gordon wing's Profile
Maine Lobster at 99 Ranch
I didn't look very closely ..... I would imagine so but not sure. You could try calling ?
Maine Lobster at 99 Ranch
Good price on live Maine Lobsters at 99 Ranch in Richmond. $7.99 / lb. Same as the current price for live crab. A new item I noticed was live Stone Crab for $3.99/lb. They recently installed new fish tanks and improved their mollusk presentation as well.
Paisan Meatball Sandwich - [Berkeley]
tm, thanks for doing the trifecta! I liked Paisan's rendition so now I'll have to try Rotten City's offering as well.
Sam Wo closing... help!!!! Where...
when I was living in North Beach/Chinatown back in the 60's and 70's ...... many restaurants were open until 2am or later. Jackson Street Cafe was our favorite but it was only one of many choices. The Golden Dragon incident ( shooting ) changed all that to a large degree.
Sam Wo closing... help!!!! Where...
with all the tourists that came to Sam Wo, I'm pretty sure I remember that Edsel knew a few phrases in several languages other than English and Cantonese. ??
Tom Wilson Oranges at Andronico
Just bought a big of Wilson Navel Oranges ........ I'm liking them! The aroma around the outside display at the Solano Ave. Andronico's was very enticing. They are very juicy, sweet with a nice acid finish. Thanks for the tip!
The Great Wonton soup quest (trying to find east coast style wonton soup in SF)
had lunch today at Hon's Wun Tun House ........ the beef stew and won ton with noodles. $5.50 ...... a medium size bowl with 4 won ton and beef stew with some fat on it ( a good thing ) ........liked the toothiness to the noodles - held their texture til the end. the won ton had shrimp and ground pork I think - thin wrappers ..... the broth was OK with some shellfish flavor ( probably from shrimp shells ) I used some of the chili sauce from the condiment caddy to kick it up a bit. a few chopped green onions for garnish. it was a good rainy day lunch.
June's Cafe. Sacramento. Home style Japanese American Comfort Food
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/10/4166226/junes-cafe-japanese-america-food.html
Saw this article in the Sacramento Bee and it caught the fancy of a friend so off we went. It's located in the Southside Park neighborhood. I think there used to be a Japanese neighborhood here in the old days. June's still attracts a lot of Japanese ( especially older ) - many of the customers seem to know each other and June and her husband who waits on tables while June cooks every dish. The macaroni salad is quite good: not too laden with mayo, a nice texture - not mushy, lots of pepper and little bits of vegetable for crunch and visuals. A bowl of miso soup with tofu follows before your order arrives. We shared a few different dishes ...... the Weenie Royale, Pork Katsu and Chicken Curry. You get your money's worth here and the food is very comforting. My Katsu was very crisp and not greasy at all .... love all the carmelized onions that came with it. Don't forget to add some of the Tonkatsu Sauce - adds a nice spicy dimension. The Weenie Royale was a nod to Internment Camp memories ..... but made with real ( not powdered ) eggs and slices of hot dog along with carmelized onion slices - this was served over a large portion of rice. The Chicken Curry was a big, almost overflowing plate of rice topped with chicken katsu and lots of curry sauce - think it had lots of onions and some vegetables cooked into it. The curry had a good flavor with a hint of spice to it. I think our dishes were in the 8-9 dollar range - a good value for a lot of homecooked food.
June's Cafe. 921 - V Street Sacramento,CA 95818 916. 447-2264 Cash only
M - Thurs or Fri ? 9:30am - 2pm
Smoke -- new BBQ (maybe) on San Pablo, Berkeley
here's a picture of the smoked brisket plate .... for $8.00 ......that was a few weeks ago.
Ma's Dim Sum & Cafe ...... Clay Pots & More .... [San Francisco]
Had lunch at this hole in the wall on Powell nr. Pacific. Definitely a local's place ...... mainly older clientele. Many clay pots on tables but they have rice plates, noodles and soup and more. Some Toisan leanings ....... gai loong are savory, chewy/crispy dim sum items that my Grandmother used to make ( believe it's a Toisan thing ) - not found in many places anymore. the sweeter hom sui gok is more common but pretty different with a sweet overtone to the more substantial dough. there is a case full of dim sum items but they are not kept warm in steamers ...... they can / will microwave them if you're eating in. items are large and pretty inexpensive. But we came for the clay pots today. Got one of the Rice Clay Pots - Chinese Bacon/Sausage/Pork Spare Ribs with a couple of baby bok choy on top. A smaller size suitable for one is $4.50 or so ...... the waitress suggested the larger size for us ....think it's 6.95 ? Only the smaller size is listed on the menu. We also got a dish of bitter melon with black beans/garlic. $4.50 or $4.75? Tea and the House Soup come without asking. The bittermelon was tender but not mushy ...... light touch with the black beans but lots of garlic. The clay pot of rice flavored by the rich bacon & sausage & spare ribs was very comforting ...... don't forget to add the sweet soy from the squeeze bottle on the table: there is a lot of rice and the additional flavoring makes it even better. Wish there would have been even more toppings but with the bitter melon we had enough to accompany all the rice. Ma's is busy for lunch so get there before or after the main lunch rush if you don't want to wait for one of the few seats. ( 25 or so seats ? ) On the way out I got one of the giant chicken buns - lots of filling and a nice delicate bread. $1.30 IIRC - see the photo - there is a baked pork bun from You's for comparison.... the giant chicken bun dwarfs the pork bun ( and it's not small ) .......love the Andrew Wyeth framed poster and the Renoir also - along with some Chinese art. Very eclectic ......
Bucci's -- What a Gem [Emeryville]
It's not totally surprising that the winter tomatoes didn't deliver .... what is surprising is that places would have it on their menu at all when tomatoes are not at their best. the antipasto plate sounds very interesting.
To deveined shrimp Or Not To deveined shrimp?
you can have your shrimp in shell and still devein them ......
.http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/fast-fresh/shells-on-veins-out-00400000019201/
Yum Cha Cafe May Be Coming to Bay Area
I'll keep an eye out at the Shun Fat supermarket in San Pablo ....... it used to have an in house ? dim sum and hot food operation there back when they opened.
ORIGINAL JOES..North Beach!
Nice memories, FoodTrippin - Not in North Beach but is the Gold Mirror on Taraval still open?
ORIGINAL JOES..North Beach!
Didn't dine there today but there was a steady stream of folks coming and going ..... including policemen ..... here are a couple of images
No-stir polenta
I find dry toasting the polenta in a pan until it's a bit smokey ( or a lot smokey ) adds another layer of depth to my polenta - however it's cooked.
Where can i get a whole, proper, European Dover sole? And some decent mussels!
a week or so ago I bought some mussels from 99 Ranch in Richmond - they looked like they always do but were very plump and much bigger than previous purchases. not sure how to tell that they might be like that again from the outward appearance ? but like oysters ...... maybe the winter months are better for the texture? if not the size ?
Fluffy rice from a rice cooker?
a pair of chopsticks does a very good job of fluffing the rice also.
after 11pm Fri. / Sat., Berkeley & environs
King Pin Donuts on Durant Ave - get them right out of the fryer!
Fluffy rice from a rice cooker?
try adding less water .... sticky rice usually is caused by too much water. with older rice cookers you could wait until the hold stage comes on and then punch the cook button again. this was done to create a crust which ordinarily doesn't happen with rice cookerss.
cornbread technique
I just made a couple of different cornbread recipes ...... after reading through the user reviews of them I came up with a few interesting techniques that usually are not included in many recipes. One tip was to oven roast the cornmeal at 300*F for 3-4 minutes ( Cooks Country Tip ? ) ...... I tried this and got a faint smell but I wasn't convinced it would make much difference so I decided to toast the cornmeal in a dry pan until very fragrant ..... this also makes your polenta more complex. And then one recipe called for making brown butter instead of just using melted butter in the batter. ( thank you Herbivoracious ) The resulting cornbreads were delicious! One recipe was Alex Guarnaschell's - Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread. And as any Southerner will attest to- the preheated cast iron pan makes a nice crust that is very special and has a whole other flavor as well as texture. And the other recipe was:
" The Best Cornbread Recipe Ever " from the site - Herbivoracious - it has a sweeter flavor - 1/3 Cup of sugar vs 1/4 Cup in the Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread. Both had a deep corn flavor and a toasty butter flavor. If you're a Yankee you might like the sweeter result. Either cornbread goes down very easily.
Good Tamales in Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville?
I went to the original location on 5751 Market Street Oakland.
Good Tamales in Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville?
I just had a pork tamale yesterday - very good! moist and flavorful. if you want it spicier - ask for the chili sauce. $2.25 plus tax ends up at $2.47 IIRC.
Giovanni's Produce & Market El Cerrito
Good day for bargains at Giovanni's Produce. Very fresh green beans for 59 cents a pound. Jumbo size Honeycrisp apples for 79 cents/lb - very tasty - good tart/sweet balance and nice texture. Cocktail size tomatoes in a 1 pound clamshell ( about 12 to a shell ) 4 clamshells for a dollar! That's 25 cents per pound. Out of the four clamshells - there were only 2-3 that had minor discoloration around the stem. ...... the rest were in very good condition. They are all in the oven right now roasting. I didn't need anything else but I did see that they also had pineapples, grapes, yams, persimmons, etc ..... all outside in the bargain section. Happy Hunting.
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Giovanni's Produce & Grocery
1600 Liberty St, El Cerrito, CA 94530
Mincemeat in Berkeley/Oakland
The Nation's in Orinda had the mincemeat pie listed but did not have one in stock this afternoon.
Making potato latkes -- how do YOU remove the excess liquid?
the strainer/colander sounds like a good idea ..... if you have a bowl that just fits inside of the strainer/colander - you can press down on the potato mixture easily.
Fish bones for making stock in Oakland - Berkeley area (or anywhere in the East Bay, for that matter)
How much are they asking for those bones? Or are they free?
