chowwow's Profile
In Search of the Sweet
Also, do you prefer it flakey-er or more "wet" and fudgey-er?
In Search of the Sweet
Do you want recipes? I have a bunch of them. Also,s snce Jews don't eat flour during the 8 days of Passover (other than the special kind used in kosher-for Passover matzah), jewish cookbooks are good sources for this types of dessert, as are local bakeries during the Passover season. I will try to remember my list of places, tho I usually end up making my own, and so haven't had a lot of the flourless chocolate cakes from outside the kitchen lately. Still, I should be abl to come up with a few. I also think that this dessert is not at all uncommon, so you should not have too much trouble finding good ones here. In fact, I had a great one just afew weeks ago - if I could only recall where.... (not great with names, though i vivdly recall the food....)
Source for Spit-Roasting Whole Lamb? (Bay Area)
Fantastic! Thank you Melanie (and all others!). I will try to get up there and, if I do so, I promise to report back.
Pluto's-type salads in Oakland-Berekeley-Albany-E.C. Area?
Sizzler not my choice... no kidding.
Looking more for sit-down, and not really a salad bar. (Whole Fodds salad bar is okay, but I miss the really good salad bars I had in New York. Haven't found such good ones here, though I also haven't looked all that hard...)
Do you really think Pluto's salads are equivalent to Sizzler? (Full disclosure: I've been to a Sizzler only once, and there is a reason it was only once...)
I recall the thread on the salad for the lady-friend, but that person was looking for more of a salad side-dish, I thought. I'm talking about a good, hearty salad-meal with a variety of ingredients.... And hey, I don't think SIzzler would be offering hearts of palm and the like for its salads...
Any/all suggestions (or warnings) welcome.
Good spiniach salad suggestions (palces to get 'em in Brkly/Oakland/Albany/E.C. area) also a plus.
Saffron in Albany [split from Nonstaurants thread]
And the hot-tub place across the street -- although there are many better places for that around town... And you are right, the owner of saffron is very warm, friendly, and pretty knowledgable. Generous, too, in our experience. Amkes me think of Saul's, in Kensington, which I really miss. Food was fabulous tasting and gorgeous to look at. he did these lovely mosaic-type designs on his platters....
Pluto's-type salads in Oakland-Berekeley-Albany-E.C. Area?
I'm a big fan of Pluto's (Palo Alto; haven't been to the others yet) choose-your-fixinns, big, yummy salads. Have had a bit of a challenge finding a comparable (and comparably-priced) salad place in the East Bay (western region of the East Bay, that is).
Any suggstions for great-tasting, large dinner-sized salads with a vaiety of mix-in options (especially meats/poultry, fruits, and corn, hearts of plam, and such)?
I know of one place on Telegraph, in Berkeley, but haven't been there in a while, parking is a hassle, and you don't get the choice that Pluto's offers....
Saffron in Albany [split from Nonstaurants thread]
Yep, I agree. Syas something good about the place that it has survived despite being in an off-the-beaten-path location. Let's hope it keeps it up. As you point out, it's up to all of us to give worthy places our business.
Livestock Auction: Healdsburg Future Farmers Country Fair, 5/23
Melanie (or others),
Do you know if they raise/sell lamb, or only mutton (maybe I incorrectly read "sheep" as mutton?)? Is dairy available? trying to decide whether it's worth the trip for us.... Thanks.
Source for Spit-Roasting Whole Lamb? (Bay Area)
Still haven't heard back from the Dixon lamb festival folks (the festival is in early October and descriptions sound very tempting). Anyone out there know of local spit-rosting gurus? Or ever built a rig for spit-roasting larger meats over open fire? I've done some seraching on the web, but nothing helps like a real, live expert to show you how...!
Saffron in Albany [split from Nonstaurants thread]
Yeah, Zand is a good place/source, and the place I always went to for this type of food when on Solano. But Saffron also has some good items and is in a little different neighborhood -- one that's often neglected, as Melanie pointed out. Impressive to me is the fact that two Middle-Eastern food shops within (long) walking distance are supported by the commuity.
KQED Check Please 5/22/09: Joe's of Westlake (Daly City); La Mediteranee (Berkeley); Roy's Restaurant (SF)
Personally, I don't understand the hoopla about La Med. I've always found it to be only mediocre (another meaning for "med"?), both in Berkeley and in SF. Food not so flavorful as it could be, nor as subtle in the flavoring. For example, the fesijun seemed rather bland, chicken relatively tough; feta cheeses way too dry and sour for my taste.... To me, it is to Middle-Eastern food what most "Mexican" eateries in suburban Indiana are to *real* Mexican food -- bland (not just/necessarily in taste, but also in style and selection and creativity), pastey, and stereotyped. Okay college-town versions for those who don't know from the real thing, but a big disappointment to many of us who do.
Apologies to those who like La Med. For what it's worth, although I love (!) more authentic Chinese food, I've also found that as I get older, I also have re-found my fondness for so-called sweet 'n sour chicken (thought never had an affinity for chow mein or chop suey...).
Saffron in Albany [split from Nonstaurants thread]
Also, I know and think of it as a shop for ingredients for Middle Eastern cookery, which is why I thought it would fit the description. It's interesting to think about what makes a place an eatery/restaurant rather than a shop, as well as the little things about a place that stick in our minds and remain salient. Your deli, my shop that happens to have some prepared foods and a few tables; either way, some good offerings (although there are other spots I prefer).
Saffron in Albany [split from Nonstaurants thread]
Hmm... funny, I never thought of it as a deli. But, then, I'm a little picky about what I'll call deli, having spent many years in the Mid-Atlantic and New England. To me, food that's mostly Persian, Jordanian, Sephardic/Mizrahi, etc. is wonderful, but not deli.
Knafeh
Yes, that's the place: House of Falafel. We loved it. Great lamb, the best Middle-Eastern tea we've had in the area (save at friends' homes!), friendly proprietor who seems most fluent in Jordanian Arabic but known to test out his limited Hebrew now and then. Casual place with diverse patrons. One draw back: the baklava we had was pretty dry (not enough honey and nuts for our taste), and a little bland. But the lamb shawerma plate is very good.
Diners in Armonk, Briarcliff, Chappaqua, Mt. Kisco, Mt. Pleasant, and Pleasantville?
This place has been a reliable and well-loved place for decades. One of my favorite diner memories. I miss it. If it's anything like it used to be, I think it fits all of the original poster's criteria.
Long ago, we also went to the Thornwood Diner for excellent "Chicken in a Basket" and all the fixins. Don't know if it is still around or within your geo requirements.
Knafeh
A close friend is a native Jerusalemite and swears by Jaffa, a place in the Old City, and I had a good knafeh in Machneh Yehuda -- but that would be for the Israel-area ChowHounds!
Anyhow, he is very particular about knafeh, and the only one we found so far that held up was at a place near Wolfe Road in the Cupertino area. I'll try to get the name. in any case, in the restaurant (which has very good shawerma and excellent tahina sauce) he was only so-so about the knafeh - even after I had to ask for extra syrup for him. The next day, however, when he heated up the leftover knafe, he was quite pleased. I think the flavors had to blend a little.
Jews often made it with a cream filling but the one he loves is with white cheese, which is what we've found here in the Bay Area. Gebna beida or a mix of ricotta and fresh mozzarella might do. Don't know about the goat cheese -- definitely not chevre.
As for the color, I would bet it's safron. I've seen knafeh with a yellow hue, golden or, at the market in Jerusalem, bright carrot-orange.
Mountain View's Kitchen Table - neokosher
Do you know if the Israeli place in Cupertino is glatt kosher? I think it's called The Golden Bowl. It's nothing fancy, but is a sit-down, homey place.
And yes, it is nice to know that there is at least one more place to suggest to friends or family who need that kind of strict observance.
Saffron in Albany [split from Nonstaurants thread]
There is a middle eastern food shop in Albany, on Solano Ave, just a block or two west of San Pablo, that has a small amount of Jewish-Persian, -Moroccan, and Israeli style dishes that can be take-away or heated up for sit-down at a couple of tables in the shop. We enjoyed the persian-style stuffed peppers (with a touch of pomegranite).
Nonstaurants?
Haven't been there in a little while and don't remember what friends have gotten (I pretty much stick with the kubadeh and other items in the store - not the hot trays). Will try to get there with one of my buddies who's a regular and report back on his suggestions. I can say that the French feta they sell is very good, as with the Armenian string cheese (tho that's pretty standard). And a decent selection of labne. I also have found the service there very good. Oh, and you are so right about the delicious wafting, tempting smoke... wish I were there now....
Mountain View's Kitchen Table - neokosher
"nothing like this in the bay area..." hmmm. There was Raphael's in Berkeley, there's glatt (I believe) Kosher in Oakland (tho maybe not sit-down). A number of shops that sell kosher food, including homemade (or "housemade" as the lingo now goes) dishes, but you may be right about the glatt kosher sit-down. Of course, save the possible hybrid fruit, wouldn't all of the vegan places count (assuming they kashered the kitchen to begin with)?
Also, was this place formerly Cafe Neti (or some such name)? It was owned by Israelis and tried to be something of a Tel Aviv-style cafe, though my Israeli friends and I, much as we wanted to support it, found the pastry a bit kakha-kakha (so-so). In any case, we'll be sure to check out Kitchen Table. The chicken soup sounds great (and I sometimes put tumeric in mine), and back East, the pastrami was always "shaved" if served cold -- in fact, most cold cuts were. Personally, i don't care for the more thick-sliced cold cuts that seem standard in the Bay Area. That said, a really good sandwich purveyor loads up the meat, so I was disappointed to hear that maigre found the portion lacking. I guess even the kosher places need to economize these days....
Now, off to see if they'll make me a pastrami-corned beef-and-cole slaw sandwich like Grandma used to make.... and on a good rye? Bliss.
The Kitchen Table Restaurant Artisanal kosher Cuisine, Mtn View - NEW (lamb blt, rare roast beef sandwich, chicken & matza ball soup, house cured pastrami, etc)
If it's truly kosher, how can it be that they serve *rare* roast beef? And may we assume that the lamb "blt" is sans the "b" as in bacon?
Is it all Ashkenazic food or do they have Mizrahi food as well? We need a good Yemenite place! (and no frozen malawach and jachnun - we can buy and make that ourselves)
Nonstaurants?
Can't recall the name of the place, but there is a Persian food/halal meat shop on Castro Street in Mt View (or whatever the street is called if you turn right off of El Camino (southbound); diag.across street from the WAMU (now Chase?) bank....
Anyhow, they prepare and sell yummy kubadeh wrapped up in tremendous amounts (too much for my taste) amounts of flat bread - no sauces, but plenty of onions, mint, and basil, unless you ask to not have them. Also sell a selection of other Persian/Near Eastern dishes from their hot trays.
Source for Spit-Roasting Whole Lamb? (Bay Area)
Thanks much, Alan408. Didn't know that, and Dixon is actually a possible location for our event!
Any other tips are still welcome!....
Mark Bittman's no knead bread
First time I made it, it also came out great, though could have had a little more flavor. next times, not so good. I think it makes a difference if you use organic wheat and at room temp. Also, water that has been allowed to dechlorinate (allow it to sit out, open, overnight or boil and then cool before using). also, water to flour and salt rations really matter, at least in my experience.
Source for Spit-Roasting Whole Lamb? (Bay Area)
Thanks for the tip! And I recognize that ranchers may have suggestions/connections too (I will post any I hear of)
As there will be Muslim and Jewish guests, I'd greatly prefer a rig that's not touched pork.
I will, however, welcome any and all suggestions, as it might be possible to purify the rig (have to find out). I already did a chowhound search for "spit roast" but didn't find anything suitable in the Bay Area or Davis area. I'll double check in case I missed something.
PICNIC IN BERKELEY
One more thought since you mentioned playing: if you're into kite flying, Cesar Chavez Park, in Berkeley just north of the marina itself, cannot be beat.
Ah, and a correction: Arizmendi in a great bakery co-op with superb pizza (and other good stuff) like Cheeseboard, but no cheese. There are purveyors at the farmers' market and there's the nearby TJ's or, on nearby Piedmont Ave, the Piedmont Grocery has a great cheese and prepared-food selection and/or you could check out the little market just nextdoor to it, and/or the many fine eateries within a block or two on Piedmont Ave.. Lake Chabot is also a nice area for the picnic itself, and you might catch a paddle boat.
PICNIC IN BERKELEY
If you go to the Grand Lake Farmers' Market in Oakland (just off the 580 and very excellent), you might also stop by Arizmendi, which is similar to the Cheeseboard, and on Lakeshore Ave. You could also check to see if ThreeStoneHearth, a community supported kitchen, is open and pick up a few of their goodies. All of the parks suggested are great for your needs, as might be the Oakland Rose Garden or some of the very small but charming parks in the town of Piedmont - both walkable from the farmers' market. There's also waterfront areas along the estuary or the Berkeley Marina, if you want sea-level. All that said, if I had to pick, I'd say the lawn by Lake Anza in TIlden Park. Just watch out for frisbees and the occassional goose-dropping. Oh, one other lovely option near the farmers' market: rent a canoe or take a gondola ride on Lake Merritt and eat your picnic in floating bliss.
Source for Spit-Roasting Whole Lamb? (Bay Area)
Hey. Anyone out there know an SF Bay Area (and/or Davis area) caterer who's knowlegable and skilled at spit-roasting whole (stuffed?) lamb? Alternatively, anyone know where I might rent the proper equipment and what would be a reasonable price for such rental? Thanks!
