November 2004 Archives

SF MOMA is clean, modern, and efficient. Caffe Museo, the museum cafe, has inherited clean, modern, and efficient from the museum, and adds comforting and welcoming. They have a small but quality menu that includes a yummy Grilled Chicken Panini, Steamed Mussels, Smoked Salmon with Potato Salad and Creme Fraiche, and pizzas. The tables outside on the sidewalk are glorious on a sunny day. Recommended

A tiny restaurant on the edge of North Beach and the Financial District that is probably more like an Italian cafe than any other place in the city. The menu is truly amazing and has all of the classic Italian dishes you can think of. Good, cheerful service and a well-matched and extensive wine list make the whole package almost irresistible. Don't hit your head on the ceiling if they take you upstairs, and don't elbow the fellow in the next table. No matter, the food is the star. There are two Caffe Macaroni's across the street from each other (see website links). Recommended

Caffe Macaroni Sciuè Sciuè
Caffe Macaroni Website

A neighborly sort of place on the corner of Hayes and Gough with big windows letting in the sunshine and the street scene. The restaurant is near the cultural venues (Symphony, Opera, Ballet) and the staff performs wonders in getting folks out on time for the show -- always keeping a smile as they hustle at this task. Remember this if you are ever late for the Symphony! It saved me! The food is predictable Italian pasta plus some good fish and meat dishes. The wine list is very reasonably priced and goes well with the simple and filling but honest food. Recommended.

Caffe Delle Stelle Websitet

One of my rules to live by is: "Never pass up a chance to learn more about sake." Following this rule insures that I will occasionally have the chance to do some enjoyable comparative sake tasting and experiment with sake and food pairings. It also gives me a chance to meet other Japanese food and sake aficionados. So I felt especially fortunate in being able to attend the Chowhound Crackling-fresh Sake Event at Midori Mushi. Here I met Bryan Harrell and Mark Hokoda: two students of Japanese eating and drinking (and not necessarily in that order) who are far more advanced in their studies of this mysterious Eastern Art than I.

"If you are afraid of butter, which many people are now days, you just put in cream." - Julia Child

"The strongarm tactics used by the western stooge, Yushchenko, are typical of the anti-democratic processes set in motion by a rampant and militant Washington, crushed in the grip on a monetarist, neo-conservative crypto-fascist clique of elitists, whose corporate greed speaks louder than the mores of international diplomacy and whose thirst to dominate the world's resources in the lifetimes of Rumsfeld and Cheney throws any moral concept into the trash bin."

This gave me a chance to look at the Pravda website. It is very strange, in fact truly whacky; kind of like the National Enquirer if it were published by Lyndon LaRouche! It is filled with really weird stories, and good old cheesecake.

This is actually more interesting than one would think. This commentary quoted by Sullivan is from Pravda Online, which has nothing to do with the Pravda newspaper, but more than a little to do with the old Pravda arm of the Communist Party. Pravda online was started and staffed by members of the old Pravda staff who resigned en masse in 1991, as detailed in this Wikipedia article: Pravda: The post-Soviet period. So the "western stooge, Yushchenko" rhetoric is an echo of the old order, its bones rattling in the grave.

Hayes Street Grill is a comfortable place with a simple neighborhood restaurant feel to it. The walls are whitewashed, adorned with black and white portraits, and festooned with hat and coat hooks. Simple white glass fixtures hang from the ceiling. It looks timeless, but gives the impression that it once was smart. A bar fills the front of the room allowing a view out the large windows overlooking Hayes Street.

A newsstand/cafe catering to Europeans at the corner of Grant and Bush across the street from the French Consulate General's office. As you sit here eating, perhaps, Moule Frites (which Google translates as "mold chips") and watching people stroll through the ornate gates to Chinatown, you will realize you aren't in Kansas anymore. Not the best French Bistro food in the city, but the atmosphere can't be beat, and the menu is pure bistro comfort food. Recommended.

From Marginal Revolution, one of the smartest EconoBlogs on the Web: "It's one of the ironies of American history that when the Pilgrims first arrived at Plymouth rock they promptly set about creating a communist society. Of course, they were soon starving to death." Read the posting here.

Located in Belden Place, the home of Plouf, B44, Tiramisu, and other sidewalk cafes, the menu is solid French Bistro food. You will find thing like Onion Soup, Andouillette, Mussels Mariniere, Crepes and even Boudin noir. It isn't anything to write home about, and not worth a special trip, but there isn't anything wrong here either. A fun summer activity is working your way through all of the choices in this European-like alley. Recommended.

David Brooks says:

I hate to be the bearer of good news, because only pessimists are regarded as intellectually serious, but we're in the 11th month of the most prosperous year in human history.

Last week, the World Bank released a report showing that global growth "accelerated sharply" this year to a rate of about 4 percent.

Best of all, the poorer nations are leading the way. Some rich countries, like the U.S. and Japan, are doing well, but the developing world is leading this economic surge. Developing countries are seeing their economies expand by 6.1 percent this year - an unprecedented rate - and, even if you take China, India and Russia out of the equation, developing world growth is still around 5 percent. As even the cautious folks at the World Bank note, all developing regions are growing faster this decade than they did in the 1980's and 90's.

Yes Grandma, I had breakfast in this café, sipping caffe latte while I listened to grunge rock and tumble-dried my Levis. Food isn't as bad as you might imagine. People watching is good. No recommendation.

During the "Belle Epoch" (beautiful time) in France from 1890 to 1914 it is said that 'la joie de vivre' infused everyday life. Boulevard, located in the 1889 French-styled Audiffred Building has taken the architectural hint and constructed a time machine to give you 'la joie de vivre' for an evening. The interior has been transformed into a gorgeous echo of the French Belle Epoch, and even if you never eat here, you owe yourself a visit to look at the tile work. I didn't mind waiting for a table as I was so amazed by my surroundings. The food is even more exquisite than the room. Chef Nancy Oakes likes enumerative cooking. One dish, which arrived on an enormous bowl-like dinner plate, Roasted Pork Loin Trio, consisted of port tenderloin wrapped with prosciutto, plus braised pork cheek with a celery root / apple puree, and cured baby back ribs. A sorbet dessert consisted of three small plates on a larger rectangular plate. The three sorbets were: Mango, Rhubarb Strawberry, and Cherry. Under each sorbet was some fruit: fresh mango, strawberries, and dried cherries. The creativity and execution of the food is excellent. The wine list is outstanding, with an especially good selection of red Burgundy and California boutique wines. Highly recommended.

In the year 2014 the New York Times goes off-line to become a paper-only newsletter for the wealthy and elderly. EPIC is ascendent. What is EPIC? What is GoogleZON?

(VIA American Digest)

I wonder if you can get Grand Marnier like this in France?

(click for larger image)

From an article in the NYT about today's New York Times / CBS poll (PDF 688K):

Still, in a telling contrast with the 2000 election, 82 percent of respondents said that Mr. Bush legitimately won on Nov. 2. Just before Election Day, 50 percent of respondents said they considered Mr. Bush's defeat of Al Gore in 2000 a legitimate victory.

I was interested to learn that Condoleeza Rice's first name was constructed by her mother, a music teacher, out of the Italian musical marking “con dolcezza” (with sweetness). Also, she probably knows French as well or better than John Kerry! There is a lot of other interesting information in this article from The London Times: Condi: The Girl Who Cracked the Ice Read the whole thing.

Bizou is a bistro, but not a French one. If I had to choose, I’d say it’s Mediterranean, but you will find French, Californian, Italian, and Spanish influences. Bizou is constantly exploring interesting tastes and textures using classic technique. It has been in SoMa for ten years, and a good part of the professional and friendly staff has been there almost the entire time. The menu changes constantly -- reflecting seasonal produce. I tend to think of Bizou as a small scale San Francisco version of Chez Panisse. I often prefer the appetizers to the entrees, but you can't go wrong here. Highly recommended.

UPDATE: Bizou closed April 30, 2005

A French Bistro near the Civic Center and Performing Arts centers. Very French decoration, and a very French menu. I had the Duck Confit and had no complaints. I've never been back, so I wasn't overwhelmed, but it has potential, and I need to revisit. No recommendation.

A blues club in a basement near Union Square. There are some great blues acts booked here. If you simply need to hear Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers (and if you haven't heard them already, you need to do so), there are few choices. The food is barely edible. Stick to drinks. Not recommended (for food).

An elegant, formal restaurant in the top-notch formal Huntington Hotel atop Nob Hill. If the Tadich Grill is rough-and-tumble old San Francisco, this is railroad robber baron old San Francisco. Great polished wood paneling, formal service, and good wine list. Get your meat and potatoes (with truffle oil) here. Extra credit to anyone who knows "The Big Four". Recommended.

Here are some landscape photos from Brazil that will take your breath away. These certainly show that digital photography and digital tools aren't hurting the aesthetics of good photography. (Via Instapundit)

Every serious winegeek has a favorite wine tasting form, and so do I. After looking at a number of forms out on the Internet, I couldn't make up my mind as to which one was best; so I drew up a form that has several to choose from. It has the Parker method, the Broadbent method, and the Training Wheels method.

What's that, you say? The Training Wheels method? Although I gave it this name, it is not my invention (it was developed by Patrick Halstead of Seattle, an early user of CellarTracker!). It works especially well when you have had too much to drink and your notes are becoming increasingly terse and decreasing in intelligibility.

It poses a series of questions that you answer by entering a rating number. When you are done, add up the numbers and you have a wine rating. It seems to work well, and it is scientific enough (?) that you will be consistent in your evaluations, and you may be surprised by what you come up with. Download the Wine Tasting Form (PDF).

I said I'd write about living in San Francisco, but I haven't done so yet. In an oblique manner, I am about to fix that. Here is something you would never see in San Francisco. Celebration of diversity and tolerance in SF stops short of political diversity.

San Francisco voted 85% for Kerry and only 15% for Bush. That is more lop-sided than Manhattan. Everyone here assumes that anyone they meet or talk to is a liberal Democrat (or Green). Living here is like living in a political landscape that was picked up by some Political Deux ex Machina who shifted everything to the left so that Richard Gephardt would be labeled a rabid right-winger before dropping it back down.

On a dark January Wednesday earlier this year, responding to a mild urge for adventure and wanderlust, I decided to strike out from my usual haunts in the Financial District and SoMa and search for dinner. I got on a N/Judah Muni train at Embarcadero station, and rode out towards the ocean stopping often to let out the folks returning from work. The Outer Sunset is not the brightest and most cosmopolitan part of the city, and it was with a bit of caution that I got off at 46th and Judah in front of a convenience store and looked around for Thanh Long. It was on the corner only one-half block away, and was warm, welcoming, and bustling inside.

Why are 22 percent of British and 33 percent of Americans overweight, while the French,who are known for multi-hour meals filled with butter, cheese and organ meats, are not? Personally, I think that the high percentage of refined carbohydrates in the US/Anglo diet is the culprit, but this long and interesting article: Let Them Eat Cake from the UK Guardian is worth reading.

An old axiom holds that "When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." This seems to be true for this blog-based communal recipe collection: Carnival of the Recipes. It looks like it would be better as a collection in one place that would be searchable and syndicated via RSS, but my guess is that one goal of the current format is to promote the hosting blogs.

My favorite recipe so far is: Potatoes and Point. Why do I suspect that it was a favorite of Marcel Duchamp?

I really like this producer. That's probably because the wine is made in the international style (e.g. California and Austrialia. Big and ripe, but still with the elegance of Bordeaux.)

• 1990 Château Canon-la-Gaffelière - St. Émilion, Libournais, Bordeaux, France (7/14/2004)
  Wow! What a great wine! Color was dark red with no thinning visible at the edge. The nose was just gigantic, with tobacco, earth, some acidity and black fruit. On the palate it had a good acid backbone to start, moving on to a great mid palate. This wine is hedonistic, extracted, lush, and chewy. The finish was smooth, with mild tannins and went on for a long time. I've had three bottles of this so far. Two of them have been like this, but one - for some reason - wasn't as much fun. Other than the '83 Cheval Blanc, and the '89 Montrose, this is the best Bordeaux I've ever had. (95 pts.)
• 1999 Château Canon-la-Gaffelière - St. Émilion, Libournais, Bordeaux, France (4/23/2004)
  If all 99 Bordeaux were like this, 99 would be better than 2000! The wine is dark, brooding and an opaque deep red in the glass: on sight alone, no one is going to mistake this for a Haut Brion or pinot noir. It has a fine aroma, with good fruit and hints of smoky tobacco and spice. The palate gets your attention right away with its silky and mouth filling taste. It is not overly complex, but nor is it overly simple. It is full-bodied, very well balanced with an extended finish. This is an outstanding wine. (92 pts.)

B44 (Belden Place) - The first time I visited B44, I had an interminable wait for a dried out, overcooked and remarkably unappetizing Paella. It took over two years to work up the enthusiasm to try it again. This time I ordered tapas-style with several small plates. The leg of lamb brochette was tender and spicy, and the deep fried squid with paprika allioli (Sevillanos) was just about perfect. This is also a great lunch destination when the weather is good, as you can sit outside in the sun with scores of other hungry people crowding Belden place. Recommended.

Bacar - Elegant modern space open to 1 a.m. with live jazz every night. Two hundred wines by the glass. Downstairs wine lounge. Wok-roasted mussels, Caesar salad and cheese plates are menu standouts. Recommended.

Bagdad Café - Down and out in the Castro. All-American diner food with Mexican twists available 24 hours per day. If you need something to eat at 4 a.m. this is much, much better than Denny's or a candy bar from Walgreens. (Since it isn't named "Baghdad Cafe" I wonder if somebody's father had a drinking problem, or if was named after this movie?) Recommended for what it is.

A wine from St. Émilion, Libournais, Bordeaux, France. Tasted on 11/2/2004 at Fringale. 92 points.

Ah, what a pleasure it was to drink this. The color was a deep and opaque red/purple. The nose was big, impressive and worth going back to on its own, full of cedar, tobacco and sweet fruit. The palate was chewy and big with a medium-full body. Tannins were in evidence, but are sweet and balanced giving a long finish. It is not as lush as the 1999, but it is none the less very fine. In another three years or so, the tannins will have softened, the wine will have picked up some complexity, and it will be outstanding.

Sunday morning breakfast has always been special in my family, but as the gourmet revolution has progressed, the meaning of special has changed a bit.

When my father took over the kitchen on Sundays for the breakfast ritual, we feasted on waffles smothered in butter and Mrs. Butterworth's syrup served with big helpings of bacon or sausage. Believe me, this was a big improvement over Kelloggs cereal with cold milk. But now I am responsible for the weekly ritual and the food world is a much different place.