Sweet and Sour Spectator

There comes a time in a young man's life when Halloween, like Gregor Samsa, goes through a metamorphosis from something familiar to something vaguely unsettling. One year Halloween means providing for the Dentist's retirement, and suddenly, the next year, it is a venue for impersonating Bela Lugosi. While trick or treating was fun when you are a little kid, and visiting the local Haunted House was okay when you were only a kid, things change so that actually MAKING a haunted house, or as close as you can get to it, becomes a really cool thing.

I remember a Halloween in the early 1960's when I went through this change. Since I was the studious sort, not the juvenile delinquent type, my Haunted House was well... a little weird. After all, one must admit that a Volcanic Pumpkin is a far cry from a Haunted House. I don't remember where I got the idea, but I think it must have been from Mr. Wizard.

Iron Cactus, the new Mexican restaurant from the owners of "The Creamery" is set to open at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 21st. It occupies the space on 4th Street between The Creamery and the "bimma loft 2.0" furniture store (which this blogger originally and incorrectly identified as the future home of Iron Cactus).

Normally hidden behind a roll-up steel security door, Iron Cactus will be accessible during business hours through a pair of rustic Cantina-like wooden doors under a wagon wheel.

The owners say that Iron Cactus will be an upscale taqueria using high quality ingredients.

Since I haven't tried the food yet, I don't know about the quality, but I did manage to beg a menu off of them which you can download as a PDF right here!

Initial hours will be Monday-Saturday 11:00 am to 9:00 pm with Happy Hours scheduled for Monday-Friday 3pm-6pm; Saturday 4pm-6pm.

The Iron Cactus
683 4th Street
San Francisco, CA
415-777-1010

A favorite Mexican sauce of mine is made from tomatillos and chilies.

Remove the dry outer husks from approximately one-half pound of fresh tomatillos. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the tomatillos for five minutes. Drain, then put the blanched tomatillos into the blender with two dried chilies (seeds removed; I had Chihuacle and Chipotle chilies lying around, but use whatever mildly or moderately-hot chili that you may have ). Add a pinch of salt, and two small crushed cloves of garlic. Blend on the puree setting for about two minutes. Strain the sauce into a bowl, and then transfer to a squeeze bottle. The sauce seems to last two or three weeks if kept refrigerated.

I love putting this on grilled chicken breasts, steaks, and scrambled eggs, but intend to continue experimentation to find other yummy uses.

"There, I guess King George will be able to read that!" —John Hancock, upon signing the Declaration of Independence

The big super foodie news of the day is that James' Syhabout's new restaurant, Commis opened last night, not "next month" as today's Chronicle Inside Scoop had it.

Commis has been one of the most anticipated restaurants of 2009, as executive chef Syhabout had been named one of the Chronicle's Rising Chefs in 2007, was Chef de Cuisine at the Michelin two-starred Manresa Restaurant, and earned an astounding three and one-half stars from the Chron's Michael Bauer for his executive chef stint at Plumpjack Cafe.

The East Bay seems to be exploding with new places, but many of them are just the most recent incarnation of the Chez Panisse ethos (for instance, Camino). Commis, however, has the potential to bring some real creativity and some of that despised "cooking" close to the borders of the People's Republic of Berkeley. I'm cheering for success here, and will be visiting very soon to see what is on the menu ($49 three-course prix fixe, plus $29 for paired wines!!).

The photo of Chef Syhabout in the kitchen last night at Commis is by the lovely and talented Pim, from Chez Pim.

Commis
3859 Piedmont Ave
Oakland, CA 94611
510.653.3902

Summer must be here... STONEFRUIT!

Showing real class, Palm commissioned UCLA composer Roger Bourland to compose the seven default ringtones that come "pre"-installed on the new Palm Pre smartphone. In addition to the one entitled "PRE" which has leaked and which you can listen to below, there are ringtones titled "Flurry", "Raindance", "Scamper", "Discreet", "Triangle", "Dulcimer", and "Anticipation".

Personally, I'm anticipating hearing them all, but I'll have to wait until I have my new Pre (whenever that might happen).

Update: I stopped by my local Palm store this morning and had a look at the Pre. As everyone says, it has a beautiful screen, and an almost erogenous feel as it nestles in your hand. I tried the browser and it was snappy and clear & the grow and shrink guestures worked great. The store was all sold out. They had about 100 units in stock which they sold in the first hour of business today.

Bacar is experimenting with brunch and is offering their first example Easter Sunday. I'd leave a link to the PDF, except that it uses Flash, and the link is not obvious. Here is the menu for this Sunday....

As I previously reported, Manresa will be celebrating the Iron Chef America victory by offering the winning dishes with a six-course Iron Chef menu for $135 per person. The menu will be available on three consecutive Sundays, May 10, 17, and 24. This is a special menu, so if you want it, please request it when you make your reservation.

More information is available here on the Manresa blog.

Manresa
320 Village Lane
Los Gatos, CA 95030
+1 (408) 354-4330

An occasional feature:

Food scientist works alongside chefs to dream up new ideas [LA Times]
Peet's attempts to eliminate weak coffee from the world [Atlantic Food Blog]
How I learned to love goat meat [NYT] [Ed: not me!]
California Spice Firm Recalls (Salmonella) [Chron]
SF Weekly Foodie Blog Pans San Francisco Foie Gras resolution [SFoodie]
Mr. Know-it-All mistakes Copain Syrah for a Pinot Noir [NYT]

This restaurant is another proverbial jewel hidden in plain sight on a really yucky street (5th about 1/4 block from Folsom towards Harrison). Le Charm is notable for having a charming trellised patio, solid French Bistro food, and a continual Prix Fixe $25 dinner menu that has to be one of the great bargains in San Francisco. The menu has exactly what you would expect: French Onion Soup, Seamed Mussels, Duck Confit, Cassoulet, Grilled Steak with Pommes Frites, & etc. Recommended
Le Charm Website Original post 2005-01-18

Update: The Prix Fixe menu is now $30 and they feature live jazz every Thursday evening on the patio. A recent visit found the food adequate, not as good as I remember from my last visit, but that was at least six years ago.

Gerald Hiragoyen had a book release party Saturday, March 15, for his new book, Pintxos: Small Plates in the Basque Tradition at his Bocadillos restaurant. The event was held as a fund raiser with book sale proceeds going to Food Runners, a San Francisco charity that picks up excess perishable food from businesses and delivers it to shelters and neighborhood programs that feed the hungry.

All of the tables had been removed and guests were treated to wine and an endless supply of fresh tapas, presumably from recipes in the book.

Since Bocadillos is my favorite Basque place in the city I bought a copy of the book and had it autographed. (Note: do not call Bocadillos a "Spanish" restaurant within earshot of Chef Hiragoyen. You will be corrected!). I've been going through it and trying things out. This is my favorite recipe so far...

Wine quizzes are fun and, besides that, are easy to blog. So here is your first one:

In the state of Washington, which grape has the highest production?

A. Chardonnay
B. Cabernet Sauvignon
C. Syrah
D. White Riesling
E. Merlot

Answer after the continuation...

Congratulations to Chef David Kinch as well as his chefs de cuisine, John Paul Carmona, and James Shyabout for their resounding victory over Iron Chef Bobby Flay in last night's Battle Cabbage episode. At 52 vs. 42 points, it wasn't even close. At times the judges seemed stunned and almost speechless over the quality and creativity of Kinch's food.

I have heard that Manresa will be taking advantage of the victory by offering these dishes as part of upcoming Iron Chef Dinners.

Remember, you heard it here first.