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Increasingly, the under-10 crowd is showing up at Bay area restaurants, and the restaurants happily accommodate.

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.

The liquor of the moment is absinthe, with recipes for Sacred Heart, Sazerac, and Death at Dusk.

Flatbreads are the most consumed bread in the world, whether eaten plain, or as part of a dish: Thyme Bread (Manaqish bil-Za'atar), Moroccan Flatbread (R'ghayef), Turkish Meat Bread (Etli Ekmek), Yemeni Fried Bread (M'lawwah), and Yemeni Cilantro Chutney (Z'houg).

The Working Cook keeps within the Mediterranean theme with Chicken and Eggplant Kofte with Bulgur, then does an Asian Spicy Shrimp with Lemon-Peanut Kale & Rice. The Moveable Feast also does Asian with a Mu Shu Vegetable Wrap, and Vijay Bist, owner of Amber India restaurants in Mountain View and Santana Row, shares his recipe for Konkan Steamed Mussels.

There's a whole slew of new restaurant openings around the Bay.

In most cases, they'd be barely legal, but with 20 years in food journalism, the Chronicle has got some street cred. To celebrate, they select their favorite recipe from each year, along with a runner up:


1989

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.

Bill Addison visits 85 taquerias in 10 weeks and picks the best of the burrito bunch. He also awards 1½ stars to Moki's Sushi and Pacific Grill (*½). Royal Cafe in Albany gets two stars (**) for their breakfast, lunch, and kitsch. Also getting two stars (**) is Baker Street Bistro.

Bottarga, cured roe sacs of gray mullet or tuna, are a finishing touch to Salad of Zolfini Beans, Dry-Farmed Tomatoes, Celery & Bottarga. The Roving Feast adds accents to Tomato-Ginger Concasse and Pears Poached with Lemongrass & Lime.The Working Cook turns the day upsaide down with Goat Cheese Pizza with Peppers & Artichokes and Corn Griddle Cakes with Smoked Salmon, Tomatoes & Cream for dinner.

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