Mary Ladd

Where the Chefs Go: Cookhouse Revs Up in North Beach

Images courtesy of Pamela Palma Photography

“I want to live here!” was the most squealed phrase at the Herbivoracious cookbook event for Michael Natkin at the aptly named Cookhouse venue. The crowd settled into a light filled room and many appeared comfy and happy with their meal and setting.

Cookhouse is a gorgeous North Beach nest that opened in February 2011. You can call it an event space, which it is. But such dry words hide the fact that Cookhouse is a sophisticated and vibrant spot that makes people wistfully cry out that version of “I could move here!” according to Director of Operations Amy Bryan. Climbing the stairs, one gets a decidedly mix of Paris in San Francisco feel. No wonder Cookhouse is ground zero for "in the know" birthday and anniversary parties, corporate mixers (leave that rubber chicken at the hotel banquet hall!), or perhaps an intimate dinner with the likes of Ravi Kapur, Stuart Brioza, Nicole Krasinski and Elizabeth Falkner before she decamped to the east coast. Prices depend on event, and more information can be found online here. San Francisco magazine is on to this celeb chef hangout and held a potluck here for a group of Best Chef Award winners last month.

Cookhouse has the kind of beautiful kitchen I love to work in: Thermador ranges and induction burners, MAC knives, Staub Dutch ovens, and a KitchenAid mixer. Neat freaks whoop over how well the cooking utensils are set up and organized, and the building dates back to 1913 and has served as a sound engineering office, bookstore and salon over the decades. It's clean, spacious and organized... the way I wish my home kitchen could always be.

Brendan Marshall of Kitchit has used Cookhouse for chef based events and said,

“Cookhouse has a nice venue with the facility to handle dinner parties of 20-30 people. For us, it’s all about connecting people with chefs. Cookhouse works for people who want a different venue.” 

Cookhouse’s Bryan confirmed that, “It’s a private venue you can rent for any use and it doesn’t have to be food related. That’s why we built it. We do a lot of private events, birthdays, anniversary parties, corporate team building, and classes. We even do a little bit of food photo shoots and filming here.” Professional cooking staff is available to help with the cooking and event flow, and Cookhouse has taken pains to work with local artisans and can order foodstuffs from Bi-Rite Market.

(Feed the) Machine: Caffeine, Sandwiches & Mayor Ed Lee

Where were you when San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee proclaimed today to be officially all about Machine Coffee & Deli (1024 Market at 6th, San Francisco)? His presence at the ribbon cutting added business-nerdy flair to the opening of the latest (yet smallest) food outpost from the folks behind neighboring Show Dogs and sister restaurant Foreign Cinema. The Machine space is of the order-and-go variety, and you can grab a seat outside.

Gayle Pirie was eating a croissant with jelly before the ceremony, and her husband John Clark received the proclamation from Mayor Lee. Clark talked about how he and his friends looked at renting in the area when he moved here 30 years ago. "It was quite blighted and rents were practically nil." Things are changing in the area: Pirie & Clark's work--with the help of their investors--are one of the motivating factors behind the revitalization of the area, which Lee said is continuing to attract other businesses. 

Halves of smoked turkey sandwiches from Show Dogs' Chef Peter Temkin and Four Barrel coffee samples were available after the ribbon cutting. Sticky buns from Foreign Cinema will be among Machine's breakfast options, and Temkin's lunch menu has house-smoked meats, sausages and roasted meats. 

18th Street Block Party this Saturday afternoon

Happy Birthday, Bi-Rite & Delfina! I did prep work today for the upcoming 18th Street Block Party, happening in SF on Saturday. Jennifer Biesty was the boss, and we worked at Charles Phan's new gorgeous and huge commissary kitchen. 18th Street Block Party food includes pig, chicken, corn, beans, hot dogs, paella, sandwiches, smoothies, watermelon agua fresca, lemonade & more. There will also be booze, music, and wonderful weather. The wine and beer garden make my mouth water already.

To purchase advance meal tickets, call Christie Ward at 415-971-7291 or email [email protected].

I wish I could work on this bash, particularly to get the chance to work on a roasted pig. But. We are leaving early tomorrow for a wedding in Sebastopol.

Slow Food Nation Taste Pavilions

Slow Food celebrates "food that is good, clean and fair." These honey samples looked and tasted good. Other foods on offer at Fort Mason today at times took as long as forty five minutes to get. Thankfully, the Native Foods tent had a shorter line, and we gladly tried all three items on offer: bison chili (rich, thick, meaty, clean tasting), hominy, and wild rice cakes with a spicy kick. While I was happy to try something that reminds me of my Dad's Kwakiutl Native American heritage, I also found myself hoping that the cooks there would have a steady stream of customers all day. I had time to mull it over as we sat on hay outside, people watching, eating, drinking and talking.

It's great to have face time with the makers of these foods and drinks, sure. But it would've been a more satisfying event if the lines were not so long and slow.

Litquake Smut tribute menu and pics

Work Date of Sunday, August 3, 2008

Event Description: Litquake fundraiser with light refreshments for approximately 200-250 guests. All food to be served at room temp until 10 p.m. or when food runs out. Guests arrive at 7:00 pm, show begins at 8:00pm.

Menu: Steamy & Saucy BBQ Pork Sliders, Creamy & Sexy Petite Quiches,  Sinful Assorted Cheese and Fruit, Gotta Have It Chocolate Covered Strawberries

CCA President responds to questions on tipping

Salad pic from last week's visit to the Careme 350 Restaurant at the California Culinary Academy.

Hello Ms. Ladd,

I am so glad that you enjoyed your experience at CCA’s new restaurant.  The students running the kitchen and dining room were excited to hear such great feedback about their work.

To address your concern about how we handle gratuities at Carême 350, I thought I’d offer a brief explanation.  As you know, CCA is a culinary school whose mission it is to train students in the culinary arts and hospitality fields.  Our student-run restaurant exists to provide a real-life laboratory for these students and those who work there are actually doing so as part of the curriculum.  This six-week course teaches students how to operate in a real restaurant environment, with 3-week rotations in each the front and back of the house.  The students working in our restaurant classroom are just learning the skills necessary to serve clientele in a fine dining establishment and therefore leaving a tip is not required at Carême 350.  Still, some patrons choose to do so, which led us to come up with a way to see that those funds ultimately benefit our students, but in a manner that doesn’t taint the learning environment we strive to maintain.  Therefore, all gratuities at Carême 350 are donated to the institution’s scholarship fund.

Periodically, we must hire additional students to fill in when a class is too small to keep the restaurant running on its own.  To make up for the fact that tips are not part of their compensation, we pay such individuals at a rate approximately 50% higher than the hourly wage of the average restaurant server in San Francisco .

I hope I’ve been able to clear up this issue for you and look forward to welcoming you back to Carême 350 in the near future.

Sincerely,

Jennifer White

President

 

 

Jennifer White | President

California Culinary Academy| Le Cordon Bleu

350 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco , CA 94103

Careme 350 lunch for $3.50

Yesterday's bargain lunch-three and a half courses for $3.50-at the California Culinary Academy's Careme 350 restaurant was a winner. The food was made and served by culinary students. There were some glitches; our bill was presented before we ate dessert, and sometimes we were waiting for utensils or food, but the light filled room and tasty fare worked. Everything looks clean and new at Careme 350. There  aren't defecating vagrants, smoking students in uniform, or flashing prostitutes outside the building, which was an issue at the CCA's old Polk Street campus.

Other diners included construction workers, office peeps, and a few grey haired senior citizens. The place was about 80% full and capacity is just over two hundred people. Nothing felt rushed, and the mood was happy. The $3.50 promotion was for both lunch and dinner yesterday, and included three and a half courses.Two senior CCA staff members visited tables to make sure customers were happy.

Le Menu was as follows:

Amuse Bouche
Spicy mini shrimp cake with lemongrass & chervil

Appetizer (choice of 1)
Sauteed portobella and oyster mushrooms, shallots, frisee and watercress with Jeres Spanish vinegar

Homemade pasta Greek style, with fresh oregano, feta cheese, Kalamata olives and Extra Virgin olive oil

Entrees
California Ling Cod gratinee with a Dijon mousseline served with steamed Tournee potatoes. 

Roasted leg of lamb with garlic, baby Lima beans and Linguica sausage.

Dessert
Chocolate tart with mango sauce

Almond cake with whipped cream, raspberries and strawberries

We did wonder about one thing: is it right (or even legal) for the Careme 350 to use "all gratuities" for their "scholarship fund"? I like the idea of helping with scholarships but don't feel this is the right way to do so. I'd rather the money go directly to the dining room and kitchen crew, as is the case at other restaurants. It's been some time since I studied restaurant law, but the Careme 350's policy seems unfair at first glance.

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

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.

Hot Stuff Food Section & Book Round Up

Book tidbits and food section round up is on SFist today.

With the world's spotlight on China, Fuchsia Dunlop's new book Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: a Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China hits the spot. Her tales of eating and cooking are enticing. I can't stop thinking about her time in China, and how she pushed her way into kitchens and restaurants, to find out how to cook her favorite dishes. She eventually came to love the taste and texture of chicken feet, and other dishes that take some mental work for a non-native. She feels that learning to appreciate these weird textures are critical to truly enjoying Chinese food. I only wish she had included hints or even stories of love interests. It seemed odd to not know who she liked and loved during her fifteen year journey to China.

Bob Spitz's The Saucier's Apprentice is another interesting travel/cooking/eating memoir. He decides to pack up and learn to really cook after finishing a book on the Beatles and going through a divorce. Smart move. His journey to some of the finest cooking schools in Europe is funny, tasty, and touching. The characters-from fist fighting cooking school guests to hostile women folk are hilarious. Spitz experienced first hand that not every cooking school is worth shelling out money for, but he ultimately finds the recipes and knowledge, along with self acceptance and love, that he is seeking.

HDO me

HDO is short for Hors d'Oeuvres, which are passed "butler style" by waiters at events. I love servers who offer to clean the platter (using water and vinegar) when they return to the kitchen. That's much better  than handing it back all smeared and messy. I notice and appreciate the help; sample nibbles for you, good server!

Here's a recent sampling of HDOs served at a Bay Area event:

Endive & asparagus spears with dijon sauce

Butter lettuce with shrimp, toasted coconut, shallots, ginger, lime, peanuts, and a smidgen of jalapeno

Artichoke cake with sharp cheddar and onions, baked

Ancho Chili Chicken Skewers with guac dip-the leftover tasted great the next day.

Hot Stuff Food Blog Round Up

Time for pizza, salt, and Ma Po Tofu over at SFist.

Chocolate Salon at Fort Mason this Sunday

Yum! The second annual San Francisco Chocolate Salon is here on Sunday. Tickets are $20 and include lots of chocolate and espresso samples. It's enjoyable and worth the trip for any chocolate fiend.

Hot Stuff Food Blog Round Up

Dreamy Pavlova pic heads up this week's food blog round up on SFist. We ate a homemade "Pav" after our New Zealand hangi and it was sweet and memorable, made by my cousin's 80+ year old grandmum.

The (Catering) Replacements

One Golden Rule of Catering: Replace thyself. Preferably NOT on the day of an event. If you're heaving or otherwise ill, give the catering company as much advance notice if at all possible, so as not to induce headaches. The last thing a staffing person wants is to figure out who to call as your back up. I learned this the tough way years ago. I was still in cooking school, and learning the ropes.

I had a bloody eyeball when I woke up early on a Saturday morning. My catering call time was for 3 p.m. that day, in Palo Alto. The bloody eyeball hurt and seemed too disgusting to look at, from a catering guest point of view. Or so I rationalized to myself. At 10:30 a.m., I left a voice mail on the staffing company's machine describing the bloody eyeball, and saying I wasn't feeling well and that my eye looked gross. I  said sorry a few times throughout the message, and meant it. I thought that was all I needed to do. But no. Two hours later, I received a scathing response from a bitchy woman:

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked. "This is a  huge event, and we really need you. How am I supposed to find a replacement? It's late!" she screeched. She was right, but I didn't have a good answer.

"Look, my eyeball has blood in it, and it hurts. I don't think I should be around food."

"Did you go to a doctor?" she asked.

Why would I do that? I didn't have health insurance, and was taking the cheapo/free self care route.

"No," I mumbled. Our conversation-or rather, her continuing to yell at me-continued for two more minutes. I hung up my phone with the understanding I had seriously fucked up and would not be able to work for this company again. Lesson learned.

I was supposed to cater tonight for an elaborate dinner party. But I tweaked my back cleaning and moving furniture at our place last weekend. Because I have excruciating back pain that flares up every year or so, I did the smart catering thing. I backed out of my catering gig as soon as possible. Last Sunday, I emailed my boss apologies and short details of my back woes, along with the names and phone numbers of two potential replacements. I described in detail their background, "works for the Gettys", "catered a huge New Year's party for wealthy Euros," etc. so she could understand who would be working in my place. If either of those two names didn't pan out, I let the boss know I had other great replacement candidates.

I will call her tomorrow to check up on how my replacement did.

Lunch with Ellie Krieger

Tomorrow I'm attending a Luscious Lunch with the Food Network's Ellie Krieger, at Garibaldi's Restaurant in San Francisco. Her new cookbook is called Foods You Crave, and the menu will be from recipes in the book. I have to give Barbara Lane of the JCCSF a shout out for inviting me. Barbara is the JCCSF's Director of Lectures & Literature, and will be "in conversation" with Krieger.

Join us by calling 415.292.1233. Cheers.

The Poop Blog presents: Crumbelievable Parenting

Hmmmm: how to navigate dining in a restaurant or at home when there's a baby involved? I seek answers in a post for The Poop, on SFGate.com. More of my writing will be on The Poop each week.

Breakity-Break

I have been told I need to slow down and rest because I have a son on the way, due in early October. Since this is our first (maybe only?) kiddo, I can't say for sure how long I'll be away. But I look forward to returning soon with more exciting food, drink, and related tidbits. Until then, cheers.