While it's true that most restaurants have been hit hard by the economy, at least one eatery is flourishing. Meet Mission Street Food, an unusual dining concept that's taken flight in San Francisco's Mission district. Two nights a week, Anthony Myint, a former line cook at a well-known restaurant in town, sublets space from a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant, invites a guest chef to cook, and serves up creative, experimental dishes sourced from well-known farms in the area. Without the overhead costs of a fine dining establishment, Mission Street Food is able to donate a portion of profits to food charities like Meals on Wheels or C.H.E.F.S. The concept also gives Myint and his fellow colleagues a chance to experiment with new dishes. Keep reading to scope out the Mission Street Food scene.
No fruit or vegetable ushers in the season of late Spring and early Summer quite like the fava bean. Simply ask the denizens of southern Italy, where short-lived favas are a prized warm-weather favorite. There, the tender, creamy beans are frequently served in a delicate salad with buttery olive oil and nutty pecorino cheese. The traditional way of preparing favas is to shell and then blanch them to remove their tough outer skins — but if you're new to working with favas, you may want to stick with selecting young, thin-skinned pods, which require no blanching. Make the fava bean salad that suits you best when you read more
Call me crazy — or attribute it to some bizarre form of reverse psychology — but all that hoopla over KFC's grilled chicken left me craving crispy, spicy, hot-out-of-the-oil fried chicken. TeamSugar member GinaGaladriel must have read my mind: using Cajun spices and Goya seasoning, she modified a fried chicken recipe she saw on YouTube to her family's liking. Now that I've witnessed the power of Gina's fried chicken, it may be time to put aside childish thoughts of grilled chicken and whip up a batch of my own chicken-fried goodness. Check out step-by-step photos when you read more
How do you know that Summer's just a few weeks away? When there's a seemingly endless list of epicurean events and food festivals. We can hardly straddle them all, but have plans to hit up San Francisco Cocktail Week, shake hands with sake brewers at the Joto Sake Tasting, slurp a few slippery ones at Oysterfest, and swirl Sauvignon Blanc at the Uncorked! Wine Festival. What events are you penciling in? Tell us what you're tasting below!
Recently Mouthing Off, Food & Wine's blog, chatted about the menu, or lack thereof, at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The restaurant of James Beard Award winning chef Dan Barber stopped using menus a year ago. Instead, diners are presented with a list of in-season ingredients. They select either five or eight courses and let the waitstaff know of any off-limits foods. The kitchen has total control over a patron's meal. Considering I'm an adventurous and sometimes indecisive (I want to try everything!) eater, I would love to eat at a menu-free restaurant — especially if the chef is as acclaimed as Barber. How about you?
On this week's episode of The Hills, Heidi puts an end to the drama with bartender Stacie, while Audrina tries to do the same with Justin. Meanwhile, Stephanie commits a major faux pas while on the job at People's Revolution. Did you keep tabs on all the savory situations? Find out when you take our quiz!
To get all the fashion from last night's episode, check out CelebStyle!
Pied A Terre
Matthew Williamson
Torrini