Sweet and Sour Spectator

There comes a time in a young man's life when Halloween, like Gregor Samsa, goes through a metamorphosis from something familiar to something vaguely unsettling. One year Halloween means providing for the Dentist's retirement, and suddenly, the next year, it is a venue for impersonating Bela Lugosi. While trick or treating was fun when you are a "little kid", and visiting the local Haunted House was okay when you were only a kid, things change so that actually MAKING a haunted house, or as close as you can get to it, becomes a really cool thing.

I remember a Halloween in the early 1960's when I went through this change. Since I was the studious sort, not the juvenile delinquent type, my Haunted House was well... a little weird. After all, one must admit that a Volcanic Pumpkin is a far cry from a Haunted House. I don't remember where I got the idea, but I think it must have been from Mr. Wizard.

Isn't the Internet wonderful?

Dear Brooks Brothers, you have a great reputation, and you charge appropriately for it. Your men's clothing is traditionally styled, which is what I want. I've been shopping with you since college which is a h*ll of a long time. But if you don't put the sleeve gauntlet buttons back on your shirts, we are done. Understand?

With the possible exception of "frying" bacon in a microwave oven, there is nothing with a higher deliciousness to work ratio than a crustless quiche. Some may claim that there is no such thing, but I draw their attention to the picture to the left. What do you suppose it is? It's not an Italian fritatta, because it has cream in it, making a custard. There is only one thing it can be.

There are at least two good reasons for making a crustless quiche. First, you may not have a pie shell, and you don't want to take the time to make one, for instance in the morning before leaving for work. Second, you might be craving a quiche but you are on a low-carb diet.

To make one of these, you'll need butter; a ramekin, gratin dish or pie plate; eggs; cream, milk, or half-and-half; and some sort of filling.

One of the best new things in San Francisco in 2010 was the installation of Ray gun Gothic Rocket ship near Pier 14 on the Embarcadero. This used to be the site of Crouching Spider by Louise Bourgeois, and I was so sad to see it go. But the Gothic Rocket ship has won my heart anew.

Here's a three-exposure HDR photo I took just after sunrise on December 30, 2010. (Click on it for a bigger version).

More of my pictures of San Francisco can be seen at my Flickr account.

I took a trip over the weekend with some other wine-obsessed folks to visit several California Central Coast vineyards and wineries. The highlights were L'Aventure, Palmina and the several projects of Stolpman's winemaker Sashi Moorman.

In 1896 a new Trinity Baptist Church was erected, including an Esley pipe organ to help sing the praises of God. In 1918 the building was sold to the Victor Talking Machine Company, who were impressed with the fine acoustics and wanted to use it for a recording studio. I don't know when Victor/RCA first recorded the Esley Organ which they received as part of the bargain, but those turn of the century Baptists may have been surprised to know that their organ would play an important roll in the history of American Jazz.

The father of jazz organ playing and the undisputed master of hot pipe organ jazz is Fats Waller. The son of a Harlem Baptist preacher, Waller learned the pipe organ early in life before taking up the piano. By his late teens he was making a living as a musician, playing at rent parties and accompanying silent films on theatre organs. By his mid twenties, he had started a career as a Broadway composer and was in demand for recording sessions.

There comes a time in a young man's life when Halloween, like Gregor Samsa, goes through a metamorphosis from something familiar to something vaguely unsettling. One year Halloween means providing for the Dentist's retirement, and suddenly, the next year, it is a venue for impersonating Bela Lugosi. While trick or treating was fun when you are a little kid, and visiting the local Haunted House was okay when you were only a kid, things change so that actually MAKING a haunted house, or as close as you can get to it, becomes a really cool thing.

I remember a Halloween in the early 1960's when I went through this change. Since I was the studious sort, not the juvenile delinquent type, my Haunted House was well... a little weird. After all, one must admit that a Volcanic Pumpkin is a far cry from a Haunted House. I don't remember where I got the idea, but I think it must have been from Mr. Wizard.

San Francisco weather
Is boring
I like it
Except for when
It isn't boring

Anticipation has been high since word surfaced earlier this year that Daniel Patterson was working on a new downtown Oakland restaurant, and that Jeremy Fox, formerly of Manresa and Ubuntu would be in charge of the menu and kitchen.

The newest word from the sidewalk in front of the Ferry Building is that Jeremy is no longer associated with the project, having decided to devote his time to other personal projects. Daniel Patterson will be taking over the menu development, and will be donating his Mondays off in August to cooking the Plum demonstration dinners at Il Canne Rosso.

(Click on picture for larger version).

(Click on photo for larger version).

Ernest Fleischmann, who died Sunday, age 85, is the only director of a major symphony orchestra with whom I have had a conversation. It is not surprising, that as a mere concert-goer, I have not had many conversations with symphony managers, but it is also not surprising that the one exception should be Ernest Fleischmann, as he was an elemental force of nature disguised as a music executive. For better or worse, when you thought of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the 1970s, '80s, or 90s, your first thought was of Ernest Fleischmann.

My first contact with Fleischmann was when I wrote to him in the '70's pleading for more contemporary music in the Philharmonic's programming, mentioning as examples Frank Martin, Olivier Messiaen, and Darius Milhaud. Ernest wrote back saying he would take my recommendation under consideration, but also mentioning the need to program music that would sell concert tickets. He finished with a flourish, referring to my trio as the "three Ms" (a reference to the well-known three Bs of classical music: Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms).

I also saw Fleichmann once at the refreshment bar on the main floor of Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco during an Intermission in 2001 or 2002. He was then retired from the L.A. Philharmonic and was artistic director of the Ojai Music Festival. I had heard that the Ojai Festival was trying to get the original Harry Partch instruments to Ojai so that Partch's music could be featured. I told Fleichmann how much I was looking forward to the upcoming concert. Sadly, he reported that the funds for transporting and insuring the instruments had not been forthcoming and that there would be no Partch at Ojai that year. I was crestfallen, but also jazzed at having had a conversation with the Great Man.

Here are a few remembrances from others more qualified to comment on Flieschmann's passing: Alex Ross, Mark Swed, Frank Gehry, Norman Lebrecht, the late Alan Rich, and Timothy Mangan.

One of my favorite food blogs is Khymos edited by Martin Lersch. Khymos is the source of the best food-blog post ever: "Towards the perfect soft-boiled egg" (really, it is!) and is also where you can find the newest release of Martin's invaluable work-in-progress - "TEXTURE A hydrocolloid recipe collection." In addition to over 300 recipes using colloids (gels), it has a extremely valuable set of appendixes detailing gelling agents, their characteristics, and suppliers. This is a must have for anyone who is interested in molecular gastronomy. I know first hand, that you can find copies of this little jewel in some of the best restaurant kitchens in the world. Here's your chance to upgrade your kitchen, and it's a lot cheaper than a Molteni stove!