When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, it’s a good core workout. If you’re sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More
Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
For someone who lives in the downtown corridor — all right, the Tenderloin — the idea of going to Ocean Beach for pizza is rife with potential pratfalls: high Uber fares, lengthy Muni trips, ever-present fog, jet lag.
The island trend of Hawaiian-style poke, or raw fish/seafood dressed with a variety of sauces and fresh toppings, has been kicking around the West Coast mainland for a while, particularly in Los Angeles, where its lean protein-rich nature is a big hit with the diet and camera conscious.
Gadget gastronomy: Nguyen's duck, laid out and getting pumped.
Our favorite morsel from the blogs.
Pumped: Never let it be said that cooking isn't one part inspiration, two parts fetishization. Yesterday, Viet World Kitchen's Andrea Nguyen offered tip on inflating a bird ― a duck, that is, on the multistep, labor-intensive route to becoming Peking. "The elaborate process takes days," Nguyen writes, "so I hope you'll join in the process and see what happens along the way. You'll either laugh, cry, and/or get hungry." Frankly, we're still waiting, scrolling down-page with fascination as Nguyen works out the best way to blow air into the space between her duck's flesh and its epidermis, a detail crucial for getting skin as brittle as baked kitchen parchment. Bamboo tube and lung power, air compressor, bicycle pump: Nguyen judged each insufficient, settling instead on the foot pump that came with her crunch exercise ball. Success: Pumped up like pecs on a gym queen, the duck is ready for VWK's next installment, which Nguyen describes as "scalding and giving the duck a tan." Just like experiencing some gateway first episode of Real Housewives, we're already seriously hooked, waiting for the tears.
The five most memorable bits from SFoodie and beyond:
1. For more than a decade, warm scones at have been the best reason to brave the chintz at Lovejoy's Tea Room. And thanks to Carolyn Alburger, I now know the Irish bakery in the Richmond that makes them (though half the pleasure of eating the scones comes from smothering them in Lovejoy's clotted cream and strawberry jam).
2. As an ex-smoker, nobody loves a smoke-free bar or restaurant more than I do. But this 15-foot rule is ridiculous. if you can't stand the smell of smoke outdoors on a patio or the sidewalk, just hold your breath and walk away.
Citizen served its last slice in Hayes Valley this week.
Let them eat cake ... later. In this week's report, Hayes Valley/Civic Center said goodbye to Citizen Cake, in a closing is prep for the yet-to-launch Pac Heights location at 2125 Fillmore, long home to lauded Vivande. In other crumbelievable news, Lower Haight got some sad and sudden news that Roland's Bakery is dark due to a reported dispute with the landlord.
Opening:
• Let the Wall Street Journal decide whether Oakland's Temescal District is the Bay Area's new Gourmet Ghetto ― we'll be too busy checking out tonight's opening of (by ex-South chef Josh Woodall) of SR24, 5179 Telegraph (at 51st St.), Oakland, (510) 655-9300
Morphing:
• Already the site of Creole Soups and Such three days a week, Annie's Bistro (2819 California at Divisadero) will turn fully Creole ― day and night ― by April (via Tablehopper)
Dean Dupuis moved from South City Kitchen in Atlanta to Oakland last year to take the executive chef position at Picán.
SFoodie: Anything new appearing on the menu this week?
Dupuis: Yeah, we're
going to be serving Shiner Bock-braised Berkshire pork with
buttered dumplings, Brussels sprouts, and a truffled ricotta cheese.
I've been getting to sample some heritage pigs, playing around with the product, and found this great Berkshire shoulder It's just a tremendous product, fatty and
PostedByTamara Palmer
on Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 2:33 PM
T. Palmer
Davis' shrimp po' boy will soon be a daily lunch option in Pacific Heights.
Earlier this week, Tablehopper reported that Yon Davis of Yats/Creole Soups and Such will soon likely take over the lease for Annie's Bistro (2819 California at Divisadero) and begin serving lunch and dinner, expanding from his current three-day lunch service. She also reported that Davis' new Bayview restaurant would be ready by July.
Obsessing over news about Creole Soups' recent addition of Davis' steal-worthy po' boys (actually, it replayed in our head until we did something about it: po' booooooyyyyy), we ducked into Annie's yesterday for a toasted loaf of heaven. Between greedy bites, we managed to ask for updates. The latest: Davis confirmed that he is working out the details for taking over Annie's, but added that unseen delays have postponed his Bayview outpost until September at the earliest.
As a daily windup to the Weekly's Best of S.F. 2010 on May 19, we've teased out 92 of our favorite local dishes that taste like here. All the tasty details after the jump.
PostedByTamara Palmer
on Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 12:15 PM
T. Palmer
Blunted fare at the first Mission Stoned Food: onion/foie gras dip with Funyons, Doritos, Bugles, Cheetos, Ruffles, Hot Fries, and Pringles.
Marijuana lovers and their friends, take note: This weekend, Mission Street Food is bringing back a sequel to last summer's Mission Stoned Food dinner. Guest chef Chris Ying will offer a (drug-free) menu of blazed, fried, and dusted fare, including something called a Juicy Lucy burger, which promises "a core of molten cheese."
MSF has also announced that, rather than donating the proceeds of each dinner to a local charity as it has done for the past year, they'll now be put towards the goal of opening a full-time charitable restaurant (and donated if, for some reason, that doesn't happen).
The New York Timesposted an article this morning on the effect Ike's Place and Bi-Rite Creamery are having on their neighborhoods ― more specifically, how much the neighborhood grouses about the crowds the two small stores draw. To appease nearby homeowners and renters, the Castro sandwich shop now closes at 7 p.m. while the Mission ice cream store is currently expanding to create some sit-down space for customers.
The Ike's line is a phenomenon. And as yesterday reaffirmed, we're not in love with lines. But we find the article's conclusion that Yelp has created the maelstorm of attention a little suspect. After all, San Francisco restaurants like Boogaloo's, the Pork Store, Tartine, and Ton Kiang ― hunh, brunch seems particularly line-worthy ― have been famous for the crowd clouds outside since the dinosaur age, or at least the days when word of mouth was analog.
PostedByTamara Palmer
on Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 10:29 AM
T. Palmer
This is why we're fat.
Yes, it's loud, overpriced, and pretty darned tacky at Hubert Keller's Burger Bar atop Macy's (251 Geary at Powell), making it the perfect spot to imbibe a so-totally-wrong-it's-right Twinkie milkshake. We're not sure how many of those little Hostess creatures give up their life in the blender, but we think there's nearly a whole one cut up and placed on top as some sort of daunting garnish. There's even an extra injection of whipped cream to make sure those arteries don't get off scott-free.
If you're feeling extra crazy/impervious to death, BB has a number of alcoholic add-on options for this and all of its shakes. Bon appetit!
Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"
