san francisco

A craving for Central American and Caribbean food as of late has meant I've scoured the streets of Miami for a decent cubano, as well as the colorful corners of San Francisco's Mission district for authentic Salvadoran pupusas.

Think of the pupusa as a more glorious quesadilla. The people of El Salvador flatten balls of corn dough (made of masa that's been treated with an alkaline solution) into flat filled cakes, each hiding a sliver of refried beans, pork, vegetables, and, more often than not, melted cheese, then heated until warm on the griddle. The end result's served piping hot with piquant curtido (pickled cabbage) and a thin red tomato-based salsa.

On a recent excursion to Balompie Café, the best pupusa I tried was a traditional version filled with cheese and loroco, a Central American flower bud that tasted a bit like bell peppers. If you love Latin flavors and have never laid eyes on the pupusa, it's a Salvadoran street food worth seeking out.

San Francisco's Tartine Bakery is wildly popular, not only for its loaves and croissants, but also for its recently published cookbook, Tartine Bread, which has only been out for half a year but already has a cult following of amateur bread obsessives that The Wall Street Journal examines in a recent article.

I'm too timid to try fostering sourdough starters, but there have definitely been times when I've doled out upwards of $7 for Tartine's legendary loaf — which, although huge, is easy enough to devour within minutes. Katie feels the same way: it's a steep price to pay, worthy for certain special occasions.

How much money are you willing to spend — and how far and wide are you wiling to go — for that impeccable loaf?

Source: Flickr User kowitz

I just stumbled across photos of San Francisco- and Hawaii-based architect Craig Steely's home and office in San Fran's The Castro, and I'm absolutely floored. "Beaver Street Reprise," as he calls it, is an unequivocally modern house in a predominantly Victorian neighborhood. It's divided into a first-floor apartment, second-floor offices for Craig Steely Architecture, and a third-floor, split-level living area that opens to a deck with a sod roof and a hanging fireplace.

The minimalist interiors are outfitted with cush Ligne Roset sofas, Eames rocking chairs, vertical bookcases, an Arco floor lamp, a Saarinen dining table, and nearly every other design icon on a modernist's wish list. While it's hard to choose which element I love the most, I must say the wood herringbone pattern kitchen cabinetry definitely deserves a nomination for pièce de résistance.

Take the full tour below. Wouldn't you kill to call this your office? Tell me what room is your favorite in the comments!

Eating out with a big group isn't just an adjustment for the establishment; it's also a rather different experience for diners. Two recent incidents have left me pondering: How should a restaurant accommodate large parties? The first scenario involved planning a birthday dinner. After contemplating venues and checking for online reservations, I scored a four-top at a recently sprouted eatery that's opened to great fanfare.

When I called to add a seat, it wasn't a problem. But later, when the guest of honor asked me to change the table for a party of five to seat six, the restaurant wouldn't accommodate the request. Thus, we were forced to seek a reservation (and take our business) elsewhere at the last minute.Another experience involved dining in a party of 11 at a restaurant where the service was severely lacking, but we were slapped with a 20 percent gratuity charge. The hospitality errors (such as multiple requests for an item that never came out) were egregious, yet the restaurant had the gall to impose a tip, and an unreasonable one at that.

Big parties can add strain to restaurants, but a huge group is also more likely to order appetizers, drinks, and desserts at a large scale, thereby increasing revenue for an establishment. Why doesn't a restaurant take more steps to accommodate big groups, in an effort to encourage return business? I'd love for you to weigh in and share your take.

It's been a long time coming, but this year was the first time that vegetables saw their moment in the spotlight. Call it what you will (bacon backlash?) but in 2010, vegetables were proclaimed to be the "new meat." From Mario's vegetarian cookbook to low-carbon, meat-free restaurant chains, vegetable-driven cuisine simply couldn't be ignored.

Is this trend simply recession flexitarianism, or should we expect to see more carrots, cauliflower, and parsnip bacon on menus next year, too? I asked Annie Somerville, executive chef at Greens restaurant and a California pioneer in meatless eating, what her predictions were for the coming 12 months. What's the future of vegetarianism? Find out when you read more.