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.

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.

Bonus tip: There is an Alinea channel on YouTube that you can subscribe to. All their videos are interesting. I especially liked the Thanksgiving one (actually two).

So, as they used to say every now and then: "The King is Dead! Long Live the King!" making this the time to wonder whose restaurant will ascend to the top of the world ranking. This article: "Who Will Fill El Bulli's Place?" picks Alinea. This is great news! Although I've never been to Alinea either, I did have a reservation there once, and I have (more or less) successfully cooked out of the Alinea cookbook.

The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin.

Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, The California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch.

The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described him as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded.

Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers.

He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes.

Despite being a little flaky at times and a crusty old man he was still considered a positive roll model for millions.

He is survived by his wife Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, plus they had one in the oven.

He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

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.

Normally hidden behind a roll-up steel security door, Iron Cactus will be accessible during business hours through a pair of rustic Cantina-like wooden doors under a wagon wheel.

The owners say that Iron Cactus will be an upscale taqueria using high quality ingredients.

Since I haven't tried the food yet, I don't know about the quality, but I did manage to beg a menu off of them which you can download as a PDF right here!

Initial hours will be Monday-Saturday 11:00 am to 9:00 pm with Happy Hours scheduled for Monday-Friday 3pm-6pm; Saturday 4pm-6pm.

The Iron Cactus
683 4th Street
San Francisco, CA
415-777-1010

Remove the dry outer husks from approximately one-half pound of fresh tomatillos. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the tomatillos for five minutes. Drain, then put the blanched tomatillos into the blender with two dried chilies (seeds removed; I had Chihuacle and Chipotle chilies lying around, but use whatever mildly or moderately-hot chili that you may have ). Add a pinch of salt, and two small crushed cloves of garlic. Blend on the puree setting for about two minutes. Strain the sauce into a bowl, and then transfer to a squeeze bottle. The sauce seems to last two or three weeks if kept refrigerated.

I love putting this on grilled chicken breasts, steaks, and scrambled eggs, but intend to continue experimentation to find other yummy uses.