The pair behind "A Public Affair" play at the table. Photo: Dudley Flores

Seated in the center of the industrial-chic dining space at Orson in San Francisco last week, Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein look like any other cute, urban couple catching up over a meal.

But--wait--the twosome are picking at unadorned lettuce, albeit artfully arranged on the plate. Under the table they sport ballet slippers. And, diners are about to discover, not as some quirky fashion statement. For a few nights this month, Elizabeth Falkner's restaurant, which has a rap for adventure in the kitchen, is bringing some extra buzz to the table.

Smith and Rein, the long and lithe co-creators of the popular local company RAWdance, are giving eaters something to chew over while they dine out. Their 10-minute A Public Affair, showtimes roughly at 7 and 8:30, makes fun, flirty use of objects on hand (greens get nibbled suggestively, napkins are tossed playfully over a partner's head, and chairs morph from obstacles to props).

This week, the couple will perform their new work, billed as "California cuisine with a side of violins and a dash of dance," on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Think a riff on traditional dinner theater with a surprise twist a la flash mobs.

This isn't the duos first foray into performing sans a stage: They've danced in an empty store at the Westfield Shopping Center during the holiday season, strutted their stuff in Union Square Park, and just last week took their modern moves to a UCSF LGBT mixer on the rooftop grass patio at the Mission Bay site. (Gotta love the bounce back a sprung surface like grass provides.)

Smith and Rein, partners in dance for more than a decade (and housemates too), are artists-in-residence at ODC Dance Commons, where they teach classes in the wildly popular Rhythm and Motion program (Full disclosure: This writer has been an R&M devotee for 20 years.)

And, like fellow teacher Amara Smith, the pair want to play with food in their creative work. "San Francisco has such a strong, pulsing food culture that we're all naturally pulled to it," says Smith. "I also think there's something about the sense of community around food, the act of bringing people together to share an experience, that's really appealing to tap into."

Rein and Smith, both vegetarians, cook, eat, and experiment in the kitchen together, which is the only room in their house they can dance in. They're also big fans of Top Chef, where Falkner has served as a judge. (This month she can be found among the competition on The Next Iron Chef on the Food Network.)

In flight: Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein of RAWdance. Photo: R. J. Muna

Despite the unconventional setting, the dancers choreography exhibits classic technique with a strong physicality, set to violin music composed by Sarn Oliver, one half of Tangled Duo, which performed live in the preview run of this work last Tuesday. Scheduling conflicts prevent the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra members from performing each evening.

The dance world can be insular and elitist, says Smith, which is why his company performs for the public in unexpected places. "We like to break down those boundaries by showing athletic, crafted work up close and personal without any distance from our audience," he says.

Dancing in a restaurant is not without unique challenges. "The performance is a constant negotiation between musicality, character, spacing and safety," says Smith of the self-contained piece performed in the heart of the dining room while staff ferry hot food to hungry customers. "We have to negotiate jackets hanging from chairs, purses on the floor, waiters passing by, and dropped spoons." He adds: "It's a tricky situation but a fun one."

This writer can report that no food went flying (except as choreographed) during last Wednesday night's two performances and diners seemed delighted by the cheeky interlude between courses.

The curious and couples looking for something special for date night should snag a table at Orson tonight or tomorrow.

And, heads up to those who want to catch the show without forking out major money in the dining room for, say, hangar steak: The bar or lounge serve as perfectly fine spots from which to watch.

Orson's Happy Hour menu, now available from 5 to 8, features duck fat French fries, curry cauliflower gratin, and mac & cheese, along with $5 cocktails. Watching patrons' reactions to the seemingly spontaneous display in the dining area: Priceless.

Details:
Orson Restaurant Bar + Lounge
508 4th Street
(between Bryant & Brannan Streets)
San Francisco
415-777-1508
October 18 and 19

Chloe Harris and Frankie Frankeny. Photo by Keeney and Law

Power couple Chloé Harris and Frankie Frankeny are well known in the LGBT and creative worlds. Texas gals by birth, Chloé is from Dallas and Frankie from Austin. Harris is the managing editor of StyleBistro.com and a writer whose work has appeared in publications including The Advocate, Advocate.com, InStyle Home, C Magazine, L-Word’s OurChart.com, Bond Alternative Wedding Magazine, 7x7 and California Home + Design. Since 2007, Chloé has been a member of the San Francisco Leadership Council for GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and is co-chair of the GLAAD 2010 Media Awards in SF.

Frankie Frankeny is a photographer and film director who has worked in the fields of fashion, lifestyle and food. She knows a lot of chefs and hospitality stars, and was once named among Entertainment Weekly’s Most Creative People in the US. Frankie has collaborated on more than 60 books including award-winners The Art of the Bar and Demolition Desserts. She is also owner of the marketing communications agency Piper/Keller. In 2008, she directed Everything Must Change, a music video in support of marriage equality. Frankie is also a founding member of dot429, a social network for LGBT professionals. Frankeny answered questions about their favorite spots via email.

Marriage two ways: Paris and San Francisco

DATE NIGHT
For date nights we love the perfect Caviar and champagne at the bar at Jardiniere. We were married there. We love the casual elegance of Barbacco (polpette we must have every time) and we way too often eat the Orson burger with duck fat french fries along side a nice glass of red.

WEEKEND BRUNCH
When we have time on the weekend day to have a long brunch we can usually be found at Slanted Door eating the glass noodle with crab dish and their perfect papaya salad. We lean very French bistro for brunch and like the croques at Cafe De La Presse, The Butler and The Chef Bistro and at Chez Papa we gravitate to the mussels and butter lettuce salads. All with sparkling and water.

WINE COUNTRY EATS
When we can get away, we love Yountville. You are in walking distance to an amazing array of special restaurants when you visit. There is Bouchon Bakery; Chloé loves the chocolate bouchons. Bistro Jeanty has the most remarkable tomato soup ever. You have Redd, Ad Hoc and Bardessono. In addition, my new love is Bottega. I just finished shooting Chef Chiarello's book on the place and can't seem to get enough! It is a really special place. You must have the burratta, gnocci, polenta and the amazing porchetta.

MOM AND POP JOINTS
We love Pazzia on 3rd (we love the pizza). Also, South Park Cafe for heirloom tomato salad in season pig salad. Marlowe for spiced prawns and steak tartar and I can be seen too regularly eating lunch and working at Mijita. I love it all there but am hooked on the nachos at the moment. This place is definitely my guiltiest local food pleasure. I eat way too much of it!

GROCERY SHOPPING
I do all the shopping, and love to grocery shop, so here is a short re-cap of my usual places in the Ferry Building:
For fresh produce, it’s the Saturday market. Then Cowgirl Creamery for cheeses. Miette because Chloé has a passion for their pistachio macarons. I like going to Far West Fungi for mushrooms, although I love to forage with my pal Matt. At Boulette's, I usually get a duck confit leg, some of their special salts, and if they have the fava bean cake, get it!

Frankeny & Harris have were first married in Paris in 2006 in a non-legal ceremony. Their full story is here: justmarried.us, and the two are working to make marriage equality a reality.

Frankeny says:

“Then we had our 2008 legal ceremony at Jardiniere, another reason we love it so much. And we couldn't have done either wedding without Traci Des Jardins who literally did most everything for us for both ceremonies. I hope to marry Chloe again when we can have a marriage that is not just recognized in nine states, but in every state and country around the world.”

"Kids, Cooking, and Health" panelists Laura Sampson, Diana Johnson, and Elaine Wu

"Oh, it smells so good up there!" said the concierge manning the front desk at San Francisco's InterContinental Hotel on Friday, glancing longingly up the stairs to where the 2nd annual BlogHer Food Conference was in full caffeinated swing. "I saw Nutella, and chocolate, and someone making some kind of melted-cheese thing..."

The 3rd floor did smell enticingly delicious, probably to the distraction of all of the other meetings happening in the adjacent rooms.

Surely emissaries from the nearby Oral Therapies conference were longing to sneak past their sugar-free snacks and mint-flavored flossers to browse the packed sponsors' tables crowding the ballroom foyer, stuffing their pockets with Scharffenberger contraband and downing cappuccinos steamed on a shiny silver Pasquini machine ("For Music, Puccini; For Art, Bernini; For Espresso, Pasquini"). Who could concentrate on cavities in the face of dozens of baguette slices smeared with Nutella and topped with raspberries?

Indeed, Nutella crostini were just one of the many tasty, chocolate-covered ways to get distracted on the way to panel discussions like "Professionalizing Your Photography," "Be Your Own Food Network," "Blogger Ethics," and "Kids, Cooking, and Health." For the sponsors--like Seattle's Best Coffee, Kraft, Nutella, Nature's Path Organic, and Athenos, to name just a few--it was a dream opportunity to get their products into the happily chatting mouths of a few hundred women (and a handful of men) who write about food for fun.

So, a nutritionist pushed Nutella as part of a healthy breakfast for kids, because, of course, the only way to get whole-grain toast into your kid is to goop it with sugary, cocoa-flavored palm-oil-and-hazelnut goo.

Over in the corner, the smiley team from Kraft touted the virtues of their soon-to-launch Cooking Creme, tubs of flavored, cream-cheese-based stuff that might, just might, puncture the hegemony of cream-of-mushroom soup in the cutthroat chicken-casserole arena.

And a brassy, pink-jacketed chef in an Underwriters' Laboratories apron handed out purple-and-magenta corn chips dolloped with guacamole, warning of the dangers lurking in kitchen appliances. "Immersion blenders!" she intoned. "People forget to unplug them when they put them in the sink. I got a call from one woman, she cut up her fingers and had to go to the hospital!"

But away from the salty, crunchy, creme-rinsed enticements of the demos-and-samples room, a whole lot of discussions were going on. Already, this year's BlogHer Food Conference, a targeted spin-off that grew out of the much larger annual BlogHer Conference, had swelled to 2 days of panels, interviews, parties, and food tours.

Last year, said BlogHer co-founder Elisa Camahort Page, attendees spent the one-day event in the hotel, talking about food & cooking but not getting out to see what San Francisco had to offer. This year, since half the attendees come from outside the state, Page and her staff decided to show off a little, adding a 2 hour excursion to the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market and the Ferry Building on Saturday and a seminar on Urban Farming with Novella Carpenter and Sunset Magazine's food editor Margo True.

Page hoped that the conference's four tracks of panels, tracked into Values, Visual, Vocation, or Voice would mean something for everyone, newbies and SEO-savvy pros alike. But of course, the real value lay in the face-to-face time between women in the community, creating a place for gluten-free girls (not to mention gluten-free moms & gluten-free teens) and kim-chee kitchens to come together. (In fact, if there was one takeaway trend from this year's conference, it would be the rapid mushrooming of gluten-free and celiac-themed blogs and products.)

"It's like summer camp here," said Tara Austen Weaver, as clusters of her cross-country blogging buddies came up for hugs. It was also a chance to grab tips and swap cards with stars of the food blogosphere like Ree Drummond, Jaden Hair, David Leite--people who'd made it beyond the what-I-made-for-dinner online world, who'd broken into the larger public consciousness by scoring those still-coveted old-media contracts for cookbooks or television appearances.

The Voice panels, with topics like "Storytelling" and "Writing Tips: The Basic Tools in Any Writer's Gear Bag" could have been taken from any writers' workshop, save for the power strips lined up on every table and the clickety tap-tapping of laptops and handhelds making a crickety background to the panelists' conversation.

Discussion swirled around the room: about what comes first, the writing or the photographs; finding tricks for fighting off writers' block, and again and again, how to discover and burnish your own unique, pick-it-out-without-a-byline personal voice. One woman worried that when she was writing at her most true and enthusiastic best, her grammar and spelling sometimes went by the wayside.

Longtime political writer turned hunting-and-fishing blogger Hank Shaw's advice? It's okay to use slang and non-traditional grammar, if you know the rules you're breaking, and only if it's true to how you really speak. Readers will know when you're faking it, and they won't hang around.

Once you've found your voice, then do what every freshman-creative-writing class teacher would tell you: condense your prose, use vivid verbs, write fast and loose on that first draft. Don't judge your writing to begin with, just dump it all out onto the page, even the terrible cliches. "Cliches work for a reason, they're mental mnemonics," said Shaw. "But then go through and change each one of those cliches to make it yours."

Read your work out loud, urged Cheryl Sternman Rule, because what's beautiful in your head can be "incredibly clunky" on the page. And, with more and more people reading blogs on hand-held devices, think twice before pounding out more than a monitor-screen's worth of prose.

"I spend more time writing my opening sentences than the whole rest of the piece," said S.J. Sebellin-Ross. "If they're good, everything else just flows." And then there's brevity, still the soul of wit. "Say what you want to say, and then stop."

Or, as Rebecca Crump quipped, "I like to hit it and quit it." Crump also likes to think about the personality of food, anthropomorphizing a peach cobbler, say, into a "naughty dessert that spanks you without using a switch."

Dominique Crenn

Over a Kraft-sponsored lunch in the Grand Ballroom (oil-glossed roasted vegetables, grilled halibut, multicolored ravioli, and buckets of white sauce made from the inescapable Cooking Creme), the French-born chef Dominique Crenn of the hotel's Luce Restaurant discussed her career path, and the challenges of being a woman in the still very much male-dominated world of French kitchens.

On leaving France for the States, she said, "I wanted to show the world what I had...maybe it took me longer, but I'm glad I went through the struggle I did. It's a hard profession, but you just have to push through. I'm all for women on top!"

Elizabeth Falkner

And what would a women's food-blogging conference be without something cute, something pink, something chocolate...something like a maroon velvet cupcake (made with beets & cocoa) swirled with rosewater-raspberry icing and topped with popcorn? At the end of the day, pastry superstar and Scharffenberger spokeswoman Elizabeth Faulkner (Citizen Cake, Orson) was on hand to guide conference-goers through an assemble-your-own-cupcake adventure, choosing from an assortment of Falkner-made cupcakes, fillings, icings, and toppings. Holding up her stout-laced Chocolate Pub Cake topped with chocolate ganache, salted peanuts, Meyer lemon rind, and ancho-chile-laced cocoa nibs, she told the audience, "It's like the best bar snack ever, in a cupcake!"

Can BarSnackCupcake, the blog, be far behind?

It's the weekend. You rolled out of bed craving something good. It's been a long week, you've been working hard, and you deserve some carbs that have been slathered in butter and griddled. And bacon. Definitely some bacon. The answer is, obviously, brunch.

Orson has been my go-to weekend indulgence ever since they started their brunch service months ago. This industrial-chic space is well known for its nighttime vibe, but in the light of day, the modern, artsy décor translates well. With one of the most well-composed brunch offerings I've seen in awhile, it won't be a neighborhood secret for long.

True to form, executive chef Elizabeth Falkner has put together a stellar menu that features comforting classics, amped up with gourmet ingredients, nuanced flavors, and out-of-the-box combinations.

Blueberry and Thyme Monte Cristo

Cue: Blueberry and Thyme Monte Cristo with House-made Breakfast Sausage. Love at first sight. This sandwich makes all other sandwiches pale in comparison. It will make you go weak in the knees and will haunt your dreams for days months after.

It's savory, it's sweet, it has melty cheese, and powdered sugar. What else could you ask for? Nothing. But Orson gives it to you anyway, like flowers, just because. The entire dish is like a big game of call-and-answer. The blueberry compote calls, and the French toast answers. The cave-aged Gruyere calls, and the Canadian bacon answers. A touch of thyme whispers aromatic notes to the house-made breakfast sausage, and staccato slices of pickled red onion keep it fresh amongst all that richness.

To my disbelief and heartbreak, I recently returned to Orson and discovered that the Monte Cristo had been taken off the brunch menu. Nooooooooo!! Just when we had found each other! The menu changes frequently depending on seasonality and the market, and I saw that a handful of other items had also been cycled out:

Fried Chicken Sandwich with Pickled Red Onion and Spicy Sesame Aioli, on a Parmesan Bun

Eggs in Brioche with Duck & Pistachio Sausage, Fava Bean Pesto, and a Shower of Pecorino

Orson Burger with House-made Steak Sauce, Cobb Relish and Truffle Mayonnaise, on a Parmesan Bun

Despondent and stricken with grief, I considered drowning myself in $10 bottomless mimosas and making friends with The Mary's.

The 7 Sisters

I was consoled by the sight of ol' faithful, the Pastrami Sandwich.

House-cured Pastrami Sandwich

Rightfully lauded as one of the best sandwiches in the city by the likes of San Francisco Magazine, SF Weekly, and the Wall Street Journal, just to name a few, Orson's House-cured Pastrami Sandwich with Cave-aged Gruyere and Russian dressing, on Sourdough Rye is all that it's cracked up to be. Katz's has nothin' on this bad boy (sorry NY, it's true).

The beef brisket is cured in-house with chili flakes and caraway, cold-smoked, then slowly steamed. The sourdough rye is baked in-house, and griddled to crispy, buttery decadence. And, needless to say, melted Gruyere and Russian dressing make any sandwich a winner in my book. Served with a side of Duck Fat French Fries (or salad), if you're going for the glory, be sure to ask for the Brown Butter Bernaise dipping sauce, the stuff is like crack.

This sandwich is no joke -- you can easily split it between two people. If you're going to risk finishing it by yourself, be responsible and plan not to do anything that requires heavy brain function or operation of motor vehicles directly afterwards. A food coma and belabored heart is pretty much guaranteed.

House-made Bacon with Cane Syrup

Speaking of heart trouble, the Extra Thick Cut House-made Bacon with Cane Syrup is one of the most obscene displays of porcine glory I've ever seen. It's more like bacon steak. It's ridiculous. Please share it. Half of one strip is usually enough to satisfy my bacon craving for the day.

French Toast with Peaches, Lavender, and Whipped Brown Sugar Butter

The good thing about a restaurant that changes up the menu regularly is that you get to enjoy the bounty of what's in season. The French Toast on the menu is a sure bet here, expect a big portion and seasonal flavors. This summery take featured juicy white peaches, lavender, and whipped brown sugar butter on top of thick slices of homemade milk bread that had been soaked in egg batter overnight. Solid.

Eggs Benedict

Not so solid were the Eggs Benedict. Our server warned us that the Eggs Benedict were like none we had ever encountered. She actually used the word, “gnarly,” which I should have taken as a warning. She said it was rich (the hollandaise is made with bacon fat), but I thought, well yeah, any eggs benedict is rich…I was up for the challenge and went for it.

The order came out, and our waitress was right. Like nothing I have ever seen. The sous vide poached eggs and boudin blanc were floating in a swamp of creamed corn and scallion hollandaise sauce. Pieces of basil biscuits were buried beneath. Rich was an understatement. This monster was rich on rich. The boudin blanc and the biscuits had good flavor, but they were drowned in cream. Maybe Eggs Benedict in a Bowl and I just weren't meant to be. Not like Monte Cristo.

All in all though, I think Orson has one of the best brunches in town, with staple dishes that you can't go wrong with. It's also a large space, which means you can sleep in and not face repercussions of an hour-long wait for a table.

Citizen Cake's French Macarons: Basil, Salted Caramel, Tangerine, Raspberry Rose

Added bonus, there's a Citizen Cake bake sale every Saturday and Sunday at the bar counter. They usually have an assortment of cookies, cupcakes, and brilliantly hued macarons.

Elizabeth Falkner

Interesting News: It looks like Chef Falkner will be teaching cooking classes in August at $65 a pop. Maybe she'll teach me how to make the Monte Cristo?

Orson
508 4th Street
(between Bryant St & Brannan St)
San Francisco, CA 94107
415-777-1508

The Commonwealth Club: The State of Pastry in SF INFORUM panel. Photo by Shing Wong.

It may be hard to believe, but there was a time—call it the 1990s—when people, even suave city folk like yourself, did not want salt in their caramels or bacon in their chocolate.

Indeed, what did the fancy folk want? Having spent most of that decade as a restaurant critic, I can tell you: they wanted crème brûlée. Ginger crème brûlée. Lavender crème brûlée, introduced at Absinthe by then-pastry chef Clare Legas.

Then molten chocolate cake slipped in. First simply warm and a little gooey inside, it morphed slowly into a volcano of bubbling chocolate lava held back by only the thinnests of crusts. Near the end of the decade, the endless forward march of glassy-topped custards was briefly interrupted by a wiggle of panna cottas. (Surely, at Delfina, some bill is paid purely by sales of their buttermilk panna cotta, a dessert that's never been off the menu in ten years.) There were flirtations with Asian flavors, a little green tea there, a spark of yuzu here.

Now, of course, you can't swing a puggle in this town without landing it face-first in someone's salted-caramel-bacon-gingerbread cupcake. Salt and bacon seem here to stay, as does anything cute and bite-sized. Olive oil ice cream (or olive oil over ice cream), curry sabayons, a creeping hint of soy and balsamic vinegar: savory has colonized our sweet, and that's the way we like it.

That was the takeaway from last Tuesday's INFORUM panel at the Commonwealth Club, where four of the city's most innovative pastry chefs gathered to discuss The State of Pastry in SF. On the panel were Luis Villavelasquez (Absinthe), William Werner (Quince), Elizabeth Falkner (Orson, Citizen Cake), and Bill Corbett, recently of Michael Mina. The questions tossed out by moderator Jessica Battalina, associate food editor of 7x7, were marshmallow-soft, but some interesting tidbits did arise.

On NYC vs. SF Pastry Styles:
Corbett: I spent 5 years cooking in New York before I came to California. New York chefs can't rely on getting really excellent produce all the time, so it forces their creativity.

(True: Would Momofuku's Christina Tosi be so obsessed with cereal milk if she had Betty Van Dyke's apricots in her backyard?)

Falkner: Here, we don't have time to screw around with stuff that's only going to be here for a couple of weeks, like elephant-heart plums or Indian red peaches.

On Wooing Diners to Weirdness:
Corbett: It helps to put it into a recognizable form. If I want to use beets, for example, I might use them in a red velvet cake, because everyone knows what that is.
Villavelasquez: In Japan, they use a lot of Okinawa blue potatoes, which are not well know here. But we do have sweet potato pie, so you could use them in something like that.

Of course, as artists as well as artisans, these chefs would love to play to an audience eager and willing for innovation. But then again, restaurants are businesses, and change comes at a price. Unfamiliar flavors tend to sneak via the fine print. At Quince, Werner gives his pear tart a bump with a side of rosemary ice cream. At Absinthe, the earthy sweetness of a carrot reduction plays off the mellow spice of a pumpkin custard, while at Orson, creole cream cheese and Tabasco gives a kick in the shins to sticky toffee pudding. Sometimes, though, two great tastes don't go great together. . .

Epic Fails?
Corbett: When I started at Michael Mina, I had lofty intentions—I was going to be the one to show customers how to break out. I did this chocolate plate that had a basil s'more, a tahini chocolate mousse. . . all that was fine until I put in this perfect cube of devil's food cake with black olives. Now, I love chocolate and olives, I think they go really well together. But I realized that when people saw what they thought was a piece of devil's food cake, they expected one thing. So, you can't make an unfamiliar thing look too familiar.
Werner: Anchovy croissants. It was a humbling experience.
Falkner: Trying to transport an elaborate wedding cake on a hot summer day in the backseat of an old Pinto with no A/C. I got to the Sherman House with the cake melted all over me, and they just looked at me, like, 'What kind of punk-ass are you'?

Current Obsessions?
Falkner: Hydrocolloids! That's what I say to everyone these days. I feel like that guy in The Graduate, telling Dustin Hoffman to get into plastics.
Werner: Persimmons, because I don't really like them. I'm forcing myself to use them and see what I can do.
Corbett: Squash. It's a very autumnal ingredient. You can put it in cake, foams, all kinds of things.
Villavelasquez: Coconut, bourbon, persimmons. I ask my chefs to think about how the season tastes. I'm also very into garam masala right now.

Classic and Perfect, or Provocative but Flawed?
Given the chance to enjoy a perfectly made, perfectly simple pear tart, or to taste a more experimental dish that didn't quite work, which would they pick?
Falkner: Pastry chefs don't eat dessert! Steak or a pizza, that's you want at the end of the day.

What about you, Werner? Do you order dessert?

Werner: Not unless the pastry chef sees me.

Only Villavelasquez admitted to dessert splurges, saving up to eat nothing but desserts—sometimes 4 or 5 in a sitting—at restaurants that intrigue him here or abroad. But all agreed that as creative artists interested in pushing, pulling and poking at the concept of the sweet course, they'd go for the flawed experiment every time.

Corbett: In a classic dessert, there's no tricks, nothing to hide. But for me right now the most exciting desserts are the ones that the most innovative and new.

Inspirations?
Falkner: Song titles or lyrics. We've got a dessert now called "Mesh and Lace." Sometimes the title comes first, like "Burning Down the House": you think, what would that be? Sometimes it's based on a gesture, something sculptural or conceptual, or wanting to create a texture that doesn't exist yet.
Villavelasquez: Asian and Japanese flavors and ingredients. There are a lot of innovative textures, ingredients, and spices that are unfamiliar here. Also, just putting 3 flavors out there and making them work.

So, What's the Next Bacon?
Corbett: Porcini syrup.
Falkner: Deeper salts. Olives.
Werner: Soy and miso.
Villavelasquez: I had a jasmine cupcake somewhere, and that led to a scone we're doing at Arlequin, with quince, jasmine, and earl grey tea. I'm thinking like a bartender these days, thinking about using floral syrups and waters like jasmine, violet, orange blossom. Lavender's used up. But in the end, it comes down to butter all the way.

Slideshow of State of Pastry in SF event: Photos by Shing Wong

Next week is the third annual San Francisco Wine. Dine. Donate dinner. It's a fundraiser for America's Second Harvest and our own San Francisco Food Bank in particular. Each year the venue changes, but it always includes a fantastic multi-course meal, a chance to meet Tanya Steel, editor in chief of Epicurious and to learn a bit about the programs of the food bank. Last year there was even a snazzy gift bag.


This year's dinner is being held at Acme Chophouse and it reunites friends and chef colleagues--Traci des Jardins and Elizabeth Falkner. Here is a sneak peek at the "From Farm to Table" menu:

Passed Hors d'oeuvres:
Tomales Bay Oysters
Craig's Charcutiere
Steak Tartare

First Course:
Cured anchovies boquerones style, squid-charred and marinated with local shelling beans and a sardine a la escabeche. Family style with Grilled Breads and marinated seasonal vegetables.

Second Course:
Spit Roasted Porchetta, Devil's Gulch Pork, Slow Cooked Kale with Lemon, Romano and Wax Beans with Tomato

Cheese:
Andanate Dairy Cheese with Breads

Dessert:
Elizabeth's Dessert olive oil crema, summer fruits (pieces of peach, and or plum) berries, pine nut streusel, and avocado ice cream with a grating of spicy chocolate

What: Wine. Dine. Donate Dinner

Where: ACME Chophouse, 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco

When: Wednesday, July 30th 2008 Reception 6:15 p.m. Dinner 7:15 p.m.

How: Tickets are $125 and include a donation to America's Second Harvest The Nation's Food Bank Network. Purchase tickets.

Why: Support a cause that serves many in our own community, experience a collaboration between two great chefs and enjoy one great local meal.

More than anything, the dinner is a chance to focus on those at risk of going hungry in our community. Undoubtedly you have seen the headlines in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle about soaring food costs and food banks "feeling the pinch." The numbers tell a sad story, in 2007 the San Francisco Food Bank served 118,000 people and today they are serving 124,000.

Here's a great recipe from Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts cookbook, that uses luscious ripe cherries. Spoon them over ice cream, cake or cheesecake.

Wine-Soaked Cherries
Makes about 1 cup

1/2 cup Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar (about 1 1/4 ounces)
1 cup halved and pitted Bing cherries (about 4 ounces)
Small pinch of freshly ground black pepper

In a saucepan, combine the wine and sugar and place over medium-high heat. Heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, for about 2 minutes or until the mixture comes to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by half, forming a syrup. Pour the syrup into a heatproof bowl and let cool for 2 minutes.

Stir the cherries and pepper into the syrup and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Serve the cherries right away, or cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 months.

Recipe reprinted from Elizabeth Falkner’s Demolition Desserts, Copyright 2007 Tenspeed Press

This Fall saw three dessert books by local chefs, Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts, Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich and Indulge by Claire Clark. Each of these books are masterful and exacting. When it comes to pastry, exacting is important. I'm often intimidated by the fact that you can't "fix" dessert the way you can fix something savory. You can't add more leavening or salt or sugar or cook the fruit a bit longer once your creation comes out of the oven. What you can do, is rely on recipes that work.

Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts is the first book by Elizabeth Falkner. Go ahead and skip Fisherman's Wharf, but I consider Citizen Cake a requirement for any out-of-town visitor. Falkner's creations are sophisticated and smart, never sickly sweet. She composes plated desserts the way other chefs compose main courses with multiple elements that complement and play off of each other in both unexpected and whimsical ways. The book has both complicated desserts but also more straight forward ones like chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes and brownies. It's the chapters like The Chocolate Crawl, Fruitscapes and the Construction Zone that are most likely to inspire. Fantastic creations with even more fantastic names are par for the course. The manga style illustrations add the sense of fun and pleasure that comes so naturally with dessert.

Another first time cookbook author is Clarie Clark, the head pastry chef at The French Laundry. Indulge 100 Perfect Desserts is filled with French, English and American desserts, and ingredients are given by weight. The recipes are very well-written and chapters called "The Secrets of Success" share the insider tips that can only come from years in the kitchen. A section on puff pastry has 8 tips to make sure you get it right. A bit like a class in pastry-making, this is a terrific reference book and the photographs will guide your plating and presentation as much as the instructions.

Pure Dessert is written by veteran chocolatier and cookbook author, Alice Medrich. The focus of the book is on "true flavors and inspiring ingredients" and it is a celebration of simplicity. That's not to say the recipes are easy, but certainly easy to love. In an earlier book Medrich revisited chocolate desserts using the higher quality, higher percentage cacao and this book is in some ways very similar. It's about creating desserts that celebrate ingredients. A chapter dedicated to the flavors of grain, nuts and seeds includes recipes like Buckwheat Strawberry Shortcakes, Walnut Sponge Cake and Corn Tuiles with Salt and Pepper. Some of the recipes are classics, others are innovative.

Chocolate² Chip Espresso Cookies
makes about 4 dozen standard cookies or 8 dozen mini cookies

11/2 cups (71/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (21/4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably natural
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons finely ground espresso-roast coffee beans
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (71/4 ounces) firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 (11/2 ounces by weight) large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
11/3 cups (8 ounces) semisweet, milk, or white chocolate chips, or a combination

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and ground coffee. In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, cream together the butter and brown and granulated sugars until smooth but not overmixed. (I do this by hand, but if you use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer, beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes, and then scrape down the sides of the bowl before continuing.) Add the egg, vanilla, and salt and stir just until combined. Add the sifted ingredients to the butter mixture in two additions, stirring gently after each addition just until combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir just until evenly distributed throughout the dough. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Position the racks in the upper third and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop up 1-inch balls of dough for full-sized cookies or 1/2-inch balls for mini cookies with a spoon or mini scoop. Set the large scoops 2 inches apart or the small scoops 1 inch apart on the prepared pans.

Bake the mini cookies for about 5 minutes and the full-sized cookies for about 8 minutes, and then rotate the pans and bake both sizes for another 3 minutes, or until they are puffed and still look a little wet in the center. Transfer to racks and let cool. (Okay, you can sneak a couple of warm cookies, but let most of the batch cool.)
These cookies will keep for 2 to 3 days in an airtight container, but they will be at their most tender the day you bake them.

Reprinted from Elizabeth Falkner’s Demolition Desserts, Copyright 2007 Tenspeed Press