YumSugar

A Look Back at the Second Annual Good Food Awards

YumSugar — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:05:17 PST

Food artisans from around the country were honored at the second annual Good Food Awards, which celebrate American food producers, who enhance the country's agricultural landscape and help to build community. On Friday, we hit up the awards ceremony, where a veritable who's who of the food industry, from Alice Waters to Ruth Reichl, spoke to the importance of heirloom products, and where we had a chance to taste some of the best heirloom products being made in this country right now. For a few snapshots from the event, keep reading.

Judging a Culinary Competition: It's Not as Easy as You Think

Susannah Chen — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:15:11 PDT

I've always envied the chairman and all the judges on Iron Chef America. After all, who doesn't want to sit down to live entertainment and not one, but two, incredible dinners made by star chefs?

Naturally, when I was recently approached to judge the Macy's Mystery Basket Battle in San Francisco, I couldn't say no. The event featured two local celebrity chefs, Staffan Terje from Perbacco and Hoss Zaré from Zaré at Fly Trap, facing off in a 45-minute battle to create at least one dish that incorporated the following six ingredients: kabocha, mint, fennel, cocoa powder, anchovies, and animal crackers.

The event wouldn't have been complete without a live audience of about 50 and a judging panel (which included myself, Masterchef finalist Alejandra Schrader, blogger Carolyn Jung of Food Gal, and SF City Dish founder Kevin Blum). But judging a competition wasn't anything like I thought it would be. Read more for some surprising postcompetition observations.

Star Chef Craig Stoll on Expansion, Favorite Eateries, and the State of Dining

Susannah Chen — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:16:57 PDT

It's hard to keep a restaurant that's been open over a decade perennially packed, but Craig Stoll makes it look easy. The chef-owner's flagship restaurant, Delfina, has been open for 13 years, yet remains one of San Francisco's top dining destinations. Stoll and his wife, Annie, have a new Roman restaurant, Locanda, as well as two locations of the absurdly popular Pizzeria Delfina, which was named one of the 25 best pizzas in America.

I talked to the James Beard Award winner about what keeps his restaurants interesting, upcoming projects, and the controversial state of fine dining today.

YumSugar: Delfina's been open for 13 years. How do you continue to move forward?
Craig Stoll: It's just hard work. What we need right now, in order for our restaurants to continue to thrive and grow, is talent. We have a brand-new chef coming in here; you're the first to know. Matt Gandin, our chef de cuisine who's been with us nine years, is leaving; he doesn't know where he's going, but he wants to pursue his own thing, possibly Mexican food. Dylan Montano is coming in; I'm super excited for this. He's been the chef at Manzanita, Traci Des Jardins's restaurant in Lake Tahoe, and has worked at Quince.

Keep reading after the jump to learn about what Craig Stoll has planned next.

How to Cook the Perfect Steak

Katie Sweeney — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:12:38 PDT

Before Summer is over, why not enjoy a piece of meat at its purest? I'm talking about a perfectly grilled steak! Grilling steak may seem like a no-brainer: you season it and throw it on the barbie, but with a little extra care you can take your steak-making skills to a whole new level. I asked Chef Mark Richardson, of Seasons, the restaurant at The Four Seasons in San Francisco, to show us how it's done. His technique and tips for juicy pink medium rare steak after the jump.

Scenes From the San Francisco Street Food Festival

Susannah Chen — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:05:30 PDT

This past weekend saw the third annual San Francisco Street Food Festival, a gathering of San Francisco's most sought-after street merchants, food trucks, and restaurants, organized by nonprofit incubator kitchen La Cocina. The occasion - "a celebration of vendors and entrepreneurship," according to the organization - helped increase awareness (and funds) for up-and-coming food businesses. It was also just plain delicious. See what you missed when you click through.

Can You Match the San Francisco Chef to the Restaurant?

Susannah Chen — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:22:24 PDT

What are you up to for the rest of this week? We'll be busy attending the third annual SF Chefs, a gathering of chefs, restaurateurs, and other individuals respected in the food industry. To get you excited for our upcoming coverage of the festival, I thought I'd quiz your knowledge of Fog City's top chefs and dining establishments. I'll name the celebrated chef, and I want you to try to guess his or her signature restaurant. Ready? Let's get started!

Source: Flickr User joey.parsons

Take the Quiz

Pairing Tea With Pastry at a Modern Pop-Up

Susannah Chen — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 05:55:48 PDT

From community-conscious eatery Mission Street Food to Dale Talde's Bodega, pop-up shops - roving restaurants open only during select dates and times - have become all the rage.

In fact, they're a dime a dozen, especially in food-centric metro areas like the San Francisco Bay Area. Last weekend, however, saw the debut of Kettle Whistle, a high tea service pop-up and a joint venture between a fine tea purveyor and one of the country's best pastry chefs in a first-of-its-kind collaboration.

At a time when wine or beer and food pairings have become a common topic of discussion, the concept of matching sweets and savories with aged-old tea is a breath of fresh air. Keep reading to scope out pictures from the city's first-ever high tea pop-up - and learn how to pair your own tea with food.

Tony Tuna Salad at Bar Jules

OnSugar Blog — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 03:11:35 PDT

Tired of the same ol' lunch? Between the Bread offers some fodder for brown-bag inspiration with her review of one San Francisco restaurant's preserved tuna and piquillo sandwich.

On several leisurely weekend afternoons, I've found myself at Bar Jules in Hayes Valley for lunch, and I'm never disappointed. I love the handful-and-a-half of simple brunch and lunch items; I love how the chalkboard menu changes daily but not too drastically; and I adore the cheery, comforting blue and mustard walls. I even love the bathroom decor.

The restaurant's unique tuna sandwich, revisited, when you keep reading.

Meet the Bill Burger, a Burger in a Hot Dog Bun!

Katie Sweeney — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:47:48 PDT

There are many famous burgers out there: the juicy Lucy, the Shake Shack burger, the In-N-Out Burger. But until recently, I had never heard of the Bill Burger. Famous in the golf world - it's found at San Francisco's Olympic Club - the Bill is a burger that's shaped like a hot dog and served in a hot dog bun. Read on to learn more about this all-American delicacy!

A Day in the Life of Traci Des Jardins

YumSugar — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:24:11 PDT

Traci Des Jardins is a San Francisco based chef and restaurateur. She has three very different eateries: upscale Jardinière, Mexican Mijita, and ballpark-based Public House. Her fourth restaurant, Manzanita, is in Lake Tahoe at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. You may recognize Jardins from Top Chef Masters, where she made it to the final episode. Here is what she did yesterday, Sunday, June 26.

7:00 a.m.: I was in Tahoe. I drove up Saturday evening and woke up on Sunday early.

8:00 a.m.: I spent the whole day in the kitchen working out new dishes with my chef and sous chef. We're working on debuting a whole new menu. It's going to be put in place on July 7th. The seasons up there are different; it's basically going from Winter to Summer.

11:00 a.m.: I was tasting food all day long. I tasted a dozen different dishes, so I didn't really have lunch or anything. I started with the breakfast dishes. I tasted the huevos rancheros from the new breakfast menu. I tasted the egg-in-a-hole - it's a new dish.

1:00 p.m.: From the lunch and dinner menu I tasted the halibut with sweet melon and cucumber. Let's see. We also tried the new sea bass dish with baby fennel and saffron potatoes.

To find out what else Traci ate and what she made herself for dinner, keep reading.