Heartburn by Nora Ephron So, I'm reading Nora Ephron's 1983 novel Heartburn -- I think I'm the last person in America to realize that Ephron was a foodie long before Julie & Julia -- and the book is filled with love and longing and heartbreak and food. Lots of food. The main character, Rachel, is ...

caesar salad I'm a sucker for a great Caesar salad. Call me old school, but there are few things that can beat it in my book. Garlicky, lemony, cheesy, and anchovy-y, if there is such a word. If there isn't, there should be. Sadly, a great restaurant Caesar salad has eluded me in San Francisco. With ...

slice of pumpkin cheesecake Pumpkin pie is the quintessential Thanksgiving dessert. Most people eat it just once a year, and that's after first gorging themselves on turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, and about ten other side dishes. Yet more often than not I hear people say they'll take only a "sliver" ...

vietnamese coffee slow drip Vietnamese Coffee, Trung Nguyen Enjoying your slow-drip coffee is a quintessential part of life in Vietnam. Whether you're stoopin' it, shouting your order down the street to the local coffee cart on the corner, or enjoying a carefully prepared cup in an upscale coffee house, ...

Los Jarritos At Los Jarritos, the Reyes Padilla family's sit-down eatery on the corner of South Van Ness and 20th, components of the restaurant's fantastic chilaquiles remo are reminiscent of canonized comfort foods from other cultures. Like noodles in a day-old lasagne, the quarters of fried corn tortilla ...

The grounds of Philo Apple Farm The grounds of Philo's Apple Farm I'd driven through Boonville with my Dad and my sisters once, all too briefly en route to Mendocino. We stopped at the Boonville General Store for a sandwich and sat outside admiring the coolness of the little stretch of road and the ...

"Have you tried the lamb brains?" Well, it was just that sort of party. The lamb brains, so I was told, were simply smashing--like meaty custard, in the best possible way. But the lamb brains weren't the half of it. The outdoor tables at last weekend's first Primal Napa event were a head-to-tail, guts-and-all ...

Sweet Potato Gratin Sweet Potato Gratin Turkey season is upon us, and for me, that means sweet potato season! I love sweet potato in pretty much any form -- baked, fried, pie'd -- but in this gratin form, it is savory-sweet bliss at its finest. I first discovered this recipe years ago at a potluck in ...

fuyu-persimmons2 If you think these fuyu persimmons seem to be looking wide-eyed off into space, you're wrong. They're looking into the future-- namely, theirs. Shortly after this photo was taken, they were mercilessly vivisected and consumed by me, the author of this post. I shall be doing the same ...

lasagna with raviolis Lots of things can go wrong in the kitchen. Anyone who has spent any time cooking has burnt a finger, added too much salt to the sauce, or maybe even dropped an entire pan of food on the floor. Accidents are common and unavoidable and even those competitive souls on Top Chef can ...