Margaret Pilgrim

When we visited La Galube in March 2002, the reception was warm, service throughout the meal was excellent. The food was at best ordinary. We felt that they probably started with top quality produce and meat, but the cooking showed neither perfection in simplicity nor any attempt at complexity. The meal was completely lacking in soul or inspiration. We left shaking our heads in puzzlement at its 2-star rating.

Good list, Wannabake. All excellent sources. I personally enjoy Artisan Cheese, as well as shopping for both bread and cheese at the Embarcadero Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings. And a bread list in SF needs to include Liguria Bakery on the corner of Stockton and Vallejo for plain, green onion, tomato or raisin focaccio. They used to charge a dime to cut a (9x12) sheet into small squares so you could eat it in the park across the street. Besides classic breads, both Bay Bread and Tartine offer a selection of savory flatbreads (focaccio, pissaladiere, etc) topped with ham, cheese, olives, etc., as well as filled small breads. Bay Bread reminds one of a good bakery in France; everything is classically correct. Besides breads and small breads, Tartine has some of the most beautiful cakes, tarts and pastries I have ever seen: real flowers or delicate petals turn their creations into flights of fancy too pretty to cut. note: Tartine is on the corner of 18th St and Guerrero.

Regarding loufood's glass containers, I bring home from France, read that again: I wash out and haul home from France as many of the glass, glass with plastic lids and brown stoneware ones that I can fit into my luggage! My husband bites his tongue as my collection grows on the mantle in our hotel room. I have trained the housekeeping staff not to touch my empty yogurt containers!! Once home, I use them for jams and jellies, with parafin or with the plastic lid. The stoneware work fine in the oven for custards, and a couple are in duty as sugar bowls and potpourri (lavender) holders! I always think I have enough and that I won't cart home anymore, but faced with the option of tossing one out or leaving it on the breakfast tray, I slink into the bathroom and wash it out. Sad compulsion. And yogurt in French is yaourt, still another spelling. wink:

Loufood speaks the truth! I bring home from France, read that again: I bring home from France as many of the glass, glass with plastic lids and brown stoneware ones that I can fit into my luggage! My husband tries to look the other way as my collection grows on the mantle in our hotel room. I have trained the housekeeping staff not to touch my empty yogurt containers!! Once home, I use them for jams and jellies, with parafin or with the plastic lid. The stoneware work fine in the oven for custards, and a couple are in duty as sugar bowls and potpourri (lavender) holders! I always think I have enough and that I won't cart home anymore, but faced with the option of tossing one out or leaving it on the breakfast tray, I slink into the bathroom and wash it out. Sad compulsion. And yogurt in French is yaourt. wink:

Some people have brought up the distinction of "bread" and "breads", which to me mean loaf bread and small breads, or muffins, buns and rolls. In America, in certains eras and in certain regional type restaurants it has been traditional to serve baskets of what were purported to be warm housemade small breads. I have been offered warm "loaf" bread of what I discerned to be of ordinary quality and dubious age. In more food-focused restaurants, superior bread has usually been served at room temperature, either with butter or in the last few decades, olive oil. I don't remember being served warm bread in France, except at breakfast.

Stonyfield, Mountain High, White Mountain and Brown Cow are lovely. They are, however, a completely different product from Biblos, which is a full fat yogurt, worth every calorie. If you can't find this brand, look for other Mid-East styles with calorie counts of around 225 per cup.

I gave up making yogurt at home in the '70s, too sour, too austere. Yaacov is on the right track, making yogurt "cheese", if you don't have access to good, thick, rich and mellow Greek-style yogurt. We enjoy "Biblos" brand. (They also make Lebni, a sinfully rich yogurt-type spoon-cheese. ) Good straight from the refrigerator with honey and dried cherries, which is the way this brand is served as a dessert at restaurant Chez Nous. We also freeze it, simply sweetened with about 3/4 cup of sugar per quart, then tossed into a Donvier. Excellent. About $2.99 at ethnic stores. For Stone and other SF readers, it is always available at 22nd and Irving Produce, a place you should be familiar with if you aren't already.

I have only used my premium card concierge services once, and, yes, they did provide a range of dining rooms that minimally fit my request. These results would have probably served a novice traveler adequately; they were better than no referals at all. As Lizziee has suggested, they offer little to anyone who has established other trustworthy sources of travel information.

Does anyone else remember when Bon Appetit was "Sphere", a cooking and crafts magazine sponsored by Betty Crocker? This was in the mid-'70s, and many issues were keepers, such as April 1978 special issue on Greece. This issue is a mini-Greek cookbook, including such hands-on as filo dough from scratch. The cover is loose from my copy, the pages stained from use and misuse, and although I have 5 other Greek cookbooks, I'll never part with this issue.

Last night we visited Gerald Hirigoyen's Piperade (corner of Green and Battery). Both food and service were absolutely true to what you experience in the Pays Basques. Hirigoyen is at last, I believe, following his heart with this restaurant. While his Fringale has always been a reliable destination, he seems working from real passion at Piperade. His enthusiasm resounds in the food, and permeates down to every level of service. Last night, Hirigoyen was much in evidence, stopping at tables to discuss the food, his homeland and his youth in the Pay Basque. He seemed to be enjoying the evening as much as his guests, while at the same time every member of the service team performed flawlessly. The menu is divided into small and large plates. The small are substantial, and the large are enough for two! There is also a daily special large plate; on Thursdays it is braised lamb shoulder. We ordered two small and two large: a garlic scented fish soup, lamb sweetbreads with Jerusalem artichokes, braised lamb shoulder, and a fish and shellfish stew in a tomato-red pepper sauce. All of these were excellent. The accompanying levain-type bread served with EVOO in which had been placed a dried red pepper was excellent. We ordered a 2000 Domaine Etxegaraya Irouleguy, which was excellent. Instead of dessert, we returned to the small plate section and chose to split between us the Basque cheese assortment served with cherry confit and quince paste. To the best that I could interpret, Hirigoyen's food is true to tradition and of the highest qaulity produce. It pains me to admit that not five minutes after wine service I managed to knock my wine glass over half the table. Our waiter was tableside with an armload of napkins within seconds, had the spill under control and within a minute three waitpeople arrived with fresh tablecloth and settings. I have never had a catastrophe handled with such speed and grace. We were, in fact, told that it was a nightly occurance, almost suggesting that they would be disappointed without one! It is exciting to me to see a chef so living his dream and so inspire his staff. In addition, the room is nicely soundproofed to the extent that throughout our meal conversation was easy and comfortable. There are a couple of outside tables in a heated loggia for smokers. If I have a quibble with anything about this lovely experience it is that while staying close to his Basque roots in his cooking, Hirigoyen has bowed to American super-sizing of portions. Next time I may well choose several of the small plates. Prices are very reasonable. Small plates are around $8 (cheese, $10 and foie gras, $15), large plates around $17. Our wine was midrange at $32. His wine collection is heavily regional, and if ours was any indication, well chosen. He offers 5 interesting dessert wines by glass and bottle, ranging from a Juracon douz, a muscat, to a d'Yquem. This is a wonderful diningroom to visit when you want a taste of home, even if it's someone else's. We'll definitely be back. Piperade

Pasteles are a kind of Puerto Rican tamale. They are a filling of pork, tomato, chile, olive, chick peas surrounded by a seasoned mash of green banana, plantain and taro. I used to find them both ready-to-eat and frozen to-go at a coffee shop on the east side of 6th Ave near 14th Street. I don't remember the name and have tossed my notes. I see that the card from Jimmy's Lechonera (1875 Lexington; tel: 369-9613) lists them as specialties. There is a recipe in Dora Romano's "Rice and Beans and Tasty Things: a Puerto Rican Cookbook" ISBN 0-9633449-1-9.

Jacqueline Friedrich describes the "Vignerons dans nos Appellations" federation that protects individuality in wine production. Interesting article on vintnors who produce outstanding but atypical wines that are denied an appellation, not because they are inferior, but because they are "different" from AOC expectations and fail the "agrement".

ROTFL!! You have just told the story of my 44 year marriage! How do you explain to a man who doesn't cook that the fabulous creation at dinner last night was the serendipidous combination of half a cup of braise gravy, some flavor concentrated (read: aged ) mushrooms, a long-in-the-tooth parsnip, several scraps of unidentifiable cheese, etc., etc.. He, an engineer, begs for me to keep "lab notes" so I can repeat these masterpieces, and I smile, shake my head and wish that "Men are from Mars...." had come out decades ago!

I was introduced to Tellecherry peppercorns some twenty years ago, tried them, thought "ho hum", used them up and forgot about them. I recently bought them again, and "Wow!" They are fabulous: distinctive black pepper taste, fruity if that is possible, pungent but with flavor, not heat. I don't know if my initial batch was stale when I bought it, but I will certainly continue to use this specialty black peppercorn.

Bernard Anthony has been written up several times of late in American food magazines, the most recent that I remember is October 2000 Gourmet. As I posted previously, he presents reservations-only weekend degustations of cheese, bread and appropriate wines. Bernard Anthony 17 rue de la Montagne Vieux-Ferrette 03.89.40.42.22

I have to agree with Bux on all counts. Breyer's Natural Vanilla is the cleanest flavor we have found. We make all manner of fruit, herb and spice flavored "frozen desserts" and seldom run into trouble unless we combine a heavy substance like chocolate with a rich custard, which produces too rich a product for us. We make frozen custard or simply frozen flavored cream, or frozen super-rich yogurt, depending on whim, and find that the final product is more dependent on the flavoring agent, i.e., how flavorful the fruit is, than on the kind of dairy base. We never try to duplicate a commercially available flavor. I mean, what's the point? My one caviat: be very careful with the amount of alcohol in any recipe. I had to remove a prune/cognac custard from the machine and freeze it in a pan, ala parfait. It simply had too much alcohol to freeze in the machine. Also, as already mentioned, sugar is necessary for a creamy finish. Imitation, eg Equal, will result in a rock-hard ice.

I keep it on hand just for those baking occasions when the recipe says, "Grease and flour pans". You get a beautifully sheer coating with no thick-thin spots. Also, salted and peppered, for dusting fish before putting through egg-wash and panko crumbs.

Steve, am I being too simplistic in suggesting that the absence in France of the level of dining you describe is a direct result of the Michelin star system? In the US, a restaurateur can, theoretically, serve up the same excellent level of food and casual service over a long period of time without becoming increasingly formal, providing that he continues to satisfy a large enough customer base. It is simply casual restaurant that serves excellent food. In France, a restaurant that opens to raves is expected to be awarded a star, and begins to increase formality as it looks for its second macaron. There is an axiom, "Do not dress for the job you have; dress for the job you want."

The SFWeekly reviewed Roxanne's this week. www.sfweekly.com/issues/current/dining_toc.html

Pillows filled with lavender from the back yard and organic buckwheat hulls (purchased from SF Herb Co), and lavender bouteilles, those sachets made by weaving satin ribbon among lavender stems, creating a wand filled with the lavender blossoms.

Am I alone in wondering whether this discussion of the continuum from Schonfeld's respect for simple perfection to what Steve P calls dazzling technique deserves a separate thread? Perhaps in General?

Thanks, LESider for including Liguria Bakery. This one shop is quintessentially SF to me. I'd also suggest the Green/Embarcadero farmer's market for your first Saturday breakfast. Besides fabulous bread and cheese direct, several restaurants set up kitchens and offer a range of brunch items (sometimes grilled salmon, various omelets, crepes, mexican, etc.) Don't let all these easterners "whistling in the dark" scare you. You're going to love it here! PS I think that SobaAddict's Divisidero restaurant is called "Phuket". I jest not.

Sea Lions, no seals.

I think that ngatti is on the right track. I personally wouldn't consider booking at either CP or FL any longer. They are both, for me, useful icons and have taught me a lot about how to think about food, shopping, cooking and eating. They are not places where I would go now for a fabulous or "Wow" factor dinner. They are, instead, kitchens I would think about as I planned to cook a stunning dinner at home. Unfortunately, their singularity is not apparent to most first time diners who, because of their fame, expect a much more experimental, daring and even commercial or customer service oriented experience.

Nickn is correct about Cafe Miranda. Unless it is one of their (frequent) sro nights, Kerry can cook variations on anything on the menu for you. The menu suggests everything that is available, and since everything is cooked to order, he can mix and match staples, fresh produce, sauces, catch of the day, etc. to create tremendously interesting dishes. One night when I suggested that he move to San Francisco, he grinned and confided that he started at Chez Panisse. We've only been to Primo twice since it changed from being Jessica's. We traditionally host a small dinner party for friends in the area when we are there, and request a separate dining area if possible. They give us a lovely little room upstairs, our own crew of waitstaff and let us close the place. The food has been even and service has been well paced. The menu and dishes are what I would call country-excellent. They do not, I think, come up to what you'd expect in town or in France.