Mystery washes through Trader Joe's like a tsunami's advance wave. Who, exactly, are the nonagenarian German brothers behind the megachain? Why do hippies in Berkeley and North Oakland show up to fill hemp shopping bags with organic yogurt, when the stores overwrap absurdly small amounts of produce in enough petro-packaging to clog a landfill? And how did TJ's ugly tropical-shirt motif ever survive the '80s?
So many questions. And yet, Tuesday at The Faster Times, Amy Westervelt shed some light on everybody's favorite sample-pimping food store. Like, who makes some of TJ's generic products? Westervelt whipped out a dozen revelations.
"How much?" he asks.
"Nine dollars ― at 11," Des Voignes says.
He appears to misunderstand. "Eleven dollars?" he asks, grinning wide, as if Des Voignes were, well: crazy. "Hoooo-eeee!" he says in a crackly falsetto before shaking his head, still grinning, and moving on down the block.
Just another day on the new 24th Street.
Stone Fruit Contest
When: Sat., July 10, 4-5 p.m.
Where: Omnivore Books, 3885a Cesar Chavez (at Church), 282-4712
Cost: $5 for tasters, free to competitors
For diners who get a little tentative when it comes to tucking into lamb, Black Sheep might be required viewing ― at least prior to attending the Lamb Takedown happening next month at Thirsty Bear.
based in San Rafael but sold in Marin County farmers markets and stores
around San Francisco). Savory meat and vegetarian empanadas, as well as
dessert ones.
Argentinian
Empanadas de Mi Pueblo (a website, www.ebempanadas.com, doesn't seem to be working). All SFoodie knows about this new Berkeley empanada maker is that it has a Facebook page.
El Porteño Empanadas (permanent stalls at 331 Cortland and the Ferry Building; also appears at numerous farmers markets). Serves savory and sweet empanadas with flaky crusts.
John Campbell's Irish Bakery 300 De Haro (at 16th St.), Stes. 342/340, 621-2212; open Mon.-Sat., 7 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
Follow us on Twitter: @sfoodie. Contact me at John.Birdsall@SFWeekly.com
Like some World Cup official, Kauffman weighs Colombian against Venezuelan in a search for the essence of arepa-ness. Kauffman: "A thick, soft corn cake, split like an English muffin and filled with almost anything, including cheese and vegetables, the arepa is the platypus of handheld foods ― belonging to both the sandwich and the tortilla-pupusa classes." What's more, Mr. Pollo's Manny Torres Gimenez, who's labored in the zona gastronomica of Coi, A16, and Quince, has aspirations beyond the humble sandwich cognate. Get a taste of Manny's four-course tasting menu ― and get a healthy whiff of the vibrant Chipotle vibe at Pica Pica ― at SFWeekly.com.
Oh, and in today's "Eat" Extra, Jonathan Kauffman rounds up the Bay Area's growing circle of South American food vendors.
Starting tomorrow, you might be able to catch a whiff of that magic at The Corner, where chef-owner Alex Jackson is inaugurating a nighttime happy hour. "While definitely geared for the restaurant industry crowd, I suspect it will appeal to any Missionite that wants to eat something other than a super burrito at 1:30 a.m.," Jackson writes by e-mail. The eats menu sprawls from roasted cauliflower with fregola, black-eyed peas and good balsamic (Jackson's phrase) to beef cheek poutine with farmhouse cheddar. All dishes weigh in at $6.50.
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