Entries Archive

  • Date night last night at Marlowe in San Francisco. I like the environment, like a combo of industrial and old wood, and the music (a sucker for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack). “Snacks” may have been the best part: the famous brussels sprout chips were crispy, tasty, a little oily… The peaches with burrata and “smoke” with arugula were rich sweet and just that little bit peppery… Delicious. I could have eaten more burrata but it is fair to say it was snack sized. The roasted bone marrow was nicely presented and tasty but nothing particularly special…our main dish lamb was...

    Date Night @ Marlowe

    Posted on 2010.10.10 | 1 Comment
    Date night last night at Marlowe in San Francisco. I like the environment, like a combo of industrial and old wood, and the music (a sucker for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack). “Snacks” may have been the best part: the famous brussels sprout chips were crispy, tasty, a little oily… The peaches with burrata and “smoke” with arugula were rich sweet and just that little bit peppery… Delicious. I could have eaten more burrata but it is fair to say it was snack sized. The roasted bone marrow was nicely presented and tasty but nothing particularly special…our main dish lamb was...

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  • Caught the tasting menu at Commonwealth and shared a wine tasting. Not inexpensive, but interesting, modern and enjoyable. Amuse was a delicate sashimi-like dish… cocktail an odd liquid-nitrogen frozen sake combination which was intriguing but less a drink and more a granita. Tasting menu featured lots of offal (e,g. sweetbreads, my favorite). Would go again, next time probably to order off the regular menu and pick and choose myself. And it’s not often you find a restaurant donating $10 from each tasting menu to charity and taking votes on potential recipients. Not to mention its own parking lot. In the...

    Commonwealth

    Posted on 2010.10.02 | 1 Comment
    Caught the tasting menu at Commonwealth and shared a wine tasting. Not inexpensive, but interesting, modern and enjoyable. Amuse was a delicate sashimi-like dish… cocktail an odd liquid-nitrogen frozen sake combination which was intriguing but less a drink and more a granita. Tasting menu featured lots of offal (e,g. sweetbreads, my favorite). Would go again, next time probably to order off the regular menu and pick and choose myself. And it’s not often you find a restaurant donating $10 from each tasting menu to charity and taking votes on potential recipients. Not to mention its own parking lot. In the...

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  • I’ve been absent because I’ve been keeping too busy and too tired to use my brain to write. I’ve started a new job and am now coming back up for air. In light of this I’ve decided to redesign the blog to be a little more flexible — specifically, to accommodate posts both of the long-form I normally have been writing, and a “short-form” (formerly known as “Moments”). Long posts will be in the featured slider, and short takes in the section just underneath on the hope page. I’m hoping this new approach will help me feel free post even...

    And I’m Back!

    Posted on 2010.10.02 | 1 Comment
    I’ve been absent because I’ve been keeping too busy and too tired to use my brain to write. I’ve started a new job and am now coming back up for air. In light of this I’ve decided to redesign the blog to be a little more flexible — specifically, to accommodate posts both of the long-form I normally have been writing, and a “short-form” (formerly known as “Moments”). Long posts will be in the featured slider, and short takes in the section just underneath on the hope page. I’m hoping this new approach will help me feel free post even...

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  • Also known as “the claws come out.” Miami Detour As soon as I saw that Michelle Bernstein was going to be the guest judge on this episode of Top Chef, I knew there could be some tension since both Michelle and Andrea are chefs in Miami. Andrea starts the day in a “good place” but as soon as she sees Michelle she gets super tense and kind of bitter. Andrea says she’s not so sure if you sat down at Michelle’s restaurant and hers that one would be so much better than the other. I’m sorry to say, Andrea, that...

    Top Chef: Cold War (with a side trip to cJ’s Miami)

    Posted on 2010.07.23 | 2 Comments
    Also known as “the claws come out.” Miami Detour As soon as I saw that Michelle Bernstein was going to be the guest judge on this episode of Top Chef, I knew there could be some tension since both Michelle and Andrea are chefs in Miami. Andrea starts the day in a “good place” but as soon as she sees Michelle she gets super tense and kind of bitter. Andrea says she’s not so sure if you sat down at Michelle’s restaurant and hers that one would be so much better than the other. I’m sorry to say, Andrea, that...

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  • I’m back from my technology hiatus and have now watched each of the three episodes I haven’t recapped at least two times each. I guess that’s what happens when I deprive myself… I go overboard to catch up (just ask my weight which knows what happens when I skip meals or diet — DOH!). But since there is a new episode coming tomorrow, no full recaps of the progress in Top Chef — just a couple of impressions from each. Capitol Grill And the quickfire is… Desserts! And all I can think is, if you know you are going on...

    Top Chef: Catch-Up Edition

    Posted on 2010.07.20 | No Comments
    I’m back from my technology hiatus and have now watched each of the three episodes I haven’t recapped at least two times each. I guess that’s what happens when I deprive myself… I go overboard to catch up (just ask my weight which knows what happens when I skip meals or diet — DOH!). But since there is a new episode coming tomorrow, no full recaps of the progress in Top Chef — just a couple of impressions from each. Capitol Grill And the quickfire is… Desserts! And all I can think is, if you know you are going on...

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  • I am so happy right now. Really. I just ate dinner at Ippuku for the first time, and I am so happy that a true yakitori restaurant has landed right here in my town. Ippuku feels like a little piece of Japan transplanted into Berkeley. Everything from the entryway to the seating (in-floor recessed seating on one side, booths on the other) feels authentic. And pretty much everyone in the front of the house speaks Japanese, so you’re greeted in Japanese, the menu is in both Japanese and English, and the drinks have a real Japanese feel. The concept of...

    Ippuku is a Little Piece of Japan in Berkeley

    Posted on 2010.07.14 | 2 Comments
    I am so happy right now. Really. I just ate dinner at Ippuku for the first time, and I am so happy that a true yakitori restaurant has landed right here in my town. Ippuku feels like a little piece of Japan transplanted into Berkeley. Everything from the entryway to the seating (in-floor recessed seating on one side, booths on the other) feels authentic. And pretty much everyone in the front of the house speaks Japanese, so you’re greeted in Japanese, the menu is in both Japanese and English, and the drinks have a real Japanese feel. The concept of...

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  • We’re back for the second week of Top Chef DC and as I watch the opening montage, I’m thinking, I didn’t even notice some of these people last time. Like Andrea from Talula in Miami Beach — hey, I used to eat there too! It is a White House themed episode with a “bi-partisan” sandwich and the contestants draw knives to see who they are partnered with. Angelo makes a smart-ass comment about how he owns a sandwich shop in NY and if he loses the challenge he might have to close the shop. Kenny meanwhile blathers that he doesn’t...

    Top Chef DC: School Lunch

    Posted on 2010.06.24 | No Comments
    We’re back for the second week of Top Chef DC and as I watch the opening montage, I’m thinking, I didn’t even notice some of these people last time. Like Andrea from Talula in Miami Beach — hey, I used to eat there too! It is a White House themed episode with a “bi-partisan” sandwich and the contestants draw knives to see who they are partnered with. Angelo makes a smart-ass comment about how he owns a sandwich shop in NY and if he loses the challenge he might have to close the shop. Kenny meanwhile blathers that he doesn’t...

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  • I’ve got some plaintains right now turning a nice black in my kitchen. I have loved plaintains even before we lived in Miami, and now I’m bummed about how difficult it is to find really good ones cooked up here. I do like that Cuban restaurant down on Kearny near Pine (Paladar Cafe Cubano – also their Cafe con Leche is great) but cooking up a batch at home is easy, and this recipe for Grilled Plaintains with Brown Sugar Glaze from Serious Eats is perfect for grilling season (which I guess is technically nearly year-round here in Berkeley). They...

    Foodblog-a-Round: The Odd Fruit or Vegetable

    Posted on 2010.06.18 | No Comments
    I’ve got some plaintains right now turning a nice black in my kitchen. I have loved plaintains even before we lived in Miami, and now I’m bummed about how difficult it is to find really good ones cooked up here. I do like that Cuban restaurant down on Kearny near Pine (Paladar Cafe Cubano – also their Cafe con Leche is great) but cooking up a batch at home is easy, and this recipe for Grilled Plaintains with Brown Sugar Glaze from Serious Eats is perfect for grilling season (which I guess is technically nearly year-round here in Berkeley). They...

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  • The new season of Top Chef is here. And bring out the snark, the snottiness and the nastiness. 17 chefs out of the gate. As always they are all over the place from self-taught personal chefs to the guy who has already earned a Michelin star and the one who won a rising star chef award. (Sidenote: the lines between the bottom of Top Chef Masters and the top tier of Top Chef contestents seem to be blurring. What’s the real difference?) There’s only one chef out of the lot whose restaurant I’ve eaten at — Kelly Liken, which is...

    Top Chef is Back — in DC

    Posted on 2010.06.17 | No Comments
    The new season of Top Chef is here. And bring out the snark, the snottiness and the nastiness. 17 chefs out of the gate. As always they are all over the place from self-taught personal chefs to the guy who has already earned a Michelin star and the one who won a rising star chef award. (Sidenote: the lines between the bottom of Top Chef Masters and the top tier of Top Chef contestents seem to be blurring. What’s the real difference?) There’s only one chef out of the lot whose restaurant I’ve eaten at — Kelly Liken, which is...

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  • Last night the biggest pig event of the year in San Francisco went down at the Fairmont Hotel: Cochon 555, featuring 5 different heirloom breeds of pig cooked up by 5 local area chefs and accompanied by some great wine. Tapped to compete in the San Francisco round (ahead of the national Grand Cochon) were Staffan Terje from Perbacco, Anthony Strong from Pizzeria Delfina, Dennis Lee from Namu, Thomas McNaughton of flower+water, and Morgan Maki of Bi-Rite Market. Oh, and also on hand doing some live butchering were the great Ryan Farr of 4505 Chicharrones fame and Dave the Butcher....

    Cochon 555: This Little Piggy Went to Perbacco…

    Posted on 2010.06.07 | 3 Comments
    Last night the biggest pig event of the year in San Francisco went down at the Fairmont Hotel: Cochon 555, featuring 5 different heirloom breeds of pig cooked up by 5 local area chefs and accompanied by some great wine. Tapped to compete in the San Francisco round (ahead of the national Grand Cochon) were Staffan Terje from Perbacco, Anthony Strong from Pizzeria Delfina, Dennis Lee from Namu, Thomas McNaughton of flower+water, and Morgan Maki of Bi-Rite Market. Oh, and also on hand doing some live butchering were the great Ryan Farr of 4505 Chicharrones fame and Dave the Butcher....

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