Le Bedaine

A most delicious french take-out on Solano, Le Bedaine has all manner of joys- my favorite being the duck liver pate sandwich.

The new Acme Herb Slab

Since Acme was out of their cheese rolls, I was forced to make a split decision and go with the Herb Slab. The old slab used to be quite unctuous- overly slathered in olive-oil. The new slab has regular crust and makes an excellent tomato sandwich.

Berkely Bowl West

I have been waiting years for the new Berkeley Bowl opening so when I finally shuffled in, I was strangely underwhelmed. Perhaps the massive store size led me to fantasize that there would be yet even more kinds of fruits and vegetables. BBW had made a decision to segregate organic from conventional in a severe way to make it very difficult to do comparison shopping.

I haven't been back as it's just too much confusion. I just couldn't make good decisions as to what my basket needed- I was endlessly roaming around a bit dumbfounded.

Coriander Honey

I first heard about coriander honey on the BBC Food Programme. The host visited a british honey hunter and was most surprised when tasting his coriander honey from Romania- almost greenish hue. After giving up on trying to find coriander honey, a fluke search on ebay brought me to Flying Bee Ranch who I recommend highly. I used to get my blueberry and pumpkin honeys from them.

The taste of coriander honey is uniquely savory unlike any of the other honeys in my pantry. Had I been asked to guess the source in a blind tasting, I would not know it's origin. Slightly minty with a very very long tail, now I must get down to the serious business of pairing this lovely honey with a cheese partner.

Waiting for citrus

I've chewed through too many dry wedges of pomelo this year, watery Cara Caras, and just so-so Satsuma. Winter is height of citrus so I don't think I am too early.

What gives?

Maple Syrup Shortage

Maple syrup prices gave me sticker stock last fall rising 70% or $14 a bottle due to severe shortages caused by double whammy of bad wather/crop and rising demand. I was waiting until this year to replenish my stocks. Height of sugaring season is from mid-February to mid-April so I will cross my fingers until then because agave syrup is not the same on pancakes. Sadly maple syrup is going the way of luxury.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090111/NEWS04/901120299/1050

Sweet Tamarind Pods

I bought home a box of sweet tamarind pods from Berkeley Bowl. I can't stop eating them despite their suspicious looking shapes. These ones are of the sweet mild variety. I think I'll trick my little niece into thinking I'm eating something gross.

I had the most delicious fig goat cheese tart at the Slanted Door. I'm not too crazy about the Slanted Door but their Pastry Chef-Mutsumi Takehara is a genius so I put up with the wait, the loud dining room, and mediocre main courses. The fig tart served warm had a nuttiness that was unexpectedly wonderful union of flavors- you could not even know that goat cheese was involved. I wanted everyone I love to instantly have a bite of this pie.

Another expensive mediocre meal at Vanessa's Bistro

Vanessa's Bistro on Solano was highly touted on Chowhound so after a hiatus of restaurant hunting, I took Clees and Steve for a celebration meal. The most promising aspect of the meal the salmon tuna poke- but it's hard to mess up poke. The quail was more than tad overcooked, the Miso Glazed halibut was quite ripe- perhaps the last night it could be served- as was the fish in the Chef's Special Seafood Claypot. The much recommended seafood coconut curry was okay. Note to self, never trust a stranger's review.

The dessert was regrettable in the case of bread pudding(too turpentine) or forgettable(cheese cake). I normally order creme brulee whenever I can and "nobody home" is all I could think breaking into the ginger creme brulee.

Figs and Blueberries

July is the height blueberry season and the start of reasonable figs in the market. I always try to eat double fistfuls of blueberries whenever I can.

Pave

Three establishments in Berkeley offer Pave regularly, Crixa(always), Fanny's(once a month), Betty's To Go (on Sundays). I stood in line quite grumpily at Fanny's when I spotted these dark beauties.

Satsuma season begun

Eat More Pie

How else to convince husband to go to Berkeley Bowl on a Saturday. The Bowl had the first crop of Satusuma, slightly green tinged but juicy tart good as ever.

Market One

I am in ever pursuit of a serious lunch and the other person on my team T who is serious about eating needed to celebrate a Virgo birthday. T is perhaps the only truly picky eater I know and perhaps the only person I would take to lunch who would refuse to try out my beet carpaccio. As you can see, those carmine slices are throwing a full-on party for rock shrimp, radishes, sprouts and deep fried ginger. If I wasn't in a public restuarant where people are expected to eat with a fork, I really wanted to rearrange it into a lovely landscape, clump those sprouts into a wild field.

You could not fault any of the food, which was savory and well-prepared; I just found it lacking in gusto and feeling. No matter how humble or lavish a meal, I want food which tugs at memories and emotes feelings which only good food can. My last lunch with T, I enjoyed the raw saltiness of Kumamoto oysters at Hog Island. Whatelse can carry the intensity and essence of the sea but oyster juice. From all the oysters which must have passed my lips, I know raw oysters on the half shell can never be boring. They only come in two categories, fantastic or suspicious.

The boar sausage at Market One which I had been anticipating all day was nice but mild with none of the wild nutty flavor I've loved in boar bacon.

Pretty Good Eclairs

Although I'm not too keen on Scharffenberger Cafe Cacao's brunch service (I'm a townie not a tourist to suffer that kind of bad service), their bakery scones and eclairs hits the spot. Not too sweet egg custard with vanilla seeds, it is really too bad they don't make profiteroles. I bought six long ones this morning although I wanted to buy the entire dozen behind the case. I didn't want to be too greedy and have the lady behind the counter tell me they can't sell me all of them. I love sharing the bakery goodness to people I like at work and need a hearty supply.

Bakery Blueballs

After a mediocre experience at the Inverness Busy Bee Bakery* yesterday and Crixa being closed on Sunday, I had no choice but to go over to 4th Street. I normally rely on the Pasta Shop for their buttery blueberry scones and cream cheese pumpkin muffin as their glass case goods have been less than stellar.

Happily the Pasta Shop makes a pretty respectable Boston Cream Pie, the custard fresh and light.

*Busy Bee had mostly sugary and expensive stuffs; we had an uninspired lemon poppyseed cake which hunger alone drove us to finish.

Hooray Blueberry Season

The true pleasure of late July is eating double fistfuls of blueberries. This is the one time of the year I fight through the parking lot at Berkeley Bowl to procure gallon clam shells on the best blueberry deals in town. For whatever reason, Monterrey Market has sad moldy shrivelled or overpriced specimens. But this year, they've done good and have brought to market plumpy bluets noone need be ashamed of.

Pretty Good Bagels

Every Sunday, C and I mosey over to Boogie Woogie Bagel Boy to get our asiago cheese bagels. This must be the one of the most satisfying things one can get for less than a dollar. We sit in the adjacent garden under the apple tree munching on the dense chewy goodness and reading leftover SF Chronicles.

Pork Hunting at the Epicurious Garden

After a hard day of digging and turning compost, we bathed and made ourselves clean and squeaky behind the ears for Saturday date night. Of course I had one thing in mind.

All week I had been craving porkalicious dumplings at Imperial Tea Court. The ITC at the Epicurious Garden is an ill conceived tea house with less than five tables and indifferent service. I'm not too keen on their tea selections, and really no tea can stand up to so much clanking and obnoxious Berkeley chatting going on. I'll tolerate anything for their pork creations. Poor C had to make do with salty vegetarian noodles while I luxuriated in plump pork won tons in a savory jasmine tea broth. Oh how I would love another bowl.

Down home neighborhood favorites

Picante
I go there to chow down on the hearty Sopa Azteca. I don't know how to get that deep flavor at home, they must put the grill scrubbings in. But when I'm sick, there is nothing else I want to eat more. Spicy chicken soup with avocados and fried tortillas.

Jimmy Bean's
I use to be a porkchop regular. Tender juniper brined pork chop with the comforting scoop of mashed potatos and thickly sauced caesar salad. Them pork chops have gotten me through some pretty tough times. Kitchen is not always regular and sometimes the chops come a litttle red.