Typogra-food at the Ferry Building

Medicine Restaurant

Miss MoNKeY invited me out to very interesting restaurant yesterday. Medicine has a quite unusual concept. As explained on their menu, they are using a revised version of the Shojin cuisine, a cuisine based on the belief of the Zen monks of Japan—that "food should be taken as MEDICINE for the health of the body."

With that said, I was quite skeptical, yet I kept an open mind and was thrilled to discover something quite special.


Indeed, the interior is very geometric, very Zen. Big long wooden tables stretch across the width of the dining room or "eatstation" as they call it. The seats are wood as well, and if you want to take your time and enjoy every morsel of food, be prepared to have a sore derrière by the end of the meal!


We were both treated to a tasting of 3 premium sakes. Served cold, they were a wonderful compliment to our appetizers. Our favorite happened to be their cheapest sake on their menu, the Ohyama. It's sweetness made you yearn for more, lots more.... (click on the picture to enlarge it)


This is the Medicine Roll, their signature sushi: Avocado, umeboshi, shiso, carrot, kaiware. It was served with a rough wasabi which had whole white sesames inside. This had a very scrumptious crunchy texture. It is not an illusion, the rice IS pink. It is a 9-grain rice. It melted in your mouth.


my favorite, this is the Sesame Tofu. It's described as a house-made "tofu" of sesame milk thickened with kudzu (whatever that is). I found this to taste very similar to Tahini, with the texture of custard.


Our third appetizer, highly recommended by MoNKeY, was the Maitake Tempura. This was served with a wedge of lemon (with all the seeds included :-) and sea salt. That is all it needed! It was absolutely awesome! Still dreaming about it.


Next, we moved on to our main course. This is the Kyoto Soba, MoNKeY's choice. Buckwheat noodles in a clean light shojin broth, with fiddlehead fern, wakame, and umeboshi.


This was my choice for the main course, the Curry Udon. Being that curry is usually served with meat, I rarely ever eat it, but this time I didn't need to worry! No meat! My curry udon was so very comforting and warm. Juicy udon noodles in spicy creamy curry broth, kakiage garnish, which I assume is a type of sweet potato or gourd... They were lightly tempuraed and when drowned into the broth, were mighty excellent!


For dessert, we went for MoNKeY's childhood treat, the Yaki-Imo. What this is is an oven baked sweet potato medallion, here, served with maple syrup and black sesame seeds. Rich, soothing, and mild in sweetness, it was a perfect ending to our meal.

You know you ate something good, when you are thinking about it the next day—all day long! I know that this is a place I will go back to very soon, and I think MoNKeY is of the same mindset as I (Well this WAS her second time...).

Some things to note:
This place is open for Lunch and Dinner everyday.
A 17% service charge is included in the bill, no tip is accepted.
The average cost for two people for a filling dinner, such as ours, was $45 ($22.50 each)—pretty decent, no?
Their menu is seasonal.
Plate portions are very reasonable. 3 shared appetizers, one entrée each and a shared dessert was a perfect quantity for two, without feeling bloated after the meal.
They have two tasting menus that serve a 6 course meal, and are pricier than everything else ($30–$55 per person)

161 Sutter Street @ The Crocker Galleria, San Francisco, CA | (415)677-4405

Raspberry & Rémy Martin Yogurt Cake

The Yogurt Cake is a marvelous recipe. For those who think that baking from scratch is a strenuous process, the "Gâteau Au Yaourt" as it's called in French, will prove you wrong!

I was so enticed by a couple posts on Chocolate & Zucchini, where Clotilde demonstrated a couple of lovely variations this cake allows. In fact, the variations you can try with this recipe are endless.

Basically, the basic recipe is a Plain Yogurt Cake. From this basic recipe, you can add whatever your heart desires. I decided to do, as the title of this post suggests, a Raspberry and Rémy Martin Yogurt Cake!

It turned out so adorable! Don't you think?



Other variations I think would be fabulous:
• Orange Juice + Zest + Mini Chocolate Chips.
• Cut in half and spread Apricot Jam in the middle.
• Replacing the Yogurt with Sour Cream.
• Replacing the Plain Yogurt with a Fruit Flavored Yogurt
(in this case remember to reduce the amount of sugar you use).
• Top cake with Cherry Preserves.
• Add Pomegranate into the batter.
• Use a big loaf pan, or small little cute loaf pans for individual portions!
• Use Brown Sugar instead of White.
• Add Ground Almonds in batter.

Ooof! There are tons more variations I am sure....
Check out Clotilde's recipe for the Yogurt Cake, as that is the one I used.

Filming of "Pursuit of Happiness" on MY block!

Just wanted to let you know that on September 25, 2005 I woke up to find that the set of "Pursuit of Happiness" starring Will Smith decided to take over my block!

Here is what it looked like on O'Farrell and Leavenworth...


Notice in this first picture, Will Smith is actually coming out of his SUV, to begin shooting. If you look carefully, I believe his son can be seen in the car as well.




First take begins.


Soon, after a series of takes up Leavenworth, the crew moved up O'farrell St, and set up shop at my doorstep... Catering was literally at my door, and I snapped this photo as I stepped out to go to the post office... Getting through that mess was a struggle, but it was entertaining as well!


After I got back from the post office, I went up to the fire escape to see the view from there. Old taxis from the 70's took over the street. What a sight!


As I tried to head off to work, I was bombarded with actors and crew all over the place... I managed to seal a shot with Will Smith! Who would have known! (I look like such a dorkus)

SF Strays Thanksgiving 2005

Thank you Michael for hosting such a wonderful Thanksgiving feast! As usual when Michael throws a party, you can always expect high standards. A carefully and elaborately planned menu, consisting of unique combinations, hard hard work put into the details and presentation, and a final result that always tantalizes. I am always impressed and it was no different for Michael's 2005 SF Strays Thanksgiving Dinner Party. On top of Michael's (and Kathryn's) awesome cooking, each of us guests had a role to play, concocting an element of the dinner. Some really great dishes were made...... Thank you all!


First course of the meal is set on the table. What you see here are various creations from the SF Strays gang. Michael made the comforting Carrot Cream soup with Pistachios and Audrey made the fabulous Pear, Cranberry and Blue-cheese Salad. Also pictured is Ellie's rich Red Wine, Pear & Apple sauce, Michael's tangy crack-laden Grand Marnier Cranberry "sauce" and Sarah's spicy Pumpkin Pie. (We were already on the way to being stuffed before the soup and salad came, due to the aperitif nibbles we devoured before-hand)


Mike doing the honors carving the roast. It looked really good, very elaborately created, with fine details such as roasted onions. Pictured is my Butternut Squash Mashed Potatoes, Michael and Kathryn's Brussels Sprout dish, and hiding behind that is my Roasted Sweet Corn. Notice Louisiana in front of the roast, inspecting Mike's every move...


Here is a close up of the soup and salad. Notice Sarah's Cranberry Quince Chutney that was so fabuloso.


Ellie, enjoying her Carrot soup by the fire.


After gobbling up the first course, Ellie and I are goofing off impatiently waiting for the main course to recieve it's final touches!


The turkey is served, we are all gathered round, and feasing away! As usual, Michael cannot hold still in front of the camera!


Michael doesn't cease to impress! A lady-finger based cheese cake with macerated blackberries. This cake was so gooood!


Sarah and Louisiana demonstrate what it feels like to be stuffed by Thanksgiving dinner by plopping on the couch! Sadly Louisiana (the doggie) chooses to demonstrate in a very rude way by being very very sinky...... in a fart-ish sort of way!

Espresso Insanity!

My new little one shot espresso cup, made by hand in the traditional Italian way. Merm made the shot for me with her fabulous espresso machine. I have to say, it was sooo yummy.


Visible in the background is my machinery! A 2 shot moka pot. The best $10 I have ever spent! Makes better espresso than 99.99% of cafés out here in San Francisco.


Ever drank 4 shots of espresso in less than 5 minutes? I hadn't, until that day. Caffé Trieste makes the best in the city, that I have tasted so far.


First time at Caffé Trieste. Not only are their Espressos and Cappuccinos scrumptious, their pizza is sooo delicious!


Merm, letting her Cappuccino Grande wait while on the phone with Jilian. You can see there my Espresso Grande, which consists of 4 shots of espresso.


A somewhat decent espresso from Peet's Coffee.... Had to ask for decaffeinated, since their coffee is way too strong. Ceramic is not the standard at Peet's Coffee, nor at the majority of San Francisco's coffee shops. Usually you get your coffee in a paper cup. To get ceramic, you must ask. When you drink you coffee, you really stand out.....

Ecco Gelato, Santa Fe

This place has to be, BY FAR, the best gelato I have tasted in the world. I have difficulty saying this since an experience I had in Israel led me to say the same thing. Ok, so Ecco Gelato in Santa Fe, NM and Har Zahav in Jerusalem are on my top ranking position, in the gelato department.

Cinco De Michael

The party is in full swing and Michael is preparing ingredients for the lovely quesadillias. The truly unique element will be the Butternut Squash.


He's loving it! Anticipation is in the air, we gather around to smell the yumminess and to help out.




The ingredients are almost ready. In the meantime, the Salmon Ceviche is served! This delightfully tangy appetizer was quite a special treat. It was quickly devoured with nothing to spare!


Ingredients for the quesadillias are finally ready.


The tortillas waiting for the assembly to begin.


Grated cheese and the roasted butternut squash is first up.


The grilled chicken and cilantro are next.


Squished, cooked and sliced, Michael stands proud with the first of the batch. We gobbled it up to make sure it was in fact as tasty as it looked. We were delighted to find that it was more delicious than expected.


Many more were made, in the midst of the goofing off.




The huge pineapples, waiting to be transformed into powerful concoctions!




The tasty food didn't stop us from dancing the night away! With great music to match the food, what could one expect!












Sweet Louise inspecting the cooking. She was quite interested in doing some taste-testing as well!






Filling ready to be used in the Spicy Seared Tuna Tacos.


The big flank of sushi-grade tuna, the key ingredient in the Spicy Seared Tuna Tacos. This flank was succulent. It was lucky we were on tuna slicing duty, since we got to nibble on many pieces and marvel at the freshness of this fish.


Isn't fish the most beautiful thing in the world? We had a hard time resisting from eating the chunks right then and there!!!




This is the spicing step. We covered every chunk with this mixture of spices, making them ready for the searing process.




The Spice covered Tuna, ready for searing.