An Effing Foodie

Because Robert Sietsema Said So: Cabrito + Milk & Cookies, West Village, NYC

Halfway through my unwieldy huitlacoche huarache at spanking-new Cabrito, I felt like a giant tool.

I'd accidentally ordered as a vegetarian.  Strike one.

So I added a lengua (tongue) taco to my order, and realized my second strike.

Semi-sorta-subconsciously, I'd eaten everything Robert Sietsema told me to.

BALLS.

Ah, well...I can leave the experimenting to the next visit, as there will certainly be one.  Our little group--myself, Chocolate Bear and Soft-Spoken Feisty Lady--enjoyed the Sietsema-approved Ensalada De Verdolagas (purslane salad):

Food Poems: Fat, by Jane Kenyon

Fat

The doctor says it's better for my spine
this way--more fat, more estrogen.
Well, then!  There was a time when a wife's
plump shoulders signified prosperity.

These days my fashionable friends
get by on seaweed milkshakes,
Pall Malls, and vitamin pills.  Their clothes
hang elegantly from their clavicles.

As the evening news makes clear
the starving and the besieged maintain
the current standard of beauty without effort.

Whenever two or three gather together
the talk turns dreamily to sausages,
purple cabbages, black beans and rice,
noodles gleaming with cream, yams, and plums,
and chapati fried in ghee.

       -Jane Kenyon, Otherwise (p. 19)

Swedish Chef: Caken Smooshen!

Soft-Spoken Feisty Lady is convinced the caken was speaking Japanese.

EEEEEYOOOOH!

Happy Friday, all!

San Francisco Treats, Part 2: Chez Panisse Cafe

Vacations are tricky-like; a week sounds like more than enough time to do anything you'd need to do.

Unfortunately, as far as I like to push my tapeworm, there are a finite number of meals that a gal and her trusty BFF can pleasurably consume in 6 days.

So we judiciously pared some of my overzealous Open Table reservations to give the heavyweights the GI space and focus they deserved: Enter Chez Panisse Cafe.

Like any devoted chowhound, I'd read about green goddess Alice Waters and Chez Panisse, and am a big fan of her Edible Schoolyard program, where urban kids are given an opportunity to grow and cook their own food.  As soon as our flight to San Francisco was confirmed, I was on the phone to pin down a reservation at the more casual cafe, on the second floor of Chez Panisse proper.

After almost getting smeared across the Bay Bridge by a speeding Red Prius (THANK YOU, SF!) dinner at the cozy, warmly lit cafe was particularly comforting.

As we were lead upstairs and seated, we took in the highly-polished copper panels, the closely-quartered dinners flattered by yellow tint, all I could think was--this is like a tree house for adults!  (In a good way!)  Intimate and welcoming, the room felt like a shared secret.

San Francisco Treats, Part 1: Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, MarketBar

Well, hello, readers! HUUUUUGS...I missed you!

I had the good fortune to accompany my Best Friend Ever to cooler climes...namely, our sister Foodie City, San Francisco!

Thank you muchly to Thomas, Cindy and Matty, for your fabu recommendations; mahalo to Tony letting us use your kitchen (it was SO good to see you, lady!); and a BIIIIIIGGGG danke to Max, for enduring my epicurean bullying and ill-tempered 'bouts with the confounded GPS system.

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Can you think of anything more fun that waking up bright and early to go to a Farmer's Market on your vaca?  I can't!

Max took a little more convincing...with much cajoling and caffeine, we were waterside, enjoying the view of the Bay Bridge as we made our way to the SF Foodie Hall of Worship: The Ferry Building.

The Ferry Building itself is a nexus of high-end specialty food stores and restaurants, most of them with a regional bent, open 7 days/year-round; but the real cult following swirls around the Farmer's Market, which only happens on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

With farm-fresh, small-batch produce and products glowing in all their seasonal glory, the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market courts the same manner of localvores and sustainability advocates that we'd find in the Union Square Greenmarket in NYC.

Sadly, it being a Tuesday, we missed some of the heavy-hitters that only do business on Saturdays-- Petaluma Farms, CandyCot Fruit Co.--but there was still plenty to ooooh and ahhh at.

As much as I'd hate to admit this, in many respects, FPFM was a far more pleasant experience than the USQ Greenmarket; patrons and sellers were better paced, better spaced, more patient, and just...downright NICER and notably respectful of one another (i.e. the veggie-snob high-sticking was at a minimum).

Take a moment to notice the kids that pop up in a couple of the piccies; they asked producers questions and were treated to an array of unrushed sights, textures and scents.  Just TRY that with your little ones at Union Square.  I dare ya.

Granted, Ferry Farmer's Market may be a little less huggy on its more bustling Saturdays, but it was heartening not to have dodge the shoulder-checks of crazed ramp-hunters.  And who knows?  If SFers had to deal with 90 degree heat with 90% humidity, the lovefest might be over.

Cherry tomaters!

Cippollini Onions...

Children of the Corn eyeing stone fruit...

Doughnut Peaches!

Raspberries, and their yellower cousins, Goldenberries...

Rhubarb and a cornucopia 'o' peppers from Happy Quail Farm...