FoodZealot

Thanks, Russ. Very elegantly put. In re-reading my comments, they sound a bit more negative than my actual feelings about the place. In fairness to the restaurant, it's based off only one meal. It could have been an off night for the kitchen, or had they had a hangar steak that night, my impression may have been completely changed. There IS a lot to love about the place - friendly, prompt service, a beautiful space, a feeling of hospitality and a very light touch in preparation (if you like that). Those things can certainly mean a lot, especially because it's the kind of place that you might mark a special occasion with a group, etc.

mongo, thank you for your very informative pics and commentary.

This seems to be the most recent thread dedicated to Zuni Cafe, so I'll post here. I went with two friends over the weekend. The space and the bar are great - lots of brick, wood and copper. We went at night, but I imagine it would be bright and warm during the day. I had at least a bite of everything on the table, and these are my humble impressions. They have a daily menu of raw shellfish, but they weren't offering crab of any sort that day. I started with a dozen Hog Island sweetwater oysters and a half dozen Tomales Bay manila clams. The oysters were fresh, briny and enjoyable, but the clams weren't much to talk about. Zuni Caesar salad - excellent, well-dressed Mixed chicory salad with Colston-Bassett Stilton, bosc pears and 30 year balsamic vinegar - a bit shy on the vinegar(acid) but very nice. House-made boudin noir with delicata squash puree and lamb's lettuce salad - I think this was the most successful dish, just on the strength of the sausage. Pasta alla chitarra alla carbonara with applewood smoked bacon, egg, pecorino romano, ricotta and black pepper - salty and one dimensional. It's not important, but the server erroneously described pasta alla chitarra as being named for its resemblance to a guitar string (triangular in cross section?!?), rather than being cut on the chitarra device. Bellwether Farms ricotta gnocchi with arugula and mustard flowers - delicate texture, but subtle to the point of blandness. Yellowfin tuna grilled rare with frisee, escarole, grapefruit, Pinkerton avocado and coriander vinaigrette - competently prepared, but IMHO not more than the sum of it's parts. Strictly on the food level, I was little disappointed - but that might be related to some other factors: I had been at the food show tasting all sorts of things all day, and I tend to like big flavors. I can see how it's popular - it's a great environment, and if you get to know the menu, you can eat quite well there, (but it probably involves ordering the Caesar and the roast chicken for two). I would go back again to give it another try, but I don't think it will be near the top of my list.

I didn't pay attention to the website - I found out by phone that the storefront is closed for remodelling, but the ice cream is still available through retail. Unfortunately, no Mitchell's or Mitchell Brothers either.

I was in SF over the weekend and stopped in at RGD. It was one of the best meals I've had in a long, long time. We weren't able to secure a reservation for a table, but the full menu is served at the bar. I really like the format of being able to choose your own - currently priced at 3 courses for $58, 4 for $68, and 5 for $78. I plan to go into more detail on my own website, but here are the highlights. Amy *Seared Foie Gras, Caramelized Red Onions, Quince and Pomegranate Seared Ahi Tuna with Avocado, Nori, Enoki Mushrooms and Lemon Soy Dressing Risotto with Lobster, Rock Shrimp, Winter Vegetables and Sage Oil *Herb Crusted Loin of Lamb with Winter Vegetable Galette and Maitake Mushrooms Caramelized Banana Cream Tart with Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Eric *Seared Foie Gras, Caramelized Red Onions, Quince and Pomegranate Seared Tuna with Gigante Beans, Swiss Chard, Bacon Brioche and Beurre Rouge *Juniper Crusted Venison with Caramelized Endive and Cranberry Compote Cheese Course: *Roaring 40's blue cheese, Red Hawk, Petit Agour, and I think Valencay (?) + Amarone della Valpolicella, La Marega 1998 me Foie Gras and Duck Confit Terrine with Pear Chutney and Vanilla Brioche Seared Sea Scallops with *Cauliflower "Risotto", Edamame, Bottarga and Sage Oil *Pan Fried Branzino Bass with Braised Fennel, Picholine Olives, Preserved Lemons and Socca *Herb Crusted Loin of Lamb with Winter Vegetable Galette and Maitake Mushrooms + Chateau Larruau Margaux 1999 Cheese course: *Roaring 40's blue cheese, Petit Agour, Jean Gagne (sp?), Bellwether Pepato + Amarone della Valpolicella La Marega 1998 petit fours coffee cake to go *I've marked standout items with asterisks. The reduction sauce on the seared foie gras was rich and intense. The venison actually tasted like venison to me, rather than some vaguely gamy, non-beef meat. The lamb was gorgeous, and napped in a delicious demi-glace sauce (although the galette was tough to cut). The Roaring 40's blue was really superb - complex, rich, and a long finish. Here's a shot of the loin of lamb. Even though we ate at the bar, the service was friendly, professional, and unhurried. There's not much room in the bar area, and for the most part people seated at the bar are having full meals, as we were, so they politely keep bar patrons from crowding from the back, reaching over, etc. Being first-time visitors, we were not expecting, nor did we receive an amuse-bouche. The only minor misstep was that the bill presented to us was incorrect, in our favor, and we had to point it out. I will enthusiastically go back at my next opportunity. I felt that the quality of ingredients and care/precision/flavors on the plates as well as the overall experience was well worth the price, even something of a bargain. edit: spelling

OK, here's where the local guy makes a plea not to mess with a dish from his childhood. Yes, while growing up, I had them at Cafe 100 and other drive-ins. I'm sure those fancy ones are good to eat and all, but for loco moco, I prefer simpler and humbler versions. To me, it's like deciding to gourmet-ify red beans and rice or a corndog. Mind you, I admire the spirit of those dogged explorers who put a fried egg and brown gravy on anything they can get their hands on. But I guess I just don't think loco moco is as durable of an idea for a dish as gourmet macaroni and cheese, gourmet tacos, or gourmet burgers, all of which can be worth doing, IMHO. When making loco moco, I suggest that you put yourself in the mindset of rustic-soul food-gutbucket-satisfying food. Think like a firehouse cook, rather than a chef hanging out at the firehouse. If you happen to have a nice, homemade brown gravy around, sure, use that. But don't go buying demi-glace. And no parsley garnish! [grin] Rachel, I'm with you re: manju. ~Tad

Ha ha! Great suggestion, Stone!! Thanks, everyone. I'll report next week. On ice cream, that is...

I won't have much time, so based on quality of flavors, quality of the ice cream itself and overall quality of the experience, which should I try within SF proper? Polly Ann Ice Cream or Mitchell's Ice Cream? Or somewhere else? Thanks!

According to this Department of Fish and Game article, water quality is often a concern. I wish it weren't so, because I love clams, especially raw.

kathe, welcome to eGullet and the California board. I'm still learning about Thai food, but IMHO, Jitlada is one of the better Thai restaurants I've encountered thus far. If I am not mistaken, at least some of the menu is Isarn (Northern), so there may be more Chinese/Lao influence, but the flavors seem to be vibrantly Thai, at least to me. I hope you'll be able to join us or will give it a try on your own.

Thanks, Beachfan. I'm happy to do it. I forgot to list the morning glory greens - but now that I think of it, they were prepared a bit differently this time, compared to the picture earlier in the thread. This time, there were chilis, less garlic, and no vinegar sauce was served with it. Here's the plate from Saturday which had already been pounced upon. BTW, the friendly couple who joined us was Becky and Issac. That chicken fried rice was tasty! A nice balance between flavorful and not overly moist - or so I was told... Maison Rustique, safe travels and best wishes. For anyone that missed it - tissue, ErinB, et al, I'm sure it won't take much to get us to go to these places again when you are able to go.

We stopped in at BhankanomThai, the snack and sweet shop in the same mini-mall. All sorts of exotica in there - freeze dried durian, sesame rosettes, coconut and fruit over crushed ice (similar to halo halo), mini taro and coconut cakes, and on and on. We then walked over to the Thai grocery next door. We lost all but four at that point, so instead of eating just then, we saw a movie to give ourselves a rest. Our plan to go to Kruang Tedd had to be altered since the restaurant was taking a vacation starting yesterday. So the four diehards went to Jitlada instead. I'm quite sure we'll go there again with the whole group. We only ordered four items: Sour sausage salad Crispy catfish with green mango salad underneath Chicken Fried Rice and the Flambe Prawns, shown earlier in the thread. The seemed to be trying harder on dish presentation this time, so they may think that I'm a reviewer or something. I think next we should go to the Wat Thai temple and perhaps another restaurant. How about either Jan 24 or 25 or Feb 7 or 8?

likely first visits for 2004 Sona - Los Angeles, CA Lotus of Siam - Las Vegas Alan Wong's - Honolulu, HI Mission 261 - San Gabriel Valley, CA Katsu-ya - Studio City, CA Zuni Cafe - SF, CA Chez Panisse - Berkeley, CA working on it anywhere in Thailand Restaurant Gary Danko - SF, CA Arthur Bryant's, Stroud's, Gate's, et al - KC, KS Sonny Bryan's, Coopers, Kreutz, Smitty's, Black's, Southside Market, et al - TX ~Tad

Thanks to everyone who came out for our first outing, and I hope more will be able to make it next time. L to R, kneeling: grandcru, mixmaster b. standing: FoodZealot, jschyun, Trevor, beachfan, Sandra, and two strangers that just jumped into the picture. Just kidding - they're friends of mixmaster b & Trevor. beachfan was kind enough to bring along a gewurtztraminer and a tokay for us to share. They worked quite nicely with our meal. mixmaster b also made up some great ballots for us to rate and make comments. Thank you both! We got quite a few dishes, so I'll just post the ones that are different from earlier in the thread. Please correct or amplify where needed... Somtom - green papaya salad with dried shrimp spicy beef - sorry, I forgot the name of this dish, and it's out of focus Pad Thai Panaeng Kai - chicken panaeng curry (peanut) Yen Ta Fo - squid & fish cake noodle soup Pad Kra Pow - wide noodles stir fried with chili and basil and we also ordered Tom Yum Goong - lemongrass soup with shrimp Pork Larb Vegetables with Green Curry Sauteed Vegetables Vegetarian Pad Thai Sticky Rice more coming...

I have probably mentioned pipi kaula a few times, and looking at various recipes and references, I see that smoking is not the norm, as you say. Although our family occasionally had commercially prepared versions, the meat that I remember (and crave the most!) was homemade, smoked and the maker's family called it pipi kaula. Just a misnomer, I guess. Thanks for the opportunity to clarify, Irwin. FWIW, everyday rice in Hawaii is essentially Japanese sushi rice in texture, maybe a touch more moist than for sushi, but without any seasoning or vinegar. I'm not sure where you are, but a brand like Nishiki or Kokuho Rose in addition to the ones caroline mentioned would be right. I find that rice at Chinese restaurants (at least in LA) has much more separate grains, and often has the flowered texture I associate with a longer grain variety.

I haven't been to this restaurant, but as someone who loves small bites/all appetizer-style meals, I'm intrigued. I would imagine that they take their expertise with all-you-can-eat sushi and apply those efficiencies and shortcuts to this type of food. Sun-Ki, did you notice how are the menu-ordered dishes put down on the table - as they are ready, or altogether?

Sun-Ki, very nice overview of mochi dishes, as usual. Funnily enough, bibingka came up in conversation the other day, because it was mentioned in a Rob Schneider movie. Bibingka is a dish related to mochi - it's from the Philipines, and usually made with coconut milk and steamed in banana leaves.

I'm going with the idea that we'll be meeting up a few times over the next few months, so we don't have to hit all the spots in one day. With 12 or more people, it's hard to go to a bunch of places and just taste, so I'm thinking it will work better if we just do a real lunch and early dinner. But I'm very open to suggestions/adjustments. So far, it sounds like Beachfan +1, jschyun +1, Maison Rustique +1, ErinB, tejon +1, mixmaster b +1, and FoodZealot. A suggested schedule for Sunday, January 11th, 2004 1:00pm Meet & eat at Ruen Pair (5257 Hollywood) 2:30pm Visit the sweet shop in the same mini-mall 3:00pm Walk over to the Thai market next door 4:00pm Walk over to Kruang Tedd (5151 Hollywood) ~Tad

hollywood, could you be referring to Zabumba, Cafe Brasil, Versailles, and Chandhi?

quesaxa, welcome to LA, eGullet, and the California board. For Lebanese, I like Sunnin near Westwood & Santa Monica and Marouch on Santa Monica at Edgemont. Carousel is supposed to be good also (maybe a little more Armenian), but I haven't been there yet. For Greek, the one I like best so far is Papa Cristo's at Pico and Normandie. ~Tad

Gave: several large Thai granite mortar & pestle sets temaki (handroll) kit - nori, temaki holders, 2 part dipping sauce dishes persimmon shaped ceramic container set Japanese stacking "lunchboxes" w/ chopsticks freeform ceramic serving dish Got: the Gizmo - motorized grater Nobu cookbook, Nobu Matsuhisa Cookoff! - a book about recipe competitions Physiology of Taste, Brillat-Savarin Sur La Table & Amazon gift cards/certificates homemade sea salt blend from my sister Braun Multiquick handblender Crate & Barrel potholders and color coded flexible cutting boards ~Tad

January 11th, 2004. Happy New Year, everyone.

I'll be attending, and I would be interested in meeting eG peeps... ~Tad

ExtraMSG - I wish I knew enough about the restaurants in both areas to make comparisons, but Thai food is mostly new to me. I can say that even among the few places I've been to in the last 6 months, I'm noticing significant variability, i.e., some places tend to be quite sweet, some are more aggressive with fish sauce and so on. I don't know whether to attribute that to Thai regional differences, American customers' preferences, styles of the individual cooks, etc. In going into the markets in Thai Town (in Hollywood), it seems that almost everything mentioned in cookbooks is available, so as far as ingredients, I believe they are not wanting. FWIW, there's a significant Thai population in the area, and the clientele at most of the places I've been to seems to be about 60% Thai/SE Asian, 40% other. If you do try any in LA, please let us know your thoughts. Beachfan, I'm sorry to hear that your wife did not enjoy her meal at Jitlada. I'm guessing some of the "authentic" kitchen practices are still in use, so for the squeamish, maybe I'll try to find out what current health ratings are once we have a schedule. A 1pm lunch on Jan 11 sounds good to me. ~Tad

Dick, thanks for your comments. I respect your opinion and I'll have to try the Pepin method sometime. Just to offer more details, without being defensive - in this particular case, we had to do two roasts anyway for the number of people that were coming, and the number that preferred well done was more than would be served by the four end sections. The other faction wanted rare to medium rare. At the time, I wasn't aware of eGullet to draw from its collective wisdom, so we tried to accomodate both groups as best we could and we still underestimated the well done crowd. I'll try to clarify my "for good or bad" statement. I was trying to comment the method itself. Separate from any idea of the ideal roast beef, this method seems to result (in my one attempt) in the same level of doneness throughout the roast. This might not be your preference, but if a small group was doing a small roast and they all wanted medium, a low temperature method might be preferable to a high/low method which would probably create the well done end sections you describe. Another thing I noticed was that the internal temperature really did not rise while it rested. I removed it at 127° expecting it to get to about 135°, but it didn't. The picture looks a bit more red than it actually was, but yes, it was much more rare than I expected. As someone who usually likes a rare steak, I was probably too worried about overcooking it. By happy accident (and maybe we are an unsophisticated bunch) several people said that they preferred their roast beef this rare and were very pleased. As for my apparent self-contradiction, I guess it would have been more accurate to say, "Given the circumstances, the results were about 92% of what I wanted. Note that this may not be the method for everyone. In the end everyone got a nice piece of meat to their desired doneness, even if we had to scramble around at the last minute." ~Tad