, maybe 2. . Drowning out husband's objections, also put sauted greens on the table.

LOL. I never looked at my re-purposing in this light before. Husband is often frustrated that I can't recreate a dish he particularly enjoyed. He doesn't understand that there is never exactly the same saved "sauce" in the refrigerator.

Needed to reGoogle, but here are a couple of opinion, some amusing, some straight. https://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2013/02/how-long-can-you-keep-reusing-pasta-water.html

Clown Bar has been the food press's tout for some time, but when the chef left to open his own restaurant there was concern about its current quality. Well, it's excellent! Besides the historic circus decor and popularity as a local watering hole, Clown Bar became a comfortable stop for a small plate or two and glass of well curated wine. The menu doesn't exactly suggest this, but the extensive list of starters offers enough to create a fine light meal. Husband chose the Fine beignets, cod fritters. I went with giant white asparagus with foie gras. MMmm... You can see from these pics that portions are LARGE. They can easily be shared for a smaller meal or to create a larger tasting menu. Husband ordered the house signature duck pithiviers which is large, rich and very sharable, While I chose turbot. Oh, my! A VERY large portion, perfectly sourced and prepared. Husband asked how I was possibly going to finish it,,.,but I managed. This was a very large meal, leaving no room for dessert. The menu allows opportunity for many split or shared courses. Everything was very, very good. Wines were excellent and well priced. Service was intelligent and attentive. And amazingly since this is a "drinking establishment", the decibel level was very low. A very pleasant evening. .

I recently asked recs for quiet restaurants in San Francisco, and it does seem that they are an anomaly. We are lucky enough to travel a bit and have enjoyed many small restaurants kitchened by young chefs who turn out innovative food at reasonable prices. The diners are young and hip and for the most part quiet spoken. Case in point, Korus whose current Japanese chef pushes the envelop with interesting but always approachable plates. A simple amuse of radishes and tamara butter Smoked halibut under a cloud of chocolate scented cream Asparagus with safran hollandaise and poutargue And one of my favorites of the evening, fresh peas with strawberries Tender as love octopus with dill pesto Iberico pork with polenta and chickpeas Rhubarb ice cream with basil and meringues This was a tasting menu at €59. We added an excellently conceived wine pairing at €37. All this plus super attentive service...and a soft buzzy ambiance in which you could actually hold a conversation.

Husband and I enjoy vastly different strengths coffee. I have finally convinced him that the way for each of us get the cup we want is to make a good/prope/in his mind strong brew, then for him to dilute with hot water. Seems to be working, There is no way to improve weak coffee.

I've oft read that there is good reason to save and reuse water you've cooked pasta in. All kinds of uses suggested, from use in bread dough to watering plants. Do you do this, and is so in what ways?

Cucumbers dressed with cucumber-less "tzitziki" (yogurt, garlic, dill, s and cracked pepper). End of the Mississippi Roast -> ragu Over pappardelle Happy making use of leftovers.

Fair enough. Do YOU need kitchen help, cat walker, etc? I'm easy.

Do you need kitchen help? Dog walking, no, no, cat walking? Windows washed? Me need this food. Name barter price.

Here is the birthday cake I made myself last year with gummy decorations to delight the grand-kids. They almost came to blows deciding who was getting which slice.

Some years back I converted a resistant college guy by tossing steamed whole brussels sprouts in a rich, garlicky and mustardy vinaigrette. He begged for the recipe to give his mother. Now I prefer to char olive oiled sprouts in a very hot cast iron pan.

Wonderful input. Kids are so idiosyncratic that you often have to try a multitude of approaches to find a key. One grandchild is a natural vegetarian, choosing broccoli over any other food offered. Also arugula. Will chose either as special breakfast treat. His sister has a sweet tooth, will not touch broccoli flowerets but love the stems "because they're sweeter". Okay, if you think so. The third will eat raw vegs if that's all the snack offered. But they all ratted me out by telling their parents they wanted the sauce Ama makes when they sleep over. I hate to play Mary Poppins, but a spoonful of cheese sauce sure helps the broc and cauliflower go down!

Is your spaetzle made with RAMPS? I am tasting your plate right now!

Haloooo, weinoo! Good call. It's on the top of my list to revisit. Am flirting with theater menu at nightbird. https://www.nightbirdrestaurant.com/menus/#tasting-menu-copy Pretty early, but i thought worth a try at that price. Not much review on it out there, tho.

(I love your dog!) Yes, there are many (expensive) destination restaurants with minimum noise, but i am looking for small, casual, chef-driven dining rooms. Suggested elsewhere and meeting this criteria is Firefly. On the opposite end of the continuum is Pearl 6101, which blasts music AND has little sound-abating finishes.

That's a rather depressing take on expectations of dining out, no? $100 a head and ambiance that one has to tune out.

First, we don't eat out much in San Francisco. We are out of town much, and have found kinds of small restaurant, passionate chefs, loyal following AND a kind of civilized calm in the dining room. Not the club or party atmosphere that is to prevalent in SF. And the tab at these places is as digestible as the innovative cooking. SO, are there these kinds of places in SF today? We'd love to be able to dine as well at home as we do abroad.

Maceo is a lovely room with friendly vegetarian options rather than afterthoughts.

No newsprint, but excellent quality fish and perfect fries at Woodhouse Fish Company in SF. I prefer the Polk Street kitchen to the Market Street one, but they are both good. Not the cheapest, but huge portions of really well prepared battered fish and super fries. http://www.woodhousefish.com/