Our favorite morsel from the blogs.
The restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times is no longer anonymous. In an incident that's caroming around the Twitterverse like the latest from Ruth Bourdain, 16-year L.A. Times critic S. Irene Virbila was ambushed at Beverly Hills restaurant Red Medicine while she was working. Noah Ellis, one of the Red Medicine's owners, walked up to Virbila, whipped out a camera, and snapped, then posted the pic on the restaurant's Tumblr site ― but not before ordering Virbila and her companions out.
This wasn't just Eater-style guerrilla gotcha, though. From the Times' account of what happened:
Ellis said he was intentionally trying to take away Virbila's anonymity because he does not like her reviews: "Our purpose for posting this is so that all restaurants can have a picture of her and make a decision as to whether or not they would like to serve her. We find that some her reviews can be unnecessarily cruel and irrational..."
To be able to bluff a spirit-forward cocktail with even a fraction of the skill displayed at Beretta would be an accomplishment. It's not out of the question, since, starting in January, Beretta master barman Ryan Fitzgerald will share tips and techniques via monthly cocktail instructional sessions. Three themed Monday evenings are planned so far, tackling the topics of whiskey, tequila, and gin, respectively. Expect to come away with an understanding of how to work with these ingredients in general, as well as with some of Beretta's specific secrets.
Beretta Cocktail Classes
When: Mon., Jan. 24 (whiskey); Mon., Feb. 21 (tequila); Mon., Mar. 21 (gin); all classes 7-9 p.m.
Where: Beretta, 1199 Valencia (at 23rd St.)
Cost: $85
Reservations: Call 695-1199, or contact info@berettasf.com
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@sfoodie.Deciding where to come down on Twenty Five Lusk ― the super-money SOMA eatery that launched in October ― depends on your closet, probably. If it harbors a $600 Theory sportcoat, SFoodie would like to introduce you to your new power center. Gap 1969 jeans hooked onto a coat rack by a belt loop? Wouldn't you feel altogether more comfortable at Citizen's Band?
SF Weekly food critic Jonathan Kauffman considers Twenty Five Lusk in today's "Eat" column. He didn't exactly find a kitchen full of culinary cool kids (the ones pushing the envelope at Sons and Daughters and Benu), only a staff diligently assembling chef Matthew Dolan's carefully limned classics, stuff like rabbit ravioli with old-school veal-stock and red-wine reduction. "Twenty Five Lusk ... passes any measure of a successful restaurant in that it achieves almost everything it sets out to do," which in this case means expressing what Kauffman calls a "polished grandeur."
Of course, the loudest message comes not from Dolan's food, but via the "cold yet sleek and masculine" interior from the mind of power architect Cass Calder Smith. In six months, Kauffman surmises, the place might host nightly throngs of diners from Danville and Atherton, but for now, it's just you and that sportcoat, dog. Try not to get veal reduction on it.
Follow us on Twitter: @sfoodie. Contact me at John.Birdsall@SFWeekly.com
It may be the most festive time of year, but expecting to get through the holidays on cheer alone is a challenge best left to our friends at the North Pole. The hot holiday cocktail can work wonders thawing out even the most disheartened Heat Miser. Behold the season's best warmers, and where to find them:
Hot chocolate
The iconic winter drink, and for good reason: Chocolate's shot of naturally occurring Phenylethylamine (PEA), the "love drug," is a panacea for the holiday blues. Prospect elevates the whole concept with Mexican Hot Chocolate ($11), a water-based combination of local TCHO 68-percent bittersweet, a custom molé paste, blanco tequila, and whipped cream. The molé spices are more warming than fiery, and the water base gives it a welcome lightness. If you prefer marshmallows in your cocoa, Slanted Door is making a rich, ganache-based hot chocolate ($11) with El Tesoro reposado topped with a Green Chartreuse marshmallow made by Jennifer Colliau of Small Hand Foods.
The toddy
Hot toddies may comfort colds, but we like them even when we aren't sick, kinda like baby aspirin. Rye Bar's Rock and Rye, complete with the allegedly curative herb horehound, soothes with citrus and a good measure of rye whiskey. The Burritt Room effects a Japanese twist, blending hot chrysanthemum tea, Yamazaki whisky, and Yellow Chartreuse for its Torii toddy. The East Bay gets in on the act at the Hotsy Totsy, with a brandy and rum flaming toddy that's both a show and a drink.
Soul Cocina chef Roger Feely brings his Soul Supper pop-up to La Victoria tonight and tomorrow night. This week's menu skews Spanish, or at least the language is bilingual when describing options like budin de chayote y hongos (baked pudding of chayote squash and crimini mushroom) and potaje de Ibes (white beans with pork, hard boiled egg, pickled red onion, and tortilla chips). Walk-ins are welcome, and it is casual and comfortable -- three elements that might be scarce in the coming days' holiday celebrations.
Soul Cocina Soul Supper
When: Tonight, Dec. 22, and Thu., Dec. 23, 6-9 p.m.
Where: La Victoria, 2937 24th St. (at Alabama), 642-7120
Cost: Menu items priced $7.50-$14
The SFoodie Advent Calendar counts down the days before Christmas/Nondenominationalwinterholiday, one treat at a time.
Sure, there's always a line at Tartine Bakery. Everybody knows that, San Franciscans as well as foodie tourists from around the world ― no wonder the bread sells out in 15 minutes. But glance through the pastry case and it's the unassuming soft glazed gingerbread ($3.75) that manages to stand out, even sitting next to the decadent chocolate friand and tart lemon bars. Beautifully formed in traditional springerle molds, the gingerbread looks more like a glazed tile meant to hang on a kitchen wall, even more than the plate it sits on. But this is a treat designed to be eaten, not admired for its decorative qualities. Take a bite and you encounter an ever-so-slight molasses bitterness and lingering ginger bite beneath the sweet, paper-thin glaze. Drier and crumblier than gingerbread (the cake) and softer and moister than gingerbread (the cookie), Tartine's hits a balance between Old World nostalgia and San Francisco tasty ― a delightful recovery from that long wait in line, only to see the shaggy-haired worker put the dreaded sign on the window: "Sold Out of Bread."
Foodies may be a relatively new term, but they have long played a role in our TV, movie, and book enjoyment. From the cookie-loving Marcel Proust and his madeleine-sparked remembrances to Cookie Monster on Sesame Street, food lovin' is all around. Just look at our cartoon friends: Garfield loved lasagna, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craved pizza power, Popeye needed spinach, and Wimpy hoarded multiple burgers. Good as those fictional gluttons were, none made it to our countdown of the top 10 fictional foodies of all time:
10. George Costanza in Seinfeld
Sure, Elaine loved a big salad and made muffin tops more famous than women in too-tight low rider jeans, and Kramer may have liked to shave and lotion up with butter (eliciting turkey fantasies in Newman), but it was George who was Seinfeld's ultimate foodie. He was the double-dipper (no real foodie would be satisfied being limited to one chip and one dip), and he was willing to eat trash, all in the name of an éclair. But George's foodie status was cemented when he aimed to answer the ultimate question: Can you mix life's two greatest pleasures, food and sex, into one? He got away with sex and a pastrami sandwich, then got greedy when he aimed for the trifecta by adding a radio. According to Jerry, "I'll tell you what you did, Caligula, you combined food and sex into one disgusting uncontrollable urge." We are so proud that he tried.
Having to watch Cupcake Wars made me roll my eyes as much as when my date last night said that he was noticing that cupcakes were a big deal. Ugh, please: That is so 2000 and late. The trend is as over as the FroYo yo-yo.
Basically we have been ignoring Cupcake Wars until now. Mission Minis was on last night's episode and with San Francisco (Yigit) winning Top Chef: Just Desserts and the Giants as World Series Champs we are extra prideful these days. We just had to partake of more competition.
Last night's show was war ― on cupcakes. Brandon Arnovick, owner of San Francisco's Mission Minis, came out with a black T-shirt and tattoos, laughing at the girls in their pink and tutus. Two words were operable here: Beat L.A., as represented by Auntie Em's. There were two other bakery competitors, but who cared?
Twelve months, ten storylines: It's SFoodie's annual look back at the year in food.
You and SFoodie and everyone we know all knows the story of how 2010 turned out to be the year of Peak Pizza.
It started slowly enough. Around the beginning of the year, Boot + Shoe Service decided pizza went well with cocktails, while Delarosa and Pi Bar paired pizza with beer ― really, really, good beer. We like cocktails. We like beer. We like pizza. We were on board.
