My regular readers may have been wondering why I haven’t been my prolific self this past month, and there’s a few reasons: (a) I’ve been golfing quite a bit lately, (b) cooking professionally has limited how much I dine out, and (c) I’ve been putting almost all of my mental energy into my new project, the Culinary Timeline (the site is still a definite work-in-progress, and not quite ready for prime time). Since returning to work in the kitchen earlier this year, I’ve not only expanded my culinary horizons in the present (étoile [... read more ...]]]>

The yolk is the sauce.

My regular readers may have been wondering why I haven’t been my prolific self this past month, and there’s a few reasons: (a) I’ve been golfing quite a bit lately, (b) cooking professionally has limited how much I dine out, and (c) I’ve been putting almost all of my mental energy into my new project, the Culinary Timeline (the site is still a definite work-in-progress, and not quite ready for prime time). Since returning to work in the kitchen earlier this year, I’ve not only expanded my culinary horizons in the present (étoile uses some really amazing and esoteric ingredients), but I’ve also become increasingly interested in the culinary past. I’ve been reading dozens of food history books, studying the evolution of fine dining, but also learning where it all went awry (America’s food industry is in disrepair at the moment, thanks to factory farms and rampant pre-processing). Anyhow, I went down to Berkeley the other day to load up on a few more books, and to have a quick bite to eat. I tried the pork sandwich, pictured above, at Gregoire. It was tasty, although the bun looks a little too big for the patty. Their fried chicken sandwich is still the smartest move for lunch. Equally smart, the potato puffs with aioli, pictured below.

Like duchess potatoes, but deep-fried.

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Pork sandwich, in progress.

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Arizmendi Emeryville lies in the shadow of Pixar Animation Studios, and although the bakery may not provide the ideal venue for a high-level power lunch, it certainly must be a welcome oasis for those who don’t occupy Pixar’s corner offices. And that’s the point, really: Arizmendi Bakery is steeped in the ethos of the everyman, an owner-operated cooperative and a spin-off of the famous Cheese Board Collective in Berkeley. Since its initial launch in 1997, the Arizmendi Bakery has expanded to four locations [... read more ...]]]>

Pizza @ Arizmendi Bakery, Emeryville: Housemade Tomato Sauce, Kalamata Olives, Spinach, Parmesan and Garlic-Herb Oil.

Arizmendi Emeryville lies in the shadow of Pixar Animation Studios, and although the bakery may not provide the ideal venue for a high-level power lunch, it certainly must be a welcome oasis for those who don’t occupy Pixar’s corner offices. And that’s the point, really: Arizmendi Bakery is steeped in the ethos of the everyman, an owner-operated cooperative and a spin-off of the famous Cheese Board Collective in Berkeley. Since its initial launch in 1997, the Arizmendi Bakery has expanded to four locations in the Bay Area, which may give the illusion of rampant franchising. However, each Arizmendi Bakery remains a unique entity in terms of its cooperative ownership (there’s actually no person named Arizmendi behind the scenes; the four bakeries take their common name from José María Arizmendiarrieta, a Basque labor organizer from the last century). As for the pizza itself, the pie at Arizmendi Emeryville is only slightly analogous to that of the Cheese Board, although it certainly boasts a familiar, if not similar, aesthetic (for better or worse, the sourdough crust at Arizmendi seems slightly less crispy than its Cheese Board counterpart). While I do concede that Gioia still remains my favorite slice in the East Bay, if I happened to work at Pixar, I would easily visit Arizmendi once a week, probably even more. In Emeryville, perhaps movie deals are hashed out over pizza.

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Most of these pictures have never appeared on this site, although a couple did appear a few years ago, long before I sharpened my photo-editing skills. Many readers have emailed me about my [... read more ...]]]>

Gateway Market, Emeryville: Adorned with a fantastic mural alongside its parking lot, the Gateway Market is tough to miss on San Pablo Blvd. The artwork has a definite graffiti vibe, but the details are fantastic. Luckily, it hasn't been tagged over. The "W" in Gateway is pictured above (each letter has its own theme). Click on the photo to reveal all of the great flourishes.

Most of these pictures have never appeared on this site, although a couple did appear a few years ago, long before I sharpened my photo-editing skills. Many readers have emailed me about my approach to photography, and I must confess, my only real secret is to simply seek the best lighting possible. Truthfully, I’ve never had any formal photography training, but I did develop an eye for proper lighting while I was working (briefly, almost 15 years ago) as a grip in Los Angeles. Any moviegoer who has bothered to sit through the credits may have wondered what function a grip serves. In a nut shell, the grips help to manipulate the film set’s lighting, based upon the director of photography’s instructions. The “key” grip is the lead grip, while the “best boy” grip is second in command (I was never either of those, obviously). Much like cooking, gripping is long, laborious work with odd hours. However, if you pay attention on the job, you can also learn a few things along the way. Who knew that a summer of gripping would’ve ever become useful?

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Uni with Caul Fat on Crostini @ Marea, NYC: Long before Anthony Bourdain developed his upcoming show, The Layover, which premieres November 21st, I used a four-hour window at JFK to jump onto the subway and eat a seven-course lunch at Marea (top that, Tony). David Koon, my old CIA roommate, was in the kitchen at the time, so I received the VIP treatment, and fast. Coincidentally, Dave opened up his own restaurant, Chuko Ramen, just two days ago in Brooklyn. He said the 35-seat dining room turned out more than 200 covers on its first day, which is an insane number.

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Highway One, Near Salt Point State Park: I was driving up California's North Coast to forage porcinis when I spotted this old fellow gazing out over the Pacific Ocean. He was laying near the edge of the grassy cliff, apparently in total zen mode. Unfortunately, he stood up when I approached to snap a picture. After a two-minute stand-off, I gave up and left him to his meditations. Sorry, buddy.

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Philo Apple Farm, Philo: This large painting adorns the small shopping area at Philo Apple Farm, which is owned by Don and Sally Schmidt, the original owners and founders of Yountville's French Laundry. All purchases are based upon the honor system (at least every time I've visited), and the farm itself is Demeter-certified.

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Nopalito Restaurant, San Francisco: I really like the artwork on this ice-cream freezer outside of Nopalito.

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Five-spice Pork Belly over Rice: This is one of the very first pictures I published on this blog, back at a time when I was publishing recipes. My format has evolved over the years, and at this point, I save all my recipes for the annual Project Food Blog competition, which is coming up again this year (I finished in the Top 12 out of almost 2,000 contestants last year -- just saying).

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Mandina's Restaurant, New Orleans: My sentimental favorite in the Crescent City.

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The Strip District, Pittsburgh, PA: This mural was a work-in-progress during my visit to Pennsylvania a couple years back. I'm sure it's completed by now. I liked where it was headed.

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Boonfly Cafe, Napa Carneros: I spotted this little VW in the parking lot of the Boonfly Cafe one morning. I'm not sure if it belonged to a purveyor or to a guest. Pretty cool whip, regardless.

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Cookie Fortune @ China Village Restaurant, Albany: I think.

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For the most part, Little Star Pizza trades on its reputation for baking one of the Bay Area’s best (albeit few) deep-dish pizzas. That certainly isn’t a bad thing, although in my opinion, deep-dish pizza is barely analogous to thin-crust pizza (same flavors, yes, but so much different in nature). Being a West Coast native, my sensibilities naturally lean towards a more Neapolitan-style pie, and Little Star’s thin-crust alternative, pictured above, is a pleasant and competent offering. Without being specific, or overly back-handed, I’d probably rank it near the bottom of my [... read more ...]]]>

Cheese Pizza @ Little Star, Albany.

For the most part, Little Star Pizza trades on its reputation for baking one of the Bay Area’s best (albeit few) deep-dish pizzas. That certainly isn’t a bad thing, although in my opinion, deep-dish pizza is barely analogous to thin-crust pizza (same flavors, yes, but so much different in nature). Being a West Coast native, my sensibilities naturally lean towards a more Neapolitan-style pie, and Little Star’s thin-crust alternative, pictured above, is a pleasant and competent offering. Without being specific, or overly back-handed, I’d probably rank it near the bottom of my Bay Area top 10. That seems about right.

During my last visit, I also began with Little Star’s caprese salad, which is pictured below. I’ll admit that the following observation might be a little bit of out left field, but I usually take notice of knife cuts, and the basil chiffonade was admirably executed (very even, and with no bruising). I’m all about these subtle details: It lets me know that someone back in the kitchen cares, and it proved to be a telling reflection of the salad itself. As an old chef of mine would have said, bravo.

Caprese Salad @ Little Star, Albany.

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I’m not an actual resident of Berkeley, so I don’t claim to know all of the subtleties of ordering a pizza at Emilia’s on Shattuck Ave. But I do know that Emilia’s is not your typical drop-in pizza joint like, say, Cheese Board, or Gioia, or Blondie’s, or Fat Slice. Unlike most other college-town pizzerias, eating at Emilia’s requires some planning: To begin with, the restaurant itself seats less than 10 people, and is only open from 5pm to 9pm, Tuesday through Saturday. It’s friendly, but it’s geared for take-out. [... read more ...]]]>

Planned Pizzahood: The Margherita @ Emilia's Pizzeria, Berkeley.

I’m not an actual resident of Berkeley, so I don’t claim to know all of the subtleties of ordering a pizza at Emilia’s on Shattuck Ave. But I do know that Emilia’s is not your typical drop-in pizza joint like, say, Cheese Board, or Gioia, or Blondie’s, or Fat Slice. Unlike most other college-town pizzerias, eating at Emilia’s requires some planning: To begin with, the restaurant itself seats less than 10 people, and is only open from 5pm to 9pm, Tuesday through Saturday. It’s friendly, but it’s geared for take-out. That being said, the phones at Emilia’s open everyday before service at 4pm, and people call to schedule their orders accordingly.

I called Emilia’s a bit before 4:15 on a Wednesday and, after four or five busy signals, was able to secure a pizza for a 5pm pick-up. Although I didn’t see any long lines when I arrived to purchase the pie, I did notice a hand-written sign on the wall that stated that the next pizzas would be available at “8:00+.” If that sign was indeed accurate, then the next three hours had already been booked with pre-orders, which is impressive. As for the pizza per se, Emilia’s only offers one size, and no slices. Their standard pizza, pictured above, is an 18″ margherita, and it’s a tasty reward for just a little bit of diligence.

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To say that I’ve rediscovered pizza isn’t exactly accurate — I’ve never really gone too long without a slice. Let’s just say that my appreciation for pizza has been deepening for the last couple months. After a long week working in the kitchen, I woke up this afternoon with pizza on my mind. With a little motivation, I arrived in Berkeley just ahead of rush hour, and stopped by the Cheese Board Collective for [... read more ...]]]>

Two slices, and then some: Mozzarella and Montalban cheese, red peppers, Kalamata olives, garlic olive oil. Please click the photo for a full-screen view.

To say that I’ve rediscovered pizza isn’t exactly accurate — I’ve never really gone too long without a slice. Let’s just say that my appreciation for pizza has been deepening for the last couple months. After a long week working in the kitchen, I woke up this afternoon with pizza on my mind. With a little motivation, I arrived in Berkeley just ahead of rush hour, and stopped by the Cheese Board Collective for their daily pizza special, pictured above. Since the restaurant offers just one type of pizza each day, Cheese Board pizzas are always vegetarian, which is actually okay with me, although I do also love the pepperoni pizza at Gioia. Part of the Cheese Board’s charm — aside from its grassroots credibility and its free-spirited nature — is the extra sliver of pizza that usually accompanies an order.

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Having worked at Martini House back in 2007,  it would be impossible for me to offer an unbiased opinion of the newly-opened Kitchen Door at Oxbow Market — truthfully, I know too many of the staff, and in some cases, I already know the food (a handful of the Kitchen Door dishes, including the mushroom soup, are vestiges of chef Todd Humphries’ former Martini House menu). That said, it’s worth leading off this most recent photo purge with a snapshot of the Kitchen Door’s [... read more ...]]]>

Roast Duck Banh Mi Dip @ The Kitchen Door, Oxbow Market, Napa.

Having worked at Martini House back in 2007,  it would be impossible for me to offer an unbiased opinion of the newly-opened Kitchen Door at Oxbow Market — truthfully, I know too many of the staff, and in some cases, I already know the food (a handful of the Kitchen Door dishes, including the mushroom soup, are vestiges of chef Todd Humphries’ former Martini House menu). That said, it’s worth leading off this most recent photo purge with a snapshot of the Kitchen Door’s roast duck banh mi, a sandwich that — along with the “Lahmajune” Armenian pizza — definitely ranked as a front-runner among dishes that I most wanted to try. My short and biased opinion: The banh mi was good. The presence of the dipping broth definitely spins things in a new direction, and the Southeast Asian jus complements the sandwich well.

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Gorditas al Pastor @ La Morenita, Napa.

The best Mexican restaurants in the Napa Valley are attached to markets: La Luna in Rutherford; Azteca in St Helena; and especially La Morenita on Jefferson, near Lincoln. The latter earns my vote for the best and most interesting tacos in Napa. I’ve been fixated on La Morenita lately, and I hope to publish a picture of their sopes before too long.

Carnitas Tacos la Plancha @ La Morenita, Napa.

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Garlic Pork @ China Village, Albany.

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Rice Crackers with Peanut Sauce @ White Lotus, Berkeley.

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Sandwich board outside Gioia.

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Herbed Flatbread @ Kitchen Door, Oxbow Market, Napa.

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I just finished up Mother’s Day lunch and dinner service, which makes for a long but rewarding weekend in the kitchen. Before that, I found a few good things to eat, and they’re pictured here for your perusal.

The Bear Burger @ Jodie's Diner, Albany Village. I think that's the name of this burger. Jodie's has dozens of off-menu items to choose from, and this burger is one of them. Regardless of its proper name, it's the cheeseburger at Jodie's that comes with a fried egg, and it can definitely compete with the Bay Area's best.

I just finished up Mother’s Day lunch and dinner service, which makes for a long but rewarding weekend in the kitchen. Before that, I found a few good things to eat, and they’re pictured here for your perusal.

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The Bear Burger @ Jodie's Diner. Like any good burger, the Bear Burger warrants several napkins. Also, it's one of those burgers that's too risky to put down once you've picked it up, since you may only get one chance to gather all the parts at once. As you can see, I damaged the top bun just trying to prop this beast up for a closer look. It's equal parts unwieldy and delicious.

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The Monte Cristo @ Jodie's Diner. File under: Hangover cure. Although this "Monte Cristo" is actually more of a French toast triple-decker sandwich, it delivers the calories nonetheless. That's French vanilla ice cream in the background (just kidding, it's a pitch-perfect potato salad).

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The Charcuterie Plate @ Healdsburg Charcuterie. Had this app after a trip to Unti VIneyards, where I picked up their excellent 2007 Syrah (Unti's 2007 Benchlands Syrah is also a winner). As for the charcuterie plate, that's duck rillette in the middle and some nice pork products underneath the cheese.

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Pork Shoga Yaki @ Norikonoko, Berkeley. This dish was one of the restaurant's specials. The pork was marinated in the classic soy-mirin-sake trio, but with an addition of ginger, as well.

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Accoutrements @ Norikonoko, Berkeley.

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Without a doubt, Norikonoko features more mom-and-pop charm than any other ramen house that I’ve visited in the Bay Area. But to be fair, the restaurant isn’t really a ramen house per se — Norikonoko just happens to offer ramen on its menu. The question then, does Norikonoko’s ramen compete with the amazing versions that I’ve enjoyed at such South Bay specialty spots as Ramen Halu or Ramen Dojo? Well, no, it’s simply not on the same level as those two stalwarts. However, Norikonoko’s ramen does remain satisfying in its own [... read more ...]]]>

Chasu Ramen with Gyoza @ Norikonoko, Berkeley.

Without a doubt, Norikonoko features more mom-and-pop charm than any other ramen house that I’ve visited in the Bay Area. But to be fair, the restaurant isn’t really a ramen house per se — Norikonoko just happens to offer ramen on its menu. The question then, does Norikonoko’s ramen compete with the amazing versions that I’ve enjoyed at such South Bay specialty spots as Ramen Halu or Ramen Dojo? Well, no, it’s simply not on the same level as those two stalwarts. However, Norikonoko’s ramen does remain satisfying in its own right, and I’d say that it’s nearly equal to its Berkeley counterpart on University Avenue, Ryowa. More than that, the ramen at Norikonoko certainly proves tasty enough to warrant further exploration of the menu: I had the opportunity to see quite a few dishes as they left the restaurant’s tiny, open kitchen. Everything looked delicious.

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I’ve often turned to the Brown Sugar Kitchen for the smoked chicken gumbo and the fried oyster po-boy; both dishes would easily meld into the culinary landscape of New Orleans, the gumbo especially. However, having eaten maybe six or seven po-boys while I was recently in the Crescent City, today presented an opportunity to expand my horizons and to cover some different items on the BSK menu. I decided upon the pineapple brown sugar glazed ribs, just because I’d never ordered them before. As I’d hoped, the ribs proved [... read more ...]]]>

Pork Ribs @ The Brown Sugar Kitchen, West Oakland.

I’ve often turned to the Brown Sugar Kitchen for the smoked chicken gumbo and the fried oyster po-boy; both dishes would easily meld into the culinary landscape of New Orleans, the gumbo especially. However, having eaten maybe six or seven po-boys while I was recently in the Crescent City, today presented an opportunity to expand my horizons and to cover some different items on the BSK menu. I decided upon the pineapple brown sugar glazed ribs, just because I’d never ordered them before. As I’d hoped, the ribs proved duly tender, with terrific char, and a pungent smoke flavor that countered the subtle sweetness of the glaze. However, as much as I do enjoy a succulent pork rib, the fried oyster po-boy will remain the obvious choice for most future visits. And always order the mac and cheese for $1 extra, no matter what.

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