Steveberkeley's Profile
Black & White Cookie
Saul's in Berkeley generally has them. You can get them to go at the front counter or eat them there.
Lalimes After Morrone
Has anyone been to Lalimes lately? They seem to have gone to a small plate approach which could be interesting and I'm wondering if it's worth giving them a try. Thanks.
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Lalime's
1329 Gilman, Berkeley, CA 94706
Mama Lan's Vietnamese is now Tiny Thai (Albany)
I also live around the corner and either eat at the restaurant or take out food on my way home from work a lot. The quality is very good, the portions generous and the prices really, really low. It's the least expensive high quality Thai restaurant I've found in the Berkeley area and they have sticky rice which is a big plus for me. The people there are also really lovely. It's in a little bit of an out of the way location unless you happen to be driving down Gilman but it's well worth seeking out.
Japanese knives in SF (or area)
Hida is a really good store. I live a couple of blocks away, know their stock well and have bought several knives and stones there. Japan Woodworker has a larger selection. Both are equally good but if you want to see a lot of different knives, Japan Woodworker is the place to go. This is especially true for single edged knives. The sharpening service is much better at Japan Woodworker as well, although more expensive. If you're at Hida, go across San Pablo and make a right to Tokyo Fish Market in the middle of the block. They also have quite a nice selection of knives that is different from either of the other two stores. If you're looking for a double edged, western handled, stainless knife, the Fujitake brand at Hida is a great bargain and a great knife, beautifully balanced. I have 11 gyuto (Japanese versions of western chefs knives) and often find myself reaching for the Fujitake over knives that cost three times as much.
Kikuichi Knives?
As to whether to sharpen it yourself or take it to a sharpener, that depends. Japanese knives should be hand sharpened for the most part. There are some really good sharpeners who use some power equipment and finish on bench stones, but you have to be really, really good. The sharpener at Korin in New York is a master but I don't know if he sharpens knives he doesn't sell. Korin, by the way, is an excellent place to check out a wide array of Japanese knives. Kikuichi is great but you may find something that fits better in your hand.
If you know how to sharpen on stones and have some, by all means do it yourself. Most collectors learn to. If you don't want to learn, which is understandable, take them or send them to be sharpened. Don't do it on a machine or a drag through sharpener. If your trusted sharpener understands Japanese knives and sharpens by hand, take them to him. If not, even though he may be good with German and French knives, I'd try Korin or some other Japanese knife specialist in New York or send them to Dave at Japaneseknifesharpening.com as scubadoo97 mentioned above. Dave is great. I learned to sharpen from him and he's amazing. Great guy too.
If you sharpen yourself, the hard felt pad mentioned above is great. I'd worry first about stones and after that a strop though. If you want to learn to sharpen, japaneseknifesharpening.com sells a really excellent DVD. It does take practice and there is a learning curve. Enjoy.
Kikuichi Knives?
I'm a Japanese kitchen knife collector with 24 knives and 10 sharpening stones. Although I've never owned a Kukuichi knife, I know many knowledgeable people who like them a lot. I don't think you can go wrong with them. Some might like other knives for the price better but it's really a matter of personal taste. As far as quality for the money, they have an excellent reputation.
Knife Rust
Most people use wet-dry sandpaper. For knives that aren't too badly rusted or for something to try after you've got it cleaned up, Flitz metal polish is great for taking off rust without scratching. It's more aggressive that Bar Keepers Friend, which is also very good, but gentle enough to not mess up the surface.
Any recent Perbacco experiences?
I ate at Perbacco a month or so ago and thought it was excellent, even better than the great meal I had at Oliveto a few nights earlier. I had the Agnolotti with herbs and truffle jus, the short ribs and the pana cotta. All delicious.
Fresh Gnocchi in SF
I was at the Pasta Shop on 4th street in Berkeley on Sunday and they did have gnocchi, although I think it's not an everyday thing. I've also gotten gnocchi at Andronicos but it wasn't as good. Still usable if you can't get better.
Perbacco, SF report - not worth the hype!
Just got back from having lunch at Perbacco a few minutes ago. It was really excellent. I had dinner at Oliveto on Saturday and enjoyed the food at Perbacco more, and I really like Oliveto. I had the Agnolotti with herbs and truffle jus, the short rib and panna cotta. All of the dishes were very very good. My lunch companion and I made happy noises all through lunch.
House of Curries in Albany
Chai Masala is spiced tea. There are a lot of different mixes and proportions of spices used depending on taste and what part of India people are from. The most common are probably cardamom and cinamon stick with cloves next. Fresh ginger is sometimes used. Plain chai is just tea without spices.
New Blue Bottle Cafe opening 1/23/08 @ 8am
Sorry this is a little late. I'm responding to Sylphi above who said that the espresso drinks were sour. A light roast coffee will be higher in acidity than a dark roast. Sometimes, depending on the coffee, a lot higher. They also may be using higher acid beans in their espresso blend. To someone who likes higher acid coffees, often called "bright" this is great and is often discribed as citric. To someone used to the very dark roasts a lot of roasters use for expresso this can taste sour. I doubt Blue Bottle roasted improperly but they may have chosen deliberately to use a lighter roast than you're used to and maybe also some higher acid coffees than the lower acid Brazils and robusta beans a lot of people use.
For what it's worth, I roast my own and can find very light roasts a little too much for me. On the other hand, the very dark roasts that are common in California and the Pacific Northwest, and nationally with Starbucks just taste bitter to me now and also mask the lovely differences between coffees from different origins. I go in between.
Niagara Falls/Niagara on the Lake
I'm a San Francisco Hound who was in Niagara on the Lake last week. I want to also add my advice to avoid Estia. Just to let you know, I've never posted a negative review of a restaurant on chowhound before. The restaurant has been fixed up nicely but the food was bad, the service awful and the prices high, although not unusual by NOTL standards. The crabcakes were mostly filler, very gummy and deep fried to the hardness of hockey pucks. The lasagna was also gummy with what tasted like a bad jarred sauce. I didn't expect professional service and the servers were nice and meant well but were completely untrained, although they told me they had been there awhile. The entrees were brought before our appetizer plates were taken away and the server just moved them to the corner of the table to put our entrees in front of us. He then left them there. There was especially interesting since my wife hadn't finished eating her appetizer yet. We had a very good meal at the Epicurean the night before with a monkfish in a mustard beurre blanc with fresh fennel that I would have been happy to get at any restaurant in New York or San Francisco. The service at the Epicurean was also very good. We've been eating at the Epicurean for years on our regular visits and have always been happy.
Flying Pan Bistro again: getting more excited
I want to put in my recommendation too. I really hope this place survives. I've been walking up from Montgomery and Sutter and it's definitely worth it. I've tried two of the lunch specials so far, the Shanghai Spicy Chicken and the Ma Po Tofu. Both had a light freshness to them that was very nice and perfectly cooked vegetables. All very balanced and well done. The Chicken Corn Soup and Five Spice Beef were also very good. This is also a really pleasant place, clean and new with tables spaced well apart and the staff is charming and friendly. It's a real find. Unfortunately, when I was in there today there were only a couple of other tables with people at them. If that doesn't change soon, they'll be gone and that would really be too bad.
Knife Sharpening in East Bay?
I rarely post here as I find I have more to learn than I do to add. However, I have very high quality Japanese knives that I sharpen myself with a range of waterstones and have tried both Hida Tool, which is excellent and Japan Woodworker in Alameda, which is also excellent and is my favorite. The knife sharpener there is great. Please do not take decent knives to Sur la Table. Unless they have changed, they use a one size fits all machine that will change the bevel angle on your knives and take off way too much steel, shortening the life of the knife and, if you have a full bevel, will leave the edge inset from the bevel. Do this enough times and the knife is a wreck. I prefer hand sharpening at Hida or JWW but there's nothing wrong with a really skilled sharpener using machines if they're careful, respect the knife and don't take off too much steel. The key word here is skilled. A lot of machine sharpeners just put the knife on a rough grinder at the same angle for all knives and grind it down. Unless you know you have a skilled sharpener, it is much safer to go with the hand sharpeners mentioned above, especially if you have Japanese knives but even if your knives are German, French or American. Good luck.
