chasmartel

Thanks Kelly & Marcia. I'll report back, but you're making me a little nervous. I asked about Mexican (southwestern counts) because I'm guessing there is a significant hispanic population in the Colo Spgs area. I lived there for a year about 25 years ago & I remember there was at that time. A year or so ago there was a thread under the California section reviewing & comparing the taco trucks that are fairly common here in northern California. What I'm looking for is a more than a taco truck, but the sort of place that the local hispanic population goes to. Some folks at Chowhound were touting a place called El Tesoro. Any thoughts on that place? Aside from the category of Mexican/southwestern, is there any place we should visit or avoid? Thanks again.

Does anybody have any recommendations? We'll be in Colo Spgs for a few days this month visting from California. We know something about Mexican food from here and also from several trips to New Mexico. We surely don't need fancy, just real food. Any suggestions?

The paper memu remains the same, but the chalkboard over the register may change from lunch time. I think limitations in the number of items offered on a particular day represents their commitment to offer only very fresh fish sustaniably-caught. They have a website: FISH Times I've only ordered off the paper menu once (Saigon salmon sandwich). I've had barbequed squid twice. Wow. The pb&j on Acme pain de mie (which comes with those great fries) on the kids menu is nothing to sneeze at either. Especially when you have the rare 4 year old that is indifferent to fries (though her father is not). The outside tables are often cold, even in the summer. I've seen a stack of blankets available for outside use, however.

Bergamot sighting at Monterey market Berkeley on Dec. 30th. I think between $1.50 aand $2.00/lb (I was on a mission for leeks).

"FISH" in Sausalito is and has been one of favorites since it opened. We love fresh seafood, live in Marin and have a 4 year old. Fits on all counts. The retail seafood is one of maybe two places I'd buy fish in Marin. The selection is small, but very fresh and fairly priced.

I saw bergamots at Monterey Market in Berkeley a week ago, though not today. There is a seller at the Marin Farmer's Market that has Seville organges -- and many other great stuff. They are Italians -- De Santos or something close too that. On Sundays, they are opposite the rotisserie chicken truck.

It may be a little late now (and it isn't in SF), but I've often found a very good selection of mushrooms at a very good prices at Monterey Market in North Berkeley. I bought chanterelles there last Friday at $9.00/pound. I've gotten fresh porcini and black truffles there in the past as well. And with the Monterey Fish Market and Magnani Poultry up the street . . . what a fun trip. The mushroom seller in the Ferry Building seems pretty good. While higher than Monterey Market, the prices seem to be within the bounds of reason (white truffles notwithstanding). The mushroom seller at the Marin Farmer's Market, however, is ridiculously overpriced. When Monterey Market was selling chanterelles for $9/pound earlier in nthe fall, the farmer's market price was, I think $25/pound. Just a little rant.

There is only one hanger steak per cow, but all of the hanger steaks I've ever bought have weighed at least a pound, ofter more. That is more like three portions for me when I'm cooking at home. I'm not a restaurantuer, but I'd guess that no one would serve an entire hanger steak. I think you need to ratchet down your math accordingly. I know the difference between a skirt steak & a hanger steak, and what I've been buying is not skirt steak. I've also bought flatiron steak from one of the two sellers where I've gotten hangers, and they are clearly different steaks (both very good). In the newly-renovated San Francisco Ferry Building, there are two meat sellers. I can get hanger steak from either one. A few weeks ago, I bought 6 pounds of Prather Ranch Onglets from Potter Family Farms without ordering in advance. I'm a little puzzled by the difficulty you all seem to have in getting the stuff in Vancouver. And Chef Fowke, FYI a Hangtown Fry is an omelet or scramble with oysters & bacon. Here is a link that will tell you more than you ever wanted to know: History of Hangtown Fry [Edited to add missing words.]

If you will pardon a non-BC interloper, iI've got to weigh in on hanger steak which is my currect favorite. In the SF Bay Area, Hanger Steak is very popular right now and as a result, it is available, but has gotten expensive. I've seen it up to $15/lb. (Skirt steak is also popular & increasingly expensive and more available) Last time I cooked was for in-laws from Maryland. I prepped it with salt & pepper after breakfast for the grill that night. I made a little sauce of garlic, anchovies, parsley & olive oil (from Richard Olney). It was really really good & made terrific sandwiches the next day.

Even though I can't really afford to drink much white burgundy, I am a subscriber to Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar. '96 white burgundies have been an off-an-on topic on the IWC discussion forums. Tanzer also discusses the oxidation problem in the introduction to his reviews of the 2003/2002 white burgundies in the most recent issue. He says that discussed the oxidation problem with a number of producers and they cited a number of factors among them defective corks. Apparently chlorine is sometimes used to treat corks and that chlorine can absorb the free suplhur in the wine (sulpher that is a by-product of fermentation) and thereby speed up oxidation if not enough sulphur was added by the winemaker. There was also some issues with treatment of the corks with silicones or other componds used to faciltate extraction. He reports that some of the burg producers are quite unhappy with the cork suppliers and have demanded changes with the processing and treatment of the corks. Tanzer discusses other possible causes, but it is too involved for me to try & recount here. In any case, a lot of people are disappointed with a lot of different '96 white burgs. The truth is out there.

Corndogs and chili dogs.

Well, the other shoe has dropped. Per today's Marin Independent Journal, the Roxanne Deli closed this week and the underlying reason for closing the restaurant and deli now appears to be because Roxanne Klein & Michael are getting divorced. Michael was the money in the restaurant and according to Roxanne, the split is preventing her from continuing even the deli. It seems like he also has some legal ability to prevent her from starting over with other investors. Sounds like some pretty tough pre-nup negotiating. Without knowing more, this doesn't seem at all fair. Here is the column with the Roxanne item: Marin IJ 9-22-2004 There are a lot of comments in this thread speculating on why Roxanne closed (mine included) that assumed it was because of the food or lack of market support. Looks like the story is more pedestrian and, I think, sadder.

There are several sellers of dry-farmed tomatoes at the Marin Farmer's Market (Sunday 8-1 and Thursday 8-1) at Marin Civic Center. There is a guy from Marin that dry farms potatoes and early girl tomatoes. Both are excellent!

Last night (and tonight) we had penne with chantrelles in cream, leeks, and garlic (from the Chez Pannisse Vegetable cookbook). Also, I've roasted them with a little olive oil, garlic & thyme -- in a small skillet on the barbeque over a wood fire. Oh boy -- with a steak & an oldish red wine. Maybe this weekend.

My current hands-down favorite is "Art of Eating" by Edward Behr. Check their website at: Art of Eating Published quarterly, there is usually one main article, one or two secondary articles and some book reviews. The main article usually bores down on one topic in quite a lot od detail. I remember on the state of veal in the US, and another on pork. The writing is calm and matter-of-fact (kind of the opposite of A. Boudain). Many are written by Mr. Behr, but he has a number of other contributors. No advertising. I also enjoy "Simple Cooking" by John and Matt Thorne. I can't bear the Kimball fellow on his "America's Test Ktichen," so I don't think I'm likely to ever give Cook's Illustrated a chance. edited to delete unintended quotation

And here is Grace Ann Walden's take on it from Thursday's SF Chronicle: SF Chron: Roxanne Closing The explanation makes sense to me. The "true believers" could get their fix at the deli a lot more often than at the restaurant. Raw food true believers (even those that live in Marin County), couldn't afford to eat at the restaurant that often. I think Roxanne's location really hurt as far as making up the difference. Larkspur is only 10-15 miles from downtown SF, but for a lot of city-dwellers, anything over the bridge is on the other side of the earth. Getting there from Berkeley/Oakland or the Peninsula is really a bit of a project. Marin County just doesn't have enough people to keep a fairly specialized restaurant like Roxanne's full.

Here is a link to Thursday's follow-up story on Roxanne closing. No real information, mostly reaction: Marin IJ 8/5/2004 Roxanne Closing

Per today's Marin Independent Journal, Roxanne's closed yesterday (Tuesday, Aug 3rd). Owners had no comment -- paper says more to follow. (This was the widely-celebrated "raw" restaurant.) The to-go deli remains open. I never ate there, but by all reports, the food was quite good, but a lot of work -- even more so than more traditional fine restaurants. I always thought it would be hard to maintain the necessary energy & focus to keep the place going especially because the owner/chef wasn't doing it for the money or even interested in making a profit, but almost, it seemed, because she could. But then what do I know . . . I'll look in the paper tomorrow.

The book that really opened up my cooking is Chez Nous by Lydie Marshall. I have probably cooked more from that book than any other and it is consistently good -- any not so hard. The re-issued name is Passion for Provence, I think. The book that I found after a few years of Chez Nous is Simple French Food by Richard Olney. I think that book is terrific (and often very funny) and I intend to re-read it every few years. I have made (or been inspired by) quite a few recipes from there. That book led me to the other Olney books (I made the ratatouille from his Provence the Beautiful last night and it was, IMHO, spectacular), and then to Olney's friend, Elizabeth David. I like ED a lot, but I read her more for background, inspiration and inspiration. I like and use Chez Panisse Vegtables a lot as well. All of those folks know (or knew) & respect (or respected) each other. They are a kind of gold standard for me. Those are my favorites (and biases).

Possibly -- it was written on cardboard & taped to the table. What I remember is Bristol, Alaska and that it was sockeye.

Last week, we had Bristol River sockeye (on the grill with salt & pepper only). It was bright red and had a very distinctive taste of shellfish -- shrimp in particular. Is the taste of shellfish normal for this kind of Salmon from this place or was it something about the piece we had? Is it more a reflection of what this particular fish had been feasting on? I may try to get another piece this week and see if it is the same, but I'm curious to hear from folks with more Alaska salmon experience than I have whether a strong shellfish taste is typical. We live in the SF Bay Area and usually eat local king salmon, so that is my point of comparison. BTW, I got the Bristol River sockeye at the Marin County farmer's market ( I think Mission Fish) was the name of the seller) for $9.99/lb.

Picante on Sixth near Gilman (you'll need a car, but not much). Very good casual Mexican. Children everywhere.

Thanks for your (collective) input. Other than the candle (which I like a lot), it doesn't sound like there is some simple solution I have just been missing.

What is the best way to open a bottle with a wax seal without spreading bits of cracked wax all over the table/floor & down the neck of the bottle? The other night, I did what I usually do -- lever corkscrew right through the wax all the while leaning over the kitchen garbage. Not so elegant . . . is there a way to do this better?

Last night at Whole Foods in San Rafael, CA, CRS chinook (I think) was $34.99/lb with sockeye at $24.99. I'm not opposed to paying a lot for something like CRS, but I worry about how fresh it would be by the time it gets here -- and how long even a usually trustworthy-seller like Whole Foods might keep such an expensive product out for sale to try and cover its costs. We had just flown in in from a weekend in Dayton OH and desperately needed fresh fish. Local king salmon was $9.99, so we went with what we knew. (We drank a $40 Dehlinger pinot noir with it and very happy.)