High on a budget: The New York Times filled up on foil-wrapped fatties over the weekend as part of its Save or Splurge travel guide (the save: less than $250 a day; the splurge: conspicuous consumption at Coi). According to Jaime Gross, it's possible to feast for less than $20 in the "multiethnic Mission District" -- as long as you stick to the burritos at El Farolito, Papalote, and El Metate. But what's with wiggy girl in the pic, looking equal parts stoned and funereal? And is she really dipping a tab of E in guacamole?
Stuff on bread: Hot Food Porn offers up a half-yearly meditation on food trends so far, including these: hot dogs/sausages, all types of tacos except Mexican ones, slow food in trucks, even slower food in carts, ridiculous ice cream flavors, shutting down restaurants, and awesome mini burger commercials. Allow us to add a few more: gin, pizza that just won't die, and public butchery. What's next? Um, more pizza?
| aetv.com |
| You can't touch Mrs. Hammer in the kitchen. |
In the six days before the event, McNee and Poggio sous chef Ian Banks turned a 110-pound Berkshire pig (raised by Devils Gulch Ranch farmer Mark Pasternak in West Marin) into a rather disturbing, reportedly delicious collection of cooked and cured dishes. There was Tongue in Cheek (a rolled pig's-head terrine), Trotter Tots (crispy fried croquettes, seasoned with pigskin salt and served with an aioli of peas and brains), Pig Haggis (stomach stuffed with blood and offal), and Dolce Forte (sweet pig's liver mousse with chocolate ganache).
Other contenders: Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats, Nate Appleman of A16, Staffan Terje of Perbacco, and Ravi Kapur of Boulevard. Some 300 attendees weighed in on their favorites; so did a judges' panel that included Nancy Oakes, Bruce Aidells, and a collection of pork farmers.
| Marisol Segal |
| If you actually got food, there was reason to celebrate. |
| Janine Kahn |
| Our tour guide, Jim Paine. |
| Hedy Macferran |
If the enticing piles of produce at your local farmers' market lead to fantasies about doing your own canning, a Bay Area organization is ready to help. Yes We Can Food is a community canning project housed at La Cocina (2948 Folsom at 25th St.). It offers hands-on participation for those interested in preserving, and, for the rest of us, the ability to buy the results. Yes We Can cooks on Sundays, then hosts evening pick-up parties the following Wednesdays: You can buy the fruits (and vegetables!) of the canners' labor while snacking on samples. At the apricot party last week, Yes We Can's Anya Fernald supplied not only apricot tarts, but the recipe for the buttery crust.
Work shares to Yes We Can's three inaugural events (apricot jam in June, cucumber pickles in July, and tomatoes in September) are sold out, but you can still sign up for a box of goodies, attend the parties, and meet and greet the cooks. We walked away with two jars of apricot jam made from difficult-to-find, supersweet Blenheims, and two jars of Helena apricots in cardamom-flavored syrup, all for $20. (Eight jars would have run us $35 -- after spreading some of the jam on a hot English muffin, we were kicking ourselves for not buying more.)
More photos after the jump.
"This has been my dream for nearly two decades," Levine wrote. "I still believe in that dream. And the image I had in mind wasn't what took place yesterday." Festival attendees reportedly endured waits of up to four hours for vendors including Katz's Deli from New York and Tony Luke's Cheeseteaks from Philadelphia. "Frankly, people were so excited about the fest that they all showed up early, which doesn't normally happen at an all-day festival," Levine explained in his post. "That compounded the logistical issues. Our high-tech cashless wristband system, designed to be easy to use for serious eaters and purveyors alike, failed at the get-go." Read Levine's entire apology (and comments from many pissed-off attendees) at Serious Eats.
One commenter railed that the Katz's Deli booth had run out of food, at least temporarily, by 2:30 p.m, just a few hours into the day-long festival. The line for refunds reportedly stretched nearly as long as food lines.
Let's do lunch:
WTF, buddy, you're living in a Mediterranean climate -- eat like it once in a while. SF Weekly restaurant critic Meredith Brody knows the perfect place to start: the ezme and iskender kebap at A La Turca (869 Geary at Larkin, 345-1011).
Drink therapy:
It opens at 6 a.m. -- you know, just in case you didn't make it to the liquor store last night. By 5 p.m., the barstools are warm and squishy, good time to show up for a cheap cold one. The 500 Club (500 Guerrero at 17th St., 861-2500).
It's like Cheers, only the regulars sometimes vomit in the restroom. Make a bleary connection over nightly beer specials at Shanghai Kelly's (2064 Polk at Broadway, 771-3300). Check the Web for details.
