zenduck's Profile
Bologna revisited -- September 2011 (quite long)
I'm leaving for Bologna tomorrow - your timing is superb. Mille grazie!
undiscovered gems in Bologna and/or Verona?
I'd be very grateful for any recommendations for places to eat in Bologna and/or Verona, particularly ones that wouldn't be found in the usual guidebooks. Warnings about ovderraqted places would also be welcome. As an aside, am I missing something or is it no longer possible to do a search on Chowhound boards? I'm sure there are plenty of postings here on both of these cities but I don't think I have the time to wade through 65 pages in order to find them (we leave on Friday).
Good Japanese (non-sushi) in or near FiDi?
How does one "order carefully" at Kamakura? It's very close to my office.
Good Japanese (non-sushi) in or near FiDi?
Any suggestions for good Japanese food in the food desert of the Financial District? Extra points for a place that offers properly cooked brown rice. Doesn't have to be stellar, just good.
Wine shops in Tucson?
My wife and I are going to be spending a couple of weeks at a guest ranch in southeastern Arizona that is a BYOB establishment. We'll be flying into Tucson and renting a car. Where can we go to get a mixed case or two of good, inexpensive wine (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Loire reds, whites, & bubbles)? It'd be nice to go someplace where the folks actually know something about wine (unlike Trader Joe's).
Leg of lamb for Nowruz?
We're having some iranian friends over this weekend to celebrate Nowruz (Persian New Year) and I have a fine leg of lamb I'd like to prepare in a Persian style. I haven't been able to find a recipe that I like, so I'm hoping someone out there can help me out. Referring me to a cookbook would be OK (provided it's not in Farsi) though I'd prefer the recipe itself. Thanks!
Good dinners near the Wilshire Grand?
I'm going to be Downtown for a conference in early March and I'd love to have some suggestions of good places for dinner within walking distance of the Wilshire Grand that aren't too posh and where I might stand a snowball's chance in hell of getting in on short notice. I promise to return the favor if you come to Berkeley!
Sonoran-style hot dogs?
I do find myself in and around Salinas with some regularity and I'd love to know about the carts!
Sonoran-style hot dogs?
I just read yet another tantalizing story (in the NYT this time) about Sonoran-style hot dogs - a wiener wrapped in bacon and grilled, then put in a modified bolillo bun and topped with guacamole and salsa and mayo and cheese-stuffed grilled chiles. Apparently they're all the rage in Tucson. I have to have one of these things but I'm not headed for AZ anytime soon. Has anyone head of anyone doing this alchemy hereabouts? Talk about a food mania waiting to happen!!!
John's Snack & Deli for Kimchi burritos & tacos, SF - any reports?
John's just a couple of doors down Battery from my office, and I finally tried the burrito. I thought it was pretty darn good. I found all the dominant flavors (other than the tortilla) to be straight Korean - my lips are still tingling from the kim chi.
Bad scene at Corso
We walked over to Corso on Shattuck last night full of anticipation. A good Florentine trattoria in the neighborhood run by the folks at Rivoli (a place we love) - what could be better? As it turned out, a LOT. We were seated right away, and our first impression of the place was, "this is fun!" Things started downhill from there. Our waiter was on us before we had had much of a chance to look at the menus. Instead of asking if we wanted a drink or had any questions about the menu, he very brusquely asked us what we wanted. We scrambled and ordered. This was one of the worst waiters I have encountered in a long time. The only thing consistent about his service was his rudeness. Our first courses came well before we had our wine. My Nebbiolo was corked. When I complained, instead of offering another wine or at least smelling and tasting it he started giving me a lecture about the characteristics of the grape, presuming I was an idiot, I guess. We eventually ordered two more glasses, and then the entrees came and the wine didn't. Finally the manager went and got the wine. The food was OK but not great, and certainly not worth the abuse. The tagliatelle with sugo was good but Riva Cucina's sugo is MUCH better. The crostini with three toppings were fine - the white anchovies were particularly good. However, for me it was a case of the service being so bad as to distract me from the food's qualities. I spoke to the manager as we left, weho seemed genuinely concerned. Given the place's convenience and pedigree, I may give it another chance in a month or so with the hope that that waiter has been fired and they have things running more smoothly. Until then I'll keep driving down to Riva Cucina.
Pure briquettes in the Bay Area?
I've done some web research looking for charcoal briquettes that don't contain coal and other nasty things (I use lump charcoal for most grilling but briquettes work a lot better if you're going to slow cook something). The one name that comes up is Nature Glo - pure hickory charcoal with corn starch as a binder, manufactured by Hickory Specialties in Tennessee. Trouble is, I haven't been able to find a local Bay Area source and the shipping charge for mail order is exorbitant. Any serious grillers/bbq-ers out there, that can help me find this stuff, preferably in the Oakland/Berkeley area?
Tecate mini-report
I was in Tecate on Cinco de Mayo, and during the three hours I was wandering around, hanging out in the plaza, and eating I don't think I saw another gringo. Unlike every other border town I've been in, you can walk the four blocks from the border to the plaza and feel like you are 100% in Mexico. I love the place. I love it even more now that I've had the tacos de harina de carne asada at Los Amigos (on the corner one block south of the southeast corner of the plaza). These things came in delicious fresh burrito-sized flour tortillas with splendidly chewy carne asada and guacamole inside. Add some of the onions, carrots, and jalapenos en escabeche and salsa brought to the table and you're in heaven. Definitely worth the hour drive from San Diego.
Tecate mini-report
I was in Tecate on Cinco de Mayo, and during the three hours I was wandering around, hanging out in the plaza, and eating I don't think I saw another gringo. Unlike every other border town I've been in, you can walk the four blocks from the border to the plaza and feel like you are 100% in Mexico. I love the place. I love it even more now that I've had the tacos de harina de carne asada at Los Amigos (on the corner one block south of the southeast corner of the plaza). These things came in delicious fresh burrito-sized flour tortillas with splendidly chewy carne asada and guacamole inside. Add some of the onions, carrots, and jalapenos en escabeche and salsa brought to the table and you're in heaven. Definitely worth the hour drive from San Diego.
Good eats in Tecate?
I'm a reading (and writing) fool, as a matter of fact - I've written about the border country between east San Diego and Imperial Counties and Baja CA del Norte in the past. I will run out and find the Reveles books - thanks for the reco!
Good eats in Tecate?
I grew up in San Diego but haven't been to Tecate in years. My wife and I will be heading there in May and I'd like to learn where the good taquerias and other purveyors of Mexican food are these days.
Los Cuates salsa
I am happy to have it, and I'd be happy to buy you a beer if we're ever in the same place at the same time.
Los Cuates salsa
Los Cuates (the one on the south side of Lomas) is always my first stop when I come into ABQ - I haven't really arrived until I've had a carne adovada burrito (green). I also always buy at least a couple of jars of their unique and delicious salsa, but I always run out before, sometimes long before, I can get back. My sister who lives in ABQ is moving soon, so I'm losing my contact. Anybody know how to get it shipped to California? Will the restaurant do it? I'm beginning to panic just a little.
classic/regional Mexican cookbooks?
I don't want this to stop, but I do want to say that the response has been fantastic - muchas gracias para todos!
classic/regional Mexican cookbooks?
I just got back to the States from two weeks in Sayulita, Tlaquepaque, and Guanajuato. I'll do a post on the food on the trip soon (though I will say that the top restaurants for us in each place were Tierra Viva, Fonda Adobe, and El Abue, respectively), but right now I'm really keen to find the titles of great Mexican cookbooks (in Spanish or English) that AREN'T by Diana Kennedy (I've got those). I'm hoping that there are Mexican equivalents to the great untranslated Italian regional cookbooks out there somewhere. I know I'm just going to have to come back for cooking classes, but I'd love your help in finding out about untranslated (or lesser-known English language) classics.
classic/regional Mexican cookbooks?
I just got back from two weeks in Jalisco and Guanajuato states, and I'm really keen to find the titles of great Mexican cookbooks (in Spanish or English) that AREN'T by Diana Kennedy (I've got those). I'm hoping that there are Mexican equivalents to the great untranslated Italian regional cookbooks out there somewhere. I know I'm just going to have to go back for cooking classes, but I'd love your help in finding out about untranslated (or lesser-known English language) classics.
Guanajuato recos?
We're going to be in Guanajuato for a week and are trying to gather restaurant recommendations. I've searched old threads and keep coming upon Truco 7, El Abue, and the fondas in the Mercado. Where else should we go? We're interested in Mexican food mostly (though a good Italian place wouldn't be bad to know about), and everything from comidas corridas up to posh. Also, if you were going to have one lunch in San Miguel Allende, where would you go?
eating at the bar in Berkeley
I'm going to try this with a better headline. My wife's just taken a job that takes her out of town a lot, and I'm interested in learning about places in Berkeley and environs that are both good and receptive to folks eating alone. The bar at Eccolo looks friendly, and I've eaten at the bar at Britt Marie's, Olivia, and Cesar before and had good experiences. I know there have been discussions of this topic here before but I can't seem to find the right hook for the search. Thanks from the Lonely Diner.
romantic spot on San Mateo/Santa Cruz coast?
Thanks to everyone who responded. We made a reservation at Cetrella but at the last minute decided to go to Duarte's instead. It was great, as always - we'd never been there for dinner before - and the ambience was perfect - warm, funky, and REAL (the room at the lodge at Costanoa was sufficiently romantic to take care of that requirement for the weekend). I had a half-dozen absolutely fresh and splendid oysters, the artichoke soup, and a perfectly cooked piece of black cod. BTW, we also had a really good lunch at Chocolate, the sidewalk cafe adjoining Bookshop Santa Cruz. My wife had a caramelized onion torta and I had a chicken mole sandwich, both of which were fresh, organic/free range, and good (though the mole was perhaps a bit more Asian than Mexican in its flavors).
romantic spot on San Mateo/Santa Cruz coast?
I'm gathering up my wife at our house in Berkeley and taking her to Costanoa on the San Mateo coast for our 5th wedding anniversary. I'd like to take her somehere good and intimate for dinner. I figure we can go south as far as Santa Cruz and north as far as Half Moon Bay. When I was an undergrad at UCSC way back in the early 1970s the food ran to crepes or brown rice served in a hot Earth Shoe. From looking at posts here it seems that things have gotten better, but not a whole lot better. Fresh and local is good. Doesn't have to be too fancy, but not a roadhouse or a taqueria either (much as I love them). Thanks for the help. P.S. I'm not sure whether this should be on the Bay Area or Calif. board.
romantic dinner on the San Mateo/Santa Cruz coast?
I'm gathering up my wife at our house in Berkeley and taking her to Costanoa on the San Mateo coast for our 5th wedding anniversary. I'd like to take her somehere good and intimate for dinner. I figure we can go south as far as Santa Cruz and north as far as Half Moon Bay. When I was an undergrad at UCSC way back in the early 1970s the food ran to crepes or brown rice served in a hot Earth Shoe. From looking at posts here it seems that things have gotten better, but not a whole lot better. Fresh and local is good. Doesn't have to be too fancy, but not a roadhouse or a taqueria either (much as I love them). Thanks for the help.
Report on Bodega Bay and environs
I want to thank everyone who repsonded to my earlier post asking for Chow recommendations in Bodega Bay and vicinity. Our first night we fulfilled a longstanding tradition and went to Dinucci's in Valley Ford. Classic California Italian roadhouse dinners (antipasto, minestrone, green salad, entree, & spumoni). The food's not worth a special trip, but the ambience is fantastic, and the bar is a great place to talk to locals about ranching (a fave topic of mine). They're now selling t-shirts that say "What happens in Dinucci's...stays in Dinucci's," to which one old rancher responded, "Hell, what you do in Dinucci's leaves Dinucci's before you do!" The joys of a small town...
Breakfast was at the Tides - ho hum, but we had a coupon. A mediocre lunch at Lucas Wharf - clam chowder that hadn't seen much by way of clams and slightly unpleaant fried oysters (I should've known better this late in the year) - though it was lovely sitting out on the wharf. I think we would've done better to follow some of the recommendations and one to the deli insead of the restaurant.
Dinner at the Seaweed Cafe. Lovely room, very good staff - we didn't wind up having to wait very long for anything except getting our server to bring the wine. My wife started with an amazingly fresh green salad with a vinaigrette that was redolent of tangerines. I had one of the specials - halibut tartare - and it was sublime. It was really more of a sushi presentation, delicately but fully flavored, topped with flying fish roe - a total success. We started with a couple of glasses of Korbel bubbly and then moved on to a 2001 Mueller Pinot Noir. The server was very helpful when I explained to her my loathing for high-alcohol fruit bombs. The wine was definitely Sonoma in its terroir, but balanced and well-structured (for a change!). My wife ordered the duck breast and liked it so much that I didn't get a taste. I ordered the suasage and clams with beans - essentially a soup. All the raw materials were fine and the clams were wonderful and essential (if a little sparse) but somebody in the kitchen forgot to salt the darn thing! That's particularly bad when it comes to beans. I had a very nice cheese plate for dessert and my wife had a meltingly wonderful chocolate thing whose name I've forgotten. The dessert wine list was unimpressive and we passed. In short, I'd have to echo other 'Hounds who have found the place to be very good when it's good, but seriously inconsistent and a little on the expnsive side for what you get. I must confess that our experience wasn't helped by the fact that we had couples with domestic problems on either side of us in a rather compressed space.
On our last day we had breakfast/lunch at the Spud Point Marina Cafe, and that was the best meal of the trip. I had the crab sandwich and my wife (allergic to shellfish) had the tri-tip sandwich. Both were simple perfection, and a splendid end to a great weekend. We'll b going back soon and I look forward to trying the Sebastopol recos that time around.
BBQ oak chips/chunks?
Sorry I wasn't more specific - the particular use I had in mind for the oak chips was soaking in water and putting on the coals for flavoring purposes. I bought some overpriced red oak chips last year from some guy in Santa Maria - I'd heard red oak was the absolutely authentic wood - and the flavor was great even if it was a bit of a rip-off. I am interested in doing more grilling/barbecuing with wood rather than charcoal in general. By the way, I wound up using hickory chips and a recipe Russ Parsons ran in the LA Times several years ago - simple marinade of olive oil, lots of crushed garlic, salt and smashed black peppercorns, two-level fire, fast sear on both sides and then 25 or so minutes on the cool side of a covered grill. It was really good! And I didn't forget the pinquitos - recipe from the same Russ Parsons story, with beef chunks and bacon and tomato puree. A very CA 4th! Thanks for all the responses!
BBQ oak chips/chunks?
I'm grilling a Santa Maria-style tri-tip for the 4th and I'd really like to find someplace in the Bay Area (the closer to Berkeley the better) where I can get oak chips or chunks for smoking purposes. Everywhere I go seems to have hickory and mesquite and apple and that's it. I realize this is completely last minute but can anybody help? Post-4th posts would be welcome. (This is posted on the Home Cooking board as well - hope that's OK)
BBQ oak chips/chunks in Bay Area?
I'm grilling a Santa Maria-style tri-tip for the 4th and I'd really like to find someplace in the SF Bay Area (the closer to Berkeley the better) where I can get oak chips or chunks for smoking purposes. Everywhere I go seems to have hickory and mesquite and apple and that's it. I realize this is completyely last minute but can anybody help? Post-4th posts would be welcome.
