Top Tastes: From Vegetarian Feasts to Pisco Cocktails

BREAKFAST At The Hungry Cat’s brunch in Santa Barbara,Yellowtail Confit ($14) on rustic bread/toast, topped by a poached egg, with a potato/green bean/peppers salad in buttermilk dill dressing. SAVORY – VEGETARIAN Fresh, flavorful Curried Couscous Edamame Salad ($8) at Lilah Belle’s, the Castro’s cute new take-out serving healthy meals and salads on the go – great concept! Vegetarian master, Millennium wowed me, as usual, with… Read more →

Connecting with Country Roots

Just in time for Fall, when I continue to dive into my beloved classic country albums (my ultimate hero, Cash, but also Hank Williams, Dolly, George Jones, Loretta, Waylon, etc…), I get nostalgic for hearty BBQ and roots music. There are a number of us in a city as diverse as San Francisco who were born or grew up in places like Oklahoma (my birthplace, before… Read more →

October 2008

“I am tempted to believe that smell and taste are, in fact, but a single composite sense, whose laboratory is the mouth its chimney the nose.” – Brillat-Savarin Despite economic woes, it’s been a month of great eats, food events and new restaurant openings in San Francisco. I’m looking forward to more slated for October. I share my favorite dishes… Read more →

Top Tastes

SAVORY / SWEET Crispy Pork Rinds sprinkled with chile powder, dipped in a dark chocolate sauce (also rich with spice) at a private tasting at Orson. The addictive snack I’ll dream of in my sleep… more! More! SAVORY – VEGETARIAN Elote (traditional Mexican grilled corn-on-the-cob covered in grated Cotija cheese, Mayo, Lime and Arbol Chili powder; $6) at the always pleasant Regalito Rosticeria – though toned down both… Read more →

Outer Richmond, Part Two

Here’s a link to Outer Richmond, Part One. Now let’s hit more of my favorites in the wealth of cheap, tasty Outer Richmond food: BRUNCH Cliff House Bistro: This one isn’t cheap and the location is notoriously touristy as it is historical, perched on the edge of the sea. But since the remodel a couple years ago, when faced with the need… Read more →

La Cocina Open House 2008

La Cocina is a neighborhood food endeavor you should know about. Located on a residential Mission block of Folsom (between 25th and 26th), it’s a non-descript building housing over twenty young food businesses in our fair city from gourmet catering to specialty food products to farmers market ventures. They have a lovely commercial kitchen space and offer technical assistance to… Read more →

Dining in Charleston

“Even without canals, Charleston is the Venice of America. It’s an incredibly beautiful city on the sea, perfectly preserved, a living museum, but not at all Disneyfied like Colonial Williamsburg.” – William Stadiem, “Everybody Eats There” What a shock to come through the drab drive across South Carolina and Charleston’s seedy outskirts to find a city so pristine, museum-like. It’s… Read more →

September 2008

(After describing a long, multi-course meal)… “The magic would have happened, and we’d sit for a long time with our elbows on the table, talking easily, hearing and seeing more than we had for some time because of the way we’d tasted more.” – M.F.K. Fisher (from “Shall it Be…Eating or Dining?”, 1944) Fall is ushered in with September… my… Read more →