pane's Profile
Canal du Midi food adventures in Herault
I adore Cathar country and wish I could visit all the time, so your wish is my command. We have much more eating to do (though some in Aude) so I hope to add more soon.
Regarding the game: while at a degustation in Capestang (Gimie, also very genial), we met a French group on vacation from northern Rhone for the jour ferie who invited us to a "casual" petanque game, but the moment we said yes, things got serious. It was as if they were just posing as friends but actually were a touring petanque league. It was the most fun I've ever had while desperately losing, and the AOC St Joseph they brought with them certainly helped.
Canal du Midi food adventures in Herault
We're spending some time around the Herault area of the Canal du Midi, absorbing too much sunshine and apero (if there is such a thing). So far, here's a run-down of the local bites we've been lucky enough to try.
Capestang
Tried both boulangeries close to the centre du ville--preferred both the bread and croissant at the one directly on the square (as opposed to the one just off the square). At Le Provencal, we enjoyed the gambas in persillade, though I wasn't wild about the pizza that everyone else seemed to adore--I didn't like the flat-ness of the crust's taste or texture, though it might just be a preference against Provence-style pizza. We enjoyed a visit at the Terrasse du Gabrielle, a family winery right off of the Canal du Midi's main bridge. It was the day they were transferring wine from steel containers out in the vineyards to barriques on site in town, and the patroness allowed us to walk through the storage facility and ask questions of her and her husband, the co-patron. She is from St Chinian and knew lots about that AOC and their schiste; he is a Capestang native whose family has owned their property for generations. I preferred their St Chinian to the Capestang wines.
Beziers
L'Octopus, Michelin 1*, for a set price lunch. We had an entree and plat each for 22 euros. This was a fantastic deal for such thoughtful and well-prepared food (plus a verre du vin, plus coffee, plus an amuse bouche, plus a cinnamon pastry stick that came with the dessert) in a lovely shaded terrasse. Add 8 Euros for dessert if you'd like--dessert (ice cream or some type of custard-y cake) looked great, but we were too hot to consider it. There were two choices for entrees and plats, so we were able to try everything, and everything was great. I particularly loved the entree of a carroty soup with a delicate shrimp croquette. Bouillion marin was another high point--I think the chef has a particularly deft touch with preparing delicate seafood.
Poilhes
The town seems to have two main restaurants off the canal, one of which was crowded. We went with the other because I was the only one hungry enough to really eat, so the auberge with tapas made more sense than formal dining. Despite it seeming like the town's "other choice," the food was great. We had a tortilla, razor clams, young vegetables with tapenade, and several glasses of local wine.
We intended to eat out more, but ended up making friends during a completely not-casual "casual" game of petanque, so have been enjoying the fruits of that friendship through picnicking. Hopefully more to come!
Neighbor Bakery: My vote for SF's best croissant
Cafe Sophie's a nice place to hang out (or, in my case, work!) without the hassle of the name-brand shops. I hope you like the Neighbor croissant.
I agree on the pistachio--I don't think it's bad, it's just never what I'm after.
Neighbor Bakery: My vote for SF's best croissant
I've tried Neighbor's croissants a few times now--they are sold at Four Barrel, Sightglass, and Cafe Sophie (which doesn't get included among coffee heavy-hitters, but sells excellent, well-prepared Verve coffee in the Castro).
All the plain croissants I've had from Neighbor have been great--consistently so--with a beautiful crust, clean buttery interior, and a texture that hits the right balance between flaky and chewy. The other croissants I've tried in San Francisco have been either inconsistently excellent (Thoroughbread, Philiipe) or consistently bad (Boulange de ________).
Neighbor also bakes a pistachio and jam croissant and a pain au chocolat, but I keep returning to the basic butter croissant because its simple excellence stands out. The baker used to work at Tell Tale Preserve and Spruce, according to this article: http://www.sfweekly.com/2012-03-07/restaurants/neighbor-bakery-greg-mindel-croissants-wholesale/
Best Food at (Non Fancy) Bars in San Francisco
Yes! I forgot about Orbit Room--that's close to where we live, so I've been a couple times. Their pizza is pretty good and the pizza maker is super friendly. I liked the mushroom pizza, with loads of sliced mushrooms and a solid crust.
Not good: Club Deluxe pizza in the Upper Haight. Toaster quality crust, and at $20 per pie, unreasonably expensive for the quality. I looked up the Pizzeria Delfina menu while there, because I thought I must be crazy, but no--PD pizzas were $5 - $7 cheaper for a better quality product in a nicer setting. Good greyhound though.
Best Food at (Non Fancy) Bars in San Francisco
One positive outcome of the pop-up and food truck craze has been that it's been easier to access decent food in bars that are not also restaurants. There are also an increasing number of symbiotic relationships between bars and nearby cafes that offer delivery or pick-up arrangements. I'm always on the lookout for a place that has good food, decent drinks and is an easy spot for my friends to grab an affordable bite while we hang out and chat.
These are the best places I've found lately:
Dear Mom/rotating pop-up (calendar: http://dearmomsf.tumblr.com/popups) [16th and Folsom, Mission District]
This bar has a built-in kitchen and a rotating series of pop-ups, including Chez Spencer. We visited on a Sunday afternoon and split a decent steak sandwich and an excellent small farm-sourced salad from a new pop-up (not Spencer, can't remember the name). They also have a sushi pop-up.
500 Club/Clare's Deli and Late Night Kitchen [500 Guerrero, Mission District]
Clare's is on the same block (maybe next door) to 500 Club and delivers there at night; there are menus on the bar tables. I got a daily special: a Greek chicken wrap that impressed me in its attention to detail. Nice feta and pickles, thinly sliced English cucumbers, lots of peppers and a spinach wrap. Healthier options than usual carb- and meat-heavy bar food.
City Beer Store/Citizen's Band [Folsom Street between 7th and 8th, SOMA]
Not a pop-up or truck, but Citizen's Band now has a pick-up arrangement with City Beer Store. You order from a menu of sausages at City Beer, the bartender calls it in, then you go to Citizen's Band to fetch it about 10 minutes later. Some sausages (like molasses sage and kielbasa) are house-made at Citizen's Band, others are purchased. I liked the kielbasa; I didn't think the molasses sage was very balanced. Buns from Pinkies Bakery on the same block.
Terroir/whatever is outside [Folsom St between 7th and 8th, SOMA]
Not quite a dive bar, though there are some affordable glasses of idiosyncratic wines. I've had a pizza grilled on the sidewalk outside and the Spencer truck used to park here (but it sounds like doesn't anymore).
Any other good ones I'm missing?
Radio Africa Kitchen -- report [San Francisco]
Co-sign on everything. What a lovely experience: great food, warm service, beautiful space. My favorite dishes were the saucy meatballs, mezze plate, and "Fantasy" (which was way more interesting than I expected it to be, given the noncommittal description on the menu). The noise level was tough, but I was glad to see the chef had developed a following--the place was packed most of the time we were there.
I think the chef said he planned to open for brunch or lunch in June. I'm excited to return--the wide windows out to the avenue lend themselves to slow meals on sunny days.
San Francisco fails to make Travel and Leisure's top 20 burger cities list.
"...but you are not likely to plan your vacation around the quest for the perfect burger"
Meet grayelf: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/838958
And her excellent trip report, including the section on Mission Bowling Club's burger: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846932
Recent Lahore Karahi reports?
According to Eater, Guddu sold the restaurant. The new owner plans to reopen for lunch, dinner and late night service. No word on how the menu might change: http://sf.eater.com/archives/2012/05/01/lahore_karahis_new_owner_ends_an_era.php
"Patricia Unterman, Examiner Food Critic, Dismissed"
That's true. It's also true that she has personal and professional relationships with suppliers and restauranteurs. She is a member of the restaurant community in way that most reviewers (and anonymous eaters) are not, and that has undoubtedly had an effect on her writing.
I took my meat-n-potatoes mom to a molecular gastronomy dinner at Atelier Crenn
And we both lived to tell the tale.
I visited Atelier Crenn with daveena last year and loved it, and while I was eager to try the extended menu, I was surprised that my mom, who doesn't like fish and loves straightforward meats and starches, wanted that to be the place for our special occasion dinner.
On previous visits from the East Coast, we went to Cyrus and Farmhouse Inn, and she loved both (especially the desserts at Cyrus and the meat at Farmhouse) but I don't think she's had anything as experimental or seafood-heavy as the food at Crenn.
I suggested La Ciccia for dinner, but she wanted to go to Crenn, so we went. The dinner was, surprisingly, a huge success. Her favorites were the clam with sea foam, the squab and the inventive plating--several courses appeared in or on rocks. I loved all the briny and funky tastes and Juan Contreras' playful desserts. The dessert "amuse" was a eucalyptus popsicle concealed in a little eucalyptus bush (my mom wanted to pose for a photograph with this one) and the main dessert reflected a dream he had about ash and cinders--the glass tray holding the course lay atop a smoking brazier. When the cinder dessert came out, and Contreras with it, my mom looked at the belching smoke and said "What part of this is food?" When she saw the foie course, I just said that it was duck, so hopefully karma doesn't come back to me on that one.
She loved the mignardises, which were beautifully made but more traditionally dessert-like--little bits and bobs that included a stunning salted caramel and a white chocolate and dark chocolate pair with a beaded exterior that resembled Haribo gummi raspberries. Dinner is very seafood-y and also quite light--the only meat was a small piece of squab as the last savory course--she said on the ride home that she wished there had been a piece of beef. I like about Crenn that I leave feeling full but not stuffed, part of which I think is the menu not relying much on meat. Also, she had hoped to get a martini before dinner, but they serve wine only.
Service was warm, and mom was impressed that both the chef and dessert chef came out a couple times to greet us and ask how we liked the food. Also, she noticed that they asked several times about preferences and dietary limitations and were open to creating an alternate menu to accommodate allergies or tastes, which was different than some places we've been that specify no substitutions.
Overall, if you want to bring your meat-n-potatoes mom to a molecular gastronomy dinner, I would suggest: pick a mom who is a good sport, and get a martini first.
Pictures below of cinder dessert, clam and foie gras.
New Upper Market/Mission Lunch Spot with Beef Cheek Sandwich, Homemade Soup, and Dessert
A friend tipped me to V-105, a new lunch spot that opened on Valencia Street just below Market--105 Valencia to be exact. It's in the same space that used to house Jackie's Vinoteca and the Wise Brothers pop-up, across from the U-Haul store.
The space is clean and bright, with lots of seating. You order at the counter from a menu of sandwiches, soups, sides and a few desserts. Sandwich options include a beef cheek sandwich with gruyere and piquillo peppers, moroccan lamb with salsa verde and cucumber, pork belly with pickled cabbage and pineapple compote, and chicken breast with preserved lemon.
I wasn't feeling sandwichy, and got a corn soup and a salad of pomelo, beets, avocado, cucumber and goat cheese. The corn soup, with a vegetable broth background, was clean and simple. Big lumps of lightly dressed beets, cheese, and avocado played well against the wheels of citrus in the salad.
The only thing I didn't like was the lemonade, which was made with mint, but a little too sweet for my palate--I prefer the natural tartness of lemons without much syrup added. I was too full to consider dessert--they had cookies on the counter and a fresh strawberry shortcake with sabayon on the menu.
Very warm, friendly service from the owner. I'm glad to have them in the neighborhood.
Opinions on Restaurants in Beziers and Languedoc-Roussillon
Merci mille fois, southoffrance! Yes, I spent about three months in northern Languedoc a couple years ago and adored it for just the reasons you say. Thanks so much for your recommendations, and I'll let you know if I find any new items of interest...
Re-thinking Chowhound Digest - Requesting Feedback
As an FYI, I edit the SF digest, so my feedback is from the perspective of a long-time Chowhound user and a short-time Digest editor.
1) Do you read Chowhound Digests? If not, why not?
Yes :)
2) In your mind, what is the purpose of the Chowhound Digest? In your opinion, to what extent is it meeting its goals? What could change that would make it more useful or better?
I would say that it's to uncover the best of the best--but not to distill. I think the signal to noise ratio of concierge dining recommendations to reports has gotten out of whack, and distill makes me think that I am getting 10% of the boards--I don't want 10%, I want the good stuff.
I look to the Digest to:
**Find reports that I might have otherwise have missed
**Provide context that adds to my understanding
As an example of the first, there are plenty of people who write reports that never get a single response, or get maybe a couple, and those posts can get buried quickly on active boards. Sometimes people append interesting information into a thread that might not otherwise interest me, so I wouldn't have read it. I want the Digest to pick up both of those.
By context, I mean background information that exists outside of an individual report. That could include other reports (for instance, previous reports on the same topic or restaurant) or information encountered off the board. As an example of the second, it might be interesting that a couple who recently opened a restaurant worked at another well-known restaurant first. The person who writes the initial report may take for granted that readers have that information, but plenty of people do not, and I want the Digest to provide me with the basics.
3) What aspects of the Chowhound Digest do you like? Why do you read it?
I like that it highlights the best of the boards, and nudges me toward reading things I might otherwise miss. I also like that it acknowledges great reporters--I look out for new Hounds writing their first reviews and people who consistently bring great content. They deserve recognition.
4) What features of the Digest would you change?
I would make the format more flexible and modern. Ability to include photographs, for instance, and for the gap between writing and posting to shrink. At this point, I'm up to my fourth restaurant that closed between me writing a Digest and the Digest being posted.
Also, I think too many people have no idea the Digest exists, and that should change. I understand mailbox overload, but I think many people do not subscribe simply because they have no idea that they can.
Thanks again, Dave MP, for soliciting user feedback, and I look forward to all of your comments.
Vietnam House Chowdown Report [San Francisco]
Thanks everyone for joining us! It was great to connect faces to names, and share a meal with you.
For me, the highlights were the papaya salad, banh khot, and banh cuon. Both the banh khot and banh cuon I'd had on my first visit to Vietnam House, and I liked the banh cuon better on the second tasting.
The only big fail for me was the goi cuon. The rice paper wrappers were thick and sticky, almost like dried glue. I like fresh spring rolls as a hand-held salad alternative, but these were not enjoyable though they did have, as someone else mentioned, a certain structural integrity. I would not order them again.
Vietnam House Chowdown Report [San Francisco]
Eleven of us gathered for a group dinner on April 9th. This is the reporting thread for what we ate and what we thought of what we ate.
We had a dedicated scribe (thank you!) who will list the dishes we consumed, and then each diner will report in with their impressions of the must-have dishes as well as the ones to skip.
Salumeria Pop-Up at Shotwells Bar [San Francisco]
Last night we visited the Salumeria pop-up at Shotwells on 20th and Shotwell in San Francisco. I ordered everything on the menu, took more than my share, forked someone who made a move toward the crunchy chicken bits that had fallen back onto the paper, and regretted nothing.
Menu:
**hen ballotine, green garlic aioli, pea tendrils, focaccia
**estero gold cheese, sea salt and olive oil crackers, toscana salami, whole grain mustard, marinated olives and pickles
**cherry peppers, ricotta and boquerones
Salumeria will be a new spot near the flourishing 20th/Alabama food and art corridor. It's a project by the Flour & Water people, joined to Central Kitchen, and will open in late May 2012 if all goes according to plan (which never seems to happen). More here: http://grubstreet.com/tags/sanfrancisco/salumeria
The hen ballotine, a boned braised chicken sandwich, was a delight, with succulent meat, crispy edges, and not too much focaccia jamming up the works. They handed this over with a wedge of lemon recommended for maximum flavor. I forgot about the lemon, and adored the sandwich all the same, despite the fact that chicken sandwiches are so tedious they never charm me. This was a masterful blend of textures, flavors and good technique. Gold star.
The kicky cherry peppers with a puff of ricotta tied with a boquerone bow were also enjoyable, and a welcome amuse, or between course diversion. I asked the lady in charge which parts they had made, and she said not the boquerones, which I took to mean they had made the ricotta? Perhaps I misunderstood, but it was tasty.
I was least impressed by the salumi plate, but I think this is a tough town to charge $10 for a few slices of salami, a spoonful of mustard, and some OK crackers. Nice firm buttery cheese and good porky but not greasy salami--everything was perfectly fine, but I think I've had so many great charcuterie plates as to make me unimpressable, or at least not easily impressed. So this was just fine.
I look forward to trying more of their food when they open. That was one excellent sandwich.
Is Pastores closed?
That is terrible news, but thanks for sharing, Melanie. I hope she reappears elsewhere, perhaps with help to manage the business end.
The hours and vacation situation was always idiosyncratic verging on irrational, but I love Irma and her food. After a particularly harrowing New Years Eve a few years ago, I arrived at Pastores looking like road kill, and asked her for an agua fresca. She didn't have any fruit, but ran out to the market next door to buy a pineapple. She juiced and handed over the entire thing for three bucks. Couldn't be a nicer person.
Burgers and coffee, that's elf food, apparently -- your thoughts solicited
Yes, when they doubled the size of the space, they increased the number of taps. I was there this afternoon, and there were 15 beers on tap, and I think two sours. Also, probably ~10 sour bottles in the fridge that can be consumed on premises with a corkage fee. I'd pick it over Toronado any day.
Burgers and coffee, that's elf food, apparently -- your thoughts solicited
City Beer Store. You can call to see what their selection is that day, and if they're featuring any sours.
A rave for Market Hall Caterers [Oakland]
I experienced their catering as an eater at daveena's wedding, so only impressions are from taste of the food and not the negotiation, menu selection, or admin side.
The fare was really impressive--I think I had seconds of everything, and the chicken and pasta in particular were great. To say it was the best wedding food I've had would not emphasize enough the huge gap between this and typical "wedding chicken," but, considering the chief critic, negotiator, and menu selector, that probably wasn't surprising.
The Sinaloan truck also did a great job by paring down their typical truck menu and offering a short list of 5-6 tacos during the post-wedding cocktail and photograph session.
Tayberries?
I've bought them at the Alemany market, in bulk, for jam making. They'd be a lot cheaper than the Ferry Building, if that matters to you.
Mozzeria? Anyone been?
After writing the Digest about Mozzeria, and noticing a bare cupboard, I plotted a trip there on Wednesday night. Here's what we thought:
Food
Cal-Neapolitan, lots of well-prepared fresh vegetables and herb accents. Great neighborhood comfort food, probably along the lines of Firefly, but with a smaller menu.
We shared:
- Razor clams with sausage in broth
- Sausage pizza with white garlic sauce
- House-made burrata with roasted peppers and basil oil
- Beet salad with horseradish and goat cheese
Everything landed on the scale of good to great. I especially liked the tangy pizza crust, which was blistered without being burnt, and we fought over the last drippings of fennel-infused clam broth. Pizza was five slices, enough for a couple to share with appetizers or carb-hungry solo diner with no other dishes. We split it between three, and it was definitely enough food with our three appetizers. The garlic sauce that served as the base of the pizza had a warm, roasted flavor that I enjoyed a lot.
The burrata was good, though the skin was a little thick and detracted from the creamy interior. Beet salad was simple and well executed, with a smear of horseradish to notch up the flavor.
Razor clams were small and plump, served with a fat wedge of bread and a sausage patty that we broke up and let sink into the fennel-flavored buttery broth. After the bread was gone, I wanted the pizza to hurry just so that I could beat my friends (temporarily known as broth competitors) to the rest of it, sopping up the rest of the liquid with the frame of the crust.
The rest
After reading the KQED article about the couple who own Mozzeria (they are deaf and hired deaf staff), and their website (which doesn't emphasize that aspect), I wondered how, if at all, the couple's deafness, and integration of the deaf community into their business would make this different than a typical experience.
Their web reservation service was down so I called instead and think we communicated with a TTY service. The dining room, one of those long Mission shoebox styles, was much quieter than a typical booming SF restaurant, and pleasantly so. Music played faintly in the background as we had a chance to look at the space: burnt cream walls, and floors a gorgeous dark wood. More than half of the tables were using sign language, among themselves and with the servers, and in time the motion of hands seemed like a type of noise in itself.
Ordering didn't feel completely easy--one friend has a severe allergy, so we made inquires (with paper + pen) and then that note, with our order, disappeared before being placed in the queue. An order for a glass of wine fell through the cracks also, while a duplicate dish was delivered a couple times after we'd eaten the original. It was never clear exactly who our server was.
Other than making inferences based on the activity around you, there's no explanation of what's going on if you happened to wander in off the street. I suspect they don't want to use deafness as a marketing ploy--it's a restaurant for everyone and the quality of the food should trump everything. However, it does--the food is well executed and tastes great; I'm looking forward to eating here again.
I wonder, though, if they're missing out on emphasizing many of the components that make this meal special: the sense that this is what local is, that this is what community is. I guess my thoughts on this aren't entirely clear even to me, except that I think if I entered this restaurant, without any background, I might be confused and need more guidance to be able to communicate gracefully.
Anyhow, long rambling thoughts. The food is good. Eat here.
Healthy, walkable North Beach?
I know, huh? That chicken! It's one of the in-plain-sight hidden gems in the neighborhood. When I first moved to SF and had no money, we'd go there for dinner and split a chicken and a half-and-half salad for dinner, and it was both luxurious and cheap. Love that place.
Maven on Haight (old RNM space) -- Great cocktails, fantastic fries
I know, huh? Maybe if we just stare meaningfully and unblinkingly in their direction we can make that happen.
It may be the case that they're busy enough and don't want to double their cocktail business while losing out on the food side. Both times I've been there it's been packed. But give me a ring if you two do stop by.
Maven on Haight (old RNM space) -- Great cocktails, fantastic fries
Went back and found much the same--the cocktails are awesome, much better than anything else in this neighborhood, and the fries a marvel, but none of the bigger dishes made an impact that seemed worth the price. We tried a broccoli agnolotti that was unevenly cooked and an asparagus dish that was pretty good but required no sorcery on the grill nor conjured much on the palate.
Cocktail-wise, we tried:
Three Little Birds (pisco, pineapple, rosemary, egg white, lime)
Whisper Cocktail (lillet, orgeat, spring vermouth, chili, smoke)
Both were well conceived and prepared, but I especially give the thumb's up to the Whisper for the lurking smoke and chili undertones.
Service was knowledgable and friendly. I saw a bottle of unfamiliar gin (Small's brand) and asked after it. The very busy bartender gave me the background on it (Oregonian, from Local Wine Company) and let me try it--it smelled and tasted of raspberry leaves. Not my thing, but I was grateful that he took the time out of his busy shaking and stirring to educate.
Fresh pierogi?
I love pierogi, and make them every Easter (along with a butter lamb), but I honestly haven't tried any great ones in San Francisco. I think there just aren't enough Poles here.
I've had some at Chopin in Walnut Creek that were good, but when I want them, I make them at home. My mom has on occasion shipped some out from the East Coast, and there are several delis that'll do that.
Opinions on Restaurants in Beziers and Languedoc-Roussillon
That's weird (or I guess not weird, considering problems I've had with search in the past). Yes, the first thing I did was search Beziers, and got 0 results, but when I googled it this morning I found your recommendation for La Compagnie des Comptoires.
Have you been to either of the Michelin places there? I would guess that 4-5 of our dinners will be in Beziers itself, where work will pin me down most days, hence my interest in that Beziers list more than the region at large--though I hope to sneak in 1-2 dinners outside town.
Chawan Mushi at Takara
Ask (of Chowhound) and ye shall receive. Thanks, drewski.
Do you remember if it is cold or warm? I had a cold chicken custard in Istanbul that has made me wary of cold savory custards.
