GREAT FINDS: FAVE DOUGHNUTS, BURGERS, AND ICE CREAM IN THE BAY AREA

No surprise that all this good food's in San Francisco's Mission. None of these three places are brand-new, but if you haven't tried them you owe yourself a visit; each has great food and focuses on sourcing ingredients locally and from organic providers.  Any faves you wanna share?

Best Doughnuts:  It's weird the Bay Area doesn't have that many great doughnuts (though the vegan doughnuts at Awaken Cafe in Oakland are yum-my). We've only tried a quarter of the varieties Dynamo Donuts carries, but they've all been amazing: spiced chocolate with cinnamon and chipotle, pistachio and lemon, coconut and coconut milk (needless to say only the person who doesn't think coconut tastes like nail clippings really savored that one), and maple-glazed bacon apple (obviously only The Omnivore devoured that one.) They're on 24th Street between York and Hampshire (why, even before PDAs, Google, and Yelp, have Bay Area papers never listed cross streets in reviews???!!!) and their storefront window is always hopping and the staff is really friendly.

Best Burger:  Urbun Burger (NOT Urban Burger) is now my fave non-restaurant burger--heads above local mini-chains Bistro Burger, Barney's, and Burger Joint--and while the food at Mission Burger may be good, the the distracted, blank stares from the greasy-haired hipster cooks kinda spoils the experience--and besides it's only to-go.  The beef and turkey burgers here are great, as are the whole-wheat buns, and the sweet-potato fries and onion rings.  The burgers are customizable, they have veggie burgers, and the staff is really helpful.  They're on Valencia near 17th Street.

Best Ice Cream: Okay, by now everybody, even friends and strangers in fa-flung places like Eugene, New York, and France know about Bi-Rite Creamery and their great flavors, combinations, cones, ice-cream sandwiches and other treats.  And you may even be hip to their recent expansion and additional seating.  But did you know that any day now, their store-front window dispensing soft-serve (or custard ) will open ???!!! Yes.  Everything Sam and his family does is wonderful from the grocery to his gallery, so I have no doubts about this new addition, at 18th Street near Dolores.  They have great sorbets and soy ice cream options, so I'm hoping against hope they've figured out a custard (as we used to call it in New York) for the lactose-intolerant...

SPILLING THE BEANS + A QUICK MAGAZINE RANT

Carbs of Color: My dear friend Dena's mention in her great food blog about a recent post of mine made me realize that, in typical fashion, when I talked about our "non-white food diet" (i.e. whole foods and grains as much as possible, processed foods and 'white' carbs as little as possible), I alluded to the increasingly well-known health benefits, but neglected to mention the equally important personal reason was, as time went by, whenever I ate processed carbs, I would fall into a "carb coma," feeling tired and sluggish after meals. Now, even with whole grains and less processed carbs, I try to limit grains and starches at breakfast and lunch, since feeling a little sleepy after dinner is actually a good thing :-P And yes, that does mean no white potatoes, too.


Ecumenical Beans: To follow up that explanation and requests, here's another legume meal that we love: Black Bean Soup over brown rice (often called Moors and Christians in Latin America) and Braised Broccoli Rabe. The little egghead-y touch we love is the Chinese fermented black beans or sauce I add--I kinda love the idea of black beans and black beans--and it adds a nice salty/smokiness.


Soaking the dried beans overnight results in an approximately 45 minute cooking time the next day: I brown sliced turkey bacon in hot olive oil in a hot pot; saute large-diced onions, carrots, and celery until soft; stir in diced green pepper, sliced cremini mushrooms, minced garlic, and ginger, fermented black beans or sauce, sage, and bay leaves; stir in some diced tomatoes or tomato paste and red wine; add the drained black beans and stock to cover; bring to a boil and lower to a simmer until the beans are tender; adjust the salt and pepper added at each stage. Serve with parsley and lemon wedges over brown rice.


Slice off any tough parts of broccoli rabe stems. Heat olive oil in a hot pan; add sliced garlic, ginger, and hot pepper flakes; add broccoli rabe (no need to dry from rinsing) and salt and pepper and cook until tender; squeeze some lemon and serve.


The Ultimate Food City???: Dena's post also reminded me about March's Saveur, a magazine I usually love because of the great way the focus on the food of a place and culture in each issue. But this cover story focused on L.A. as the "ultimate food city," and waxed poetic about their pizza, farmers' markets, Asian cuisines, and local food. Um, at the risk of offending you Angelenos, NOT. I admit I have a strange love-hate relationship with Lala-land, but compared to San Francisco, New York, smaller places like Portland (OR and ME) and many, many other places, there is good, innovative food, but definitely not the best and not even a place incubating new trends or tastes (unless you count 80's Wolfgang Puck pizzas as a good thing)--and how can anything be local when you have to drive thirty miles of seven-lane highways just to get to dinner?

THREE GREAT WEST SONOMA FINDS: RECENT GETAWAY PART I

We recently had a great getaway in West Sonoma County, and on our first day's transition to a slower pace, we made a couple of stops along the way:


A winery, a general store, day spa, and Wild Flour Bread make up the entire town of Freestone, but it's worth a detour just for the bakery: all of the baked goods that come out of their wood-fired, brick oven are incredible--we stocked up on savory breads and sweet rolls that we enjoyed our whole trip--and the staff is so warm, they have a beautiful organic garden to tour, and the place is a treat for all your senses.


The old railroad town of Occidental isn't much larger, but it is at one end of my favorite country drive in California--Coleman Valley Road--and home to two, competing, old-fashioned, family-run, Italian-American, red-sauce eateries of the kind that have disappeared from San Francisco's North Beach. They're both good, fun, and historic, but my vote goes to Negri's: it's not fancy or specifically organic, but it's incredibly good, generous, and everything's served with open arms and smiles, original 50's decor and music--and it's the kind of honest, homemade food I remember feasting on as a kid on visits to New York's Little Italy. Full dinners are served family-style with (a tureen of) minestrone, salads, antipasti, salami, ravioli, and zucchini fritters, all included and brought to the table to share. And it's reasonable and they work hard to accommodate any dietary needs.


Patrick Amiot is a Sebastopol artist who works with found objects, and his larger pieces can be seen all over town and West Sonoma. A great treat is to stop at Screamin' Mimi's for some all-natural ice cream cones and walk down four-block long Florence Avenue, where Patrick lives and works, and where he creates smaller-scaled sculptures for his neighbors' front lawns. Neighbors bring him parts, and many of the sculptures reflect his neighbors' vocations or avocations.

At the south end of the street are the Florence Lofts, a well-designed, small live-work development that nicely separates and integrates retail, offices, and homes; public and private space, parking and walkability, and storm and graywater remediation. The aesthetics aren't mine, but the design and scale are great, with a larger building with retail facing busier Bodega Avenue, and the office/residential along Florence, with good land-, hard-, and waterscape details throughout.

QUICK POSTS: YOGA TOES + THE PLOT THICKENS + 18 PANCHAN!

YOGA TOES: I'm feeling very grateful for yoga this week. We take a regular restorative hatha yoga class, and I am constantly amazed at how such a gentle practice challenges, strengthens, centers, and opens me. It's a great class: people are serious and committed but low-key, and there's no jockeying for a spot and no 'yoga' clothing. One man brings lemons from his tree, and I've brought lemon bars and lemon shortbread made from them to share, and people came to see my "Catching The Sun" show, but the class is too small to be cliquish. And I love our teacher Erin, who really thinks about and explains the poses, how we progress through them, why we are doing them, how they should feel, and how we can ease or extend them. And I really appreciate taking the class with David: as something to share, and also for the place I am for the yoga.

But my feet get cold in class (this is NOT bikram!) and I've seen some special yoga socks--anyone have recommendations???


THE PLOT THICKENS: Week Two at the community garden plot. I know you can barely see the little lettuce and greens sprouts, but I get a certain frisson...from germinating frisée. And one of the fun things about lettuces is how fast they sprout. I'm glad these older seeds are still viable, and I'm very happy with my cage and screen: when I've stopped by the birds have been voraciously partaking of the garden buffet in other plots, and my seeds have been undisturbed by them or our heavy rains (but nicely damp).


18 PANCHAN: I love, love, love Korean food, and one of the ways I judge Korean restaurants is by the quality and generosity of panchan, the little tastes that come with and are incorporated into every meal. Our favorite place in the Bay Area is Ohgane in Oakland, and I just had to share this quick pic of...18 panchan! That's the most I've ever been served anywhere, including there, and every single one--including the scary little fishies--was the tastiest, freshest morsel of goodness!

...LOSING THE FEELING IN OUR EXTREMITIES...

No, not a post about cross-country skiing, but our recent adventures with absinthe. You know, that anise-flavored, wormwood-derived drink that supposedly made madmen of Wilde, Rimbaud, Verlaine, et al (wait--does its moniker as the "the green fairy" have a different meaning? :-P ).

After my recent photography opening, we went with Donna and Dan to Flora, a hip spot with a great room, food, drinks, and staff in a restored Deco building in Uptown Oakland.  As we toasted at the bar, I noticed this beautiful, Art Nouveau absinthe "fountain," and long story short, with just one drink shared amongst us four we ended up with numb arms and legs.  Did you know that absinthe can be up to 74% alcohol?  I swear even smelling the drink made me intoxicated...

But it was tasty and fun, with a special presentation and equipment, including ice water, a fountain, sugar, and a filigreed sugar spoon, as you can see in this quick vid I shot at Flora:

P.S.  Do you know what makes absinthe a spirit and not a liqueur?

A QFP (QUICK FOTO POST): RIP SF's CARNELIAN ROOM

I was very sad to find out yesterday that the Carnelian Room, the restaurant and bar on the 52nd floor of San Francisco's Bank of America Building, had finally closed on January 1st of this year.

I remember going there as a little kid with my parents on my very first visit to San Francisco, not long after the building opened in 1969, and falling asleep at cocktail hour because of the time difference between here and the East Coast.

Reading that the Carnelian Room's close was imminent, David and I decided to go for cocktails this past September on our anniversary, before an as-always perfect, celebratory dinner at Delfina. It was a beautiful evening and a great way to start the evening. The decor, staff, menu, and cocktails seemed unchanged since my first visit, which helped to explain the plans to close and the primarily-tourist crowd, but it was also slower-paced, retro, and with service that was comfortably clubby: you expected to see Karl Malden and Michael Douglas shooting a "Streets of San Francisco" chase scene when we peered down into the city streets.

Anyway, it was a beautiful evening and we're very glad we got to enjoy it once more before they closed the doors. And here are a couple of quick snaps from that evening.

P.S. Know why it was called the Carnelian Room?