PizzaHacker Jeff Krupman, the man behind the Frankenweber, says he's been asking restaurants and bakeries if he could take over their dark nights for about six years now. Last week, Krupman launched a regular Tuesday night gig at the Corner, which recently morphed into a venue for regular weekly pop-ups.
Although Krupman's modified pizza grill sits outside, diners at the Corner can order pizzas, appetizers, and drinks inside the restaurant. Last Tuesday, Krupman offered his standard marinara and margherita pizzas alongside a salad with radicchio, apples, carrots, and chickpeas, and tiramisu made by Aron Hegyi of Outstanding in the Field. Krupman tells SFoodie he hopes to collaborate with more chefs and street-food friends for future dinners, including Bi-Rite's Morgan Maki, Jilli Ice Cream, and KitchenSidecar. And he's planning a Vietnamese-themed night, showcasing banh mi-inspired pizzas next to more traditional Vietnamese fare.
On Mar. 24, PizzaHacker premieres a monthly pop-up at La Victoria, with larger pizzas cooked in the gas-fired deck oven, which heats up to a roaring 650 degrees. "The oven is going to be a huge difference," Krupman says. "It'll be more conducive to takeout pizzas."
Where: Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason (at California), 772-5000
When: Sat., Mar. 12, 7-9 p.m.
Cost: $15 (discounted from $50)
Next Saturday, SF Weekly is hosting Drink, a two-hour glass-drainer devoted to cocktails, beer, and wine. Normal admission price is $50, but for today only ― like jewel-eyed cat brooches on QVC or something ― tickets are priced to move! Click fast and you can pick them up for $15, not much more than the cost of a cab ride home. Because, believe us, you don't want to think about getting behind the wheel of the Camry after this one.
Purchase at the Voice Deal of the Day page
First Annual Spring Fling Hydroponic and Organic Gardening Fair
Where: Technical Institute for Indoor Gardening, 681 Fourth St. (at Castro), Oakland, 510-891-1557
When: Sat. and Sun., Mar. 5-6, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Cost: Free
The rundown: Just like those "tobacco filtration" devices you can purchase at head shops around the country, this weekend's hydroponic gardening fair is not about weed. With advertising that boasts a full line of renewable energy products, sales on bulk soil, and lighting workshops at 11 and 2 each day, this exhibition is trying its darndest to show that hydro gardening isn't just for stoners. So come to Oakland for some great instructional information on how to grow, like, parsley in your closet. There will also be free organic snacks from "Chef Lamundo" (who?), which may be better than the Cheese Whiz and Bacon Bits you were planning to munch on the couch.
SFoodie's roundup of tips, news, and rants from the week in animal-free eats.
• Pissed about the House-approved federal funding cuts for Planned Parenthood? I am because it's total bullshit. In response, we're doing some culinary activism in the form of a delicious bake sale at this Sunday's Cupcakes for Choice! Come stuff your faces for women's rights! I'm gonna go straight Cathy on some chocolate cake. What? It's for the ladies and I love ladies!
• The Safari Club is in town this weekend and they are the fucking worst: A group of rich, trashy assholes going on trips to murder animals who are just trying to get by in their already encroached-upon natural habitats. I cannot believe that they claim to be a wildlife conservation group! That's like me saying I'm a cookie conservation group, and then eating all the cookies within a four-mile radius. Except even more insane for many reasons, including it's living, feeling beings they are destroying with their creepy bloodlust. Anyway, tell them to get fucked this Saturday in Foster City, the protest needs your help!
• Also on Saturday, there's a fundraiser happy hour for Northern California Family Dog Rescue at Doc's Clock! Is there anything better than dogs and drinks? If there is, it involves million-dollar bills raining on my face, and I ain't never seen that happen! What? I don't know, it's Friday.
• If you live in the Danville area, you're rich! Also, you're in for a treat, just like rich people often are. In fact, you're in for many sweet treats at the Harvest Home Sanctuary dessert party next Friday! If you want to meet other vegans, gorge yourself on much tastiness, and help a rad animal sanctuary, I'll see your sexy, compassionate ass there!
Eating About Beer's Winter Homebrew Dinner
Where: CommonWealth Café and Public House, 2882 Telegraph (at 29th St.), Oakland, 510-663-3001
When: Sun., Mar. 13, 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $50 for six courses, including homebrew pairings
The rundown: Do the members of the homebrew alliance that calls itself Eating About Beer pair food with beer or the other way round? Might as well try to tease out the chicken-and-egg conundrum. For its third drink-and-chew event, EAB's planned a winter menu with an apparently seamless connection between liquid and solid. Note: Show up at Commonwealth restaurant in San Francisco on Mar. 13 and you'll be SOL; this CommonWealth's in Oakland. Set your GPS tracker accordingly.
Menu highlights: Umeboshi onigiri and marinated daikon; butter-poached lobster with Sichuan lemon-pepper gastrique; beer--braised duck leg with potato-celery root purée; bananas foster brulée
Tickets at Eventbrite
SFoodie's countdown of our 92 favorite things to eat and drink in San Francisco, 2011 edition.
service on the website, there's no need to change out of the comfy-pants before placing a phone order and jumping in the car.
Whole Beast Supper Club Rabbit Tasting
Where: La Victoria Mexican Bakery and Café, 2937 24th St. (at Alabama), 642-7120
When: Fri., Mar. 18, seatings at 6:15 and 9 p.m.
Cost: $60 for five courses; BYOB
The rundown: Pop-up chef and Whole Beast impresario Kevin Bunnell turns all anthro-folk in his description of this month's ears-to-cottontail prix fixe at La Victoria: "Around the world, the rabbit has been honored and idolized as a symbol of abundance and sometimes as a trickster spirit, using only cunning and speed to escape its prey." Though, let's face it ― the bunnies Bunnell's turning into offal stew and sugo for pappardelle promise to be more about abundance than escape. Right?
Menu highlights: Offal Stew with yellow eye beans, black turnips, and rapini; fried shoulder with black mustard and carrot puree; braised leg pappardelle with roasted baby artichokes; carrot sponge with fennel-thyme Bavarian
Tickets via Eventbrite
Follow us on Twitter: @sfoodie, and like us on Facebook. Contact me at John.Birdsall@SFWeekly.com
If only Morph were a nightclub instead of an Outer Richmond Pan-Asian restaurant ― its sleek, contemporary interior features some fantastic disco lighting, including lamps projected with images of raw light bulbs. The space just begs for a DJ booth. Weeknights are sleepy, but things get lively on weekends, with crowds sipping on five-dollar soju cocktails like the Asian Tropical (soju and grenadine with pineapple, orange, and lime juices). It's a bit of an exercise in deception, since the layers evoke a tropical sunrise even as the alcohol lays you out for the night.
Morph: 5344 Geary (at 18th Ave.), 742-5093.
This week marked the passing of two Bay Area bar legends: Tommy Bermejo and Norman Jay Hobday, aka Henry Africa. Both men made a significant impact in the way we drink in San Francisco and beyond.
Bermejo is the Tommy of Tommy's, the Mexican restaurant he opened in 1965 with his wife, Elmy. While Julio, his son and official tequila ambassador, is largely responsible for the acclaimed tequila and margarita program, Tommy's influence in making his restaurant an international hub of tequila-drinking and education was unquestionable.
Besides his influence in the tequila world, he was a kind and gentle man. When SFoodie stopped by last month he was working as host, welcoming diners, and ensuring that everyone was happy and well fed, customers and employees alike.
Norman's legacy is the fern bar movement started with his bar Henry Africa's in the 1960s. It was a pioneering idea that created the singles bar, lemon drops (you know you loved them at some point in your life, don't lie), and the concept that spawned Perry's, the Brass Plum, and T.G.I. Friday's.
Here's to you, gentlemen. Cheers!
