Bay Area Bites | Feb 09, 2010

Posted by Andrew Simmons

To play with the idea, I've come up with a few unique fast food concepts -- inspired appropriately by San Francisco -- to diversify the field. Offal promises to stay hot in the food world. Falafel is a fast food Americans outside of cities don't know or trust yet. I was thinking a restaurant serving both could be both excellent and successful. Chris Cosentino and the proprietors of Old Jerusalem would have to consult. I would call it Fal-off-All in honor of Chik-fil-A and serve lavash wraps stuffed with fried sweetbreads, kidneys, and liver.

baking and bakeries | Feb 08, 2010

The Sweetest Holiday

Posted by Megan Gordon

Los Angeles-based SusieCakes has been open about a month in the Bon Air Shopping Center in Marin, and I've been meaning to visit with each passing day. I was doing errands in the area the other day and decided to stop in and see what all the fuss was about. I'd heard about their "frosting-filled cupcakes" and I thought it was a genius idea for all of us who use the cupcake as a socially acceptable excuse to eat frosting. And lots of it. What I didn't expect to find was the huge celebration of Valentine's Day in full effect--from sweet little cookies to festive whoopie pies.

bay area | Feb 07, 2010

Countdown to Valentine's Day

Posted by Stephanie Rosenbaum

From sausage-making to truffle-rolling, salted caramels to secret dinners, we've got the tastiest list of Valentine's Day inspirations in town.

recipes | Feb 05, 2010

A Quesadilla to Make You Cry

Posted by Michael Procopio

But there was something else tucked into that crispy tortilla which made my tongue heated up. A lot. He threw in peppers. Scotch Bonnet peppers. Craig and his girlfriend Shannon had just started dating and were trying to out-macho each other on the Scoville scale. As an occasional participant in their bizarre, heat-related courtship ritual, I considered myself a wimp when it came to such things, but I continued to eat. My eyes burned, my nose began to run. After a couple of bites, I was in discomfort; after a couple more, I was in pain. The gulping of hot tea did nothing to help. The swishing of orange juice around my gums only seemed to spread the heat everywhere. I had never eaten anything so hot in my life. It was horrible, yet oddly delicious. And then something unexpected happened.

cooking techniques and tips | Feb 03, 2010

Go Retro: Bake a Whole Chicken

Posted by Denise Santoro Lincoln

Now I realize that many people don't like to make a whole chicken because they think it's difficult and time intensive. But, just like pudding and pancakes, nothing could be further from the truth. Unlike boneless and skinless breasts, which often need to be dolled up in a pan with other ingredients because they become dry and a bit tasteless when baked on their own, a whole chicken is a simple endeavor that has juicy results. In the name of full disclosure, I need to admit that baking a chicken takes between an hour and an hour and a half, but other than the first 5-7 minutes of prep work, this is all baking time.

food and drink | Feb 02, 2010

Gridiron Gastronomy for Super Bowl Sunday

Posted by Andrew Simmons

I'm excited about the Super Bowl, not just because the game should be good, but because party hosts all over the country will have such a stellar culinary tradition to mine for inspiration. The kitchen table face-off on Sunday will be as interesting as the on-field action: on one side, offerings from one of America's most storied indigenous food cultures -- and on the other, perhaps a cornucopia of delicacies from a less-celebrated bastion of gastronomic excellence...