Top Chef will hit its tenth season this year, and they are looking for San Francisco-based gastronomic talent for the big one-zero. Might you be the next cheftestant? While Bravo's food competition show shows slight signs of age — let's face it, it's no RuPaul's Drag Race; a show on par creatively and critically as Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and even Bad Girls Club, it is the most important thing on TV right now — they still showcase major cooking prowess and drama, something the Bay Area has in spades. more ›

In what will be the greatest cooking demonstration in the history of time and space, Sonja Morgan, part of the Real Housewives of New York gaggle, will make an appearance at Macy's on Thursday night to promote her new toaster oven cookbook. Yes, you read that right. The single greatest member of an increasingly depressing and ill-mannered cast (e.g., Jill Zarin and that terrible lady who made millions shaving vaginas) will be in the city this week to sign copies of her latest book about cooking for royalty (et al.) using a toaster oven. Really, a goddamn toaster oven. This is what, among so many other qualities, makes Morgan a budding lifestyle genius. more ›

Guess what we stayed up all night doing? Come on, guess. Wrong. We watched hours of Betty's Kitchen, that's what. (Hat tip: Fauxjob.) We soaked up around, oh, say, 30+ episodes -- without irony's gaze, we might add, so save the Fluffernutter jokes for your uninspired white trash parties -- and found them delightful, informative. So much so, in fact... more ›

Each Christmas morning we expect one cookbook under the tree. This year, we had better see Michael Charello's face smiling back at us, because we've firmly requested his latest effort, Michael Chiarello's Bottega, a time boasting over 100 recipes of Southern Italian fare. Recipes range from staples like stocks, oils, crème fraîche, and duck prosciutto to stellar feasts like crispy roasted pork shanks, whole-roasted pig porchetta, and potato gnocchi ravioli with egg yolk and sage brown butter. more ›

In honor of the opening of Julie & Julia today (a movie which Robert Wilonsky calls "half of a great movie" in the Weekly), gay blogger JoeMyGod points to a 2007 Boston magazine piece in which the venerable Julia Child was revealed to be a homophobe, much like the majority of her generation. In specific: more ›

For anyone who's ever shopped there -- be it noon on a Tuesday or 6 p.m. on payday -- Berkeley Bowl has pretty much always been a shitshow. Bulk granola-buying hippies elbow aside gourmet grannies in the ultra-narrow aisles, and hundreds of shopping carts squeak by one another in the endless stock exchange of Asian pears and celeriac. And forget about Thanksgiving week. Well now, Berkeley denizens will have yet another gourmet grocery to fight over (to add to four Andronico's, a Whole Foods and a Wild Oats soon-to-be Trader Joe's) as Berkeley Bowl opens a second store, Berkeley Bowl West, about 15 blocks west of the current store on Ashby Ave (map). more ›

by Tiffany Maleshefski more ›

James Brown impersonator killing it at Saturday's 27th Annual Black Cuisine Cooking Contest & Street Festival. more ›

Oh my God, we're so there. If there was ever a reason to kick it over at the Bayview Hunters Point Multipurpose Senior Services, this would be it. Join us tomorrow in our quest for clinical obesity as we head over the the 27th Annual Black Cuisine Cooking Contest & Street Festival. We're not sure what to expect, exactly; the only -esque cuisine that comes to mind are peach cobbler, collard greens, and lots of butter. (You know, stuff that actually tastes good.) more ›

Beaut pic Delights and Prejudices; hey, thanks! more ›

There's no better way to celebrate the Frameline GLBT film fest than by entering to win free tickets for you and a friend to a screening tomorrow night! more ›

Who needs a little culture after a weekend of mayhem? (We do, we do!) Here are a few things going on tonight that might pique your interest. more ›

Okay, so we admit it. We read your comments, sometimes. And thus, this post is for you, Gene. more ›

We gobble the various food sections up each Wednesday. These are our favorite tidbits from today's offerings: more ›

On Thursday morning, we bent our self imposed no-drinks-before-noon"guideline" and attended a fun food and wine event. What made this invite stand out was that the wine tasting, Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2006, was tied to an important cause, the San Francisco Food Bank. Had we known we would be able to witness and talk to a good natured young woman dressed in a gigantic Beaujolais Nouveau costume we would've RSVP'd even sooner. Oh, and did we mention we dig romantic French accordion music by Odile Lavault while we sip and nibble? more ›

more ›

more ›

got even worse, as we allowed ourselves to indulge in all the ultra-sugary cereals that were denied to us growing up. Then, about a year or so ago, we decided maybe there was something to that whole "wheat allergy" diagnosis, and breakfast became a meal again. Since then we've gone through several iterations on the perfect breakfast plan, leaving omelettes behind when we got worried about the teflon in our non-stick pan (any hints on how to properly oil a pan so you can flip the omelette in a plain steel pan are greatly appreciated, as we can't seem to master that art), so we switched to oatmeal and fruit, leaving that in our wake for steak and eggs (scrambled or fried), jumping over to a protein smoothie regimine--with all sorts of reversions, switchbacks and combinations of those, as the mood has struck us. And in this shift of waking hours, we've discovered we like a nice breakfast at home. We like chatting with the spouse over the paper, we like the stillness of the day, we like our morning tea. So while we won't go so far as to say we're morning people, we will give a shout out to what we feel is the most tranquil meal. more ›

Beets have a bad reputation. Maybe it's the association with Russian peasants who relied on the nutrient-packed roots. Maybe it's the distinct earthy taste. Whatever the reason, our friends arch their eyebrows when they learn how much we love this ill-reputed root. (In our defense, we note that Amy of Cooking with Amy and Matt of MattBites extolled the virtues of beets in recent posts.) more ›

SFist Karen catches some Andy Goldsworthy-esque art on the beach. more ›

The SFist test kitchen staff has a tiny list of essential food books. At the top you'll find Harold McGee's . Our copy's tattered cover and stained pages broadcast our love for this accessible bible of kitchen science. When we use the bright red tome to answer our culinary questions, we say we're "Reading From the Book of Harold." Alton Brown uses this book as a reference. more ›

) than to buy them. We're just frugal like that. more ›

We loved the empty marketplace we found at the Ferry Building on a soggy New Year's Eve day. Few buyers wanted to come out on the wet holiday. Sadly, many farmers felt the same way, and the thriving market was a shadow of its normal self. Ah, well, we still found some bright green Brussels sprouts to take home for dinner. more ›

SFists Rain and Ced have read Julie Powell's book over the course of one year. more ›

Certain summer fruits—tomatoes and peaches come to mind—are poster children for farmer's markets. When these ingredients are bound for the supermarket, they're picked way too early and stored in taste-damaging conditions. more ›

more ›

Our photographer Melissa has been intrigued by the vibrant green, slightly squishy, wrinkly bitter melons we've seen at various farmer's markets, and she suggested we put it through its paces. We were excited to try out the new ingredient, at least until we researched it a bit more. "I grew up with bitter melons and love their taste," begins Madhur Jaffrey in . But she finishes that thought ominously: "I know that it is not easy for most Americans to eat them." Bitter melon is, obviously, bitter. Western palates shy away from this sensation, but it's a common component throughout Eastern cuisine, where many consider bitterness to be a cleansing panacea. Piles of these exotic-looking veggies cover tables at markets that cater to Asian communities, from San Francisco's Civic Center market to Oakland's 9th Street market. But what do you do with it if, like us, you cook a lot of French and Italian dishes? more ›

The Artful Eater. You knew this post was coming. You've seen tomatoes piled up at the farmer's markets, a gumball machine of green, yellow, orange, and red spheres, and you've wondered when we're going to talk about them. Never fear, we intend to take full advantage of this mouthwatering selection. Though supermarket versions have gotten better over the years, they still suffer from being picked too early or refrigerated, both of which can stunt the flavor. Good farmers, on the other hand, pick the tomatoes at their peak of ripeness and don't refrigerate the fragile fruit. And while we don't believe that the word "heirloom" necessarily makes tomatoes taste better, we do enjoy the wider range of flavors and colors. We're actually thinking of doing a tomato post in a few weeks, comparing the different heirloom varieties. What do you think?
Most of you know that the tomato is botanically a fruit, but why does everyone treat it like a vegetable? Harold McGee's argues that it's because of the high amounts of glutamic acid and sulfur aromas, which give it a savory quality that pairs well with meats. If you think you're sensitive to MSG, avoid tomatoes (and Parmiggiano-Reggiano. Ouch). more ›

Gavin considering a run for governor? The SF Call closing its doors? Frankly, for us, it's harder to believe that SFist Derrick tossed cucumber and pasta with butter for a dish. Cooking cucumber? The mind boggles. more ›

We'll admit it -- we've been watching a lot of movies this week, and our reading has fallen by the wayside. However, our blissfully empty weekend is almost within reach, which means a trip to one of our local independent bookstores, as well as to the library to pick up our online reserves. Right now, all we want to do is lie in bed with the pets and a good book or three, so the weekend cannot come soon enough. more ›