Mary Ladd

Beretta

When I learned The Last Supper Club (TLSC) was morphing into Beretta, I was a little peeved. I liked TLSC’s pasta, good wine list, and convivial party vibe. One sweet touch TLSC had was to include a pesto for each table’s bread basket, which always tasted better than plain butter or olive oil. I needn’t have worried. The new restaurant, Beretta, still has a fun setting, interesting Italian food, with smashing drinks and affordable yet good wines.

Dare yourself to try Beretta’s specialty cocktails, with ingredients like Benedictine, tia maria, absinthe and Dubonnet. The improved whisky cocktail is potent and balanced, with rye, bitters, dubonnet, absinthe and a touch of maraschino. Think smooth and sharp. Wine by the bottle is an affordable and pleasing pairing with food, and decent bottles can be had in the thirty dollar range.

Beretta’s Italian food is skillfully prepared, and the cheery and hip wait staff does a great job at pacing. Highlights included a mixed meat antipasti platter with lardo, which is white fat from the back of a pig, peppery soprassata, and artisan salumi with giardiniera, otherwise known as pickled carrots and cauliflower. The arugula & fennel salad with shaved parmesan, also pictured above, is tender greens with a nutty flavor. Pizzas are a specialty, and are of the blistery thin type. Winning flavor combinations include: potato, rosemary, radicchio & gorgonzola; and prosciutto, tomato, arugula & mozzarella. It would be nice if the arugula was slightly more wilted, but that is a small quibble.

Beretta
1199 Valencia Street (at 23rd Street)
SF, CA 94110
415.695.1199

Champagne: Ready, set, pair!

Champagne shouldn’t be used just for the holidays. It can make the every day happy hour at home seem over the top special. Champagne’s sparkling bubbles lighten the palate, and work with both starters and well into the main course. Try pairing some bubbly with:            

Hearts of palm with prosciutto and Parmesan,

Smoked salmon with crispy vegetables,

Grilled brie and smoked duck breast with fig jam,

Hamachi tartare,

And with dessert:

Dark chocolate mousse with white chocolate whipped cream,

Warm apple and walnut with caramel ice cream,

Chocolate truffles

          

Party Platter Panache

Edible party platter garnishes are all the rage. It’s a great rule to follow in case one of your guests decides to help themselves to the garnish. Edible flowers, fruit, vegetable carvings, and fresh herbs make things look pretty and yummy. Sliced fruit (orange, lemon, and lime, alone or in a combo) also punches up a platter’s edge. Slice the fruit and lay on the platter. If doing a citrus combo, try and lay the slices on top of slices that are similar in size. That will look best to the eye.

Don’t forget to keep party platters clean during your event. I’ve learned from many catering companies that the best way to clean up a platter is to use a white vinegar and water mix. To do this, combine two parts water with one part vinegar in a squeeze bottle. (Not to worry if you go overboard on the vinegar.) If you don’t have a squeeze bottle, put the liquid mix into a bowl. Use a kitchen side towel to dab at the platter, cleaning away any leftover food and sauces. The vinegar cleans up gunk quickly, and leaves the platter looking clean and fresh. Add more food and get the platter back out to the party, stat!

R.I.P., California Culinary Academy Careme Room

"This is a funeral," one chef instructor told me. "I wore black," he added. We were mourning the last buffet dinner at the historic Careme Room at the California Culinary Academy, in San Francisco. The Polk Street campus will close this summer, after decades of food, learning, and enjoyment for culinary students and the public alike. The building is over one hundred years old, and used to be a German social club, bowling alley, and performance venue for Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, and Janis Joplin.

The occasion felt mostly happy, perhaps due to an open bar and generous wine and champagne pours at the tables. There were lots of hugs and folks reuniting and catching up. All guests were comped for the event, which seemed like a nice gesture. I've heard that the price to attend the CCA is now over sixty thousand dollars and that enrollment is down, which is one reason the Polk campus is closing. My thirty five thousand dollar culinary education now sounds like a relative bargain compared to that steeper cost.

It would've been fun to see more fellow CCA alums in attendance. Guests included: Julie Tan, Roy Salazar, Herve LeBiavant, Serge Bled, CCA President Jennifer White, Tim Grable, Mike Weller, Chef Leo (recently retired after teaching eight thousand students!), Stephen Gibbs and Molly Fuller, Holly & Jean Yves LeDu, Emily Adams, Francesca Perata, Larry Michaels, Michael & Rose Rech, uber food blogger Amy Sherman (who had returned from a trip to Italy that afternoon), Beth Klein Seligman. Invites were sent out only seven days before the event, and what cook is able to escape work on a busy Friday night on a holiday weekend? Buffets were set up, but the room only seemed to have a third of its usual buffet contents. There seemed to be too much pates and meat, with a smidgen of Ceasar and fruit salads. I looked for endive appetizers, which were a buffet standby when I was a student. No go.

The menu: charcuterie, assorted smoked meats and fish, gallontines, ballotines, assorted pate and salads, fresh (moldy tasting) seafood selection, cheeses and fruits, hot entrees including prime rib, kobe beef, and trout. Desserts were flaming crepes, giant flaming Baked Alaska, chocolate and cheesecakes, and mini fruity/creamy pastries. Perhaps the best part was watching the teen aged daughter of Larry Michaels easily slice off the cork of a champagne. Chef Herve LeBiavant had a bigger sword, and took three tries. Next came the flaming Baked Alaska, which looked more than thirty feet long.

  Baked Alaska, anyone?

The Spices of Campton Place

Swanky Campton Place has an interesting hook on spices. I never realized tamarind can be hard green pulp. In the Mission stores, the ripened fruit is reddish brown inside. It makes a great marinade or tart and tangy drink, rich in Vitamin C. Tamarind pods are pictured above. The following list of spices is a sample of those used in the recipes of Chef Srijith Gopinathan:

The Spices of Campton Place Restaurant
Spice: Cumin
Country/Region of Origin: East Mediterranean to East India
Uses: Cumin can be used to season many dishes, as it draws out their natural sweetness.

Spice: Ginger
Country/Region of Origin: China then spread to India and Southeast/Southwest Asia
Uses: Fresh ginger is one of the main spices used for making pulse and lentil curries and other vegetable preparations.

Spice: Cassia
Country/Region of Origin: Arabia
Uses: Cassia is a close relative to the cinnamon, and has an intense flavor and aroma to desserts, baked goods, curries and meats.

Spice: Saffron
Country/Region of Origin: Southwest Asia
Uses: Gives food a rich, golden yellow hue and has a taste reminiscent of metallic honey with grassy or hay-like notes.

Spice: Tamarind
Country/Region of Origin: Africa
Uses: The hard green pulp of a young fruit is very tart and acidic and is most often used as a component of savory dishes. The ripened fruit is sweeter, yet still distinctively sour, and can be used in desserts and sweetened drinks, or as a snack.

Spice: Garlic
Country/Region of Origin: Southwest Asia
Uses: Has a characteristic pungent, spicy flavor that mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking.

When Setting the Table....

The beautiful client was picky, particular, and wealthy. I wanted her to be pleased, since this was only my second time working at her manse. In catering--like all jobs--paying attention to little details is vital. Plan ahead, think things through, etc., etc. Yet mistakes happen, and bring me back to Earth. I'd like to think my brain wasn't operating at one hundred per cent because we were on Day 2 of a heat wave. I had gotten little sleep the night before, and was worn out by the heat.

There were two hours for me to set the table and do other kitchen tasks. Easy, right? Well.... Forgetting the first course soup spoons shouldn't have happened. My boss and I went over the menu when I arrived to work. The maid had already set everything out for me, or so I thought.  I should've done an inventory for each course before I set the table. But it looked like that had already been done for me. I didn't realize my  huge error until the guests were seated and ready to eat. My boss was ladling and garnishing the soup bowls for us to carry out.

OMG. All of the sudden, I could visualize the place settings in the next room. Shit! I had put a spoon down, but it was for dessert. A teeny spoon sitting at 12 o'clock was not going to gain me any smiles or looks of support from the client (or my boss). I was panicking. There were no soup spoons on the table! Eeeek!

My boss said, "I told you! Soup, Mary! You needed soup spoons! Go!!"

Out to the dining room I walked-ran, to find the proper spoons. Talk about awkward. There were four drawers to go through. I finally found the spoons tucked under an antique looking cloth. By this time, half the soups were already on the table, placed by a co-worker. The guests were talking and hadn't tried eating yet. They were of the well mannered sort, whew. That bought me just enough time.

I worked my way around the table, neatly placing a spoon for each guest. The final spoon was set right before the last soup bowl arrived. Within a minute, they started daintily eating the soup. I reported back to the kitchen: "They have spoons. Soup's set," to my boss. She was visibly relieved but still peeved, and I apologized, twice. It took me all night to forgive myself, and I kept replaying the nightmare missing spoon scenario over and over again in my head. Pulling such a rookie move will do that.

Sichuan Hot in San Mateo

Eating at San Mateo's Little Sichuan Restaurant can be a hot, hot, hot experience. The dry fried chicken, shown here, and Ma Po Tofu (pictured below) were almost too much. Yet it was tasty, hearty, and good. Combining jalapenos and Sichuan dried chilies offered potent heat. There was also a pleasant hint of sweetness with the chicken that helped balance the spicy seasoning.

We specified that the food be hot spice wise, and Little Sichuan delivered. I noticed other chile eaters sweating and smiling. Many had Chinese beer, tea, and water. On some tables, there were bowls of broth with red chile oil or liquid on top that intrigued. Worth another visit.

Others may complain about the service, which can be spotty. On weekday lunch visits the service isn't always consistently good. Also, the restaurant has a worn feel. But I'm not going for decor or service. The spicy food with ample servings over rules these quibbles.

The restaurant has it's own parking lot, which is a bonus for the downtown San Mateo area. Also, you can walk through the "Mother Ship" Draeger's food emporium before or after your meal. It's right next door....

Little Sichuan Restaurant
168 E. 4th Avenue
San Mateo, CA
650.345.9168

Catering Tip: Pipe It

Piping bags are used to fill canapes, as well as drizzle everything from chocolate sauce to whipped cream and even savory pastes. Disposable piping bags are made of heavy plastic. I have two cloth ones from cooking school that get washed and re-used. Make sure to air dry sufficiently or you get mold or stinky smells!

If you forgot to buy or bring a piping bag to a catered event, you may be able to use a baggie. Of course, there's a catch: the baggie only works if the material you are piping is more liquid than paste. Think mayo, pesto, that sort of thing. To make your own piping bag, use a one gallon sturdy baggie. Cut the bottom corner off according to how wide you need your piped liquid to be: one quarter inch is a great measurement to start with. Don't make the hole too big or the liquid will rush out too quick and be too wide a ribbon.

If you are piping a thick dip, the plastic bag will start to tear in little slits. A baggie is not sturdy enough to handle the pressure of squeezing out thicker substances. Trying to force a baggie to work, almost guarantees you'll have a mess of oozing multiple holes. Not the best way to get things done or impress your clients and boss!