Oh, look: The Wall Street Journal noticed JapaCurry's struggle to find a parking spot Downtown. Tomorrow's online edition of the WSJ includes a story by Jim Carlton, who talks to restaurant owners in the FiDi and beyond. One owner is conspicuous by her silence, though: Alison Rowe. Read: "Restaurants, Food Trucks in Turf War."
Follow us on Twitter: @sfoodie, and like us on Facebook. Contact me at John.Birdsall@SFWeekly.com
A series urging SFoodie readers to get their butts out of the Mission. For a couple hours anyway.
Mac is officially in session: The Bay Area's first-ever macaroni-and-cheese restaurant unlocked its doors in Oakland's Temescal neighborhood last week, and started dinner service last night.
Homeroom features a giant blackboard chalked with a map of California that locates breweries, wineries, and creameries, and there are images of tiny paper airplanes carved into the wooden tables ― it's like being in a classroom all over again. Except this is a school with 10 different kinds of mac and cheese on the menu, plus suggested beer and wine pairings. Vegan and veggie options, too.
SFoodie began with the Trailer Mac ($8.50), with cheddar cheese and Prather Ranch weenie slices, and crushed potato chips on top. We also sampled the Mexican Mac ($8.50) with Star Meats chorizo, chipotles, Jack, and cilantro, served up with a lime wedge. The heat was perfect, and there was this delicious little lime and taco flavoring that recalled our favorite pimple-inducing junk food: a Taco Bell burrito. That, or Chili Cheese Fritos. If only our teenage taste buds had been this sophisticated, and our fake IDs were good enough so we could have enjoyed the cold beers Homeroom offers. Underage? There's house-made root beer, and optional scoops of Three Twins ice cream.
A molecule called sulfur dioxide ― aka sulfites, a common preservative ― has become the crux of an ongoing disagreement between two schools of winemakers. Those who vouch for the use of the anti-oxidizing compound point out that wine has been made using sulfites since the 1400s, while those who consider it an affront to natural and healthy wine like to point out that wine was made without sulfites until the 1400s.
That latter school is a rare group. There may be only a dozen wineries worldwide that shun sulfites. If they've started with certified organic grapes, they bear the exclusive right to stamp "USDA Organic" on their wines. Meanwhile, hundreds of wineries that use certified organic grapes but protect their wines against spoilage and oxidation with just a touch of sulfites cannot, by federal law, print USDA Organic on their labels.
The pro-sulfites crowd has now petitioned for an amendment that would allow them the use of the USDA Organic seal on wines made from organic grapes. Er, naturally, the sulfite haters are passionately resisting what they call a threat to fundamental organic standards ― a debatable claim, since sulfites occur naturally.
The more restaurants calling themselves "izakaya" that I eat at in the Bay Area, the more I'm convinced that the title simply indicates a new style of American Japanese neighborhood restaurant. That's no diss, mind you, and I'm delighted with the creativity that these new chefs are showing. That said, from Izakaya Sozai to Ippuku to Chotto and Kasumi ― the subject of this week's review ― I'm encountering many of the same types of dishes, served in an atmosphere that resembles a bistro more than a bar. To get a little clarity, I called Yoko Kumano, cofounder of Umamimart. Kumano lives in Berkeley but spent four years in Tokyo.
SFoodie: So it seems half of the Japanese restaurants opening these days are calling themselves "izakaya," but I get the feeling that izakaya in Japan are something different. What, in Japan, does "izakaya" signify?
Kumano: It's a place to relax and a place to drink. Over here, the focus seems to be what you're eating. But in Japan, you go to an izakaya to talk about business or unwind. You see a lot of younger people there, people getting off work, who go there regularly. It's a place to be unruly and wild, and the price reflects that. It's like a pub in that way. In the States, the izakayas are expensive compared to what we have in Japan ― the function is completely different.
What kinds of foods do izakaya serve?
It's usually pretty cheap ― little fish, grilled things, little veggies, prepared foods like goma-ae or potato salad. The focus, again, is that you're drinking and you have these snacks that you can pick at and eat. A lot of the izakaya dishes here are hearty in comparison.
Chef's Dinner With Lauren Kiino
Where: Coffee Bar, 1890 Bryant (at Mariposa), 551-8100
When: Fri., Feb. 25, 6 and 8 p.m.
Cost: $35 (add $15 for wine pairings)
The rundown: Don't call it a pop-up. Friday night, geologist-turned-Patterson-prodigy Lauren Kiino will return to Coffee Bar for another specially curated three-course Chef's Dinner. Kiino, who helms SFoodie go-to lunch spot Il Cane Rosso, dazzled diners earlier this month with Marin Sun Farms spit-roasted pork and butter-braised mushrooms. This time around, expect olive oil-braised artichoke, leek, and carrot, oxtail stew, and much more (full menu at Coffee Bar's website).
RSVP early; despite Coffee Bar's roomy interior, the last Chef's Dinner sold out fast.
RSVP to info@canerossosf.com with your preferred seating time, party size, and phone number
SFoodie's countdown of our 92 favorite things to eat and drink in San Francisco, 2011 edition.
Know it or not, you're living through a golden age of San Francisco pastry. A generation of talented patissiers with the entrepreneurial urge is saying no to restaurant kitchens and working solo, in shops of their own or ― because this has always been a cold, cold city for the under-capitalized ― at pop-ups or farmers' markets.
Take Tell Tale Preserve Company's William Werner. The ex-Quince pastry chef has plans for his own shop, a space in Maiden Lane, and even an investor, but finds himself stuck on the fly strip of start-up bureaucracy. Thankfully, it hasn't kept Werner from firing up his stand mixer. Tell Tale sets up a stall twice a week at Ferry Plaza, stocks cases at Coffee Bar and Sightglass, and mans Trunk Show, a cafe pop-up-without-end at Big Daddy's Antiques, where you can score Werner's savory pop tarts and caramel-filled brownie sandwiches, jars of fruit curd and confiture au lait, a sort of dulce de leche. And on Tuesdays and Saturdays, usually ― Ferry Plaza market days ― Werner bakes the astonishing savory muffin he calls the Rebel Within.
Sound Bites: Eat to the Beat of the Street
Where: Public Works, 161 Erie (at Mission), 701-9500
When: Sun., Feb. 27, 3-4 p.m.
Cost: Free
The rundown: On the last day of indie-culture vortex Noise Pop, SFoodie contributor Tamara Palmer hosts a Culture Club conversation ("more informal than a panel," she says) about how street food has interfaced with local nightlife. She'll be having that conversation with Fabric8's Olivia Ongpin, host of Street Food Fridays, and alpha food-cart vendor Brian Kimball of Magic Curry Kart. And just in case you feel like interfacing with local street food, the very indie Brass Knuckle sandwich truck is parking out front.
Follow us on Twitter: @sfoodie, and like us on Facebook. Contact me at John.Birdsall@SFWeekly.com
We're not sure if news of the incoming branch of Pearl's Burgers at the corner of Sixth and Market streets spooked 6-month-old John's Burgers (it relocated to Seventh and Market), but we're sure glad Taco's Sandwiches took over John's old space. While Show Dogs, Split Pea Seduction, and Passion Cafe have brought a measure of gentrification to this gritty neighborhood, old-timer Tu Lan and a few other hole-in-the-walls have been fighting a lonely battle to offer affordable eats. Taco's Sandwiches recently joined the fight, launching an "everything under $7" campaign. It's proof that food doesn't have to be expensive to be delicious.
Don't let the name throw you - you won't find a tortilla at Taco's, just tasty sandwiches. Owner Michael Tacotaco (just call him Taco) has reason to be proud. His enormous sandwiches ($6.25-$6.75) are jammed with ingredients. Pulled-pork adobo ($6.25) is Taco's signature, made with slowly braised pork shoulder, grilled onions, house-made slaw, and chipotle aioli. The one we tried was steaming hot and really good. But it was the Cajun-dusted fish po boy ($6.25), with its oversized piece of basa, a catfish cousin, that made us swoon. The fresh-from-the-fryer fillet (tartar and hot sauce on the side) was the tastiest catfish we've had in a long time.
By the way, don't forget to check the specials board. Taco says he tries to feature something new each week.
Taco's Sandwiches: 6 Sixth St. (at Market), 863-8226. Open Mon.-Sat., 10:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; closed Sun. Cash only.
We're still in the restaurant industry's slow month. That means a lot of downtime for renovations, pick-me-ups, and new directions:
