Life Begins at 30

happy little things.

Hog Island Happy Hour, originally uploaded by jen_maiser.

Thanks for hanging with me while things have been a little quiet around here.  I usually work freelance doing (data) consulting projects from home.  But in the past few months, I've had a project that requires me to go into an office in the East Bay several days a week.  I love the project, and am thrilled for the opportunity but it's thrown my entire schedule out of whack and it's my blog and my writing that suffer.

Things are good around here -- they have been for a while, which is fun and lovely. 

So this morning I woke up to go to my East Bay job.  Got dressed and ready and then received a phone call from my contact there asking me to work from home.  It's a good day.

Other things that are making me happy this week:

- A fantastic gin and tonic from Bix the other night: (local) 209 Gin and Fevertree tonic.  Doesn't get much better than that.

- The great speech from Marketa Irglova last night at the Oscars.  She is one half of the Once duo and she and Glen Hansard won for best song.  She didn't get a chance to speak because the music was brought up before she spoke.  In my favorite moment of the night, Jon Stewart brought her back and had her make her speech:

"The fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this, it's just proof that no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream, and don't give up. This song was written from the perspective of hope, and hope, at the end of the day, connects us all, no matter how different we are."

- Hog Island Oyster Company's Happy Hour.  I hadn't been there in quite a while, and it's as good as ever.  $1 oysters and $3.50 beers.  Monday and Thursday nights, 5pm to 7pm.  We also had a delicious cooked scallop dish that's worth a try if it's still on the menu.

- Did you catch Governor Huckabee on SNL this weekend?  Politics aside, it was an entertaining skit.  (Sound quality on this video is terrible).

- I finally made it to Sebo.  Holy delicious temple of sushi.

- This "freeze project" that took place in Grand Central Station last month and was repeated in San Francisco this weekend.  I wish I would have seen it.

a stellar 10 days of food

   
    lunch at pizzetta, originally uploaded by jen_maiser.

               

I know that many phone calls lately have gone unreturned, blog posts have gone unwritten, and photos have gone un-uploaded.  The truth is that I've been busy.  Eating.

About week ago, it was cold and rainy here in San Francisco.  My throat was hurting, and I was tired from a weekend of parties.  I sat across from a friend at Thai House Express.  M had suggested the location for a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

I took a bite.

"This is the best thing I've eaten in a week," I said.

It was sublime.  After a second bite, it had become my favorite chicken soup in San Francisco.  The broth was clean and flavorful, the wide rice noodles and chicken transcendent with tiny crispy bits of God-knows-what that added an extra punch of flavor that I loved.

"What about Shin Toe Bul Yi?"  he asked.

"Oh yah, and then there was that good dish at King of Thai Noodles, and -- oh yah!  Pizzetta 211!"

When you've found your favorite chicken noodle soup in San Francisco and it is probably the third or fourth best thing you've eaten in 10 days, you know it's been a great few days.

M lived in San Francisco for years and was back visiting. He had a restaurant list, scribbled on the back of an envelope, in his back pocket the whole time he was here.  I was game to join him at quite a few (but not nearly all), and added a couple suggestions of my own to create a memorable trip of food in my own city.

Shin Toe Bul Yi.  This Korean restaurant in the Sunset is known by many to have the best fried chicken in San Francisco.  I love it, find the beef kalbi and panchan to be ok, and think that they have the best menu translations in all of San Francisco.  Can't find the fried chicken?  Look for "Chicken Small Pieces.  Little spicy.  (Deep fried)."  Tip: the fried chicken is only available at dinner time.

Hing Lung.  I've only ever had Hing Lung duck jook to go, but it's like magic to eat it late at night with chili paste stirred in.  It's on Broadway in Chinatown and I've heard that the only thing to eat here is the jook and the donuts.

SPQR.  M knew I wanted to take him here, and at 8 pm on a Saturday night announced that we should go.  "No way in hell," was my response.  I knew how popular it had gotten, and put my foot down.  He persisted and we ended up getting in 45 minutes later though the quoted time was 2.5 hours.  I didn't pull any weight (not that I have any to pull), or ask for any special favors.  It was just a fortuitous question that got us in.  And I'll never tell how.

Pizzetta 211. If I ever leave San Francisco, Pizzetta is one of the restaurants that I miss the most.  There is not much that compares to whiling away the afternoon in the corner seats of Pizzetta with perfectly executed pizzas, good company, and a quintessential San Francisco feel.  We shared two pizzas and a salad -- the winner was a rich no-tomato pizza with chard and potatoes.  Delicious.

NOPA.  I won't go on record with the number of hours that Stephanie and I were bellied up to the bar table here, but it was a fun Sunday afternoon/evening.  M. joined us a bit later in the evening (after we'd tasted most of their absinthe cocktails) and we had a good meal, highlighted by white beans in tomato sauce and a fantastic dessert.

Alembic.  The Alembic remains my favorite hang-out place -- a perfect mix of star bartenders shaking drinks in sixteenth-note triplets and a kicked-back atmosphere.

King of Thai Noodles (Clement at 4th location).  Pad Kee Mao, spicy with beef (stir fried dal rice noodles green long bean, bell pepper, thai chili and basil) is the best thing in the city to eat at 2 in the morning.

Incanto. This was my favorite meal at Incanto ever and went a long way in helping me understand why people love it so much. We sat at the bar, and had a quick bite of pastas before leaving for a busy Saturday night.

Tajine.  Tajine wasn't on his list, but hit the spot one day as I picked it up to go.  A highlight was the chicken with preserved lemons and olives.

Thai House Express (Larkin location).  As stated above:  Best. Chicken. Noodle. Soup in the City.  We had other great things, but it was all eclipsed by the soup.

A16.  You all know how much I love the new little sister to A16 (Yes, I've decided that SPQR is a woman -- sassy and cool and oh-so San Franciscan).  So the truth is that A16's glory had dulled in my mind a tad in the past few months.  I have so many memories of A16, though, and have had so many stellar meals that this apathy was not going to last long:  My love for A16 is back in force.  Arriving close to 10 on a Tuesday night, we were seated immediately.  With four of us, we were able to order a good portion of the menu.  I am pleased to say that the pizzas were spot on, the tuna conserva appetizer was remarkable, and that Liza Shaw must be performing miracles in the kitchen.

Yamo.  This is a Burmese restaurant in the Mission -- a place that M has mentioned many times as something he craves.  The take-out food that he brought me -- especially the curry chicken --  was good enough that I would go back.

Cafe Rouge. I have to admit to mixed feelings about Cafe Rouge.  While I think that it's fine, I've never found it to be revelatory.  However, it's difficult to knock a place with a $1 oyster happy hour with deliciously executed oysters.  This restaurant wasn't on his list or mine -- was just a last minute decision as he headed out of town.  It was a lovely meal, and a good way to end a grand run of restaurants.

A week of food-related emails

The Blue Bottle Siphon, originally uploaded by jen_maiser.

It's been an incredibly busy couple of work weeks.  Thought you'd enjoy a glimpse into my email outbox from the past few days, as there has been a lot of food chatter among my friends and me.

-------
to: AP
subj: tonight

I am on BART in oakland and it's 11 pm.  And I have a bag with a turkey leg and sorghum molasses sitting next to me.

What the hell is this life.

-------
to: SL & JB
subj: la trip

We have a reservation at Mozza.  and for the record, that was like calling a radio station.

-------
to: ALD
subj: potstickers

I randomly bought Trader Joe's potstickers this week in a fit of "I-don't-have-time-to-cook-from-scratch".   Made them today and no matter how I dress them up (side of arugula salad with soy, rice vinegar and sesame oil and topped with black sesame seeds and chili oil) they still taste exactly like they did when we were Juniors in school making them in the microwave in the dorm.

-------
to: JA
subj: gah

Do you know where Daniel went?????

-------
to: DS
subj: BBCC

Went to the new Blue Bottle yesterday. Had the siphon coffee + it was great.

-------
to: SL
subj: SPQR

5:05 and the line was already about 30 people long.  Not sure I'm happy about this.  Damn Bauer.

-------
to: BP
subj: my turkey leg

I'm eating it right now and it's DEFINITELY the best part of my day ... thanks again.

CUESA panel discussion: Is food safe to eat?

On Monday, January 7, you'll find me at the free CUESA panel discussion called "Is it safe to eat? A panel discussion about food safety solutions"

This event features several interesting panelists and I am looking forward to an high level discussion about food safety.

From the CUESA website:

panelists: C. Noelle Ferdon, Senior Organizer, Food and Water Watch
Kevin Zelig Golden, Staff Attorney, Center for Food Safety
Elisa Odabashian, Director of the West Coast Office, Consumers Union

description: E. coli, Salmonella, GMOs, pesticides…every week, it seems, news arrives of the latest potential danger in our food supply. When the very thing that is meant to nourish us may also do us harm, how can consumers be conscious without being paranoid? A panel of food safety experts will discuss strategies for making our food safer and the powerful forces that are keeping the status quo in place. Learn about the latest advocacy efforts, proposed legislation, and legal actions that these groups are taking to ensure that our basic human needs are met without compromising our health, and find out how your food choices can make a difference. Join us at 6:30 for a reception with light refreshments. Discussion begins at 7. This event is free and open to the public.

location: Port Commission Hearing Room, Ferry Building, (Embarcadero at Market St.), San Francisco

San Francisco Oil Spill & Our Local Fishing Industry

I've posted about the state of our local fishing industry in light of the San Francisco oil spill on Bay Area Bites.

I was fortunate to be able to interview Kathy and Steve Fosmark yesterday for the article -- they are husband and wife and in the fishing industry.  Talking to them really brought the devastation of this oil spill home for me -- when you are talking to real people whose livelihoods are being threatened by human error and slow response, it's hard to ignore what's happened.

One of the things I didn't talk about in the KQED article is the fact that the fishermen have been pushing to be part of an emergency response team, and are frustrated by the fact that this plan wasn't in place for the spill.  My understanding is that the boats already are required to have equipment which would make them perfect soldiers to help contain an oil spill.  And they are highly motivated to help in any way possible.  All they need is the green light to be able to help.

As an update to this morning's post, the Governor has suspended fishing and crabbing until December 1 at the earliest.  From the Chronicle article:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order late this morning suspending all fishing and crabbing for human consumption in areas affected by the Cosco Busan fuel spill until at least Dec. 1.

The ban includes all of San Francisco Bay, along with affected shorelines, coastlines and waters of San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, Solano and Sonoma counties.

How to Cook Your Life

I wrote about the new movie How to Cook Your Life this week on Bay Area Bites.  There are a lot of people in my life who I want to take to see this movie.  Seeing it validated how strongly I feel about food and how cooking is such an integral part of my life.  Many of you, I'm sure, can relate to this.  Being in the kitchen and chopping, and tearing, and tasting and listening is what grounds me.  It can be better than a massage or a therapy session or a great phone call with a good friend.  How To Cook Your Life put this concept in the context of Zen practice, and entertained me along the way.

It's starting this weekend in San Francisco and then will be in a few additional cities later this month -- check the site for more details.

Parking Day!

Hey y'all, it's San Francisco Parking Day -- a day in which members of the community create temporary park spaces in parking spots around the city.  The photo above is the parking space that was created as joint effort between Bonnie Powell / Ethicurean and Curbed SF (that's Bonnie in the photo).  I had a couple minutes to see it this morning, and it's a very cool urban chicken display.  If you have a chance, check it out on 3rd between Brannan and Bryant before 3.  More info on Ethicurean.

A great week

last Sunday: Fairfax Scoop, Strawberry ice cream
Monday: Bi-Rite Creamery, Malted vanilla ice cream with peanut brittle and milk chocolate
Wednesday: Repeat Monday
Thursday: Repeat Monday
Sunday: Repeat Monday

Lucky for my waistline, I will be out of town most of this week!

Does it count if I post somewhere else?

I posted about the Mountain View Farmer's Market today on Bay Area Bites.  I am really enjoying this farmers' market series as it gets me out of my normal farmers' market cycle, and I have been able to find some fun and exciting new markets.

In other news, I received an email today announcing that Percy Schmeiser is going to be in the Bay Area in a couple weeks.  If you saw The Future of Food, you may remember Schmeiser as the farmer from Canada who was sued by Monsanto. 

• Monday, November 13, Santa Cruz, Live Oak Grange (831-423-2263)
• Tuesday, November 14, UC Berkeley, North Gate Hall (510-847-7141)
• Thursday, November 16, Sonoma, Burlingam Hall (707-935-7960)
• Friday, November 17, Ukiah, Mendocino Community College Little Theater (707-468-3012)
• Saturday, November 18, Pt. Arena/Manchester, Garcia Grange (707-882-3425)

All programs begin at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m. Cost is a $10 donation (except for UC Berkeley, which is free), and no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

For more information, check out the CCOF website.

And ... why don't I leave you with a photo today?  A couple of weeks ago, I went to Pt. Reyes with some good friends and this picture (along with the Halloween spiders) is from that trip.  It was a bittersweet trip for me for a ton of reasons, but it was a beautiful weekend and I got some ok pictures.

I'm off to LA for a few days (quite a few, actually) so you can look forward to a few posts from there.  See you tomorrow!

Food Politics at Litquake TONIGHT

This information is from an email I received:

Tuesday, October 10
6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program

The Politics of Food looks at what we eat and why it matters. Food is rapidly becoming one of the most politicized commodities in America. From toxic agribusiness to genetically modified foods to Wal-Mart’s push into organics, the subject of what we put in our mouths and how it affects not only our bodies, but the earth, is a red-button issue in the 21st century. This panel of journalists, food activists, and scientists will discuss the politics of food from every angle. The Commonwealth Club (595 Market Street, Second Floor). $12 for Commonwealth and Litquake e-newsletter subscribers (bring a newsletter with you); $20 otherwise

Lineup includes: Ignacio Chapela, Christopher D. Cook, Michele Simon, and Bryant Terry. Moderator: Julie Cummins, of Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA).

Ignacio Chapela is a microbial ecologist and mycologist at U.C. Berkeley, and an outspoken critic of the University’s ties to the biotechnology industry. Chapela founded The Mycological Facility, a facility dealing with questions of natural resources and indigenous rights, and collaborates with indigenous communities in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Ecuador on issues rights to genetic resources.

Christopher D. Cook is an award-winning investigative journalist and author of Diet for a Dead Planet: Big Business and the Coming Food Crisis. He has written for Harper’s, The Economist, The Christian Science Monitor, Mother Jones, and other publications.He is a member of the San Francisco Writer’s Grotto.

Michele Simon is a public health lawyer and director of the Center for Informed Food Choices. She teaches at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and has published numerous articles on the food industry. Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back is her first book.

Bryant Terry is a whole foods chef, food justice activist, and co-author of Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen (Tarcher/Penguin 2006) with Anna Lappé (foreword by Eric Schlosser). Bryant and his recipes have been featured in the New York Times, Gourmet, Food and Wine, and many other publications

For more information, and the full Litquake festival schedule, please see: http://www.litquake.org

Comfort Food: Parmesan Toast with Tomatoes

I have mentioned some of my comfort foods before.  There's spaghetti with tamari and mushrooms and Mexican rice made the way my grandmother makes it. In this post, I talked about making spaghetti the way we always made it at home, and mom immediately emailed me asking "Is anything wrong?  Why are you reverting to your comfort food?"

One of the foods that was ubiquitous in our house growing up is shown in a pretty close rendition above:  bread with melted parmesan, tomatoes, and Vegesal.  In our childhood house, it was usually sourdough slices.  Today, I used Acme epi baguette, dry-farmed Early Girl tomatoes from Ella Bella, and parmigiano reggiano.  I put the bread with parmesan under the broiler for a few minutes, and then added the tomatoes.

It's tempting to fancy it up with additional toppings or seasonings, but for it to be the comfort food of my childhood it basically needs to be only the ingredients above.  For me, the only allowed substitution is avocados instead of tomatoes if I have them.

Since I've moved to San Francisco, my comfort food repertoire has changed somewhat.  Now I include the following among my comfort foods:

• Pho from Yummy Yummy
• Beef bibimbap from My Tofu House
• Harvest Pork from Henry's Hunan
• Salmon wappa with ikura from Maki
• Lentil soup from Pizzetta 211
• Tacos al pastor from the El Novillo taco truck

I know that in American restaurants, comfort food dishes include meatloaf, short ribs, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, but when it's my turn for comfort foods, I turn to dishes that are slightly more eclectic.

Shopping While Sparing the Air

 

During the summer months when ground-level ozone, or "smog," becomes a pollution problem, we issue Spare the Air advisories for days on which air quality is expected to be unhealthy.  On Spare the Air Days, we ask Bay Area residents to fight pollution by driving less, taking public transportation, trip-linking, walking, biking, choosing not to use gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment, and avoiding polluting household products.

I woke up this morning knowing that it was a Spare the Air day in the Bay Area, but also knowing that leaving my car at home seriously did not fit into my plan for the day.  I left a message on my friend Jen's voice mail.  She works for Breathe California, a group that, among other things, encourages people to use alternate methods of transportation and to leave their cars at home.  "I know it's a spare the air day, but can't I just drive up to the San Rafael Farmers' Market?  It's not like I have to go, but I have time today and I'd really like to,"  I asked guiltily.  When I talked to her later all she said was "If you must."  I momentarily decided that I was going to go, and convinced myself that it would be okay since I was going to combine all my errands and drive as little as possible.

It was then that I remembered Siel.  Better known as Green LA Girl, Siel posted last week about her adventures taking the bus in Los Angeles from her home in Santa Monica all the way to the Ikea in Burbank.  Anyone who's spent time in Los Angeles knows that this is no easy task. 

That was it.  If Siel could get to a location nearly 27 miles away on a bus in Los Angeles, then I could do without my car in this major city for a day.  I only had to run a couple simple errands and then I could go to the Thursday Night Farmers' Market at the Ferry Building instead of trekking to San Rafael. 

 

I donned my hugely comfortable Keen shoes and headed out on to the bus.  The first stop would be the CSA drop-off site to pick up my Eatwell CSA Box.  We usually pick up a cardboard box full of our items, but since I'd be on the bus, I grabbed a few canvas bags and my new shopping basket for my trip.

 

511.org has agreed to have free transportation for the first 3 Spare the Air days this year.  And since this was the first Spare the Air day, all transportation -- MUNI, Bart, and ferries -- was free.  On my bus rides today, I didn't notice an abnormally high level of riders, but I am not a good judge of that.

 

After a short bus ride and a walk of a few blocks, I was at our pick-up site.

 

I filled my basket with all our goodies (carrots, turnips, lettuce, strawberries, cherries, cabbage, potatoes, summer squash and herbs), and was soon headed back home to drop everything off.

I later had it in my head that there was some additional fruit that I wanted to get.  I was craving a fruit salad, and wanted to taste some stone fruit to see where it was in the season.  I got back on the (free) bus, and headed toward the Ferry Building.  I found a highly appropriate podcast to listen to, and was off.  At the Ferry Building, I picked up some Out the Door spring rolls for dinner, some of Jason's favorite jams, and some fruits.  This is a fun, if tiny market.  The booths are set up in the middle hallway of the Ferry Building, and most of the inside stores have small tables set up to add to the market atmosphere.  I ate a delicious sausage from Golden Gate Meats, and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the Ferry Building.

 

After leaving the market, I hopped on (free) MUNI to go to Jason's work and pick him up on foot, or to offer him dinner if he was going to stay at work (because that's the kind of girl I am).  He decided to go home with me, and we walked back to the bus.

Tomorrow is another Spare the Air day and all transportation will be free again.  If you want to participate, try planning your trip using 511.org in the Bay Area.

Former Blue Bottle Barista Injured

Any of you who have been to the Blue Bottle Coffee Company kiosk or one of their farmers' market booths have probably met Steve Ford, who was a constant presence at Blue Bottle until he recently left for Ecco Cafe in Santa Rosa.  Steve was also the writer behind Blue Bottle Clown College, and many food bloggers met him last year at the Bay Area Picnic.

I just found out (via SFist) that Steve fell out of a three-story window last month and broke his back and his ankle.  He's recovering at his home in Oakland.

For more info, best to read about it on his blog.  A friend of his is doing a pretty funny t-shirt as a fundraiser, and his friends at coffeegeek have arranged a fund to help cover some medical expenses.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Steve!

photo courtesy of flourphoto.

Michael Pollan Speaks ... All over the Bay Area

If you live in the Bay Area and are interested in seeing Michael Pollan speak in the next couple months, you will have ample opportunity.  Mr. Pollan, whose book was released this past Tuesday, seems to have scheduled the Bay Area tour several times over.  I am excited that we will have so many opportunities to see him speak!

Below is a listing of his most recent schedule in the Bay Area.  For the most up-to-date information, or to confirm these dates, please visit his site and official schedule.  If you live outside of the Bay Area, visit his schedule as well to find events in Los Angeles, Washington state, Portland, New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Washington DC, and Austin.

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Monday, April 17
Searching for the Perfect Meal in a Fast Food World
Location: Andersen Auditorium, Haas School of Business, Berkeley campus
More information here

Wednesday, April 26
City Arts & Lectures
Cost: $18.50
Location: Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
More information here

Friday, April 28
Cody's on 4th Street
More information here

Tuesday, May 2
Barnes & Noble, Walnut Creek
More information here

Thursday, May 4
Reception with Michael Pollan benefitting the Center for Land-Based Learning. 
A wine and cheese reception.
Cost: $25
Location: Farm on Putah Creek, Winters, CA
More information here

Sunday, May 7
Book Passage, San Francisco Ferry Building
More information here

Wednesday, May 31
A Clean Well Lighted Place for Books, San Francisco
More information here

Thursday, June 1
Rakestraw Books, Danville
More information here

Thursday, June 8
Mrs. Dalloway's Literary & Garden Arts
Berkeley
More information here

Don't think you will be able to see him speak?  Listen to his interview on Fresh Air with Terri Gross or read this interview by Carol Ness in the SF Chronicle.  Also, fellow Bay Area Bites writer Shuna Lydon wrote a great post about Mr. Pollan's presentation at the Food Politics lecture.  You can find more links in Marc's comments below (thanks Marc!).

Washoku Cooking at Medicine

I get shy around people I look up to.  I have been attending the UC Berkeley food politics lectures on Wednesdays and have seen Michael Pollan a couple times.  But have I spoken to him?  Of course not.  What would I say, "Your article Power Steer singlehandedly changed my life."  I would be too embarrassed, or I would just become verklempt.  What if he thought I was some crazy fan?

So when I attended the Washoku Dinner at Medicine last Thursday, I practiced some things that I was going to tell Elizabeth Andoh if I had the chance.  I wanted to congratulate her on her James Beard nomination.  I wanted to tell her that her book is now smudged and broken in, and only over a period of two months.  I wanted to tell her about our fun New Year's Eve dinner and how it all came from her book.

So I was eating dinner and all of a sudden there she was standing next to me.  "Do you have any questions about anything?" she asked.  "Your book is just amazing," I started.  "Thank you - what have you cooked from it?"  Suddenly every Japanese word I knew flew out of my brain.  "Well I love the salts," I said.  The salts?  Well I do love the salts.  But what about the miso-marinated fish, or the yaki omusubi, or the negi miso or the satsuma imo to kombu no uma ni?  That last one is sweet potato simmered with kelp -- I was just showing off.   Anything would have been better than "the salts" which are one of the easiest things in the whole book to make.  Ms. Andoh didn't skip a beat and she talked to me about the salts and I only became a little verklempt. 

You can read about the rest of the dinner here on Bay Area Bites.

Food Politics Spring 2006 Lecture Series - Berkeley

Did you know that Michael Pollan and Marion Nestle are both currently teaching at UC Berkeley?  The school of public policy is hosting an eight week lecture series called Food Politics that is free to the public.  Lectures are each Wednesday at 4 pm.  More information and speaker list below.

Food Politics Spring 2006 lecture series, Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m. Room 250, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley This is a free event. Public welcome.

Introduced by: Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University & Visiting Professor, UC Berkeley Author of Food Politics and What to Eat

February 8
Peter Menzel & Faith D’Aluisio Photojournalist and Writer, co-authors of Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

February 15
Mark Ritchie Pres., Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy Putting the Politics into Food Politics: Turning Your Good Ideas into Public Policy

February 22
Ignacio Chapela Assoc. Prof., ESPM, UC Berkeley GMOs Among Us: The Biopolitics of Genetically Engineered Foods

March 1
Michele Simon Adjunct Prof., University of Calif., Hastings College of the Law, & Dir., Center for Informed Food Choices How Big Food Resists Government Regulation: Corporate Spin in the Obesity Debate

March 8
Paul Rozin Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Prof. of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania Why, What, and When Do We Eat: Implications for Food Policy

March 15
Alice Waters Restaurateur (Chez Panisse), Author, Advocate Changing the World, One Meal at a Time

March 22
Harold McGee Author, Food & Cooking: The Science & Lore of the Kitchen Playing with Food: Science and Action in the Kitchen

April 5
Michael Pollan Knight Prof. of Journalism, UC Berkeley, and Author, The Botany of Desire and The Omnivore's Dilemma The Cornification of America

The Real Dirt on Farmer John - Back in Theaters

Last year, I reported about seeing the movie The Real Dirt on Farmer John - the documentary movie about an organic farmer outside of Chicago.  The movie is going to be shown on several theaters throughout the nation, and here in the Bay Area will include Q&A sessions by Farmer John and director Taggart Siegel.  See the list below or look here for further details.

CHICAGO - Friday, January 20.  Esquire 6 Theater at 58 East Oak St. Farmer John and Director Taggart Siegel in attendance for Q & A following the film.

MINNEAPOLIS - Friday, January 20. Regal Brooklyn Center 20 Theatre at 6420 Camden Avenue North in Brooklyn Center Farmer John and Director Taggart Siegel in attendance for Q & A following the film on Saturday January 21st.

Friday, January 20. Crown Block E 15 at 600 Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis

SAN FRANCISCO - Opening Night on Friday, January 27. Presidio Theater at 2340 Chestnut St. Farmer John in attendance for Q & A following the film on Opening Night. (415) 776-2388

BERKELEY - Opening Night on Friday, January 27. Shattuck Landmark Theater at 2230 Shattuck Avenue Director Taggart Siegel in attendance for Q & A following the film on Opening Night.

SANTA CRUZ - Opening Night on Friday, January 27. The Nickelodeon Theater at 210 Lincoln Street

SANTA ROSA - Opening Night on Friday, January 27. The Rialto Lakeside at 551 Summerfield Road

SAN RAFAEL - Opening Night on Friday, January 27. The Rafael Film Center at 1118 Fourth Street

PORTLAND - Opening Night on Saturday, January 28 at 5:00 pm. Cinema 21 at 616 NW 21st Avenue Farmer John and Director Taggart Siegel in attendance for Q & A following the film on Opening Night. Scheduled to run February 1 – February 9

SAN DIEGO - Opening Night on Friday, February 10. Mission Valley Cinemas (Hazard Center) at 7510 Hazard Center Drive

DEL MAR - Opening Night on Friday, February 10. Flower Hill Theater at 2630 Via De La Valle

TEMPE - Opening Night on Friday, February 24. Valley Art

DENVER - Opening Night on Friday, February 24. Cherry Creek 8 at 3000 East 1st Avenue

BOULDER - Opening Night on Friday, February 24. United Artists Village Theater at 2525 Arapahoe Avenue

SANTA MONICA - Opening Night on Friday, March 10. The Laemmle Santa Monica at 1332 Second Street

WEST HOLLYWOOD - Opening Night on Friday, March 10. Sunset 5 at 8000 Sunset Boulevard

PASADENA - Opening Night on Friday, March 10. Pasadena Playhouse 7 at 673 E Colorado Boulevard

ORANGE COUNTY - Opening Night on Friday, March 10. Edwards University Town Center 6 at 4245 Campus Drive (949) 854-8818

book sale

If you are in San Francisco this weekend, get to the Big Book Sale if you can.  I bought all these books for $18.  If you go on Sunday, all books are $1 each.

Take patience.  Take water.  For goodness sake, when they offer you a basket don't be stubborn like me - take it.  Let me know if you find anything fun.

first annual food bloggers picnic

this is the reason that i feel ten pounds heavier today than yesterday.  read the glowing reports and see the pictures (the meat!  the andouille!)  here:

sam
fatemeh
biggles
charlotte
bunrab

it was so lovely to meet you all.  really wonderful. 

The voodoo is working.

This is from Grace Ann Walden's column today:

Andrew  Jaeger, a chef from a renowned New Orleans restaurant family, will in the next couple of weeks bring his Creole-style recipes and jazz to the Condor, and open Andrew Jaeger's House of Seafood & Jazz in the legendary North Beach club. He's leased space in the Condor from SAW Entertainment, which owns most of the topless clubs on Broadway. Jaeger also has a New Orleans restaurant with the same name in the French Quarter, at  300 Decatur St.

For his San Francisco restaurant, he says, "I don't know if y'all put a spell on me, but I'm sourcing my ingredients, and I'm going to take a look at grass-fed beef and organic vegetables."

Jaeger's bigger-than-life tastes and personality should be a good fit for the club that launched the topless club craze in the '60s.

In recent years, the Condor had morphed into a sports bar, and in the past few months had gone upscale decor-wise for a short-lived changeover to a burlesque venue. But offering burlesque in a neighborhood  with so many topless and bottomless attractions was fruitless. The Condor's sign will remain; Jaeger will also put up his own sign.

He will serve food in the dining room-bar area that runs along Columbus and offer live jazz in the part of the club that faces Broadway.  Appetizers will be $10 to $19, entrees $25 to $39.

How can he run two restaurants thousands of miles apart? Jaeger says that the summer business is slow in New Orleans, while it's busy here.

A dead giveaway

#1 clue that you live in San Francisco and it's almost June:

Did you just hear a foghorn?

I moved here 5 years ago from Southern California, and I believe I cried through that entire first June.  San Francisco is F-O-G-G-Y during June.  The first year, I was scared to believe all the locals who said "Wait till September and October - it's beautiful".  It's the truth.  If it happens to be your first year living here, just know that it will be like this for a while.  Try to get into the Zen of it and do what we do - laugh at all the tourists wearing shorts and bundle up in your jacket.  It will get better.  I promise.  Wait till September.

love the place you live

I am having a love affair lately ... with San Francisco.  I don't know if it's the weather, or the vibe of the people in town right now, but I just can't get enough of my city (I called it that the other day and Jason said, "Hey, it's my city too!").  The sunrise in the morning has been fantastic, with the downtown buildings surrounded by pink from the dawn. 

This morning, I woke up starving.  I usually don't eat breakfast, but decided to go to Dottie's True Blue Cafe on Jones.  The breakfast was great -- all of their baked goods are made by the restaurant, and I had a particularly good, thick slice of cornbread.

But the thing that was remarkable to me was all the tourists.  Here I was, having rolled out of bed with a mess of hair and no make-up, having a casual breakfast and I was among many tourists who were ready to  have their day in SF.  A couple were reading guide books, one was writing postcards.  It was one of those things that jolted me into remembering how lucky I am to live in this vibrant, destination town. 

I think (I hope) that there are places in all of our hometowns that remind us why we love living there, and why it's such a special, unique place.

If you live in San Francisco, I have some places in mind to help you remember just that. 

Of course, you probably have your own that are special to you, but here's some to get you started: 

Amoeba Records
Lafayette Park
The Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market at 8 am on a Saturday - open and ready for business
Desiree Cafe lunchbox eaten at Crissy Field
Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge on your way to run an errand and realizing how many people are on the bridge for whom this is a lifetime experience
The view from Point Bonita
Stella Bakery in North Beach
Chinatown
Brunch on Sundays at Le Petit Robert
Standing in line at Mitchell's Ice Cream
Taco crawling in the Mission
Green Apple Books
A beer on a September afternoon at Pier 23
Pac Bell SBC AT&T (?) Park

Blue Bottle Coffee Company - New Kiosk in Hayes Valley

Blue Bottle Coffee Company opened a kiosk today in Hayes Valley. 

It's a red letter day - the kiosk will be open every day, 7 am - 4pm.  The cappucino that I had was perfection.

Jason took some fantastic pictures which can be seen on his blog, flourdesign, here.

Blue Bottle Coffee Company
315 Linden Alley (between Hayes and Fell)
7 am - 4 pm
7 days a week

(hooray!)

Photo Credit: flourdesign

Grab Bag

I always love the miscellaneous categories in trivia games and shows.  The "Grab Bag" category, or whatever they call it, on Jeopardy is always full of very random questions and facts. 

Time has been fairly short this week, so I apologize for the quick posts.  Here are some quips about things I have been thinking about but haven't had time to write complete posts about:

Life Begins @ Thirty nominated in the Food Blog Awards.  This blog has been nominated for "Best Food Blog - Food Industry", which I couldn't be more pleased about.  Of all the categories listed, this is the one that I am most excited to be recognized for.  The new year will continue to bring you more facts about the food industry, sustainable and local buying, and more farmer's market reviews.  Please vote today!

One last chance for local gift buying.  The Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market is holding a special Christmas eve market on Friday, December 24 from 10 am - 2 pm.  According to the newsletter, the following farms are planning on attending:  Allstar Organics, Bariani Olive Oil, Bulldog Cactus, Captain Mike's Holy Smoke, Downtown Bakery, Eatwell Farm, Four Sisters Farm, Galaxy Granola, Genuine Exotic Melons, G.L. Alfieri Farms, Happy Boy Farm, Hare Hollow, Hidden Star Orchard, Highland Hills Farm, Iacopi Farm, Juicey Lucy, Lagier Ranches, Loulou’s Garden, Marin Gourmet, Moua Farm, Nash’s Olive Oil, Nick Sciabica and Sons Olive Oil, Redwood Hill, Star Route Farm, The Pasta Shop, Torosian Farms, and Twin Girls Farm.

Corporation-Friendly Laws outlaw Seed Saving in Iraq. This is an issue that I have been reading quite a bit about, and am outraged over.  Essentially, new legislation put into effect by the new Iraqi government with guidance by the U.S. is outlawing the centuries-old tradition of farmers to save seeds.  The reasons for this are supposedly many - from making Iraq friendly to big business (ie., Monsanto and other large seed companies) to making the Iraqi crops more exportable.  What it will do is make the Iraqi farmers completely dependent on patented seeds that are being thrust upon them by big business.  Keep an eye out for stories about this or read more about it here.

Forget about taste, Florida says, these tomates are just too ugly to ship. Unlike the smooth, round baseball-size tomatoes usually shipped from Florida from mid-October through mid-April, the lush, vine-ripened UglyRipes have what the industry calls a "cat face," full of uneven crevices and ridges. The Florida Tomato Committee, a trade group that controls sales and shipments of round tomatoes, has determined that the brand does not meet its standards for shape, lack of blemishes and other defects. "The marketing order has nothing to do with taste," said Skip Jonas, the committee's compliance officer. "Taste is subjective."

Mission District, San Francisco

On Sunday, we had a free day and decided to go somewhere new and take photographs.  After some discussion, we decided on the Mission District in San Francisco.  On Saturday, I had passed a new mural being painted, and wanted to show Jason.

We spent most of our time on 24th street - a many block area which is full of restaurants, markets, and has many murals to check out.

I have lived in San Francisco for over four years, and had never really taken the chance to stop and look at the amazing murals around the Mission.  They are thanks to the Precita Eyes project - one of only a few community mural projects in the nation.  After spending only a short time really looking at them yesterday, I would highly recommend taking a tour, or just wandering around the Mission neighborhoods to find them yourself.

I often go to the Mission during the week to pick up a bite to eat, or food to go for dinner.  However, we don't often make it down there during the weekend days.  Sunday mornings and afternoons, many of the taquerias set up on the sidewalks outside and you can purchase tacos from their stands.

Before we left for the day I had to bite my tongue to keep from trying to establish ground rules with Jason like "If I am taking a shot, you can't encroach on me and take the same picture."  I decided just to let it go and see what happened.  It was amazing.  The two of us were side by side all day, and took over a hundred shots between us.  Not one of them was the same.  Not one of them duplicated pictures taken by the other in any sense of the word.  Jason has started a blog (yippee!), and you can see one of his mural shots here.  He told me that he will be putting up more shots from yesteday, so keep an eye out for them.  Where I was testing out the close-up features of my Nikon 5700, he was playing with his new fish-eye lens for wide-angle shots of the murals.

You can see more of my album on the Mission by clicking here.

 

This is where I geek out ...

My friend R and I were at Chez Panisse Cafe last night.  She is from Southern California, but has been in the Bay Area for several weeks.  The meal was a last hurrah, as she is leaving to go home this week. 

So it's Chez Panisse and it wouldn't be a surprise if we were to see someone famous there.  R and I went to college together in an area where there are tons of celebrities, so we are old-hat at spotting them and then acting non-chalant.

We were waiting at the small bar upstairs for our table, and a large-ish group walked in the door.  R's eyes widened.  "I think they just said Six Apart," she whispered to me.  Ever so slightly, I turned and saw Ben and Mena, the founders of Six Apart, the company that created TypePad and Moveable Type.  They were just being seated at a large table.

Here's where the story gets pretty geeky, friends (as if it's not already).  You would think that we had seen Prince Charles.  We were totally excited about seeing a table of people from a company that we both hold in such high regard.  We were seated at our table by this time and discussing what we should do about our sighting.  Ignore them?  Go by and say hi?  Take a picture?  We finally decided on a perfect solution: We wrote them a note.  R wrote it on the back of a Chez Panisse postcard and it said something to the effect of "Dear Six Apart people, congratulations on the new release.  We love it (actually we drew a heart here).  You are our celebrity blogger sighting of the week.  You rock (yes .... we did write you rock)! From two loyal Type Pad bloggers."

We called over a server.  "Do you see that table that is over by the entrance?  Please take this note to them, and don't tell them who it's from!"  He obliged.  So there we were, at Chez Panisse, mecca of the food world, passing notes.  Another server came by.  "They loved your note and want you to come by the table."  The bad-secretkeeper first server had told her who we were.

So as we left, we stopped by and said hi like the stalkers that we were.  They were all very nice and seemed happy to meet a couple of fans.  It was a great geekdom celebrity sighting.  Oh, and the food was great too - but that's for another post.

It was a weird sight: Blondes on Parade

I had brunch yesterday at Citizen Cake with a couple of friends from out of town. After the brunch, I drove near the Civic Center to take them back to their hotel. I knew something was up when I saw a couple of helicopters overhead, but the square looked driveable so I took a left on Larkin. What we saw was the strangest sight - hundreds of women in the same blonde wig walking toward the library quietly. There wasn't a loud demonstration going on, and we couldn't figure out what the purpose of the blondes could be. After dropping off my baffled friends, I went back to investigate. Turns out there was a commercial being filmed. I have no idea what for. I think that the "only in San Francisco" moment was not really that there was this very strange scene, but that my immediate question was what these people could possibly be protesting. Click on the photograph for a larger view of the blondes.

Bumpy flight

Flew into a storm today coming home from So Cal.

Animation credit: Jason

At the Airport

When I met Jason, I started doing something I had never done before: hanging out at the airport. At first, I went with him because I wanted to seem like the cool chick who could enjoy his love of planes.

I initially wasn't sure of the attraction -- I understood that it was something he enjoyed, but I didn't see how watching loud noisy planes was that much fun.

And then something happened. I would go to the airport and breathe. And watch. And enjoy. You will often find us there on a Sunday afternoon -- Jason listening to the radio and watching the planes, me reading the Sunday NY Times.

"Look at that one heading right toward us!" he'll say.

"Oh cool - that's a 777 right?"

"No - 747 - it's the only one with a hump" he says for the 1 millionth time.

It's not that I am not interested in the types of planes, it's just that there's so much there to pay attention to.

I constantly watch the birds in the marsh, diving and creating amazing parallels with the planes. Tons of people come hang out in the same area, to do the same thing -- take a walk, or just sit and watch. Parents bring their children and let them run around while they steal a couple quiet moments together. People walk their dogs. Everyone gasps as the large planes take off - wonder at the miracle of flight.

On the busy days, there are planes coming and going on a constant basis. On the not so busy days, I just enjoy the quiet.

Whatever you do, don't tell Jason that I like it. I still get "points" when I go with him because he thinks he is dragging me there!

We saw Chippy!

My sister was in town yesterday and we woke up and drove to Tiburon -- it was a sunny (if cold) day and I wanted to take advantage of the fact that it wasn't raining. After breakfast, we drove out toward Point Bonita in the Marin Headlands -- last time we had been there was on my birthday. It was freezing so our sightseeing consisted of driving a mile, hopping out of the car, looking for a minute or two and running back to the car. Repeat a few times and you have a good idea of what the trip was like.

One stop we made was at the Marine Mammal Center - well known in the Bay Area for their rescue efforts. They are the folks that you call when you see a marine animal in peril. Their goal is to rehabilitate and return to the wild. They don't keep the animals, and only turn them over to zoos and theme parks when there is no hope of their survival in the wild.

It is a very cool place. We saw four animals there yesterday -- including some very loud baby elephant seals that had been abandoned by their mothers. The Marine Mammal Center was working on getting them to full weight so that they could be sent out to live their lives in the wild.

But the star of the Marine Mammal Center right now is Chippy the Sea Lion -- who made news headlines when he swam up the river and very very far away from home. It was later discovered that he had a bullet lodged in his head and he is recuperating at the MMC -- and expected to be sent on his way pretty soon. We only saw him from afar -- sea lions, apparently, take very quickly to humans so the MMC keeps them away from the public in order to keep them wild and easily transition them back to their natural habitat.

Spouse for Life

It just goes to show you what we have to go through, and then you have Britney Spears who just did it in a few minutes," said Garret Villalba, 42, who drove to San Francisco on Friday from Santa Barbara with his partner of 18 years, Robert Kratzke, also 42. SF Chronicle, February 15, 2004

"This is a weekend we will remember for the rest of our lives," I told Jason Sunday as we were driving through Civic Center traffic, and I watched a car in front of us decked out with "Just Married" signs honking and dragging cans.

The vibe in San Francisco at the moment is really electric, and there is just excitement coursing through the city.

I would encourage you to check out some of the wonderful stories that are coming out of the weekend's activities. The SF Chronicle is doing a good job covering stories, and bmwlaguna is keeping a running list of people who have blogged about their marriage. There is a great blog here as well. All of the stories are incredibly touching.

Gary Holt Ceramics

When Jason's parents were in town for Thanksgiving, we went to the studio of Gary Holt, an artist in Berkeley. Jason's family goes to the pottery guild every year and this studio is a favorite. I can see why, as I fell in love with some of his pieces. It was exciting to buy pottery that was handmade, and to purchase it directly from the artist!

Gary Holt Pottery

Man steals chihuahua, dyes it pink

I love this story. There was a follow up interview with the owner this morning in the paper. Talk about perseverance!

SFO Flight Tracks

This is a cool site which shows you all the planes in the Bay Area, near real time. It's strangely fascinating. Best thing is switching the map view (under map menu) to "Aerial View". Beautiful.

SFO Flight Tracks

Chowhound Picnic

We went to the Chowhound Picnic on Saturday, and had a great time. Everyone goes all out in making a dish to share, and we tried some really wonderful things. Photos are here, all taken by Jason (I was too busy eating ...)