Another Earth Day has come and gone, and with it the release of a new "Dirty Dozen" list from the Environmental Work Group. Each year, the EWG analyzes the USDA's redisual pesticide tests, and generates a list of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables most likely to have significant amounts of residues on them. They conversely add on a "Clean 15" outlining those that are least likely to have resides. It's an imperfect report, and has been criticized for opacity in its methodology. A UC Davis professor published a paper in the Journal of Toxicology casting aspersions on the EWG's methods, and claiming that the risks of consuming conventional produce are no greater than organic. The question of conventional versus organic... Continue reading

Disclosure: I was a guest of Casa Noble Tequila, who paid for my airfare, lodging and meals. I was not paid to write this post, and all opinions and observations are my own. I should have known from the look on Pepe's face. We had just come in from enjoying some tamarind margaritas on the rooftop deck at La Tequila in Guadalajara. As we sat at our table, Pepe suggested ordering some appetizers for the table, asking whether he should order some more unusual things. Innocently, and ignoring for a moment that I was part of a group that included five other unwitting American writers and photographers, I said that I always have an appetite for the new. Pepe grinned... Continue reading

As I enter the kitchen of the Western Addition Senior Center, Reverend Hall greets me, but before he shakes my hand, he was to wash off the grease from the chicken thighs he's been skinning. At other stations, volunteers are skinning more chicken thighs and peeling tremendous, plump shrimp. Before me are foil trays filled with cut sausages and chopped peppers. All this will come together the next day to make a huge batch of jambalaya. Reverend Hall brings me into the walk in, where the shelves are full of trays of potato salad and more jambalaya fixings, as well as garbage bags stuffed with collard and mustard greens. They've been at this for 36 hours already, with another 36... Continue reading

The Dancing Pig, the BBQ place that just had its one-year anniversary, appears to have gone hooves-up. This comes as little surprise, as I have heard repeated and vitriolic reports of how bad the food was. But such is the cycle of life: As the pig closes, so opens Fable, a new and rather chic place in the old Luna space. I have high hopes for this one. Could we actually get another good place to eat in the Castro? Things have been looking up for a while. And anyway, the loss of one crappy 'cue place is no great hardship, especially since good BBQ is the new black. Ev'body's saucing themselves over the new Hi Lo BBQ, Southpaw gets... Continue reading

This week's darling is Saison, the much-vaunted haute spot whose new home in SOMA opened yesterday. And maybe someday, after I win the lottery, I will even have an opportunity to eat there. Speaking of lottery-funded eating, Masa's will be closing after more than 30 years. So, if I want to eat there, I have to hit those numbers by February 16. MY China continues to get big buzz, especially with Bauer giving it a generally favorable review. Did we really expect he would do otherwise? He's similarly gaga for Hakkasan. I'm sensing a theme. For your amusement and edification, I have pinned in yellow all the spots that have been highlighted as places to eat or drink on Superbowl... Continue reading

I'm focusing on just two big stories today. On the one hand, this week 7x7 Magazine rolled out its annual Big Eat. Edited by the inimitable Marcia Gagliardi of Tablehopper, it's a fairly comprehensive list of things you want to put in your mouth. I was able to map 99 of the 100 (blue pins) since one was a food truck without a consistent location. I've eaten more than a few things on the list, and if you've got the gumption to try them all, I hope you have a good gym. The final tally must be somewhere in the vicinity of one billion calories. Unfortunately, another list of restaurants about a hundred strong made the news, as the city... Continue reading

Hey, have you heard there's a new place called Trick Dog? Cuz if you haven't, then you've been living under a rock. Before it even opened, we were assaulted with so many sneak-peek images of the inside, their Pantone cocktail menu, tips on what to eat and drink there and such that frankly I'm already sick of the place, and I haven't even set foot inside. Nearly as well fellated was the opening of Wine Kitchen on Divis. That one I take umbrage with just on name alone. Meanwhile, my Facebook feed lit up with much wailing and gnashing of teeth when news broke of the pending closure (and, later, reopening) of Marlena's. I have no great affinity for the... Continue reading

Holy crap, you guys. When I started this last week, it didn't seem too hard. Of course, that was the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve, when practically nothing happens. Those days are over. Just a few openings this week: Pressed Juicery in Noe Valley quietly opened its doors; the folks at Anchor Oyster Bar opened a new outpost on Mission Street called, imaginatively, Mission Street Oyster Bar; and everyone is all abuzz over the opening of the newest American Grilled Cheese Kitchen in the Mission. Which, I mean, great, but it's just melted cheese and bread, people. And we already have one downtown. How exciting can this be? But if it seems slow, fret not. Eater SF listed... Continue reading

For the last six months of 2012, we were splitting monthly shipments from the now-defunct Godfrey Family Farm's meat CSA. In previous years, we had taken on the shipments all by ourselves, but it turns out that 15 pounds of meat a month is a lot even for two grown men. In fact, even seven and a half pounds can be overwhelming. Like most CSAs, we didn't have any control over what was in the mix. On the one hand, it's fun getting things you might not otherwise buy for yourself, like goat chops or a veal roast. And then there's the stuff like soup bones or pork fat that end up sitting in the freezer for a while. One... Continue reading

In an effort to track the SF food scene more closely, I'm plotting it on weekly maps. Here's the haps for last week: Green pins with dots: Openings Green pins without dots: Prospective openings Red pins with dots: Closures Blue pins with dots: Events Green thumbtacks: Good buzz Red thumbtacks: Bad buzz View SF food news December 22-28 2012 in a larger map Continue reading

So, Christmas is in just a few days. Don't panic! If you haven't finished your holiday shopping yet, may I recommend a few local experiential and subscription-based things? They'll fit very neatly into one's stocking. Foodie walking tours I'm a guide with Edible Excursions, leading the Mission 18th Street tour, but they also have tours of Mission 24th Street, Japantown, the Ferry Building, Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto and soon Oakland's Temescal neighborhood. The tours are tons of fun, you come away well fed and with a new perspective on each area. Also recommendable: GraceAnn Walden's tours of North Beach and Chinatown, the new Savor Oakland tour of Jack London Square (if you hurry I think you can still nab the Blackboard... Continue reading

San Francisco's not just a delicious place to live; we're damn stylish, too. Check out these awesome tees and soft goods from some of my favorite local businesses and food-driven artists. Tablehopper's got an amazing collection of tees and hoodies with logos from now-defunct vintage restos of San Francisco: Blue Fox, The Camel, Player's Club, Cross Roads and Tippy's. That's right: You can wear a piece of San Francisco dining history on your chest. Alyson Thomas's Drywell Fresh Quality Art is chockablock with excellent meat-themed imagery, but the design that put her on the, well, map, was this overlay of SF neighborhoods as a pig butchery chart with the tagline "San Francisco Is for Carnivores." Trudat. My most favorite bakery,... Continue reading

For better or worse, a lot of cookbooks just magically appear in our household. Some go out just as quickly, but a handful make a more lasting impression. Here's a few that we fell for this year. Jerusalem: A Cookbook I think this is topping most people's list this year. Yotam Ottolenghi grew up on the Jewish west side of Jerusalem; Sami Tamimi grew up on the Arab east side. Their common language is food, and astonishingly good food it is. Gorgeously photographed and compellingly laid out. Kokkari: Contemporary Greek Flavors A local favorite restaurant, Kokkari brings the flavors of Greece to San Francisco, through a Californian lens. Another gorgeously shot book (the photographer convinced the owners and publisher that... Continue reading

If you know me, you know I'm a little bit of a magazine whore. One of my favorite pleasures is to sit with a pot of tea and flip through magazines -- an indulgence I don't do often enough. Of course I spend a lot of time with food magazines, and here's a few favorites. Subscriptions to any of these would make a lovely holiday gift (hint, hint). Lucky Peach OK, confession: The first issue of Lucky Peach irritated the shit out of me. Now, I'm hooked. Sure, Anthony Bourdain's cinema rants are blowhardy, the content can be a little too industry-chefly, and all of it needs a good editing -- they do like to ramble on. But on the... Continue reading