More From San Fran: A Little Indian in the Castro

J chowing down on his thali!

If you are looking for some fantastic Indian food while in San Francisco, look no further than Kasa.  This wonderful little "fast food" joint in the Castro offers amazing, homestyle Indian food that is beyond tasty and super cheap.  You can get either a Thali (the Indian version of a Southern meat and three) or Kati rolls (think a tiny Indian burrito), both of which will have your tastebuds dancing like a Bollywood musical.  What ever you do, don't miss out on the daal (a thick stew of cumin spiced lentils) or the karahi paneer (delicious Indian cheese served with sauteed green peppers and tomatoes).


Resolution:  I am going to figure out how to make me some daal and, if I'm feeling crafty, some homemade paneer.

Don't be scurrrred.  Try something new!

A Morning Stroll Through Fairy Land

Clearly, as evident by the lack of postings, yours truly has not been doing much cooking since his arrival in San Fran.  Instead, as promised, J and I have been steadily eating our way through this amazing culinary city paying little to no attention to cost or calorie intake.  A fool's paradise.  And my a$$ is getting fat.

So, until I wake up from this dream, allow me to paint you a picture of my fairy tale existence in the City by the Bay.

Please read in the most delightfully overly dramatic, British fey voice.

Our hero...in modest repose.

Once upon a time, in a magical kingdom called San Francisco, there lived a handsome foodie prince named Scott who was visiting from out of town.  Each morning, a flight of animated birds emerged from the kitchen drawing back the curtains heralding the beginning of a new day as a tiny fawn gently pulls back the covers, nudging him awake with his cool snout.  Springing out of the bed, young Scott dons his gay apparel and follows the birds back to the kitchen to enjoy the freshly brewed coffee awaiting him.

Stepping out of the house, he blithely passes through the park greeting the pups and their people with a lighthearted smile. (Note:  survey says that there are more dogs in San Francisco than children...and I miss the Buster dog).  Oh, look!  Is that a fancy ice cream store churning out deliciousness for the neighborhood?  It is! ('Nother note:  Bi-Rite Creamery makes a Salted Caramel ice cream that will make you slap your pappy.)  There's a beautiful bunch of tulips...I must buy some upon my return home.  Good morning locally owned and operated organic food store!  My taste buds and ecologically conscious mind thank you.

And there it is.  At the end of the block, shining in the morning light, is the most magical place on earth: Tartine.  One step inside this holy shrine and you realize you are not in Kansas anymore.  Glass cases are filled to the brim with freshly baked cakes and breads while atop these glittering vessels of baked love sit cookies and French macaroons, silent and tasty prisoners longing to be liberated from their glass domed cells. Decadent pastries known as Morning Buns, close cousins to the cinnamon bun but on orange infused sugar steroids, call out your name.  Croque monsieur beckon to take them home like the wanton Frenchmen they are.  How does one make up one's mind?

Gourge, double pain aut chocolat, croissant, morning buns, tea cakes, and quiche!

You don't and you order half the store.  

So move along, princess, and get your fat butt back up that hill, you've got some eating to do!

I Ate a Heart in San Francisco

San Francisco's Black Sweet Heart

Okay.

So it's been a while.

Lots to catch up on.  The short version:  Heading towards mid-life crisis, loved ones dying, and Oprah was going off the air.  I needed a change.  Not a maudlin change, just an "It's Now of Never" sort of moment that makes one temporarily insane and utterly convinced one has achieved a nearly euphoric state of clarity, vision, and purpose. So I gave my notice, squashed the hearts of some very amazing young Thespians, and currently find myself a free agent in need of a job.

Make that a free agent in need of a job who now finds himself in San Francisco.  For now.

From the moment we landed, J and I had a singular vision...to eat our way through the city.  After hoofing it across most of Everybody's Favorite City, we landed at J's favorite spot in the world for Thai food - Suriya.

You would have to travel to Siam in order to find more authentic and delicious Thai cuisine.  The menu is fresh and seasonal featuring tasty delights for the carnivore as well as the veggiesaur. We enjoyed 13 Spice Lamb chops with spiced potatoes and a curiously, fiery little dish known as Crazy Jungle curry...or Kooky Pants Psycho Jungle curry...or some kind of name suggesting that there is a madman loose in the jungle and he is preparing really spicy, pumpkiny goodness.

The highlights, however, were at the beginning and end of the meal.  To start, we had the most divine stuffed eggplant, a simple dish featuring those little aubergines crammed full with a chicken and shrimp combo (think almost sausage-like) accompanied by the loveliest,  most verdant, herbaceous sauce I have ever tasted.  Spinach, oyster sauce, basil, cilantro, and a host of other ingredients dancing around the plate highlighting the unctuous flavor of the eggplant and the sweetly savory quality of the meat. J had to forcefully prevent me from licking the plate.  Fortunately, we got the skinny from our server, and I will be playing around with creating my own version (stay tuned for that one).

The real kicker came for dessert:  sweet, sticky black rice with mango.  I know.  Sounds odd.  But the rice had been combined with what tasted like a combination of coconut and condensed milks then placed in the center of slices of fresh mango arranged into the shape of a heart.  Cheesy?  Yes.  Delicious?  Absolutely.  So get yo' @$$ on over to the Bay City and eat yo' heart out.

What's your favorite "crazy" dessert?

Twirl It Up

So if the whole teaching thing doesn't work out...

Or the whole acting thing...

Or the Next Food Network Star thing...

Or the Being Famous Just For Being Fabulous thing...

J and I will start our catering company.

I will call it Twirl.

Here is some of our handy work from tonight's Dash and Dine event.

Very Dramatique, no?

The Spread.

Shameless Plug

We interrupt our fascinating "Chicken Bonanza" series for this important, late-breaking news.

If'n you are in the Memphis area, like food, and want to support a fantastic theatre company (of which J is the Artistic Director), the check out Voices of the South's Dash and Dine event this Saturday 8/28.  Live music, amazing silent auction items, a groovy Backbeat Bus Tour, and an amazing spread of Southern inspired creations (a few of which will be prepared by yours truly, The Improvised Chef).  

Check out the menu! 

Kale and Mango Salad with honey vinaigrette

Blue Cheese Walnut Terrine with dried fruits

Homemade Pimento Cheese and baguette

Watermelon and Cucumber salad

Roasted Potato Salad with bacon

Black-eyed Pea Hummus with pita *IC creation

Mixed Bean and Corn Salad

with queso fresco and lime vinaigrette

Award-winning Memphis Barbeque on Rosemary Biscuits

with assorted condiments and pickled relishes *IC BBQ Sauce

Barbequed Gravlox with fresh peaches *IC creation

Homemade Strawberry Cake

Homemade Chess Squares

Featured Beverages include

Homemade Lemonade

And

Summer White Wine Sangria

So eat, drink, and be merry (or Mary as the case may be).  It's good and good for you (and tax deductible)!

For more information, check out their website.

Adventures in the STL (part 2): Ted Drewe's

God exists, and makes Himself known in small and wonderful ways:

in the laughter of a baby,











in the promise of a rainbow,

 and in the form of delicious frozen dairy treats provided by Ted Drewes.

Attractive, no?  But all vanity goes out the window once you step away from their window.

Ted Drewes Fozen Custard is a miracle.  Like Soulard, it has been around for eons.  It's a small, free-standing building (well actually a couple of buildings now) that serves up the most incredible concoction that is the embodiment of all things summer:  The Concrete, a shake made from frozen custard that is so thick you can turn it upside down and nothing comes out, even in the middle of a hot St. Louis August day.  It comes in a variety of flavors ranging from chocolate marshmallow to peaches to, my personal fave, abaco mocha.  This stuff is soooo good, I can even overlook the fact that they have a concrete called the Frisco because it's full of fruits.  (This is the actual explanation you will get if you ask about the name).

Slightly homophobically named treats aside, if you are any where near STL in the summer and you don't go...you are a stupid person undeserving of love.

Or you are lactose intolerant.

Notice how Father Beth is wasting no time to get in line.

Adventures in the STL (part 1): Soulard

Me and (one of) the Birthday Girl(s).

I never really appreciated St. Louis until I moved away from there.

I grew up, like many folks I suppose, in a suburb of a metropolitan area chock full of minivans and pleasant sounding street names.  It was the ‘80s:  HBO was new to the neighborhood, Duran Duran posters covered my wall, and summers were filled with going to the mall or wearing out my season pass to Six Flags.  In fact, my mom still lives in the house that I called home from kindergarten through my senior year of high school.

And all I ever talked about was getting out of the STL. 

A view of the market.

It wasn’t until I returned home to celebrate my mom’s (gulp) 70^th birthday with J that I truly gained an appreciation for the city.  We spent the weekend dining in outdoor cafés in the Central West End, touring through Forest Park (home of the 1904 World’s Fair), hitting up the new Museum of Modern Art, and paying a visit to the amazing Soulard Farmers' Market.  If I recall correctly, that particular visit yielded a birthday dinner featuring fresh asparagus, bright red cherries and a particularly tasty grilled plum salsa served over salmon.

Soulard has been around for eons it seems and is a St. Louis tradition.  Open Wednesday through Saturday, it’s open air stalls are filled with merchants and local farmers selling their wares and freshly grown produce, herbs, and flowers.  It is a veritable paradise for Locavores:  those who attempt to eat exclusively from products grown locally.

Father B and niece, T

 I have returned to St. Louis for yet another round of birthdays and my (bigger gulp) 20^th high school reunion, and this morning, accompanied by Mom, Father Beth, and my niece, I made another trip to that Old Faithful of Marketplaces.

T, P Dizzle, and Father B with birthday flowers.

If you find yourself visiting the Gateway to the West and are fortunate enough to have a kitchen at your disposal, I highly recommend paying a visit.  The sights, food, and smells will not disappoint.

Homemade pasta from Fazio's Bakery and Pasta.  J, I'm bring home some spicy red pepper linguine!

You can even buy glass that make you look and feel like an Italian model.

Incense that smells like...whuck?

My Dinner with Amy: a video experience

My first video dining experience:  a delightful evening in Chicago with my good friend Amy: Professional Lesbytarian.

Please forgive any "up the nose" shots.

Okay...so it ends a tad abruptly.

To sum up:  In Fine Spirits is a fabu place for simple, clean, seasonal food from local farmers.

If'n you enjoy the vino, it's a great place for small plates and wine pairings.

And, by the by...

our waiter's name was Anders.

What I tell ya...Lesbians and Ligonberried.

I Heart Chicago

Hog Butcher for the World,

Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:

the opening lines from "Chicago" by Carl Sandburg

I would like to think of myself as a spontaneous person.  You know, they kind of guy with a devil-may-care attitude who throws caution to the wind and listens intently to the ceaseless whispers of his Id.

But, I am not.

So it was a big surprise when I found myself in my car yesterday, headed North to my old stomping grounds:  Chicago.  I love this city, particularly my old neighborhood.

Located on the north side of Chicago, Andersonville was primarily a Swedish neighborhood which experienced a big infestation of the gays in the '90s.  I like to say that it is the Home of Lesbians and Lingonberries.  The residential section features tree lined streets with a variety of homes, brownstones, and walk-ups, and people are always bustling around with their pets in crazy collars and babies strapped in with some stylish, ergonomically designed baby sling.  You can see every walk of life here.

Cutting through this mini-melting pot is Clark Street, home to several boutiques and fantastic restaurants.  All of the businesses are locally owned and, with the exception of a lone Starbucks, there are no chains from Catalpa to Lawrence.  In lieu of recipes, I submit for your viewing pleasure, and my reminiscence, a culinary stroll through Andersonville.

Please hum, "This Used To Be My Playground," quietly to yourself while viewing. 

Jin Ju

Love this place!  Great Korean food...perfect for small bites.

Ann Sather

An Andersonville staple with cinnamon rolls the size of your head!  Perfection!

And, no...that's not Ann at her car.

Taste of Lebanon

Total hole in the wall with the best (and cheapest) falafel evah!

Andie's

It's been there for years.  Yummy, but for some reason, you have to eat it there...the take out is odd.

Kopi Cafe

Groovy little coffee house with tasty plates and a little boutique with "world gifts". 

Just found out they got a liquor license

...not sure how I feel about that.

Swedish Bakery

With a real live Swedish Chef!  Best pastries ever!

T's Bar and Restaurant

Come for the mixed crowd...stay for the fries with curry mayo!

m henry

Good luck getting a table here on the weekend, because this breakfast place is AMAZING!

Don't miss the Blisscakes or the Black Bean cakes with your choice of eggs...which is what I had for breakfast today.

Marty's

Martini's the size of fish bowls...proceed with caution.

Huey's

A great hot dog joint, but don't pass up their Bacon Blue Cheeseburger.

Erickson's

Fab Swedish deli!

Reza's

Kabobs and dill rice.  'Nuff said.

Calo's

Until the remodeling, eating here was like entering into a joint on a Jersey strip mall.

Great I-Tal-Ee-Un food and steaks.

In Fine Spirits

Wine shop attached to a restaurant with a cool patio.

I'm eating here tonight!  Will give a full report tomorrow!

Some Sustainable Tastiness for Memphis

I'm not the most tech-savvy of folks, so I couldn't figure out how to put the video here.

But click on the link to find out more about the Trolley Stop Market.

Delish!