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.