My passion is exploring the connection between food and culture. I write regularly for Oakland and Alameda Magazines and Berkeleyside's NOSH. My blog, East Bay Ethnic Eats, gives me an excuse to track down the only Bay Area baker making fresh filo dough or learn to stuff a dried eggplant with help from a Turkish immigrant. Culture is the thread that ties together my several careers. As a sign language interpreter, educator and author, my study of Deaf culture has taken me around the world, where I fell madly in love with seed-strewn Danish bread, attacked platters of French shellfish with a small arsenal of tools and sampled a Japanese breakfast so fresh it wiggled. I'm also an epicurean concierge for Edible Excursions Japan town tours (that I lead in either English or ASL). And when I conduct in-depth cultural trainings for foreign workers being transferred to the Bay Area, I am sure to discuss the delights of doggie bags and the mystery of American restaurants serving ice water in the dead of winter. I can be found tweeting @EBEthniceats
From slithery BBQ squid tentacles to icy mango slushies, 400 vendors and 30,000 visitors a night make the Annual Night Market in Richmond, B.C., Canada is the largest in North America. Enjoy a dizzying array of Asian street food snacks amid a typically-polite Canadian throng.
Coconut is the new pomegranate, prized not only for it’s flavor and versatility, but its health benefits as well. Coconut is also plays an important role in traditional Filipino cuisine. Second generation Filipina American, Aileen Suzara recently taught Cooking with Coconut class at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, featuring binakol, laing and palitaw.
Porridge Head! Sweetie-Pie. Adaptable Tomato. Every language uses descriptive food phrases as insults, endearments, warnings and advice. Here is a smorgasbord of food metaphors and idioms in 17 languages including French, ASL, Danish, Chinese, German, Spanish, Turkish, Hebrew, Italian and Arabic.
Lali Ghlonti is thrilled to introduce Georgian specialities to the 2012 SF Street Food Festival, sponsored by La Cocina. The native of Tbilisi will make kidney bean spread with corn bread, and chicken blintzes with “Georgian salsa.”
A traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony was presented for SF Chefs by Chef Marcus Samuelsson and Fetlework Tefferi of Oakland’s Cafe Colucci. The bean roasting demo was followed by a brunch of Ethiopian specialties.
Marcus Samuelsson, the award-winning chef and cookbook author who seems to be everywhere at once–including NPR’s Fresh Air, The Today Show and the New York Times’ Best Seller List–spent two days last week in the Bay Area, being fêted at Camino and Jardinière, and reading from his new memoir, “Yes, Chef,” at Book Passage and Google. Bay Area Bites caught up with Samuelsson at Jardinière for an interview…Fried Yardbird (chicken) recipe included!
Soul Food Junkies, a new film by Byron Hurt which will be featured on KQED’s Independent Lens series, had its West Coast premiere in Oakland. Soul Food is both a beloved part of African American culture and a leading cause behind the epidemic of diabetes, heart disease and other health issues. The film details the historical and social influences on soul food and efforts by many to change the eating habits of a whole generation.
Thy Tran’s classes in Asian cooking focus on techniques to empower her students. Besides imparting the secrets to making tasty dishes from a range of Asian cuisines, the knowledgeable chef and author includes history, culture and science.
Raising rabbits and goats not only provides appealing pets, but their poop turns a garden into a sustainable urban farm. A recent tour of 7 East Bay farms sponsored by the Institute of Urban Homesteading demonstrated how even tiny backyards can produce prodigious amounts of food with the help of chickens, quail, bees, rabbit and goats.
A shopping trip to Richmond’s Pacific East Mall Travel takes your palate on a trip to far-off lands with a huge array of Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean, and Thai restaurants and foodstuffs. Lose yourself exploring the aisles of 99 Ranch Market, where you can buy almost any ingredient needed for an Asian meal.
Kyoto is known for its refined cuisine. Besides dining out, I want to take a hands-on approach to sampling its delicacies.With the help of Kyoto Free Guides to translate, I take classes in pickle, soba and sweet making and finally a five course cooking class in a home kitchen.
Video interview (in ASL) with Melody and Russ Stein, of Mozzeria, San Francisco’s first deaf-owned restaurant, highlights not only their traditional and creative pizzas and innovative Italian fare, but the impact of this popular new eatery on their deaf and hearing diners.
Foods that trick the eye and please the palate appeal to caterers Simone Fung and Sebastian Mendieta of S+S Gastro Grub. Their inventive dishes, which often use the techniques of molecular gastronomy, sous vide cooking and spherification, surprise and delight diners at pop ups, underground dinners and fundraisers around the Bay. They also do a succulent roast pork on their mobile pig roaster.
While Middle Eastern restaurants abound, Zaki Kabob House in Albany is one of the few that serve specialties of Palestinian cuisine, like spheeha, maklouba and mensaf. Family-owned and run by Fayza and Kameem Ayyad and their children, Zaki offers tastes of another world, plus warm hospitality.
Bay Area Bites (BAB), KQED's public media food blog, feeds you visually compelling food-related stories, news, recipes and reviews from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Enter your email address to receive updates each time we publish new posts.
Avoid Extreme Diets – 5 Warm Weather Foods That Naturally Detox The Body
Some people use extreme diets like fasting and juice cleanses. But these aren’t necessary for most people and may be dangerous without medical supervision. Here are five foods that support the body while cleansing.
Can A Piece Of Hair Reveal How Much Coke Or Pepsi You Drink?
People are notorious for under-reporting what they consume — they lie, forget or just guess wrong. For researchers who want to know how much soda we’re drinking, a high-tech analysis technique could help.
ADHD In Childhood May Feed Obesity In Adults
People diagnosed with ADHD as children may be more apt to be obese in adulthood, scientists say. Differences in brain biology or the impulsiveness typical of ADHD may contribute to lasting, bad eating habits.
Avoid Extreme Diets – 5 Warm Weather Foods That Naturally Detox The Body
Some people use extreme diets like fasting and juice cleanses. But these aren’t necessary for most people and may be dangerous without medical supervision. Here are five foods that support the body while cleansing.
How to Make Kombucha: An Illustrated Mother/Daughter Tale
See how a dripping blob of bacteria and yeast makes fizzy, homemade kombucha and bonds a mother and daughter. Liberally illustrated with drawings of Kombucha Killers, Vessel Guide, Friendly Add-Ins, Dangers Signs and Brewing Steps.
Try A Do-It-Yourself Mother’s Day
Rather than waiting for someone to give you a treat, why not make one of your favorites for yourself? Something you can snack on all week when no one’s around. Or, better yet, something you don’t have to share. Food writer T. Susan Chang recommends slow-roasted pecans, salty-sweet matzo candy and more.
Hunan Home’s Restaurant, Radius, Guerilla Café: Check, Please! Bay Area reviews
Restaurants reviewed: Hunan Home’s Restaurant (San Francisco), Radius Restaurant and Café (San Francisco) and Guerilla Café (Berkeley).
Chris Hadfield: Space Chef In Chief
The Canadian astronaut didn’t just tweet and sing his heart out during his five months as commander of the International Space Station. He also took time out to show the world what it’s like to eat up there.
Bocanova, Willi’s Wine Bar, The Rotunda of Neiman Marcus: Check, Please! Bay Area reviews
Check, Please! Bay Area reviews these restaurants: Bocanova (Oakland), Willi’s Wine Bar (Santa Rosa), The Rotunda of Neiman Marcus (San Francisco).
Celebrate the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market 20th Birthday Bash with CUESA
In honor of its 20th anniversary, Bay Area Bites looks back on how the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market has become a San Francisco institution for chefs, home cooks, and curious eaters from around the world.
Exploratorium Elevates Museum Eating Experience
Chef Loretta Keller, the force behind the Exploratorium’s new culinary options, talks bee jet lag, living foods, and seawater cocktails with BAB’s Sarah Henry.
Grits, Fried Chicken and Gospel Brunch – Chef David Lawrence Discusses Life at “1300 on Fillmore”
Mary Ladd interviews Chef David Lawrence about his restaurant “1300 on Fillmore” which is known for fabulous grits, fried chicken and a lively Sunday Gospel brunch.
Burger Bonanza in the East Bay
Moxy Burger, The Bureau 510 and Grazzy Burgers are several of the latest arrivals to the East Bay burger scene.
Hunan Home’s Restaurant, Radius, Guerilla Café: Check, Please! Bay Area reviews
Restaurants reviewed: Hunan Home’s Restaurant (San Francisco), Radius Restaurant and Café (San Francisco) and Guerilla Café (Berkeley).
First Impression: Healdsburg SHED
What would a wine country locavore’s paradise look like? Stephanie Rosenbaum talks to Cindy Daniel, owner of Healdsburg’s new SHED, a 21st-century grange, store, and sustainable-living center.
Bocanova, Willi’s Wine Bar, The Rotunda of Neiman Marcus: Check, Please! Bay Area reviews
Check, Please! Bay Area reviews these restaurants: Bocanova (Oakland), Willi’s Wine Bar (Santa Rosa), The Rotunda of Neiman Marcus (San Francisco).
Cheese Books for the Curd Nerd
Every aspiring curd nerd yearns to embiggen their knowledge base about the dairy darlings they adore. Garrett McCord shares two books that help you gain a broader understanding of cheese and supply you with tasteful cheese-centric recipes.
Michael Pollan talks about his new book ‘Cooked’
As in his previous books, Michael Pollan argues in “Cooked” that relying on processed food disrupts our link to the natural world and weakens our interpersonal relationships. He joins KQED’s Forum in the studio.
KQED’s Forum: Mark Bittman on Part-Time Veganism
Mark Bittman talks about his new book, and how a full-time meat lover adapted to part-time veganism.
Are the benefits of genetically engineered foods worth the risks? Check out this half-hour special from QUEST Northern California that explores the pros and cons of genetically engineered crops and what the future holds for research and regulations.
Baby & Toddler On The Go: fresh, homemade foods for a busy life (VIDEO)
A precociously independent toddler packs a healthy homemade lunch and heads off to snack in Bernal Height’s Holly Park in San Francisco. This video is a promo for Kim Laidlaw’s new book: Baby & Toddler On The Go: fresh, homemade foods for a busy life.
Deaf Foodies Savor Gourmet Ghetto Tasting Tour in Sign Language
A dozen Deaf Foodies relish the tastes and history of Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto in a 3 hour tasting tour presented completely in American Sign Language (ASL) by food writer (and ASL interpreter) Anna Mindess through Edible Excursions.
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