Yelping banana

consume me!, originally uploaded by *caramimi*.

consume me!

there are far too many ways to post on the web. i've succumbed to yelp for my restaurant & shop reviews. if you care to take a gander, gander me here http://specialc.yelp.com.

i'm slowly going through my flickr pics and finally posting these images i've been meaning to blab. i did a fruit drop last year, with intentions of leaving behind more food gifts for those who need. this was my first attempt of moving stuff forward (with good intentions, of course).

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if alice in wonderland happened in cali, she'd get a nice banana instead of a size-changing elixir.

random fruit drop near work. james thought this baby's life had expired, but i explained it's fruity goodness has only just begun. i left this as an offering to those in need of potassium. i find it hard to believe no one picked this up, and i saw dudes picking through the garbage today....

caramimi readymade fruit art drop + food offering: banana, sharpie, napkin, freshness tag
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Okra & Pasilla Omelet with Egg Noodle

okra
Originally uploaded by Kolya Vishnevsky.

One of my best food memories, was a simple meal prepared by my then-boyfriend's mother -- the woman who opened up my palate to Vietnamese cuisine. It was a backyard bbq meal of grilled beef, salad, rice and grilled okra in a soy marinade. I have never had okra so delicious! They were tiny green jewels grown in her backyard -- picked at their peak, and lightly grilled with a little char on the outside. I've been on a quest to enjoy okra like this once more.

My recent break from red meat has re-sparked my interest in veggie varieties, outside of my staples. The trip to the market yielded the lovely oyster mushrooms from my last post, and a nice pack of small, tender okra. Craving a hearty breakfast, with the okra in mind, I went through my pantry, yielding a pack of Chinese dried egg noodle and chicken bouillon. I remembered a yummy, simple noodle dish, made by my friend Rio, that was basically fresh egg noodle quickly boiled in broth and drained, served with sauteed greens garnished with a drizzle of good oyster sauce. Inspired by this pairing, I came up with a similar dish incorporating the okra, and added omelet to "breakfast-ify" it.

Okra & Roasted Pasilla Omelet with Egg Noodle

ingredients
1 med fresh pasilla pepper (sometimes called poblanos)
6-8 oz thin Chinese egg noodle (fresh or dried)
2 1/2 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
*note* you may substitute water & bouillon with 2 1/2 cups diluted chicken broth
1 tsp roasted sesame oil
2 Tbs light, non-flavored oil (extra or virgin olive oil does not work here)
1 clove garlic, sliced
5-7 okra pods, sliced on the diagonal
1/3 cup canned sliced bamboo shoots
2 large eggs, beaten
Approx 1 Tbs oyster sauce (use a brand with real oyster extract)
Fresh radish sprouts for garnish
Salt to taste

preparation
- Roast the pasilla pepper on an open flame, or in the oven on broil, till blackened throughout. Set aside.
- In a saucepot, bring the water & bouillon (or broth) to a boil. Add the egg noodle and cook till just tender, but with bite (semi al dente). Drain, and place in serving bowl, tossed with the roasted sesame oil.
- Remove the blackened skin from the pasilla, rinse quickly or wipe with a damp towel to clean. Chop half of the pepper and reserve the other half for another dish.
- Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a large skillet or wok, till oil shimmers, but not smoking.
- Add garlic, okra, bamboo shoots and a couple dashes of salt. Saute quickly for about a minute. Set aside.
- In the same pan, heat the remaining oil on medium high, add chopped pasilla peppers, saute for approx 10-15 seconds.
- To the sauteed pasillas, add the beaten eggs. Let egg mixture cook by pulling the cooked edges to the middle, allowing the raw egg to seep to the edge of the pan, to cook evenly. Cook till eggs are set, but still moist.
- Turn out omelet onto the egg noodles, top with okra saute, drizzle oyster sauce on top and garnish with fresh radish sprouts.
- Makes 1 generous serving. Enjoy!

Mushroom Tofu Fried Brown Rice

the mushrooms #1
Originally uploaded by tamjpn.

Mmmm, mmmm, mushrooms. I swoon for funghi! Give me a generous serving of mushrooms sauteed in just a touch of butter, and I am good to go.

As of late, I've taken a break from red meat, and am delving back to the semi-vegetarian state I embraced in the 90's. I hopped over to Rainbow Market for some staples, and happened upon a beautiful package of plump oyster mushrooms. With a potful of cooked brown rice, and pouring rain outside, I decide to put the mushrooms to work and cook up some mushroom fried rice.

I've discovered brown rice makes extra delicious fried rice, as the outer covering toasts up nicely, and you don't have to use much oil since the starch is contained within (less sticking). I came up with this recipe through trial an error, and further simplifying the ingredients. This dish would be great for breakfast with soft scrambled eggs, or served as a simple dinner with a bowl of miso soup.


Mushroom & Tofu Fried Brown Rice

ingredients
4 cups room temp or cold leftover brown rice cooked
2 Tbs mild cooking oil
4 oz cubed firm tofu (drained)
2 cloves of garlic sliced
4 scallions chopped (green & white part)
1 generous pat of butter
1-2 cups of sliced mushrooms (cremini or oyster preferred)
1 fresh green chili (serrano or jalepeno) chopped (seeds removed for milder heat)
1 tsp. Korean salted shrimp
salt or soy sauce to taste
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
garnish (optional): radish sprouts or shredded nori

utensils
wok or large heavy saute pan
wide wooden spoon (bamboo rice spoon preferred)

preparation
- Heat pan on high till it starts to smoke.
- Add cooked brown rice. Toast for 2-3 minutes. Push to sides of pan.
- Create a middle clearing and add 1 Tbs oil & cubed tofu. Saute for 1 minute, till tofu browns slightly.
- Add remaining Tbs oil, garlic, scallions and mushrooms. Saute together for 2 minutes, till garlic browns and softens.
- Add butter, salted shrimp and chopped chilis. Saute for 2 minutes till chili is sweated through.
- Taste, and add salt if needed or soy sauce, if needed
- Saute for about 1-2 minutes more.
- Turn off heat, and add a light drizzle of toasted sesame oil for flavor.
- Serve with garnishes (optional)

Enjoy!

Emmy's Spaghetti Shack - The Mission

Taken right before James unhinged his jaw, boa constrictor like, and swallowed that meatball whole.

What can I say about Emmy's that hasn't been said already? Spaghetti & meatballs spaghetti & meatballs spaghetti & meatballs spaghetti & meatballs spaghetti & meatballs spaghetti & meatballs.

Whew! *burp* That was a mouthful -- and how. Can I tell you about the spaghetti & meatballs?

It was all James' idea, and thank his blessed-heart for it. It was a rough day. Friday really. More like end of the work week and let's celebrate a stabilized Indian Summer. Finally getting our groove on. So, James proposes a post-work trek to Emmy's Spaghetti Shack, a tiny, in-the-hood-restaurant on Mission known for the proprietor's namesake dish.

When we arrived, James & I took seats at the bar to settle for a drink before a booth opened up. This place is packed, and I'm glad we cabbed it there in time before the evening rush. The space is medium-small, so it fills up quickly. I scan the joint: moody lighting, local artwork on walls, very homey, a clothesline of vintage aprons hang from one end to the other, neighborhood hipster crowd, a deejay flanking the bar, and some of the sweetest, hottest servers rushing about. I'm shallow when I say the experience was very easy on the eyes.

The kitchen in full view, is in close proximity to the dining area. The chef/owner, Sarah Kirnon, is a strong figure working the hotline with authoriti oozing from every pore. She's going to serve it to you and you're going to like it.

My bar perch was high enough for me to check out people's plates. I thought to myself, "I can handle this." I was hungry enough, so my stomach was doing all the thinking. At the time, the spaghetti plates looked more than manageable. I had a glass of pinot and the very cute, cherry-lip glossed bartendress made some appetizer suggestions for our meal. James, not being a seafood-eater (dammit, another one), nixed some choices off the app menu, but we found a good compromise:

- sauteed green beans with bacon & almonds
- 2 bruschetta: one with pureed fava and tomato/garlic salsa, and the other with a spread of farmer's cheese and roasted eggplant
- and 2 plates of the infamous spag & meatballs

First off, the green beans were fantastic! Cooked till they just turned bright green, retaining their crunch. The almonds & salty bacon adding just enough flavor balance and texture. I think the both of us secretly wanted to horde this dish, but we politely took the democratic route and shared. The bruschetta with eggplant was smoky flavored and had simple flavors. You really tasted the eggplant, which can be difficult to achieve, so I give the kitchen big props for this. The fava spread bruschetta was good, but I don't think I'd this order again.

The other appetizer choices were interesting enough to merit several more visits: fried chicken livers, corn fritters, and other seafood-based dishes that escape me right now. I'm told the menu changes often, so these choices may be gone on my next visit. I like that -- a rotating menu. If this matters to anyone, well here's more reason to eat here.

The spaghetti & meatballs are comfort food, cuddle-bunny perfection. The taste of what you remember of this dish growing up. This is by no means a pretentious plate of semolina noodles lightly tossed in marinara with a fine chiffonade of basil and drizzle of the extra virgin. This is a hearty, stick to your ribs plate of adequately dressed spaghetti with four giant meatballs. The right balance of tomato sauce, herby meat, garlic and a nice topping of shaved parmesan. A task worth taking.

The only part of the experience that needed some improving was ultimately the deejay. Personally I think serious meatballs deserve serious music. None of this Powerbook/iPod/non-deck spinning setup. Come on! That's weak! And there was a rock block of Nick Drake, which is not appropriate enjoying a meal music. What was this dude thinking? James, funny enough, was mistaken by a fellow patron as the deejay, as he stood near the empty decks with "deejay-like authority." Well he should've been, but that's another story.


Emmy's Spaghetti Shack
18 Virginia St. @ Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
415.206.2086

Ocean Restaurant - Inner Richmond

Rio recently took me to a little restaurant on the beloved Clement St., in the Inner Richmond, for some early lunch dim sum. I've been to Ocean Restaurant with Rio a few years ago, but the memory is fuzzy on our meal that day. I do remember something light, crunchy and delicious though.

That day was a bit chilly, but otherwise perfect. Rio was treating me to lunch for my birthday, and I had the day off, so my mood was elevated on many levels.

Ocean Restaurant is a small to mid-sized restaurant, white tablecloth style, with a large menu, but known to offer an array of dim sum dishes. We arrive to a dining room sprinkled with customers, and get ourselves settled.

Ocean doesn't cart around trays of dim sum dishes to choose from. You are given a list of dishes, which you check off and hand to the server. You then sit back and wait for the goodies to arrive.

I swear we picked one of the best days to eat here, because our dim sum came in courses, instead of all at once. The first thing out were the steamed dim sum: shark fin, pork siu mai, shrimp & leek, and shrimp & cilantro dumplings. We eat these with a small dab of Chinese mustard on the side. Stupendous! Delicious and steaming hot.

Next course was turnip cake that amazingly sustained a grilled crunch on the outside, and a very large shark-fin dumpling in broth with ginger and a dab of vinegar. All the while we have hot tea and a large mound of gai lan (chinese broccoli) with oyster sauce on the side.

Lastly was the fried bean curd sheets with shrimp. This was the dish that made our eyeballs roll back, on the last visit, but this time it was fried a second too long, salty and a disappointment. My guess was if they removed it from the oil a few seconds earlier, it would've been perfect, but alas...

There were some other things we ate, but I can't recall and these were really the top choices of our meal. We ordered a few repeats, shark fin and shrimp, but these are favorites and I didn't feel like we missed out on anything, at least. We passed on the green tea pudding, with plans to pick up a boba tea down the street.

In my opinion, Ocean Restaurant can take on any of the big dim sum houses in San Francisco. The food was fresh, delicious and the service fast and expedient. The prices are crazy! Only $24 for the two of us and a mountain of food; and I noticed most of the customers were local old-timers, which was a big plus in my book. My guess is they've been coming here for years, as most of them seemed to have good repoire with the staff. A positive sign.

Now I have a new spot to add to my Clement St formula:
Green Apple Books
Kamei Restaurant Supplies
New Mei Wah market
Bargain Bank
Boba tea (from the joint near Radio Shack w/the big counter)
Japanese snacks from any of the cute snack shops
and Ocean Restaurant for dim sum


Ocean Restaurant
726 Clement St @ 8th Ave
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 668-8896

Flor de calabaza

The other day, I left work early enough before the sun set and found myself further down Mission St in my old neighborhood. It was still early enough to catch one of my favorite markets, Evergreen, before they closed.

I love Evergreen! It's an Asian-owned grocer that sells a little bit of everything: produce, sundries and snacks. They're also a butcher, but I don't generally shop here for meat purposes. Some of the things I primarily like about Evergreen, is their produce is quite fresh, they sell an array of Brazilian and Asian items outside of the ubiquitous Mission market fare, and they have a nice fresh cheese case. Not to mention they carry a good selection of Cuban, Puerto Rican and Brazilian coffees --- AND sweetened condensed milk. I certainly get my Vietnamese Coffee swerve on here. It's empowering...

The main mission was to get some greens for my "girls" (the guinea pigs that is), and figured I could get some herbs & veggies and call it a day. Well, well, to my delight there were packages of fresh squash blossoms for sale. I was confounded at first. Picked them up and studied them, waiting for some genius recipe to hit me or something.

A latin woman, near me, noticed me staring at the blossoms and asked her daughter to ask me what I planned on doing with them. I told her I might stuff them with cheese and deep fry them. She then excitedly told me she enjoys them fresh, with a little chopped onion, epazote, chilies and queso in a quesadilla. Ding!! My alarm went off. That's exactly what I'll have.

I continued to chat with her in my horrible broken Spanish, but understood the basics:

Flor de calabaza quesadillas

- epazote (a Mexican herb) >> check!
- flor de calabaza (said squash blossoms) >> check!
- saboyas (onions) >> check!
- queso (I got me some queso cremoso - cream cheese) >> check!
- chilis >> check!
- corn tortillas >> check!

Hee hee.. I gleefully head home and await the power of squash blossoms to unfold their secrets to me.

I gently wash my blossoms and pat them dry. I did a bit of Googling on their preparation, and am advised to cut the green stem off, leaving the base intact, and remove the outer peak-shaped tips near the base.

Now onto prepare the quesadilla. Hot pan, lightly greased, tortilla, cheese, chopped epazote & onions, fresh squash blossoms torn, and one more tortilla. Grill till cheese is melted and tortilla is browned. Enjoy!

Very simple and delicious. The flavor is a gentle hit of squash, with the cheese and epazote coming up from the background. The important thing, I've discovered, is not to salt these much (or at all) and use only the faintest of condiments if you must. I had a dab of hot sauce, as I forgot the chilis, which rounded the flavor just a touch.

I might add I had these for breakfast, which intuitively seemed the best time of the day to enjoy them. Lovely and amazing! I now have a bowlfull of these blossoms left, in which I may really try stuffing them and light frying them crisp. Hopefully that's another post.


Evergreen Market
groceries from Mexico, Central & South America, and Asia
2539 Mission St @ 21st St
San Francisco, CA
415.641.4506

One strong caipirinha to wash it down

Several months ago, my Portuguese friend, Mikas, clued me into a new Brazilian joint called Carioca, that opened on 3rd & Clement St in the Richmond. We went there on somewhat of a whim, and were lucky enough to squeeze one last meal out of the closing kitchen.

I had some of the best beef I've ever had that night -- a steak with mustard sauce and a beef carpaccio to literally DIE for. It was memorable, and we vowed to do it again.

Months later, we decide to treat ourselves to some nail salon action, then hit Carioca again for dindin. Well no such luck! As quickly as the restaurant opened, it closed. *Groan* With stomachs growling, we had to find a carnivorous joint as substitute and fast!

I mention seeing a newly opened Brazilian steakhouse on the corner of Gough & Market; and we hit the gas and fly over. Aiiii! It's Friday night and crowded. We couldn't wait the wait, so settle for Chinese in the Mission which was far, far away from the original plan. Again, we vow to check out that Brazilian steakhouse.

So Mikas rings me last Friday and we talk the possibility of steak. We hot-tail it to Espetus (the restaurant's name btw) and get ready for a much longed for dining experience.

Espetus is an all you can eat buffet-style Churrascaria, or "House of Barbeque." Before coming here, I was advised by a Brazilian guy to skip the buffet and just concentrate on the meat. "Don't even bother with the chicken," he said. Though delicious, the main event is the wonderful grilled beef, pork and lamb.

I meet Mikas and Mario at the front of Espetus and we proceed to get busy. The place is packed, and there's a bit of a wait for a table. Not too long though, for a Friday. We decide to grab drinks at the bar and wait it out.

Mikas scans the drink menu and mentions they serve caipirinha, a Brazilian cocktail made of muddled sugar & limes, mixed with a glassful of ice and cachaca, a VERY strong sugar cane brandy. Being a classic gin & tonic girl, I thought I could hold my own here, but damn! This cachaca was a totally new spirit for me. I could feel my cheeks warming and I wondered when we were going to get to the steak business, because the last thing I needed was to get loopy at the bar over a pre-dinner cocktail.

Finally, the hostess taps our shoulders and seating appears. Btw, Mikas and Mario both have delicious-looking Sangrias of both the red and white varieties. They looked fresh and yummy, and weren't overloaded with orange wedges like most crappy cafe sangrias tend to be. Ok, I veer, back to the beef.

We get seated, we grab plates, go to the corner buffet and carefully select from a choice of sides that are only the minor players tonight. I get a little paella, a green salad, hearts of palm, baby asparagus and a bit of white rice topped with a toasted root powder, that I know nothing about. Mario tells me Mikas always puts that on top of her rice, so I follow suit. I imagine it's like a manioc or tapioca starch which I'm pretty familiar with.

As soon as we get ourselves reseated, the swords of meat make appearances at our table:

pincanha (sirloin flavored with sea salt & garlic)
lombinho (parmesan encrusted pork loin)
linguica (pork sausage)
coracao de frango (grilled chicken hearts -- a fave of Mikas & Mario)
alcatra (more sirloin)
lamb
pork loin
jumbo shrimp

Our soldiers of meats & one seafood, are brought to our table and the server slices off what we like. Most is yummy and grilled to perfection. The pincanha especially! This is the main reason to go. It's sublime -- a thin slice of medium rare sirloin with an edge of fat and a salty char crust. Your mouth will thank you tenfold.

We realize we can't keep up with the march of meats, and notice there's a little "yes please" and "no thank you" sign at the edge of our table. The servers come to you when it's "on" and not when it's "off." We quickly turn it off and work in on the slices before us.

It was like a job -- the eating. You really have to pace yourself and take only what you can handle. Thankfully one of the servers comes out with a sword of grilled pineapple, to clear our palates midway through the meal. We manage to get it all down and proceed to nurse our drinks. Me with my big, strong caipirinha just waiting to take me down.

I couldn't believe we decided to do dessert, but man I'm glad we did. Mikas and I order coconut mousse and passionfruit mousse, respectively, with the intention of sharing. My Lord both mousses (meeses, mice?) were amazingly good -- especially together. You could go to Espetus just for these 2 desserts. Sooooo good. The coconut tastes like a coconut, not like an overly sweet interpretation you get with most non-tropic derived desserts (Baker's coconut can kiss my ass). The passionfruit mousse is strongly flavored and was a bit much for Mario. I love this fruit, so it was fine for me, but cutting it with the coconut elevated the flavor many more levels.

I'm exhausted now just reliving this eating experience. Alright, I'll wrap it up. Espetus -- go there, you will not be disappointed. Vegeterians you will be.

Espetus
Brazilian Churrascaria
1686 Market Street @ Gough
San Francisco, CA
415 522 8792

Totally Tonkatsu - Japantown

Dinner, Tonkatsu
Originally uploaded by jetalone

I've just rolled home from a feast of a feast of a late lunch, and I am beat. A good friend is in town, and we're preparing for July 4th BBQ celebratons for tomorrow. After today's earlier meat selecting and gathering needed ingredients, the troupe of shoppers decided to head over to Japantown to Takara Restaurant, one of our favorite, comfy Japanese restaurants.

Takara is tucked into the back hallways of Japantown's maze of indoor/psuedo outdoor shopping malls. It's literally set back from the rest of "restaurant row" and you probably wouldn't know of its existence if someone didn't tell you about it.

I was introduced to Takara by my friends Rio & Peter who raved about its excellent tonkatsu. I have loved Japanese food since childhood, but never understood the appeal of tonkatsu. That is, until Takara. Ever crave a crispy, yet juicy porkchop? Well that's a good tonkatsu, and Takara does it right. Damned good right! The cutlet is fried perfectly: crunchy crispy w/out a trace of greasiness, and the pork within is juicy joylicious. Not dry and lifeless of past tonkatsus I've encountered.

We've never eaten at Takara during din-din hours, and discovered their dinner portions are double lunch size. That's a fried pork fest, I tell you. With our stomachs churning, we order a slew of dishes eating with our eyes:

agedashi tofu (fried tofu w/grated daikon in a light, sweet sauce)
karaage (fried chicken)
a large platter of various sushi
shrimp & vegetable tempura
saba (grilled mackerel)
chowan mushi (savory egg custard)
japanese pickles
salad
miso soup
kakuni (stewed fatty pork)
tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet *the star*)
and one perfectly fried shrimp head (which Rio & I shared)

After bouts of "mini breaks", we all managed to clean our plates. I even had room for a small scoop of red bean ice cream to close my door. A marathon meal and worth it. Outside of tonkatsu, I highly recommend any of Takara's seafood dishes. Their sushi especially is fresh and clean tasting.

Skip any run of the mill Japanese dishes and go for the winners. I do have to note that although the karaage was flavorful, it was missing that "something" that would make me order it again. Maybe it needed more salt or another seasoning to kick it up a bit.

I would recommend the agedashi tofu. It's a different style from most places I've ordered in that the silken, fried tofu pieces come swimming in a thick, slighty sweet sauce with shitake mushrooms, but the taste is absolutely delicious. Not heavy as one would expect from the presentation.

If you're in Japantown craving hearty Japanese fare away from the tourist trap joints near Benihana, check out Takara Restaurant. It's located in the Peace Plaza, at the foot of the Miyako Inn fronting Post St, around the corner from Mifune and Seoul Garden. Make sure to call for hours and most importantly, bring friends!

Takara Restaurant
22 Peace Plz Ste 202
San Francisco, CA 94115-3611
(415) 921-2000
Cross Street: near Geary Blvd.

RIP Luther Vandross -- I raise my cup to you

Opening day
Originally uploaded by DogMilque.

Some SF days are overcast and foggy. Summer can be a hit or miss. Today it was lovely outside and I couldn't wait to pull out my new-yet-used cheapo bike and take care of errands around my hood.

My can of Cafe La Llave has run out at home, and a glass of oolong milk tea just didn't cut it this morning. I remember seeing a new cafe in the neighborhood, next to Lost Weekend Video, called Ritual Coffee Roasters. It's nice, shiny exterior has taken over a space I barely remember. I roll over dying for a tall glass of espresso con ice.

After struggling for a few minutes w/my new bike lock (I'm still trying to figure this one out), I walk into a busy space reeking in the most delicious way of fresh, roasted beans. I figured I'd sit myself down w/a cup and write out the monthly rent check. No dice, this place was packed to the brim.

Oh well, I may as well get my coffee to go. I ordered a double iced espresso, and was served up a glass of ice mixed w/the anticipated dark elixer. I make my way to the bar to dress it up and find a nice surprise of liquid sugar! Now in Asia and most of the Pacific, liquid sugar (or sugar syrup) is a common sweetener for iced drinks. It's one of those common sense things that just hasn't caught up to the cafes here. With sugar syrup you never worry about stirring your drink to oblivion in hopes of dissolving the sugar crystals. Sweeten up and you're ready freddy.

Post-espresso dressing, I finally give my iced espresso a sip and oh my lord.... it was the best cup of coffee I ever had. Truly! It beat Martha Bros on 24th St in Noe Valley hands down. Now that's saying a lot. I had to have more.... but I felt aprehensive, especially since I really needed to write that rent check and get on w/my life. Oh what to do... I wanted to savor that cup slowly & surely. I figured the next best thing was to take away a 1/2lb of the house roast, "Hair Blender." Oh lovely this Hair Blender! I grab my bag of goodness and zip away.

After careful produce selection at one of my favorite markets on 23rd & S.Van Ness, unsuccessful thrifting at Salvation Army and roasted chicken noshing at one of the divey Chinese take-out joints -- I head home to feed the guinea pigs their Summer salad and take in some Chocolate City on KCRW.com.

I realized much of this evening's mix was a lot of 80's & 90's soul, which is usually not the norm on this wonderful radio show. The answer to today's theme is brought to light when the host announces a tribute to r&b balladeer Luther Vandross, who passed away today at 54.

  
I have fond memories of Luther's early tunes -- Never Too Much, A House Is Not A Home, and the entire The Night I Fell In Love album. One track in particular, Creepin' is one of his most underrated songs. It's a slow, sultry tune that defined a mid-80's Summer. This is Luther before he went by the Disney soundtrack wayside. The power ballads to follow his early success never really sat well with me.

So in honor of the talented Luther Vandross, whose early music presented the backdrop to my awkward coming of age years, I raise my delicious cup of Hair Blender coffee in your memory....

Ritual Coffee Roasters
1026 Valencia St, between 21st & 22nd
San Francisco
415 641 1024

weekdays 7am-11pm
Sundays 8am-9pm

Natto Natto Natto

朝は納豆, originally uploaded by snowy's goodthings.

natto

Oh it's been a loooong while since my last post, but have been doing some of this & that while dealing with a physical move. Whew! Now that that's over and done with, I can jabber about my food adventures as of late. Lately I've been on a quest to find interesting foods high in nutrition. I've always loved Japanese food and am curious about dishes served outside of the restaurant realm. Homestyle, if you will. Here is where natto and I meet.

For those unawares, natto is fermented soybeans usually eaten for breakfast. Natto for Everybody, Natto Land, and I was really just hungry all have the down & dirty on natto, its health benefits and how to eat it. Natto is an unsual sticky mash that is best mixed with a bit of asian mustard, soy sauce and some scallion. Add this mix to hot, steaming rice and you've got the breakfast of champions. Yum? It takes getting used to, the smell especially. It being fermented and all, natto has a strong, ammonia type odor that some people despise -- also the stickiness from the initial mixing, results in a spider-web stringness.

My first bonafide natto breakfast was combining the natto with the soy sauce & mustard flavor packets and adding one raw egg. I mixed this with my rice and thoughtfully dug in. The thought of natto's health benefits helped my nose cancel the pungent odor. I found it non-salty and beany. Lots of texture and hearty tasting. I think the egg interfered with my experience, though. I'll have to try it sans egg with the scallions instead. I hear it's great with pasta. Take note!



For those interested, my natto-interest first peaked after reading the "Rotten" issue of Eat magazine, a Japanese/English publication devoted to all things food. Unfortunately this outstanding magazine is dead, but you can order back issues off their site.

Till next time, "Best stinky dishes"

ADVENTURES IN BAHN MI - San Diego

Anyone in San Diego? Pickled Papaya chimes in with a rundown on the tastiest joints in SD-land, ADVENTURES IN BAHN MI - San Diego. The sushi place is not to be missed!

Tangerines & pepper salt

One of the things I miss from the islands is unripened, green mango dipped in pepper salt -- a mixture of salt, several fresh chili peppers (like Thai bird chilis) and a squeeze of citrus. Usually the salt mixture varies, depending on what you grew up with, or what island you're from. There's a Chamorro condiment called finadene dinanchi, which is a paste of the hottest, tiny chili peppers ground with salt, garlic and a little vinegar. My grandfather used to make his own, in the outside kitchen (outside being the only practical place to do this), by passing said ingredients plus onions through a grinder. I can feel my cheeks watering just thinking about it. My favorite pepper salt is mixing finadene dinanchi with a little salt and lemon powder.

As with most Southeast Asian dishes, I find many parallels with Chamorro food. I was in a Vietnamese grocery shop, on one of my Tenderloin days, and found a large, beautiful green mango. Now large, green mangoes are not my preference for mangoes & salt (the tiny, crispy island ones are best), but desperate times call for desparate measures, so I bought one of those babies. The store proprietor eyed me and asked how I planned to eat the green mango, to which I mentioned my love affair with the pepper salt. She suddenly jumps up excitedly and tells me how she loves to eat her green mango in a mixture of Three Crab Fish Sauce, chili peppers, salt and a pinch of sugar. We proceed to have a mango/salt geek out and I promise this woman to eat my next green mango as per her recommendation.

Many months pass and I'm at the local market picking up lovely, perfect tangerines. I'm not a big orange fan, but absolutely love tangerines! Upon peeling the first fruit, I remember the fish sauce/pepper combo and quickly whip up a batch with slightly milder green chilis. My god this combination rocks! The sweet, sour and salty flavors are just what I craved. This taste takes me back to my Tata (maternal grandfather's) ranch on Saipan, on a sweltering day sitting under the big mango tree, eating recently picked tangerines grown just a few feet away. I can almost smell the ocean salt hanging in the air....

Meet me on Fairfax, follow the scent of green bananas

My friend K is an amazing writer, photographer, music aficianado, collector, mad knitter, foodie and all around talent. She introduced me to fresh strawberries macerated in brown sugar & sour cream and I never looked back. She has some great blogs that will make your eyes drool: the scent of green bananas and meet me at the corner of third and fairfax.

If you're in LA, make sure to check out the joints in her fairfax blog. You will not be sorry.

Rudy's Russian Tea cookies

Rudy's red chair, rudy's red chair. Now say it 3x fast! I've tried to make this chair my icon, but for the life of me cannot figure it out. So I dedicate this blog to Rudy's red chair. This chair has significantly seen many gatherings of friends, feasts and conversation.

I believe I took this pic last Xmas morning. Rudy was making an incredible batch of Russian Tea cookies, that I must say, beat out the nunnery on Guam who shell out their annual treats come Xmas. Their name escapes me, "Our Lady of.....?"

If this pic had smellavision you'd be salivating at the scent of vanilla, butter, sugar and warm, crumbly Russian Tea cookies waiting on the side for their powdered-sugar bath. Ok, kettle's on.

Naan & Curry - The Tenderloin

There's this intersection in SF's Tenderloin I call "The Golden Triangle". It's a gritty, busy corner. Not pretty and a thoroughfare for the neighborhood junkies and the like. That's a small downer compared to the real reason I love this spot. Every corner at the intersection (Ellis & Larkin) boasts a great eatery, diner, noodle joint, etc.... Call it what you will. This slice of yummy, deliciousness never lets down.

If you ever find yourself stranded after a movie or looking for eats post swanky bar, hit this corner. Vietnam II has a delicious pho worth fighting for. Anyways, I wander off from my real point.......

It was Roy's day off and he wanted to celebrate a hard-earned payday w/a viewing of "The Incredibles." We decided to check out 1000 Van Ness theaters, over the Metreon, due to the slew of cheap eats nearby. We buy tickets early and seek a noshy joint. I remember passing by "Naan & Curry" on O'Farrell street while on the 38. It's like "11:11", once I heard of Naan & Curry (which I'll refer to as N&C) its name gets dropped everywhere. "Oh I LOVE N&C", "It's my favorite Pakistani/Indian joint", etc... I filed this info away for the next time I'm rolling in extra dough.

Well N&C is not located at "The Golden Triangle," but it is a few blocks down and seems to have gleaned a helluvalot of magic from that intersection. The food is delish! Delish I say! Sublime Spinach w/Paneer (homemade cheese) is creamy & delicate, yet packed w/spicy undertones. The lamb curry & garbanzos were infused w/ginger, mace, dried plums and more spice marrying into a perfectly stewed, tender curried-love. We also had a wonderful chicken bryahni (excuse me spelling pls), beef kabob, raita and enough gorgeous naan to sop up juices. I was dying for a lassi, but knew my stomach would not hold much more. You can't beat a thrifty meal at N&C before a late afternoon movie.

Now I wonder how I rate this? Being this is my first post, I must give N&C a shout out in the only way I know how..... It was "D.G." Damned Good in my book, and only pennies. You could spend $5-8 per person and come away satisfied. Can I also say N&C makes for good breakfast leftovers?

Naan & Curry - Tenderloin
478 O'Farrell @ Jones
San Francisco, CA 94102

Rating: D.G. (Damned Good)
Budget: thrifty
Crowd: local Indian, Pakistani crowd w/a steady strem of artsy-like hipsters
Decor: multi-colored, day glo flourescent lights softened w/exotic banners of fabric