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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Always mustard, never ketchup: The Cajun Corn Dog @ Uncle Bill's Gourmet Corn Dogs, Sonoma Square Farmers Market.
The best things in life are fried: I learned this simple mantra very early on, when I used to work the fryer station at K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans. We fried lots of delicious foods at K-Paul’s, including oysters, shrimp, soft-shelled crab, green tomatoes, duck skins, and of course, plenty of potatoes (K-Paul’s didn’t serve french fries, however. Instead, our potatoes were baked, halved, and then scooped. Once prepped, the skins and the “meat” were fried separately, with the [... 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 ...]
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 ...]
Chicken & Waffles @ the Boon Fly Cafe (blue plate) and the Fremont Diner (white plate): It's always nice too see an upward trend in the Southern-fried sector. Images can be super-sized with a click.
Unless I’m missing something, the Napa Valley offers just two reliable versions of chicken and waffles, both of which are located at the very southern end of the valley, along the scenic Carneros Highway, separated by just a few miles of rolling hills and perhaps one or two stoplights. Of course, the Boon Fly Cafe and the Fremont Diner are the two restaurants [... read more ...]
End-of-the-year recaps present a great opportunity to “re-purpose” some old content (I learned this valuable euphemism during the dot-com era). Here are 10 dishes that I really enjoyed this year, in no particular order. I’m not saying this list comprises my top 10 dishes for the year, but some of them could definitely qualify. Clicking the photos will transport you back to the original article — and perhaps, a much simpler time and place.
Crispy shrimp with ginger and onions @ Huong Tra, Richmond.
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Flounder special @ Yuet Lee, San Francisco.
Up front: Chicken and nettle dumplings; In back: Biscuit with ham, mustard, and blueberry preserves.
I’ve been an early adopter of the Fremont Diner, having made my first visit there sometime in the summer of 2009, on the way out to a wine-tasting excursion in the Russian River Valley. Since then, I’ve covered their menu extensively within these pages, and my favorite dish remains the black-pepper brisket hash. My recent lunch of chicken and dumplings, pictured above, ranks somewhere in the middle of the pack, which is good indication of the Fremont Diner’s overall consistency. It’s a nice [... read more ...]
Despite its spike in popularity over the last several years, Pinot Noir remains rather uncommon here in the Napa Valley. With the exception of the Carneros District — which is the coolest and southern-most region in the Napa Valley — Pinot Noir proves ill-suited for our warm Mediterranean climate. But even if this fickle Burgundian varietal could somehow become more adaptable to Napa, Cabernet Sauvignon has long staked its claim here in the valley, and no other varietal can ever muster a challenge for the crown. Since capturing the world’s attention with the Judgment of Paris in 1976, not [... read more ...]
With the afterglow of last Tuesday night finally starting to fade, I still need to acknowledge the preamble to the evening, which was a blind tasting of 2007 California Pinot Noir. I had been anticipating this tasting for quite some time, and I had also exhibited tremendous patience in the process: Back in March 2009, I had eagerly purchased Pinot Noir allocations from Kosta Browne and Chasseur, having finally earned a coveted spot on their respective mailing lists (these unclaimed allocations were the function of a sputtering U.S. economy, no doubt). At the time, slipping behind the velvet rope [... read more ...]
Cachapas Pernil, Pica Pica Maize Kitchen, Oxbow Market, Napa
Though I had been to Pica Pica Maize Kitchen before, I hadn’t actually tasted the cachapas pernil (#7) until I attended the Napa Valley Chefs’ Market a few weeks ago. The yellow corn pancake is just sturdy enough to provide the exterior, with a flavor profile that’s slightly sweet. The cachapas pabellon (#3), which is shredded skirt steak with plantains, is also a tasty alternative.
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Market Burger, Market Restaurant, St. Helena
As far as cheeseburgers are concerned, the Market Burger is [... read more ...]
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