Nom Nom Nom Nombe: Where a Japanese Izakaya Menu Meets California Cuisine

If someone would’ve told me five months ago that, by October, I’d be craving a chilled suimono salad once a week, I would’ve looked that person right in the eye and said, “What the hell a chilled suimono salad?” After hearing that it’s made with sea bean, cucumber, squash blossom, wakame seaweed, tofu, and served in a dashi broth ($14), I would’ve politely explained that I’m not the biggest fan of cucumber, seaweed, tofu, or dashi broth and proceeded to laugh at such a ridiculous prediction. Ah, silly, silly girl.

This unique salad, the ultimate expression of freshness, is one of many reasons why in a very short span of time Nombe has become one of my favorite restaurants. It was in the spring when Nombe first impressed me with its California-inspired take on traditional Japanese izakaya fare, offering both a fixed selection of dishes, as well as many that evolve with the season. Now five months later, even with the summer’s proliferation of much-hyped restaurants, Nombe has continued to stand out from the crowd...Continue Reading

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From Fables to Tables: Discovering the Golden Egg

After patiently waiting a few weeks for the latest issue to go to print, I'm excited to finally share my latest Culinary Trends with the world! It's about the recent rise in popularity of one of the most ubiquitous ingredients out there - eggs. Knowing that selling the idea of eggs to chefs would be a difficult task, I ended up putting a lot of effort into this piece, and I hope you find the information as interesting as I did!

Since I wrote much more than the allotted space would allow, I've included the unedited version below. Enjoy!...Continue Reading

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A Tribute to the Men Who Arepa'ed Me - Part 2

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Following Jonathan Kauffman's footsteps, my quest to find San Francisco's best arepa led me to Pica Pica Maize, a relatively new Mission eatery located at 15th and Valencia. Although Kauffman was rather critical of many of Pica Pica Maize's menu selections, his description of his arepa led me to believe that I would have a similarly satisfying arepa experience. I was wrong. Comparing Mr. Pollo to Pica Pica is like comparing McDonald's to In&Out - the menu selection may be similar, but the quality of food is radically different...Continue Reading

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A Tribute to the Men Who Arepa'ed Me - Part 1: Mr. Pollo

I want to say thank you to a man, a man, I'm sure, most of you are familiar with. A man whose unmitigated arrogance and exaggerated self-confidence actually led me to one of my most cherished dining discoveries. Bobby Flay, if it wasn't for that historic episode of Throw Down in 2008, I would have never made Caracas Arepa Bar a dining destination on my visit to New York City. Without you sir, I would have never known the messy, all-encompassing delight of a perfectly cooked arepa...Continue Reading

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Why I Want to Start Every Morning at Knead Patisserie

[rating: 5]

Nine weeks, three extra pounds, and 21 check-ins later, I think it's just about time to write an update to my first glowing review. If you follow me on Twitter (KelsEats), you've likely seen my daily morning tweet, which serves 2 purposes. First it says to the world, "Guess what!? I'm at Knead!" in case anyone wanted to stalk me. Secondly, that little tweet illustrates my full-blown, uncontrollable addiction to those evil little pastries better than any words could describe...Continue Reading

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B3 Brings the Mission Exactly What it's Been Missing: Incredible Burgers (now closed)

For the last two months I've been on a burger binge. For absolutely no reason, I've had an uncontrollable urge to stuff myself with simple, raw, beefy goodness, and both my friends and my figure have begun to take notice. I've indulged my cravings at NOPA, Bar Tartine, Serpentine, Fish & Farm, Cafe des Amis, Burgermeister, and Big Mouth Burgers, only to be left wanting more. And last week, just when I thought the cravings had died down, I stumbled upon B3, the Mission's new burger-focused restaurant located a mere two blocks from my front door. After my first bite, I knew this restaurant was created purely to destroy me...Continue Reading

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Barnett Vineyards - One of Napa Valley's Best Kept Secrets

[rating: 5]

Having heard that Barnett Vineyards was a fairly exclusive winery, regarded as one of the best in the area, I was crossing my fingers for an afternoon opening when I called them Saturday morning. The conversation went something like, "We can just barely squeeze you in with our last tasting at 3. Does that work? Okay I've got you down for 2 people at 3 today. Oh, and it'll be $40/person. See you then!" *click*

*head still spinning* "Wait, what? Did she just say $40/person?!"...Continue Reading

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My Latest Examiner Article: Dish of the Month - August


The Dish: Chilled Eggplant Soup with fresh pole and shelling beans, preserved lemon, cilantro, and tomato water gelée.

The Time and Place: August 27th, 2010, Dinner in the Lounge at Coi

The Description: To say that I first tried this dish on the 27th at Coi is a bit of a lie. In fact, the first time I had it was August 9th at the Plum preview dinner at Il Cane Rosso - Chef Patterson had to step into the kitchen at the last minute and therefore brought a couple of his signature dishes along with him. Actually, the 27th wasn’t even the second time I ordered the dish; the second time I had it was as the third course of Coi’s tasting menu on August 24th - a course which proved to be my favorite of the night. What’s listed above is actually the third time in three weeks that I, again, succumbed to the soup’s advances. But there’s a reason for listing that date as the one that was truly revelatory. The night of the 24th was the first time that I was driven back to Coi by an overwhelming craving for the purity and freshness of the flavors contained in this dish; it was officially the night that a dish, a healthy, vegetable-centric dish at that, stripped me of all of my self-control and had me crawling back to Coi’s front door...Continue Reading

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Plum Only Gave Me a Preview, but I'm Already Hooked

It's no secret that I consider Chef Daniel Patterson to be one of the two best chefs in San Francisco (Matthew Accarrino of SPQR being the second), and just simply a culinary genius. Every interaction I've had with him has been friendly but professional, and more importantly, extremely interesting; I have no doubt that if I had the means, I would eat at Coi every week. So, you can imagine my excitement when I heard that, for a limited time only, he'd be in the kitchen at Il Cane Rosso heading up the Plum preview dinners...Continue Reading

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My Latest Examiner Article: Williams Sonoma Connects Local Foodies to Local Food

Who would've guessed that Williams Sonoma in Union Square would evolve into a destination for food enthusiasts, like myself, to get up close and personal with all-star industry professionals? And half of the demonstrations and classes offered are free!

The following is an excerpt from my latest examiner article that goes into detail about the changes happening at Williams Sonoma, and how you can take advantage of them! To read the full article, please CLICK HERE...Continue Reading

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