Spice girl: We swore we caught a big, spicy whiff of Indian Bento over the weekend, via a yellow Mini Cooper (driven by a woman named Pashmina) making home deliveries of disposable (okay, reusable) containers filled with stuff like organic spicy garbanzo curry with stir-fried vegetabes ($11.95). The Rub? You gotta buy five of 'em, minimum. Burrito Justice lets you smell the magic.
Eww-la-la: We thought Willie Brown was merely unleashing a cute Garchikism Sunday on SF Gate, when he offered this bit of overheard conversation designed to tweak the meat averse.
I overheard what has to be San Francisco's definition of vegetarian cuisine at Le Central the other day. When the woman at the next table was asked, "What will you have?" she replied, "Nothing that has had a mother." But then we thought again: Willie was at his beloved Le Central, the fusty bistro essentially unchanged since 1974. We're wondering if the squeamish diner wasn't a vegetarian after all, but merely wanted to avoid lunching on a bit of human DNA. What does she know about the cassoulet?
With the understanding that Flour + Water is a very new, still-in-rubber-pants restaurant (and that SF Weekly critic Meredith Brody will offer a detailed take in coming weeks), we can tell you that the restaurant is, in essence, Beretta minus the cocktails. Both are treading a path already paved by the success of Pizzeria Delfina. Both serve a similar style of fresh, simple, competent Italian food. Both lack the spark of weird genius that takes Craig Stoll's food at Delfina to the level of the sublime. Both are lodged in much more date-appropriate spaces than Delfina's, and charge prices that make it very difficult for your average couple to escape for less than $50.
Once as scarce in SF as straight guys at Chaps during Beer Bust Sundays, women chefs are roaring back. Think Jennie Lorenzo of Fifth Floor, Michelle Mah of Midi, and Jamie Lauren of Absinthe. Scala's Bistro has the überfierce Jen Biesty -- like Lauren, an alum of Bravo's Top Chef. On Sunday, she'll engage in a riot-grrl tag-team with Chicago chef Stephanie Izard, winner of TC Season Four. Together they'll kick out a five-course, estrogen-fueled menu that includes squash blossom handkerchief pasta and roast duck breast with cherries and faro. They're dishes likely to please more than just food-TV aficionados and third-wave feminists.
Seatings begin at 6 p.m., Sunday, May 31.
Scala's Bistro 432 Powell at Sutter, 395-8555. $65 for the dinner, with an aptional $35 wine pairing.
The purest expression of Grenache occurs in the Rhône Valley of southern France, where it's the chief grape in Châteauneuf-du-Pape -- a wine that can run you a pretty penny. But as simple vin de table, often made with Grenache from vineyards adjacent to the famous ones, it can be wonderful everyday wine. For $9 at Arlequin Wine Merchant in Hayes Valley, you can snag a perfect example: the 2007 Abel Clement Côtes du Rhône, produced by a cooperative in Vaucluse just north of Aix-en-Provence. It emphasizes the fresh cherry profile common to the grape without veering off into overripe. And the fact that you can buy a gallon of it in France for about five bucks notwithstanding, it's a relative bargain here.
Moki (615 Cortland at Moultrie) is a sushi spot with a Polynesian vibe -- it shows up not only in the decor but in the sushi. The namesake Moki roll ($7.95) is a mix of shrimp tempura, chopped macadamia nuts, and a generous amount of jalapeño, topped with sweet-and-sour sauce. The results are more suggestive of Hawaii than Japan, a combination of textures and flavors that evoke a far more tropical clime than the one just outside Moki's door.
Let's do lunch:
On Memorial Day, what better way to remember, um, stuff, than by getting all sticky-faced on a local classic? Food critic Meredith Brody advises revisiting the honey-dipped fried chicken with mashed potatoes and spinach at Pork Store Café (1451 Haight at Ashbury, 864-6981) or Pork Store Café Valencia (3122 16th St. at Valencia, 626-5523).
Drink therapy:
The place that launched the mixology craze locally shaves a buck off domestic beers and well drinks (but not specialty libations) during happy hour. Our strategy? Start out fancy, switch to budget when blurry. The Orbit Room (1900 Market at Guerrero, 252-9525), 2-6 p.m.
Can't guarantee there'll be Premier League footy on the telly tonight, but happy-hour specials just might bring out the hooligan in you anyway: Danny Coyle's (668 Haight at Pierce, 558-8375), 2-7 p.m.
