Bay Area Bites Food + Drink, san francisco, wine

Petite Sirah for the 99 Percent

Aside February 2, 2012

Eric Cohen, Shoe Shine Wine. Photo: Michael Straus

Eric Cohen’s vineyard designated Petite Sirah has soul — lots of it. You can taste it in his 2007 Solano County vintage. I picked up a vibrancy and mustiness I associate with wines made with less chemical manipulation. It was clean and spicy. Whether it’s about additives in wine or fighting for the working poor, Cohen’s passions run deep and he doesn’t take the easy road. He has chosen to explore the possibilities of a grape that typically has been overshadowed by more popular varietals. Cohen sources from high quality, but lesser known, vineyards and he has infused his wine making, and his marketing, with a quest for social justice.

Ironically, Cohen worked briefly in the financial world of New York City where he was turned on to good wine. But he was turned off to what he calls, “corporate greed.” His thoughts of the experience were best summed up in an answer he gave to his then three year old son. The question was, “Dad, what’s money?” To which Cohen replied, “A bummer and a drag.”

Cohen headed west to commune with like-minded individuals and chase his dream of wine making in a highly competitive arena. For four years, he volunteered working harvest at several wineries including White Rock and Luna Vineyards in Napa. Despite the high quality of his wines, which he makes in a shared facility in Napa, Cohen is still making cold calls to get into local restaurants and wine shops.

Photo: Naomi Starkman

So, you could care less about the political pedigree of who makes your wine? Well, you still might want to pay attention to Eric Cohen. I caught up with him at Mission Beach Café in San Francisco where I tasted three of his vintages: a 2007 Petite Sirah from Tenbrink Vineyard in Solano County ($25), a 2008 Petite Sirah from Wolff Vineyards in Edna Valley ($35) and a 2007 Petite Sirah from Golden Vineyards in Mendocino ($35). My favorites were the Solano County and the Mendocino wines. The first had red fruits and spice while the other was lip smacking, bright and peppery.

Cohen’s Take on Natural Wine Making
The first thing Cohen does when I sit down at a table is hand me a small bottle that reads, ‘Copper Sulfates,’ “Poison,” Cohen says. “It is one of 200 additives often found in wine and one that I will not use.” I see a big notebook on wine additives and know where this is going so I try to change the topic to wine tasting. Natural wine makers are very committed to their pure style of wine making but one thing about Cohen is, as obsessed as he is about some things, he is not dogmatic.

“While I am deeply committed to the overall methods of ‘natural wine making,’ as transparently shown by my short ingredient list on all of my back labels, the choice of yeast is not something that I agonize over. I don’t believe there is truly much difference, in fact. All of my fermentations get started with native yeasts. Nothing added. I let them thrive as long as they can. If, and when, I need to step in and pitch in a small amount of commercial yeast, I will.”

Shoe Shine Wine
Cohen has named his wine, Shoe Shine Wine. He explains,

“Wine is a luxury good. Never in a million years did I imagine that I would be devoting myself towards making something that would be enjoyed mostly by the wealthy. Once I knew that my passion for wine was irrepressible, I tried to find a way to satisfy my equal need for social justice. I wanted to make the strongest possible statement that, more than most, the working poor need to be celebrated and supported. ‘Shoe Shine Wine’ is the embodiment of that statement.”

LGBT Labels
Cohen is one of few folks in the industry that includes gay and lesbian themed labels. He stated, “I wanted to represent all loving relationships.” I got the feeling Cohen is not trying to cater to a gay clientele but is deeply committed to inclusion. And he doesn’t stop with his labels, his bottle tops are unique, too. Instead of metallic, cork coverings, he uses vintage fabric.

Photo: Eric Cohen

Choosing Petite Sirah
“I am drawn to the underdog by nature,” says Cohen in describing why he has chosen to work with Petite Sirah.

“It’s ageworthy. I love the idea someone can drink this 25 years down the road. It’s been mostly used as a blending grape but I want to help bring it back as a stand alone varietal.”

For those who are starting to scratch their heads over the spelling of Sirah just a quick note to say Petite Sirah and Syrah are two different grapes that both make big red wines and are both Rhone varietals. Petite Sirah has a long history in California, is typically blended with Zinfandel and its tannins may be more intense than Syrah. I found Cohen’s wines much more drinkable then many Syrahs I have tried. But don’t let me tell you, try them for yourself. You can find Cohen’s wine at Bi-Rite in San Francisco or online at Shoe Shine Wine.

Bay Area Bites Food + Drink, events, food art, writing, music, dance, restaurants, bars, cafes, pop-ups, san francisco

Rawdance Brings A Public Affair to Orson Restaurant

Aside October 18, 2011 Sarah Henry 2 Comments

The pair behind “A Public Affair” play at the table. Photo: Dudley Flores

Seated in the center of the industrial-chic dining space at Orson in San Francisco last week, Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein look like any other cute, urban couple catching up over a meal.

But–wait–the twosome are picking at unadorned lettuce, albeit artfully arranged on the plate. Under the table they sport ballet slippers. And, diners are about to discover, not as some quirky fashion statement. For a few nights this month, Elizabeth Falkner’s restaurant, which has a rap for adventure in the kitchen, is bringing some extra buzz to the table.

Smith and Rein, the long and lithe co-creators of the popular local company RAWdance, are giving eaters something to chew over while they dine out. Their 10-minute A Public Affair, showtimes roughly at 7 and 8:30, makes fun, flirty use of objects on hand (greens get nibbled suggestively, napkins are tossed playfully over a partner’s head, and chairs morph from obstacles to props).

This week, the couple will perform their new work, billed as “California cuisine with a side of violins and a dash of dance,” on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Think a riff on traditional dinner theater with a surprise twist a la flash mobs.

This isn’t the duos first foray into performing sans a stage: They’ve danced in an empty store at the Westfield Shopping Center during the holiday season, strutted their stuff in Union Square Park, and just last week took their modern moves to a UCSF LGBT mixer on the rooftop grass patio at the Mission Bay site. (Gotta love the bounce back a sprung surface like grass provides.)

Smith and Rein, partners in dance for more than a decade (and housemates too), are artists-in-residence at ODC Dance Commons, where they teach classes in the wildly popular Rhythm and Motion program (Full disclosure: This writer has been an R&M devotee for 20 years.)

And, like fellow teacher Amara Smith, the pair want to play with food in their creative work. “San Francisco has such a strong, pulsing food culture that we’re all naturally pulled to it,” says Smith. “I also think there’s something about the sense of community around food, the act of bringing people together to share an experience, that’s really appealing to tap into.”

Rein and Smith, both vegetarians, cook, eat, and experiment in the kitchen together, which is the only room in their house they can dance in. They’re also big fans of Top Chef, where Falkner has served as a judge. (This month she can be found among the competition on The Next Iron Chef on the Food Network.)

In flight: Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein of RAWdance. Photo: R. J. Muna

Despite the unconventional setting, the dancers choreography exhibits classic technique with a strong physicality, set to violin music composed by Sarn Oliver, one half of Tangled Duo, which performed live in the preview run of this work last Tuesday. Scheduling conflicts prevent the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra members from performing each evening.

The dance world can be insular and elitist, says Smith, which is why his company performs for the public in unexpected places. “We like to break down those boundaries by showing athletic, crafted work up close and personal without any distance from our audience,” he says.

Dancing in a restaurant is not without unique challenges. “The performance is a constant negotiation between musicality, character, spacing and safety,” says Smith of the self-contained piece performed in the heart of the dining room while staff ferry hot food to hungry customers. “We have to negotiate jackets hanging from chairs, purses on the floor, waiters passing by, and dropped spoons.” He adds: “It’s a tricky situation but a fun one.”

This writer can report that no food went flying (except as choreographed) during last Wednesday night’s two performances and diners seemed delighted by the cheeky interlude between courses.

The curious and couples looking for something special for date night should snag a table at Orson tonight or tomorrow.

And, heads up to those who want to catch the show without forking out major money in the dining room for, say, hangar steak: The bar or lounge serve as perfectly fine spots from which to watch.

Orson’s Happy Hour menu, now available from 5 to 8, features duck fat French fries, curry cauliflower gratin, and mac & cheese, along with $5 cocktails. Watching patrons’ reactions to the seemingly spontaneous display in the dining area: Priceless.

Details:
Orson Restaurant Bar + Lounge
508 4th Street
(between Bryant & Brannan Streets)
San Francisco
415-777-1508
October 18 and 19

Bay Area Bites Food + Drink, cocktails and spirits, events, holidays and traditions, politics, activism, food safety, san francisco

San Francisco Pride Eats

Aside June 25, 2011 Stephanie Rosenbaum Klassen

Photo by Wendy Goodfriend

Happy Pride! And what a day! A whole lot of New York caterers and wedding-cake bakers are very happy today, now that same-sex marriage is wonderfully, amazingly legal in New York, and without a residency requirement, meaning Virgin Atlantic and Jet Blue should be running bride-and-bride, groom-and-groom cross-country specials very soon, at least until the slow-moving wheels of justice finally get the right thing done out here. So, what do you eat, in between the Frameline35 LGBT film festival, the Trans March, the Dyke March, the parade on Sunday and all the myriad house parties, dance parties, comedy shows, performances, and more happening during this fine final week of June? Popcorn, probably, the celery, pickled green beans and olives in your Bloody Mary, and of course, whatever bacon-wrapped hot dog or meat-on-a-stick is being smokily, deliciously offered for a few bucks to the hungry, sweaty, beer-bathed hordes from now through Sunday.

This being San Francisco, of course, Pride is hardly confined to the Castro or Civic Center. We’ve got LGBT chefs, restaurant owners, bartenders, bakers, and ice-cream makers in every neighborhood, after all. As Pride Parade Honorary Grand Marshall Susie Bright says, “I must have my breakfast, and the best crab cakes west of the Orleans parish line are at Adrienne’s Just for You Cafe in Dogpatch.” Once the late-afternoon fog rolls in, then it’s time for a Blue Moon, not just a summer drink but the “ultimate lavender Liz Taylor’s eyes cocktail,” made from gin, fresh lemon, and Crème des Violettes, shaken over ice and served with a twist.”The color is breathtaking, it tastes sublime, and the violet aroma is real!” Order it at what Susie describes as her “latest swoon,” the Comstock Saloon in North Beach. “It’s like going into a Barbary Coast time machine; the attention to detail is intoxicating, and the food and drink are prepared with such panache. A one-of-a-kind experience!” she says. And while you’re feeling blue, you can also drop into the brand-new Bluestem Brasserie, where chef James Ormsby (Bruno’s, PlumpJack Cafe) has returned to the restaurant scene as consulting pastry chef, whipping up tasty treats like the “Honolulu Hangover” (chocolate coconut layer cake, toasted coconut marshallow meringue) and “Sealed with a Kiss” (vanilla ice cream profiteroles, strawberry rhubarb compote, crème rose).

What else? Take a tip from what our local Celebrity Grand Marshall and Top Chef Desserts winner Yigit Pura says in his It Gets Better video, “Have some dessert! Feel good!” (Keep an eye out for Pura’s own patisserie, Tout Sweet, coming soon.) Up in Pacific Heights, Elizabeth Falkner‘s crew at Citizen Cake are busy baking heart-shaped pride cookies splashed with spin-art rainbow icing, alongside with cookie sunglasses dotted with candy-sprinkle hearts. Down the street, at Fillmore and Haight, Three Twins ice cream has a dozen Pride-themed flavors happening this weekend, like Harvey Milk and Cookies (made with rice milk) and peanut-butter-laced Bear Bait. Prefer savory to sweet? Over in the Mission, Delfina Pizzeria is a sponsor of the 2011 Dyke March, selling a limited-edition t-shirt as a fundraiser for the cash-strapped parade. Instead of the restaurant’s usual red-on-black offering, the aqua-blue, $25 tee imagines the Golden Gate Bridge as a ring of rainbow-colored pizza slices. Given the topless, tattooed show that the Dyke March gives the Prosecco-clutching patrons of Delfina and Pizzeria Delfina every June, it’s clearly a case of, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, and keep ’em going for another year.

You can make a sandwich for your cooler or parade-side picnic with Project Open Hand‘s new peanut butter, now for sale in Whole Foods. 100% of the proceeds go to support Project Open Hand’s mission. Or, finally, you can take a little inspiration from Gertrude, Alice and Susie.

As Bright told us, “My main culinary memories of Pride can be summed up in two words: hash brownies. And yes, the Ghirardelli chocolate is up to the task.”

Bay Area Bites Food + Drink, events, san francisco, tv, film, video, photography

Recipe for Love: Sexy Eats on Film at Frameline

Aside June 18, 2011 Stephanie Rosenbaum Klassen 1 Comment

Chance and Coriander in Recipe for Love

There are a lot of clichés when it comes to putting food on film. Almost always, food is shorthand for sensuality. Show us a woman who rolls a tomato between her palms at the farmers’ market, licks her fingers in the kitchen, or closes her eyes and moans when anything tasty ends up in her mouth, and we know we’re meant to believe that she’s a tiger in bed. If she does that to a tomato, the reasoning goes, imagine what she’ll do with…

The food inspires the sex, or stands in for the sex until a lover enters the picture. If you know how to cook and/or eat, the reasoning goes in films like Eat Pray Love, I Am Love, Chocolat, and Like Water for Chocolate, then you know how to love, or at least how to get it on up against the fridge. And if you don’t know how to love, learning how to eat will take you there. (Restaurant movies, like Big Night and the upcoming documentary about Danny Meyer, The Restauranteur, are a different story: more men, more competition, a lot more stress than sex.)

Of course, like most cliché-ridden things, some of this is true. Don’t you have a foolproof dish or two that never fails to lure an attractive stranger home? (Thank you, peach pie!) I’ve been wooed with dim-sum dumplings, challah French toast, coffee in bed, cheese grits, a boat full of sushi, a perfect steak.

One of the frankest and sexiest of all food stories is still Dorothy Allison’s “A Lesbian Appetite,” in which she writes, “I remember women by what we ate together, what they dug out of the freezer after we’d made love for hours. I’ve only had one lover who didn’t want to eat at all. We didn’t last long. The sex was good but I couldn’t think what to do with her when the sex was finished. We drink spring water, and fight a lot.”

She then goes on, in sweaty, salty detail, to describe the good stuff she and her other lovers shared: roadside barbecue and Yoo-hoos smuggled into a vegetarian women’s music festival, fried eggplant and tomatoes ripe from the garden, long-simmered greens and leftover biscuits. Here, as elsewhere, the food leads to the sex, the sex is great, and then you’re both starving and you end up eating again, which leads to…well, there’s a reason Safeway has so many 24-hour supermarkets here.

So, not surprisingly, gorgeous food does lead to delicious sex in the film Recipe for Love, featured in two upcoming programs of shorts at the Frameline35 LGBT film festival. And the food really does look good enough to eat, or make anyone fall in love with the cook.

The 26-minute piece, made by first-time filmmaker Chauncey Wales, revolves around the food-laden stories of Chance Oliveida, a young Brazilian woman living in San Francisco (played by Brazilian actress Fernanda Jimena). Chance runs a green cleaning company, but she’d really rather be cooking. So when one of her cleaners skips an appointment at the (huge and spotless) apartment of young businesswoman-on-the-go Juliette (Coriander Stasi), Chance shows up to do the job herself, bringing along a box of homemade truffles perfumed with cinnamon, chiles, and rosewater (“romance in a bottle,” as Chance murmurs to herself while adding a few drops) to apologize.

Juliette takes the truffles to bed with her (closed eyes, gasp, close-up), and soon she’s enlisting Chance to cook dinner for her, her food-snob sister and her brother-in-law. At the party, the guests fall in love with Chance’s food—mango-and-Champagne soup, oysters on the half shell, scallops decked with flowers—and before Chance can finish reciting the recipe for the passionfruit mousse, she and Juliette are stripping down in the hallway for their own after-hours party for two.

Wales, a passionate cook herself, gives full credit for the on-screen food to Jessy Manuel, a 24-year-old professional chef who auditioned for the part of Chance. She didn’t get the part, but she turned out to the be the perfect choice for food stylist and second assistant director. Before the shoot, Wales, Manuel, and Jimena spend hours together talking about food, trying to figure out what kinds of food would reflect how Chance lives between two worlds, contemporary San Francisco and her homeland in southeastern Brazil. They came up with many dishes (yucca fries, peach chimichurri sauce), only a fraction of which made it into the movie.

And while the music and accents may be Brazilian, the vibe is very San Franciscan, from the skyline and opening Ferry Plaza farmers’ market shots to the jilted, cheating boyfriend who’s curing his wandering ways with Bikram yoga (while ogling the yoga teacher). And that candlelit scallop dish, layered with broth, jewel-toned vegetables, and a scatter of edible flowers? Utterly ravishing.

Recipe for Love plays at the Victoria Theater as part of Fierce and Fabulous! Queer Women of Color Shorts on Sun., June 19 at 4pm and in Sazón y Sabon on Mon., June 20 at 7pm.

Film Information:
Website: Recipe for Love (view trailer)
Twitter: @recipe_for_love
Facebook: Recipe For Love Film

Related Posts at KQED Arts:
Frameline Festival 35 Preview by Emmanuel Hapsis
Frameline35: Bay Area Features by Michael Fox

bay area, local food businesses, restaurants, bars, cafes, pop-ups, san francisco

San Francisco Food Secrets of Frankie Frankeny & Chloe Harris

Aside November 2, 2010 Mary Ladd

Chloe Harris and Frankie Frankeny. Photo by Keeney and Law

Power couple Chloé Harris and Frankie Frankeny are well known in the LGBT and creative worlds. Texas gals by birth, Chloé is from Dallas and Frankie from Austin. Harris is the managing editor of StyleBistro.com and a writer whose work has appeared in publications including The Advocate, Advocate.com, InStyle Home, C Magazine, L-Word’s OurChart.com, Bond Alternative Wedding Magazine, 7×7 and California Home + Design. Since 2007, Chloé has been a member of the San Francisco Leadership Council for GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and is co-chair of the GLAAD 2010 Media Awards in SF.

Frankie Frankeny is a photographer and film director who has worked in the fields of fashion, lifestyle and food. She knows a lot of chefs and hospitality stars, and was once named among Entertainment Weekly’s Most Creative People in the US. Frankie has collaborated on more than 60 books including award-winners The Art of the Bar and Demolition Desserts. She is also owner of the marketing communications agency Piper/Keller. In 2008, she directed Everything Must Change, a music video in support of marriage equality. Frankie is also a founding member of dot429, a social network for LGBT professionals. Frankeny answered questions about their favorite spots via email.

Marriage two ways: Paris and San Francisco

DATE NIGHT
For date nights we love the perfect Caviar and champagne at the bar at Jardiniere. We were married there. We love the casual elegance of Barbacco (polpette we must have every time) and we way too often eat the Orson burger with duck fat french fries along side a nice glass of red.

WEEKEND BRUNCH
When we have time on the weekend day to have a long brunch we can usually be found at Slanted Door eating the glass noodle with crab dish and their perfect papaya salad. We lean very French bistro for brunch and like the croques at Cafe De La Presse, The Butler and The Chef Bistro and at Chez Papa we gravitate to the mussels and butter lettuce salads. All with sparkling and water.

WINE COUNTRY EATS
When we can get away, we love Yountville. You are in walking distance to an amazing array of special restaurants when you visit. There is Bouchon Bakery; Chloé loves the chocolate bouchons. Bistro Jeanty has the most remarkable tomato soup ever. You have Redd, Ad Hoc and Bardessono. In addition, my new love is Bottega. I just finished shooting Chef Chiarello’s book on the place and can’t seem to get enough! It is a really special place. You must have the burratta, gnocci, polenta and the amazing porchetta.

MOM AND POP JOINTS
We love Pazzia on 3rd (we love the pizza). Also, South Park Cafe for heirloom tomato salad in season pig salad. Marlowe for spiced prawns and steak tartar and I can be seen too regularly eating lunch and working at Mijita. I love it all there but am hooked on the nachos at the moment. This place is definitely my guiltiest local food pleasure. I eat way too much of it!

GROCERY SHOPPING
I do all the shopping, and love to grocery shop, so here is a short re-cap of my usual places in the Ferry Building:
For fresh produce, it’s the Saturday market. Then Cowgirl Creamery for cheeses. Miette because Chloé has a passion for their pistachio macarons. I like going to Far West Fungi for mushrooms, although I love to forage with my pal Matt. At Boulette’s, I usually get a duck confit leg, some of their special salts, and if they have the fava bean cake, get it!

Frankeny & Harris have were first married in Paris in 2006 in a non-legal ceremony. Their full story is here: justmarried.us, and the two are working to make marriage equality a reality.

Frankeny says:

“Then we had our 2008 legal ceremony at Jardiniere, another reason we love it so much. And we couldn’t have done either wedding without Traci Des Jardins who literally did most everything for us for both ceremonies. I hope to marry Chloe again when we can have a marriage that is not just recognized in nine states, but in every state and country around the world.”

events, food art, writing, music, dance, holidays and traditions, restaurants, bars, cafes, pop-ups, san francisco

Even Glam-Pop Guys Have to Eat: Scouting Ejector’s San Francisco Food Stops

Aside June 24, 2010 Mary Ladd

Ben Holder and Ricky Terry
Photography: Arturo Cosenza, Stylist: Pablo Pavia

Ejector Report: Where do Ben Holder and Ricky Terry go to eat when they aren’t performing and producing a new album? Holder and Terry make up the local band Ejector, an electro-pop duo behind the original title song for Billy Clift’s Baby Jane? film that premiered at the Castro on Tuesday night, for San Francisco’s Frameline LGBT Film Festival.

Terry confessed via phone interview that the Baby Jane? song was “one of the fastest recordings we’d ever done,” and that the two were excited about being able to see the audience reaction when the song played at the close of the film. One of Clift’s requirements for the song was that the audience feel like dancing when they heard the song. Because Ejector is in such a busy and creative phase, Holder said that being involved with the Baby Jane? film project was an accomplishment, but that “we haven’t had time to think about it,” and that they were needing to figure out logistics for the premiere like “what to wear, and where to meet (before the film). We’re thrilled.” Ejector will be playing at the Main Stage on Sunday afternoon at the San Francisco Pride celebration, and have been featured at the Folsom Street Fair; they are booked for two SoCal shows for the San Diego Pride celebration as well.

Baby Jane? Music Video (warning: some explicit language)

Holder and Terry both live in San Francisco. Holder said they consider themselves lucky to have Richard Doyle (“Big Red”) who will cook for them “a lot when we are working. Often it’s ‘to order.’ His food is healthy, organic, and fresh.” The duo shared with Bay Area Bites the restaurants and eateries that they like to visit together, as well as solo (or with a date). The duo’s picks have been edited for length and grammar.

EJECTOR’S FOOD PICKS

Green Chile Kitchen
1801 McAllister (Baker) Map
(415) 440-9411
Hours: Monday-Friday: 11:30am to 9pm
Saturday-Sunday: 11am to 9pm

Ricky: “Just around the corner from my apartment. Organic veggies and free range meats. Best breakfast burritos, super chicken! Crispy taco plate and home style chicken enchilada plate, and they now have a New Mexican version of a hamburger AMAZING!!! We lived off this menu while recording our album.”

Ben: “You can tell when we’ve worked on something (music-wise) and eaten Green Chile Kitchen. The (resulting) music is playful and light.”

Escape From New York Pizza
508 Castro Street (at 18th Street) Map
(415) 252-1515
Hours: Daily 11am to 12am

Ricky: “Best sin ever; get a slice at 12am just before heading home after a grand night out.”

Barracuda Sushi
2251 Market Street (between Sanchez Street and Noe Street) Map
(415) 558-8567
Hours:
Lunch Monday-Friday: 11:30am to 3:30pm
Dinner Monday-Friday: 5pm to 10:30pm
Saturday-Sunday: 11am to 11:30pm

Ricky: “Spicy garlic edamame, Rainbow roll and that wonderful brewed sake!
Strange thing, we always end up here for spur of the moment band meetings.”

Ben: “I like to order my rolls with rice paper or soy paper, which they do.”

DeLessio Market & Bakery and Falletti Foods
302 Broderick Street (at Oak Street) Map
(415) 552-8077
Hours: Sunday-Saturday: 8:00am to 9:00pm

Ricky: “Neighborhood bakery, best desserts in town!! Oh, and the chocolate tower cake…YUM!!!!!!!”

Ben: “Their hot plates to go save us.”

Orphan Andy’s Restaurant, for “after hours survival”
3991 17th Street (at Castro & Market Streets) Map
(415) 864-9795
Open 24 hours

Ricky: “The Monte Cristo sandwich, with sour cream and strawberry jam on the side!”

Ben: “We lovingly call it Orphan Andrea’s,” adding, “It’s a no-brainer. Such a local staple, and always reliable.”

BEN HOLDER’S FOOD PICKS

Toast Eatery on Church Street
1748 Church Street (at 29th Street) Map
(415) 282-4328
Hours:
Monday-Friday: 7am to 9pm
Saturday-Sunday: 7am to 5pm
Ben:

“My comfort food pick is a ham-cheddar-tomato omelet. I’m kinda traditional.”

Bur-Eat-Os No. 2 Restaurant
345 Spear Street (between Folsom Street & Harrison Street) Map
(415) 362-1384

Ben: “During the week, this is where I go religiously for their breakfast burrito with coffee.”

Recchiuti Confections
One Ferry Building (on the Embarcadero), Shop #30 Map
(415) 834-9494
Hours:
Monday-Friday: 10am to 7pm
Saturday: 8am to 6pm
Sunday: 10am to 5pm

Ben: “Dark chocolate is my favorite. Recchiuti’s toasted sesame burnt caramel is for when I’m shopping, feeling good, or… not so good. To be able to sit by the water and watch the antics there. We live in heaven, and I can’t think of anything more heavenly.”

RICKY TERRY’S PICKS

Marina Submarine
2299 Union Street (at Steiner Street) Map
(415) 921-3990

Ricky: “At lunchtime the line is out the door and this is a one man sandwich-making operation. I think this guy has a photographic memory or something. He takes several orders at a time and remembers my order from the last time I was there… over a month ago?!! Turkey sub, lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese, with oil and vinegar.”

Tsunami Sushi
1306 Fulton Street (at Divisadero Street) Map
(415) 567-7664
Hours:
Monday-Wednesday: 6pm to 12am
Thursday-Saturday: 6pm to 1am

Ricky: “Volcano Roll with spicy tuna avocado, New Yorker Roll with smoked salmon avocado cream cheese. Best cocktails and a fabulous date night spot!”

Slanted Door
1 Ferry Building #3 Map
(415) 861-8032
Hours: Daily 11am to 12am

Ricky: “I could go on for days about this place. First birthday dinner after moving to SF from LA, was absolutely the most spectacular meal I have ever eaten at a restaurant. The Ginger Lemonade was too easy to drink! This is a very special restaurant! Seasonal and organic, local veggies, meats, seafood, even local organic alcohol! The staff is AMAZING! Courteous, gracious, generous, a class act from A-Z!!”

Star India
3721 Geary Avenue (at 2nd Avenue) Map
(415) 668-4466
Hours: Daily 10:30am to 10:30pm
Ricky:

“Vegetable Samosa, naan, raita, chicken Tikka Masala, best saffron rice. I have mostly ordered take out, but have eaten in a couple times. Either way, the food is consistently wonderful!”

Ejector performing at Folsom Street Fair in 2009. Photo by Wendy Goodfriend

food history and celebrities, restaurants, bars, cafes, pop-ups, tv, film, video, photography

Baby Jane? Scouting Billy Clift’s San Francisco Food Stops

Aside June 21, 2010 Mary Ladd

Billy Clift

Guess who’s coming for din din? William “Billy” Clift is the director of the upcoming drag-parody film, Baby Jane?, which is scheduled to premiere on Tuesday, June 22, at the Castro Theater. Baby Jane? is a definite wink and nod to the original 1962 cult classic with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford starring as a pair of miserable sisters. Davis, playing Baby Jane, even serves up her dear Sis a cold-hearted lunch dish of rat in one of the most memorable scenes:

San Francisco’s Frameline LGBT Film Festival will be the platform for Clift’s Baby Jane premiere, with Matthew Martin and J. Conrad Frank in the lead roles. Frameline’s festival site saucily sums up the film as:

“Bette and Joan, eat your hearts out! This drag-studded recreation of the 1962 classic What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? drops us back into the depths of sisterly detestation. Baby Jane has seen better days, but her paralyzed sister Blanche is still oh-so-perfect. The two has-been movie stars have turned into recluses with axes to grind –literally — over their sordid pasts.”

Ethel Merman and Heklina also show up in the black and white Baby Jane? film. Ejector is a local electro-pop band that wrote an original title song for the movie. BAB will feature the food loves of band members Ben Holder and Ricky Terry in an upcoming post.

Clift shot Baby Jane? locally, and is a Noe Valley resident. He is also a writer-producer who styled hair and make-up in L.A. for twenty years. Yes, he’s second cousin to that Montgomery Clift, and remained close friends with Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery after the two bonded on a photo shoot. Montgomery passed away in 1995.

“She was my dearest friend,” Clift told Bay Area Bites via phone interview. From that long lasting friendship, Clift decided to develop a “big budget” biopic film of Montgomery starring Christina Applegate. Pending financing, Clift plans to shoot in Canada next summer.

Bay Area Bites caught up with Clift via phone interview to get his favorite San Francisco food-centric picks.

FOOD FAVORITES

Le Zinc
4063 24th Street (between Noe Street and Castro Street) Map
(415) 647-9400
Hours: Tues-Fri 11am to 10pm
Sat-Sun 9:30am to 10pm

“I know I’ll be happy at Le Zinc. It’s typical French food. Clean and normal. I stick to the French onion soup.”

Chouchou
400 Dewey Boulevard (at Laguna Honda Boulevard) Map
(415) 242-0960
Hours: Monday – Saturday 5:30pm to 10pm
Sun 10am to 2:30pm and 5pm to 9:30pm

“The owner Nick treats everyone like a long lost best friend. The duck (dish) is so tender and amazing.”

Thai House Express
599 Castro Street (between 18th Street and 19th Street) Map
(415) 864-5000
Hours: Monday – Sunday 11:30am to 10:30pm

“Their take-out Thai is the most consistent I’ve had.”

Cha Cha Cha
2327 Mission Street (at 19th Street) Map
(415) 648-0504
Hours: Monday – Thursday 5pm to 11pm
Friday-Saturday 5pm to 1am

“It’s hard to find sangria in town, and theirs is good. The plantains and jerk chicken are good.”

2223 Restaurant
2223 Market Street (between 15th Street and Sanchez Street) Map
(415) 431-0692
Hours: Monday – Thursday, Sunday 5:30pm to 10pm
Friday and Saturday, 5:30pm to 11pm
Saturday 11am to 2pm
Sunday 10am to 2:30pm

“2223 is the best for desserts. I love a good crème brulee, 2223‘s bread pudding, too.”

Citizen Cake
2125 Fillmore Street (between California Street and Sacramento Street) Map
(415) 861-2228

“I just love them. Am so happy to visit here for crème brulee.” (Clift often visited the Hayes Valley original location and hasn’t yet seen the new, soon to open Fillmore Citizen Cake, whose site said: “Not open yet, but soon.”)

On set, Clift said he doesn’t eat a lot and loses weight. “I’m way too focused. I’m so anal retentive and trying to make sure everything is going right.” Once he gets in the editing room, it’s a different story: “I’m sitting there, with the munchies. I definitely don’t eat well… I feel like a fat pig.” He shops a lot at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods (“for something a little cleaner”). Baked chips are snacks when he’s “trying to eat good,” and he likes vanilla ice cream from Bi-Rite Creamery. “It’s boring but true,” Clift said of his preference for vanilla.

Related Links:
KQED Arts LGBT Film Festival Report: Frameline34: Locals Make Good

food history and celebrities, restaurants, bars, cafes, pop-ups, san francisco, tv, film, video, photography

Scouting John Waters’ San Francisco Food Stops

Aside April 7, 2010 Mary Ladd 3 Comments

John Waters at the 2009 Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. Photo by Wendy Goodfriend

One of the reasons why celebrities like cult-film maker John Waters love San Francisco is that the Bay Area tends to not fawn and make a big deal of their presence. The film director, writer, conceptual artist and Pope of Trash Waters may have fallen for our hometown enough to call it home (if only on a part-time basis). Two years ago, he decided to buy a place in Nob Hill, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report by Catherine Bigelow in January this year. Bigelow described Waters first visit to the Jeannette Etheredge owned North Beach watering hole, Tosca. Waters went to Tosca after he attended the 75th anniversary of SFMOMA with artworld-celeb friends who are also his neighbors here. Sightings of Waters have also been documented on the Mission Mission blog–among other places–last year. There are reports on Mission Mission of Waters hanging out at an art show opening party, as well as the Polk Street post office (from Cooking with Amy’s Amy Sherman), Borderlands Bookstore, and doing his grocery shopping and riding buses and MUNI are sited.

We don’t have any sort of real paparazzi here like the movie hub Southern California (SoCal) does, and instead resort to various ways of noting and communicating encounters and occasional contact with famous types. The bounty of natural beauty, cultural heritage, middling to decent public transportation (which Waters reportedly enjoys using), and of course food culture ranging from street food to California cuisine and white table cloth establishments make the deal of Bay Area living that much sweeter. Northern California is generally a more relaxed environment versus the hustle-bustle-do-you-know-who-I-am? aggression and cheesiness that smacks you in the face constantly in L.A. My first job out of UC Berkeley in the mid-1990s was working for Nancy Hayes Casting, which was then located in Russian Hill. Through that line of work, I was able to work on movie and commercial projects and meet a rash of actors, directors, and related celebrities and creative types in from other parts of the country and world. They often wanted to learn about our city’s bookstores (Green Apple and City Lights remained among the go-to spots that they are today), nightclubs (DNA Lounge ring a bell?), restaurants (everything from Perry’s to Swan Oyster Depot and Rose Pistola to even the now-thankfully-shuttered Planet Hollywood), hikes, and historical places just like any other visitor, famous or not.

Waters’ presence and activities here has been noted frequently in traditional print media, as well as on blogs and other social media including Yelp. He is one famous visitor who decided to take up residence in San Francisco. Although Waters is mainly based out of Baltimore, he also has a home in New York City and a summer home in Provincetown. Waters has been making, writing, and directing films for forty years, and his long body of almost always controversial film work includes Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Pecker and two film versions of Hairspray that later became a Broadway sensation. If the names Dawn Davenport, Prudy Pingleton, and Tony The Tickler ring a bell, then you are familiar with Waters often times gross out material that famously includes the scene in Pink Flamingos where Waters’ muse and childhood friend Divine (a drag persona by Harris Glenn Milstead) eats dog feces on camera. The dog-doo poo-poo scene was for real sans cuts, edits or effects, and was ground breaking in the pre-YouTube and Internet era. Censors and prim and proper types may consider Waters, who has long been confirmed as a gay man, to be pushing the boundaries of good taste and decency. Others, who are fans, await his next film or art project with baited breath. His trademark pencil thin mustache is as much a part of his public identity as are his ties to Divine and the Dreamlanders group of Baltimore area actors, Mink Stole, Ricki Lake, Johnny Depp, one time porn queen Traci Lords and the now freed purported criminal and heiress Patricia Hearst. All have played roles in Waters’ work, and show how he creates and uses characters that may already have inherent shock value with the public.

In 2008, Waters was in San Francisco to put on a one-man vaudeville show at the Castro Theater, to benefit the Frameline film festival, which is definitely LGBT friendly. The Castro was a favorite of Waters because Pink Flamingos has played there. Waters vaudeville act was one that he originated with his pal and muse Divine decades ago. He said that he thinks of himself as a “Filth Elder” more so than the “Pope of Trash” nickname he received from William Burroughs. Waters’ elder reference is perhaps his way of acknowledging that he is in his sixties. I emailed The Filth Elder last week to find out the food-centric spots he likes to frequent when he lives in San Francisco. Aside from his picks below, you can also plan on catching Waters at his City Arts & Lectures appearance happening on May 25th for his Role Models book tour…San Francisco is the first stop on the tour.

Waters cites Zuni at the top of his list, adding “my old friend from Provincetown Billy West started it.”

Zuni Café
1658 Market Street (between Franklin and Gough)
(415) 553-2522
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 11:30 am to 11 pm
Friday and Saturday 11:30 am to midnight
Sunday 11:00 am to 11:00 pm | Closed Monday
(415) 553-2522

The Big Four, where Waters swoons that it is “SOO Sunset Boulevard.” Big Four spokesperson Kellie Samson confirmed that “he usually comes in with a few other people (family and/or friends) and…is quite approachable and has a good rapport and is friendly with our staff. Since he lives in the neighborhood, he’s often seen walking in Nob Hill and on the cable car, etc.”

The Big Four Restaurant at the Huntington Hotel
1075 California Street (at Taylor Street)
(415) 771-1140
Hours: Breakfast Monday – Friday: 7am to 10am
Saturday – Sunday: 7am to 11am
Lunch service at The Big 4 will be available on Thursdays and Fridays between the hours of 11:30am and 3pm, only.
Dinner Nightly: 5:30pm to 10pm
Bar Nightly: 4pm until midnight Thursday – Friday:

All day Piano entertainment Daily, 5pm to 11:30pm
• Michael Parsons (Monday – Saturday)
• Steve Klawiter (Sunday)

Foreign Cinema. Through representative Keelin Czellecz, chef-owner Gayle Pirie & Floor Manager Tracy Smyth commented that Waters “often orders fish” and receives “an amuse [bouche]” from the Foreign Cinema kitchen. Waters told me “I drink Stoli martinis,” and his friends enjoyed gin martinis — 209 Gin with olives. Waters is friendly to curious customers, and “is one of the few celebrities that have come in that people feel like they can go up to the table and talk to him. He is really sweet when he is approached.”

Foreign Cinema
2534 Mission Street (between 21st Street and 22nd Street)
(415) 648-7600
Hours: Dinner
Monday – Thursday 6pm to 10pm
Friday – Saturday 5:30pm to 11pm
Sunday 5:30pm to 10pm
Brunch
Saturday 11am to 3pm
Sunday 11am to 3:30pm

Range
Range Restaurant
842 Valencia Street (between 19th Street and 20th Street)
(415) 282-8283
Hours: Monday – Thursday 6pm to close
Friday – Sunday 5:30pm to close

La Ciccia. Sardinian Italian food in Noe Valley. According to La Ciccia spokesperson Eleanor Bertino, Waters “came in on a really busy night.” Wife-owner Lorella Degan told Bertino that “he was with two other men, and he ordered pasta and was very nice and warm… in no way demanding.”

La Ciccia
291 30th Street (at Church Street)
(415) 550-8114
Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 5:30pm to 10pm (Closed Mondays and Major Holidays)

Nob Hill Café
1152 Taylor Street (between Clay Street and Pleasant Street)
(415) 776-6500
Hours: Monday – Friday Lunch 11am to 3pm, Saturday & Sunday Brunch 11am to 3pm, Dinner Nightly from 5pm to 10pm

The lunch counter in Armani shop. Gina Chinchilla, who is General Manager of the Armani café would only comment, “Unfortunately, we are not allowed to give out any information about our clients that visit the Cafe. We may only confirm that he does indeed frequent our Cafe.”

Armani Café
1 Grant Avenue (between Market Street and O’Farrell Street)
(415) 677-9010
Hours: Monday – Saturday, 11am to 4pm; Sunday from 12 noon to 4pm

See’s Candy: according to Sharyl Mitchell of See’s, “Mr. Waters used to visit our Union Square Shop that is now closed” at 350 Powell Street. He would buy all kinds of candy, and the manager at the store recalls seeing him “all the time.”

Bay Area Bites Food + Drink, chefs, culinary education and classes, dessert and chocolate, food history and celebrities, san francisco

SF Chefs. Food. Wine. Highlight Reel

Aside August 10, 2009 Stephanie Hua 6 Comments

SF Chefs.Food.Wine. Ribbon Cutting
SF Chefs. Food. Wine. Ribbon Cutting: Linda Lim, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Kevin Westlye, Tyler Florence

To quote Mayor Gavin Newsom, “Aspen, eat your heart out.”

An epic event 2 ½ years in the making, SF Chefs. Food. Wine. was like a food-lover’s Disneyland with over 200 of the Bay Area’s finest chefs, 450 wineries, and mixologists aplenty strutting their stuff.

Over the past four days, Union Square was transformed into a playground of tastings, seminars, and demonstrations from a who’s who list of culinary legends, rising stars, artisans, and experts.

SF Chefs Charles Phan, Thomas Keller, Douglas Keane
View from the top: Charles Phan, Thomas Keller, Douglas Keane

SF Chefs Sara Moulton and Cindy Pawclyn
Sara Moulton and Cindy Pawlcyn

Sf Chefs Martin Yan
Martin Yan, Yan Can Cook

SF Chefs Jennifer Biesty and Ryan Scott
Top Cheftestants Jennifer Biesty and Ryan Scott

It sometimes feel like a blessing and a curse to live in a city with so many amazing restaurants to try because let’s face it, who can afford to try them all? One can read about them, drool over descriptions and photos of them, and then place them on an ever-growing bucket list of places to try. The Grand Tasting Tent at SF Chefs provided the rare opportunity to hone that list, allowing participants to really taste, touch, see, and feel for themselves, a sliver of what some of these heralded restaurants are all about. The air was electric and the excitement palpable, as the wine flowed and the bites were dished out.

SF Chefs Moss Room Monterey Squid
Monterey Squid, Chef Justin Simoneaux, Moss Room

SF Chefs Lemongrass Thai Green Wrap
Thai Wrap, Chef Toi Sawatdee, Lemongrass Thai Cuisine

It was interesting to see the chefs do riffs on many of the same ingredients that are in peak season right now: corn, heirloom tomatoes, melons, figs, and refreshing preparations like gazpachos and ceviches.

SF Chefs Cortez bruleed fig
Bruleed Fig with Kaffir Lime Oil and Vanilla Salt, Chef Jenn Puccio, Cortez

And, there was no shortage of parties…all benefiting good causes of course: the Golden Gate Restaurant Association Scholarship Foundation, Meals on Wheels, Project Open Hand, and the San Francisco Food Bank (a member of Feeding America).

Thursday night reunited Rising Star Chefs and Bar Stars named by the San Francisco Chronicle, and a special dinner prepared by Arnold Eric Wong (E&O Trading Co.), Charles Phan (The Slanted Door/Heaven’s Dog), and Martin Yan (Yan Can Cook).

Friday night honored America’s Culinary Pioneers, Emily Luchetti (Farallon/Waterbar), Judy Rodgers (Zuni Café), Patricia Unterman (Hayes Street Grill), Joyce Goldstein (author and restaurateur), and Chuck Williams (Williams-Sonoma). There was also Out in the Fog, a celebration of the diverse LGBT community, at Elizabeth Falkner’s Orson. It was chic, it was sexy, and it had a giant projection of Julia baking a cake on the wall.

Party time went strong through Saturday night, and the tasting tent was bumping with DJ Chef Hubert Keller laying down some beats at the Urban BBQ. Rock Star.

SF Chefs DJ Hubert Keller
DJ Chef Hubert Keller

God forbid that dancing put anyone in a negative calorie count. The night continued at a Chocolate Enchantment after-party, complete with a floor to ceiling spinning display of chocolate decadence.

SF Chefs chocolate enchantment

This weekend’s festivities were a true celebration of the unique culinary spirit of San Francisco, bringing together a community of both industry and non-industry people through a common love of food. It was a treat to have executive chefs live and in person, serving their dishes and chatting about their food, or seeing them interact with one another and catching a glimpse of that intriguing “chef’s world” that has captured our imagination. We are a city that loves our food, and by direct association, honors the craftsmen and -women who bring joy through food.

SF Chefs. Food. Wine. hit on a winning combination of accessibility to hometown celeb-status chefs, utterly delicious food, fine wine, education, and awareness of important issues in food politics. It was fun, multi-faceted, and full of passion. It was, in a nutshell, San Francisco.

SF Chefs Bread Montage Trolley Car
Ding-ding

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