Good Food Awards Marketplace

It's awards season, and I'm not talking about the Golden Globes. It's actually awards season for the food community. Early last week the Tasty Awards were announced in Hollywood, and on Friday in San Francisco food high priestess Alice Waters announced the winners of the first-ever Good Food Awards.

The Good Food Awards, created by the Seedling Projects, recognizes great tasting food products that also support sustainability efforts. Products were judged from producers across the country in the following categories: beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, pickles and preserves.

Yesterday at San Francisco's Ferry Building, the winners were featured in a marketplace, providing tastes and making sales of their winning products.


Lined up along both sides of the front arcade of the Ferry Building, the artisan producers, of course, were mobbed by the regular Saturday morning farmers market and tourists crowd. And I was having one of those days. You know, those days where nothing goes right, like missing buses or ending up at the wrong spots. And at the marketplace, as I tried to wriggle my way up to the front to try samples of the winning products, I undoubtedly found myself behind someone who just tried a sample and decided to quiz the producers on his or her life story, not budging from her spot at the front. Leaving me waiting. Waiting. And waiting just trying to get close to grab a sample and leave. Well, basically I wasn't very successful in trying many of the food winners.

Winners came from across the country, but there were a few locals representing the Bay Area, including Charles Chocolates (above), who won for its salty-sweet cashew bar, and Cowgirl Creamery for its multi-award-winner Red Hawk cheese, and the Girl and the Fig for its coppa.





Some of the interesting products I saw included edamame kim chee from Artisanal Soy from Washington, D.C., and a nice-tasting salami from Olympic Provisions in Oregon. With the major Fancy Foods show in town this week, it's nice spending a day at the Good Foods Marketplace to check out producers from around the country making foods with no real gimmick. They're just food that taste good (well, at least the ones I was able to try).

Don't Lurk. Say Hi!

I once compared blogging to oral sex.

One person gives (the blogger writes a post) and the other receives (the reader enjoys their work). Sometimes the receiver reciprocates (the reader leaves a comment) and sometimes they don’t. Now I don't know about you, but I like my sex like I like my blogging. It should be a two-way street. However, I often find myself more happy with being the giver - in blogging and in oral sex. So in a way, I really don't mind if I don't receive. Still, it's nice to at least give your favorite bloggers a reach around (AKA, post a comment) every now and then to show them their work doesn't go unappreciated. And for many, myself included, it motivates them to keep going...to keep writing that is.

Conversation is as much a part of blogging as writing is. Of course to get the conversation going, you have to build a community - build up your readership base. And to build up your readership base, you have to write content worth reading and conversing about. Unfortunately for me, I seem to have lost that talent.


I'm not trying to be a David Downer or throw myself an Internet pity party, but I can't help but notice something odd. Although my subscribers continue to go up, the comments have drastically dropped. Just a year ago I averaged 50 comments per post (with a few over 100). These days I average around 20 per post. I'm not quite sure what's going on. If people are just reading/commenting on less blogs because they've become busier and/or lazier, which I would totally understand. Or if my writing just plain old sucks, which I would also totally understand.

I've never been shy when it comes to admitting that I hate my own writing. And because of the harsh criticism I place upon myself, I always strive to live by my motto - "write like no one is reading." But let's be real. It's better when what you write is read.

After all, isn't that why people blog? Not just to better understand ourselves, but with hope that we may better understand others. That connection, although virtual it may be, fills a void. It fills those empty spaces a writer finds themselves in. The gap between our words and another's world. That's what community provides, a link. I can say I "write like no one is reading" all I want. But the truth of the matter is that an audience of one just isn't any fun. It's like masturbation. Self-gratifying? Sure! But not as fulfilling.

If reaching people didn't matter and we truly didn't care what anyone thought, then we would be content with writing privately in our Moleskines and tucking them under our bed mattresses. We wouldn't put our words out there for public display. Comment sections on blogs wouldn't exist and bloggers everywhere wouldn't bask in nerdy little highs from seeing a new comment appear on their latest post. (Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about.)

January 1, 2011 marked my 6th Blogiversary. That makes me a bit of a dinosaur in the blogging world. And because I'm feeling old and crusty, it's time for a fresh start. I've written over 1,000 posts in 6 years. Hundreds of those will soon be deleted (only the best will remain). Why? Because this blog doesn't make me happy. It's not something I'm proud of. I want to get excited about writing again. That is why I'm in the process of designing a new blog! A WordPress Thesis Theme blog with a whole new look, new posts, new domain name and will come with more awesome!

I hope you will join me. In the meantime, stop being a lurker and go be a comment whore! I'm sure there are dozens of blogs you read and never contribute a word on. It's time to change that. I've never started reading anything that I didn't have a single thought on upon completion. And chances are neither have you.

Single Guy’s Planner

The Single Guy has been too sick to plan, but that doesn’t mean the world doesn’t keep spinning and food events don’t stop coming up, especially at the start of this fine 2011. If your resolution is to get out and do more, start with one of these:

Jan. 15 (Saturday) – SF Underground Market. The first market of the year returns with the promise of more food vendors at the Public Works performance arts space in the Mission. The market does the typical split with daytime home-made takeaways for sale from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and then the nighttime noshing and music festival from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. If you don’t know by now, you have to register ahead of time to enter the market. Because of the popularity and growth, the market now charges admission of $5 for the daytime market and $10 at night. Public Works, 161 Erie St., San Francisco.

Jan. 15 (Saturday) – New Taste Marketplace. The underground market gets some friendly competition with the New Taste Marketplace, which started out as a fund-raiser bake sale and is now trying to hit the big leagues with this Saturday’s marketplace at the St. Gregory’s Church, 500 De Haro in Potrero Hill. Vendors will be selling things from chocolate to cookies to sausages, from noon to 5 p.m. There’s a sliding scale $10 admission, with funds going to St. Gregory’s Church and the Food Pantry. See the full list of vendors on its website.

Jan. 15 (Saturday) – Williams-Sonoma Artisan’s Market. Yet another market this Saturday, with more of a corporate flair as local artisan vendors set up demo stands around the Williams-Sonoma flagship store at Union Square from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Event is free, but I’m pretty sure you’ll be tempted to buy something. 340 Post St., San Francisco.

Jan. 15-–31 – Dine About Town San Francisco. The bi-annual spotlight on the city’s restaurant s and their special deals kick off the year with $17.95 two-course lunches and $34.95 three-course dinners. Check out the list of participating restaurants at OpenTable.


Jan. 22 (Saturday) – Hapa SF Pop-Up Dinners. Chef/Owner William Pilz (formerly of Citizen Cake) has been on the road the last year with his Hapa SF food truck, bringing his Filipino-inspired food to San Francisco foodies. Now he stops over at La Victoria in the Mission for a pulutan pop-up dinner (pulutan is Filipino small plates). There are three seatings at 5, 7 and 9 p.m. To reserve a spot, e-mail your party size and seating preference (and a second choice) to info@lavictoriabakery.com. La Victoria, 2937 24th St. (at Florida). (Note: Hapa SF also does a street-food pop-up on Jan. 25, Tuesday, at Bar Basic in SOMA.)

Jan. 23 (Sunday) – The Wild Kitchen from ForageSF. These underground dinners featuring ingredients foraged from nearby gardens and hillsides take place somewhere in the Haight (exact location emailed to you the day of the dinner). The Saturday dinner is already sold out, but if you want to drop $100 and you’re free on Sunday, you can purchase a ticket for that night’s eight-course dinner here.

Jan. 23–29 (Sunday–Saturday) – Oakland Restaurant Week. With the emerging restaurant scene in Oakland, it only makes sense that Oaktown has its own version of Dine About Town. But instead of prix-fixe lunches and dinner, the participating Oakland restaurants have their own special deals to offer, most being lunch and dinners at $20, $30, or $40. Check out the list of participating restaurants here.

Jan. 27–30 (Thursday–Saturday) – ZAP 2011. The annual wine festival put on by the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers features a tasting and food pairing event, a dinner with the winemakers and topped off by the Grand Zinfandel Tasting. Tickets for non-members range from $70 to $140. Find out more information at www.zinfandel.org.

Enoteca Molinari in Oakland

A Touch of Modern Italian on College Avenue
5474 College Ave., Oakland
Rockridge
PH: 510.428.4078
Open 5:30-–10 p.m., Tues.–Sat. (till 11 p.m. Fri., Sat.)
Major credit cards accepted; no reservations
www.enoteca-molinari.com

I don’t know why wine bars haven’t taken off in this country. In Italy, they’re bustling with lively conversations surrounded by some nice vino and small snacks, usually incredible cheeses and charcuterie. To me, the wine bar environment always seems like a sophisticated take on America’s happy hour.

The month-old Enoteca Molinari, hopefully, will contribute to the appreciation of wine bars here. Living up to the neighborhood aspect of a wine bar, Enoteca Molinari is nestled in the southern end of Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood, which by the way is where I live.

The tiny wine bar/restaurant is next door to A Côté, so it’s primed to pick up any overflow from that longtime, popular tapas restaurant. Molinari also has the same small plate concept, but a more limited menu because of its size.

The sophisticated space includes cozy wooden tables along one side, all with a clear view of the brightly lit bar, where you’ll typically find the young owner, Joe Madison. (I guess Enoteca Madison wouldn’t sound too Italian.) Madison does a great job with welcoming guests and then recommending wine from his list, consisting of wine from around the world, not just Italy.

The menu, which I mentioned earlier is pretty limited, offers up some cheese selection and salumi. None are house-made but imported. Then there are a few small plates, including pasta, created by Chef Stephen Jaramillo (formerly of Lalime).

I first visited on a Sunday night, and Madison introduced me to a nice red wine from an Italian wine region I’d never heard of called Veneto. I ordered a plate of speck from Alto Adige ($7), which were sliced paper thin and delicious. (Other cured meats include prosciutto from Iowa and Salame Nostrano from California’s Fra’Mani.)

The only salad on the menu is the Insalata di finocchio, arancia e olive, or fennel salad with orange and olives ($6). This simple salad highlighted the citrus of the season, with the sweetness of the oranges classically paired with the crunch of the anise-flavored fennel. The salad was pulled together with a drizzling of olive oil.

There are a couple of more substantial plates. They’re not necessarily large in size, but they offer up ingredients that can be considered an entrée. For example, the tagliatelle al ragu or house-made pasta with four-hour pork and beef ragu ($12) could make a nice plate for dinner.

The ragu has the rich flavors of the meat, holding up nicely with the pasta. While the flavors were nice, I did feel the sauce was slightly watery, given it less body than other rich ragu sauce I’ve had around town.

I returned on another weeknight (but not Monday or Tuesday, because it’s closed then/UPDATE: The place has changed their hours since I visited and our now closed on Sundays and Mondays) and started with another red wine recommended by Madison, and instead of cured meats tried the special baked ricotta ($7). The ricotta had a nice golden crust, and was served on a bed of pickled red cabbage and crostini. The warm ricotta was light and mild in flavor, and it was a nice starter without filling me up.

Then I tried the Pesce Spada al Salmoriglio or Swordfish with Salina capers, Castelvetrano olives, Sicilian oregano and olive oil, garlic and lemon juice ($11). The swordfish was cut into three pieces that were seared to a nice golden color and drizzled with the olive oil and pieces of capers and olives. The swordfish did seem slightly overcooked, but I liked how the fleshy fish blended with the salty capers and olives. Again, it was a simple dish that highlights the natural flavors of the fish.

I was looking for another small plate since the fish was pretty light, so my server recommended the polenta con ragu di funghi ($8), which were polenta cakes topped with a mushroom ragu. This seemed like classic Italian flavors, but the ragu does make the polenta soft and I’m actually more a fan of polenta that’s been given a crispy edge (I know that’s not really the authentic Italian way to serve it, but that’s how I like it).

There are just a few desserts, which change quite often and sounds like they’re mostly made by one of the servers who’s often referred to on the restaurant’s blog as “cousin Mimi.” I ordered her panna cotta ($7), which was made with buttermilk and served with a cinnamon, orange and cardamon sauce. I’ve been making some of my own panna cotta lately too, and thought I’d mastered a nice creamy texture, but Mimi’s version was especially creamy and enjoyable. And the biscotti served with it was delightfully airy and filling.

On both of my visits, Enoteca Molinari had a quiet calm, unlike the bustling lively atmosphere that I imagine Italian wine bars to be. But that may be because people are still discovering this new spot and it’s still slowly building a following. I hope more people find this little gem because the wine list will open your eyes to new wine and the food is simple but sophisticated. They all add up to a nice neighborhood spot to stop in for some vino, good food and conversation.

Single guy rating: 3.25 stars (bright new find)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner



Also try these wine bars:
Bar Bambino: "Wine and Flavors Still Flowing"
Barbacco: "An Italian Gathering Place with Urban Sophistication"
Adesso: "Everyone Loves Free Food"

Rose Panna Cotta Recipe

When I made the panna cotta recipe from Fabio Viviani's cookbook, it reminded me of one of the best panna cotta I've had in my life, which was a rose-infused panna cotta at a trendy but cute restaurant in the Marylebone neighborhood of London. That was many years ago, before I blogged and took pictures of what I ate, but I still remember it. The restaurant itself was fun and on the leading edge of small plates (this was 2002), and everything tasted great. Then the panna cotta came at the end, and the subtle sweet flavor of rose was amazing. Then again, I love anything with rose, like rose-flavored tea.

So I used Viviani's panna cotta recipe (using the gelatin sheets instead of gelatin packs, which I think makes a difference) and found some rose extract at Sur La Table and made myself this rose panna cotta. It wasn't exactly like how I remembered during that lunch in London, but it's pretty darn close. Enjoy!

Rose Panna Cotta

Copyright 2011 by Cooking With the Single Guy

Ingredients
1.5 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 T rose extract
2 sheets unflavored gelatin

Place gelatin sheets into a little bit of milk just to wet them. (You can break the sheets into smaller pieces if needed.)

In a small saucepan, warm cream and sugar over medium high heat until bubbles appear around the edges. Set aside.

Remove gelatin sheets and ring out excess milk. Then place sheets in small saucepan over medium high heat until dissolve (they'll dissolve pretty quickly), and then whisk the melted gelatin into the rest of the milk. Add the milk-gelatin mixture to the heavy cream.

Blend well and then add the rose extract and mix well. Then divide the panna cotta mixture into ramekins. Refrigerate until firmed up, about two hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, place ramekins quickly in a shallow pan of warm water, and then place dish over it and flip to let panna cotta fall out. Garnish with mint, rose petals or rose candy.

Makes 2 to 3 servings.

Serve with dessert wine or rose-flavored tea.

SHOPPING TIPS: Rose extract can be found is specialty baking stores like Sur La Table. In a pinch, you can try rose water. For rose candy, I found mine at the Pasta Shop in Rockridge's Market Hall. That's also where I found my gelatin sheets (don't use gelatin powder).

Dumpling Kitchen in San Francisco

Feeding the Shanghai Dumpling Frenzy
1935 Taraval St. (between 29th and 30th Avenues), San Francisco
Sunset District
PH: 415.682.8938
Mon.--–Tue., Thu.-–Fri., 11 a.m.-–9:30 p.m.; Sat.-–Sun., 10:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m.
Major credit cards accepted; no reservations
Web site

I love xiao lung bao, the Shanghai dumplings with the burst of broth folded inside. And last week I checked out another dumpling restaurant that opened last year called Dumpling Kitchen.

The restaurant is on Taraval Street, just a couple of blocks down from the popular Kingdom of Dumpling, which always has a group of people waiting outside. So Dumpling Kitchen has positioned itself to pick up the overflow and feed this city’s hunger for the comforting dumplings.

Joining me for lunch was my friend Sylvia who was visiting from New York during the holidays. Despite being less than a year old, Dumpling Kitchen looks a bit dumpy and stark. So it’s not the fanciest of Chinese restaurants; we were there for the food.

Although the food is primarily Shanghai specialties, there were a few Cantonese-type dishes thrown in. So you can get dumplings and several plates of entrees from beef to chicken to shrimp.

The specialty Shanghai-style dumplings, known as xiao lung bao, are also one of the best values, with a steamer of 10 pieces selling for $6. When they arrived, I thought they weren’t necessarily the prettiest dumpling shapes I’ve seen, but I was surprised by what I tasted.

There was a nice filling of pork and vegetables, but it was the burst of soup that got me. The flavor of the broth was unlike anything I’ve tried before, not meaty and rich but almost fragrant and herbal. It was compelling and made me want to eat more and more.

But we had another plate of food to try, and that was an order of the Shanghai-style stir-fried rice cakes ($7.50). Sylvia and I were both curious about the rice cakes, thinking they were like rice crispies, but when the plate arrive, they looked like the Cantonese chow fun, which are thick rice noodles almost like fettuccine. I guess they call them rice cakes because the noodles are short like little rice medallions.

The stir-fried rice cakes with vegetables and pork were nicely pulled together, with the right balance of soy sauce and oil.

I always feel eating Chinese food can be heavy on the starch and meat, so Sylvia and I decided to order a plate of vegetables. Our server recommend the dry-braised string beans ($7), which she said was very popular. I can see why. The crunchy fresh green beans are stir-fried with a salty substance (not the typical black beans or oyster sauce) almost like anchovies. The clean, tasty beans were a nice counter balance to the rice cakes.

As you can tell, this was all a lot of food for us, so we were quite full and satisfied by this point. (Although I think I probably could have ordered more of those xiao lung bao.) I’ve never tried the popular Kingdom of Dumpling, but I don’t think it’s a mistake to visit Dumpling Kitchen first.

Single guy rating: 3.25 stars (Value Dumplings)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner



More dumpling love:
San Dong House: “Hand-Pulled Noodles Pounded to Perfection”
Bund Shanghai: "Hearty Northern Chinese Cuisine Done Right"
Shan Dong: "What's All the Fuss Oakland Lunchers?"

Hapa Ramen at Home at the Ferry Building

When I was off during the holidays, I took advantage of a free Thursday to check out the San Francisco Ferry Building farmers market and, in particular, the Hapa Ramen food stand.

I’m always looking for good ramen, but the reason for this visit was more than just a growling stomach. It was sort of a second parter to a visit to a Hapa Ramen pop-up earlier in the year. Some of you might recall (and some of you may have experienced it first hand), that pop-up in May was a major fail, partly because of the Twitter-generated crowds and partly (by Hapa Ramen’s own admission) some kitchen issues that affected the final results.

I didn’t want to just write off Hapa Ramen and its creator, Richie Nakano. So after Hapa Ramen finally launched at the Ferry Building farmers’ market, I wanted to see how the ramen tasted after settling in for a few months.

Nakano gained a following as a line cook at the popular Nopa restaurant and blogging about it at linecook415.blogspot.com. He developed the idea of ramen using quality ingredients from local sources over the last year or so, and now sets up show at the Ferry Building every Tuesday and Thursday as well as occasionally doing a pop-up service around town.

With his schedule, I’m not sure if he’s still working as a line cook at Nopa. He was, however, manning the ramen noodles station at his Hapa Ramen stand when I visited a couple of weeks ago.

Hapa Ramen serves up four different ramen options, with “the works” called the Big Daddy for $12. But that bowl includes fried chicken nuggets. So when I found out all the ramen bowls are the same size, I skipped the Big Daddy and got the pork belly ramen ($9) and added a farm-raised egg for another $1.

My bowl of ramen was filled with noodles, the extra egg, pork belly, some seasonal greens and a piece of nori on the rim.

The first thing I noticed when I took a bite of the noodles was that they were better than the first go-around when I tried Hapa Ramen at the pop-up and at this past summer’s San Francisco Street Food Festival. I recalled that the noodles needed a lot of work because they weren’t exciting in flavor or texture. But this time the noodles had a bit of spring to them and had a bit more flavor. And maybe because of the early Web chatter that this is a pretty pricey bowl of ramen, I did feel there were a lot of noodles in my bowl.

The other components were interesting if a bit mixed in success. The pork belly was tasty but the fat-to-meat ratio seemed to lean more on the fatty side. Not being a fan of fat, this made me crave the tender slices of cha siu pork I’d find at traditional ramen shops. The seasonal use of delicata squash added a nice sweetness to the overall ramen, but I also found the broth to be less rich than in the past. The egg was cooked to a nice soft-boiled texture.

Overall, I enjoyed the ramen and it really hit the spot on a cold winter day. I think Hapa Ramen’s bowl of ramen has come a long way from those testing pop-up days. But I can also see how some may feel that the price is high compared to other solid bowls of ramen for equal or less price that actually come with a table and chair to sit down and eat. If Hapa Ramen wants to corner the high-end ramen market, it needs to deliver more unique toppings to stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Hapa Ramen, every Tuesday and Thursday at the San Francisco Ferry Building farmers market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. www.haparamensf.com