edgrimley's Profile
East Bay Mussels recs?
The Hog Island stand at the Berkeley farmer's market on Saturday mornings usually has them.
Turkey two ways.....with two turkeys?
I'm looking at doing a turkey two ways this year for the first time (at one time). Braised or confit legs, and roasted breast.
Both of these approaches look great. The main difference is in brining vs. salting/herb/olive oil seasoning, and confit or braise for the legs.
http://leitesculinaria.com/59625/recipes-roasted-turkey-braised-turkey.html
http://www.chow.com/recipes/10740-turkey-two-ways-roasted-breast-and-legs-confit
I may even grill the breasts.
Question though - the Tanis recipe recommends a smaller bird.
By using a cut-up bird, wouldn't that reduce the need for a small bird? What's really the difference on a 15-20 lb bird vs. a 10-15. Breast drier? the legs I assume would be fine as the braise or confit will keep things moist.
Two birds wouldn't make things that much more difficult with these techniques.
One variation I am considering is two small birds, one broad breasted one heritage. The heritage is gamier and not for everyone.
Thoughts?
Serving a group of 6 adults and 6 small kids. But want lots of leftovers.
bye bye black cod?
Was at the Temescal farmer's market this Sunday in search of black cod or sablefish. Their $13.95/lb fish has been a staple of ours for years now.
The guy at the fish stand said we probably won't be seeing it again soon, and if we do it will be much more expensive. He says most of the sable is getting bought up by China right now.
The combination of taste, value, healthy quality of the fish and sustainability made it almost too good to be true.
I wonder if we will see this dynamic with other quality fish, like Alaska and Pacific salmon.
Anyone know more about this?
Gaucin / Andalucia / Southern Spain restaurants + culinary tourism
Hi there -
We are renting a place in Gaucin for 10 days and will be taking day trips to Ronda, the coast and perhaps Sevilla and Cordoba. Although with young kids in tow those longer trips are more of a stretch.
Any lunch and dinner recommendations close to Gaucin or out to Ronda. Preferably family friendly? What about shopping and culinary tourism? Any local olive oil, cured meats or wine producers?
We know of a lady in Gaucin who makes her own jamon and chorizo. And the Enkvist winery just outside Gaucin.
Open minded, looking for unique local experiences.
Thanks!
El Piratas de Tapas, Westbourne Grove/Bayswater, London
This menu looks great and we live just a few blocks away. Do you think bringing kids in, for an early dinner, would be acceptable? Or not appropriate for this place. We understand the difference. :)
And Limster - great to see you on this board. We followed your trails religiously in Boston a few years ago.
SF area food carts- who do you follow?
I've got a large list of carts (as well as a few local related news sources and stationary spots) in this twitter list. Convenient way to follow everything....
http://twitter.com/ericelia/food
Hoagie Rolls?
We're having a kid-friendly Halloween shindig and will simultaneously be dealing with a Phillies -Yankees game at the same time. As Philly ex pats, we are thinking about either making hoagies or doing a make your own hoagie bar.
A hoagie is a particular variety of sub/hero/sandwich that skews toward "italian" cold cuts and veggies. So you'll see some combo of salami, capicola, mortadella, provolone (sharp or not), and lettuce, onion, tomatoes and ideally some diced hot cherry peppers or something similar. These aren't mayo/mustard type sandwiches. No sourdough.
As with most sandwiches of this variety it is all about the bread. I would consider making long sandwiches and cutting small portions (easier to make) or doing individual sandwiches.
Leading contender right now is the Acme Torpedo roll. Or perhaps an Acme sweet baguette, and cutting smaller portions from there.
Blue Bottle Oakland?
At the Mint Plaza I have always detected a little bit of aloofness from the staff. I didn't take it as attitude, just a bit of ignorance as to what was going on beyond the counter. That the process and the coffee is the most important thing. At the Roastery in JLS the single staffer had none of that tude, was just a process thing.
But I agree - I get in and out much faster at any of the Philz locations or Cole Coffee and they ahere to the same grind n' drip process.
I would hope that a BB trainer might see this and consider how to accelerate things, but honestly I don't think velocity is a goal that they at all shoot for.
Blue Bottle Oakland?
No specific comments on the temp of the milk, but I am impressed by rworange's exhaustive research.
I was there yesterday and had the drip du jour.
It was very good, as I've come to expect from any BB outlet. The space is interesting. The cafe is too small for the traffic they will be getting. Two small counters and no place to sit down. I imagine to-go is their main goal. The roastery space is immense and only partially filled now by massive roasting equipment the size of a large truck, but taller. They could fit 5-6 of these things in the roastery space, I think. There is a kitchen. Curious to see what they produce from there.
My gripe is my same gripe about the cafe at Mint Plaza. The whole process at BB is a little precious. And while I appreciate the care and and process that goes into their beverage making, I think they could speed up the process as a whole.
Cole Coffee in Oakland does basically the same thing as BB. Single cup drip, grind per order. But someone I get out of CC (with a line just as big) in half the time it takes at BB. They just seem to have issues in taking orders, communicating, etc. The guy at the Roastery yesterday was on his own, granted, but he had a line out the door and could have handled a little better. There were 2 people in front of me and it took 10 minutes to get out the door. When he was taking the order in front of me I glommed on and said "would you mind starting another drip as well". Would be very easy for him - with open drip slots on the bar - to poll the line - "anyone else looking for a drip." Kind of the way Sbux asks - before you get to the register - can we start something for you?
Anyway, BB is a great addition the East Bay. I'm looking forward to seeing what it and it's new gourmet neighbors bring to Oakland, even if it takes me a few extra minutes to get a coffee.
New Temescal Café? 4316 Telegraph
Remedy (I thought it was Ritual too) is coming together nicely. They've now get a temporary coffee/espresso bar set up in front of the work-in-progress inside. Lots of new options in the 'hood with this and the excellent Subrosa around the corner on 40th.
Overpriced "homemade" ketchup to purchase?
Happy Girl (various farmer's markets) looks like a good call as well. Check out this roundup my buddy found. Whew.
And for the record, Heinz Organic is great. We are just looking to have some fun.
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/MAIN/condiments/ketchup/ketchup-roundup5.asp
Overpriced "homemade" ketchup to purchase?
That is what we are thinking of. Thanks. Yum.
Business cocktail party for 40-50
Great idea on the Tony's Pizza - thanks. We're looking for something on the more casual side. That sounds pretty fun.
Overpriced "homemade" ketchup to purchase?
Anyone seen any homemade-style fresh ketchup for sale? They used to have one for about $9 at Market Hall in Rockridge but it's gone. Apparently Heinz is good enough. Which it usually is. We're looking to splurge. Any ideas?
Business cocktail party for 40-50
Any ideas on a good private space for a cocktail party midweek? Ideally on BART and walking distance from downtown SF.
We did one at Medjool which worked out pretty well. But want to do it closer to downtown this time. Likely will do an open bar for guests.
Thanks!
Bakery and Artichokes near Aptos
Spending the weekend in Aptos and need a good bakery and fresh baby artichokes (not necessarily from the same place). Any options?
best built-in refrigerator. Any contenders for the Sub-Zero throne?
Great info on appliances here - thank you for all of the great insight so far.
We're doing an open format kitchen and are attempting to integrate as much as possible to look like furniture. So facades for the dishwasher and refrigerator for example.
I've heard mixed things about both the frequency of, and cost of Sub-Zero repairs. Yet our cabinet makers/kitchen designers say Subs are the most seamless to integrate designwise.
Consumer Reports rates a Jenn-Air pretty highly, but the cost is equivalent to the Sub.
We've also heard okay things about Liebherr and Miele.
Thoughts?
We are going for a 36" with side-by-side doors.
Thanks,
E
"night out" with parents
Don't think we'll do Asian unless it were something special. Momofuku Ssam could be interesting but I don't think we'll have the time for a wait. Queens/Sichuan or likely Brooklyn are out of the question this time around.
Mid-priced is entrees in the $20-25 range, imho. A lot higher than when I was in my 20s. :). I'm expecting a $200 dinner or so for 3 people with 2 courses each and some drinks.
In Philly they eat everywhere. Liked Cochon, hit every South Philly spot, really like Amada and the upscale tapas places. They didn't love Osteria (which is a personal fave). They prefer Southern Italian (red sauce) to rustic Tuscan / Northern Italian. Babbo might be a good tweener.
Love seafood in general - so that is certainly a possibility.
Thanks for the quick follow-up and the nice direction in getting me to focus...
"night out" with parents
Totally agree. I live in SF. We have some great dining adventures here, Philly and elsewhere. Thanks for the reply.
"night out" with parents
My parents are good eaters, but when in NY (from Philly) they often get taken by friends to the touristy spots or celeb chef restaurants. Last time was one of the Bobby Flay spots. I'd like to show them some NY that they haven't seen before. A little bit off the map, but not too much.
Will be meeting them on a weeknight, likely staying in midtown - either Times Sq or Park Ave area - but location is flexible. Mid-priced ideal.
So I suppose I'm looking for something unique, some scale and a little bit of a scene. But with food paramount.
Gramercy Tavern could fit the bill. Other ideas?
Thanks!
Fresh peas at farmer's markets yet?
Was pleased to find the mild "green garlic" at the Temescal market last weekend. And we are seeing some nice asparagus and artichokes around.
Anyone see fresh peas yet, or have an inkling as to when they will arrive?
napa lunch/activity with toddler
Oh that's a cool idea. And there are the big cars in the tasting room.
Toddler is 2.5 yrs old.
Thanks!
napa lunch/activity with toddler
Recently moved back to the area with a toddler in tow. Trying to put together a day-trip to Napa likely -
- 1-2 wine tastings
- lunch (doesn't have to be fast food/Taylor's/pizza)
- olive oil company
- a playground or park for running around?
Any recs for kid-friendly wineries? For a hound-worthy lunch?
Saw some good ideas on takeout from Bouchon or some of the bakeries on older threads. Any other ideas?
Thanks!
Kauai (Popui) with toddler
Hi there,
Some great leads on the previous threads on this board -
Looking forward to trying Samain and checking out the Sunshine Farmer's Market.
We are staying at a condo and will be looking for some cheap eats out and will be doing some grocery shopping. The kid eats lots of different things.
Is there a good fish market in the south area?
Good (but inexpensive) non-chain restaurants that will likely have high chairs and 2-yr old tolerance?
Thanks in advance!
Monterey dinner with toddler
Any recommendations for a non-chain dinner in the Monterey/Pacific Grove area for a couple and a toddler. Something ideally with seafood since we are in the area. Think fish and chips and a service staff that smiles rather than rolls their eyes when they see a two-year old in their section.
Thanks!
martini in FiDi, North Beach, Chinatown
it's not a coffee martini though....so Tosca does count. Good classic vibe too. Thanks for the reminder.
martini in FiDi, North Beach, Chinatown
Taking some out of town guests to Sam Wo for the experience later this week. Would like to bracket the meal with good pre and post-drinks.
Was away from town for a few years and have recently returned. Anything walkable that would serve a great cocktail? Real martini, good gin. Nothing chocolate or coffee or pink.
Bix?
Moderate scene is okay.
Orson - recent experience?
any recent Orson reports out there?
We've heard some negative scuttlebut about the viability of the restaurant. Wondering how the cooking and service is holding up. Should we believe any negative rumors.
Thanks!
