More ghetto than gourmet: Like a hotel guest pressing a minibar glass to the wall to catch the shouting, Eater listens in on a most uncivil exchange regarding Alice Waters' 2007 authorized bio, Alice Waters and Chez Panisse, by Thomas McNamee. Turns out blogger The Gurgling Cod thinks McNamee soft-balled the lady behind the Delicious Revolution, and as a result, gives us "Alice" (the smilingly aloof cipher) rather than Waters herself, warts, alleged excesses, inability to bring her own teensy family around the table (while lecturing all of America to do so), and all. (Well, the book was made with Alice's active participation.) Here's Cod:
Ultimately, the fawning approach of this book does its subject a disservice. It would be hard to name a single restaurant more significant to the history of 20th century American dining, and Water's endurance through a variety of roles and contexts is remarkable. By giving us the icon, rather than an individual, MacNamee [sic] relegates Waters's very real achievements to the realm of mythology.An arguable point -- one that McNamee slaps down like an interstate trucker with a meth-stoked case of road rage: "Let me say it again in case you didn't get it the first time, since you apparently have a hard time understanding English, and I'll put it simply enough for you to understand: You are a fucking idiot." Ahem -- may we submit our own take on McNamee's bio (it's from the East Bay Express, 3/21/07), which is remarkably similar to The Gurgling Cod's?
Um, Thomas? Would you mind adding "sir" to the part where you call us a fucking idiot? Classier that way.
On September 11, Mogannam announced the benefit raffle to raise funds for Soul Food Farm, which has been recovering from a fire that scorched dozens of acres of pasture, destroyed two chicken houses, and killed hundreds of baby chicks. Bi-Rite put up half a dozen raffle prizes, including gift baskets and a dinner for eight. Over the course of the month, ranchers, winemakers, and others kicked in about a dozen more offerings. A handful of restaurant benefits are also seeking to raise money for the farm. Winning bidders of an online auction will be announced October 10 at Pizzaiolo.
The Craz-E made its debut at the Big EZ Café, a concession stand at The Big E in Springfield, Mass., otherwise known as the Eastern States Exposition (it ends this weekend). The fair features appearances by Seether, Bret Michaels, and Foghat, which should give you some idea of the audience for the Craz-E Burger. According to the Big E blog, Marty Brownsey of West Seneca, New York, came up with the "Craz-E" moniker in a naming contest on Facebook. Brownsey beat out the aptly named "Heart Attack on a Bun" and somewhat lamer "The E-Normous."
"We got a lot of great applications for what we think of as a little place on Fillmore!" Lindgren, SPQR's owner and wine director, told SFoodie. "But Matthew was amazing -- we didn't think we were going to be able to afford him. We have a similar philosophy on using local farmers, and he likes to do some of his own foraging."
Gutting the kitchen and redoing the front of the house in such a short time frame was a tall order: The gas got turned on only last Friday, and there's a new convection oven, which means house-baked foccacia and more desserts. She said new offerings from pastry chef Jane Tseng include puff pastry with pink pearl apples and morello cherries; budino di zucca (squash with Chiboust pastry cream) with pomegranate, walnuts, and crema fresca; chestnut cake with pears, ricotta, chestnut honey, and a rosemary-pine nut Florentine; vanilla gelato affogato with candied almonds and anise toast; and a chocolate mousse-cake with pepperoncini and cocoa nibs.
The salad of the day turned out to be a handful of mixed greens, with a side of aggressively tangy balsamic vinaigrette. The one untarnished delight: shortbread cookies peppered with cocoa nibs and flecks of dried cherry.
Will we give Bar Bambino another go? Sure, in a few weeks, when the kitchen gets the hang of things. Or not. By then, we should be in the grip of an October heat wave, and the flesh quotient in Dolores Park might make even a so-so picnic seem at least a little delicious.
As the show creaks towards its 40th anniversary season, producers have rounded up some popular humans to help keep the tiny eyes and ears of multitudes of little boys and girls primed to soak up its lessons both large and wee. We're assuming Kobe Bryant will dunk on Big Bird while the Count keeps score, Ricky Gervais will torment Oscar with uncomfortable prattle, and Eva Longoria-Parker will sit on the sidelines, well-shaded, sipping a pricy Beso cocktail -- but what, oh what, will this season's most illustrious non-furry guest contribute?
As reported yesterday, Michelle Obama will kick off the season on November 10. In her special segment, the farmer's market-fancying First Lady will draw parallels between home-grown vegetables and healthy living -- and drop some entry-level Michael Pollan. "All these seeds need to grow are sun, soil and water. If you eat these healthy foods, you're going to grow up to be big and strong, like me," Obama reportedly says -- clearly fudging some crucial genetic facts. "I know you're going to like these vegetables, because in addition to being healthy, they really taste great!"
We're happy someone in such a lofty position has made food policy a serious initiative -- especially when it comes to the Muppet demographic -- but given our intimate day-to-day trials and tribulations with a pack of charming, half house-broken 4-year-olds, and our resulting sense of their cultural predilections, we're thinking Obama, for all her fame and the respect and admiration she warrants, will more successfully sell young'uns on sprouts and shoots if she dons a Boba Fett costume or some Ariel fins.
National food holidays range from the sublime to the ridiculous. October's got plenty of both:
