Emilia’s Pizzeria in Berkeley

It’s All About the Sauce in this New York-style Pie
2995 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley
Southern edge of Downtown
PH: 510.704.1794
Open Tue.–Sat., 5–9 p.m.
Cash only, limited seating
www.emiliaspizzeria.com

I don’t mind when a restaurant has a limited menu. That just means you don’t have to take that much time wondering what to get. And I really don’t mind a limited menu when the only options are pure heaven.

I’m not saying Emilia’s Pizzeria serves pizza pies like pure heaven, but it’s pretty darn close.

This tiny little shack of a pizzeria opened late last year, and it was started by a guy who wanted to make true New York-style pizza with the minimal toppings, great sauce and slightly charred thin crust. Keith Freilich, owner and pizzaiolo, spent years toiling in the tech industry but also spent half his career making pizza — starting out at Pizza Hut back on the East Coast and then focusing his craft for years at Oakland’s Pizzaiolo (and briefly at San Francisco’s Flour + Water).

Freilich, who named his space for his daughter, is pretty much a one-man shop. You’ll often be placing your phone orders with him, and you’ll see him behind the gas-oven making the pizzas when you pick it up at his tiny space.

The place is so small, you really see maybe just two tiny tables, a sign listing toppings on one wall, and a picture of Frank Sinatra near the ceiling. Emilia’s is really a spot for takeout and because of its size, there can be lines at times so he recommends you call ahead to place your order. (He starts taking orders an hour before opening; if you order when you’re there the pizza takes a minimum 45 minutes to prepare.)

So I mentioned the limited menu. Here are the rules:

1. Only one size pizza: 18 inches (basically a large)
2. The base starts with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil for $18. You can add toppings, but the choices are often limited to just red onions, peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage and soppresata.
3. You have to buy the whole pizza. No slices.
4. Cash only

Awhile back I took a weekday off to go to a baseball game, and then decided pizza would make a great dinner. So I called Emilia’s a bit after 4 p.m. (the phone was busy for awhile, so I had to try a few times) and placed an order for a pizza topped with sausage.

I had to kill some time (went to the nearby Berkeley Bowl) because my pizza wouldn’t be ready until 5:30 p.m. But after I picked it up, I jumped on the bus to head home. And on this day, the pizza gods must have been smiling on me because I had the best bus ride. I had to connect to two routes and both buses came one after the other, bringing me home to Oakland in just 20 minutes.

I mention this only because I wonder what the pizza would have been like if it took longer for me to get home. Still, the pizza was a bit cold when I actually sat down to eat it. But it didn’t matter. What struck me first was the incredible tomato sauce, slightly sweet and not acidic at all. I felt the sauce really made the difference in this pizza.

The mozzarella cheese melted nicely on this thin pizza that didn’t have a super crisp crust but more the right balance of thin but filling, slightly chewy but not tough. It really did hold in my hand like pizza slices I ate in New York.

There were only a few basil leaves like accents here and there, and the sausage was nice and tasty. Since I was eating this pizza by myself (because I’m the Single Guy), I barely finished half of it. I ate the rest as dinner or late-night snack for the following two days.

Emilia’s Pizzeria is a bit far off my track to go to regularly, and as the Single Guy it’s hard to justify the 18-inch pizza for one. But I can say that it’s the type of pizza that I think back and remember fondly, plotting my next time I can make the trip out there for a bite.

Single Guy rating: 4 stars (a pizza that delivers)

Explanation of the Single Guy Chef’s takeout rating system:
1 star = Might as well cook yourself
2 stars = Nice to know it’s an option
3 stars = Definitely will return again
4 stars = I have its number on speed-dial
5 stars = Can I live here?

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Hapa Ramen Pop Up at Coffee Bar

In a city that already falls head over heels for any temporary, “pop up” restaurant, you can imagine what a Saturday night would be like when word gets out that Richie Nakano is testing a ramen venture.

Nakano, if you don’t know, is a sous chef at the popular Nopa restaurant and pens a behind-the-scenes blog about working the line. Along with Nopa bartender Kitty Gallisa, Nakano is planning to launch a food stand called Hapa Ramen at the Ferry Plaza Thursday Farmers Market this summer.

He’s been testing his ramen in recent weeks and hosting preview dinners, and on Saturday he cooked up a few hundred bowls at Coffee Bar in Potrero Hill. Judging from the crowds that showed up, a lot of people wanted to be among the first to taste his ramen.

Coffee Bar is a stylish two-level café in the neighborhood, but I hardly got a chance to experience it since it was packed with people who got there from a tweet, Facebook fan page notice, or text from a friend “in the know.” In today’s electronic age, word of mouth basically translates to a mad house.

I should have known better, but I thought to myself, “hey, this is a bowl of noodles.” So I arrived about 10 minutes before the scheduled 6 p.m. start time, and that’s when I saw the crowds and the line forming from Coffee Bar’s entrance. The line wasn’t to get in; it was to put your name on the list to get in.

When I finally reached the poor girl who had the task of dealing with the massive crowds wondering when they’d get in, I was told that I would probably get a seat at 8 p.m. On most Saturday nights, when I’m told the wait would be two hours, I would basically say thanks, but no thanks. And then find somewhere else to feed my hunger.

So what made me decide to tough it out? Hard to say. Part of it was because I knew I was planning to blog about it, and part of me told myself that I’m no quitter. With the DJ pumping music throughout the bar and the iconic noodle film “Tampopo” playing on the wall, I joined others waiting desperately for their names to be called so they could try a $13 bowl of ramen.

To kill time, I walked over to Nihon Whisky Lounge for some drinks and bites. (BTW, had an amazing tako poke salad and steamed mussels that provided me much nourishment for my impending wait.) I returned to Coffee Bar before 8 p.m. to make sure I didn’t miss my spot. No problem, they were still on page two of the list and my name was on page four.

As the crowds enjoyed wine and beer at the bar while others cheered like they won the lotto when their names were called, I snuck over to the tiny kitchen to get some shots of Nakano and his friends who were busy prepping the ramen.

Nakano, with his signature tattoos on one arm, looked pretty calm given the frantic demands out front. It looked like everything was organized, from the braised pork to the boiling house-made noodles.

Back outside, I continued to wait and it was way past 8 p.m. and approaching 9 p.m. I walked by this glass coffee table where two bowls of ramen looked unattended and I was so tempted to just sit down and help myself. But I have integrity, dang it.

As names were called on the list and several people didn’t respond because they gave up, I thought there might be hope that I could get seated before morning. I finally got seated at 9:30 p.m. next to another solo diner who had waited just as long as I did. Her name is Colleen, and we shared our tips on good food spots and wondered how crazy our friends would think of us for waiting so long for a bowl of ramen.

It probably wasn’t a good sign that a lot of other people around us just sat around. Very few people seemed to be eating. And even after we ordered (Nakano was ambitious to actually offer a small menu that included a few appetizers along with the ramen and a vegetarian ramen) we waited and waited, hoping that each passing bowl would land in front of us.

By now (past 10 p.m., an hour beyond the announced 9 p.m. end time), the crowd that waited seem to disperse and tables were left empty as diners left. The beer we ordered never arrived, and I started to question this futile wait for ramen until two bowls arrived (at about 10:30 p.m., about 4.5 hours after I first stepped into Coffee Bar).

The “everything ramen” included greens (I think they were swiss chard), fresh peas, a soft-boiled egg (following the trend of many restaurants doing the 62 degree egg), a few pieces of crispy fried chicken and a piece of nori (seaweed). Sadly, it looked like they were out of the braised pork because our bowls were porkless.

Colleen and I jumped into our bowls, quietly slurping and eating. We threw out a few quick reviews here and there, mostly short thoughts like “noodles are soft” or “egg is good.” In the end, we had at least arrived at the finished line.

The ramen noodles, to me, tasted empty. The texture reminded me of Cup O’Noodles instead of the thicker, full-body noodles I’ve had at ramen shops around town. The broth was bland, but Colleen noted that maybe with the pork it wouldn’t be so tasteless. She did like the chard served with the ramen, and I decided the soft-boiled egg was perfectly cooked and didn't mind the little chicken nuggets even though they’re deep fried.

I don’t know Nakano and from what I can tell he seems like a really good guy, so I do hope he’s successful with Hapa Ramen. But I hope he learns a lot from this evening. It wasn’t just a test-run on the ramen but also on dealing with large crowds and putting out noodles at a quick pace to feed them all.

For me, I’ve also learned an important lesson. And yes, this will probably be the last time I wait 4.5 hours for food.

What else I did for ramen:
Racking Up the Miles for Ramen
What I Do for a Good Bowl of Ramen

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Char Siu Memories of Honolulu’s Oahu Market

Looking back at my childhood, I marveled at how my mother kept us entertained. I mean, there were five of us, all within one or two years of age of each other. We were like our own roving pre-school.

Our days were simple with my mom walking us every morning to the elementary school down the street from where we lived in Honolulu, then meeting us in the afternoons and walking us past the neighborhood grocery store where she’d either treat us to one piece of candy or a Popsicle if it was a typical hot day in Hawaii.

But it was the weekends that I looked forward to. Not because I could skip the homework and play, but because that’s when my mom went shopping in Chinatown. We’d all have to tag along, of course, because being the watchful mother hen that she is, she’d never let any of us chickies out of her sight.

My mom and dad had their specific duties when it came to weekend shopping. My dad would split off to deal with the heavy-duty errands like picking up bags of rice (a Chinese family of seven can go through a lot of rice!) or shopping for live chickens, and my mom — with all five of us in tow — would handle the fish and meat markets, looking for her ingredients for a week’s worth of family dinners.

Past the counters of crushed ice and fresh fish with bulging eyes and colorful scales, we’d always end up at the meat market with the BBQ items hanging on metal spears. My mom went to the same stand at the Oahu Market, bustling with customers on a Saturday morning, and every week the owner would wave a familiar greeting to my mom and quickly pull a slab of char siu — the roasted Chinese BBQ pork.

With a quick flick of his large butcher knife, he’d masterfully chop the piece of char siu into several bite-size slices and hand them over to my mom, who would then hand one piece each to me and my brothers and sisters. I can’t eat a whole plate of char siu, but for some reason that one piece of pork (probably because it was free) tasted so sweet and satisfying — the pork still warm from the roaster and passed gently through the butcher’s hands to my mom’s to our mouths.

That was the highlight of my trips to Chinatown with my mom. Staying home all week taking care of five children, my mom could see how the rest of the world lived during her Saturday shopping trips. And short visits with familiar merchants, like the friendly butcher who gave us free char siu when he saw us coming around, was her way of connecting with friends.

The sweet char siu pork with the slightly burnt edges would bring a smile to my face. And watching us enjoy it while she chatted away with the butcher brought a smile to my mom’s.

Happy Mother’s Day to my Mom and all the mothers out there!

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Fraiche Yogurt Now in San Francisco’s Fillmore

It seems like the fro-yo craze is dying down, with a few stores going out of business like Cefiore at the Westfield and Yogurt Bar in Cow Hollow. But at least one fro-yo name is branching out, and it’s the popular Fraiche Yogurt from Palo Alto.

I discovered recently that Fraiche now has a store on Fillmore Street in San Francisco near all the boutiques and restaurants up Pacific Heights. When I first tried Fraiche’s fro-yo at its original location, it was less tart and more milky than my favorites Pinkberry and Red Mango. But I decided to give its San Francisco location I try. I mean, I was in the neighborhood, so why not?

The interior was a mix of part spa and part cookie store. The warmer colors, contrasting the brighter white-leaning décor of the original store, gave this Fraiche a richer feel. The tiny tables up front look more like a layout of a restaurant than a fro-yo store.

Fraiche sells regular soft yogurt and frozen yogurt. I stuck with the fro-yo, which you can get in the following sizes: junior ($3.15), regular ($4) and large ($5.25). Toppings are an additional $1 for the first choice and 50 cents each additional topping.

The flavor options include natural, Valrhona chocolate and soy. I went with the natural fro-yo and topped it with fresh strawberries and organic brownie bits.

The natural fro-yo was thicker than what I remembered, giving it more body and taste. And brownies for toppings? Genius! These were the best brownies, cut into ½-inch squares, and they made this afternoon treat extra satisfying.

I’m so happy that Fraiche opened up a location in the city so I don’t have to go all the way to the Peninsula to get frozen yogurt. And their creative and fresh toppings, especially the organic brownies, have bumped Fraiche up my rankings of fro-yo spots I’ve tried.

Single Guy's Fro-yo Rankings:

1. Red Mango, Palo Alto
2. Pinkberry, Southern California
3. Fraiche, Palo Alto and San Francisco
4. Tuttimelon, San Francisco
5. YoCup, San Francisco
6. Icebee, San Francisco
7. Yoppi, San Francisco
8. Jubili, San Francisco
9. Tutti Frutti, Oakland
10. SoGreen, San Francisco
11. Yogurt Harmony, Berkeley
12. Creations, Berkeley
13. Yogen Früz, San Francisco


Fraiche, 1910 Fillmore, San Francisco. PH: 415.674.6876. Open daily. (Other locations in Palo Alto and the Stanford campus.) www.fraicheyogurt.com

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Artichokes with a Big Heart

I love artichokes and spring is when we see a lot of them at the stores and farmers markets. But I have to say I don’t recall seeing these artichokes pictured above. Now I’m seeing them everywhere!

Apparently, these are called Big Heart artichokes and they’re the size of the more common Globe artichokes. The difference is in the look. It’s cleaner, without the thorny edge at the tip of the leaves. It’s almost like it’s been pruned before shipping, giving the globe I nice smooth feel.

I was curious about how different they are to the Globe variety, which I cook with regularly. Turns out, Big Heart is true to its name. The artichoke heart of this variety is wider than a typical Globe heart. So that means more heart meat to eat!

The taste is very similar to any other artichoke. I ended up making a paella with my artichoke pieces, adding it with some chicken and spicy sausage (just because I had them in the freezer). It turned out so hearty! ;-)

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Artichoke Paella with Chicken and Spicy Sausage Recipe

Copyright 2010 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
1 large fresh artichoke (Big Heart or Globe variety)
4 oz. chicken thighs (2-3 pieces, deboned and cut into cubes)
3 oz. spicy sausage or chorizo (one link, casing removed)
1 cup Bomba Spanish paella rice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bellpepper, finely dice
1 ½ cups chicken broth (or 1 can of Swanson chicken broth)
1 tomato, skin removed and deseeded, diced
2 T smoked sweet paprika (pimenton)
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper

Prep your artichoke by removing stem and bottom leaves. You can keep the stem, but cut off the exterior skin to just reveal the light-colored flesh. Place in bowl of cold water with a squeeze of lemon juice. Cut the top of the artichoke off, about 1 inch from the top, and then with a spoon remove the prickly leaves in the center at the choke. When most of the prickly leaves have been removed, use your knife to cut off the rest of the leaves around the edges, retaining as much of the heart as possible. Then cut the heart into pieces and place with the stem in the bowl of water.

In 11-inch paella pan (or large skillet), warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat and then add chicken pieces and sausage to brown (about 3 minutes). Don’t cook through. Remove partially-cooked meat from pan and set aside.

Add another tablespoon of olive oil and saute tomatoes, green bellpepper and garlic over medium low heat. This is your sofrito, which is a vegetable paste that’s your base for your paella. (Sofrito can include carrots but never onion.) Cooked until mushy, about 10-15 minutes. Add broth and season with salt and pepper, and paprika. Then add rice evenly around the paella pan. When all the ingredients have been blended, do not stir the rice any more. Add the chicken and chorizo back to the pan by nestling them into the rice. Cook at a medium heat or rolling simmer for about 15 minutes. Cook covered with some newspaper or piece of aluminum foil (optional).

When done, the rice should look plump and the broth should be dried out around the edge of the pan. Let sit off the heat for a few minutes and then with a flat wooden spoon, scrap the rice from the bottom of the pan to mix it up before serving. (You can do this at the table for a nice presentation.)

Makes two to three servings. Garnish with lemon wedges and chopped parsley.

Serve with a glass of torrontes white wine.

TIPS: To get the saccorat, which is the crispy rice at the bottom of your pan, you want to cook until the rice is done and broth evaporated. You know you’re getting to the soccorat part when you start to hear your rice crackling. But a minute too long of this and you may have burnt rice. So be watchful. The saccorat should look like a nice golden brown, not blackened.

Watch my videos:
Making Paella in Two Parts
Prepping an Artichoke

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Restaurante Dona Tomas in Oakland

Fresh Standards at Longtime Restaurant
5004 Telegraph Ave. (near 51st Street), Oakland
Temescal neighborhood
PH: 510.450.0522
Open Tue.–Thu., 5:30–9:30 p.m. (till 10 p.m. Fri. and Sat.)
Reservations, major credit cards accepted
www.donatomas.com

One of the early restaurant pioneers in my nearby neighborhood of Temescal is Restaurante Doña Tomás, which opened in 1999. It’s been on my list of places to try in the hood, but I never got around to it until a recent Friday night when I found myself with no reservations and nearing the peak of the weekend dinner crunch.

I should note that I was with my friend Joe, who has an odd schedule (which explains why I can’t make reservations when I get together with him). Luckily, we have a few options in our area these days, but they were all a minimum 60-minute wait on a Friday night. Doña Tomás won out with a promised wait of only 30 minutes.

The restaurant has an interesting layout. From the street, it looks like two restaurants side by side, separated by a gated corridor that’s like a tiny alley. But the main dining area is on the left and to the right is a festively painted bar that was just as packed. Joe and I got a couple of drinks while we waited, enjoying the beautiful night and wondering why no one was sitting in the spacious patio in the back. (There were some diners in another room behind the patio that looked almost like a renovated storage shed.)

Doña Tomás is the flagship of a growing empire started by Thomas Schnetz and Dona Savitsky. They opened the restaurant to celebrate the fresh flavors of Mexico, and have since opened a taco bar in Berkeley called Tacubaya and a totally different concept in the retro dinner club Flora across from the Fox Theater in Oakland.

When we were finally seated in the main dining room, I started with the Sopes con Callos ($11.95), an appetizer of seared dayboat scallops sitting on housemade crispy masa cakes. The cakes were served with Oaxacan mole negro.

The simple but elegant presentation of the scallops clearly represented the style of what was coming out of the kitchen — fresh, quality ingredients with simple, homemade flavors. When eating the masa cakes, I could tell they were homemade because of the distinct flavor of the cornmeal. The mole was rich and thick, but not overwhelming.

For our entrées, Joe got the special of the night, which was the La Espada con Salsa del Cura ($18.50) or Seared Swordfish with a salsa of tomato, green olives, onions, garlic and pickled jalapenos. Joe said he enjoyed his hearty serving of swordfish, but I thought his dish really looked buried in gloop. First gloop was the salsa on top of the fish, and second gloop was the puree of black beans. I guess the black bean puree made it easy to dip in the fresh tortillas that came on the side.

I actually had been eating a lot during the day, so I wasn’t in the mood for any of the carnitas or meat dishes. Instead I ordered the Enchiladas con Camote y Queso ($17.25), which was enchiladas stuffed with sweet yams.

My enchiladas were steamed and the filling of yams and roasted poblano chiles was a nice balance of sweet and spicy. The natural sweetness of the yams really held up well in this dish, so I appreciated that. Of course, my enchiladas also had a good helping of salsa, called quajilo.

On my plate were some anchote rice and an interesting radish and nopales salad. Nopales is a kind of succulent or cactus, and when you eat it the texture can only be described (by me) as mushy crunchy. I didn’t really like the texture, and thought the slight pickling flavor would have helped the nopales if the pickling flavor was even stronger. Still, I liked the idea of being introduced to new ingredients.

Doña Tomás seems to retain its popularity, especially with families. I think it’s because of the loud noise level, which makes it popular for young kids who are not afraid to screech in an already loud environment. (An example of how noisy it was: Joe told our waitress after dinner that he was “full” and instead she came back with dessert because she thought he said “flan.” We sent the flan back because we really were “full.”)

The service ran like clockwork, although at times I felt like they were just going through the motion and weren’t as engaged. Maybe the years are starting to show?

Still, the menu reflects a strong attitude toward local sustainable dining with a Mexican heritage. The flavors may not hold much punch, but you can always count on the quality. While I’m not an expert on Mexican food, I enjoy the lessons learned through the dishes at Doña Tomás.

Single guy rating: 3 stars (Fancy but Fresh)

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



Related reviews:
Flora: “A Touch of the Past in a Neighborhood Reborn”
Tacubaya: “This is Some Fancy Taco Shop”

P.S. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

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Extra Innings at the Oakland Coliseum

Baseball is in full swing, and I’ve been lucky to have gone to some great games with pitch-perfect spring weather. As you know, I get to watch two baseball teams in the Bay Area — the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. Both teams are holding their own, although I do root for the Giants more.

But today I’m giving an update look at the Coliseum, home to the Oakland A’s.

I titled this post “Extra innings” because when visiting the Coliseum, I feel like the A’s are on borrowed time. Some of you know that for years the team has talked about moving (the last word was to San Jose, before then Fremont) and the Coliseum sometimes looks like a ghost town with the shuttered vendor spaces, especially on the plaza level that feeds the nose-bleed seats.

Most of the food can be found on the lower level. Early in the season, I sort of scout out what might be new at the stadium. That’s when I discovered the chicken burrito bowl ($7).

I don’t know if this is new, but I’d never seen it before. I know I ordered burritos before at the Coliseum, but now they offer it in this handy bowl. I actually prefer eating burritos in a bowl than in a wrap (I know, then it’s not called a burrito … calm down people!) because it’s less messy and you get all the good stuff of the burrito.

The burrito bowl was actually quite big, filled with lots of shredded chicken meat, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, beans, rice, cheese, guacamole and a squirt of sour cream. This really can tie you over several innings.


I also noticed a healthy alternative, which was Melissa’s fresh fruit stand. I thought it was a great idea to have these fresh fruits, but I call foul on the pricing: $5.50 for a tiny container of cut fruit. Ouch! You could pay just $1 to get a whole fruit (like an apple or banana), but if I did that I could just bring them from home.

Something that I think is new is the Monster Chicken Nachos ($8). This actually scared me, so I haven’t tried it yet. But this is my Everest, and sometime before the season ends I’m going to try this.

There were also the typical hot dogs, Round Table pizza, expensive ribs plates, Philly cheese steak, and tons of deep-fried things. But really I still gravitate to the pulled pork sandwich ($8.75) from Kinder’s BBQ. Even though these sammies are pre-made and comes out of a hot steam bath to keep them warm, all you do is squirt some Kinder BBQ sauce on top and you forget that Eric Chavez had been missing in action the last two seasons.

Out of curiosity, I also tried the veggie dog, which actually is a great deal at $4.50. When I got mine, it looked like any other hot dog, and after I lathered on the relish and ketchup, it tasted like any other hot dog. The only odd thing was that I felt it tasted saltier than a regular dog, almost like the maker wanted it to taste like a hot dog so they added extra salt. Weird, so now I feel like it’s not so healthy any more.

So that’s my eating adventures so far at the Coliseum. Yeah, slim pickin’s I feel. I have a few more A’s games this season, so if you have any suggestions on what I should get (just no fried foods), please help a fan out!

Previous seasons:
Last Days of Summer: Be Kinder
Batter Up: Tres Agave at AT&T Park
The Baseball Buffet

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Pasta or Mein, Everyone Loves Noodles

The noodle plays a major role in the culinary cultures of Italy and China, and this Sunday I went to the first event in San Francisco celebrating this basic carb.

The 2010 Noodle Fest took place on a sunny (yet windy) day in the city's historic North Beach and Chinatown neighborhoods. Just like New York, these two neighborhoods representing the early immigrants from opposite parts of the world abut each other like bordering countries.

The San Francisco event was like a street fair in two nearby streets that were going on simultaneously. About 30 neighborhood restaurants offered up dishes at food booths, and for the $20 admission I got to try three dishes from the Chinatown section and three dishes from the North Beach section.

OK, is this from Chinatown or North Beach? They kind of look like dumplings right? But they're asparagus ravioli from Colosseo Restaurant.

More ravioli, this one from Sotto Mare. It actually caused quite a long line, but mostly I think because the chef was so animated when dishing out his pasta.

So on the North Beach end, the three pasta dishes I tried included the Wild Boar Penne from Cafe Divine (top left). Just the idea of wild boar sounded interesting, and the ragu was so rich and meaty. There was more tender boar bits than pasta, but I wasn't complaining. Also tried one of the last ravioli from Sotto Mare (top right). I couldn't tell what was inside, but the sauce was so comforting. I actually went to the North Beach end near the end of the event so a lot of Italian stations were selling out, including a very popular pesto gnocchi from Bocce Cafe (the only gnocchi being served). So I ended up for my third dish from the North Beach end going to King of Thai, who had a booth dishing up pad thai (I love pad thai so never miss up a chance to eat it).

I thought I could handle all the pasta eating, but it was actually a lot. I had to take a break and watch some of the demonstrations. Here this chef (sorry, forgot his name) makes colored pasta. This one was squid ink pasta, but I'm so bad because when I first saw it the first thing that came to my mind was tire tread. Come on, tell me you don't see it!

Over on the Chinatown end, it was like a school fund-raiser because the organizers got all these kids to handle the booths for the restaurants. In the beginning, there was a bit of panic as the kids tried to organize the tables while hungry diners started to create lines. Above, a group of kids check the storage containers for food.

Over at the Chinatown end, I tried the Beijing tan tan mein from Pot Sticker Hunan Cuisine (top right). I loved the meaty sauce, just like bolognese but slightly savory. Bottom left, I tried these cold noodles with spicy Szechuan sauce from Z&Y Restaurant. Unfortunately, I got this early on so I think the kids dishing it out didn't do it right because it was supposed to have cucumber slices and it didn't. Still, the sauce was good and very spicy. To just fill my craving, my third dish was the soy sauce chow mein from Good Mang Kok Bakery just because I love the thin crunchy noodles made simply with soy sauce with some bean sprouts.

Noodle Fest was organized by the Chinatown Development Center and the North Beach Merchants Association, and along with highlighting the noodle, I'm sure it was a way to attract people to these two landmark neighborhoods. Since it was such a beautiful day, I took a break between carbo-loading to wander the streets and alleys of these two neighborhoods and it just reminded me of the history of these two places. While these two neighborhoods have become frequent stops for tourists, you shouldn't miss out exploring them yourself, and not just when noodles are involved.

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Single Guy's Planner

May is going to be a busy month for the Single Guy — with four baseball games and a trip to Chicago for my nephew’s graduation. So all these food events are just making it hard for me to find time to just chill and work on my tan. Sigh, maybe in June.

May 2 (Sunday): Noodle Fest 2010. It doesn’t matter if you believe the Chinese or Italians invented noodles because both cultures will celebrate the stringy delicacy at this first-ever event sponsored by the Chinatown Development Center and North Beach Merchants Association. You have to sign up for a “passport,” which allows you to choose three Chinese noodle tasting and three Italian pasta tasting at the event. You’ll choose from more than 30 participating restaurants. Event runs from 3 to 7 p.m. Start at the plaza at the corner of Grant and Broadway to get your passport ($20 on the day of the event or $15 in advance from the website).

May 6 (Thursday): An Evening with Kermit Lynch. Noted Berkeley wine importer Kermit Lynch is teaming up with Chef Jamie Lauren (is she still here?) of Absinthe for a four-course wine dinner at the Hayes Valley restaurant. Reservation is a must and the tab for food and wine is $150. Event starts at 6:30 p.m. at Absinthe, 398 Hayes St., San Francisco. For the night’s menu and more information, go to the restaurant’s website.

May 7 (Friday): Hands-on Cocktail Class by CUESA. The first cocktail class of the year at the San Francisco Ferry Building will feature mixologist and author Scott Beattie (of Cyrus) and master distiller Lance Winters of St. George and Hangar One Vodka fame. Cost is $45 and includes drinks and food prepared by Il Cane Rosso. Limited to 40 people. Class runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. To register, click here. For more information, go to the Ferry Building website.

May 8 (Saturday): BaconCamp SF 2010. For those who believe everything’s good with bacon, then you don’t want to miss this fund-raiser for the San Francisco Food Bank. Chefs and bacon lovers will come together for discussions, demos and treats. Event runs from noon to 4 p.m. at 3359 Cesar Chavez St., San Francisco. Since this is a community-driven event, the organizers are asking for a $15 donation per person to fund the day. (Your donation gives you priority admission.) Sliding scale admission at the door. Click here to donate and visit the Facebook page for more information.

May 9 (Sunday): “Spring Dishes from Tibet.” This is the first in a series of seasonal and cultural cooking workshops offered by the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. You munch on “sah paley,” a classic Tibetan picnic dish and learn to make a Tibetan salad. Workshop runs from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Recommended donation of $5 to $30 to cover materials. Limited to 15 people so register early by calling 510.637.0462. Future classes include Filipino Regional Vegetarian (May 22) and Chinese Soups for Health (June 5). Center located at 388 8th St., Suite 290, Oakland. For more information, visit www.oacc.cc.

May 12 (Wednesday): Bike In by the Disposable Film Festival featuring the SF Underground Market. If you like films, ride a bike, and like to eat homemade stuff, then this event is for you. The cult-favorite SF Underground Market is doing a special market this month prior to the Disposable Film Festival that happens from 8 to 10 p.m. outside the Good Hotel at 7th and Minna in SOMA. For more information, go to the SF Underground website and to the Disposable Film Facebook fan page.

May 13 (Thursday): Pasta Making Class with Flour + Water Chef Thomas McNaughton. I’m dying here because I love Flour + Water’s pasta dishes, but I’ll be in Chicago when this class happens. Dang! So for all you other lucky folks still in San Francisco on this date, definitely I would recommend ponying up the $35 to take this class that runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the CUESA kitchen at the San Francisco Ferry Building. Click here to sign up.

May 15 (Saturday): O’Reilly’s 11th Annual San Francisco Oyster Fest. If you like lots of oysters (raw or BBQ), free music and tons of shirtless men lounging in the Marina, then head over to this mega party at the Great Meadow in Fort Mason. This year’s musicians include the band Cake. Doors open at 11 a.m. and admission is $30. (Kids under 14 get in for free, but no beer for them!) Go to the event site for more information.

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