When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, it’s a good core workout. If you’re sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More
Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
For generations, coffee was not a phenomenon of terroir, where the knowledge of the farmers' methods and the backstory behind each hand-selected bean was worth the $15 price of admission.
The new Ferry Building outpost of Marla Bakery opened yesterday, and since the weather was considerably better today, I stopped by to check it out. It's outside, on the northern end of the building, near the interminable line for Gott's Roadside, and although the service area is tiny, the four tables available for patrons to eat at are very capacious.
Who doesn't love a pastry shop that makes its own sauerkraut in-house?
Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, the Tenderloin bakery that has seize Instagram by the throat, becoming the punching bag for people who mock their fellow San Franciscans' willingness to wait 45 minutes for commonly available foodstuffs, has had a hell of a year. A bizarre burglary and sudden staff departures marred their ascent into the pastry pantheon. Nothing can stop Aaron Caddel, though, and there's a new menu for fall, that includes cookies, doughnuts, cruffins, and danishes. It isn't readily available as a list, however, because not every item can be had all the time. So if you go, you're playing Cruffin Roulette. (Warning: There's a delicious bullet in every chamber.)
PostedByTrevor Felch
on Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 8:00 AM
Trevor Felch
Manresa Bread in Los Gatos
Thomas Keller branched out from The French Laundry with American comfort food at Ad Hoc and a Parisian bistro via Bouchon. Keller’s former French Laundry chef de cuisine followed the Francophile theme by opening Monsieur Benjamin four years after Benu. Coi’s Daniel Patterson and his DPG group seem to open a new venue or change an existing one every few months (Aster, Plum Bar + Restaurant, Alta CA, etc.). La Folie’s Roland Passot has Left Bank Brasseries around the Bay Area. Joshua Skenes of Saison soon will open Fat Noodle. Quince’s Michael Tusk later opened Cotogna, Acquerello has 1760, Chez Panisse has Chez Panisse Cafe…you get the picture. Prominent Bay Area chefs love opening a casual sequel.
There's a new documentary about the rebirth of the wheat economy coming in October. The Grain Divide features locals like Michael Pollan, Tartine's Chad Robertson, Community Grains' Bob Klein, Whole Grain Connection's Monica Spiller, Craig Ponsford of Ponsford's Place, and more food figures from around the country discussing whole grains, bread, and how we got so far from the basic farmer/miller/baker paradigm.
Are you bread-y for a free year's supply of Boudin's sourdough? You'll have to prove it on social media.
Boudin Bakery is opening another location in Huntington Beach on Aug. 28, and to celebrate they're rewarding 365 loaves of their famous sourdough bread to one lucky "bread winner."
While most can agree that sourdough is a superior bread, we can't help but echo Boudin's question: What would you do with a year's supply of free sourdough?
PostedByMolly Gore
on Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 12:20 PM
Molly Gore
Josey Baker's whole wheat with butter and almond butter.
After seven months as a tent in front of its brick-and-mortar space on Divisadero, The Mill officially opened its doors this morning. By its second hour the line was stacked deep and looking antsy. The new spot from Josey Baker and Jeremy Tooker (Four Barrel) is a combination bakery/cafe, a welcome marriage of Four Barrel's reliably delicious coffee and Baker's well-loved repertoire of baked goods.
If you're the type who'd rather be caught dead than drinking 7-Eleven coffee, but still want to show your support for your favorite presidential candidate (the convenience store chain claims that their unofficial coffee cup poll has successfully predicted the presidency in the last three elections), you're in luck: The Laughing Squid discovered that Feel Good Bakery in Alameda is selling loaves of sourdough bread stenciled with the likenesses of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.
It may be hard to believe, but Josey Baker is an artisan of toast, that insert-bread-into-slot standby that even 5-year-olds can handle. Every detail is lovingly attended to, from heating up the toaster to carefully spreading almond butter on every corner of the bread, and by the time he finishes up with a theatrical flourish of salt it seems (almost) a shame to eat the masterpiece.
Baker debuted his signature toasts today at The Mill, his still-under-construction collaboration with Four Barrel on Divisadero. The bakery/coffee shop won't officially open until September, but the crew has set up a makeshift tent café in the active construction site. A saw whined in the background as Baker cut a healthy slice of this morning's sunflower-pumpkin-flax-sourdough bread and held his hand over the toaster to see if it had reached the optimal temperature.
PostedByCamila McHugh
on Tue, Jul 10, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Camila McHugh
It was no surprise that Sunday brunch at Bar Tartine was delicious. The eggs on the Benedict perfectly poached, served under strips of crisp and smokey bacon, a dousing of caraway Hollandaise sauce and a handful of fresh greens. The undertones of fennel in the caraway had me convinced that this slightly sour, sort of Irish (soda bread) flavor should always be in a Benedict. The caraway also drew out the rye in the sprouted rye bread that lay underneath.
Before I wax poetic about this bread (and spread the exciting news involving Tartine Bakery's bread that is accordingly of the utmost importance to any San Franciscan), I'm calling caraway as the newest craze, à la pork belly or salted caramel. So far it's just the caraway dinner rolls at Central Kitchen and caraway seeds sneaking into the bread that sandwiches all this pastrami we're eating, but just you wait! Get ready for caraway to carry you away (sorry, couldn't resist.)
This sprouted rye redefines moisture in a loaf. More than dough, cutting open this dense, golden loaf reveals an explosion of seeds - lots of sprouted rye, (maybe some caraway?) and something that looks like pumpkin seeds. These seeds are held together by a dough that is so moist that it almost seems like its been soaked in preparation for french toast. When we ask the hostess where we can buy the bread, she directs us to Tartine Bakery, but I've rushed to Tartine too many times to make it there by 5 PM for a loaf of country bread (after wondering I should branch out and get the sesame, walnut, or olive), to know that this sprouted rye is actually not available there.
Chef Nicolaus Balla came out from the kitchen when he hears someone wants to talk about the bread, which he offers to sell me (on the underground brunch black market) for $8. In a way that is at once serious, eager and refreshingly relaxed, Balla says he's glad I like the bread and tells me that it gets better with age: "It's best on its fourth day." I'll admit I was dubious until I cut myself a slice of the dwindling loaf four days later to find the same freshness and a more potent flavor in the sprouted seeds.
The rundown: Schmendrick may be Yiddish for a stupid person, but the bagel masters at Schmendricks are anything but. They're hosting a sold out New York bagel education event at 18 Reasons this week and sold out of their signature hand-rolled Brooklyn bagels within an hour at their first pop-up last month.
Plain, onion, sesame, poppy and garlic bagels so good they don't need to be toasted are on the menu just in time to heal your St. Paddy's day hangover. Schmendricks has assured SFoodie that they'll have more bagels ready at this, their second pop-up at 780 Café's new location, but early arrival is suggested. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook for more scheduled pop-ups.
Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"
