City Notes - 2012 Update

Everyone loves restaurant recommendations.  We rely on hotel concierges, trusted locals, the odd friend who's been there before, maybe even (reluctantly) online reviews.  Amassing these recos on post-its, iPhone notes, and the backs of business cards in my purse is tedious and leads to confusion in those moments I'm (hungrily, desperately) searching for an option.  So I started saving personal google maps to plot each reco.  Short notes about who recommended, why, what's on the menu and why I liked (if I've been) help me choose where to go.  Proximity to home base is an inherent bonus.

Here are my maps for a few cities I've traveled to, chock-full of great recommendations AND places I've written about!

Amsterdam
Sydney
New York
London
Prague
Sonoma/Napa Wineries
Auckland
Paris

It's Easier to Just Go Out

You know, almost every night of the week—out of habit on weekdays and principle on weekends—I consider dining out.  I wasn't raised on take-out or at a series of chain restaurants, so what makes me such a sucker for them now?  A good, three-dish meal of a main and two sides or a salad is what I think of as a normal dinner.  Yet I'm constantly yearning for an appetizer, entree and dessert.  What is wrong with me!?

In Sydney for work, I've got a list of restaurants a mile long, recommended by coworkers, ex-pats, clients and even the hotel concierge.  And I wouldn't really be comfortable not knowing where to go for pizza or sushi for two weeks.  But what's surprising is that I have the same approach at home in SF.

7x7 Magazine arrives monthly.  Since that's not nearly often enough, I receive daily emails about restaurant openings, celebrity chef gossip or recipes (depending), and the hottest menu items across the city.  7x7 isn't the only daily food newsletter I read.  I also get Tasting Table, Daily Candy, FoodBuzz, Fresh Guide, SF Magazine and Bloomspot.  Between these emails, "water cooler" talk, impressing visiting friends and a desire to conquer great-tasting food in general, my brain could explode with dinner options.  Is this why I want to go out every night?  To stay in the game?

Then again, it's really easy to go out.  Once seated in a sushi restaurant, edamame is nearly instant and sashimi is about 10 minutes out of the gate.  If I'm hungry now, sushi gets it done.  Mexican restaurants get salsa in my belly in even less time.  If the name of the game is quantity, I can get more burrito for my buck than a lot of supermarket proteins.  Is that why I want to go out?  Because it's quick and satisfying?

I don't know when food culture turned from sustenance to obsession.  For me, dining is so many things: comforting; catching up with the person dining with me; a link to a past mood/experience/flavor; even an adventure with a sense of accomplishment at its culmination.  What other action on earth provides so many opportunities?

But I'm rationalizing the appeal of restaurants on a daily basis—why am I not creating these experiences at home night after night?  The truth is, I would if I could.  I love to wake up on a weekend morning with nothing on my mind except how complicated of a meal I can create all day.  I love buying the ingredients and imagining their transformation, sometimes giddy about how sneaky I'll be: "when I'm done with you, you won't even know what you started as!"  Great ingredients are exciting.  I love imagining, then literally selecting which pans I'll use; like a painter choosing brushes.  I love the choreography of the kitchen, from fine calculations that will keep everything moving forward, hot, and on the same schedule, to the cleverness in reusing tools at just the right moment.  I love the smells and the textures and the taste, but you already knew all that!  All of these things just feel impossible during the work week.  Long days at work, regardless of the number of hours, and I'm ready for all those wonderful reasons I cook to be overpowered by two thoughts: someone else doing the heavy lifting and being able to taste something delicious almost immediately.

So what have I learned, putting this down in writing?  Apparently, the biggest driver for me to dine out is ease.  I always thought it was an insatiable desire to taste new things in new environments with great company.  In reality, I would enjoy cooking my own tasting menu for a group of friends much more than in a restaurant.  But I still want a burrito on a Thursday night because it's been a rough week, I'm tired, I don't want to stand up for 2 hours peeling vegetables and dangit, I want it right now!

All said, I still want to eat at all the best restaurants.  That doesn't go away.  Yet I realize that's a desire which more closely resembles wanderlust or dress envy.  What drives me to frivolously dine out year round is blatant laziness.  Whew, glad I figured that out.

Getting Excited for Greece!

Sure, I'll have a fresh new ring on my finger and a last name I don't know how to spell, but the most exciting thing about the next two weeks is I'll be back in Greece, eating the best food on earth.  My past trips have all been at the height of the tourist season in summer, so I'm hopeful there is still a bounty of octopus and squid in October!

This is my life

Warning: Not about food.  In fact, about foot.  Pretty close, eh?

First this.

Then this. 

For the past 3 months, this has been my life.  Wanted to document my lack of fine dining these past weeks.  I've not been able to cook or make it out much at all!  But I am getting back in the saddle right away now that my feet are behaving normally for the most part.  Stay tuned.

7x7's 2010 Big Eat 100

This year, 7x7 offered a prize to the first person to make their way through the 2010 100. And you know, for like, a good 10 minutes, I thought it could be me. I pictured a cover story where I got to tell San Franciscans what my favorite little gems were in the city; green salsa at Tacolicious, smoked salmon at Boulette's Larder, coconut chutney at Udupi Palace...and then I snapped out of it and I think that was right about when the winner was crowned. No joke, it took less than 3 weeks for some guy with a family who dragged his wife and kids to Michael Mina and Quince. Can he be my dad?

Anyway. This year's list reveals even more uncharted territory within SF's 49 square miles. I don't know how anyone has enough time to explore all these spots, let alone how the magazine decides which dishes make the list—all I can picture (in my happy food-driven imagination) is a team sitting around reminiscing and salivating over their exploits. I want that job.

Ok, so now that I've established my envy of the list's creators and conquerors, here is the list:

The 2010 Big Eat List

1. Roast chicken and bread salad at Zuni

2. Coffee-rubbed pork shoulder at Range

3. Carnitas taco at La Taqueria

4. Fried chicken and waffles at Little Skillet

5. Chasu ramen at Katana-Ya

6. Basil gimlet at Rye

7. Crab with cellophane noodles at the Slanted Door

8. Morning bun at Tartine Bakery

9. Tofu soup with kimchi at My Tofu House

10. Nick’s Baja-style fish tacos at The Taco Shop at Underdogs

11. Pork sugo with pappardelle at Delfina

12. Porchetta sandwich at RoliRoti

13. Soup dumplings at Shanghai Dumpling King

14. Beef brisket sandwich at Il Cane Rosso

15. Any seasonal flavor at Scream Sorbet

16. Katsu curry from Muracci’s Japanese Curry & Grill

17. Samusa soup at Burma Superstar

18. Oysters on the half shell at Swan Oyster Depot

19. Lobster pot pie at Michael Mina (well, at MM's XIV in LA anyway...)

20. Salumi misti plate at Perbacco

21. Pizza margherita at Pizzeria Delfina

22. Vietnamese roasted pork sandwich at Saigon Sandwich

23. Beer sausage with sauerkraut and grilled onions at Rosamunde Sausage Grill
(Bonus: Bring it Toronado next door and grab a beer to go with it.)

24. Blue Bell Bitter from the cask at Magnolia Pub

25. Loaf of bread straight out of the oven at Tartine

26. A bottle of Burgundy at RN74 (it was a glass)

27. Papaya salad with salty crab at Sai Jai Thai

28. A Gibraltar at Blue Bottle Café

29. Tuna tartare and a gin martini at Bix

30. Burger at Fish & Farm

31. Tuna Tostada at Tacolicious (so tricky! in the application, it's the beef taco which is to DIE FOR)

32. Pupusas at Balompie Café

33. Prime rib at House of Prime Rib

34. Way too much cold sake at Oyaji

35. Salted-caramel ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery

36. Dry-fried chicken wings at San Tung

37. Rotisserie chicken at Limón Rotisserie

38. Burger and fries at the bar at Spruce

39. Pierna enchilada torta at La Torta Gorda

40. Cheeseburger with sweet potato fries at Taylor’s Automatic Refresher

41. Pho ga at Turtle Tower

42. Fried-shrimp po’boy at Brenda’s French Soul Food

43. An Old Fashioned at Alembic

44. One of Neyah White’s shrubs at Nopa

45. Secret Breakfast from Humphry Slocombe

46. Chips and salsa at Papalote

47. Ceviche and a pisco sour on the patio at La Mar Cebichería Peruana

48. Angels on horseback at Anchor & Hope

49. Ginger snaps at Miette

50. An obscure Belgian beer at The Monk’s Kettle

51. Maccaronara with ricotta salata at A16

52. Coconut buns from King’s Bakery

53. Carnitas at Nopalito

54. Spiced-chocolate doughnut at Dynamo Donut with a Four Barrel coffee

55. Chicken porridge for breakfast at the Bush Street Out the Door

56. Nuestra Paloma at Beretta

57. Agnolotti at Quince

58. Chicharrones from 4505 Meats

59. Huarache with cactus salad at El Huarache Loco
(Saturdays at the Alemany Farmers Market)

60. The Little Star at Little Star Pizza

61. Egg custard tart at Golden Gate Bakery

62. Dim sum at Ton Kiang

63. Meatballs with grapes at Aziza

64. Sand dabs at Tadich Grill

65. Cookies-and-cream cookie and milk at Anthony’s Cookies

66. Pig parts at Incanto

67. Paper masala dosa at Dosa

68. The housemade hot dog at Absinthe

69. Foccacia at Liguria Bakery

70. Omakase menu at Sebo

71. Scotch egg at Wexler’s

72. Shanghai Buck at Heaven’s Dog

73. Popovers with strawberry butter at the Rotunda

74. Corned-beef sandwich with Gruyère at The Sentinel

75. Fried green beans at Coco500

76. Chicken hash at Ella’s

77. Eggs benedict on the back patio at Zazie

78. Super burrito at Taqueira Cancun

79. Onion strings at Alfred’s Steakhouse

80. Apple fritter at Bob’s Donuts

81. Chicken curry lunch special at Punjab Kabab House

82. Fried chickpeas at Piqueo’s

83. French fries at Universal Cafe

84. A margarita at Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant

85. Pulled-pork sandwich at Roadside BBQ

86. A cheese slice at Arinell Pizza

87. Sesame balls at Yank Sing

88. Buckwheat crepe and a French cider at Ti Couz

89. Lettuce cups at Betelnut

90. Korean taco at Namu’s market stand

91. Albondigas soup at Mijita

92. Bacon-wrapped hot dog from a cart in the Mission

93. Seven courses of beef at Pagolac

94. The house cappuccino at Tosca Café

95. 3 a.m. bowl of caldo verde soup at Grubstake

96. Ube ice cream from Mitchell’s

97. Lamb schawerma at Truly Mediterranean

98. Bloody Mary with brunch at Foreign Cinema

99. Clam chowder at Hog Island Oyster Co.

100. Menage a Trois at Ike’s Place

I count 22 so far. The crazy thing is, a bunch of these items on the list are seasonal or even on the menu by chef's daily discretion! Even with the best intentions, I can't imagine getting through this without gaining about 50% body mass and blowing through my savings account. However, if you want to meet up and cross one of these off, I am there.

Never Forget!

...To eat well! Over the past month and a half, I've enjoyed some memorable meals that I can't wait to get back in the saddle and write about. The reason for my absence? John and I got engaged! We've been so enthusiastically celebrating and planning that my precious free time has been spent sifting through pages of stationery stock and venue choices instead of recounting my favorite pastime: food. And because it remains the most fun I have besides actually eating, I'm back and happy to relieve stress and relive dining.

Visions of Thanksgiving

I always thought that if I hosted my own Thanksgiving dinner, I would do something entirely nontraditional. A vision of butternut squash homemade ravioli with brown butter sage sauce; dried cranberry wild rice; maple ginger pumpkin pie...and yet I'm not sure I could really go through with not serving a turkey! I think my cooking goal for next year is to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. Time to get practicing.

Other cozy autumn recipe ideas for a house full of people: Beef Wellington, Yorkshire pudding, salmon terrine, stuffed tomatoes, roasted cauliflower with green onions and pancetta, butternut squash cappuccinos with maple foam and thick-cut bacon...

Off Across the Pond

Well I'm off, tomorrow, to London first then Prague for 11 days. I'll be tasting shepherd's pie with a pint, sausage and potatoes with a Budvar...and so on. I'll have plenty of dining tales to share soon!

Vending Machine

Yes, those are hot dog vending machines. AT THE AIRPORT. I didn't try one but I realized later that I must! Hence the categorization.

How Have We Not Talked About This?

The universe, aka my brother, revealed the Omnivore's Top 100 List to me this weekend, and I am flabbergasted that I have never been exposed to this before!! How genius to give purpose to adventurous eating. As if I wasn't inspired enough by writing about eating for you, I have even more motivation. I have a feeling we will be discussing this far into the future of my eating/blogging.

I've been engaged with a local list, San Francisco's own 7x7 The Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die with near obsessive enthusiasm. My first pass at the list, I had only encountered 5 of SF's top treats! As you can imagine, either based on my OCD when it comes to lists, or because the idea of a food challenge that results in tasting the best of SF regardless whether I win or lose, I have been at this full throttle. I'm up to 9/100. I'm actually shocked we haven't already talked about this. I'll be sure to devote some time to this list exclusively in the near future.

Now, Omnivore's list is much more achievable. And affordable. I tried to find the original original list, which I believe is the following from the Very Good Taste blog. They even suggest that food bloggers post the list on their pages and highlight the foods consumed. I've actually done that below.

What this really makes me want to do is establish my own list, a self indulgence for sure but one that I could spend the rest of my life basking in the glow of finishing and thoroughly enjoying. I can't say I'm eager to try Haggis off the Omnivore's list but I must because it's on the list.

The Omnivore's Hundred
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. (I’ve done a tasting menu at Aqua, which is a 2-starred Michelin restaurant!)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

63 isn't too bad, but it's fun to imagine the challenge of those other 37!