There are a lot of sights in the City by the Bay that deserve the epithet "Only in San Francisco." But even in a town where you have a good chance of being knocked down by a transvestite nun on roller skates, this one is a doozy.
Actually, noted Beijing artist Zhan Wang has made stainless steel replicas of other cities (working in stainless is what he does), but The City rendered in stainless steel cookware holds a special resonance, given the history of the Chinese worker in San Francisco over the past 150 years. Thousands of Chinese came over to seek their fortune in California's Gold Rush, but were largely left out of the ensuing riches and many entered the service industries instead.
The pots, serving platters, teakettles and flatware that make up this "sculpture" then, hold a duo political message.
Of course, the only message I'm really left with is this: I left my favorite pork buns in San Francisco.
The San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau wants you to have the greatest dining experience possible on you next trip to the Bay Area. They've added Taste as an additional website to the official visitors bureau site, and it's completely dedicated to food.
I was particularly interested in Taste, as I am going to San Francisco later this summer and I want any dining info I can get. Taste does offer plenty of dining information, especially of you have plenty of cash to spend on your trip. There's a mini blog, Foodie 411, and a calender of upcoming food events. Also, you can check out restaurants based on different categories like 'price', 'dining adventures', and 'al fresco', even the area of town. Overall the site is interesting and east to navigate.
There is one area that I think Taste is deficient in. Taste has a section dedicated to drinks, and it is awful. There is only one brew pub listed and no wine bars, even though they have several wineries listed. I'm not sure what's going on with that, but my guess is that the brew pubs didn't sign up with the visitor's bureau. Either way, if you're planning on going to San Francisco this website can help with dining choices, but definitely use as many resources as possible for the food aspect of your trip to San Francisco.
The Baja meets the Bayou with fish tacos and accompanying fiery salsas, beets get an undeserved bad rap, the Roving Feast goes to Berlin for Potato Salad and Big Meatballs, and a Hae-muhl Pah-jun, Korean seafood "pancake," pairs well with wine.
With all the information in the news these days about the importance of eating locally and organically, the folks out there who can't afford to add these sometimes pricier ingredients (during the summer months, local farmers market produce is comparable or cheaper than its supermarket brethern) to their shopping lists start to feel sadly left out of the movement.
Novella Carpenter, freelance writer and urban farmer living in California's Bay Area has found a way to keep her costs low and her food as local as possible (last summer she spent a month living only on that which came from 100 yards of her front door). The San Francisco Chronicle recently ran an article by Carpenter in which she interviewed a foodie acquaintance who was finding ways to eat healthy, local, organic and (admittedly) slightly fancy foods, all on a fairly limited budget. It's an interesting read and a good source of eating inspiration.
The newest issue of Cooking Light, which is their 20th anniversary issue, has the magazine's choices for the top 20 cities in the US, based on 15 criteria that they feel embody their "Eat Smart, Be Fit, and Live Well" philosophy. They looked at fitness, health and exercise data from the Centers for Disease Control, the number of parks and recreation areas (and how often they're used) from the Trust for Public Land, restaurant ratings from the Zagat Survey and James Beard Foundation, and the USDA's farmers markets listings. Everything was evened out on a per capita basis and the cities with the most of everything made the top cut.
One of the top ten cities will be featured each month in the magazine this year, so readers will have access to information about all the things that got the city their ranking.
1. Seattle, WA 2. Portland, Ore. 3. Washington, D.C. 4. Minneapolis, MN 5. San Francisco, CA 6. Boston, MA 7. Denver, CO 8. Milwaukee, WI 9. Philadelphia, PA 10. Tucson, AZ
The California Milk Board unveiled the latest version of its "got milk?" campaign in San Francisco yesterday. The campaign simultaneously brings to mind ultramodern visions of marketing through smellavision and old-time nostalgia. After all what's, more old-fashioned than a chocolate-chip cookie with a tall, cool glass of milk? But adding scent strips to bus shelters to release the aroma of fresh-basked chocolate-chip cookies is pretty out there. That's right, chocolate-chip cookie scented bus shelters. The Milk Board set up five sweetly scented shelters in San Francisco in the hope that passersby would find themselves hankering for some moo juice.
Harold Vogt of the Scent Marketing Institute feels that the scented shelters will leave people craving sweets, but not necessarily milk. This is because scent marketing operates by evoking sense memories. "Milk doesn't have a smell unless it's bad," Vogt told Forbes. Full disclosure: Vogt and his kids don't like milk and cookies. Do folks out there like milk and cookies? And for that matter, has anyone in San Francisco had a whiff of these bus shelters yet?
If this isn't an American dream story, I don't know what is. Ulises Valdez left the tiny village of Los Cuachalalates, Mexico, for Mexico City at the age of 10 to work for his uncle. After moving around from place to place, he eventually crossed the California border and made his way to Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley. There, he worked the fields, eventually gained citizenship, struck up a partnership, bought out his partner, and in July of this year, Valdez Family Wines launched.
The Chronicle's Wine Selection of the Week is Napa Valley Syrah. Of the 21 wines they tasted, three received three out of four stars (***): 2004 HdV Carneros Syrah, 2004 Sand T Cellars Brookside Vineyard Napa Valley Syrah, and 2004 Novy Page-Nord Vineyard Napa Valley Syrah.
To go with that Syrah, there is a recipe for Sausage and Lamb Bolognese. The Cheese Course is Comte,a A cow's milk cheese from the Jura mountains of eastern France, near the Swiss border, which a former Bay Area chef hand picks from the aging caves in France.
Three-month-old Xyclo in Oakland gets two stars (**) for its "modern meets Mekong" Vetnamese-style cuisine. Two stars (**) also awarded to Katia's: A Russian Tea Room. Michael Bauer re-visits Mecca, and says that "We shouldn't have to suffer for good food, but in the case of Mecca, it might just be worth it." He gives it three stars (***).
We're no strangers to blends, but we're probably far more familiar with wines that have been made from blending different grapes in the fermentation tank. However, wines made from different grapes that were grown together in the field, called field-blends, are "aromatic, seamless...more than just the sum of its parts."
The Wine Selection of the Week is Sauvignon Blanc from the Sonoma County. The highest rated of the bunch is 2005 Gary Farrell Redwood Ranch Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc ($25), which received three out of four stars (***).
A summery gazpacho uses up the tomato harvest and pairs well with Sauvignon Blanc. Smoky Italian cheese, Scamorza, is a good stand-in for mozzarella.
The annual big splash that is the Family Winemakers Tasting is coming - Sunday, August 20th to be precise. This year the venue is Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason Center with tickets for the general public set at $35 in advance; $45 on the day.
Originally, the Tasting was seen as a trade-only event but since 2004 has been open to all (one day for consumers the other for trade only). It is an unique opportunity to sample the delights of Californian wine.
Advice from an old hand at the tasting game - 250 wines in a session, which certainly beats my 100 or so - is Alder at Vinography who offers this advice to attendees "get a good night's sleep the night before, eat lunch before you arrive, drink lots of water, wear dark clothes, and for Pete's sake, people -- SPIT! You don't want to be one of those stumbling fools that the rest of us responsible wine lovers mock all afternoon"
Have you ever stashed a Coke in the freezer, hoping to chill it quickly, then forgotten all about it, only to have it explode all over your frozen peas?
The feature story this week is on the Bay Area's small-batch coffee roasters.
The San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau wants you to have the greatest dining experience possible on you next trip to the Bay Area. They've added 
The newest issue of 
The California Milk Board unveiled the latest version of its "got milk?" campaign in San Francisco yesterday. The campaign simultaneously brings to mind ultramodern visions of marketing through 
If this isn't an American dream story, I don't know what is. Ulises Valdez left the tiny village of Los Cuachalalates, Mexico, for Mexico City at the age of 10 to work for his uncle. After moving around from place to place, he eventually crossed the California border and made his way to Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley. There, he worked the fields, eventually gained citizenship, struck up a partnership, bought out his partner, and in July of this year, 
We're no strangers to blends, but we're probably far more familiar with wines that have been made from blending different grapes in the fermentation tank. However, wines made from different grapes that were grown together in the field, called 
The annual big splash that is the 
A fraking amazing Battlestar Galactica cake
Iced Tea 101
Pierogies + cheese + onions + kraut = Parmageddon!
