Beer goggles: You'd think 401(k)s hadn't been drained drier than a kegger at frat rush, the city was at full employment (the paid, legal kind), and we were all eating out to avoid the hassle of loading our dishwashers. It just so happens that S.F. is in the grips of opening frenzy -- anyway, two particularly prominent places are opening for reals tonight. The one that isn't named Frances is Baker & Banker, the collaboration by couple Jeff Banks and Lori Baker in the old Quince space (1701 Octavia at Bush). Jesse Friedman of Beer & Nosh hit the soft opening (he also apparently consulted for the beer offerings), and gushes about the New American food and modern brasserie vibe (Quince's slightly stuffy old-Euro trappings are at the bottom of a dumpster somewhere). Of course, Friedman's enthusiasm isn't totally objective:
I am in no way anything near an impartial reviewer for the new restaurant Baker & Banker. Far from it -- I've become friends with the chef/owners behind it, and have helped pick out the beer list (it's looking gooooood) as well as am doing some picture taking here and there. So, if you want an impartial review, I'd hold out for Bauer to stop by.Sure thing. Meanwhile, Friedman offers up nice examples of his signature pixel porn. Check 'em out.
Tomorrow night, the artisan beer-centric restaurant is hosting a six-course beer dinner focusing on Shelton Brothers, a Massachusetts beer importer. Shelton carries beers that are unsweetened, bottle conditioned (i.e., unfiltered), unpasteurized, and made by hand. Of course, the fermentation is slow, and traditional methods are used. Beer from the Netherlands, the U.S., Norway, Denmark, and Belgium will be paired with food from chef Kevin Kroger. The menu includes house-cured gravlax, lamb tartare with chive oil, lamb stew with fennel, and a traditional dessert of chocolate balls. Tickets are $100 and advance purchase is recommended. Call 865-9523.
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Last week, 4505 sold 25 turduckens -- 15 more than last Thanksgiving (they sold within two days). "Everybody wanted them this year," Farr told SFoodie. And there's no telling how many of the poultry mashups he could have sold, at $200 or $250 each, depending on size. "I capped it out.
That's all we could handle with our current production ability." Meaning one full timer and one part-time employee -- each turducken takes up to six hours to bone and stuff.For more info on the $100 Whole Hog classes (start times are 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Dec. 6, and last three hours), stop by the 4505 Meats Website. To reserve, leave a message at meats@4505meats.com, specifying the time you want.
Food goodies from local businesses are the centerpiece of La Cocina's "insanely good" gift fair, which hits next Friday, Dec. 10, at Mission Cultural Center. Entrance is free, but tote that wallet and shopping bag to load up on gifts from San Francisco micro-entrepreneurs Kika's Treats, Neo Cocoa, Clairesquares, Slow Jams, House Kombucha, and the Love & Hummus Co. There will also be handmade Mexican ceramics, 18 Reasons classes, and coffee club memberships from Liga Masiva. Come to think of it, you can take care of your favorite food lover ― you ― at this shindig, too.
La Cocina's Second Annual Gift Fair
When: Fri., Dec. 10, 4-9p.m.
Where: Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission (at 25th St.)
Cost: Free entrance; bring cash to buy gifts, bar drinks, raffle tickets, and gift-wrapping. RSVP if you like on La Cocina's Facebook page
Last week, we wrote about Walgreens Butter Mints, a seemingly ill-conceived reinvention of the traditional dinner mint. Because of their pastel yellow hue, we assumed the little tablets would taste like their namesake.
Two diligent readers swiftly wrote in to correct us, stating that the mints don't actually taste like butter, they're supposed to melt in your mouth like butter. Aside from the color, they aren't any different from the pink, green, and white mints passed out as wedding favors.
To restore our journalistic integrity we decided to buy a bag of Butter Mints and taste them.
The Hawaiian plate lunch doesn't have to be a sprawling aggregate of starches. At Sundance Kitchen (1865 Post at Webster), the house restaurant for Sundance Kabuki Cinema in J-Town, familiar strip-mall grinds (Hawaiian slang for eats) find welcome sophistication without going all Roy's. And while the place feels as dreary as some little-trafficked bar in a provincial airport, the food is meticulously crafted. The island classics loco moco, Spam musubi, and kalua pork are among the best you're likely to taste. No wonder: Once upon a time, restaurant manager Pat Da Silva ran the well-loved Honu's Island Grinds & Bar in nearby Buchanan Mall. Gorge on the full review (filed by yours truly) later today at SFWeekly.com, or dip your finger in SFoodie's extended excerpt (after the jump).
The Taggiasca, Casalivo, Allegra, and Leccino olives for this very small-batch oil are grown, not in Napa, but on the company's 16-acre ranch in Suisun Valley -- not to mention milled by a quality-conscious Jesuit monk. We tapped the slim bottle last night, on the eve of its official release, and dabbed away at a lime-green pool with salt-speckled bread, and later, radish slices. The helpful card that came with the bottle suggested a white bean purée (we already have cannellini soaking). The organic, cold-pressed oil -- spicy, herbaceous, and wonderfully pungent -- can be yours for $24, or $260, if you brush enough crostini to warrant stowing away a whole case. As it turns out, the uncle rolls a little deeper than we thought.
You can score your own directly from Katz, or -- in a day or two -- from Bi-Rite in the Mission (3639 18th St. at Guerrero). In the East Bay, both Pasta Shop locations (1786 Fourth St. at Hearst, Berkeley; Rockridge Market Hall, 5655 College at Shafter, Oakland) already have a supply.
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