Stoner specs: Yeah, we all made fun of it -- the messenger-bag-turned-beer-cooler by Timbuk2, named for Dolores Park. Last Sunday, Mission Mission's Allan Hough actually spotted some guy using one, unleashing a string of reader comments about obnoxious hipsters befouling the, well, authentically hipsterish byways of the Mission. We know - confusing. Our favorite comment may be from Lapidgeon, who in true DP style has a suggestion for the designers at Timbuk2: when are they going to add something to keep the ganja treats warm?
Butchered: In a cut-by-cut photo guide on his 4505 Meats blog, Ryan Farr breaks down how to break down a baby lamb. The early pics are a tad disturbing, shall we say? The skinned carcass posed like an alert dog, albeit one with its head and the tips of its extremities cut off. Still, Farr makes it all come out okay in the end, thanks to chiles, herbs, and salt and pepper and some grill-y, roast-y browning reaction that makes us forget all about being freaked. Funny how meat can do that to us.
Celebrate with Three Twins by having a teeny cup or single-sized serving of organic creamy goodness. Flavors include milk and cookies, vanilla chocolate chip, Strawberry Fields, milk coffee, Madagascar vanilla, and bittersweet chocolate. Actual sales for the day benefit Friends of the Urban Forest, which is totally in keeping with the purveyors' green business practices. Sweet.
A Noe Valley shop hopes to be among the first U.S. retailers to sell chocolate bars made with camel milk.
Jack Epstein, owner of Chocolate Covered (4069 24th St. at Castro), told SFoodie he only recently found out about the camel milk chocolate bars, manufactured by Dubai-based chocolatier Al Nassama. "The gentleman who manufactures it is an acquaintance of a very good customer of mine," Epstein said. "He tried it and likes it, and I trust his palate. I will try to carry it if it's possible." It's unclear when - or even if -- the camel milk chocolates might arrive. "Bringing it in from freaking Dubai isn't going to be easy," Epstein said. "I don't even know if they've done the work with the FDA to find out if it's even possible to bring it in."
A news report yesterday on the Al Arabiya news site described Al Nassama's global expansion, This week, the company is starting to export
high-end camel milk chocolates to Saudi Arabia. Al Nassama's general manager talked about his firm's ambitions to become "the Godiva of the Middle East." Established last fall, Al Nassama manufactures in partnership with the Austrian chocolate company Manner. It's government-controlled dairy farm keeps 3,000 camels. Camels' milk is said to be less fatty and contain more nutrients than cows' milk.Epstein told SFoodie he thinks the camel milk chocolates are a good fit for his shop's existing line of non-cows' milk bars. "We're known for taking a chance on the exotic," he said, noting that the Mo's Bacon Bar from Chicago-based Vosges is the store's best seller. Epstein is also selling a sheep's milk bar from Austria, and has had success with goats' milk chocolates.
| The Korean "tacos" are worth the lines. |
Shortly after noon today, the lines for the mod Cali-Korean place Namu and Ryan Farr's 4505 Meats snaked across the sidewalk. A camera crew for 7x7 magazine chilled on the curb, waiting for the cluster to thin a bit before turning its cameras on Namu's chefs, busy churning on BBQ belly sandwiches, kimchee fried rice, and what signage dubbed The Real Korean "Tacos."
Call them tacos or Korean ssam ($1.25 each), they're damn tasty. Nori sheets cupping boneless grilled shortrib niblets, a scant bit of rice, and a hash of daikon and kimchee, spattered with kimchee-spiked mayo and irrigated with teriyaki sauce. The meat's about as fatty as you want it to be (it keeps it from skewing dry and stiff), suffused with the taste of the grill.
Okonomiyaki ($7, $9 with a fried egg) is Japanese comfort food. It's a plate-size rice flour pancake filled with scallions and cabbage, grilled, then pizza-topped with optional fried egg, bonito flakes, and a zigzag rope of tangy-sweet Kewpie mayo. Not a lot of finesse, you understand, but hella satisfying -- like seeing the Thursday street-food market capture the city's imagination. More photo love after the jump.
Just stir equal parts Campari and sweet vermouth together with a few ice cubes, add a splash of soda, and garnish with an orange slice. (The Italian vermouth Punt e Mes has a unique bittersweet quality that's an ideal match for Campari.) A popular variation is the Negroni, an Americano spiked with gin, but Campari has enough plant-life essence of its own without the gin's infusion of roots and herbs. Replacing the soda water with prosecco, however, makes for a mighty tasty cocktail.
The best place to enjoy an Americano is that little standup bar up the street and around the corner from the Venice train station, but fine local alternatives can be found in North Beach (natch), at Gino & Carlo (548 Green at Grant) or Tony Nik's (1534 Stockton at Union), or at Bix (56 Gold Alley at Montgomery). And a tasty method for acclimating yourself to the complex charms of Campari is at the Ciao Bella gelato stand in the Ferry Building, where the grapefruit-Campari sorbetto has enough delectable oomph to seduce all doubters.
Inca's Food Emoliente barley drink ($2.29 for a 16-ounce bottle at various stores around the Mission) is a self-described "emollient," made with water, sugar, toasted barley, linseed, horse tail, couch grass, and preservatives by PEIMCO, which is short for Peruvian Import Company. We're guessing it's the barley that gives the drink its smooth consistency and slightly bread-like taste. But its very pronounced sweetness might be just too much for some. In a way, Inca's Food Emoliente brought to mind taqueria versions of the Mexican hibiscus-flower agua fresca jamaica, though in a decidedly less fruity and tangy way.
As for curing back pain, the jury's still out on that claim.
| Meredith Brody |
| Deliciously retro. |
We've gone on record as being big fans of Best-O-Burger's satisfying slideresque burgers and crisp onion strings (inaccurately named Ring-Os). But the tiny spot on Belden Place (493 Pine at Kearny) didn't make it into heavy rotation on account of its utter lack of seating. You could perch on the planters across the street on Pine or otherwise just go wander off somewhere, while all that off-limits seating from the other restaurants crowding Belden seemed to exist solely to tempt you. It felt cruel.
But as of this week, Best-O-Burger has indoor seating, in a semi-subterranean but spacious room two doors down on Belden. Tell the counter guy you're eating in and your food will be brought to you (on a silver tray, no less) at one of the basic but functional white tables ringed with bright yellow chairs.
To celebrate this new luxury, we ordered a Sloppy Bob ($2.44), Best-O's version of the retro and hard-to-find Sloppy Joe: grilled, loose-ground Black Angus beef in a spicy, tomatoey "secret" sauce and topped with cheese, a layer of Ring-Os providing a welcome bit of crunch. Yum-o and cheap-o, since one was plenty for us. (Note: The one-piece Sloppy Bob doesn't appear on the menu, but you can ask for one.) We washed it down with an excellent vanilla shake ($2.99 small/$3.99 large), made with Häagen-Dazs. Pic of the brand-new dining room after the jump.
Let's do lunch:
Eat like you're in Paris, or, anyway, like the Vegas resort and casino of the same name. SF Weekly food critic Meredith Brody counsels salade niçoise and a Nutella crepe at The Butler and The Chef (155A South Park at Third St., 896-2075).
Drink therapy:
Hate sketchy? Chances are this isn't your scene. For everyone else, there are $7 PBR pitchers, $1.5 cans of Hamm's and Oly, and pretty much the Excelsior crowd you'd expect to be drinking 'em: Pissed Off Pete's (4528 Mission at Harrington, 584-5122).
It's lovably fusty, and you can play shuffleboard. Grab your best vintage fedora and drink in the Mission's hipster scene at Doc's Clock (2575 Mission at 21st St., 824-3627). While you're at it, save a few bucks during happy hour, 6-9 p.m.
