Challenge: find me an induction capable griddle

Demeyere makes some nice pieces ... not cheap, but either of these would fill the bill --

http://www.demeyere.be/default.asp?CID=4175&SLID=1
http://www.demeyere.be/default.asp?CID=4176&SLID=1

this one too, though not sure if its induction-compatible
http://www.demeyere.be/default.asp?CID=8692&SLID=1

djh in Cookware

help! takeout near faneuil hall tonite

Closest to Regina in SF is a new place, Tony's in north beach ... brought a 900 degree oven over from Naples and slings a great pie out of there -- crisp and flavorful but still lacking the 80-year char that Regina's manages to impart

djh in Greater Boston Area

SF Hound Looking for Reccs

Regina last night, well done one topping was great. Going to try neptune mid afternoon then see where we go from there. Winging it with no reservations to stay flexible.

Thx again for all the reccs!

djh in Greater Boston Area

help! takeout near faneuil hall tonite

Good call on Regina. Back with two pies ... a too die for anchovy pizza blackened crunchy thin crust with that great charcoal flavor, piping hot nicely layered red sauce rich with tomatoes. Great east coast pizza. Also got an artichoke and basil pizza (sorry can't remember the menu names of either pie) which was not as good...crust too thick and lacking that great crunch, artrichokes undercooked and canned, cheese to sauce ratio not great. Not bad, just ordinary. But that anchovy pie ... that one will bring me back.

-----
Regina Pizzeria
Thatcher St, Boston, MA 02113

djh in Greater Boston Area

help! takeout near faneuil hall tonite

Thanks ... Regina sounds like the ticket, and looks walkable from faneuil?

djh in Greater Boston Area

help! takeout near faneuil hall tonite

Just arrived in town to meet up with my wife, but her flight in delayed and won't arrive til 11 ... any ideas for chowish takeout that will keep til she arrives? Staying near faneiull hall

djh in Greater Boston Area

SF Hound Looking for Reccs

Thanks all. Neptune Oyster looks fantastic, just the type of place we are looking for. Rocketing to the top of our list. I don't mind the no reservation policy ... lets us be flexible to go when we feel like it. Craigie for brunch is a good suggestion. And thanks for the warning on Anthem!

We won't have a car, but have no problem cabbing if we need to. (and, yes, EC Grill not Seafood, was my friend's recc)

-----
Neptune Oyster
63 Salem St Ste 1, Boston, MA 02113

djh in Greater Boston Area

SF Hound Looking for Reccs

Coming from San Francisco and land in Boston Thurs --> Sunday week after next before heading to Vermont and Montreal (and Au Pied du Cochon, but that's another board!). Arrive late Thursday, depart Sunday after brunch. Looking for the best that Boston has to offer, with an emphasis on local cuisine and the kind of meal you can only get in Boston. Not Durgin Park, but the places the locals miss when they move away, and the ones they want to get back to when they come back to visit. Price is not an issue, but that doesn't mean the priceist = the best ... just that we're willing to pay where its worth it.

Poked around your board and the web a bit, and Craigie is high on our list, T.W. Food and L'Espalier look good as well. Friends recommend Redezvous and East Coast Seafood, and the Summer Shack looks possible.

Staying over near Faneuil Hall, so thinking Kingfish Hall or Anthem the night we arrive because they are close and serve relatively late, and then Craigie either Friday or Saturday, so looking for one more dinner and a killer Sunday brunch to round out our quick trip through the City. So let me have it ... critique our plan, and give me your reccs.

-----
L'Espalier
774 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02199

Summer Shack
310 Northern Ave, Boston, MA 02210

T.W. Food
377A Walden St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Kingfish Hall
188 South Market Building, Boston, MA 02109

East Coast Restaurant
1456 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester, MA 02122

Durgin Park
1 Faneuil Hall Sq, Boston, MA 02109

djh in Greater Boston Area

Venice chichetti reccs?

Anyone been to Pronto Pesce, San Polo 319? It was one of the places Bourdain visited on his Venice show. Looked like a pretty inventive and fresh collection of chichetti.

For reference for future travelers, Tony also visited Cantina Do Mori (S. Polo, 429), which I mentioned above and is reviewed elsewhere on the Board -- looks like a classic old bacarro and one we plan to visit after wandering the Rialto Fish Market.

The third place he visited, Al Diavolo e L'Acqua Santa (Calle della Madonna San Polo 561B) looked pretty offal. But we still may give it a try. :-)

djh in Italy

Venice chichetti reccs?

Thanks all. Great list of places to stumble upon as we wander the backstreets of Venice. And thanks PBSF for recognizing that ambience and character are as important as the food; simple preparations in a memorable environment are often the best memories. Will post a report when we return.

djh in Italy

Venice chichetti reccs?

First trip to Venice is getting near. We've got most of our dining covered, but one thing we haven't quite fleshed out are the chichetti bars we want to visit. I've found references to Do Mori and Al Bottegon, which both sound very good, but looking for a few more to add to the list. So give em up ... let's hear your chicehetti reccs!.

djh in Italy

Saigon Deli Express -- SF FiDi Emb Ctr 4

Looks like it just opened. Three young guys slapping sandwiches together. 11 varieties with various combinations of roast pork, steamed pork, chicken, tofu, meatballs etc., most for about $4. Some spring rolls and a few other specials as well.

I tried the classic combo (roast pork, fancy pork, pickled carrots and daikon, cilantro, cucumber and jalapenos, $4.25)

The good -- nice amount of good quality steamed and roast pork, flavorful pickled carrots, and nice baguette crunchy on the outside and soft inside. The bad -- The baguette could use toasting, the promised cucumbers and cilantro were nowhere to be seen, the pickled carrots & daikon were missing much daikon, and the requested extra heat was added by heaping more jalapenos on rather than Sriracha or another hot sauce.

The verdict -- Not great, but good enough that it will bring me back next week for another try. Not a lot of good banh mi to be add downtown, so if they work the kinks out -- and find those missing ingredients! -- this could be a winner.

Saigon Deli Express
Embarcadero 4 Center
50 Drumm St., SF
(415) 362-1120
M-F 9-4
Sat 10-2

djh in San Francisco Bay Area

Sentinel - First look

OMG, how did I miss this place until now. I'm halfway through the sweet corn soup and a reuben and I'm in heavan. The soup is silky, smooth and bursting with flavor. The reuben is a reuben, but more. Hard to describe, there's just an extra layer of flavor in there that stays with you after each bite. Delicious. Pricey, but worth it.

Had to post, but now I've got to go back and finish my lunch. Keep this under your hat. If you start spreading the word, the lines will only get longer.

djh in San Francisco Bay Area

Cornish hen

By coincidence, I just grilled some last weekend. Spatchcocked the hens (cut out the backbone, then remove the keel-shaped breast bone) so they could lay flat on the grill, marinated them for a bit in a mixture of olive oil, parlsey lemons, sea salt and garlic, then grilled them over a medium flame (gas grill) for about 10 minutes a side around a smoker box filled with soaked hickory chips.

Rested the birds about 10 minutes, then cut each in half again, drizzled some more olive oil and lemon juice over them along with a slight sprinkling of salt and fresh parsley for color, then served. Each guest ate a half bird, which left a good amount of leftovers for next day sandwiches on crusty bread.

djh in Home Cooking

Cello's Kebob & Pizza

Yep, Italian pies baked in a standard pizza oven sitting behind the counter. Crust looked pretty thick, well browned, with a good amount of cheese and toppings. $10 for a 12", $15 for an 18", $1.25/$2 per topping (Sm/Lg). Slices are $2.75/cheese, $3/pepp or shroom; $4/pesto veggie or contadina. Slice+ house salad and soda for $6.45.

djh in San Francisco Bay Area

Cello's Kebob & Pizza

It's not too often that a kebab can surprise me, but this one did. Out scouting for a quick lunch today in FiDi and lines were huge everywhere because its so nice out, then I remembered this place, because a guy had handed me a menu on the street a couple weeks ago, which I figured was a sure sign they wouldn't be busy. And they weren't. Ordered a chicken kebab and steeled myself for the overcooked dry chicken with a few limp grilled veggies over rice that is so typical of what you get at places like this, and was surprised to find that, what?, the chicken was actually moist, full of flavor, and perfectly cooked. Not your typical chunk of chicken that's been sitting on a skewer for an hour waiting for someone to order it.. Comes with rice, a half pita, and grilled vegetables that were still crisp for the most part, though perhaps a bit too charred in places (but I like em like that). I got a side shirazi salad for a buck, and the cukes and tomatoes were nice and crisp and the dressing had a nice tang to it.

Did a quick forum search and found only one mention here: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/517750, another "surprisingly good" lunch experience.

Menu has a variety of kebabs, with or without grilled veggies, and available over rice or as a wrap, including chicken, beef, lamb, salmon, veggie and grilled tofu. Also have gyros, falafel. Most are 5.95-7.95; salmon is 9.95, and lamb is 8.95. Several side salads which can be ordered with meat as well, as well as a selection of med salads (hummus, babaghanoush, tabbouli, the ususal suspects) for $1-$4.

Pizza looked pretty good too.

Cello's Kebab and Pizza, 75 First St./50 Fremont Center, SF
(in the food alley behind Baja Fresh).

djh in San Francisco Bay Area

Ayola Greek/Med on Kearney

Just opened yesterday. Tough location just a few doors down from Baladie, but good menu and prices. Tried their Gyros Platter ... gyros meat with hummus, tzatziki and a small greek salad for $7.95. The platter was much bigger than expected, gyros meat was good but not exceptional, tzatziki sauce was thick and flavorful, salad was larger, with generous helping of rough cut cukes, red onions, tomato, greek olives and feta, and a nice light but flavorful lemon and oil dressing. The hummus was a little thick and dry, but also had a nice lemon flavor.

Its not good enough for me to drop Baladie for their dip platter or Oasis on Drumm for their gyros sandwiches, but I'll definitely put Ayola into the mix for a while to try some of their other fare. Among the items on my radar are the Corfu Salad (greek salad w/calamari) and the Macedonian Chicken Salad (apples, walnut, chicken and feta), both $7.50. They have the standard shawarma, gyros and other pita sammys, and offer them in 7" and 9" lengths ($5.95/$6.95), which is nice. They also have a veggie "Hortopita" with roasted eggplant salad (babaghanoush?) and feta for the same price.

327 Kearney between Bush & Pine. Their menu says they have a second location at 118 New Montgomery, which I've never been to, although a favorable but passing mention of their gyros showed up in a forum search.

djh in San Francisco Bay Area

Baci Caffe, New in Vallejo

Thanks for posting -- we've only eaten there once, for brunch on mother's day, and it was very good. But wanted to go back and try it for dinner again before reviewing it.

btw -- the owner (not the chef) of Baci is the same guy that own's China Wok around the corner, which imho is the best Chinese place in the Vallejo-Benicia area. He got his start in an Italian restaurant, and wanted to go back to his roots in opening this place up.

And on the subject of other places in the area:

Matsuri on Redwood (just below Sonoma Blvd (Hwy 29) and across the street from Seafood City) is an excellent sushi place ... very fresh, inventive rolls, and great apps. Be sure to try their hamachi "nachos" if you go.

And don't forget the taco trucks along Sonoma Blvd. either. The one at the corner of Sonoma and Ohio is great.

djh in San Francisco Bay Area

Tasty Falafel sandwich at Sabra Grill

A beautiful day in SF today so I walked an extra block up Pine from my usual lunchtime routine, hung a left on Grant and saw this place across the street and thought I'd give it a try. Looked like a chowish place, but empty upstairs, so I did not have high hopes -- but was pleasantly surprised by the lamb shisk pita sandwich I ordered.

A good helping of flavorful, gamy kosher lamb, rough chopped pickles, hummus, lettuce, tomato in a pita bread. Not the prettiest (or cheapest) pita I've ever had, but a very satisfying lunch for $9. I'll be back to try the falafel, too -- though next time I'll probably eat there or at the park close by, because the sandwich doesn't travel well ... the hummus/tahini is more runny than what you find elsewhere, and the bottom fell out of the pita when I sat down to eat it about 10 minutes after I bought it. The platters look like a good choice, too, but at $15-$20 its a bit high on the lunch side.

Unlike the OP I really like Oasis (and Baladie, too), but Sabra is definitely going to be added to my lunchtime rotation. Glad I stopped in on a whim to check it out.

djh in San Francisco Bay Area

I am looking for delicious salmon recipes....healthy but scrumptious

This recipe was in the SF Chron food section a couple weeks back ... I grilled the salmon instead of roasting it in olive oil, and it turned out fabulous.

Olive Oil-Roasted Wild King Salmon with Tomato Gazpacho, Beans & Crabmeat

Serves 4

This high-end, wow-'em recipe from executive chef Parke Ulrich of Farallon, includes four elements -- a gazpacho, parboiled beans, oil-poached salmon and Dungeness crabmeat, but none is difficult and the dish comes together easily, especially if you make the cold soup ahead of time.

INGREDIENTS:

Tomato gazpacho

2 ripe red tomatoes

1/2 clove garlic

1/4 small red onion

1/4 cucumber, peeled and seeded

1/2 jalapeno pepper

1/2 bunch basil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1-2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil

Salmon

1 1/2 to 2 cups olive oil

4 skin-on fillets king salmon, about 5-6 ounces each

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 pound Romano, yellow wax and Blue Lake beans, cleaned

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

8 ounces picked lump Dungeness crabmeat

INSTRUCTIONS:

For the gazpacho: Place the tomatoes, garlic, onion, cucumber, jalapeno, basil and vinegars in a blender and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and strain through a medium sieve. Add olive oil to taste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

For the salmon: Place olive oil in an 8-quart pot (or any other high-sided pot to reduce oil splatters). Gently warm oil over medium heat. Season salmon with salt and pepper and carefully place salmon in oil skin-side down (the oil should come halfway up the sides of the salmon).

Adjust heat if necessary, you don't want to cook the outside too fast; the salmon should be cook through. After about 3 minutes, flip the salmon over using tongs and again being careful not to splash the hot oil. Finish the salmon, about 3 minutes more, and place on a kitchen towel to absorb any extra oil.

Meanwhile, blanch beans in salted boiling water until tender, place in bowl and season with salt and pepper and chopped tarragon.

To serve, place 1/4 cup of the gazpacho in a shallow bowl and place beans in the center. Place salmon against the beans and top with crabmeat.

Per serving: 405 calories, 45 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 20 g fat (3 g saturated), 131 mg cholesterol, 293 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.

Complete write up and recipe here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2007/05/09/FDGR6PJTDP1.DTL#salmon

djh in Home Cooking

Int'l Food Center (Bush @ Kearney) updates?

thanks, robert. that one didn't show up when i searched before posting. (i find the search function not as useful since the site was redesigned, and miss being able to sort by date to find recent posts like that)

djh in San Francisco Bay Area

Int'l Food Center (Bush @ Kearney) updates?

Just stopped in at the International Food Center for my occassional grilled pork/egg roll rice noodle standby (#28) at Pho Express ... still very good for the price -- $6 gets you two eggrolls, a generous helping of pork (or chicken or beef) grilled to order, atop a plate of noodles (which usually tend to be a bit overcooked and on the mushy side, but not today!)

Anyway, as I was waiting around for the order scanned some of the other spots ... which I've never tried .. and wondering if anyone has any updates to report. The Burmese place, in particular, looked like it could be pretty good.

djh in San Francisco Bay Area

Menu suggestions: HS Grad Party

Thanks Kitchen Queen and Kirsten for some great suggestions...

I should have clarified: most of the guests will be friends, family and adults -- most of the other high schoolers will be having their own parties at their own houses.

Friends without graduates will drop by the party for a bit, then may move on to another party for another graduate they know. That's one of the reasons we were thinking finger food, side dishes and protein that can be served room temperature. (The parties all end late afternoon, when the graduates head off to their grad night party.)

djh in Home Cooking

Menu suggestions: HS Grad Party

Been away from the boards for a while (OK, I've been lurking, just not posting), but back to solicit some menu ideas for a backyard afternoon drop-in party for my daughter's high school graduation ... light lunch buffet to be held after the mid-morning graduation. Thought about having it catered, but figure we can do just as well, and that'd be more fun anyway,

Key is that we need suggestions for can't miss dishes that can be prepared ahead of time, with just minimal prep once the party starts since everyone will be arriving at once right after the ceremony. I'm thinking a cold poached salmon and sliced grilled beef (done ahead of time and served room temp) for the main events, with a selection of side dishes and salads to go with.

Any ideas for either the main course recipes or side dishes will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

djh in Home Cooking

Best Gyro in SF?

If you're in FiDi ... Oasis Grill on Drumm Street (across from the Hyatt). Great gyros, pretty good chicken schwarma too. After you've been a few times, they'll remember you and your order, including any tweaks or substitutions you like (and which they'll gladly accommodate)

djh in San Francisco Bay Area

Portland Post-Thanksgiving Reccs?

Belated thanks for the reccs ... unfortunately not able to pick them up while in oregon, so left to our own devices we ended up at mother's bistro one night, which had a good range of choices for our group (adults, teens and one grade schooler) and a nice atmosphere. I had the chicken and dumplings, one of their signature dishes, but found it to be underseasoned and the dumplings a bit dry. Their seared fish, steak with pommes frites, and macaroni and cheese got rave reviews, however.

Stumbled into bijou cafe for breakfast saturday morning ... also a good choice, if a bit chaotic and authoritarian (the latter no doubt a function of the former), as we saw parties refused seating because one of their number was waiting for the light to change across the street, refusal to make simple substitutions on the menu, etc. Food was good, tho, and that cures a lot of little evils in my book.

Jake's Crawfish saturday night was decent but forgettable, but I expected that going in. I suggested bread & ink based on reviews elsewhere, but was overruled ... don't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing tho!

djh in Pacific Northwest

Portland Post-Thanksgiving Reccs?

SF Hound here. We'll be up in Portland Friday and Saturday night, and looking for reccs that can accommodate a group that includes a youngster, a couple teens, and several adults, including one vegetarian. Was considering Higgins, but was just there again a few weeks ago, and decided it wasn't the best fit for the younger ones in our group. Looking for something a little more casual, but still with a great menu based on seasonal/local ingredients. We'll be staying downtown, but will have a car. Thanks in advance for the help!

djh in Pacific Northwest

Romantic Restraunts in San Francisco

Second the recc for Acquerello. Food is very good, and has a great atmosphere and great decor -- mediterranean feel in an old funeral chapel -- quiet and understated elegance without being stuffy at all.

djh in San Francisco Bay Area

Downtown LA - one night, solo dining

What's the best restaurant downtown reasonably close to the Biltmore? In town for one night tomorrow night, solo dining. Best = most interesting, innovative, creative preparations. Open to any cuisine, and price not all that important. I figure if I gotta be in LA alone tomorrow night, I might as well eat well while I'm there. Thanks in advance.

djh in Los Angeles Area