I'm still due for a trip up to Diamond Mountain, although Sonoma is more likely in my near future.
I'm working on all kinds of different projects, and should hopefully deliver something five days per week through the summer. Do stay tuned.
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King me.
As I’ve mentioned here before, my philosophy is that the bread defines a sandwich in the same way that the crust defines a pizza: It’s practically everything, even if it’s not the only thing. Of course, with a falafel pita, the pita bread itself assumes the same important role in distinguishing the mundane from the noteworthy. Time and time again, I’ve found that the main downfall with most falafel sandwiches is simply the freshness of the pita. Flat breads, being all surface area, do seem to become stale rather quickly, and there’s really nothing worse than [... read more ...]
The #6 at Viet Nam on Broadway, San Francisco
I’ve eaten banh mi sandwiches all over the Bay Area, though I don’t claim to boast any first-hand experience with the banh mi sandwiches of Southeast Asia. I will say, however, that on most afternoons, the Vietnamese language flows freely at Viet Nam on Broadway, both behind the counter and within the restaurant’s tiny dining room. Does that guarantee anything in terms of quality or authenticity? Perhaps not, but it’s never a bad sign, either. Frankly, I just can’t imagine that Viet Nam’s banh [... read more ...]
It almost feels as though I’m repeating myself, but time truly flies, and looking back among my past blog entries, I hadn’t been wine tasting at Unti Vineyards or Papapietro Perry since last summer, and I did need to catch up with their most recent vintages. So here we go again. Another dissertation on the wonders of Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley, although I plan to keep this one short, in order to complement my ever-decreasing attention span. Typically, I would also fit Ridge Vineyards into this same discussion, but I got a late start over to Sonoma last week, [... read more ...]
I was fortunate enough to attend the Napa Valley Opera House’s sold-out fundraiser at Morimoto Napa on Sunday evening, which allowed me to feast to my heart’s content while inspecting the Iron Chef’s brand-new Napa Valley digs. Tickets for the reception were $95, and about 200 people gathered to taste what was easily the best sushi that has ever been offered in Napa. The restaurant, which will also host a few press- and industry-related dinners in the early week, is now taking reservations for its Thursday opening. Considering the scope of Sunday’s event, and knowing how difficult it can [... read more ...]
Shred it yourself.
Among the hierarchy of pork, bacon may be the undisputed heavyweight champion, but carnitas will always be a top-ranked contender. If nothing else, carnitas excels in its elegant duality, offering the interior succulence of braised meat alongside the caramelized notes of a crispy, Maillard-encrusted exterior. In my mind, carnitas remains somewhat unique in this regard, although duck confit also boasts the same key attributes (to that end, both dishes are prepared in a similar manner, by slowly simmering the meat in its respective fat). Poultry aside, carnitas is a terrific expression of pork, and for [... read more ...]
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