Curry is a sauce served over meat, fish or vegetables, and usually with steamed rice. Curry powder is ground from a wide variety of dried leaves, roots, twigs, berries, seeds, and ... Read More
Yes, I know, food writers in December issues are supposed to write about turkey and roast beef for those year-end holiday dinners. But I’m going to write about curry. I’... Read More
Before I delved mouth-first into the subject of salads for this story, I thought (perhaps understandably) that they were created by the French. Sounds logical, doesn’t it? Ho... Read More
Usually when I write one of these Appetites and After-thoughts columns, I write only about food. But there are other appetites not necessarily related to the stomach. So here IR... Read More
San Franciscans are said to be discerning diners, but they will eat anything, kale for example, and they will adapt to the next new food craze with religious zeal. But just what is... Read More
Who would have thought it? Here we are in the third year of my Ernestos: Best of North Beach Awards. The Ernestos started out in 2013 as an idea for a column. Now it’s an ins... Read More
Occasionally I like to write about people I call Unlikely Heroes or Heroines in the Gastronomic Trenches. Today I’m going to write about my mother. Amelia — everyone called... Read More
I’m a collector of unusual recipes, the kind not found in The Joy of Cooking. Here are a few that might appeal to you. GEORGE LANG’S GRAVLAX You may recall the New York... Read More
Not long ago on a cloudy afternoon, I happened to be thumbing my way through Helpful Hints to Housewives, the 1928 edition. It belonged to my mother, and when she gave it to me alo... Read More
The other day I got to musing about crab. The Dungeness crab season opened Nov. 15. I submit to you that Nov. 15 was one of the most important dates on this year’s calendar. ... Read More
I enjoy hanging out in joints – restaurants and bars of humble and modest stature. And I do not use the word “joints” in the pejorative sense. I use it as homage ... Read More
I enjoy reading about food. I’m assuming you do, too. So here are a few stories about signature San Francisco dishes, a bit of history on your plate. CELERY VICTOR If there w... Read More
Sometimes I think Calzone’s — the North Beach, high-style restorante with a lot of sidewalk action — gets a bum rap. “Too touristy,” one is apt to hear. What&... Read More
Schroeder’s, one of the oldest San Francisco restaurants — it was established in 1893 — has reopened after undergoing some sensitive renovations. They were sensitive beca... Read More
I’m a big fan of cafes and restaurants in museums. I have been known to go to a museum — ostensibly to stand in a long line to see a blockbuster show — only to become dis... Read More