Kara's Cupcakes, Strawberry Cream

I never really got caught up in the whole "cupcake craze." Magnolia? Sprinkles? Meh. I've always been more of a cookie gal myself. Or cheesecake. Yeah, cut me a fatty slice of cheesecake any day.

But that's just me. I knew my guests visiting from out of town would go ga-ga over Kara's Cupcakes, and it would be the perfect pick-me-up as our sightseeing brought us to Ghirardelli Square.

Because who can choose just one?

Jennifer proceeded to purchase a dozen cupcakes…because who could choose just one? I was pretty blasé about it all…until the Strawberry Cream filled cupcake rocked my world.

Strawberry Cream Dream

The Strawberry Cream is one of Kara's seasonal flavors, and is only available until August (So go get one now! Seriously, go. Now.). It is a vanilla cupcake filled with organic local strawberries and cream, and topped with a cream cheese frosting. Yom!

So what about this particular cupcake converted this disbeliever?

1. The cake was surprisingly moist, and incredibly light. Like sweet, delicious fluffy clouds. Maybe that's the key. This cupcake is baked by angels.
2. The filling. Real strawberries and cream. It was like biting into a bit of unexpected sunshine.
3. Cream cheese frosting. Always a win in my book, and in this case, even more so. Not too dense, but still appropriately decadent, and a great play on the classic strawberry jam/cream cheese combo.
4. Apparently, if you slice it in half, the revealed filling and fondant decoration looks like a strawberry! How precious is that?

This cupcake was unreal. Like grandma's strawberry shortcake, but better, and in adorable cupcake form.

Other cupcakes of note: Sweet S'mores, a chocolate cupcake with graham cracker crust and toasted marshmallow frosting; Fleur De Sel, a chocolate cupcake with caramel filling, dark ganache frosting and fleur de sel; and Chocolate Velvet, a chocolate cupcake with a mound of velvety bittersweet chocolate buttercream.

Kara's proudly states that they continue baking throughout the day so they can offer cupcakes that have been baked within hours, if not minutes, for your enjoyment. I believe it. They are amazingly fresh and absurdly delicious. I see why they have such a following in all five of their Bay Area locations.

So, am I about to go on a cupcake bender? Probably not. (Besides, from what my pilates instructor tells me, Kara's reigns supreme. She holds a horizontal cupcake tasting of all the cupcake shops in the area, and she says Kara's wins hands down every year. It's not even a contest anymore.) I do, however, have a whole new respect for the Cupcake, and Kara's will be seeing me again, at least once, before the Strawberry Cream goes out of season.

Kara's Cupcakes, Ghirardelli Square

Kara's Cupcakes

Ghirardelli Square -- San Francisco, CA
Plaza Level
900 North Point
San Francisco, California 94109
415-351-CAKE (2253)

Marina -- San Francisco, CA
3249 Scott Street (at Chestnut)
San Francisco, California 94123
415-563-CAKE (2253)

Town & Country Village -- Palo Alto, CA
855 El Camino Real, Suite 50
Palo Alto, California 94301
650-326-CAKE (2253)

Santana Row -- San Jose, CA
3055 Olin Avenue, Suite 1010
San Jose, California 95128
408-260-2222

Oxbow Market -- Napa, CA
610 First Street, Suite 19
Napa, California 94559
707-258-CAKE (2253)

Twin Girls Farms' fruit at Noe Valley Farmers' Market

Whenever possible, I shop at farmers' markets for my groceries, buying braising greens, fresh eggs, and unpasteurized pomegranate juice at Alemany, and when I can stand to brave the scene, meat from the amazing Marin Sun Farms' stand at the Ferry Building. I don't get most of my groceries at farmers' markets; over the course of a week, convenience and immediate needs demand visits to reputable brick-and-mortar stores. While trips to my favorite markets help keep the fridge stocked, I value the experience more than anything, the routine of getting up early, before my Saturday morning basketball game, and dashing off into the prickly mist to fill empty bags, or venturing over directly after basketball, sweaty, tired, and profoundly hungry, at dire risk of over-spending in shopping for food before lunch.

When I'm back home in Kentucky to visit family, I stop by the Saturday morning farmers' market near our house in Louisville’s Highlands neighborhood. Situated in the parking lot of a Presbyterian church on Bardstown Road ("food for the soul," the church’s sign reads), this market is a pint-sized affair -- a bit bigger than Noe Valley’s. I go there to buy dinner fixings -- and re-visit the scene.

Heading to the local market is a swift, visceral way of getting back in touch with the place you come from. This weekend, I wasn't buying much -- just a few ears of bi-color corn and a bunch of gnarled, stubby dark-orange carrots for a pot of soup -- but I took home more than groceries. At the market, I saw faces I recognized, not people I once knew, but features and voices I recalled from schools I'd attended, the swimming pool I'd frequented, and stores at which I had shopped. I wasn't not seeing people I’d once known, but perhaps their relatives, the next generations, raised in the same place by people staying put, laying down roots. I’m not making a bad joke about inbreeding, just noting that in smaller ponds, you see the same fish (and their offspring) more often. On Saturday, I overheard conversations as I strolled from stall to stall. Over packages of grass-fed beef, two women discussed the summers they were enjoying. "Haven’t been going to Lakeside much," one said, referring to the massive, quarry rock-lined swimming pool I used to visit nearly daily for bare-footed basketball and long, skin-puckering soaks each summer. “Oh no,” said the other. “It’s been too hot.” And hot it was, even at nine in the morning -- the air heavy with the sort of dense, enveloping heat that dampens your shirt before you can make it down the front steps. Here, such heat calls for a day spent indoors, with the air conditioning working overtime.

Farmers’ markets reflect communities. It’s a cliche, yes, but it bears out -- in the same way a concert defines a band not just by its music, and its identity expressed through performance, but by the people coming to the show. Mission Bay’s tiny farmers’ market caters to UCSF researchers looking for a break on one of the sunny benches dotting the well-manicured quad. I wonder how many people actually buy groceries there. Noe Valley’s farmers’ market sustains the precious strip’s residents, and entertains interlopers like myself. On a recent visit, we saw adorable gray-haired ladies ordering up pricey steaks "for one" and a yoga pants-wearing mom swish by Sukhi's samosa stand to issue an unsolicited zinger: "I love Indian food, but it hates my waistline." It was one of our favorite all-time farmers’ market moments -- along with the guy at Alemany who claimed to play classical music for the benefit of his tomato plants.

Whether I’m in Louisville or San Francisco, forays to the market are about people as much as produce, an opportunity to take stock of the swirling community. In this way, they’re all the same -- regardless of what’s in season.

Jean-Charles Boisset, Cy Musiker, Leslie Sbrocco

Food & Wine This Week
Leslie Sbrocco and guests: Cy Musiker, KQED Radio & Bay Area Bites blogger and Jean-Charles Boisset, wine visionary; look at "green" trends in wine. Wineries are using updated packaging techniques and re-vamping traditional methods for serving and storing wine that bypass bottles completely and go straight to the barrel. By using modern versions of old techniques, the wine industry is joining the food movement to become more eco-friendly and sustainable.

Guests:
Cy Musiker, KQED Radio and Bay Area Bites blogger
Jean-Charles Boisset, wine visionary, President of Boisset Family Estates

Related Post: Wine on Tap

It's no secret that the lines at Sol Food in San Rafael have been creeping down the block lately. What used to be a little hole in the wall Puerto Rican joint is now a booming, booming business. But right across the street on Lincoln Avenue is a reason to ditch that long wait for some of the best Mexican food in the Bay Area.

Living in California, you forget that not everyone has good taquerias close to home, work, school, the freeway--you name it. When you talk to people living in, say, Seattle they'll tell you that really good authentic Mexican is tough to come by. So when my sister and her boyfriend were visiting (from Seattle) last weekend and mentioned a hankering for some legitimate mole, I know we had to go to Las Camelias.

Las Camelias is the baby of chef and owner, Gabriel Fregoso who grew up in the very small town of Cuautla in western Jalisco. His mother and grandmother were big cooks, and in 1976 Gabriel came to Marin and started working at the Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur. He worked his way up to the position of cook, and a few years later opened Las Camelias using his mother and grandmother's recipes. In a county where restaurants open and shutter in the blink of an eye, thirty-two years in business is a pretty big deal. Gabriel's doing something right.

When you walk in, the first thing you'll notice is the warm, rustic atmosphere with heavy wooden chairs and tables and thoughtfully chosen artwork. The servers will set you up with a "margarita" right away (they don't have a liquor license so they're really wine margaritas). But they still make their own in-house margarita mix and it veers far from the often overly-sweet store bought variety. Try one. Trust me.

Then you must try the guacamole. I'm a bit finicky about guacamole. But at Las Camelias, they do a really simple version that has grabbed my attention: tons of avocado, a little chopped tomato, onion, and the perfect amount of cilantro and lime juice. No distracting spices. Not too salty or creamy.

Now to get down to business, I'm actually a little embarrassed to admit what I love to order at Las Camelias. It's a salad, possibly the lamest thing to order at a Mexican restaurant known for their spicy moles, incredible tamales, and slow cooked enchiladas. But this salad is a combination of many of my favorite things in the world: They start with lettuce and shredded organic chicken and throw in shredded cabbage and carrots, rice, cheese, guacamole, tortilla chips, and finish it off with a subtle sweet and sour dressing. It's pure magic, really and it's so filling that I generally bring leftovers home for lunch the next day.

Arroz Con Pollo Salad

My second favorite thing to order at Las Camelias are the Enchiladas Diablo Con Pollo. One reason I love ordering them is because the waitstaff sizes you up when you declare you'd like them. They try and measure your spice tenacity and have, on a few occasions, tried to talk me out of them. Are you sure? Very spicy, ok? And truthfully, they are certainly spicy but not unbearably so. There's a lot of layered flavors in the sauce and warm spices, but nothing that'll send you grabbing for your neighbors water glass. What I truly love about these enchiladas is how they're stuffed full of Rocky Junior chicken and spicy diablo sauce and little else. No big globs of cheese or unnecessary fillers. And Las Camelias serves most dishes with their famous white refried beans. I actually have friends that come here just for the beans.

Spicy steak fajitas: notice those white beans!

When I first started coming to Las Camelias I was a vegetarian and I was addicted to the Vegetarian Combination Platter. It comes with a huge poblano chile filled with caramelized onions and simmered in a light sour cream sauce with corn and zucchini. This is basically the perfect food on a foggy Bay Area evening. But wait. There's also the tamale with chayote and potatoes. And last, the crispy vegetarian burrito, all served with black beans and ancho chile sauce. It may be vegetarian, but it's very far from light--you get a little taste of many things they're known for and my meat-eating friends would always look on with envy.

So while Gabriel Fregoso is dealing with some tough competition across the street, I'm certain that Las Camelias is not going anywhere. The food is the real deal, the atmosphere is date-worthy while still maintaining a laid-back and comfortable vibe, and the waitstaff is gracious and attentive. Lately, visitors or no visitors, I can't get enough of the place.

My sister's boyfriend: soon to be a member of the clean-plate club

Las Camelias
912 Lincoln Avenue (between 3rd and 4th)
San Rafael, CA 94901
(415) 453-5850
Hours: M-Th 11:30am-9pm
Fri.-Sat. 11:30am-9:30pm
Sun. 3 pm-9pm

Dining for Pride? Maybe it's just my frame of reference, but when I put gay together with food, you know what comes up? Lesbian potluck. Veggie dogs on the grill, hummus and baby carrots, gluten-free quinoa salad on the kitchen table, somebody's foil-covered tray of brownies and a couple pitchers of ginger-peach iced tea.

But there's a whole other world out there, beyond the mismatched Melmac of Oakland and Bernal bohemia. On Friday night, as happy gender revolutionaries were gathering in Dolores Park for the now-annual Trans March (much to the bemused entertainment of those dining at the sidewalk tables of nearby Pizzeria Delfina), a different sort of crowd was sipping rose champagne poured by a buffed and shirtless man with "Free Cocktails" scribbled in body paint across his back, nibbling smoked salmon piled on fat little blinis and chatting about the art that would be auctioned later by wine-country chef and cookbook author Joanne Weir to benefit both AMFAR and the James Beard Foundation in New York. This was the San Francisco Pride Soiree, held at new gallery/event space 12 Gallagher Lane.

The place was hard to find, located down a tiny alley off similarly under-the-radar Clementina Street, between Folsom and Howard Streets south of Market, but once there, hard to miss, thanks to the squadrons of valet parkers, black-suited greeters and the swath of royal-purple carpet pointing to the door. Inside, the show by Hunt Slonem large paintings of cheetahs (or perhaps leopards? Very large house cats with a fetish for fun fur?), butterflies, flowers, parrots, and bunnies--lots and lots of bunnies, a whole wall of frolicking rabbits obviously not yet informed that chef Traci des Jardins (Jardiniere, Mijita, Public House) would be serving fava-bean crostini topped with rabbit en escabeche right below their painted noses.

As you might imagine, being a high profile chef in the Bay Area means being asked nearly constantly to support this or that worthy cause. But, as des Jardins said early in the evening, "There are some things you can't turn down. The Beard Foundation has done a lot for us." Agreed Craig Stoll (Delfina, Pizzeria Delfina), "It's great, it's our opportunity to give back," since the Beard Foundation has long been a champion of up-and-coming chefs in the Bay Area, and AmFAR's decades-long dedication to funding AIDS research has made an immeasurable difference in so many lives.

Stoll says that he now sticks to things that benefit humans, meaning no whales, no rescue dogs. Even with that limit, his crew, like Traci's, is working some kind of benefit or charity event at least every few weeks.

Craig Stoll

Soon, the lucky philanthropists who've crossed the purple carpet are snapping up succulent, crispy-salty chunks of artichoke hot from the fryer. These are the famous carciofi alla giudia of Rome, paired with bite-sized saltimbocca, also a Roman dish, here made with nuggets of fried sweetbreads topped with sage and proscuitto. It's all preparation for Stoll's new Roman restaurant, coming to Valencia Street later this year in the old Ramblas space. There will be a full bar and a slightly more dressed-up air, with fewer t-shirts and tattoos, at least on the staff. The restaurant will share a wall with Bar Tartine, and Stoll hopes that Charles Phan will come back to the neighborhood and reignite his old Slanted Door space across the street.

Under the bunnies, des Jardins is finishing up plating her appetizers, nestling plump seared scallops into velvety pillows of truffled mashed potato, a two-bite dish perfect as a tiny pashmina snuggie. She's got a crew, of course, with one extra-special helper: her 10-year-old son Eli, properly dressed in a boy's-size chef's coat and taking his assistant duties quite seriously.

But the cell-phone cameras popping across the room aren't snapping pix of the food, heavenly as Gary Danko's hint-of-orange filet mignon slices over herbed gnocchi, porcini mushrooms, and cippolini onions is.

Gary Danko's Filet Mignon

No, the real beef is up on a pair of platforms at the center of the room. Three male models, shirtless in jeans, stand above the crowd radiating varying degrees of boredom, mild amusement, and awkwardness, their bare chests and backs daubed with squiggles and slogans in bright body paint while the ladies in the crowd clamber up in their heels to be snapped between them.

Me, I'll take my beef on a fork, thanks, especially when it's been fussed over by Gary Danko (Restaurant Gary Danko) himself. Spinach, tarragon, chervil and basil make the delicate spatzle sprightly and herbal, and the small, braised cippoline onions are marvels of slippery sweetness.

Gary Danko

Upstairs, under paintings of parrots, were the nice folks from downtown dim sum palace Yank Sing, handing out plates of dumplings from a tall stack of steamers. The dumplings were warm rather than hot, but still quite tasty, from Shanghai soup dumplings topped with shredded ginger and red vinegar to the requisite har gow and shu mai, plus a green-wrapped spinach crescent and a plump pale dumpling filled with minced snow-pea greens.

For those who could stand the pumping house music pumping from the DJ setup atop a grand piano in the corner (manned by, of course, another painted, shirtless man), an array of desserts from pastry chefs Emily Luchetti (Farallon) and Yigit Pura (Taste Catering) was forthcoming.

And not any old chocolate truffles or lemon tarts; no, these were mascarpone panna cottas thickened with carageenan rather than gelatin, topped with candied fennel and cucumber-lemongrass gelee; lavender meringue pavlovas with macerated loganberries and candied rose petals; Meyer-lemon parfait pops; and housemade s'more stacks with tonka-bean ganache.

Mmm, s'mores and popsicles? Even my lesbian buddies' potlucks could be down with those.

Chris Pastena drawing a glass at Chop Bar

Americans are so darn rigid about wine. For instance, we used to know that good wine was French or Italian, but California made nothing but schlock.

Then we warmed to California wine, but knew that wine poured out of a tap at a bar was nothing but schlock. (Anheuser Busch used to sell wine on tap in the 1970s, and it wasn't very good.)

Think again.

Wine on tap is sweeping into restaurants and bars around the Bay Area because... well, let Gus Vahlkamp explain it. He's the wine director for Out the Door in San Francisco (Charles Phan's new mini-chain).

"There are really three reasons. It's better to reuse than recycle, our recycling has been reduced by at least half. Also it's cost effective, because the producers aren't adding on the cost of the bottle, the cork, the carton and the transportation it comes in. I'm able to buy these wines at 25 percent off the wholesale bottle cost. And third, because these wines have not been bottled, I can go to the winery, create my own custom blend, and pour a wine that no one else in the country is going to have."

So it's greener than bottles, and cheaper. And Vahlkamp and other restaurateurs are passing the savings on to customers. Out The Door sells a crisp, fresh 2009 Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc for $4.50 a glass. At Chop Bar in Oakland near Jack London Square, co-owner Chris Pastena (formerly of Coda) sells a Frogs Leap 2008 Zinfandel on tap for $12 a glass, when it might go for $16 or $18 out of a bottle.

The tap setup at Chop Bar

And the wine always tastes fresh. Most restaurants pour their wine-by-the-glass selections out of bottles that sit for days, often long after the contents inside have staled. But restaurants with tap systems use an inert gas like argon or nitrogen to push the wine through the lines. That gas also protects the wine for weeks against oxidation. (Wineries blanket their wines with the same gases for the same reason when they store their wines in tanks.)

"What's funny about keg wine is it's an old idea made new again," says Matt Licklider, co-owner of Lioco Wine in Santa Rosa, one of Out The Door's chief suppliers.

"My partners and I were inspired in creating our wine by our experience in Europe," Licklider says. "We loved this idea that there was no ceremony about wine in Europe. You can take an empty jug to lots of regional coops in France and fill it up for pennies an ounce. So even when we wrote the business plan, we had always talked about alternative packaging."

There's also a big locavore angle to this tap wine boom. Vahlkamp picks his wine up in a van every few weeks from wineries in Carneros and Sonoma. At Chop Bar, Pastena buys a few kegs of wine, once a month, from JC Cellars, a winery just down the block really, from the restaurant. "I can promise you, Pastena says, "there's no carbon emissions when we truck those kegs over here on a hand cart." The wine in those kegs is JC Cellars Daily Ration, a rich California red blend for just $6 a glass that goes well with The Chop Bar's Niman Ranch Burger.

Michael Ouellette with a sample

There are a few big technical questions left to resolve before this boom in tap wine goes global. Different restaurants and different wineries use different keg systems, and often have their kegs custom built, and only a few wineries own equipment to efficiently fill the kegs. Michael Ouellette of Vintap, the former wine director for Mustards in St. Helena, now drives all over the North Coast, basically hand bottling kegs at choice wineries like Steltzner in Stags Leap and Oakville Ranch Vineyards. Ouellette says he's designing a bottling truck to automate the process. Rudy Von Strasser at Von Strasser Winery sells Ouellette a dynamite Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon for sale on tap, but he says he hates the hassle factor. And when I talked to Vahlkamp at the Out The Door on Bush Street, he was exhausted and grubby from his keg road trip. He washes the kegs himself by hand. And you thought being a sommelier was a glamour job.

"That's one of the challenges we're facing," says Licklider. We need a keg wine summit, to work out all the complexities in it."

Michael Ouellette's Vintap samples

Still one of the first and most successful restaurants to serve wine on tap, Two Urban Licks, makes it work all way across the country in Atlanta, with 42 wines, half white, half red.

And imagine a day when it's as easy to get a great local wine on tap for cheap, as it is to get a great local beer. Who says the future's not all it's cracked up to be.

A few more Bay Area restaurants serving wine on tap:
Salt House
Delfina
Frances
Ironside
Coda
Annabelle's Bar & Bistro
Tavern at Lark Creek
Residual Sugar Wine Bar

Cy Musiker will be discussing "green" trends in wine on Food & Wine This Week with Leslie Sbrocco, wine expert and host of Check, Please! Bay Area and Jean-Charles Boisset, wine innovator and President of Boisset Family Estates.
Watch Friday 6/25 at 8pm on KQED 9HD.

Earlier this week, while tooling around on the Book of the Faces, I noticed that my friend Pascal posted photos of something he called "Operation Tartare." Those less Parisian or simply less dramatically inclined than he might have simply called it "lunch."

At least, that's what I planned to call it.

I was suddenly overcome with the desire to ingest raw meat and egg, just like Pascal because he's always been much cooler than I am. And I liked the idea of making this dish by myself and for myself. I thought it might make me feel like some kind of food daredevil. Kind of like Andrew Zimmern, but with hair and without a travel budget.

If I had had the time, energy, and guts to take down a cow, I might have, but this is lunch we're talking about. I only had an hour I was willing to give over to this sudden craving. I didn't even consider coaxing an ultra-fresh egg from a chicken's cloaca. Maybe next time.

I was careful about the meat I purchased. I explained to the butcher what I was planning to do with it and she was kind enough to cut me a fresh, center piece of tenderloin. She wished me luck. I made a quick move over to the eggs, grabbed a baguette, and headed for the checkout line. Everything else I needed I had at home. I was in and out of the store in 10 minutes. Delightful.

When I returned home, I tossed the beef into the refrigerator, pulled out an already clean cutting board and scrubbed it again with hot, soapy water and a fresh sponge. The idea of giving myself a side order of e. coli seemed oddly unappetizing. So was the thought of salmonella from raw egg.

My desire for raw meat, however, was stronger than my fear of foodborne illness. Ruling out pregnancy as a possible reason for this urge, I made my lunch.

And it was absolutely delicious.

After doing the washing up, I read a tweet from another friend, who is not at all French, stating that 38,700 pounds of ground beef had just been recalled from California and New York for possible E. Coli contamination.

Crap.

I did a little google search to refresh my memory as to what this little bacterium with business-like name could do to me:

ESCHERICHIA COLI O157:H7

Disease: Hemorrhagic colitis
Source: Serotype 0157:H7 toxin contracted by drinking water which contains raw sewage (usually during travel). Also, can occur in raw or rare ground beef and unpasteurized milk.
Symptoms (after eating): Onset: 3-4 days; severe abdominal cramps followed by diarrhea (often bloody), nausea, vomiting, fever lasting to 10 days. May require hospitalization. Possible complication-Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), a urinary tract infection capable of causing kidney failure in children.

No thank you.

I reminded myself that I was eating organic beef that I chopped myself on a clean surface with well-manicured hands, not factory-ground burger fodder. I calmed myself.

"3 to 4 days, I thought. That means I can finish up the work week without vomiting on my guests." It was a most reassuring time delay, given the fact that I work in a restaurant. I could have my stomach cramps, fever, and other unpleasantness in the privacy of my own home over the weekend.

It's been three days since my lunch. I am now entering the window of symptom onset for E. Coli. I'll let you know how I do. Happily, I'm well out of the salmonella woods-- onset happens between 6 and 48 hours.

Remind me to write Pascal and ask him how he's doing.

Steak Tartare

If you are one of those people who wish to believe that this dish was inspired by the sight of Tatar horsemen placing pieces of meat under their saddles to tenderize it because they couldn't find the time to stop and do it properly what with their hectic nomadism and all, you would be in the wrong. The Tatars did, in fact, placed meat under their saddles, but it was to help heal and guard against saddle sores for their poor, overworked horses.

Sweat-soaked, sore-healing meat. Sounds delicious.

In Europe, France* and Europe, Belgium, the dish is sometimes referred to as steak américain. Why this moniker, I can't be absolutely certain but, given the fact that it's usually served in the same shape as an uncooked hamburger patty with a side of fries...

Don't quote me on that. It's pure conjecture.

I recommend getting your beef directly from a butcher, if that is at all possible. Tell him or her what you're going to make, so you have someone to blame should things go horribly wrong for you.

Serves 2 to 4 hungry horsemen

Ingredients:

1 pound beef tenderloin, trimmed of silver skin, fat, horns, cow bell, and sinew.

Worcestershire sauce, as much as you like

Tabasco or other hot sauce, as much as you need

Salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs, as fresh as possible.

Optional garnishes:

Cornichons, anchovies, minced red onion, Dijon mustard, capers, the telephone number of your nearest emergency room, Tums, crusty bread.

Preparation:

1. On an unimpeachably clean cutting board, mince your meat. Place in a pristine glass or ceramic bowl.

2. Add Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Mix gently, forming into two patties comme les Hambourgeois. Place each patty on a chilled plate and make a bit of a depression in the center of each.

3. Gently crack your eggs and remove the yolks, which will hopefully remain whole. Place one yolk in each of the meat depressions.

4. Serve with your desired accompaniments.

5. To consume, say your prayers and hope that you remembered to wash your hands with hot, soapy water. Next, break the yolk and let it ooze all over the meat, being careful not to think too much about the poor Tatar horses' saddle sores.

6. Sprinkle your desired condiments over this fine mess and mix to combine. Spread on pieces of crusty bread that are torn, not delicately sliced, or just eat with your hands and make manly grunting noises (women are especially encouraged to do this).

7. Stay within 50 feet of an unoccupied restroom for the next 3 to 4 days, just to be on the safe side.

* If you don't know what I'm talking about here, I'm sorry, but I can't marry you. If you choose to watch the video, fast forward to 7:50. Thank you ever so.

Photography: Arturo Cosenza, Stylist: Pablo Pavia

Ejector Report: Where do Ben Holder and Ricky Terry go to eat when they aren't performing and producing a new album? Holder and Terry make up the local band Ejector, an electro-pop duo behind the original title song for Billy Clift's Baby Jane? film that premiered at the Castro on Tuesday night, for San Francisco's Frameline LGBT Film Festival.

Terry confessed via phone interview that the Baby Jane? song was “one of the fastest recordings we’d ever done,” and that the two were excited about being able to see the audience reaction when the song played at the close of the film. One of Clift’s requirements for the song was that the audience feel like dancing when they heard the song. Because Ejector is in such a busy and creative phase, Holder said that being involved with the Baby Jane? film project was an accomplishment, but that “we haven’t had time to think about it,” and that they were needing to figure out logistics for the premiere like “what to wear, and where to meet (before the film). We’re thrilled.” Ejector will be playing at the Main Stage on Sunday afternoon at the San Francisco Pride celebration, and have been featured at the Folsom Street Fair; they are booked for two SoCal shows for the San Diego Pride celebration as well.

Baby Jane? Music Video (warning: some explicit language)

Holder and Terry both live in San Francisco. Holder said they consider themselves lucky to have Richard Doyle ("Big Red") who will cook for them "a lot when we are working. Often it’s 'to order.' His food is healthy, organic, and fresh." The duo shared with Bay Area Bites the restaurants and eateries that they like to visit together, as well as solo (or with a date). The duo’s picks have been edited for length and grammar.

EJECTOR'S FOOD PICKS

Green Chile Kitchen
1801 McAllister (Baker) Map
(415) 440-9411
Hours: Monday-Friday: 11:30am to 9pm
Saturday-Sunday: 11am to 9pm

Ricky: “Just around the corner from my apartment. Organic veggies and free range meats. Best breakfast burritos, super chicken! Crispy taco plate and home style chicken enchilada plate, and they now have a New Mexican version of a hamburger AMAZING!!! We lived off this menu while recording our album.”

Ben: “You can tell when we’ve worked on something (music-wise) and eaten Green Chile Kitchen. The (resulting) music is playful and light.”

Escape From New York Pizza
508 Castro Street (at 18th Street) Map
(415) 252-1515
Hours: Daily 11am to 12am

Ricky: “Best sin ever; get a slice at 12am just before heading home after a grand night out.”

Barracuda Sushi
2251 Market Street (between Sanchez Street and Noe Street) Map
(415) 558-8567
Hours:
Lunch Monday-Friday: 11:30am to 3:30pm
Dinner Monday-Friday: 5pm to 10:30pm
Saturday-Sunday: 11am to 11:30pm

Ricky: “Spicy garlic edamame, Rainbow roll and that wonderful brewed sake!
Strange thing, we always end up here for spur of the moment band meetings.”

Ben: “I like to order my rolls with rice paper or soy paper, which they do.”

DeLessio Market & Bakery and Falletti Foods
302 Broderick Street (at Oak Street) Map
(415) 552-8077
Hours: Sunday-Saturday: 8:00am to 9:00pm

Ricky: “Neighborhood bakery, best desserts in town!! Oh, and the chocolate tower cake…YUM!!!!!!!”

Ben: “Their hot plates to go save us.”

Orphan Andy's Restaurant, for "after hours survival"
3991 17th Street (at Castro & Market Streets) Map
(415) 864-9795
Open 24 hours

Ricky: “The Monte Cristo sandwich, with sour cream and strawberry jam on the side!”

Ben: "We lovingly call it Orphan Andrea’s," adding, "It’s a no-brainer. Such a local staple, and always reliable."

BEN HOLDER'S FOOD PICKS

Toast Eatery on Church Street
1748 Church Street (at 29th Street) Map
(415) 282-4328
Hours:
Monday-Friday: 7am to 9pm
Saturday-Sunday: 7am to 5pm
Ben:

"My comfort food pick is a ham-cheddar-tomato omelet. I'm kinda traditional."

Bur-Eat-Os No. 2 Restaurant
345 Spear Street (between Folsom Street & Harrison Street) Map
(415) 362-1384

Ben: "During the week, this is where I go religiously for their breakfast burrito with coffee."

Recchiuti Confections
One Ferry Building (on the Embarcadero), Shop #30 Map
(415) 834-9494
Hours:
Monday-Friday: 10am to 7pm
Saturday: 8am to 6pm
Sunday: 10am to 5pm

Ben: "Dark chocolate is my favorite. Recchiuti's toasted sesame burnt caramel is for when I’m shopping, feeling good, or… not so good. To be able to sit by the water and watch the antics there. We live in heaven, and I can’t think of anything more heavenly."

RICKY TERRY'S PICKS

Marina Submarine
2299 Union Street (at Steiner Street) Map
(415) 921-3990

Ricky: "At lunchtime the line is out the door and this is a one man sandwich-making operation. I think this guy has a photographic memory or something. He takes several orders at a time and remembers my order from the last time I was there… over a month ago?!! Turkey sub, lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese, with oil and vinegar."

Tsunami Sushi
1306 Fulton Street (at Divisadero Street) Map
(415) 567-7664
Hours:
Monday-Wednesday: 6pm to 12am
Thursday-Saturday: 6pm to 1am

Ricky: "Volcano Roll with spicy tuna avocado, New Yorker Roll with smoked salmon avocado cream cheese. Best cocktails and a fabulous date night spot!"

Slanted Door
1 Ferry Building #3 Map
(415) 861-8032
Hours: Daily 11am to 12am

Ricky: "I could go on for days about this place. First birthday dinner after moving to SF from LA, was absolutely the most spectacular meal I have ever eaten at a restaurant. The Ginger Lemonade was too easy to drink! This is a very special restaurant! Seasonal and organic, local veggies, meats, seafood, even local organic alcohol! The staff is AMAZING! Courteous, gracious, generous, a class act from A-Z!!"

Star India
3721 Geary Avenue (at 2nd Avenue) Map
(415) 668-4466
Hours: Daily 10:30am to 10:30pm
Ricky:

"Vegetable Samosa, naan, raita, chicken Tikka Masala, best saffron rice. I have mostly ordered take out, but have eaten in a couple times. Either way, the food is consistently wonderful!"

Ejector performing at Folsom Street Fair in 2009. Photo by Wendy Goodfriend

Firefly Restaurant, Noe Valley, SF

Past the genteel bustle of Noe Valley's main drag, nestled in the quiet calm of the more residential part of the neighborhood, a gem of a restaurant glows in the night. Firefly Restaurant has been a local darling since 1993, and for good reason.

Warm and homey, walking into Firefly is like entering an enchanted cocoon of good energy. The lighting is soft, the décor eclectic yet elegant, and the staff is genuinely welcoming and knowledgeable.

A labor of love for 17 years running, Firefly was originally opened by Brad Levy and Veva Edelson. As their story goes,

"Both shared the dream of opening a restaurant where the food was great, the service attentive, and the atmosphere magical, where the employees were interesting and kind people, who were encouraged to be themselves and honestly offer a great dining experience. They dreamed of a restaurant where the customers felt like they were at a friend’s house for dinner and that friend just happened to be a great cook."

Firefly whimsy and enchantment

With this idealistic vision in mind, Firefly set out to become just that. Brad resuscitated the ancient cooking equipment they inherited from the space's previous owners, and Veva put her artist's eye to work, decorating the walls with her whimsical paintings, and hanging billowing panels of white cloth from the ceiling. Between the golden lighting and the elegantly draped ceiling, I felt for a second like I was a guest at an opulent feast, in some exotic desert locale where camels awaited outside in the still night. My Arabian Nights reverie broke just in time for our first course.

Cured Sardines with Zucchini Pickles, Tiny Salad, Butter Bean Purée and Toasted Baguette

Firefly's menu is wonderfully inventive and changes frequently according to what's in season. Chef de cuisine Lucian Prellwitz succeeds in elevating comforting and familiar dishes with vibrant flavors and gourmet finesse.

Fried Asparagus and Spring Onions with Nasturtiums and Sorrel Pesto

The crostini of Cured Sardines Butter Bean Purée was fresh and well-composed, and our colorful fritto misto of Fried Asparagus and Spring Onions with Naturtiums was light and crispy, with the sweet flavor of the veggies shining through.

Braised Lamb Paprikash with Spaetzle, Turnips and Their Greens and Crème Fraîche

Our favorite dish of the evening was the Braised Lamb Paprikash with Spaetzle, which featured the most luxurious, swoon-worthy sauce ever. Buttery, rich, and savory, my mouth is watering even thinking about it. So good, we requested another basket of bread just to sop it all up. A traditional Hungarian stew made with paprika-seasoned lamb, the dish was hearty and flavorful. The lamb was braised until the meat was juicy, tender, and without any gaminess, and the spaetzle did its job of soaking up all that amazing sauce.

La Caudrina Moscato d’Asti, Romano Dogliotti

Unfortunately, we were too stuffed with spaetzle sauce to have room for any of pastry chef Debbie Hughes's lovely desserts. However, we were able to find some room in the nooks and crannies to end on a sweet note with some dessert wine.

We lingered over our glasses of La Caudrina Moscato d’Asti (a new favorite now, floral but too sweet), reluctant to break the spell that Firefly had cast upon us. I'm already looking forward to our next visit to this glowing gem of a restaurant.

On my list to try next time are the signature Shrimp and Sea Scallop Potstickers with Sesame Soy Dipping Sauce (on the menu since Day 1), and the Rustic Wild Mushroom and Chard Lasagna with Tomato and Béchamel Sauces, Smoked Gouda and Herb Salad, which had me ogling our neighbor's table with envy. Oh, and a mental note to save some room for dessert, which sounded really seasonal and spectacular. I'm starting to see why the regulars keep coming back again and again…

Firefly Restaurant

*****
Read more about Firefly on KQED's Check, Please! Bay Area; see Chef/Owner Brad Levy's recipe for Sweet Potato Pancakes; or check out more photos.

Firefly Restaurant
4288 24th Street
(between Diamond St & Douglass St)
San Francisco, CA 94114
415-821-7652
Prix Fix Menu Sun-Thurs ($36): Any Appetizer, Entrée, and Dessert

Taking a break after the steamed bun lunch rush

As you may have read last week, I recently returned from China where I spent five days in Shanghai and a hot minute in Hong Kong (two days). While there, we visited the World Expo, did a lot of sightseeing, a bit of shopping, and lots of eating. In particular, lots of dumplings. Last week, I wrote a post about eating out in Shanghai and Hong Kong, but I omitted a major discussion of our dumpling forays because they really deserve their own post. So here we are.

Now the first thing to know about Shanghai is that they're famous for their xiao long bao, or soup dumplings. These dumplings are traditionally steamed in small bamboo baskets, ("xiaolong" translates literally to "small steaming basket"), and are comprised of a super thin almost translucent skin, rich broth, and savory fillings.

From the fanciest of restaurants, the most common of market stalls, and even on the go in little cups, Chinese dumplings are where it's at.

Buns vs. Dumplings
When we first arrived in Shanghai, we realized that in the States, we'd just been lumping virtually everything that looked like a dumpling into that category and calling it a day. In reality, there's a distinct difference between buns and dumplings. Steamed buns that are made with raised flour are referred to as baozi and are typically white, fluffy and "breadier" as my sisters would say. Steamed buns that are made with unraised flour such as the xiao long bao have a smoother almost translucent skin and are more commonly seen in the South. Then to confuse things even more, you have the jiaozi: what most Americans consider a pot sticker but the Chinese consider a true dumpling. Jiaozi consist of a savory filling as well but are wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough and crimped and sealed along the edges. So by trial and error and a few ordering missteps, we learned the differences quickly and began trying everything from dessert buns, jiaozi, and many kinds of xioa long bao.

Where to Get Your Hands on One (or Ten)
This list is my no means exhaustive nor do I think it's at all a "Best Of" list. I just didn’t try enough dumplings to write with that kind of authority (all the more reason to return). But it is a brief tour of what I found to be the best of what I tried. So without further ado, here are the highlights of a few days in China, dumpling style.

The Four Seasons
It's a little ritzy and probably not the most authentic bun you'll ever have, but we found The Four Seasons made extremely reliable steamed buns filled with a variety of filings including a flavorful pork and onion and a spinach and mushroom. The exterior of the buns was light and fluffy--dangerously so as we found ourselves downing more than our fair share and needing a nap before our next sightseeing stop. For us, the location was convenient (and they also do a mean congee that I'll try and replicate at home), and unlike many more causal spots, they offer a wide variety of pickled vegetables, eggs, and vinegars to accompany the buns. So while this isn't a spot where locals congregate and while they're much pricier than street-side buns, it's worth a stop if you're in the mood to treat yourself to a nice, air-conditioned dim sum lunch.

The Four Seasons: 500 Weihai Road, Shanghai China 200041; 86 (21) 6256-8888

Din Tai Fung
The mention of Din Tai Fung elicits a response from tourists and locals alike. It's either an extremely positive one or a heartfelt negative one--rarely did I find an in between. That's because their xiao long bao are the best I've ever had. So what's the problem? A few things: they're located in a rather sterile shopping mall, they're a chain with locations all around Asia and even Southern California, and they actually originated in Taiwan. So for folks coming to China and wanting to try authentic xiao long bao, some look down upon Din Tai Fung because it didn't even start in Shanghai. I have to say, I think this is one of those small facts you should overlook when doing a dumpling tour of the city. You must try these. They are damn fine soup dumplings--extremely addictive with utterly translucent skin, rich broth, and an impressive variety of fillings to choose from. They drape perfectly onto your soup spoon and the attentive wait staff will even show newcomers the best way to eat them (I just pop the whole thing right in my mouth but apparently some people like to suck the soup part out first). If I lived in Shanghai, I'd be a regular. For sure.

Din Tai Fung: South Block Xintiandi|Unit 11, House 6, Ln. 123 Xingye Lu (Huangpi Lu) Shanghai, China

Heichinrou
We were in Hong Kong less than two days, so we spent most of the time racing to get in some major sightseeing. But I did insist on dumplings, so our family friend who lives right outside of Hong Kong took us to get dim sum at his favorite spot. He chose Heichinrou which is located in a large shopping center right along Causeway Bay. Their menu rotates seasonally and features numerous mostly Cantonese dishes. The place was filled with locals, the staff were jamming out baskets and baskets of steamed buns and jiaozi, bowls of steaming noodles, plates of sliced barbecued pork, and beautiful Chinese vegetables. We tried shrimp jiaozi and mixed mushroom jiaozi along with steamed pork buns (much like pulled pork in a delightfully fluffy dumpling--kind of the perfect food if you ask me). Looking around, many tables were getting stacks of the bamboo baskets, relying strictly on dumplings for their lunchtime meal. And I can see why. They were heavenly.

Heichinrou: Shop 1003, 10th Floor, Times Square; 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong; 852 - 2506 2333

A Few Other Spots:
There are only so many dumplings a girl can eat, and there were many more I wanted to try. My one regret was not having enough time to eat more street food while in China. Let's just say I wasn't traveling with the most adventurous group and we were pretty darn short on time, so I'm already compiling a list for my next trip. Here are a few casual spots I'd heard about that came highly recommended and that have made my list for the next go-around. If you find yourself in Shanghai anytime soon, I know they're worth a try. Who knows? I may be right there with you in line:

• Jia Jia Tang Bao
  They are supposedly cheaper than Din Tai Fung although the lines can often be so great that they run out before 1 p.m. A locals favorite--I wish I could've carved out the time to sneak over.
  90 Huanghe Lu, near Fengyang Lu in Shanghai; 021-63276878
• Shanghai Ren Jia
  Locals also love this spot, and they have the unique and not nearly as common, Tang Bao, a larger soup dumplings with a thicker skin. Many people think of the skin as more of a vehicle to hold the soup rather than an integral part of the dumpling itself. Most spots serving tang bao give diners a straw with which to suck the soup through.
  1600 Nanjing Lu near Changde Lu (Jing'an Temple Area)
• Yang’s Fried Dumplings:
  Yang's doesn't have xiao long bao or the more novel tang bao, but everyone seems to know about Yang's. Sixteen years in business, long lines, and dumplings right out of the pan topped with sesame seeds and scallions has earned them bragging rights.
  54 Wujiang Lu and 60 Wujiang Lu