Foods

Beast and the Hare: Meat as Art

Charcutepaloozers: Brine It On

Cathy Barrow/Mrs. Wheelbarrow's KitchenBeef, corning.​Who knew there was so much pent-up demand to cure meat at home? After Cathy Barrow and Kim Foster first launched the Charcutepalooza challenge, the number of bloggers ballooned into the dozens, and then the hundreds. By the time they closed ... More >>

Clean Cheese, Ginger Ale, and the Mighty Subway

Madame Fromage/FlickrSally Jackson's amazing cheese, now lost to the world after an FDA crackdown.​A new daily column: Notes on national stories, local trends, random tastes, and other miscellanea dredged up from the food media.1. Cheese makers under attack? San Francisco diners haven't felt the i ... More >>

Getting Meat into Cocktails is Tricky but Doable

There have been a few constants in humanity's aspirations: finding out if we're all alone in the universe, immortality, and successfully getting meat to work in a cocktail. The latter is remarkably delicate work. Go too far in the meat direction and it can get gross (and yes, for vegans and vegeta ... More >>

Online Bake Sale for Japan Now Enlisting Bloggers and Bidders

The Tomato Tart​Sabrina Modelle says she was face down on the acupuncture table last week when she heard about the devastating Japanese quake. Modelle's currently on leave from her job at a nonprofit. "I think I was going through do-good withdrawal," she says. And since Modelle is also a food ... More >>

Roundup: The Best New Barbecue in the Bay

The Tomato Tart​Sabrina Modelle says she was face down on the acupuncture table last week when she heard about the devastating Japanese quake. Modelle's currently on leave from her job at a nonprofit. "I think I was going through do-good withdrawal," she says. And since Modelle is also a food ... More >>

Fresh Eats: Recchiuti's Takes Caramels to the Third Power

The Tomato Tart​Sabrina Modelle says she was face down on the acupuncture table last week when she heard about the devastating Japanese quake. Modelle's currently on leave from her job at a nonprofit. "I think I was going through do-good withdrawal," she says. And since Modelle is also a food ... More >>

Beauty's Bagel Shop Begins Baking Montreal-Style Bagels

Frank MilwardBlake Joffe of Beauty's Bagles​Blake Joffe's memories of childhood vacations aren't of beaches or landmarks. Instead, he reminisces about the Montreal bagels he scarfed during many visits to his dad's hometown. This fall, Joffe, who currently cooks at Pizzeria Delfina, and partne ... More >>

Outside Lands Announces Local Food and Wine Lineup w/ Flour Water, Ritual Coffee, More

Christopher VictorioBecause this will make you hungry.​ Outside Lands has always made an effort to bring in highlights of the local food and wine scene to festival goers. Every year the offerings get a little bigger, and this year's festival is no different. For its return to a three-day forma ... More >>

S.F. Rising: Olive Ciabatta from Bakers of Paris

Jonathan KauffmanBakers of Paris's olive ciabatta.​A weekly survey of bread in San Francisco ― the baked and the fried, the artisan and the novelty.Olive Ciabatta Source: Bakers of Paris stand, Inner Sunset Sunday farmers' market (also at Upper Haight, Divisadero, and Fort Mason markets) Price ... More >>

A Full List of the 92 Best Dishes in S.F. for Fresh Eats

Jonathan KauffmanBakers of Paris's olive ciabatta.​A weekly survey of bread in San Francisco ― the baked and the fried, the artisan and the novelty.Olive Ciabatta Source: Bakers of Paris stand, Inner Sunset Sunday farmers' market (also at Upper Haight, Divisadero, and Fort Mason markets) Price ... More >>

Olivier's Butchery Throws Dogpatch a Bone

xdebx//FlickrFrench cuts of meat without TSA hassles​"You know what the funniest thing about Europe is? It's the little differences. I mean, they got the same shit over there that we got here, but it's just...it's just there it's a little different." -Vincent Vega, Pulp FictionOpening next Thursda ... More >>

M&L Market Still Makes You Follow the Rules for a Pastrami Sandwich

Jonathan KauffmanM&L Market's turkey-pastrami sandwich. This is a half sandwich ($4.20), by the way.​ Now that the SFoodie's 92 is over, I'm returning to a series about restaurants that have been around so long they've slipped into a media black hole. There are three constants about the line ... More >>

Tadashi Ono, Japanese Hot Pot Expert, Describes the Real Shabu Shabu

Melissa BarnesShabu shabu at Shabu Pub, which is not traditionally Japanese​While researching this week's review of Chinese-American shabu shabu restaurants in the Richmond and Sunset, I called Tadashi Ono, the chef of Matsuri in New York and co-author of Japanese Hot Pots. I wanted to get a sense ... More >>

Freddie's Sandwiches: Still Hot After 85 Years

Photos by W. Blake GrayEddie Sweileh, Maura Mancia and Maria López make the sandwiches at Freddie's​Freddie's Sandwiches is tucked away on a quiet corner downhill from North Beach and uphill from Fisherman's Wharf. You'd think the location would be challenging, but owner Ed Sweileh has ... More >>

Duck Eggs: Add Richness To Breakfast

Ben NarasinDuck Eggs (R) vs. Chicken Egg (L)​Like any amateur chef, I'm always looking for new, unknown, reclaimed, or forgotten food or ingredients. Duck eggs fit many of these descriptors. Prized by bakers for their superior protein content and richness, duck eggs are almost never seen in ... More >>

Txoko: Brainy Finger Food Could Stand to Be Less Brainy

Ben NarasinDuck Eggs (R) vs. Chicken Egg (L)​Like any amateur chef, I'm always looking for new, unknown, reclaimed, or forgotten food or ingredients. Duck eggs fit many of these descriptors. Prized by bakers for their superior protein content and richness, duck eggs are almost never seen in ... More >>

Freddie's Sandwiches: Still Hot After 85 Years

Ben NarasinDuck Eggs (R) vs. Chicken Egg (L)​Like any amateur chef, I'm always looking for new, unknown, reclaimed, or forgotten food or ingredients. Duck eggs fit many of these descriptors. Prized by bakers for their superior protein content and richness, duck eggs are almost never seen in ... More >>

Quince's Rum and Cheese Pairing Is Good for the Rum

Ben Narasin​Quince restaurant continues its series of cheese and spirit pairings this week with rum and artisan cheese ($36, available only in the bar and lounge). While Quince's first effort, Scotch and cheese, is a somewhat established coupling, rum and cheese is far more esoteric. That make ... More >>

San Francisco's Top Five Hot Dogs

John BirdsallDa Beef's Chicago-style hot dog.​Like Shakespeare plays, biblical parables, and that damn Pachelbel's Canon, the hot dog is the theme on which a million variations are played. The frankfurter has been upscaled and deep-fried, pressed into lettuce as well as Acme rolls. SFoodie has eat ... More >>

Hey FDA: Pick On Big Food Producers, Not Little Ones

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles TimesDanielle Fetzer and Steven Pociunas, volunteers at Rawesome Foods in Venice, after the store was raided​After a year-long investigation, agents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration joined state and local authorities yesterday to bust owners of a small Venic ... More >>

Organic Chicken Actually Proven to Be Safer

Alarmed by the recent outbreak of drug-resistent salmonella in ground turkey, which killed one Californian woman? The way to protect yourself might be to buy organic. Yesterday, NPR reported that a University of Maryland study found that big organic chicken farms have much lower levels of antibio ... More >>

Fresh Eats: Cypress Grove Delivers a PsycheDillic '60s Flashback

Alarmed by the recent outbreak of drug-resistent salmonella in ground turkey, which killed one Californian woman? The way to protect yourself might be to buy organic. Yesterday, NPR reported that a University of Maryland study found that big organic chicken farms have much lower levels of antibio ... More >>

Swedish Chocolatier Cooks Up $29 Chocolates with Goat Cheese, Cigars

Photos by W. Blake Gray​When Swedish chocolatier Emanuel Andrén offered to visit us with chocolate truffles that cost $29 each, we were intrigued. We thought they might be the most expensive chocolates in the world, but were disappointed to learn they aren't even in the ballpark. Still ... More >>

Draeger's Makes American Kobe Beef Pastrami Sweet

​Viognier restaurant, atop the impressively upscale San Mateo grocery store Draeger's, is moving into meat production, and was kind enough to drop us off a taste of its first product, American Kobe Beef Pastrami. The idea is fascinating. Pastrami, usually made from beef brisket -- one of the ... More >>

The Five Best Breads in San Francisco

J Rodman Jr./flickrAcme baguettes.Back in the 1980s, the Bay Area led the renaissance of artisanal baking, and you can still sense that depth of experience in every complimentary bread plate, every $8 sandwich, and every grocery store in San Francisco. We take good bread for granted, no longer paus ... More >>

Fog Harbor Fish House Cooks Sustainable Fish For the Masses

Photos by W. Blake GrayTrout ($18)​Fog Harbor Fish House recently became the first restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf to commit to using 100% sustainable seafood. SF Weekly had never written anything about the restaurant, so I joined the flock of German and French tourists walking down Embarcader ... More >>

Comprehensive Guide to CSAs in San Francisco: Meat, Eggs, Dairy, Etc.

A CSA meat package from Marin Sun Farms​Many people tend to think of CSAs only for fruits and vegetables, but in the Bay Area we're also blessed with a variety of meatier options. We've done the work of finding the farmers; now all you have to do is place your order and start up the grill. In ... More >>

Margherita-ville: Checking Out FiDi's Cupola Pizzeria and Pachino

Jonathan KauffmanCupola Pizzeria's pizza margherita, $13.50​Generation X seemed to devote a lot of time in our 20s complaining about being in the shadow of the baby boom generation. So I feel a certain empathy for the pizza restaurants that opened over the spring and summer this year, in the shado ... More >>

Cheese Affinage? New York Times: Pro. Rainbow's Head Cheesemonger: Meh.

Ask Gordon Edgar about affinage, and that cheese machete he's holding might get put to use.​Yesterday, the New York Times published a feature on affinage, the practice of properly aging cheeses until they hit that perfect moment for eating. The article profiled several East Coast cheesemonge ... More >>

Your Seasonal Produce Guide: Cranberry Beans

meg williams2009/Flickr​ A new weekly series on what to do with your farmers' market impulse buys and CSA box surprises. Cranberry beans are part of Phaseolus vulgaris family of shelling beans. The cranberry beans we typically see here are of the Cargamanto or Crimson varieties. Cargamanto ... More >>

Is Organic Produce Actually Cheaper to Grow?

Brian Donaldson / Shutterstock​Yeah, yeah, yeah: Certified organic produce is more expensive than conventional, and the premium prices that organic farmers can charge make their farms more than twice as profitable as conventional farms. But a new study suggests that organic grains, fruits, and ve ... More >>

Prime Rib Shabu House Finally Reopens

Earl G./YelpPrime Rib Shabu House.​Three months ago, I was finishing up a review of the new Chinese-America shabu shabu restaurants in the Sunset and Richmond. My favorite? Prime Rib Shabu House, the two-year-old restaurant opened by Luke Sung (Isa's founding chef) and Patrick Wong. Four days bef ... More >>

Leatherneck Steakhouse: Veterans' Club Serves Classic American Fare

Earl G./YelpPrime Rib Shabu House.​Three months ago, I was finishing up a review of the new Chinese-America shabu shabu restaurants in the Sunset and Richmond. My favorite? Prime Rib Shabu House, the two-year-old restaurant opened by Luke Sung (Isa's founding chef) and Patrick Wong. Four days bef ... More >>

Humphry Slocombe Introduces New Line of Caramel Candies

Humphry Slocombe​Humphry Slocombe gets a lot of attention for its ice cream, but there are little toppings and treats (like frosted peanuts and duck fat pecan pie) that comparatively fly as much under the radar as is possible for this popular parlor. One new such addition: a line of in-house c ... More >>

Meet and Eat With Your Favorite Cheesemakers

​What: Meet the Cheesemaker, a California Artisan Cheese Guild Fundraiser Where:The Cheese School of San Francisco When: Fri., November 11, 7-9 p.m. Cost: $35 The rundown: Every year, the Cheese School in North Beach hosts a bunch of California's cheesemakers to raise funds for the Califor ... More >>

Il Cane Rosso's Rich, Surprising Pancetta

Alan Scherstuhl​ The current iteration of San Francisco-style pancetta seems at times a cheap ploy by the fancier restaurants in town at making good old American bacon an elegant side dish for the peaking trend of dignified brunches. It's too often straight slabs of seasoned pork that bear a s ... More >>

Umami Burger and the Melt: Science Meets Fast Food with Muddled Results

Alan Scherstuhl​ The current iteration of San Francisco-style pancetta seems at times a cheap ploy by the fancier restaurants in town at making good old American bacon an elegant side dish for the peaking trend of dignified brunches. It's too often straight slabs of seasoned pork that bear a s ... More >>

The Beefbreaker: Oscar Yedra Wants His Cut of the New Meat-Carving Movement

Alan Scherstuhl​ The current iteration of San Francisco-style pancetta seems at times a cheap ploy by the fancier restaurants in town at making good old American bacon an elegant side dish for the peaking trend of dignified brunches. It's too often straight slabs of seasoned pork that bear a s ... More >>

Top 7 S.F. Bay Area Chocolates to Send Home and Make People Jealous Happy

Visions of these will be dancing through some heads.​Shopping for the most discerning person on your list? Looking for something for someone you hardly know at all but still have to buy a gift for? Well, this list is for you! With the exception of nobody, everyone loves chocolate, so give the ... More >>

Belcampo Meats Wants to Bring Animals All the Way From Farm to (Your) Fork

Royalty-Free Images/FlickrAngus cattle, like the kind currently chewing its cud at Belcampo Meat's farm.​For a cow to magically transform into the ribeye steak sitting in your fridge, the animal travels through numerous middlemen: From the farmer to the feedlot, the feedlot to the slaughterhouse, ... More >>

Gordon Edgar's 2011 Finds: New Cheeses to Discover

Avalanche Cheese Co.Lamborn Bloomers: Silly name, great cheese.​SFoodie is calling up food types around the city to ask them about their favorite discovery of the past year, whether it's new or ancient, an ingredient or a person. We'll be running their responses through the end of the year. By ... More >>

Fresh Eats: Gordon Edgar Chooses His Favorite New Cheeses

Avalanche Cheese Co.Lamborn Bloomers: Silly name, great cheese.​SFoodie is calling up food types around the city to ask them about their favorite discovery of the past year, whether it's new or ancient, an ingredient or a person. We'll be running their responses through the end of the year. By ... More >>

Eat All the Cupcakes at S.F.'s Cupcake Challenge

Mission Mini's mini's.​What: S.F. Cupcake Challenge Where: Mezzanine When: Sun., January 14, 1-4 p.m. Cost: $40 The rundown: Cupcakes are here to stay and you can either get on board or... move to the moon? Because pretty much every inch of Earth's surface is covered with adorable little ... More >>

Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats Talks Whole Beast Butchery

Whole Beast Butchery: The Complete Visual Guide to Beef, Lamb, and Pork by Ryan Farr and Brigit Binns, $40 (Chronicle Books) In the more than two years since Ryan Farr and his wife, Cesalee, founded 4505 Meats, the artisanal butcher has achieved nationwide fame. He has been called a "rock star butc ... More >>

Golden Glass: Slow Food, Wine, and Free Tickets on Us

​ Hey, want to go to Slow Food's Golden Glass event? SFoodie has two tickets to award to the person who writes the best one-line description of a wine, real or imagined, in the comments section below. If you like Italian wines, you'll like the Golden Glass wine and food event, and we may even ... More >>

Jablow's Meats Launches a Pastrami Pop-Up

Jablow's MeatsJablow's pastrami sandwich with potato salad, and pickle.​Dan Jablow, a cooking school grad and former Fatted Calf employee, has been refining his recipes for lunch meats for more than a year, showing up at the monthly New Taste Marketplace events to test them out with the public. Op ... More >>

Roostertail: 1950s American Plates Meet S.F.'s 2012 Palate

Jablow's MeatsJablow's pastrami sandwich with potato salad, and pickle.​Dan Jablow, a cooking school grad and former Fatted Calf employee, has been refining his recipes for lunch meats for more than a year, showing up at the monthly New Taste Marketplace events to test them out with the public. Op ... More >>

Goat vs. Sheep vs. Cow: It's a Cheesemaker's Yogurt Face-Off

​ Vs. ​ One is an anomaly, two is a signal, and three is a trend. We found three Norcal cheese makers taking a new path in milk-life-extension: yogurt. We tasted through cow, goat, and sheep yogurt offerings to help you decide what to consider for breakfast. First up: Lactose-free cow-milk y ... More >>

Jade Pepper Chocolate Blends the Pacific Islands Into Treats

​Jade chocolates caught our attention when they qualified as a finalist at the Good Food Awards tasting we attended. These chocolatiers focus on "blending teas and spices from Asia and the Pacific Islands into chocolates," and their product line delivers assertively on that promise.&nbs ... More >>