Posted by Anita on 08.21.06 4:55 PM
Boy, did we have a blast this weekend… so much so that I’ve been too beat to blog.
Saturday found us in the usual place: Breakfast at Primavera — ack! no chilaquiles? I suppose migas are close enough — then a long wander around the Farmers’ Market. Highlights included taste-testing about a gazillion peaches (oooo… Frog Hollow didn’t make the cut), looking far and wide for the best heirloom tomatoes, having an excuse to splurge on burrata at Cowgirl, discovering the previously mentioned tri-tip of luv at Prather, and scooping up the weekly bag of gloriously bacony avocados from Brokaw … mmm, mm!
Back south again with a stop at In-N-Out Burger en route to Target and the Colma BevMo for their big Grand Reopening sale (had to use that $10-off-$40 coupon!). Then back home, for a bit of prep cut short by realizing that we’d forgotten a few things… Off to Noe Valley on a “bourbon and bouquets” run, stopping at French Tulip — where we ran into Sean, quelle surprise — for hydrangeas and such, then on to Urban Cellars for a shockingly overpriced bottle of Knob Creek.
Whew. No wonder I’m tired… that sounds exhausting. But at the time, it felt like a nice and leisurely preparation for the dinner party we hosted on Saturday evening, jokingly (but accurately) called “bounty of the market, plus cheese”.
As our guests arrived, we started with a round of Currier cocktails on the back deck, accompanied by gorgonzola-and-peach bruschetta from the Ferry Building cookbook. Moving to the table, we paired a surprisingly affordable Yalumba ‘Y Series’ viognier with a salad of heirloom tomatoes, rosemary salt, burrata, and toasted pain-de-mie breadcrumbs (photo, above).
For the main course… there goes that tri-tip again, offered with a side of our friend Wendy’s luxurious penne-and-cheese, the winner of a recent mac-n-cheese cookoff among our old Seattle crew, and a Galante Vineyards Carmel Valley cabernet. (We won’t talk about the haricots verts that we forgot to serve… oops.)
Dessert was easy but good: We stole a page from our friends Russ & Nick’s dessert tricks, sweetening mascarpone with honey… which we then drizzled over Ciao Bella grapefruit-Campari sorbetto, topped with a few perfect raspberries. Then coffee in the living room, served with a platter of kumquats and shortbread, and another of madeleines and macarons from Miette, and some Recchiuti fleur de sel caramels.
Hard to imagine we had the strength to get up the morning after such a glorious evening, but shopping waits for no woman! Another early stop at JoAnn’s en route to Toys ‘R’ Us — our niece is on her West Coast tour and must have Dora! — then home for a quick nap before the family arrived. Thank goodness we have an appreciative audience for our leftover mac and cheese.
breakfast, cooking, dessert, entertaining, farmers markets, food boards, Noe Valley, shopping, wine & bubbly
3 Comments »
Posted by Anita on 08.18.06 6:57 AM
Another one from Murray — I promise next week we’ll come up with something on our own, but this one’s too good.
Currier
2 oz. medium-body bourbon
1/2 oz. Kummel (caraway-cumin liqueur)
1/4 oz. fresh lime juice
1/4 oz. Rose’s Lime Juice
Shake with ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Murray found the Currier in the old Playboy Bar Guide. He sent it on to Simon Difford, who says he likes it so well he’s including it in the next Diffordsguide.
Drink of the Week, drinks, recipes
5 Comments »
Posted by Anita on 08.17.06 11:56 AM
Finding ourselves without dinner plans — and seriously in need of both comfort food and cocktails — we decided to try out farmerbrown. (Or is it “farmer brown”? Even they can’t decide: it’s farmerbrown on the sign and the site, and farmer_brown on the door.)
Anyway… Our man Brown — or his real-life counterpart, chef-owner Jay Foster — seems to be a heckuva guy, and we figured we’d like his stuff. Any place that boasts of “farm-fresh cocktails” can’t be all bad, and Foster makes a big deal about supporting local and African-American farmers. Cool beans.
Realizing that fb is a hot ticket, we called ahead to make sure we could get in. Cameron tried first, and got no answer… even though it was 5:20 and the restaurant opens at 5. I tried a bit later, and got an answer on the first ring. I said that I realized it was late, but wondered if they had space for 2 at 6:30; the hostess said they did.
I arrived at 6:25 and was asked to take a seat at the bar until the rest of my party arrived. Which would have been a lovely idea, as I spied some vodka infusions that looked interesting, except there were no seats to be had. Luckily, Cameron walked in just at 6:30. The hostess seated us at a 2-top table right in the doorway, and asked “Is this OK?” I asked if we could get something a little less in the middle of traffic, so the hostess checked the books and seated us along the banquette near the door — good enough.
But then, just as we were settling in with menus and napkins, she came back and, with no apology, tells us that, oops, she made a mistake, that table’s reserved for a large party. We followed her to the rear of the restaurant where two different tables had to move so that we would be shoehorned into our seats. Harumph.
OK, so… menu at last. Looks like it does online: Hopped-up versions of soul-food classics. We snarkily pointed out multiple typos to one another (like “dungenss” and “pickeled”) but otherwise liked what we saw. Water arrived in cute little canning jars, with a mint-spiked carafe for refills. The cocktail list is short, but balanced and in tune with the theme. The beer list is impressive — only five taps, but the closest thing to a generic brew was Anchor Steam — and mostly local. We chose a bourbon sidecar and a mint julep, which both were reasonably well made, served in stemless cocktail glasses over far too much ice.
After placing our food order, the runner brought us a plate of mini-breads: a pair of nice cornbead muffins and two dinner roll-ish biscuits, plus a small serving of runny berry preserves. We both ordered Wedge salads, which were fine but rather uninspired for a place that boasts of its farm connections: a quarter-head of iceberg, good bleu-cheese dressing, a sliced radish and a few cherry tomato halves. It needed something more to make it feel special; as it was, it felt like something you would whip up in 5 minutes at home.
I ordered the much-praised fried chicken for my main, which was possibly the best rendition I’ve had in San Francisco. The accompanying side of mac-and-cheese was measly — no more than a half a cup — and not very well made. The macaroni was overcooked, and the cheese sauce tasted overwhelmingly like a prepackaged spice blend: Tony Cachere’s or Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, perhaps? The accompanying sad, dead pile of arugula shouldn’t have left the kitchen.
Cameron’s crab po’ boy sandwich was similarly problematic. The overstuffed crabcake interior and too-chewy bread made it impossible to eat without a knife and fork, and its flavored-mayo spread was tooth-achingly sweet. On the upside, there was plenty of crab, although it didn’t taste especially fresh and crabby. The dish’s highlight was its accompanying slaw: a chunky cabbage-and-cuke mixture lightly dressed in mayo touched with Chinese mustard.
Service was distant and scattered, and gave us the distinct impression that they really wanted us out of there: We ordered nearly the identical meal as the table next to us, who ordered before us, but we got served first. And instead of asking us if we wanted more drinks, the server just took the empty glasses; we had to hunt her down to order a round of beers. She also brought us the check as soon as our plates were cleared, and half-assedly added “Any dessert?” Gosh, no… we wouldn’t want to put you out.
Despite all of our whining, we managed to make a number of pleasant observations. First: whoever runs their fryer knows their business; neither the chicken nor the po’ boy stuffing was the least bit greasy. And it’s not expensive: We barely spent $60 between us. The decor is a trainwreck, but the ambiance feels cozy despite the amateurish design. But the initial fumbling by the hostess, the crappy table we ended up in, and the mad rush through our meal all rattled us so deeply that we had a hard time enjyoing ourselves.
farmerbrown
25 Mason Street
San Francisco, CA 94112
415.409.3276
downtown SF, restaurants
6 Comments »
Posted by Anita on 08.16.06 11:07 AM
From Cocktails with Camper English comes word that The City is about to get a new cocktailian venue: Bourbon & Branch. We’re big fans of the drinks at Cortez, so we’re looking forward to seeing what Todd Smith’s crew comes up with.
I’m a little leery of the notion of “molecular” and “lounge” occupying the same space, but I’m willing to lay aside my prejudices to experience cocktails made by people who appear to be true mixology enthusiasts, rather than opportunistic cynics looking to cash in on a craze.
bar culture, downtown SF, drinks
1 Comment »
Posted by Anita on 08.15.06 9:24 PM
I don’t talk about it much, but I’m rarely in the mood for breakfast foods in the morning. For years I tried to find pleasure in cultured boutique yoghurts, angelic buttermilk waffles, and steel-cut oats with berries… to no avail. Even my breakfast dream team — chilaquiles, corned-beef hash, eggs benedict, the sausages at Lola — leans to the savory side.
Finally, I just had to admit it: I’m not a breakfast gal. Now that I’ve made peace with this awkward reality, I’m much happier. In a pinch, I’ve been known to make a morning meal of dinner leftovers. But when time allows, I often eat what most people would consider lunch.
As I cleaned out the fridge last night, I noticed a couple of strips of bacon languishing all alone. I’d also bought a small bag of avocados at Trader Joe’s, and then turned right around and bought three more at the farmer’s market — oops. And I was making salsa this morning for tonight’s dinner, so I had an excuse to hijack a slice of heirloom tomato. Add two slices of toasted Acme pain de mie, and you’ve got yourself a midsummer B-A-T sandwich, with a side of leftover mac salad. Perfect breakfast chow, no?
—
* Edited to add: We removed the link to the Cook’s Illustrated macaroni salad recipe in July 2008 in protest of their bullying tactics.
breakfast, recipes
6 Comments »
Posted by Anita on 08.15.06 8:01 AM
The amount of lard seems high, but [Diana] Kennedy says much of it falls into the water or is absorbed in the husks. “Pork lard, please, no substitutes,” she says. “Anyone who can’t eat lard should not be eating tamales.”
— Grand Dame of Mexican Cuisine, San Francisco Chronicle, 08.09.06
She’s got 80+ years behind her, so you figure the girl must know a little bit about making do. Of course, she’s widely known as a curmudgeon’s curmudgeon, but in this age of soy cheese and Semi-Homemade, it’s a treat to hear someone say a food’s not worth eating if you don’t do it right.
cooking, Mexican
2 Comments »
Posted by Anita on 08.14.06 11:13 PM
One of the lessons that shopping at the Ferry Building Farmers Market is reinforcing: When you buy good food, you don’t need to do a lot to it to make it taste fabulous.
Sure enough, tonight Cameron made an amazing meal out of many of our Saturday finds, sans recipes: He roasted up some freshly dug Yellow Finn potatoes, grilled the Fatted Calf Toulouse sausage, and tossed together a salad of Little Gem lettuces, red shallots, queso añejo, Bariani olive oil, and sherry vinegar. Served with a little Maille dijon and a bottle of Aussie shiraz, it made the perfect late-evening meal after a too-long day at the office.
cooking, farmers markets, shopping
Comments Off on Simple, but not ordinary
Posted by Anita on 08.14.06 11:59 AM
… when I said that there weren’t any non-aesthetic changes you needed to worry about. Apparently, the move from Blogger to WordPress broke our RSS feeds, so if you’re not getting our updates in your blogreader, you may need to re-subscribe.
We’ve installed a handy-dandy FeedBurner button in the right sidebar, underneath “Daily Reads”, which takes you to a one-click subscription page for most major readers.
geekery
Comments Off on I spoke too soon…
Posted by Anita on 08.13.06 8:07 PM
It’s almost harvest time…
garden
Comments Off on It must be summer
Posted by Anita on 08.13.06 4:48 PM
We had a ton of house projects to finish today, and that meant a trip to Lowe’s. What’s that got to do with food? Well, Lowe’s is in South City… and South City is home to JoAnn’s, an unpretentious little diner that’s become one of our favorite breakfast stops.
Now, I don’t want to get your hopes up: The breakfasts aren’t amazingly special — JoAnn’s no Dottie — but they’re usually tasty. And even though the place is always busy, there’s rarely a wait. People apparently come from far and wide for their muffins, if that’s your sort of thing.
I also love the place because if you’re not in the mood for breakfast, they serve the lunch menu — including a fabulous burger — all day long.
JoAnn’s Cafe
1131 El Camino Real
South San Francisco, CA 94080
650.872.2810
breakfast, restaurants
Comments Off on JoAnn’s da man
