Pasta for Those Who Hate Doing Dishes

When I cook, it’s either two scenes: 1) I make a big mess and pile up my sink with used utensils, bowls, dishes and cooking racks, or 2) I have a few limited pots to wash after a quick-and-easy dinner. Especially on a weeknight, I like to keep the washing to a minimum (which is why I love leftover night because I’m basically just microwaving dinner from the night before and just washing one plate).

Awhile back, I read an article in the Los Angeles Times about a chef recommending cooking pasta in your sauce. I forgot which chef actually said that. I think it was Thomas Keller. But cooking your pasta and sauce together? I’m so there.

So below is a recipe I created using that concept of one-pot cooking. Afterwards I didn’t have to deal with washing my big multi-layered pot I used to boil pasta. I just had to wash the skillet, a plate and a wine glass. Perfect for my lazy nights.

The trick with using this technique is to time when you add the different ingredients because they all cook at different times. So for example, below I cooked the chicken with the pasta in a chicken broth-tomato sauce. Then I later added in the zucchini because I didn’t want it to be totally soft by the time I ate it. So you can easily create your own pasta favorite, just know when to add the ingredients. The total cooking time, however, is always based on the pasta of your choice, which is why I chose penne because it usually has a longer cooking time than others. Enjoy!

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One-Skillet Pasta

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast (about 3 oz.), cut into chunks
1 can of whole peeled tomatoes (14.5 oz.)
1 can of chicken broth (14 oz.)
1 zucchini, diced
¼ cup kalamata olives
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1 white corn, kernels removed from cobb
¼ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
6 oz. penne pasta
salt and pepper
2 T extra virgin olive oil

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Warm oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and then add garlic. Saute for a few seconds and then add chicken to brown all sides, about 2 minutes for each side.

Add broth and tomatoes to the skillet and reduce heat to a rolling simmer. (That’s like a hearty bubbling but not boiling.) Add pasta and stir occasionally. Cook for as long as it takes to cook the pasta according to the box (usually about 11 to 13 minutes for penne).

Half way through the cooking of the pasta, add the zucchini, olives, corn and basil. You can also add some seasoning now, such as salt, pepper or even dried oregano.

When pasta is done, remove from heat and add cheese and blend well. Plate and garnish with basil leaves or grate more cheese on top.

Makes 2 servings. Serve with garlic bread.

Pair with a glass of Chianti Classico.

TIP: You can use any pasta you like, but penne, rigatoni or other similar ones are preferable. Spaghetti doesn’t cook as long and may not allow your other ingredients to cook by the time the pasta is ready.

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The Next Krispy Kreme--The Bomboloni

If I had the money, I would create a chain called “Ben’s Bomboloni” and all I would sell would be this lovely, cream-filled Italian treat. That’s all I would sell, and people would drive for miles to try this luscious doughnut filled with creamy custard, Europe’s favorite Nutella, fruity raspberry or America’s favorite chocolate. I’d open store after store, and it’d be featured on every food program, even Giada, the woman that’s all Italian would come and taste it for herself first-hand. Then I’d sell shares of my chain on the public stock market and it’d have the highest appreciation of any IPO since Google. Alas, that’s when there would be an SEC investigation about some accounting thing or another and I’d have to announce layoffs and then it wouldn’t be about the bombolini anymore.

Oh well, forget that. All I have to do is go to Boriana’s Corner at the San Francisco Ferry Building and get myself their amazing bomboloni.

This weekend I was at the Ferry Building on a beautiful sunny afternoon in the city and I saw the little cart at this Italian specialty store. Now, I have to say, I’ve walked past this store many times but never really bought anything. Their prices always seemed a little bit too gourmet and high-end for me. All their products are imported from Italy, specifically from the Tuscany region of Montepulciano. But out of curiosity, I wanted to taste what a bomboloni was. Plus, I love love love custard treats.

The bomboloni, you probably guessed, is not imported from Italy. I asked the store owner and she says that she imports some of the ingredients, but she found a local producer who follows her grandmother’s recipe and this summer she began selling these wonderful doughnut treats. You can get it in custard or raspberry for $2.50 each or Nutella or Cioccolato (which I’m assuming means Italian chocolate) for $2.75 each. They’re made fresh every morning and is available at Boriana’s Corner every day.

The bomboloni reminds me a lot of the malasada, which is a popular Hawaiian treat that has its roots in Portugal. The malasada is basically a pastry that’s shaped like an oval ball and is more fluffy than heavy dough. It’s rolled in granulated sugar and is extremely popular at fairs. Malasadas became so popular in Hawaii that the bakery that made the malasada a star, Leonard's, now make them filled with a variety of fillings such as coconut or guava. So the bomboloni is very similar in that it’s coated with granulated sugar and has a doughy consistency that’s fluffy and airy. Here’s the custard version and I took a bite so you could see the custard greatness inside. The custard was so perfectly balanced, not too sweet or runny. It was creamy, firm and so tasty. What I especially liked about it was that it was room temperature with just a slight chill so it didn’t taste like it just came out of the refrigerator truck. Now I can’t wait to go back and try the other flavors!

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Back to Basics: The Omelette

Before I started this blog, I would just see what’s in my refrigerator or the market and put something together. No measurements, and definitely no staging of the finished product! :-)

Now I write everything down, every time I cook, just in case I decide to blog about it. But there are still some things I make that just happens because I’ve done it so many times and it’s so basic that I figured, eh, they probably already know how to do this. Or do they?

That’s what popped into my mind when I was making an omelette the other day. There might be some people who don’t even know the first step in making an omelette. And then there’s others (probably the purists out there) who would be aghast (is that a word? I guess so since Word didn’t correct it)—aghast I say!—that my steps are so off based.

So I decided to describe how I make my omelette. I wished I thought of taking pictures of the steps, but that’s always hard since I need my hands for cooking. So you have to just use your expert visualization skills. I recently had some leftover crimini mushrooms and gruyere cheese in the frig, so I decided to make a cheese-mushroom omelette. Here’s how it went:

Sweating the mushrooms: I don’t like my omelettes runny, and it’ll be half-way to a river when you use mushrooms, which have a lot of moisture already. So I sliced my crimini mushrooms and placed them in a non-stick skillet with a bit of extra virgin olive oil to sweat out some of the moisture. Adding a pinch of salt will help extract the moisture. I call this sweating the mushrooms because after awhile, the mushrooms will start to get moist like it’s in some spa. As a twist, I add a dash of balsamic vinegar (about a tablespoon) and then let the mushrooms continue cooking until the vinegar reduces a bit. I remove everything from the pan and set it aside until I’m ready.

Two eggs or three?: I get my eggs ready before I start making the omelette. In a small bowl, I whisk together my eggs. You’ll need about two to three eggs. I usually use three to make sure I get a nice thick omelette. I’ll add about a teaspoon of salt at this time to make sure the eggs are well seasoned. Also, sometimes when I have it leftover, I’ll whisk in some crème fraiche or heavy cream (about a quarter cup) just to give my eggs a richer texture. But it’s totally optional and I didn’t do it this time because I didn’t have either one available.

Let the magic begin: So now that I have my core ingredients ready, I start making my omelette. In the same non-stick pan that I used to cook the mushrooms (rinsed and wiped off clean, of course), I warm some olive oil first. Even though it’s a non-stick pan, I still like to use a bit of oil to make sure my omelette doesn’t fall apart if some parts stick to the pan. Also, it’s important to create that initial burn when you add your eggs. So have your pan fairly hot (about medium high heat) and then add your eggs, then after about 30 seconds, bring the heat down to medium to continue cooking your eggs but not burn your omelette. (Some people don’t like their omelettes to have any browning color, so then you have to have your stovetop on a low eat. I’m not that patient.)

Piercing the bottom: I saw a guy at an omelette station in a restaurant do this once when I was a kid. He added the eggs to the pan and then started swirling it around to cover the entire base and as it cooked, he would get his spatula and pierce some holes so that the gooey eggs on top would settle down to the heat and cook faster. So I do the same thing as I cook my eggs, helping it cook faster by scraping some small holes with my spatula.

Plump up with filling: When it looks like my eggs are 80 percent cooked, I started layering the ingredients on top for the filling. So I get my mushrooms in balsamic vinegar and place them evenly on top. I also had some leftover fresh basil, so I grabbed a few leaves and sliced them thinly (chiffonade for you French cooking experts) and sprinkled them on top as well. If you want to add a pinch of salt and pepper, this would be a good time. Then I finish everything off by grating my leftover gruyere cheese on top, about a quarter cup.

The fold: I guess this is the part that requires some talent. I’ve seen on food demonstrations a variety of ways people make an omelette. The most interesting way was when a chef did this constant shaking of the pan until the omelette simply crumbled together into one side of the pan. I’m not skilled that way, so I do an easy fold-over. Once I have all my filling in place, I use my spatula and rim the edge of one side of the eggs and then just fold that side over, creating my omelette. Sometimes if I feel like it, I’ll fold it and then flip the whole omelette one more time onto its other side just so that it’ll have a more cylindrical shape, like a burrito.

Once the fold is done and cooks just a few seconds longer to create a seal, I just slip my omelette (this is where you thank yourself for remembering to oil the pan) onto my plate, give it some garnish or more grated cheese and then enjoy a happy weekend breakfast. (Yeah, I don’t have time to do this every morning so I just save it for the weekends.)

Here’s my mushroom-cheese-basil omelette. So how do you make yours?

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Dish on Dining: Bambuddha Lounge--CLOSED

Is Tenderloin Hotspot Cooling Down?
UPDATE 05/03/2010: This place closed on 4/29 because of declining business.)
601 Eddy St., San Francisco (Inside the Phoenix Hotel)
Tenderloin/Civic Center neighborhood
PH: 415.885.5088
Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, 5:30–10 p.m. (until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday)
Reservation, credit cards accepted
www.bambuddhalounge.com

When I lived in Manhattan, hot restaurants lasted for just a few months before another new one came along and got featured on “Sex and The City.” In San Francisco, the turnover isn’t that obvious but it can still happen with new restaurants opening all the time.

So when does a hot spot lose its luster? For Bambuddha Lounge, the too-hip-to-be-near-anything-chic restaurant and club, the time may be arriving soon if not already knocking on the door.

I recently revisited the 4-year-old Bambuddha Lounge with my friend Stella because we had tickets to the Broadway show Avenue Q at the Orpheum Theatre. There are very limited dining options near the Civic Center, so I suggested Bambuddha Lounge since it’s just four blocks north of the theatre.

The restaurant is the type that believes it’s so hip that it doesn’t even have its name on the door. When you walk up to the entrance at the Phoenix Hotel, all it says at the top is “Restaurant.”

Stella and I were early for our reservations, so we cozied up to the bar for a couple of drinks. The water feature against the wall of the bar gave off a distinct chlorine smell, which didn’t add to the ambiance. In fact, because we were early, the stark sunlight of an early San Francisco summer evening made the restaurant’s interiors appear stark and dated. I began to feel like I was inside a motel instead of a hip lounge. Mood lighting was definitely in order.


Our drinks were just as tired. I ordered a Lychee Martini that had too much lychee syrup and Stella ordered a Mango Mojito that looked pretty but didn’t have any taste of mango.

After we were seated at our table, we began to study the pan-Asian menu, which is primarily influenced by Filipino, Thai and Indonesian cooking styles. The menu under Chef Jessica Gorin had a mix of small and large plates. Feeling adventurous, Stella and I mostly focused on small plates so that we could try a variety of dishes.

SIDE NOTE: Our waiter was especially patient when it came time for me to order a wine with my dinner. Because we primarily ordered seafood and was eating in a mostly Asian restaurant, I was looking for a white wine. I would say I tried probably three different white wines by the glass before I gave up, feeling exasperated, and ended up with a red wine. Like I said, the waiter was especially patient and was very willing to give me sips of each wine so I could make my selection. I give him major props for that. I do not give props, however, to the wine list that featured very weak and immature white wines. The red wine I ended up with was sufficient for dinner but nothing noteworthy.

On to the plates: First up was the Peekytoe Crab salad ($12) with an English pea-cilantro puree with wasabi tobiko and chive blossoms. The crab salad had this unusually pale coloring, but the flavor and taste overall was pleasant. The subtle flavors of the crab were brightened by the citrus notes in the pea and cilantro puree. The chive blossoms on top also added a nice texture to the overall dish.

Then came the Chilled Avocado Soup ($8) topped with grilled prawns and drizzled with green papaya and herb oil. If I were Tom Colicchio of Top Chef, I would call this dish “disgusting.” But I can’t pull off Colicchio, and I do not want to shave my head just to call a dish disgusting. All I can say was that this was “disappointing.” The avocado soup lacked flavor and I just felt like I was eating bland pureed guacamole. The only saving grace was the grilled prawns, which added the taste of caramelized shrimp. Really, how wrong can you go with grilled fresh shrimp? If they had chopped up the shrimp and spread it around the soup, then maybe the bland avocado soup wouldn’t have been so offensive to me.

Next up was the Ma Po Duck Salad, which came out looking like a fall “horn of plenty.” The cubed duck meat looked like it was pouring out of this head of radicchio. The meat itself was tender with the traditional Asian flavors of a light hoisin base, but the presentation looked like the duck threw up on the plate. (I had so many “The Next Food Network Star” and “Top Chef” judges’ table flashbacks during this meal, it just wasn’t even funny.)

Our last dish of the evening was the Coconut-Crusted Day Boat Scallops ($22) with summer sweet white corn, mushrooms, and green chilies in a caramelized coconut reduction. Just like grilled shrimp, you can’t go wrong with scallops. They were tasty and filling, and the coconut and corn base was a nice compliment. I felt the coconut shavings used to encrust the scallops were a tad over the top and really wasn’t necessary.

As Stella and I went on with our meal, the restaurant began to fill up and there were a couple of “beautiful people” to check out. (They were having drinks outside in the poolside seating.) I told Stella that during the summer All-Star baseball game in San Francisco, Yankees Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez hosted a private party at Bambuddha Lounge. So apparently Bambuddha Lounge can still draw the big names for private events and parties, but I have to wonder if the food can keep them satisfied like the big belly Buddha?

All I can say about Bambuddha Lounge is that it was convenient to the Orpheum and we were able to have dinner and get seated at the theatre in time for the opening number. Avenue Q was the highlight of the evening.

Single guy rating: 2 stars (go for the eye candy while it lasts)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

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Food Gallery

I know this isn't really a food photo, but I did see it at a stand at the farmers' market awhile back. I'm not really sure what it is. I thought it was the blooming flower of an artichoke; those can be beautiful. (Although I tried to force my artichoke I bought at the store to bloom but it didn't. Lesson learned. No more rotting artichokes for me.) I think it's some kind of thistle. So that's why I call this "Purple Thistle in a Can."

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Classic watermelon salad

I can’t lay claims for inventing the watermelon salad. I think you’ve probably seen some on restaurant menus. To me, it’s a very Greek thing because of the simple olive oil dressing. Still, it’s one of my favorite salads to make because it looks so elegant and is very refreshing.

Lately, there’s been tons of watermelon for sale at my local Safeway. As the Single Guy, I’ve mostly been buying the miniature seedless watermelon from Dulcinea. That’s because 1) they’ve been on sale and 2) they’re easy to carry home and eat up by myself in just a few days. Along with making salad, I also like to mix some watermelon cubes with my favorite yogurt for a refreshing snack. Enjoy!

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Watermelon and Arugula Salad

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
1 cup watermelon, seedless and cubed
3 cups arugula
3 oz. Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
¼ cup Kalamata olives, pitted

Balsamic vinegar dressing:
1 T dijon mustard
1 T sugar
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt and pepper

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients to make the dressing and then whisk to blend well.

In a large salad bowl, combine watermelon, arugula and olives and then toss with some of the dressing. Plate and sprinkle the Gorgonzola cheese on top.

Makes two servings.

Pair with a glass of crisp Sauvignon Blanc.

TIP: I put the cheese last because if you toss the cheese with the rest of the salad, the balsamic vinegar dressing will make the cheese bit look gray. So add the cheese as the final touch.

FEELING YELLOW?: Recently the farmers market and some grocery stores have been selling the yellow flesh watermelon. Try this for a different take on this salad. You can replace with all yellow or mix with the regular red watermelon for more colorful plate. The yellow watermelon is supposed to be sweeter, but I think you get just as sweet red ones. So it’s mostly for the change in color.

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Berkeley's Corner Gourmet

Living in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, I never really feel like I'm far from good food, especially with the many restaurants within walking distance of my Rockridge condo. This weekend, I stayed close to home but did venture north toward Berkeley, and I have to admit, I accidentally discovered a bit of history.

I found myself at the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Cedar Street. Just in this tiny corner on the industrial-looking San Pablo Avenue is a triad of foodie heaven with the cluster of Acme Bread Co., Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant and Cafe Fanny.

I can't believe that I've never been to this spot of Berkeley's food standard bearers. I've heard of Gourmet Ghetto a few miles east of this spot closer to downtown Berkeley. But this non-descript spot, just a few blocks east of the upscale Fourth Street shopping area, is a casual nod to fine foods. Here's a tour of the three anchor tenants:

Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant was actually the main reason that brought me to this Gourmet Corner of San Pablo and Cedar. I had recently read about Kermit Lynch Wine in Jay McInerney's book "A Hedonist in the Cellar." The book is an entertaining, novice's look at the wine drinking experience in America and I was surprised to see this New Yorker mention a Berkeley importer as one of the country's best. So I had to check out this place that was opened by Kermit Lynch in 1972 and named Wine Professional of the Year by the James Beard Foundation.

The significant, distinguishing factor about Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant is that nearly 90 percent of its wine for sale come from France. The rest come from Italy. The store does not stock any California wines. The story goes that Lynch felt that if he stocked a California wine from a winery whom he probably knew, he felt he couldn't fairly tell the winery that the wine didn't taste that great. So to remove those potential conflicts with his friends in the California wine scene, he decided to focus primarily on French and Italian wine.

Walking around, you see a wide variety of wine. I felt really lost, though, because none of the wine had notes on them to explain what was inside the bottle. So you really have to know your French wineries and varieties in order to make an educated guess about whether that bottle in front of you will work. Fortunately, you can also rest on the reputation of Kermit Lynch, who imports all the wine himself, so he's created relationships with all the European wineries he buys from. I basically placed myself in the hands of the store's able clerks who will listen to your preferences and give you recommendations on which bottles will most likely match your needs.

Based on the expert discussion I had with one particular clerk, I ended up buying two bottles: 1) a 1999 Barbera Del Monferrato (barbera grape) from Cantine Valpane in Italy and 2) a 2004 Cairanne from Domaine Catherine Le Goeuil in France. I can't wait to cook up some red meat to try these nice bottles of reds.

After making my wine purchase, it was on to bread and Acme Bread Co. This outlet is actually the very first spot where Steve Sullivan, a former busboy at Chez Panisse, decided to start his bakery with his wife. The spot is so small that only a few people can stand inside to order their breads, so a line typically snakes outside.

The bread inside with workers busy making fresh bread in the background.

On the wall were all these interesting historic posters and photos. It was very 70s. Off to the side (and not pictured) were these risque, PG-13 photos from when the bakery opened with some of the workers dressed only in aprons bringing some hot bread out of the oven. Oh, it was sooo Berkeley. The photo showed their behinds to the camera, and I just figured out as I'm writing this that someone probably thought it was fun to show the workers' buns as they brought out the buns. LOL, they're so cheeky!

Right next door to Acme, is Cafe Fanny, which is the small, casual cafe opened by Alice Waters herself. Story is Waters wanted a spot to get away from the formal hectic-ness of Chez Panisse. (More likely it was her little way of escaping the kitchen politics of the restaurant.) It's supposedly named after the heroine of filmmaker Marcel Pagnol's 1930 movies, but also the name of Waters' daughter.

Much of the cafe happenings occur outside in this large deck area. To the right is the entrance to Kermit Lynch Wine. This is a fantastic place to hangout in the afternoon on a beautiful sunny day.

The cafe inside is really tiny, but cleanly and stylishly presented. The menu is a casual, simple basic cafe food like breakfast, pastries, sandwiches and salads. Of course, it's all fresh, seasonal, local ingredients. There's a marble counter where you can eat and watch the people behind the counter, but that's the only place to eat inside, which is probably why the outdoor seating is so crowded.

Here are some of the pastries and baked goods behind the counter. Everything was very quaint and yummy looking.

I kept it simple and just got a cranberry scone with marmalade and a pot of Earl Grey tea (which was made from loose leaves, a very nice touch). The scone, actually, didn't have much taste although I loved the texture. So the marmalade, which was just the right sweetness, came in handy. It was just a relaxing experience to sit outside, in the midst of such Berkeley food history, sipping my tea and eating my scone. I didn't think of San Francisco once during my afternoon jaunt to this East Bay gourmet corner.

SPEND A DAY IN PROVENCE: If you like the idea of Provencal cooking, then save the date of Saturday, Sept. 29. That's when the parking outside these three food landmarks in Berkeley will be closed off so they can present "Provence in Berkeley." This event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and French cooking will be served for a fixed price. The food will be prepared by Cafe Fanny and chef Chris Lee from the restaurant Eccolo. Be sure to make your way to this event for some French style foodie fun in the East Bay.

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Simple Stir Frying for End of Summer

I found a couple of leftover sweet white corn in my refrigerator. They're so cheap now at the store that I had bought a bunch and didn't eat all of them. So that inspired me to do a simple stir-fry dish that really looked and tasted like summer. All I needed was some chicken for protein and a zucchini and red bellpepper for color. And voila! My summer stir fry. Enjoy!

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Summer Stir-Fry

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
6 oz. chicken breast, cubed
2 ears of sweet white corn
1 red bellpepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 T sesame oil
1 T fish sauce
1 T Shao Hsing wine or other sweet cooking wine
2 t soy sauce
2 t sugar
1 t pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T cornstarch
2 T Canola oil

In a small bowl, marinade chicken with sesame oil, fish sauce, Shao Hsing wine, soy sauce, sugar and pepper. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.

Remove corn from the cobb by running your knife along the side of the cobb. Set aside.

Warm 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat and then add garlic. Then add chicken pieces and brown on each side for about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, add another tablespoon of oil and increase heat to high. Then add zucchini and bellpepper and saute for about a minute. Then add corn. Add a pinch of salt for taste. Return the chicken to the pan and blend all the ingredients.

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with a bit of room temperature water to create a slurry. Over high heat, add the cornstarch mixture to your pan a little at a time to create some gravy.

Remove from stove and serve. If you want, you can sprinkle the top with some chopped peanuts or toasted sesame.

Makes two to three servings. Serve with jasmine steamed rice.

Pair with a glass of Riesling.

TIP: Managing your liquids is important in stir-frying. You don’t want to drown your ingredients and create a steaming effect in your wok. So with the measurements I give in my recipes for the marinade, for example, never throw in the entire marinade at once. Add enough liquid to keep the ingredients from sticking to the pan, but only add a little at a time if needed. Retain any leftover marinade for later as you’re cooking. Also, the zucchini will give off more water than other ingredients, so you don't want to cook it that long or it'll be mushy and make the rest of your ingredients wet. Stir-fry is all about balancing and dancing with your ingredients!

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Dish on Dining: District

A Full-Body Wine Bar in South Beach
216 Townsend St. at Third, San Francisco
South Beach neighborhood
PH: 415.896.2120
Food served, Mon.–Sat., 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., bar open till 2 a.m.
No reservations, major credit card accepted
http://www.districtsf.com/

Last week I went to my very last Giants game for the season. I know. You’re thinking the season isn’t over yet. But it might as well be.

So I went with my friend David to try out the District wine bar, which is just two blocks north of AT&T Park. This comfy, almost pre-dot-com-like warehouse location opened just six months ago and has been packed with slick-looking business types and a few sports fan (David and me) on most nights.

District is the brainchild of a trio of newcomers to the restaurant business: brothers Chris and Ryan Vance and their partner, Jon D’Angelica. In a feature in 7X7 magazine’s Eat-Drink issue, the three dressed like how I imagined they’d want their clientele to dress: casual long-sleeve dress shirts with designer jeans. Really, they looked like they were ready to launch an IPO for some Web site where people upload things for free.

Despite being newbies (Chris Vance is the only one with experience having been the general manager at Ace Wasabi), I was impressed at how efficiently the room ran the night we visited.

Being a wine bar, District offers a long list of wine from around the world and offers several tasting flights if you’re in the experimental mood. David and I sat at the U-shaped bar in the center of the room, which gave us a good view of the many after-work clientele trickling in and looking for a spot to lounge in the cushioned chairs off to the side or the stools around the flat screen TV.

I started the evening trying the “Mountains to the Sea” flight that featured red wine from high elevations of Austria and the shores of Sicily. My server poured three glasses: the Glatzer Blaufrankisch, a 2004 from Austria; the Il Brecciarolo Sangiovese Montepulciano blend, a 2003 from Italy; and the Triumph Gurrida, a 2002 from Sicily.

This tasting flight cost me just $14 but each of my glasses were filled more than what I’ve seen at some fancier restaurants. (If you order by the glass, the per-glass pricing ranges from $10 to $16.) It really gave me a lot of chances to taste the three European wines, and I did get to the point where I was so confused that I couldn’t tell which was which. But in the end I would say the Triump Gurrida from Sicily was my favorite—warm and velvety with just a slight berry taste.

The food offerings are just as impressive as the wine list. It’s focused on seasonal ingredients with a light California flair to traditional bar food favorites. David and I decided to share the Kona kampachi tartare ($16) (on the recommendation of our server) and the red-wine braised short ribs ($18). We also ordered a pizetta, which is like an individual-pan pizza. We got the margherita pizzetta ($10) but I wanted prosciutto added on top (extra $2) but David apparently doesn’t like prosciutto. (Yes, and I still consider him a friend.)

Again, based on our server’s recommendation, we got a half-an-half. I have to say that the server was extremely helpful and accommodating, unlike our earlier server who took our wine orders. This guy knew the menu and could describe each dish, and was friendly about talking about it. It really added to the neighborhood vibe of the bar.

First up was the Kona kampachi tartare. It was a generous offering of kampachi cubed and topped with truffled ponzu and uni sauce. It was light, refreshing and slightly spicy. I really loved the extra texture you get from the uni sprinkled on top. (The uni is the thing that looks like black sesame seed but it's what you'd find at a sushi spot.)

Then came our pizzetta, with half prosciutto for me and plain margherita for David. This was another winner with its warm, fresh flavors, especially the tomatoes. The crust was a bit odd. It was a cornmeal-type of pizza crust that tasted OK but wasn’t what I’m used to when I want to munch on a thin crust pizza. Still, it was flavorful and filling.

Our last dish was the braised short ribs. Ironically, our server didn’t want to rush us so he held off on putting in the order for the short ribs and then forgot. But he was very apologetic about it and it arrived not too long afterwards. I tell this back story to explain why there are no clear photos of the short ribs. David and I were so excited to see the short ribs finally arrived that we dug right in, savoring the tender meat and warm Yukon gold mashed potatoes. I neglected to take a photo until we were half-way through devouring the dish. (I know, a first for me as a blogger!) Anywho, I guess that’s a good sign that we liked the ribs. Although honestly, I would say of the three the short ribs were the most predictable. The red-wine braise had the typical taste I’ve had at other restaurants, even at home, but it was still satisfying.

David and I were amazed how it seemed like we were the only ones at the bar eating so many dishes. Many of the people were there mostly for the drinks and the eye candy, which I think is a shame because the food is well executed and flavorful. For this wine bar, you can get the full restaurant experience without the formality.

NOTE: The bar does turn on the Giants game when it occurs, but it’s mostly ambiance. The District had a few Giants fan, but many of them looked disoriented and out of place, wondering what kind of sports bar they stepped into. But David and I didn’t care. We were there for the food.

Single guy rating: 3.5 stars (it's not your father's sports bar)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

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What's in my frig?

I have a lot of healthy snacks in my refrigerator, like fruits, yogurt, cheese, etc. I actually try to eat four to five times a day to maintain my weight. I know, don't you hate me? ;-) So one of my favorite standby snacks is hummus. It's a great healthy snack because of the ingredients, very much the Mediterranean diet. I also think it's very versatile. I use it as a spread on toast or a dip for crackers. There are a lot of brands of hummus at the stores, but right now I'm eating this particular Trader Joe's Tomato & Basil hummus. It's so yummy. And it has the right consistency...not too dry, but not totally wet. Another brand I like is the house-made hummus at Whole Foods, but they can be pricey, of course. Along with this Trader Joe's hummus, I'd recommend getting their store-brand thin crackers. They're so crispy and tasty and nice to dip in the hummus. Is it time for my snack yet?

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Mini Dish: Armani Café

Laboring for Food on a Holiday Weekend
1 Grant Ave. at Market, San Francisco
Union Square
PH: 415.677.9010
Open Mon.–Sat, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.; Sun., noon–4 p.m.
Major credit cards accepted

I never knew the Labor Day holiday weekend in San Francisco would be such a challenge to find a nice place to eat. I was in Union Square on Sunday (which wasn’t even the official holiday) meeting my friend Jessie for brunch and we went on wild goose chases looking for places to eat.

Our first stop was the tiny Canteen on Sutter Street, which was closed for two weeks for the end of summer (reopening on Sept. 11). We headed south to Farmer Brown, which was also gated and closed for the day. Not wanting to head to a third place and strike out, we went to the closest place we knew that would also have air-conditioning—the Armani Café inside the Emporio Armani store on Grant Avenue.

Even the Armani Café was running on holiday time. It didn’t have its usual outdoor seating and it was offering a limited menu of only salads and panini sandwiches. But it had air-conditioning, and after walking around the border of the Tenderloin for the last half hour, Jessie and I were ready to be pampered.

The café consists of a beautiful oval bar in the center of the store and a few tables on the mezzanine level. Jessie and I sat at the bar and started off by ordering some drinks. (I got a Limonata, which was made with lemonade and vodka.) For our brunch-now-turned-to-lunch, we shared a fig salad and the Kobe beef panini with brie.

The salad was nothing more than a huge plate of mesclun greens that were overly dressed with the vinaigrette. The food preparer, who made the salads right in front of us, spooned out what looked like dried figs that had been reconstituted with red wine. The figs were nice but I had hoped for fresh figs. (My track record recently with ordering figs on the menu has been 0-for-3 on the satisfaction monitor.)

While the salad was unspectacular, the panini was a darling bun of beef nicely pressed and equally tender. The thinly sliced Kobe beef, cooked like roast beef, matched perfectly with the warm, soft brie. I liked how Armani Café used a hollowed-out bun instead of the traditional slices of bread and that there was virtually no trace of grease from the grill press.

It takes some getting used to eating while you’re just a few feet away from the fine designer clothes. In the back of my mind I kept hearing my mom’s voice cautioning me not to drip on my clothes—or the $1,000 suit a few yards away.

Armani Café was a nice surprise on a day when few restaurants felt the call to labor. On other days, the Armani Café is a chic respite from the Union Square crowds. It’s outdoor seating is definitely a welcome spot for a light lunch of panini or pizza. But just a warning: This isn’t the place for you if you can’t resist the temptation of shopping after lunching. You’ll pay more for a scarf than 10 Kobe beef paninis.

NOTE: Because Armani Café served a limited menu on this impromptu visit, I won’t be giving it a rating like my other reviews since this is just a mini review.

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Holiday + Heat = Line at Ici

Here I am at the end of the line for ice cream at Ici's in Berkeley today, on a Labor Day holiday. It was a beautiful day in the East Bay, about 77 degrees with a breeze. But is it really worth topping off the day in this line? Oh, you know that's rhetorical. I was there with my friends David, Ann, Stella and her son, Lucas. So it helped having friends to chat with as we waited for 45 minutes to get to the counter from where the line began when we got there at 3 p.m.

If you thought this line is crazy, just think what it'll be like on Tuesday, Sept. 4. That's when Ici is celebrating its 1-year-anniversary. And yes, you can thank me now for letting you know that if you're in the area from 4 to 9:30 p.m., you can get one free scoop of ice cream. (I should note the sign at the store said "for every customer" so I imagine that means you have to buy something first to be considered a customer. Who cares, I'd buy two scoops for an extra scoop!)

Ici, 2948 College Ave. at Ashby, Berkeley. PH: 510.665.6054

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Labor Day Paella

Labor Day seems to be like your last chance to enjoy outdoor cooking and eating, and while most people will be grilling barbeque, I decided to make my favorite--paella. This traditional Spanish dish is typically made at the beach over coals, so it seems like a real festive dish to make over the grill as well.

For the recipe below, I'm making a summer-inspired paella with artichoke and tomatoes, with some fancy-looking Maitake mushrooms I found at the farmers market. Of course, since I have no patio, I just made this on my stove top with my individual size paella pan. But you can easily make this on your grill and serve it up to your friends from the pan as a different way to send off summer. Hope you all have an enjoyable Labor Day Weekend!

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Chicken Artichoke Paella with Maitake Mushrooms

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
6 oz. chicken thighs, cut into chunks
2 large fresh artichokes
3 oz. Maitake mushrooms, cut into pieces
3 small tomatoes
1 cup Bomba paella rice
1.5 cup chicken broth
1 garlic, minced
1 t pimenton or smoked paprika
1 t salt
1 t saffron
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T butter

Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and set aside.

Prepare your tomatoes by peeling and seeding them, and cutting into small chunks. Then set aside. Work on your artichoke next. Remove the outer leaves and cut stems and then remove the inner leaves of the choke. Then cut the heart into pieces. Place in a bowl of cold water with a squeeze of lemon.

Warm butter in a paella pan or large skillet and then add chicken to brown. Cook over medium high heat, about 2 minutes on both sides for nice brown color. Remove chicken and set aside.

In same paella pan, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat and add garlic. Brown slightly for a few seconds and then add tomatoes and artichoke pieces. Add broth and season with pimenton, saffron and salt. Then sprinkle rice into your broth mixture and use a wooden spoon to even out the rice in the pan. Don’t touch the rice any more, allowing it to cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

Five minutes into cooking your paella, start adding the other ingredients. For the maitake mushrooms, in a separate saute pan, cook the mushrooms with a pinch of salt and olive oil over medium heat to bring out some moisture. When ready, add to the paella pan with chicken, placing around pan to nestle into the rice. Loosely cover your pan with newspaper or aluminum foil until rice is ready.

Remove from heat and let set for about five minutes. Garnish with cilantro or flat leaf parsley and serve warm.

Makes 2 servings. Serve with small green salad.

Pair with a nice red wine from Spain such as a Monastrell.

TIP: A good sign of paella is the crunchy bottom called sacarrat. This doesn’t mean burnt rice, but just a brown, crispy part that gives an extra texture to your paella. Sometimes this will just occur naturally as you don’t disturb the rice. But if you feel there’s too much moisture, you can increase the heat at the last two minutes of cooking to attempt to create the sacarrat.

BOMBA IS THE BOMB: Bomba rice is the premium paella rice from Valencia, Spain. But you can also find some bags simply labeled paella rice. Just make sure it’s from Valencia, the home of the paella. If you’re desperate, you can replace with arborio rice, which is the rice for Italian risotto, but your paella may be more creamy that typical paella.

SKINNING TOMATOES: To prepare your tomatoes, get a pot of water boiling and then drop your tomatoes into the hot water for about a minute. Then transfer immediately to a bowl of cold water with ice cubes. Let sit for another minute and then remove and dry off excess water. Then you can easily peel off the outer skin of the tomatoes. Cut into cubes and remove the seeds as well.

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Food Gallery: Crate of Crabapple-ness

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Dish on Dining: Caffè Museo

This is the fourth and final post in my special series looking at the cafés at major San Francisco museums.

A space for art, more than food, at this SOMA café
151 Third St., San Francisco
SOMA district in front of the SFMOMA
Café hours: 10 a.m.–6 p.m., daily except Wednesdays; open till 9 p.m. Thursdays.
Access: Separate entrance right off street, no need to enter museum.
Major credit cards accepted
www.caffemuseo.com

Of all the museum cafés I’ve been visiting this summer, Caffè Museo at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art comes the closest to resembling a true sidewalk café. Anyone who’s walked by the SFMOMA building across from the Yerba Buena Gardens in the South of Market area of the city can attest to the crowds generally found sipping coffee or tea in the café’s outdoor seating.

Not surprisingly, the café has a strong Italian influence but serves up dishes with seasonal California ingredients. The space is operated by Real Restaurants, whose other eateries include Betelnut on Union Street and Caffè Verbena in Downtown Oakland.

I liked how the front counter is organized so that there are clear lines and more than one cashier to help you, which probably is nice at crowded times. The menu includes a variety of panini sandwiches ($9.50), pizza of the day ($8.50), salads ($10.95), pastas and other entrees ($11 to $14). They also serve wine, coffee and cappuccino.

The décor inside is nicely suited to the museum’s modern tones, with contemporary art accenting the blond wood walls. My only gripe was that some of the tables weren’t as clean, which seems to be a problem among museum cafés.

I visited Caffè Museo one day after work, so I got an early dinner. I started with the special soup of the day, Potato Leek ($6), and ordered the Pan-fried Crab Cake on Flat Bread ($12.95).

The soup was served with this huge cornbread stick and was drizzled with truffle oil. I thought the soup was average, maybe slightly bland. I barely made out the added leek or truffle oil flavorings. It seemed to be mostly a potato puree.

The crab cakes came on this large plate of flat bread topped with a green salad with radishes and cherry tomatoes. The crab cakes were nicely done, but again, nothing spectacular. It was filling and had a straight-forward vinaigrette dressing. Although, I did find it hard to eat the crab cake plus salad on top of the flat bread.

Caffè Museo offers a decent selection of food that’s efficiently prepared, but I wouldn’t go as far as describing it as restaurant food like how it does on its own Web site. The space is a nice environment with the jazz music flowing, but the food, while decent, doesn’t match the same sophistication as the art on the walls.

Single Guy’s Museum Food Rating: 3 stars
(note this rating system different than my regular Dish on Dining reviews)

Explanation of this special museum rating:
1 star: Exhibition should be closed
2 star: Stuck in the permanent collection
3 star: Satisfying like Monet
4 star: Fresh like a special exhibit
5 star: Unique like the Mona Lisa

Special tips when visiting:
Admission is free on the first Tuesday of the month and is half-priced after 6 p.m. on Thursday nights.

Now on view:
"Matisse: Painter as Sculptor"—I love the paintings of Matisse, with his whimsical colors and aggressive strokes. So I was surprised to see that he also did many mini sculptures of his work that translated into paintings. The SFMOMA currently has an exhibition exploring this connection between sculptures and paintings in this look at the two sides of Matisse. Exhibit closes on Sept. 16.

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