Real meat = real gross: At Civil Eats, Caroline Cummins licks tongue: a thick black specimen from a 1,000-pound steer, all evil and turgid, covered in spiny taste buds. Cummins had gone seriously Omnivore's Dilemma, buying a quarter of a beast, as she says, "hung, butchered, wrapped, and frozen, it filled our entire chest freezer." Funny how the off-the-grid idyll can turn into something so, well, gross. And frozen. She says most of it got ground into Manwich (okay, hamburger). But the tongue: what the hell to do with that?
Read how she conquers it (with advice from Eat Real Festival's Anya Fernald). Turns it into something delicious, if resolutely foreign -- to Americans, anyway. It's a kind of moral lesson. "I was, momentarily, horrified. I mean, I was perfectly willing to butcher and grill three of my chickens, but those were birds. Not mammals. For an instant, I fully understood vegetarianism, on that visceral level where disgust and revulsion congregate." It's so not easy being a virtuous carnivore.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) told SFoodie she could confirm that street-food vendor Murat Celebi-Ariner is currently in detention, and will be deported.
Citing security concerns, spokeswoman Lori Haley would not say where Celebi-Ariner -- proprietor of Amuse Bouche -- is being held, or when he will be deported, presumably to France. The fact that Celebi-Ariner was in the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program meant that his case would not have come under review by an immigration judge. Under the program, visitors from a handful of countries are allowed into the U.S. for 90 days without having to apply for a visa. If they stay longer that that, violators are subject to deportation without judicial review, even in the face of otherwise extenuating circumstances (such as marrying a U.S. citizen, as Celebi-Ariner did).
SFoodie has been unable to get comment from Celebi-Ariner's wife, Pelin.
Gdula said Celebi-Ariner and his wife, Pelin, gave him encouragement to start his street-food business back in May. "I'd been reaching out to others vendors -- Murat was the first one to reply. I told him where I was going to be, and he and Pelin came out and were so supportive. They immediately hopped on Twitter and said, 'There's this new vendor and his stuff is delicious.' They were supportive right from the start -- I hope the community will step up and support them now."
UPDATE 4 p.m.: Lori Haley, a Department of Homeland Security public information officer in Orange County, told SFoodie she would comment on Celebi-Ariner's status only if we could present his alien registration number. We've requested the number from Celebi-Ariner's wife.
Murat Celebi-Ariner -- a San Francisco baker and street-food vendor, proprietor of Amuse Bouche -- is apparently facing deportation to France for overstaying his visa. We don't know any of the details (we're waiting for a return call from Homeland Security to confirm the information), but SFoodie blogger Tamara Palmer received the following e-mail message from Celebi-Ariner's wife, Pelin:
Dear Friends,
Yesterday morning Murat was picked up from our house and carried off in handcuffs by two officers from Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). His crime? Having overstayed his Visa Waiver Program which allows European citizens 90 days to stay in the U.S. There are millions of visa waiver overstays in the US right now, and it has not so far been a policy of Homeland Security to pursue such cases, especially ones with NO criminal records or offenses, like Murat. This plus he is married to a U.S. citizen and we were about to file for a green card.
Right now Murat is being held at 630 Sansome St and they are getting ready to deport him back to France TODAY. We (myself and our attorney) are filing a Deferral of Action Request to keep him here. What those of you in the MEDIA can do to help us, is call the ICE office, tell them who you are with, and ask about what is going on in his case, making it clear that you are informed and involved. You are likely to get a voicemail box so just leave a message. Non-media friends, please help us out with your thoughts.
Matt Shapiro, chef of Schmidt's, the Mission restaurant Celebi-Ariner provides pastries for, hadn't heard about the alleged detention -- he told SFoodie he was expecting Murat to make a delivery later this afternoon.
We'll let you know as soon as we can confirm any details.
Didja get your free Bay Bridge broken hot dog yesterday at Zog's? Still hungry for schwag? This evening, samples of Divine Chocolate will be handed out at a number of BART stations: from 4 to 8 p.m. at Montgomery in S.F., and from 5 to 7 p.m. at 24th Street in S.F. and at the Ashby and Rockridge stations in the East Bay.
Turns out October is fair trade month, and Divine Chocolate is fair trade-certified, co-owned by the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Cooperative in Ghana, West Africa. We think it's only fair that your unfair commute is improved by bagging a bite of fair-trade chocs. For free.
Better to soak sugar pumpkins, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and nutmeg in a pitcher of rum, then either serve it as a hot toddy with a dollop of whipped cream or shaken with ice in a cinnamon-rimmed martini glass. The bar at Street (2141 Polk at Vallejo) saves you the trouble by infusing the pumpkins themselves, and will be happy to slake your autumnal needs. Street chef John Lamkin roasts pumpkins, then cooks the flesh and seeds slowly, with rum, sous vide-style. Strained, the resulting concoction ends up in hot buttered rum, pumpkin martinis -- whatever Street's bartenders devise. Lamkin told us he usually pickles pumpkin as a cocktail garnish, though he happens to be out at the moment.
For at-home entertaining, a punch bowl of Bloody Marys -- one part vodka, one part tomato juice, with celery salt, pepper, Tabasco, lemon juice, horseradish, and Worcestershire, added as desired -- is another depraved and delectable boozing option. (Make sure to freeze little plastic spiders in the ice cubes.)
Melissa Perello was born in Nutley, N.J., lived in Houston, and went to cooking school in upstate New York, but San Francisco is where the 32-year-old chef formed her restaurant bones. She arrived here fresh from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., to gig with mentor Michael Mina at Aqua. She later moved to Aqua's sister eatery, Charles Nob Hill, to work alongside Ron Siegel, eventually moving up to executive chef.
It was at Charles that Perello's California-inspired French cuisine won her a trophy case worth of accolades; 2002 Chronicle Rising Star Chef, three James Beard Rising Star nominations (2002, 2003, and 2004), and a spot on Food and Wine's list of best new chefs for 2004. She joined Fifth Floor as executive chef, and snagged a Michelin star in 2006. And yeah, that was Perello (with friend Anna Wankel) racing across San Francisco this summer in the hometown episode of Food Network's Chefs vs. City, battling Chris Cosentino and Aaron Sanchez.Mondays, Perello's been drawing foodies to Sebo in Hayes Valley, for ingredient-driven menus with a whiff of American rustic. But these days, she's in the final throes of opening her own place in the Castro, Frances (3870 17th St. at Pond) -- look for it to open around Thanksgiving. It's named after her grandmother, with whom she spent summers cooking in Northern Texas. After the upscale settings of Aqua, Charles Nob Hill, and Fifth Floor, Perello is eager to offer seasonal American cooking, showcasing artisanal products from Northern California farmers, in a neighborhood setting.
SFoodie: What definitive moment made you realize you had to be in the kitchen?
Perello: No true definitive moment, really. I was just always a very strangely focused kid -- knew I wanted to go to culinary school by the time I started high school. My mom has a story she loves to tell of how she came home from work one day to find me boning out a leg of lamb. I was like 10 or something. I would watch cooking shows 24/7 (such a dork!) and try to re-create them for dinner. My grandmother Frances (the restaurant's namesake) was a big encouragement. I would spend summers with my grandparents and she was always cooking, me at her side, peeling, rolling, cutting, etc.
Flavors, ingredients, or techniques you have an irrational attachment to?
I'm big on braising or roasting almost anything you throw at me. If all else fails I love to throw it in the oven with a fair hand of seasoning, a little olive oil, and cook until the flavors of a slow oven make the ingredients shine.
Most overrated ingredient in S.F?
Pork everything ... not that I'm not a fan, a huge fan, cuz I am! And I cook much of it myself. Just a little oversaturated with hog exposure.
