The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco food scene.
Yesterday Jonathan Kauffman shared Ed Lee's Poongaloong recipe - just as appetizing as it sounds. The Lee-created casserole anchored by hamburger meat, macaroni, and half-bottle of ketchup, didn't entice Kauffman to bring a batch to Bingo night, but he gave the assignment to SFoodie readers, and one, a Chowhounder named Melanie, answered the call.
In a series of tweets she detailed the cooking process, from pan-searing corn in bacon fat to adding the ketchup. And while we have a a hard time imagining a pyrex dish full of Poongaloong sitting in front of smiling faces, we'll admit we may have judged the dish too soon. "Thanks @jonkauffman for weird poongaloong story and inspiration. Can't figure out that name. Mom asked for leftover for lunch, but all gone." Who knew?
We've never been keen on the little mood food rhyme, such as Arby's odd "Good Mood Food" slogan, but we digress. Mood Thai Sushi and More, the Fisherman's Wharf combo restaurant looks to be slated for a shutter, according to Grub Street. The new owners are currently waiting on a liquor license.
Thai restaurants began popping up all over San Francisco in the 1980s, and within a decade, Thai food had become a staple for first dates and Thursday-night takeouts. San Franciscan children eat almost as much pad Thai as they do organic baby carrots, and Thai restaurateurs have learned how to adapt their food to American tastes: sweeter, gentler, far lighter on the fish sauce and shrimp paste. But a few Thai restaurants are putting out gutsier, more nuanced fare, and exploring far beyond favorite American menu items like prik king and pad see euw.
Here are SFoodie's five favorite Thai restaurants in town:
Three weeks ago, William Lue put three signs up on the food truck he has rented on Townsend and Fourth. The first, "Burmese Gourmet," he moved over from his Concord truck when he decided to break back into the San Francisco food scene. The second is a white board listing the day's specials: catfish chowder over noodles, grilled pork with garlic noodles, samosas, and tea leaf salad. The third sign extols the salad's many virtues, most notably a jolt of caffeine."Whoever thinks salad is boring needs to try this!" It says. Nothing costs more than $5.
Word-of-mouth buzz has been good to Maverick. The Southern-style Mission restaurant is at the top of many lists when it comes to recommending a good brunch spot for out-of-town guests. Just mention the famous fried chicken that rules their dinner menu, and loyalists will wax poetic about its virtues.
Where: Berkeley Botanical Gardens
When: Sun., October 16, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Cost: Free with garden admission
The rundown: The weather's supposed to be bright and beautiful on Sunday, so why not head to Berkeley where it's even brighter and more beautiful, and bask in the glory of the botanical gardens? WHY NOT? While you're at it, you can tour the garden's harvest of colorful food crops that originated in the Americas. Always Be Learning! At 2 p.m., there will be a native foods tasting and an opportunity to do some kind of craft. I am guessing it'll involve basket weaving or dreamcatcher making, or something equally... Berkeley. Enjoy! -- Follow us on Twitter: @sfoodie, and like us on Facebook.
SFoodie is sitting down with the city's most intelligent, influential, and experienced coffee folk to pick their brain about what makes our city such a hot bed of coffee trends.Today we speak with Archie Archer of Sightglass Coffee about his dedication to discovering the beauty and individual experiences of a single cup of coffee.
What is it about coffee that fascinates you so much?
Seeking beauty and sharing experiences -- that's my purpose in life. When you taste excellent coffee, it can be traced back to the work of the farmers, the varietal, the quality of processing and the terroir. When I taste a great cup of coffee, I have an empirical experience with that product. There's so much beauty in that cup it's almost spiritual. It can be wine or coffee or a painting, they all have this inspirational beauty that we can't fully explain and it is so exciting to explore that.
Brad Lev founded Studio Gourmet while still living in Atlanta, Georgia. He owned a catering business, which was headquartered in a 5,000 square foot space, perfect for special events. He started hosting special evenings like "Swinging Sushi" (sushi class and swing dancing!), Tango and Tapas (guess!) and Studio Gourmet, a monthly culinary event that brought local chefs in front of a live audience for a cooking demo, interview, and tasting. So wildly popular that Lev brought it to San Francisco when he moved.
Since transplanting, he's hosted five Studio Gourmet shows, featuring the likes of Martin Brock from Gary Danko, Matthew Accarrino from SPQR, and Hoss Zare from Zare at Flytrap. Quite a line-up! Even with all those big names, Lev can't pick a favorite, "because they all have such different stories and experiences. They also have all brought amazing food to try!"
According to an article yesterday in the Huffington Post, the Jensen Farms listeria outbreak has now killed 23 people and sent 116 to the hospital, making it America's deadliest case of foodborne illness in several decades.
While the FDA investigates the farm to find out exactly how the farm's cantaloupes became contaminated, NPR's food blog asks a different question: Why didn't more of us get sick? After all, people in 25 states got sick, so presumably hundreds of thousands more cantaloupe eaters were exposed.
Apparently, people taking stomach-acid-reducing drugs are more at risk for getting sick, since the acidity in the gut kills off many of the bugs. And the average age of those afflicted is 78, and older adults don't have immune systems strong enough to fight off such a virulent bacteria. Those of us with locavorist tendencies may see this nationwide outbreak as a result of the industrialization of the food; the scientists interviewed by the NPR might agree -- the longer produce contaminated with listeria is stored, even in the refrigerator, the more the bacteria multiply.
