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.
Should sellers at events like the SF Underground Market be exempt form normal licensing regulations?
Our favorite morsels from the Web.
The LA Times Monday picked up AP writer Dinesh Ramde's report on licensing restrictions easing for small food vendors in Maine and Wisconsin. Ramde:
Federal and state laws require that most food sold to the public be made in licensed facilities open to government inspectors. But as more people become interested in buying local food, a few states have created exemptions for amateur chefs who sell homemade goods at farmers markets and on small farms.
While some small vendors think might think it's unfair to burden them with the same regulations that apply to massive food plants, critics cite the slippery slope of exempting any food handler from rigorous inspection. Passed in February, Wisconsin's so-called Pickle Bill lets small vendors make high-acid foods (i.e., products with a lower risk of bacterial contamination) like sauerkraut, pickles, and salsas without a license, in unregulated home kitchens.
Meanwhile in Maine, small poultry farmers (1,000 or fewer) can prep their birds in places other than regulated slaughtering facilities.
After an 1879 tour of Europe's great cities, Mark Twain returned to the States eager to savor the native American foods he'd most missed while away, making him what some blogger might call an O.L., or Original Locavore.
In his first book, Twain's Feast (Penguin Press, $25.95), Andrew Beahrs takes readers on a journey into the palate and witty world-view of our country's most celebrated humorist, a man who once called cauliflower "cabbage with a college education," interspersing the author's firsthand experiences (an Arkansas racoon supper, for example) with tales of Twain in his time and place, along with corresponding recipes. If you'd like to learn more about, say, the 19th-century adventurer's predilection for opossum, grab a signed copy at Omnivore Books next Thursday, when Beahrs comes through town to schmooze and read a few passages. Details below the fold.
Are you a San Franciscan between the ages of 5 and 25? Then you know what an egg puff is: A crunchy Hong Kong street snack, an inverted Belgian waffle, and a staple at dozens of Asian-influenced sweets shops in town. (The Chowhounds have collectively assembled a possible history of the egg puff in the United States.)
SFoodie, who is not between the ages of 5 and 25, has been so curious about Quickly's egg puff ads that we finally embarked on a citywide puff rampage. Apologies to all the teenage cashiers puzzled (if not creeped out) by the middle-aged guy who would lurk around the egg-puff iron, watching them pour in the batter, then walk out with his nose buried in the bag.
Maybe there's nothing more apt for facing down Independence Day than a sprawling, itchy-fingered session at some Vietnamese-Cajun crawfish joint. They're among the most indelibly American of eateries in this most densely hyphenated of societies, the legacy of Vietnamese expats in southern Louisiana. Today in "Eat," SF Weekly food critic Jonathan Kauffman visits the city's two representatives, the Tenderloin's Red Crawfish and SJ Crawfish in the Outer Sunset. The basic setup's the same at both: steaming plastic bags of hot crustaceans awash with butter and fish boil. Which eatery did Kauffman like, and which left him cold? Find out at SFWeekly.com. But before you go immersing yourself in Kauffman, scroll through SFoodie's extended excerpt (after the jump).
PostedByTamara Palmer
on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 3:21 PM
Tamara Palmer
The definition of street food in San Francisco continues to rapidly expand in ever more creative directions. Saturday's Outside In 5 event in Dogpatch seemed to accelerate that. Presented by Soul Cocina, SF Cart Project, and Hands On Gourmet, it was a food crawl comprised of over 20 vendors posted in front of and inside several businesses in the neighborhood.
Full from attending a four-hour private meal dubbed "Smorgasbord 5000" by its generous host, we enjoyed strolling, taking in the breadth of available food rather than indulging our usual strategy of eating it all.
Street Fixe announced a date yesterday for its second convergence of street food and sit-down at Stable Cafe. The July 11 edition of Street Fixe is dubbed Thai Highs, five courses cooked by four cart vendors, served up at communal tables. A rundown: Global Soul's khao tom soup; mieng kum, followed by lamb meatball massaman curry, both by Soul Cocina; coconut crème brulee from Crème Brulee Cart; and lemon and ginger cookie ice cream sandwich from Sweet Constructions. There'll be bottles of Singha, $4 each. Two seatings, 6 and 8 p.m.; specify indoors or out. Other details after the jump.
Everyone who writes about food in San Francisco has spent the past year talking about how the city's restaurant scene is downscaling. Evidence: The proliferation of street carts and food trucks, pizza and burgers, and sandwiches of every shade and stripe, not to mention the migration of chefs to Oakland. Like everyone else, I figured the shift was irreversible, caused by both the recession and the rising cost of running a restaurant in San Francisco.
Pop-ups, trucks, food carts, and burger-sandwich restaurants do keep opening up at a rate that's almost impossible to track. But looking at the slate of ambitious, big-money, restaurants opening this summer, I'm doubting the accuracy of what has become common wisdom. Here's what I've got on the list:
The menu blends owner Kamyn Kong's Hawaiian and Chinese American pedigree.
Like Broadway shows, some of the best food trucks open out of town. In Brisbane yesterday, IZ IT Fresh Grill was merely the latest to make its debut. The mobile startup is specializing in Chinese-style fried chicken drumsticks it calls "the Icon," Spam musubi ("Spammers"), and tacos named "Kickers" that take look to Hawaii for inspiration.
Amber-Leigh/Facebook
The Icon, i.e. fried chicken drumsticks.
That's entirely appropriate, given the owner's pedigree. Kamyn Kong grew up in Honolulu, while her husband had grandparents whose Clement Street deli ― Kwong Shing Market ― achieved modest local fame for its five-spice-scented fried chicken, the same recipe Kong revived for IZ IT. (Kwong Shing shuttered some five years ago.) "The recipe's been in the family for over 50 years," says Ed Chui, Kong's brother-in-law, and co-proprietor of street-food vendor Adobo Hobo.
in rumor, innuendo, and straight-out facts about restaurant openings and
closings in San Francisco.
Andrew on Haighteration discovers that neighborhood new(ish)comer Clay Oven (500 Haight) has bought out longtime neighborhood favorite Indian Oven (233 Fillmore). There is consternation in the comments.
Marcia G. at Tablehopper reports on the opening of a cafe that the rest of us haven't yet: L'Acajou (98 Ninth St., 626-3683, www.lacajou.com), which opened at the end of May. The pitch: bakery and cafe, open from breakfast through late afternoon, serving De La Paz coffee, breakfast sandwiches, home-baked scones, and panini and salads for lunch.
Marcia G. also reports that Namu is opening for brunch this weekend, and three-week-old Thermidor is opening for lunch today.
At a house party last fall, Maki busted out fried chicken.
Coming off what had to have been a narrow defeat at Cochon 555, Bi-Rite chef and butcher Morgan Maki is tackling a less-demanding preparation. This Friday evening, July 2, instead of dismembering and curing, braising, and roasting an entire hog, Maki is making chili dogs ― at a show at a large pink house tucked between the Mission District and Potrero Hill.
Knowing Maki and his tendency to turn out sublime renditions of traditional fare ― whether fried chicken or po' boys ― these will be a far cry from pallid ballpark standards, featuring wieners supplied by butcher-about-town Ryan Farr, a man who probably occupies a special, particularly fiery seat in the depths of piggy hell. The dogs will be served at 7 p.m.; acoustic music from Low Red Land and special guests will follow at 9 p.m. Admission is a mere $5. Bring your own vapid domestic lagers. For the address (hint, hint: It's very, very close to Jack's Club) and further instruction, please write gmansion@gmail.com.
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.'"
