Three Stars for Momofuku Ssam Bar

As you may recall, I absolutely love David Chang's restaurant Momofuku Ssam Bar in New York. I've eaten there twice, once about a year ago and once again early in October when I was in New York for one night for work (past postings about Chang and Momofuku here and here).

My last meal there was an amazing. My friend Dan and I ordered pork buns, meacham country ham from Kentucky, pickles, roasted wild stripped bass with Jersey corn, chanterelles, pancetta and lima beans, pork shoulder steak with zucchini and buttermilk dressing and a strawberry shortcake made with corn bread, strawberries and creme fraiche.

The pork bun, the fish and the strawberry shortcake were phenomenally good. The buns are perfect, the fish with the corn, chanterelles and lima beans was amazing and I loved the play on succotash, and the combination of non-sweet corn bread, strawberries and creme fraiche for dessert was inspired. It was all seriously delicious. The atmosphere of the restaurant was loud and cramped(we were seated next to two very loud guys who we ended up befriending over the course of the meal), but the good food makes putting up with the noise and cramped quarters worth it. Also, much to my surprise, we were seated immediately. I had expected a long wait. It was a truly great meal, and I highly recommend a stop when in New York.

Also, check out Frank Bruni's review of Momofuku Ssam Bar in which he gives the restaurant three stars today. I also recommend watching this short narrated slide show of the restaurant and food while Bruni talks about the restaurant.

Opening of the Dining Commons for the Edible Schoolyard

Lou and I attended the opening of the new Dining Commons at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley yesterday.

The Dining Commons is a new, open eating space for the 950 6th, 7th and 8th grade students at King Middle School. In addition to feeding the students at King both breakfast and lunch, the kitchen staff also prepares meals for all the other schools in the Berkeley Unified School District.

The commons completes the plan to integrate the school's lunchroom with the Edible Schoolyard, an instructional garden on the school grounds where students participate in experimental learning in the garden. The work and learning in the garden connects to formal academic instruction in the classroom, and the commons is the eating place where the kids can eat fresh, healthy food. Both the Commons and the Edible Schoolyard are incredible projects of the Chez Panisse Foundation.

Before the lunch began, we toured the garden. The lunch menu included yellow lentil soup with spicy yogurt, roasted organic chicken (not from the schoolyard coop!) with herbs from the Commons garden, garlicky potatoes, grilled fall vegetables, lettuce salad and fruit and cookies tisane.

My photos from the day follow.

Two of the garden teachers welcoming a group for the tour:



The chicken coop:



A view of the garden:



Inside the commons (it looks nothing like a cafeteria):



Another inside view from our table at the start of the program:



Back in the garden:

Urban Farming

While I'm posting again (sorry for dropping off the face of the earth), I'll mention this story about Will Allen in Milwaukee, who recently was awarded one of the MacArthur Foundation genius grants for his work running a non-profit farm, Growing Power, inside the Milwaukee city limits.

It's an inspiring story of this man's commitment to providing fresh, natural and locally grown food to a poor urban area where fresh produce is often in short supply. Allen's urban garden has become a focal point for urban renewal, volunteerism, creativity as well as a showcase for composting, gardening and the joys and pleasures of fresh and natural food. Will is practicing food justice at its best.

Bi-Rite In the News

There are two stories out this week on Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco, one of my favorite grocery stores in the city. The Chronicle ran a story yesterday and Edible San Francisco has a story in the just-released October issue. There was a posting about Bi-Rite on the Ethicurean today.

I'm a big fan of Bi-Rite's commitment to selling locally grown and organic food, and these stories highlight owner Sam Mogannam's leadership of the store and his decision to buy a farm in Sonoma to grow some of the fresh produce sold in the store. It's a great idea, and I'm glad he's getting some publicity and some commercial success for his efforts.

What I've Been Up To Lately

I've been sick for most of the last two weeks, so my apologies for not posting.

Lou, Amy and Jen did take me to a fantastic birthday dinner at Ubuntu in Napa, which I'll write more about soon. Lou also surprised me earlier that day with a private tasting and vineyard tour at Quintessa. All I can say now is, wow. They make a truly amazing wine.

Be sure to check out this report from the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, which Mark Bittman wrote about on his blog yesterday. I haven't fully digested the report yet, but it seems to make the point that despite rising prices for food Americans still pay very little for food compared to other countries. Very interesting.

A New Report on Wasted Food in Britain

Here is an interesting story from the Times of London on a new government report that estimates just how much food the British throw away uneaten annually. It's a staggering 1/3 of all food purchased.

LA Times Opinion Piece About the Farm Bill

Daniel Imhoff has written a great summary in today's LA Times of what's wrong with the soon-to-be-passed Farm Bill.

My sister gave me Imhoff's book, Food Fight: The Citizen's Guide to a Food and Farm Bill, for Christmas, and I think it's an extremely helpful book for better understanding the history, composition and consequences of the bill. What Imhoff does not explain, however, is how citizens can come together at the grassroots level to apply political pressure to elected officials to change the Farm Bill and demand better food policies. I'm giving that some thought.

Artichoke and Pea Risotto

Lou made a fantastic baby artichoke and pea risotto tonight. He sauted the artichokes and then finely chopped them before blending them into the risotto with the peas. It was, as you might expect, rich and creamy; a truly spectacular meal.

More About Chez Panisse

After claiming that Chez Panisse is my favorite restaurant of all time anywhere, I thought I might try to find a video on YouTube that would give you some more visuals of the restaurant. Here you go:

Paul Krugman Explains the Rise In Global Food Prices

New York Times columnist, Paul Krugman, devotes his column today to the current global food crisis and the rising costs of foods. It's a sound review of what's going on around the globe.

Oxtails Redux and Rhubarb Shortcake

Lou made Marin Sun Farms Oxtails again last night for Amy and me. This time, he used the recipe from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook, which calls for using fewer onions than the recipe he used last time. It also calls for using tomatoes and a splash of brandy. On balance, I think the Zuni version was a little better than two weeks ago. The acidity of the tomatoes was a nice addition this time around. The braising sauce was wonderful with my homemade wheat bread and with the asparagus I blanched and sprinkled with Italian parsley and fresh lemon juice.



For dessert, I modified Scott Peacock's recipe from last month's Bon Appetit for a rhubarb compote. Actually, I made the compote according to the recipe, but I served it with homemade biscuits and whipped cream instead of with the cake Peacock suggests in the magazine. I served, in effect, rhubarb shortcake. I forgot to garnish the dish with sprigs of mint, but the overall flavors were marvelous. The richness of the soft biscuits and the thick whipped cream nicely balanced the tart chunks of rhubarb and the slightly sweet and sour rhubarb syrup. It was a tasty innovation, if I do say so myself.

Dinner in the Chez Panisse Cafe

I convinced Heather and Lou to join me for dinner at the Chez Panisse Cafe last night.

Lou's parents had given me a gift certificate for Christmas (Thank you!), and I have been calling both the Restaurant and the less formal Cafe incessantly throughout the last few weeks to try to reserve a table for spring. I had mostly been asking for a table on weekend nights, and it had not worked. So, literally, at the very end of the work day yesterday Heather sent me an instant message and asked if Lou and I had plans for dinner. We did not have plans, and I immediately thought it would be fun to try to use the gift certificate.

I was in luck. They offered me a 9:15 table, and I took it. We have not been eating until almost 9 on week nights anyway, so I thought it wouldn't be much different than normal. Lou and Heather agreed.

In total, I think I've been to the Restaurant and the Cafe at least a dozen times, and I have never eaten at any other restaurant that has consistently delivered elegant and delicious food with such informed and gracious service. There is no doubt that Chez Panisse is my favorite restaurant anywhere. It is a truly lovely experience to eat there.

To start the meal, we agreed to share a pizzetta with spring onions, sorrel and brandade (dried and salted fish, cod in this case I think, that is then washed and mashed with potatoes and cream). The pizza was cooked in their wood-burning oven.



I tried a cauliflower soup with orange zest and marjoram (it was my least favorite dish of the night) and Lou and Heather split a salad of grilled endive with bottarga di muggine and egg.



For our main courses, I had Northern halibut with Kaki Farm asparagus, potatoes and kumquat relish. Lou had grilled loin of Watson Ranch lamb with artichokes, roasted onions and black olives, and Heather ordered Penn Cove (Washington State) mussels roasted in the wood oven with spinach, peas, and saffron. The flavors of my fish were delicate and perfect: the fish was tender and light, the asparagus were slightly lemony and the combination was just like spring. It was just what I was hoping for.



For dessert, I ordered mint-chocolate chip ice cream with bittersweet chocolate sauce (and a chocolate cookie), which I also tried when we ate in the Cafe with my cousin in October. Lou ordered a Pink Lady apple and Meyer lemon tart with vanilla ice cream. He and Heather each ordered glasses of a 2005 Moscato d'Asti, Bricco Quaglia, Rivetti, Italy. We also brought and thoroughly enjoyed our own bottle of Patty Green 2006 Bonshaw Pinot Noir.

Today's Food News: The Farm Bill and Small Farms in Poland

Carolyn Lochhead explored where things stand with the Farm Bill in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has set a deadline of April 18th for passing the bill, but Lochhead reports that negotiations for the final bill are going slow.

Also, Elizabeth Rosenthal writes in today's New York Times about the difficulty small, family-run farms in Poland face in abiding by European Union regulations for selling meat, milk and produce. Basically, the EU's health and safety standards are geared towards big farming operations, not family-run farms, so the smaller farms are unable to afford to buy the equipment and make other investments that would bring their operations up to the EU standards. She explores the effect of this reality on family farming and on organic farming in the EU, since so many European family farms operate on organic farming principles.

Reservation Hell at Momofuku Ko

Here and here are two amusing postings by Frank Bruni about just how crazy it has been trying to reserve a table at David Chang's newest restaurant, Ko. I feel for him, sort of. Be sure to read the comments, and here is my take on David Chang.

UPDATE: Here is one more posting from Bruni.

Are Food Price Increases Good For Us?

Kim Severson has written an excellent story for today's New York Times about the possible results of changes in food prices.

She explores a tough issue that has been on my mind, whether higher prices of some foods will lead to a change in the kinds of foods Americans buy and eat or not. She notes that the price of some food--commodities (grain, corn, etc) in particular--has become more closely correlated to the price of fuel and that rising prices for those foods make what had been more expensive foods--grass-fed meats, organic produce, milk and eggs--relatively less expensive. She also explores whether this equalizing of price will change consumer behavior (conclusion: the jury is still out). It's well worth the read if you want a good overview of both the changing economics of food and the possible implications of a change on the health and eating habits of Americans.

UPDATE: Ezra Klein comments here on this story and about the likely effect of an economic downturn on eating habits in general.

Pork Tenderloin with Jesse's Spiced Prunes

Dinner tonight: grilled Marin Sun Farms pork tenderloin with spiced prunes and arugula with grilled green garlic.

Last Christmas, Jesse gave us a jar of spiced prunes, which he made from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. I've been waiting for the opportunity to pair them with some pork, and tonight I decided to grill a piece of tenderloin we bought at the farmer's market on Saturday.

The preparation for the pork could not have been less simple. I rubbed the pork with olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary and grilled it for about 10 minutes per side. I ended up cooking the meat medium well, which was slightly more than I would have preferred, but with the spiced prunes, the flavors of the pork and rosemary were still delicious. Thanks Jesse!

A16 Revisited

We had another wonderful meal at A16 on Saturday night.

Last time we were there I was blown away by the pizza from the wood-burning oven, and I was equally as pleased this time. The service was outstanding and the food was very good. The best dishes were the pizza scarola, of course, and the semifreddo we tried for dessert. Actually, the semifreddo was amazing, and unlike anything I expected. It came out as a layer of shortbread cookie covered in a layer of semifreddo, with caramel drizzled on top and hazelnuts sprinkled on top of the caramel. Truly amazing.

We also drank a nice bottle of wine, Benanti, "Rossodiverzella," Etna Rosso 2004, a delicious blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappucio (one of the wines recommended by Mick at Unti Vineyards).

Here's the list of all our courses (as usual, we split everything):
--Roasted local calamari with agretti, pickled chiles, green garlic and toasted pine nuts
--Pizza Scarola - braised escarole, pancetta, black olives, ricotta, chiles, garlic
--Tonnarelli with pork and tomato soffritto, corona beans, chiles and pecorino
--Local petrale sole in cartoccio with almonds, basil, green olives, celery and seville orange, served with cannellini beans with garlic and oregano
--Semifreddo with hazelnuts, caramel, and shortbread cookie



My only note of criticism about A16 has to do with the space. I must say that I find it completely lacking in style or charm. When we sat at the chef's counter last time, I was captivated by watching the cook make pizzas and I did not notice the overall decor. This time, however, because we were seated at a table at the back of the restaurant, I found the poor ambiance more noticeable. It's a good thing the food is so good because the look of the restaurant decor could use an overhaul.

Food and Pesticides: A Songbird Story

In today's New York Times, Bridget Stutchbury, a biology professor at Toronto's York University, writes about the devastating impact high levels of pesticides used in farming South American fruits and vegetables have on the North American songbird, the Bobolink. She cites a study that shows that the birds consume extremely high levels of deadly pesticides while wintering in South America. It's so bad that the Bobolink population has dropped by about 50% in the last 40 years.

Stutchbury makes clear that it is the North American and European appetite for fresh produce--tomatoes, bell peppers, strawberries and blueberries--that create the conditions for heavy pesticide use. South American farmers reply on pesticides and other chemical to mass produce crops in delicate monocultures, and as Michaal Pollan has written, these monocultures depend heavily on pesticides and chemicals to succeed.

So, as if it's not bad enough that we're unnecessarily killing animals to feed ourselves, she also writes about how we're exposing ourselves to pesticides by eating produce raised in South America. Stutchbury cites studies by the Food and Drug Administration that shows that fruits and vegetables from South America exceed Environmental Protection Agency standards for pesticide residues on foods grown inside the United States. She also writes that, "tests by the Center for Disease Control show that most Americans carry traces of pesticides in their blood." And, she goes on to say, "American consumers can discourage this poisoning [of ourselves and the Bobolinks] by avoiding foods that are bad for the environment, bad for farmers in Latin America, and, in the worst cases, bad for their own families."

Stutchburg suggests buying organic and fair-trade coffee and organic bananas as a way of protecting the birds and ourselves, and she suggests avoiding all other produce imported from Latin American because so few are raised organically.

UPDATE: Once again, The Ethicurean, has a great posting on Stutchbury's op-ed.

My First, and Last, Posting About Top Chef

After hearing several positive reviews from several friends - Amy in particular - Lou and and I succumbed to watching a few episodes of Top Chef last night.

The show has gotten a lot of news in San Francisco because four of the contestants are from here: Zoi Antonitsas (chef and restaurant consultant) and Jennifer Biesty (executive chef at Coco500) (they're a couple), Erik Hopfinger (executive chef at Circa), and Ryan Scott (the former chef of Myth Cafe).

Amy told us that she enjoys seeing what kinds of dishes the chefs create, and after watching last night, I can see her point. It was fun to see what the chefs could come up with for their dishes, especially given the limited parameters for the various challenges (usually time or strict ingredient or menu guidelines).

And yet, I found the reality television trappings of the show tiresome. I groaned every time the producers took a dramatic pause and cued the suspenseful music. The show should be called survivor chef, not top chef. It's really just a contest about who can best perform under the artificial conditions set by the producers. It is probably not the best medium for showcasing the talent and skill of most of the contestants. I'm also not sure that the show truly reflects how chefs really cook. How many chefs cook almost entirely by improvisation? Perhaps a few, but I suspect most of them take time to craft and refine the dishes they serve.

I was also put off that the show focused so heavily on the personalities of the chefs and that, as a consequence, the food was practically overlooked. No shot of any one dish lasted for more than a few seconds, and the producers barely allowed the chefs more than a clipped sentence to explain their dishes. With a few exceptions, we heard almost nothing about the passions of any of the chefs for particular ingredients or foods. Perhaps we will hear more about the food itself as the number of contestants narrow, but I was disappointed that food got so little play in these first few episodes.

Food Film Festival?

I'm surprised no one has started a food-oriented film festival in San Francisco. It strikes me as something that would succeed here. Check this out: Food For Thought Film Festival.

Eat Your Breakfast!

The New York Times reports on a recently released study that shows some evidence that adolescents who eat breakfast have lower Body Mass Index (BMI). The research suggests that adolescents who eat breakfast consume more carbohydrates and fiber than fat and seem to exercise more, thereby helping them control their weight. The study also shows some interesting differences in the eating habits of adolescent boys and girls; girls were more likely to skip breakfast than boys, though boys ate more calories than girls.

Cooking Grass-Fed Meat (and Eggs)

Two Saturdays ago at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, Lou and I came across the stand for Marin Sun Farms, a family-run farming organization that raises 100% grass-fed beef, poultry, lamb, goat and pork in Marin and Sonoma Counties north of San Francisco.

We were delighted to find them and pleased to discover some meats and cuts that you don't always see in the grocery store. Specifically, we were intrigued by the cuts of goat and by the oxtail (yes, the meat and bone from the tail of a cow). We bought a small portion of each--a half rack of goat--roughly 3 lbs--for $19.99 and a smallish package of cut, frozen oxtail--about 2 lbs--for $10. We also bought a dozen pasture-raised chicken eggs for $7. To my previous posting, all of this meat was fairly expensive compared to the amount of conventional meat we could bought for the same amount of money. Judging from taste, however, I think it was worth it, and I was happy to pay extra to support farmers who use sustainable farming practices to raise their livestock.

We finally got around to cooking both cuts over the weekend, and they were spectacular. Lou used a simple recipe of olive oil, several garlic cloves, lemon juice and rosemary to marinate the goat. He scored the fat and grilled it over high heat for seven minutes per side, and it came out perfectly medium rare. We served the goat with roasted romanesco broccoli and a puree of celery root and potatoes. The meat was delicate and tender, and it tasted gamy like lamb, minus the strong grassy flavor.

On Sunday, Lou prepared the oxtails (he did the major cooking this weekend). He braised them using this recipe from Gourmet. The flavor of the sauce was outstanding; it was rich and, oddly enough, almost creamy. The oxtails themselves were not as soft or as tender as I expected they would be--they didn't fall off the bone--but the meat still tasted delicious and served with brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes, they made for an excellent Sunday dinner.


Finally, below is a picture of the frittata we made with some of the eggs from Marin Sun Farms and some green garlic we also bought that day at the farmer's market. What was striking about the eggs was the variety of shapes, sizes and colors of the shells. Equally as diverse in color were the yolks, ranging from deep yellow to bright orange, due in large part, I'm sure, to the diversity of food eaten by the chickens that produced the eggs. It was quite a tasty post-farmer's market breakfast.



UPDATE: Here is a great post from The Ethicurean about a farm tour at Marin Sun Farms.

Cheap Meat

For the first time, I came across two postings about food on a reasonably mainstream political blog. Ezra Klein, who occasionally writes about his own exploits in the kitchen, offers some thoughts, here and here, about the price of meat.

He argues, as have Mark Bittman, Michael Pollan, Alice Waters and others, that increasing the price of meat would likely lower meat consumption, which could result in alleviating some of the health and environmental problems associated with producing and eating meat. He also calls out farm subsidies for corn as a chief culprit for masking the real cost of meat and for fooling consumers into thinking meat is actually cheaper than vegetables.

This is one reason the Farm Bill matters, and it is the key rationale for removing farm subsidies from the bill.

Spring Asparagus at Nopa

Amy kindly gave us a 6:15 pm reservation for four at Nopa on Saturday night. We invited Joey and Brad to join us, and it was a great meal.

I've probably eaten at Nopa eight times since we first discovered the restaurant about two years ago (not long after they first opened), and I have never been disappointed. The cooking is superb, the food is always delicious, fresh and seasonal, and the service is casual, but very good.

We shared a plate of little fried smelts, served with shaved fennel and lemon-dill aioli, and I ordered the asparagus soup with a touch of cream, olive oil and chervil (parsley) for a second starter (the picture below looks more like creme brulee than soup, but the color of the soup was actually bright green, not yellow). For the main course, Joey, Brad and I each ordered a pan-fried halibut dish, which was served with a meyer lemon olive tapanade, olive oil, asparagus and some arugula. Lou ordered braised duck leg and breast with creamy farro, carrots, spinach and mushrooms.

All three of my dishes were excellent. Lou and I almost always order the little fish at Nopa. We've eaten some wonderful sardines and anchovies before, and the smelts were equally good, though more heavily battered that some of other fish preparations we've tried. The soup was thick, rich and hearty, and the fish was heavenly. The olives and asparagus grounded the tender fish, and each bite was a lemony delight. We did not order dessert because we took off to catch a movie, but Joey and Brad stayed on and ate a pecan tart with salted caramel ice cream and a Mexican coffee ice cream sandwich. Not surprisingly, we missed out. They reported that both desserts were delicious.

For wine, I ordered a sparkling gamay--Gamay "FRV100" Beaujolais NV Rerres Dorees--a very fruity sparking red. For dinner we tried a bottle of 2006 Movia "Gredic" Tokai Friulano, Goriska Brda from Hungary. We were hoping it would be somewhat dry, but it turned out to be fairly fruity and sweet. It was not that different from the Tokai dessert wines, which I am more familiar with than the table wines. It was not the best pairing for the halibut.

Chef on the Edge? Momfuku's David Chang

I just finished reading Larissa MacFarquhar's profile of chef David Chang in the March 24th issue of The New Yorker. Unfortunately, the story is not posted on The New Yorker website (what do they post there anyway?), but it's worth the read if you can find a copy of the magazine.

Chang is the founder of Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Ssam Bar, both in the East Village in Manhattan, and just this week, he opened a third restaurant, Ko, also in the East Village.

MacFarquhar's profile is far from flattering. Chang comes off as crazy. It's clear that he's a brilliant chef and that his obsession with innovation and flavor--along with his striving for perfection--have produced some amazing meals for his diners. Sadly, it's just as clear that he's tightly wound and seems barely able to hold it together. Reading about him, I imagined him as a sort of culinary van Gogh--intense, manic and capable of genius, but somehow doomed by his single-minded drive for perfection and beauty.

And yet, I found an admirable cross current in MacFarquhar's piece that's also worth mentioning: his humility and his concern for others. Chang repeatedly emphasizes that he's no great cook, and MacFarquhar writes about his concern for his staff--even though she also quotes him at length berating them. She quotes him talking about his commitment to provide health care and other benefits for them, and she writes about his commitment to using local food whenever possible. Perhaps most interestingly, he talks to her about the choices he faces in opening new restaurants and expanding his Momofuku empire to other cities.

Despite these positive qualities, Chang seems more like someone gripped by fear of failure. It is a fear so strong that he seems on the verge of losing all perspective on what he's accomplished and what he's achieved. Perhaps, I'm naive in thinking he could ever relax running a high-profile trio of New York restaurant, but I hope he'll try.

I should also mention that I ate at the Momofuku Ssam Bar last September when I was in New York. I met my cousin, Alan, and my friend, Dan, there, and we had an excellent meal. The dish that stood out was a tapioca pearl and sea urchin combination, with nori and crispy rice (I think). It was amazing. As sea urchin often does, it tasted like the sea, and the tapioca, the nori and rice gave the dish a surprisingly crunchy and chewy texture. It was brilliant. We also had one of the pork buns; it was also quite tasty.

Read the story. Try one of the restaurants.

Here are two videos I found that capture him talking about both Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Ssam Bar. Note his humility.




UPDATE: Two interesting posts about Chang from other blogs, here and here.

Fat!

I've been thinking more about my reaction to Kim Severson's story in Dining In/Dining Out yesterday, and I want to expand on my comments to say more about why reading her account of the "Fat Pack" left a bad taste in my mouth. Perhaps my gut-reaction was too strong, but I cringed while reading a few lines from her story:

The journalists, bloggers, chefs and others who make up the Fat Pack combine an epicure’s appreciation for skillful cooking with a glutton’s bottomless-pit approach. Cramming more than three meals into a day, once the last resort of a food critic on deadline, has become a way of life. If the meals center on meat, so much the better.

and

“Most of us who are in this profession are here as an excuse to eat,” said Mimi Sheraton, the food writer and former New York Times restaurant critic who has chronicled her own battle with weight loss. Still, she said, “I’ve never seen such an outward, in-your-face celebration of eating fat.”

and in response to suggestions of moderation, she writes,

To which many members of the Fat Pack say: Shut up and pass the pork butt. Among a certain slice of the food-possessed, to suggest that indulgence might put one’s health in peril is to invite ridicule.

Admittedly, she ends the story with quotations from one former "Fat Pack" member who is learning to love vegetables, but I found the individuals she quoted to be mostly unsympathetic figures.

Why?

I'll confess something: I used to struggle with my weight. Ten years ago, I weighed about 40 pounds more than what I weigh now. Almost no one I know now can believe it, but it's true. The main culprits for my extra pounds, I think, were eating too much junk food, settling too often for a quick fast-food meal and failing to control the size my portions. It was not a result of eating too many haute cuisine meals (I did, of course, enjoy a fancy meal or two every now and then).

When I moved to California in 2001, I started exercising more regularly, first taking up running and then settling into a regular routine of swimming (I've been a life-long swimmer). I started to pay more attention to what kinds of food I ate, focusing on eating whole foods and leaving behind fast-food and junk food. I cut out soft drinks. By no means did I give up on eating nice meals, but I shifted the balance of my calorie intake and calorie usage, burning more calories than I took in. I became a conscious eater and a regular exerciser, and I've held my weigh more or less steady for the last seven years.

So, having found a good balance between healthy and mindful eating and exercise, I have little patience for the people Severson quoted throughout her story. I know that it is possible to balance eating flavorful and healthy foods, occasionally indulging in rich meals and working out. Throw in being mindful of the origins of the food I eat, and that's a decent recipe--dare I say--for a balanced lifestyle that guarantees nourishment, health and pleasure.

No doubt there are thousands of other stories like mine, and I would have preferred to read about at least one of them in Severson's piece yesterday.

As a parting gift, here's a memorable scene from "The Producers" with Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane:

I'm Back

It's been a long time since I lasted posted on Foodphiles. There's no good reason why I took a break. I spent some time in January volunteering for the Obama campaign as a precinct captain in San Francisco, and I spent much of February closely following the campaign. I've played a lot of bridge and studied some Italian in preparation for a trip to Italy in May. I read Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food."

I feel the urge to write again, so here goes.

I certainly did not give up on cooking or eating while I was away from this blog. Lou and I ate a wonderful meal in January at Mistral in Seattle. We also cooked up a few fantastic meals--a wonderful chicken with shallots, prunes and brandy recipe from Bon Appetit, a rich and flavorful "Japanese" styled pot roast from Food and Wine, and a Bolognese ragu from the NYT Magazine. We made a meal mostly from The French Laundry cookbook for two friends. And, just the other night, Lou made a fantastic pizza using baby artichokes as the topping.

In addition to posting some stories and photos from those meals, I will give an update on the Farm Bill, which continues to languish in Congress.

I do have one posting in the making now: what to do with a piece of goat meat that is resting in our refrigerator. We bought the meat at the Farmer's Market on Saturday from a small producer in Marin County, and it is turning into a major cooking challenge. I've only found one recipe for cooking goat, and that was in "The Joy of Cooking." Every other place I've searched online turns up only recipes involving goat cheese. Lou wants to braise the meat with rosemary, which I think would be fine, but I want to find some really good traditional preparation. I fear, however, a traditional preparation will call for roasting the meat over an open fire. That won't be an option for us, unfortunately. I'll keep you posted.

Finally, I want to comment briefly on Kim Severson's story in the NYT Dining In/Dining Out section today about overeating foodies, food bloggers, food critics and chefs. She calls them the "Fat Pack," and writes about how many of them have been forced to come to terms with the onset of heart disease, diabetes and other disorders as a consequence of their occupational unhealthy eating. Frankly, the story struck me as ridiculous. Even though she writes about how some of these folks have attempted to strike a balance between eating fatty foods and eating in moderation, it's hard to feel much sympathy for any of the gluttons she quotes. I felt somewhat better reading Frank Bruni's take on her story, but I was generally put off by the self-indulgent bent of her story. While I suspect that many New York Times readers can afford to gorge themselves repeatedly on high-priced, high-fat meals, I think the food and diet related problems facing most Americans result not from eating too many of those kinds of meals but too many of the kinds of meals Michael Pollan writes about in "Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food."

Food News Roundup

There are two interesting stories today, one in The New York Times and the other in The San Francisco Chronicle featuring two food activist that I want to recommend:

The NYT story, by Kim Severson, profiles Robyn O'Brien who transformed herself into a children's food allergy activist after one of her kids suffered an allergic attack at home. In addition to creating this website, www.allergykids.com, O'Brien has questioned the health effects of food additives and processed foods on kids, and she has also advocated serving kids whole, non-processed foods. Her story is one in a soon-to-be-released book, "Healthy Child, Healthy World."

The Chronicle story, by Carol Ness, takes a look at what Michael Pollan is up to now that his new book, "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto", is out. Somewhat surpisingly, Pollan tells her that he is planning to move on from writing about food and farming to turn his attention elsewhere. He tells Ness that he has been "uncomfortable" becoming a food movement leader and spokesperson and that he prefers to see himself as a journalist who exposes the facts rather than as a leader of a movement. He rightfully asks, "where are the politicians?" He also told Ness that he does not feel like it is his responsibility to fill the leadership vacuum in the food movement. Very interesting. My question is, who is going to fill that vacuum?

Snapshot Restaurant Review: SPQR

I just returned from dinner at SPQR, the new sister restaurant to A-16 located on Fillmore Street in San Francisco. SPQR is a Roman-themed restaurant with an extensive small plates offering hot, cold and fried antipasti, along with several pasta dishes and a few entrees.

We walked in at about 7:30 pm and were seated immediately. It helped that it's been raining like crazy for the last three days and the restaurant did not seem overly busy.

I immediately reviewed the wine list hoping to find a Nerello Mascalese, but to no avail (we tried our first Nerello Mascalese at A-16 a few months ago--here's my posting about our meal). Our server sent the wine director over, and she engaged us in a fun conversation about Nerello Mascaleses and other similar wines. She pointed out several pinot neros and an interesting Sardinian wine that might be a suitable substitute for us. We chose the wine from Sardegna, 6 Mura, a medium bodied, ripe fruit wine with notes of mint herbs and leather and some tobacco. It was an inspired recommendation.



For food, we ordered three antipasti to share--Grilled Percorino with marinated mushrooms, Red Chard with tomato, fennel and anchovy and Fried Brussel Sprouts with garlic, capers, lemon and parsley. Each dish was outstanding. It's hard to beat grilled cheese, and the crispy pecorino and sweet mushrooms hit the spot. The Red Chard and the brussel sprouts were equally spectacular. The chard was sweet, juicy and tasted like cabbage. The brussel sprouts were crispy and very lemony, and they were delicious.



Lou ordered the Carbonara-Guanciale, eggs, black pepper and pecorino over spaghetti. His dish was rich and eggy, and he loved it. I ordered Steelhead Salmon in porchetta with onion and radicchio agrodolce. The flavors of the fish were excellent, though my piece of salmon was full of bones, which meant that I picked a bone or two out of my mouth after each bite. That was not so pleasant, despite the outstanding flavors.



Despite the bones, the overall experience--the flavors of all the food, the wine, the attentive and friendly service, the warm atmosphere--was wonderful. I'm looking forward to going back.

Beet Soup

I made a red and golden beet soup the other day for dinner. It was my first time cooking beets, and I actually enjoyed watching my hands turn more and more red as I peeled and chopped the beets. The coloring washed off fairly easily.

On the whole, the soup--it's really two soups--turned out well. The recipe calls for stewing the beets separately for about 40 minutes, however I let them go a little longer just to be sure they were soft enough. I also ended up using slightly less than the exact amount of beets called for in the recipe, so I inadvertently added too much milk to the golden beets when I pureed them in the food processor. For the red beets, I scaled back the amount of milk and used only a cup and I was happier with the way they turned out.

We served the leftover soup on Friday night for Amy and Jen, and I thought it might look nice served in teacups. Here's the way it turned out on night number two.

New Year's Day Feast

Brad and Joey treated us to a wonderfully tasty New Year's Day feast, featuring traditional Southern fare of black-eyed peas, collared greens and cornbread. It was a fantastic meal. Brad is a vegetarian, so the whole meal was meat-free, and he succeeded in making delicious black-eyed peas without using pork. His collared greens were also perfectly cooked--using lots of butter helps--and his cornbread was rich, but not overly sweet. For dessert, Joey pulled out two overflowing platters of cookies. He had apparently spent a day baking cookies after returning from his holiday travels, and he made two kinds of shortbread, plain and bourbon, soft ginger cookies, chocolate chip and walnut and several others. My favorite was the bourbon shortbread cookies. It was a perfectly mellow and delicious start to the new year.

Winter Wine Tasting

I went up to the wine country last Sunday for a day of wine tasting with some friends. Our destination was Healdsburg. It was Lou's and my second trip there in the last two months. We first went up there in October with my parents when they came out for a visit, and we had a nice day of tasting with them.

I made a tasting reservation for us at Unti Vineyards--one of the places we dropped in on with my parents. I thought it would be a good place to visit with friends.

This time around we were treated to an unexpected pleasure: Mick, the owner, conducted our tasting and chatted us up. He was great, and Lou and I really enjoyed talking to him. He talked about his wines and told us about his forthcoming fortified wine--he described it as the result of a wine-making screw up--and it's going to be a Banyuls-like wine (Joey and Brad brought us a Banyuls once, and it was fantastic with a peach melba I made). Considering how much I like his other wines, I can't wait to try it when he releases it in March.

We also talked about a wine that Lou and I have tried recently--Nerello Mascalese--and he gave us a couple of recommendations for some producers he likes: Benanti and Cottanera. I'm going to see if Josh at Bi-Rite can find them for us. Nerello Mascalese is a pinot noir-like wine that is grown on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily. He said that the wine has been mostly ignored until recently when a few winemakers have applied modern wine-making technique to the grapes and have come out with some spectacular results. He described some of the wines as being even more sublime than the finest Burgundian wines.

We also spoke about restuarants, and he named a few of his favorites in and around Healdsburg and in San Francisco. In Healdsburg, he recommended The Farmhouse and said Dry Creek Kitchen has been more consistent lately, without saying whether it's been consistently good or bad. He also said that Dry Creek Kitchen is usually better when the chef, Charlie Palmer, is cooking. In San Francisco, he spoke highly of A-16 and SPQR (A-16's sister restaurant) as well as about Delfina. Actually, he said Delfina is his favorite restaurant in the city, especially when Craig is cooking a regionally focused menu.

From Unti, we headed over to the Dry Creek Kitchen for lunch. Honestly, it was a disappointment. The food, at least for me, was fine. I ordered a delicate gnocchi with a mushrooms and a smoked salmon eggs Benedict, but Lou rated his dishes as mediocre. The service was pretty bad, and for what we paid for the meal it was not worth it. I wish we had tried the Farmhouse instead.

Overall, however, it was a pleasant day with friends.