andiamo agli supermercati!

i love food. that should be pretty obvious, so it follows that one of my favorite parts of traveling is perusing the supermarket, finding similarities and curious products. the best part about roman supermercati is that even large, corp-esque places carry farm-fresh products.

when we first arrived at our apartamento, we went for a short stroll around the block to check out our environs. we needed a fuse because M blew one with his computer by our first evening a roma! it was pretty amazing that we found a lighting/electric shop just around the corner and bought a 10-pack of fuses for .50euro. just across the street from the lighting shop was a small alimentari which i can't seem to remember the name of.

it was around 7 when we went shopping, so they were pretty close to shutting down shop. it was much larger and cavernous than i expected, and we picked up some great items. i decided to make artichoke & ricotta ravioli with a zucchini/tomato/alici (pickled sardines)/olivi/pecorino sauce. not bad. not bad.

as you can see, we also picked up some mirtilli e cereali (blueberry & cereal grains) yogurt, salame, chili flakes, coca liiiiiight, acqua frizzante, and some canned tonno. tuna in italy is the bomb. you can pick up a generic brand like rio mare (equiv to chx of the sea), and it tastes absolutely different in the most amazing way. the fish is brinier, firmer, just amazing. M even emailed the rio mare website after we returned to ask if they distributed to the US, but unfortunately, they DON'T. BAH!!!

standa is a supermarket franchise found all over italy. their website isn't that great (as are most italian sites), but it is convenient for looking up weekly specials and discounts. when i lived in rome, standa was my savior. it was the closest one-stop-shop to my apartment, and an experience all it's own. above standa on viale trastevere is a small clothing store (oviesse) and a profumeria (limoni) which sells cosmetics, perfume, and all sorts of other bath products.

back to the good stuff. a few years ago, birra wasn't as chic in rome. everyone drank wine, especially at home, and only drank beer at english-style pubs and occasionally during lunch on a hot day. now birra is a popular at-home and in-the-streets beverage, so standa stocks more than peroni and moretti. heineken and guinness are quite popular.

now onto the "ethnic foods" aisle. this is hilarious. why doesn't uncle ben just stick to what he knows: rice?!?? salsa? really beezy?

there was actually a whole section of "il tehx-mehx" at standa. tortilla chips were a total shock to me.

we brought back quite a few bags from standa. that package of pachino tomatoes was a real prize. they were perfectly sweet and ripe right out of the store. that's the most annoying thing about buying produce from american supermarkets: you always have to wait a couple days for items to ripen. not in italy. mmm. more tonno, surprise. M got some latte fresco (fresh milk) which is something like 1-2%. they don't really classify their milk by percentage like we do. it's more like fresco, whole (integrale), and cream. there's a little box of latte soia in there, too.

these were winners. little cherry peppers stuffed with tuna, sardines, and giant capers in olive oil. holy crap. we went back a couple days later and they were out. boo.

and my favorite italian beverage, aranciata without added sugars. it's so good and light. mmm. i wish they had it here. the san pellegrino aranciata just isn't the same. it's too sweet and overly-carbonated for my taste.

this item was a curious crap shoot: black olive-flavored tuna paste. it was pretty good on rosemary crackers, but the little bit of grey, separated liquid that squirts out first isn't the most appetizing.

yet another trip to standa....this time we brought home some fizzy grapefruit soda, icky, bland pretzels, bread for breakfast toast, pickled artichoke hearts, fresh burro from campagna, little fresh mozz balls, white chocolate (that was actually quite waxy compared to the cheap, hershey's equivalent galak bar i had the day before), and my obsession, milk/choc-hazelnut spread.

man, there's nothing like fresh, local butter. it was so deliciously creamy and bright. wow. ps, i love butter. M and all of my friends can validate this.

lamberto, the apartment owner's son, in his brief introduction to the neighborhood, told us that just outside the portone (big front door of the building) there was a store full of "strange things for foreigners." he spoke amazing english (his gf's from nyc), but in italian, foreigner = straniero = strange. anyhow, the little store did not disappoint, and in fact, had quite the stock of "strange" items.

aren't these old el paso kits ridiculous? i love it. good ole betty crocker found her mexican way to italy.

who doesn't love patak's? M and i adore their mango pickles with rice and lentils. it's nice to know that if i ever move to italia, i can get my indian fix at home. there are actually quite a few excellent indian and middle eastern/north african restaurants in the city because of the immigrant population. i love that kind of unexpected diversity.

a few french maionese-based sauces. i should have checked the ingredient list on the americaine...i wonder what kind of crap they think we eat.

okay, i'm totally guilty. i thought this blackface packaging for these nougat candies was ridiculous. it's interesting how afro-italians don't feel the same racist-tinglies an american might seeing this.

i think this pretty much sums up that store for foreigners: american nutty. italians never eat peanut butter. you will absolutely not find it in any supermarket because they eat nutella or butter or jam on toast. this ground peanut confection is completely "strange" to them. why is it such an important part of our cultural identity?

a Long time coming....

a couple weeks ago my upper boss took my division out for a nice lunch for our yearly appreciation week. in years past, we've gone to dahlia, ordered lunch in, and some of his other favorites, but this year i was tricked into making a suggestion. there were only a couple criteria: a) some place nearish work; b) a little on the upscale side; c) and something most people would like. i'd never been to Qube (RIP), nor had i ever wanted to, but ever since hearing about Long Provincial opening up in that failed frasian fusion location, my interest was piqued.

i am a lover of Tamarind Tree's luxe take on vietnamese food, and since Long promised some variations on the TT menu, i knew it would be a winner's choice.

i don't usually like to read too many reviews of restaurants before i visit. in general, i prefer to take in a little general buzz, and if it's a chef or restaurant conglomerate i trust, then i'll go and judge for myself. i did, however, distinctly remember reading an press release about Long Provincial taking over the old Qube space, and one gripe the writer had was that the interior was once very open and industrial, and Long had closed in the space unnecessarily with heavy walls.

the interior was interesting, with splashes of color, as you can see, but i have to agree. there was a little too much compartmentalization of the space with giant, royal purple walls. since it was a work function, i didn't want to be too rude and take zillions of pictures. sigh. the post suffers, but hopefully my description will suffice. in the center of the dining room, there what looked like a white, giant rice bowl with flames flickering out of the top. very olympic. also, the tank in the lower lefthand corner of the picture above was full of small jellyfish pulsing in the electric blue water. no wonder the attached watering hole is called the "Jelly Bar."

the portrait windows onto the street, however, we beautifully covered in soft rice paper. the effect was shadowing and serene. in the foreground of this photo, you can just barely make out the top of a gigantic pot filled with tumbled rocks and some tropical, deep malachite green plant.

it took a while for everyone to explore the extensive menu...and that was just for appetizers! after a hot debate over what to get, we settled on the fresh Tamarind Tree rolls. they were refreshing and light; filled with fried tofu, roasted peanut, fresh coconut, jicama, and carrots. they were also served with vegetarian fish sauce. mmm.

the only appetizer that i felt strongly about ordering was the baby clams rice cracker. from the very first time i went to Tamarind Tree, i fell in love with this dish. it's basically chopped baby clams marinated with garlic and onion, tossed with chili, and sprinkled with crushed peanuts. it's served with a giant sail of a rice cracker dotted with nutty black sesame seeds. oh man. i'm getting hungry just talking about it.

ps, i think this was a crowd favorite with my coworkers as well, yay!

lastly came the crispy prawn baguette. i seriously had no idea what to expect when we requested this appetizer. the menu describes it as "baguette slices and Pacific prawns coated with seasoned batter, deep-fried served with hoisin and chili sauce. Popular dish from Mekong Delta wine pairing event-2005," and our served misleadingly described it as a "shrimp donut." i kind of imagined some sort of shrimp toast of the dimsum variety. boy were all descriptions and expectations wrong. it is a fritter. plain and simple. shrimp. meets. fritter. it was tasty nonetheless.

two of my coworkers savored the combination vermicelli bowl which featured sugarcane shrimp, grilled pork skewer, and prawn skewer. like all vermicelli bowls, it came with cucumber spears, cilantro, mint, shredded lettuce, daikon, carrot, crushed peanut, and fish sauce. it all looked so delicious, however, one of the bowls' vermicelli was undercooked!! major fail!!!

F. devoured the lemongrass chicken. it was a simple, elegant, and just right. he said that the chicken was super flavorful (though he would have preferred more heat), and the rice was a soft, fragrant jasmine. his clean plate attested for Long's success.

G. finally decided on one of Long's specialty dishes (win!), the vegetarian crepe. this rice flour crepe was filled with shiitake mushrooms, mung beans, bean sprouts, and tofu served with a side of veg fish sauce (G opted for the real deal). a tray of lettuce, mint, cilantro, thai basil, sprouts, pickled carrots and daikon pushed this specialty over the top to wrap up bites of crepe and dip into the sauce. yumz. G said it was awesome and nearly finished it, and i can attest to the tasty simplicity of this dish since i've had it before at TT!

i wanted to try something a little different, so i went with the La Vang pot rice. it seemed like forever since i'd had jasmine rice, so i knew this would be deeply satisfying. i mean, look at it! who doesn't love anything served in a blue and white pot?!? i would eat hot trash out of this stoneware.

well, Long, you did not disappoint. all the elements of this dish were peppery, earthy, and perfect after i doused it with fish sauce. the pot was filled with a base layer of jasmine rice which soaked up all the braised juices from the fresh, local tofu (northwest tofu? tahnahn son?), chayote squash, carrot, and oyster, black, and fresh shiitake mushrooms. holy s. so good. i had to stop so that i wouldn't explode (i had to return to work, you know).

of course when M asked if we wanted dessert, i had to take him up on the offer. i'll keep it short and sweet (no pun intended, i swear) since this is taking a turn for the epic. M stayed true to herself and got the flan. she couldn't turn down burnt caramel if her life depended on it. not only was it tasty, but it was equally beautiful in its elegant presentation.

F went for simple, as well, and tried the toasted coconut ice cream. do i have to say anything? i mean, just look at that.

apologies for the poor picture quality on this one, but again, i hope description will suffice. M had to try the grilled banana cake. layers of grilled red banana and sweet rice soak in cognac? sign me up. this was also served with warm coconut milk and crushed peanuts. oh yumz.

G got the veeeeeeeeery last scoop of black sesame ice cream. much like ambrosia's bubble shake version, i am a sucker for this flavor. it was both refreshing and rich. "how?" you ask...i have no idea. magic.

and last, but not least, i had to go with something on the "weird" side of the menu. i actually really loved the grilled cassava (yuca) in a pool of coconut milk, crushed peanut, and get this, spring onion. the cassava was like eating a semi-sweet potato....almost like dense, azuki bean paste. at first it was strange, but after i ate a scoop of milk + cassava + onion, i knew it was the truth. just that slight bit of bright grassiness balanced the dense, potato-y nature of the cassava.

Long, thank you for a great staff lunch. i still think about that La Vang rice pot. in fact, it sounds pretty awesome right about now...

Kan Zamen

about a week ago i went down to san francisco to hang out with family and meet up with a friend that i hadn't seen since last august. the day happened to be quite blustery, making our walk to upper haight from a bar off divisadero quite perilous. K led us to a cozy hookah bar on haight called Kan Zamen. the dark door opened up to quite a large dining room with a (shoju-)stocked bar and elevated area with pillowed banquettes. we decided to sit at the low tables to enjoy some tasties.

we decided on the "maza plus" combination, meaning we could choose three cold and two hot maza (appetizer dishes) from the list of about 10-12 options. we placed our order and sat back to survey our surroundings.

the bar was pretty interesting. they only served shoju "cocktails" since, i'm assuming, they don't have a full liquor license. beer, wine, and shoju...they had shoju mojitos, cosmos, all sorts of desperate libations on the chalkboard. also, if you want to smoke, you have to sit at the bar. sigh.

i ordered a "middle eastern tea" not quite knowing what to expect. i figured it would be dark and strong...much like their coffee. what i got was a lovely glass mug of loose, black tea with some refreshing mint leaves floating on top. it was delicious and lightly sweetened to perfection. i want to make this at home. now i just need to invest in some glass mugs so i don't burn my finger tips off. yowza!

service was extremely attentive (filling water glasses several times) and quick. we were only chatting for several minutes by the time the first plates came out. clockwise from top, we ordered hummus, babaghanous, cold cucumber/yogurt salad, hot lentils, and falafel.

the hummus was M's favorite...garlicky and earthy as a hummus should be. the babaghanous was excellent, too...completely lacking that bitter flavor eggplant gets when prepared improperly. the texture was nice, not mush, and smoky. it's making me want to throw a couple of whole, oiled eggplants into my oven right now!

the cucumber salad was BOMB. tart, chilly yogurt spiced up with garlic, salt, lemon, dill, awesome, and a dash of omg. i love tzaziki and all, but this was more of a salad with bigger chunks of cucumber. i loved every bite and mixed it with everything. i couldn't get this simple dish out of my head all week, and the past couple of days i've made my own version with bay shrimp in the mix for dinner. major holy ess when i added a little bit of cap'n kipp's hot sauce.

the lentils were great, too. they were mother-effing-i-just-burned-my-mouth hot (just the way i like my food!), satisfying, and full of that umami heartiness. i shoveled spoonfuls of this with that cucumber salad on many-a-bite of freshly grilled, steamy pita.

the falafel were good, yet somewhat forgettable compared to the lentils and cucumber dishes. they were crispy, hot, and playfully green with parsley. cracking one open was like staring straight into the door of the irish emigrant on st patty's day.

we all loved every last bite of food and convinced ourselves that we needed to try a couple more. M and K savored the spicy sausage which really looked like a sliced beef hot dog that was sizzled with green onions. i have no idea what it was or where it came from, but both M and K said that it was the shit and way better than a dizzog. my choice was the rice and yellow lentil combo served with a tomato salad and cucumber yogurt. if i knew from the get that the cucumber salad was the truth, i would've ordered the rice&lentil dish all for myself. it was spicy and laced with fenugreek seed. holy crap. so good.

we were all stuffed beyond belief, and including tip, we got out of there for $55. that sounds like a pretty hefty check, but M also had a couple beers, and all three of us basically ate a really early dinner/latelate lunch and had to roll out of there.

if i lived in sf, i would return, but since sf is but a place for vacations and family visits, there are so many other places to try that i probably won't be back for a while. le sigh!

Pinkberry

I was looking though my phone and laughing at the pictures from my trip with Carbo to LA and San Diego...within these hot pics I also came across a few images of places we ate. One of the nice treats was having Pink Berry for breakfast on our way out of San Diego. Pink Berry dining opportunities are only available to you if you are in Cali or NYC.

With the top down in our sweet rental we drove to the local Pink Berry.


Often imitated in bootleg frozen yogurt shops all over this city the design concept is so clean and on point at Pinkberry. Detail is given to the floor, chairs, lamps, glass and everywhere you look. It was extremely comfortable in a strange sort of mind controlling way.

The staff were nice and extremely well groomed. I am sure that is a requirement some sort of pink berry brand.


All of the toppings looked very fresh, the fruit was almost fake looking and the nuts had a gloss on them. I imagined that someone went through every piece of fruit and nut getting rid of anything that looked damaged or irregular shaped. I should also mention it was spotless in there.

I dont really like fruit as much as I adore salt. I do however love coconut...so I went with the original yogurt with almonds and coconut.


We sat in the Cali sun and enjoyed our breakfast, after the night we had it was just what I needed. I love frozen yogurt and enjoy most bootleg recipes that I have tried. Pinkberry however has this extra tart kick that makes it very much superior. Then again, now that I think about it I may have been brainwashed in that store.

tasty kakes

after a lackluster brunch at senor moose, we made a quick, run-in-the-rain stop at belle pastry's newest outpost on leary way in ballard. G had been craving a croissant all morning and his french pastry breakfast was vetoed in favor of moose. needless to say, french tasties were still on G's mind.

somehow i deleted a couple of the pictures off of my phone, so please excuse the lack of visual entertainment and poor pic quality.

as soon as we walked in, we were greeted by one of the bakers whose name i've shamefully forgotten. the interior is a little too fluorescently bright (almost clinical), but it just accentuated how clean the space is. perhaps some warm red decorations would help stimulate my appetite?

i guess my appetite didn't require a cattle prod for me to quickly settle on an apricot/creme anglaise/croissant confection. meanwhile, G picked up an eclair, napoleon, croissant, and baguette!

the buttery layers of flaky pastry were a perfectly crisp contrast to the soft, poached apricot. the entire pastry was lightly glazed...just enough for me to lick my fingers afterwards. J, G, M, and i all shared the goods in the car on the way back to phinney ridge. the only thing that made it past the stoplight at 15th and market was the baguette.

damn.

ps, out of recession v-day ideas? why not pick up a special pastry from either of belle pastry's locations and celebrate at home.

exquisitely expensive

a little while back our friends (who actually worked on the space) invited us to dinner at spinasse since they had been there several times, raved about it, and told us we should all go some time. the interior is intimate and warm with a handful of small tables and one long, communal table. i love the old lady lace curtains which lend a homey authenticity to the space. the menu is brief, but well designed.

we asked the server for a wine suggestion, and she recommended a nebbiolo since it would be medium-bodied and drinkable before and during dinner. J and i decided on a Vietti 2006 Nebbiolo. fruity and delicious.

the house started us with some bruschetta. the first was fresh ricotta and olives.

the second was spinach and garlic. both were tasty and crisp, whetting my appetite for pasta. i was really into the ricotta bruscetta because it was also dressed with rich olive oil, my favorite.

since we had a party of 5, we decided to get two orders of antipasto misto della casa. below are the chicory/guinea hen/parmiggiano/balsamic salad and spinach fritatta covered in tiles of black truffle.

the other half of our antipasti course was pure meat, well almost: a cherry tomato stuffed with anchovies and dressed with a parsley pesto, vitello tonnato, prosciutto and grissini, and salame with roasted leeks. i liked the anchovy/pepper deal, but there was only one, and there were five of us. even though we got two orders of antipasti misti, that meant splitting two peppers among five guests. what the hell?!? is it really too much to ask for three peppers per $28 plate? i didnt eat any of the meat, but i was told it was great. M's favorite was the vitello tonnato, which is a traditional dish of tender veal topped with a smooth mixture of tuna, olive oil, and capers.

we also ordered a couple of vegetable sides. the first was a simple ceci con limone e prezzemolo (garbanzos with lemon and parsley). it was simple, tasty, and well-prepared, but J also made this dish a few days later at home, and it was just as good. i know spinasse is a whole experience, but sometimes it makes you question the bang-for-your-buck factor.

the rape saltatti (sauteed turnips) were tender and savory, sauteed in their own greens. also pictured are the ravioli di tapinambur al burro e salvia con pignoli, or jerusalem artichoke ravioli with butter, sage, and pine nuts. they were delicious, fresh, and well-paired with two of my favorite ingredients, sage and pine nuts.

J chose the maltagliatti (wide irregularly cut pasta) with hedgehog mushrooms and butter. i really enjoyed this dish as well. the pasta was perfectly toothy and obviously handmade to order. there is no substitute for fresh pasta.

unfortunately i didn't capture G or M's pasta choices, but they were tajarin al ragu and tajarin al burro con salvia, which are both thin, handcut pastas with a meat sauce and sage butter. the tajarin was also tasty, toothy, and refreshing. however, i don't know if i would return to pay $19 for a small bowl of pasta with butter and sage.

after we had all finished our pasta courses, we completely forgot that G and M ordered the braised goat! it came significantly after the pasta simply because it took that long to cook, but M and G said it was worth the wait. the goat was falling-off-the-bone tender, naturally sticky sweet, and perfectly reflective of fall flavors. we asked the chef how he cooked it, and he said it was only salt, pepper, and garlic on a bed of onion, carrot,and celery. it was really the standout star of the evening.

the overall quality and taste were extremely high, but i don't think i would go there again after G made pasta at home. it was about $400 without tip (i think) including two bottles of wine. despite the taste factor, spinasse is not a good value. $19 for a small bowl of pasta is pretty ridiculous, and c'mon, only one anchovy-stuffed pepper per antipasti plate?!?! no thanks. spinasse is great, just not worth it.



nb: it's super busy at any given time, so if possible, make reservations!