What’s Cookin’

Yo yo. How’s your Tuesday treating you so far? My week has already become a pressure cooker, so let’s dive in. All kinds of new projects are happening this week: I was lucky to get some preview pics and tastes at Del Popolo and West of Pecos, and I also had fun last week finally trying the infamous $3 Schmendricks bagel at a launch party. I know, I know, a $3 bagel. But sometimes something is so good you’ll pay more than you want for it—that malty, hand-rolled, and boiled bagel is one of those things. (Follow @Schmendricks on Twitter to find out where you can pick bagels up and kvetch over the price at the same time.)

This week on You Gotta Eat This on KGO Radio, I talk about one of my favorite bar bites: the vada pav at Dosa; listen in here.

Considering I am at my absolute heaviest right now (blergh), I found it a bit ironic to be featured in a Bay Area Bites article on How Professional Eaters Stay Balanced. Well, I’m trying to stay balanced—just not always succeeding. Anyway, thanks Stephanie Hua for including me!

In the immortal words of Porky Pig (ha ha), “That’s all folks!”

(Marcia rhymes with Garcia)

Hello fine folks. You see that 76 in the weather forecast tomorrow? Uh huh. Spring fever in full effect. This is the time of year when I get strong urges to head out of town to Wine Country or the coast, even for a 24-hour getaway, which is what I’m talking about today in the jetsetter. Yup, we’re going to Jack London (and MFK Fisher) country, and heading up to Glen Ellen to check out the dreamy Kenwood Inn and Spa. Commence getaway longing, now.

More springtime: you know the market is going to be gorgeous tomorrow, and Saturday is also CUESA’s 12th annual spring breakfast at 9am and 11am. Click here for a $10 discount for tablehopper readers on the bountiful breakfast, bringing it to $35. Enjoy!

Sunday is Mother’s Day, and I have been reflecting on how blessed I am to have such a loving mother in my life. Truly. It has to be a hard day for those who have lost their mothers, or have become estranged from them, so I want to take a moment to be sensitive to everyone’s possible scenario, and to be grateful for my own. This Sunday, I will raise my glass in honor of all mothers, for bringing us into and guiding us through this world, and the sacrifices they have made for our happiness and well being.

With love,

(Marcia rhymes with Garcia)

Well, hello there. Are you out playing hooky? I’m sure we’re all thinking about it. Fortunately my weekend had me playing outside a fair amount, starting with a Saturday outing with my mother and sis to Out the Door on Bush for brunch (hello banh nam, banh cuon, and congee!), and then we caught the exhibit at the Palace of Legion of Honor, The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde 1860-1900—it’s very mom-friendly, if you’d like to take yours there this weekend! I also went to tour and visit Central Kitchen and St. Vincent that evening—you’ll see both projects in today’s chatterbox.

Sunday was an over-the-top celebration for my friend’s birthday: a group of us chartered The Dauntless, a 45-foot mahogany cruiser, for a ride on the Bay. We disembarked and picnicked in a field at Cavallo Point—with a spectacular view of San Francisco—and then hopped back on the boat for more cruising. It was pretty breathtaking to pass under the Golden Gate Bridge, a view I hadn’t seen before. Happy 75th birthday, Golden Gate Bridge!

More congrats are in order for all the nominees AND winners at the James Beard Foundation Awards last night, especially Boulevard for finally winning Outstanding Restaurant (after eight Susan Lucci-esque years of being nominated for the category!) and to Emily Luchetti, who was inducted into the Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America. You can read who all the JBF 2012 finalists are here, which also includes the Book Awards, and more.

A few more things to note: first, May is National Burger Month—how convenient, a whole month. You’ll want to listen in to today’s episode of You Gotta Eat This on KGO Radio since I talk about where you can celebrate with some tasty burger deals around town.

More meat: did you know I am hosting a salumi tasting class with Peter Temkin (charcutier for Show Dogs, Foreign Cinema) on Friday June 15th at Ramekins in Sonoma? It’s going to be a fun (and informative) event: we’ll be walking you through the ancient craft of charcuterie, discussing the history and different styles of cured meats in Italy, Spain, and France, and giving tips on how to buy, serve, and store them at home. Sample local artisanal salumi, while sipping on some lambrusco. See you there!

Lastly, Thursday is Bike to Work Day, and I’d say it’s a perfect time to get around on two wheels with this gorgeous weather this week.

Ding-ding!

(Marcia rhymes with Garcia)

TGIFF. Yeah, you know what that extra “f” stands for. (I am currently suffering from some annoying slow computer woes, so that word is on the tip of my tongue this week. Sorry, Mom.) I’ve had some good eats this week, including dinner at AQ on Tuesday night (so happy to see how busy they are on that quiet corner) and a visit to Radio Africa Kitchen in Bayview, also bringing some energy to its corner location.

Last night was a unique event: I was invited to a SPUR (San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association) benefit, Dine + Discover, held in the church/”castle” at 601 Dolores. I have always wanted to go inside that huge building looming over Dolores Park—it did not disappoint. What was additionally unique about the event, besides its primo location, is the catering was done by pop-ups Reform Club, Stag Dining Group, and Rice Paper Scissors. It was a fun twist on the usual catered fare (no satay on a stick here), and SPUR even had Ananas cocktail consulting concoct some pairings for the entrées. Nicely done.

Tonight, all I can say is there’s a dance floor out there with my name on it.

I’d like to bid a sad farewell to my former 707 Scout writer, Deirdre Bourdet, who is going to be focusing more on her Hedonism Ink venture, doing copywriting for wineries, restaurants, and more (so if you need some sharp copy for your business, you know who to contact). Thank you, Deirdre, for all your snappy and smart news from the 707—we all enjoyed your contributions. (Meow.)

Taking Deirdre’s place as tablehopper’s 707 Scout correspondent is Heather Irwin, whose byline you may recognize from BiteClub Eats. Her first piece for tablehopper is today’s update chock-full of Wine Country news. Welcome aboard, Heather!

Up next: who is going to be my girl (or guy) Friday? I’m still interviewing candidates for the position, FYI!

Have fun this weekend, sure to be full of Cinco de Mayo shenanigans (don’t forget Comal opens in Berkeley tonight!) and mint juleps in honor of the Kentucky Derby. Mmmm, I’d like one right now.

And on a somber note, I am going to pour some out and blast Paul’s Boutique today, in honor of Adam Yauch. Rest in peace MCA, you wildly talented and totally groundbreaking mofo.

Whew, lots going on out there. Um, Happy May Day. Was very sorry to hear about the senseless vandalization that happened last night in the Mission—am thankful no one was really hurt.

In more upbeat news, congrats to all the chefs, but especially the California chefs, whose restaurants were named in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards yesterday: Manresa and The French Laundry, plus COI and Chez Panisse in the top 100. Some other local chefs were not included who probably should have been, ahem, but no one ever fully agrees with lists (well, except the person making them). Anyway, congrats to all.

I had such a banner weekend, starting with a fab Cooking with Rosetta class on Friday night about Calabrian pastas (pics here). I always love having Rosetta Costantino’s mother around in these classes—reminds me of the ladies on my dad’s side of the family, quick to tap your hand if you’re making something incorrectly. I highly recommend Rosetta’s classes—there’s a pizza-making class on May 4th that has a couple spots open!

Saturday afternoon (what a gorgeous day) was the tablehopper tasting of Languedoc wines—we had a full house in the private dining room of Café des Amis, and Josiah Baldivino taught a great class. Thanks to everyone—based on the smiles, it seems we all had a swell time. Check out the pics here. FYI for those who attended (or those who couldn’t!), you can taste more Languedoc wines tomorrow evening at William Cross Wine Merchants, and at special nights at MICHAEL MINA on May 7th and RN74 on May 14th.

A few pieces of media for you: today on You Gotta Eat This on KGO Radio, I highlight the exquisite handmade pastas at SPQR (yes, pasta is on my mind). And the fine folks at The Daily Meal interviewed me about where visitors to SF should go—some spots got cut in the heavily edited piece, but here it is.

Catch you later!

(Pssst, Marcia rhymes with Garcia)

Man, was it good to get outta Dodge for 24 hours. I was honored to be invited by my friend to visit Roshambo Farms, just off Westside Road in Healdsburg. Springtime in Sonoma is the best—we got to tour the farm, walk through the fields, play with the chickens and turkeys and goats and sheep and pigs and cats, and have an amazing home-cooked dinner with vegetables and wine from the land (and yes, there was some goat, and bacon, too). I am going to savor each and every farm-fresh egg I brought home, let me tell you. Also had a fab (as ever) lunch at Diavola in Geyserville before heading home—chef-owner Dino Bugica has a close relationship with Roshambo, so it was cool to go full-circle with the ingredients from the farm.

The highlight, however, was meeting Lily, this precious little goat who was abandoned by her mother at birth, and is currently being bottle-fed around the clock by my friends. She was an adorable shadow, following us everywhere, hopping and twisting in that hilarious goaty way, and bleating when she was tired and didn’t want to walk anymore. Heart=melted. Big thanks to Timothy and Naomi for having me and my friend up for the night, what a delight.

Apropos of the 707, Deirdre Bourdet has a 707 Scout piece for you today about where to eat on Mother’s Day (I’ll have some 415 spots for you on Tuesday).

Well, yours truly has a ton of catch-up to do, so here’s wishing you a fab weekend. The weather is purty, so I thought I’d run a piece on one of my favorite places to eat alfresco: Gitane. Enjoy!

(Psssst, Marcia rhymes with Garcia!)

How was your weekend of fun in the sun? I’m glad I played some hooky on Saturday, starting with this fab lunch you see here at Radish (including an ice cold beer, natch), shopping in the Mission, an alfresco dinner with my folks and sis in the alley at Gitane, catching a fire performer show at Union Square, celebrating chef Hoss Zaré’s 50th birthday, and finishing the night with drinks and bites at nopa. And I did it all on my cute powder blue Public bike, such a trusty steed.

For the first time in I can’t even remember how long, I didn’t have to set my alarm on Sunday—what a delicious thing. The other delicious thing was the annual Meals On Wheels Star Chefs & Vintners Gala that evening. I am always so blown away with the abundance of dishes and crazy talent in the room. I have to admit, going backstage this year proved to be the most impressive yet: the dishes were full of beautifully plated vegetables (so very Northern California). All the chefs were helping each other out, wielding a sea of tweezers (and, as one chef pointed out to me, there was an entire row of immersion circulators along the periphery—quite a few more than just a couple years ago). The event ended up raising a record $1.9 million, which equates to approximately 475,000 meals to homebound seniors. (I can’t wait for the day when I’m loaded and I can Fund-A-Route for $10,000.) Kudos to everyone there who contributed their time, money, and talent for this oh-so-deserving cause. You can take a look at my photo album of the over-the-top evening here.

While at Meals On Wheels, I had a number of people ask me if tablehopper was going away since I’m the new contributing food editor for 7x7. Again, the answer is no: I am not taking a full-time staff position, so tablehopper will still be in your inbox on Tuesdays. Business as usual, yo. In case some of you missed my announcement on Friday, you can read it here. Although Ms. Busy Lady (yes, me) is looking for some help at tablehopper HQ: check out the ad here.

What a crazy shuffle going on in media right now: Jesse Hirsch is taking over for Patricia Unterman at The Examiner (keep up with Patty on her new website—she is posting a bunch of reviews there), Jonathan Kauffman has left the SF Weekly for Tasting Table, 7x7’s Sara Deseran is now deputy editor at San Francisco magazine, and we just have to wait and see where Jan Newberry is off to next. You got all that?

As for me, in light of this month of monster truck deadlines, I am taking a much-needed 24 hours away from the computer, and will be driving up to Healdsburg tomorrow to stay the night on my friend’s ranch. Already counting the minutes until I put my car into first gear.

This Saturday is the sold-out tablehopper wine tasting/Languedoc event, I look forward to seeing you all there! Be sure to check out today’s socialite for another upcoming tablehopper event at Ramekins in Sonoma: I’ll be talking (and tasting) salumi with charcutier Peter Temkin!

Ciao/meow.

Why hello there. As many of you have already heard, I am the new contributing food editor for 7x7 magazine. I’m thrilled to be working with executive editor Chloé Harris Frankeny, who has been doing a bang-up job refreshing the magazine. We will be making some changes to the Eat + Drink section, starting with the addition of a monthly culinary essay that I’ll be writing for the magazine; I’ll also be writing the restaurant reviews and more.

Many of you have asked what this means for tablehopper going forward. Yes, tablehopper will continue to appear in your inboxes each week, but in order to manage my already-intense workload, I will be making some changes to my column. As much as I’d like to continue writing full-length restaurant reviews, I find I have less and less time to write them. Moving forward, they’re going to be more like quick snapshots and overviews—which means you’ll be finding out about more places, with less to read. To use the words of Martha Stewart, I think it’s a good thing. I’m also going to be trimming the overall Tuesday column a bit, which will probably be better for all us. (Well, except for publicists, ha ha.)

Anyway, that’s the gist of things for now—I’ll keep you posted as things move forward. Thank you for all the nice emails and tweets and phone calls about my new position. It was pretty funny: the news was announced while I was leading a private culinary tour and I was totally offline—when I returned home five hours later, let’s just say things were a little kuh-razy. I’m fired up to be on a masthead (my parents are happy about it, too), while still maintaining my independence to run and write tablehopper.

So, let’s party. I’m happy to announce the wines we’ll be pouring at next Saturday’s tablehopper tasting of wines from the Languedoc—check it out, it’s a great lineup. We have just eight spots left for the class! I’m looking forward to eating that French dog at Café des Amis again—very woof.

Have a glorious weekend out in the sun. I’m already counting down the minutes to bubbles o’clock. Since it’s 4/20, I imagine some of you will be partaking in other, uh, relaxing activities.

Cheers!

Why hello there. It’s a minor miracle that the tablehopper newsletter is even in your inbox today. Between being away at Pebble Beach Food & Wine for four days, taxes, a mountain of writing deadlines, and just as many emails to answer, I am churning pretty hard right now. So is my poor MacBook Pro—I don’t think it can keep up with me. Time for mama to go shopping.

Had such a blast in Pebble Beach, you can read all about it here (and here’s a link to my photo album—really, you don’t want to look if you’re hungry). Thursday night I took a jaunt away from the festivities and unwound in a big tufted booth upstairs on the balcony at Restaurant 1833 in Monterey. The vintage ambiance of this grand adobe is unique and pretty dang enchanting, along with the barrel-aged Negronis (great cocktails at this place), savory biscuits, tender octopus, and a juicy grilled pork chop. (I’ll need to return for the tableside absinthe service.) And I owe a big thanks to my family’s friend Charlene, who always puts me up in her spare bedroom in Carmel, which is literally a 10-minute drive to The Inn at Spanish Bay.

Hey, have you bought your ticket for the upcoming tablehopper Languedoc wine event with Josiah Baldivino of Michael Mina? Tickets are just $35—and there are only eight tickets left! Let’s drink delicious wine and eat French dogs at Café des Amis. Hop to it.

Oh, and today on You Gotta Eat This on KGO Radio, I talk about the Irish breakfast sandwich at the Beachside Coffee Bar & Kitchen—it’s a doozy of a sandwich.

Okay, I gotta bounce. Ciao!

Hello, peeps. (Did you have some of those on Sunday?) Besides trekking down to San Mateo on Sunday for an Easter feast with the family (pasta al forno, how much do I love you, let me count the ways), I took it easy this weekend, in an attempt to beat a lame cold that was trying to take me down. I won, killing it with homemade Brazilian chicken soup and pasta e fagioli (was fun to stay in and cook for a change). I couldn’t get sick—I have so many writing deadlines the next 10 days, I don’t know what to do with my damn self. Ay yi yi.

I did play a little hooky last night, leaving my computer on a very rare Monday night out to go check out Ravi Kapur’s LihoLiho Yacht Club pop-up at Citizen’s Band. Am so glad I did, because that was quite the memorable feast (and I mean FEAST—thank God I rode my bike there and back), from housemade lap cheong sausage in delicious sticky rice, to the fantastic smoked octopus with turnips and avocado. Try to catch it the next two Mondays if you can, it has a great vibe.

I am getting ready to head down to Pebble Beach Food & Wine this Thursday, for four days of true culinary debauchery. I’ll be tweeting from the fray. The weather is registering high on the lame scale, but fortunately it looks like it will mellow out by the weekend. There are still some tickets available for a few of the events, so if you get the whim to cruise on down, go for it. I’ll see you there.

And now, let’s go to the opposite end of the spectrum and chat about frugality: today on You Gotta Eat This, I talk about the rotisserie chicken dinner at Green Chile Kitchen, and how I stretch that thing into a three-day meal. My grandmother would be proud.

Keep dry!