tanabutler

Happy birthday, y'all! Doc, ya little pup, you finally caught up to me (four whole days later)! Taurus belly bump!!!

I am here to tell the unwashed masses at eGullet that RanchoGordo is being too modest. I have been online for sixteen years, since AOL was for Macs only, back in the days of eWorld and so on. The internet was still young and fresh, even back in 1994 or so. The internet was as sparsely populated as a Wyoming ranch, and believe me, you whippersnappers, when you saw something interesting (without blink tags, let's say), you pulled over and took note. Mister Lucky floored me (back when I was "Diotima's Evolution"). It was thus I became one of the subscribers to Steve Sando's paper magazine, Mister Lucky, and I still have my treasure of 'zines from those halcyon days. I found Mister Lucky's writings to be tangier than a Cosmopolitan and tarter than a Meyer Lemon Drop. And yet classic, like a real martini, not one of the Dow Chemical Monsanto Hybridized Bastard Martini makers who seem to think any alcohol poured into a martini glass is a martini. (No, indeed. That is genetic engineering and I won't have any of it. But that is a Dead Horse Martini, and best left to lie there, rotting, in another thread.) So listen to me. Or don't. Mister Lucky's as readable as anyone who writes for eGullet, period. He's the Vegameatavitamin of eGullet: "And tasty, too!" Joe Bob says check it out. (He actually did say that about Mister Lucky, back in the day.)

Won't Al Courchesne be surprised to hear that? I saw him there on my third visit, working at the Frog Hollow Farm store. In his overalls.

I once took a workshop on public speaking by a woman named Marcia Martin. She stressed how important it is to be able to speak about your experience. From your experience. The "from" comes from your cells, your bones, your eyes, your skin. It comes from inhabiting the space you're in, and taking in all the impressions you can. In sharing an experience, the words that convey the most color are those that incorporate your senses. Even that word, "color," implicitly brings the sense of sight to the equation. Rather than use conceptual words like "bravery" or "valor," use words that have flesh and bone. Here is a little of Ruth Reichl's Comfort Me with Apples. Sensual, yes. And also poetry.

The most compelling writing I know is sensual, literally "of the senses." A good food writer must be sensual, even if not blatantly so. As well, my favorite writers (and my favorite people) are a blend of the sacred and the profane. Worshipping food does no good if everything is sanitary, pristine, and holy: while hymns have their place, that place is not in the kitchen. I appreciate the crude, the Rabelaisian, the unwashed, the pungent: earthiness. While I do appreciate elegant writings, it's good to know that writers live full lives. Without a hint of that sensuality, it's too scientific, too precise, too orchestrated for my taste. This is probably all too obvious, but the connections between eating and making love are abundant, from the seduction with visuals to the plateaus we reach, moaning "Oh God" when our pleasure is extreme.

NOTE: Judy Rodgers, alas, is not scheduled for a farm dinner this summer. My mistake.

Update: Judy Rodgers is not doing the farm dinner. But Charles Phan (The Slanted Door) is.

Rufus Sewell? Swoon.

I have an odd food association thing. I often cook while watching old movies. So one night I was making a Caesar salad while watching "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane." Now whenever I see that film, I think of Caesar salads. And so on. If I see an old film, I can tell you what I was cooking the last time I saw it. This is your brain. This is your brain on food.

Why do so many of these WTN posts seem like classified ads, if not outright advertisements from someone who might be involved in the sale of the wines? I'm suspicious. I'm sure I must be missing something. Also, why aren't prices included (in many of them)? WTF?

Napa Valley spas: does it have to be in Calistoga? When I asked for Napa suggestions, my friends who live there (he works at Acacia winery) suggested Bistro Jeanty, as they always do when anyone asks for Napa eats. I prefer Oakville Grocery to Jimtown Store, myself.

What do you usually drink? What did you pay? What were your courses? What exactly was the offending wine that was too cold?

I don't think that the avocado does it for anyone. I hate to say it, but that dish should be retired unless someone (me) personally delivers perfectly ripe Hass avocados from California. The window of true ripeness is about 36 hours or less, in my experience. Too early, and you have something hard, laced with water, stringy, and sweet. Past that window, and you have something mushy, dark, and with another flavor that could be characterized as either cumin or riper. Unless it's at its apex of flavor, avocado will not refresh. I am not trying to posture as any kind of a food critic, but that dish failed chef Betsy and me both times, and I have been in California long enough to know the perfect avocado. Which begs the second question: whose idea was it to serve avocado as part of a New York menu? Okay, my microscopic rant is done now. The rest of me is filled with envy but I'll get over it.

Crawfish étoufée and oyster po' boys!

That does it. I'm sending my sisters there. And I'll be completely jealous when I hear they went.

Star Chefs Taunton Press: Fine Cooking La Cucina Italiana (sensible database: check out the "personalized search" feature) Donna Hay: She is the Australian Martha Stewart, and I know she's got a huge following over at Readerville. The magazine is beautiful but it's like Sunset: not so much content available online. Still, a lovely site. Speaking of which: Sunset. Unfortunately lots of content available to AOL users, and purchasers of the magazine via subscription or newstand. I've got a photograph on page 28 of the May issue, woo hoo! My first sale!

So, ExtraMSG, how did your trip go?

I do bacon in the oven at 300 degrees, turning it once halfway through its 25-minute cycle. I don't like it terribly crispy, but brown and not wilty. And it's totally worth the time, since you can cook more on the sheet pan than you can in a pan on the stove!

Niman Ranch bacon is the best I've ever had. You should have a great breakfast. For some reason, I like scrambled eggs with the marmalade better than my usual over-medium fried eggs. Isn't that odd? Thanks, JennotJenn.

Tana, I think you gave those French women the best possible advice. That place is a treasure. If you haven't been inside Culinaire, that culinary antique place near SLT, it's worth a peek. Some pretty interesting stuff to look at (though nothing I can afford, unfortunately). I am a big fan of the McEvoy olive oil, and always keep it in stock. Also, Frog Hollow Farm makes some damn fine conserves, chutneys and marmalades. Be sure to check out the mushrooms at Far West Fungi and the gorgeous flowers at Oak Hill Farm. And the amazing selection at Golden Gate Meat. Carolyn Tillie looooves the Recchiuti chocolates and, while I don't really care for chocolate myself, I have to admit they are beautiful little works of art, and the flavor combinations are very creative. In fact, I'm stopping in there tonight to pick up a last-minute birthday gift. And a Very Happy Birthday to you, as well! Cheers, Squeat Yes, it is my birthday. Thanks for the good wishes. I have a bottle of the McEvoy olive oil from my first visit (the one I posted about long ago, suggesting getting Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk cheese, a baguette at Acme, some green jasmine tea at Peet's, and some Scharffen Berger chocolates, and watch the ferries go by). I like the wheatgrass flavor of it, but don't use it for cooking. (Too expensive for that!) I've also bought Frog Hollow peach conserve and Meyer lemon marmalade. That marmalade is so good on toast with bacon and eggs. The eggs and the lemon make a good match that surprised me. Hmmm, now I'm wondering if we should eat tomorrow at The Slanted Door. But oysters...the siren call of the sea. --sigh.-- Choices, choices. I'll check out the antiques, Squeat. I hadn't done that before because I knew the prices would give me a nosebleed.

Here's some exciting news: Chef Charles Phan, of The Slanted Door, has agreed to be the guest chef at an Outstanding in the Field farm dinner. The dinner will be in Santa Cruz at Dirty Girl Farm on June 27, 2004.

I awaken every morning and say my prayers, bowing to the north, where the Ferry Plaza Market is. Yesterday was my seventh visit: I drove 75 miles north to a meeting with a client. Then a friend took me to Hog Island Oyster Company for an early birthday lunch. We shared Kumamoto and Sweetwater oysters, along with a green salad tossed with Point Reyes blue cheese and vinaigrette. I followed his lead and had a glass of Sancerre. We scored a window table overlooking the sparkling azure bay, and the weather was perfect, as it often is in April. Dessert was a small bar of bittersweet Scharffen Berger chocolate, as we were too full for gelato. I stopped in the Village Market and bought a bag of Rancho Gordo Rio Zapé beans. It was so hard to choose from the varieties there: I wanted the Black Calypso ones just because they looked like baby Dalmatians. I chose Rio Zapé because they looked more familiar--I figured I'd know if I got them "right" more easily than more exotic beans. I spent an hour or so by myself at the Marina, and was joined on my bench by four French women. They had been in the city for the whole week, and we talked about food. I recommended a visit to the Ferry Plaza market above all other destinations in the city. I feel it's distilled the best of what California has to offer, and in a magnificent setting. I hope I gave good advice. Tomorrow morning, we're headed to Napa (hopefully to meet Rancho Gordo himself)...and after spending most the day there, we will head back to the Ferry Plaza Building. I'm sure I'll visit "the mothership" (as my daughter laughingly calls it): Sur La Table. I'm sure I'll come home with Scharffen Berger chocolate, and bread from the Acme Bread Company, and cheese from Cowgirl Creamery. Possibly a bottle of Gruner Veltliner from the Wine Merchant. What else is a must-not-miss?

Any mention of Manresa or David Kinch makes me green with envy. Nevertheless I look forward to your post.

Ditto what Dosconz said.

Jim, are you sure your pipes didn't rain into your wineglasses? Respectfully submitted with winking emoticon and a pat on the back. (Poetry as usual.)