Dish

Julia's Pearls
Julia Child tossed some gems to the audience at her recent City Arts & Lectures appearance. Among them:

"All you need for Italian cooking is a frying pan and a kettle."
"McDonald's fried potatoes have gone off since the nutritionists got at them."

"I would rather have a martini than inferior white wine."

Doughboys Make Good
San Francisco's bagel guys are schmeering the community with good works. As part of its Breaducation program, Holey Bagel last week officially "adopted" James Lick Middle School in Noe Valley. According to Marth Becktell, director of community involvement for Holey Bagel, employees will work with Lick students on "dough projects" that "celebrate diversity" -- including tortillas, Middle Eastern and Italian breads, and, of course, bagels. They'll also teach students about entrepreneurship and coordinate 24th Street businesses in a fair to benefit the school. Holey Bagel's Noe Valley store, its original location, is 15 years old.

In other community bagel news, Noah's Bagels opened its newest S.F. store at 400 Castro this week in partnership with the UCSF AIDS Health Project. In exchange for the retail space, Noah's donated construction costs to convert the space from a Bank of America to the new AIDS Project Castro Center; Noah's will also pay rent for the organization, which provides psychological services for people with AIDS.

Sudsing Up
The most exciting product to come out of the annual Las Vegas Gourmet Show was the Beer Machine, a device that, according to its promoters, "sparks the American Beer Revolution by brewing, fermenting, carbonating and dispensing fresh, great-tasting beer" in your refrigerator. If turning your fridge into a microbrewery is your idea of a good time, the Beer Machine is available at Sharper Image and will hit Bay Area Emporium and Whole Earth Access stores any day now.

Including Tax and Tip?
Harbor Village Restaurant at Embarcadero Center will host guest chef Yeung Koon Yat, Hong Kong's "Abalone King" June 19-23. Chef Yeung will prepare braised premium whole Yoshiyama abalone in the extract of oysters; double-boiled superior shark's fin with silky chicken; and double-boiled sweet Imperial bird's nest with the essence of almond. The price per item à la carte is $60, $70 and $160 per person, respectively; preset banquets run $600-760 for two, or $3,800 for a table of 10.

By Barbara Lane