At Bay Area Bites, Andrew Simmons offers up a recipe. No, not a list of shit things, dead on the page as a nutritional label, but a recollection, a reckoning of how he made a soup, green chickpea and cauliflower. Simmons:
From green garlic shoots, to slender asparagus, to sweet early-season cherry tomatoes, I have, with regard to the realm of edible vegetation, a tendency to prize fresh young things. When I saw the green garbanzos nestled like weird little grubs in a big basket in the Bi-Rite produce case, I was consumed by the desire to harness their youth, pea-like flavor, and agreeably grassy pallor, and express them fully and vigorously in a simple yet well-calibrated dish.Read it slow, pen and paper at the ready. And if you miss anything, you can get the flavor of the thing in the writing alone.
Follow us on Twitter: @SFoodie. Contact me at John.Birdsall@SFWeekly.com
At 18 Reasons' cookbook swap Thursday, there's a chance we could atone for our theft by dropping something really, really good into the pile, and seeking out the lamest book in return. Some early-'90s softcover exploring the intricacies of low-cal Tex-Mex, or a baby food recipe manual.
Beginning in August, Social Kitchen and Brewery will host a monthly Brewmaster's Dinner: multiple courses organized around a particular theme, paired with Rich Higgins' house brews. The brew-fixe dinners, as it were, are scheduled for the first Wednesday of each month, except for the very first dinner, which goes off next Wednesday, July 21. As with subsequent Brewmaster Dinners, it'll start off with an appetizer reception: three apps, two beers, and a beer cocktail. Cost is $30, including the beer.
Next week's kickoff hews to a comfort food theme: chicken wings, beef stroganoff ― menu highlights after the jump. Chef in charge: Dante Simoncini, who's taken over from Social's opening consulting chef, Rob Lam, whose contract was up. Simoncini hails from Lam-run Butterfly.
SF Cart Project's Matt Cohen said that, if the seven-member commission approves his RFP, each venue could see regular street-food events. "They would all vary in size depending on safety, the interest of the community, and the actual space," Cohen said.
If approved, the permit would allow Cohen to organize weekly street-food events at Mission Playground on Saturdays from noon to dusk (up to eight vendors allowed). A closed-off stretch of Waller Street in Golden Gate Park could see mobile vendors Tuesdays from 4 p.m. to dusk, and Sundays between 2 p.m. and dusk (no more than 15 vendors allowed). And Joseph Alioto Performing Arts Plaza in Civic Center could host a mobile food market Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (up to five vendors).
San Francisco is one of five select test markets for this new product, which claims to be a replica of a recipe brewed by Coors before the onset of national Prohibition struck in 1920 (Colorado, home of the Adolph Coors Co., enacted statewide prohibition in 1916). This honey-colored, vanilla-sweet beer with a suggestion of hop bite in the aftertaste can be found on draft only at five city saloons ― The Parlor, McTeague's, 83 Proof, Hotel Utah, Lush Lounge ― and at The Brit down in San Jose.
MillerCoors says the recipe is an exact replica of one recently rediscovered in a brewer's recipe log, but the malted grains and hops are merely educated guesses in replicating the flavor, especially considering Batch 19 does contain some corn. It's a little hard to imagine a mouthfeel this clean in the Pre-Pro era, but, compared to other American premium lagers, this doesn't offend the way its 21st century brethren do.
Master Wang receives in-person consultations at the Mission District's Medicine Buddha Teahouse and Healing Center and also sells herbal remedies online via his Zen and Tea shop, where prices reach as high as $800 for a 12.6-ounce "Aged Zen Cake" of Pu-erh. The Medicine Buddha website lists "elite athletes, weekend warriors, [and] chronic pain sufferers" among its clientele.
"Shocked my system with a vegan diet, special Pu-erh tea from China, and cupping since Friday!" Simpson tweeted June 27. "Who am I right now? This might be too clean!"
Medicine Buddha Teahouse and Healing Center 2 Shotwell (at 14th St.), 626-6090.
You might not think of Elixir as a Bastille Day destination, even if it is close to a certain popular crêpe spot. But tomorrow night, the Mission bar is hosting a unique first-time twist on the holiday. Along with booze, wine, giveaways, and prizes, Elixir promises a functioning guillotine, doing double duty as a prop to hype Matt Stewart's first novel, The French Revolution (Soft Skull Press, $15.95).
SFoodie: So how's it going?
Lauriston: I'm doing fine. It's sort of an odd situation. I don't know what I'm doing, so I hired a chef (Huw Thornton, last of SPQR at A16 ― his sample menu is posted on the website), who is handling everything in the kitchen, and a GM (Matt Derrick of Terzo, Pesce, and Cortez) who is handling everything in the front of the house. I'm just handling the administrative details ― decoration, contracting, the wine list ― so I'm caught up while everyone else is slammed with friends-and-family [dinner] stuff.
Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger with The Lost Art of Real Cooking
When: Sat., July 24, 3-4 p.m.
Where: Omnivore Books on Food, 3885a Cesar Chavez (at Church), 282-4712
Cost: Free
