The Culinary Timeline is a side-project that I've been working on since October. I'm hoping to have most of it complete by the end of January, with any luck. Until then, updates around here will be weekly, rather than twice weekly. Do stay tuned.
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Three-piece Chicken and Waffle @ Little Skillet, San Francisco. Seven packets of Crystal Hot Sauce is the perfect amount for this scenario: Two for the leg, two for the thigh, three for the breast.
Since I’ve recently taken up golf (again), many of my weekends have been spent out burning up the links, rather than trolling the Bay Area for choice eats. But let’s face it: Mark Twain might’ve said it best when he quipped that golf was a good walk, spoiled. Either way, I needed more of a sure thing, and an excursion into San Francisco had [... 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 [... read more ...]
The family-style seating area at the Kitchen Door. Two-tops and four-tops are located on either side, along with some bar-style seating.
If you were ever a fan of Martini House in St. Helena, the first thing you need to know about the Kitchen Door at Oxbow is that the mushroom soup is back. Good thing, too. I developed a lasting taste for that very soup when I used to cook at the Martini House — in those days, I ate a little mushroom soup almost every night, ladling the last remainders over cubes of left-over walnut bread, which [... read more ...]
Last week, Eater SF reported that Victor Scargle has become the executive chef at Bardessono, a position that chef Sean O’Toole had vacated last November. The recent twist to the story is that, as of just a couple days ago, O’Toole has been named the executive chef of the Hopper Creek Kitchen at Hotel Yountville, a property that’s located just a block or two south of his old stomping ground (formerly the Yountville Inn). We’ll see how this all works out; Yountville is a small enough town as it is. I was a big fan of the Sunday Supper [... read more ...]
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.
The Cheeseburger @ Super Burger, Santa Rosa. I snapped this picture at sunset, and the burger itself looks like the setting sun.
If you’re like me, then you’ve seen “Pulp Fiction” dozens of times, and you may have wondered, at some point, where the set designer sourced the film’s infamous Big Kahuna burger. As far as I know, having lived in Los Angeles for years and years, there is no actual Big Kahuna Burger. Too bad, because the burger does look mighty tasty on film. And so the question remains: if, in fact, Big Kahuna is fictitious, then [... 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 [... read more ...]
Breakfast Sandwich @ The Fremont Diner.
Working nights in the kitchen can have its perks, such as being able to go out for breakfast any day of the week. With an old college buddy visiting the Napa Valley recently, a morning session at the Fremont Diner presented the obvious choice. Personally, I’ve already covered most of the Fremont Diner’s menu over the past couple of years, but it’s always fun to see someone marvel at all of the restaurant’s great, down-home selections. Besides that, I hadn’t been to the Fremont Diner in a while, so I was actually [... read more ...]
Ramen Halu: Making pho look quaint in comparison.
After a complete three-year absence from professional cooking, I’ve decided to return to the kitchen in just two short weeks. That’s right. I’ll soon be cooking dinner service full-time at one of the Michelin-star restaurants here in the Napa Valley. Personally, I can’t wait to get back behind the stove again, though I really don’t expect this news to have any direct effect on this blog. We’ll just have to see what happens. As it is, my self-appointed mission to suss out the most interesting comfort foods in the Bay [... read more ...]
Pollo a la Brasa: One of the few rotisserie chickens that can actually compete with fried chicken. The bird is incredible on its own, although the trio of sauces (partially pictured in the upper left) take the dish in additional directions.
I’ve always had terrific meals at Limon Rotisserie in San Francisco. If I actually lived in city limits — and if I wasn’t always trying to visit new and different places — I’d probably eat there every week (I felt the same way about Versailles when I lived in Los Angeles). I’m totally sold at this [... read more ...]
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