I rely on a number of high-quality producers for the Kitchen column. Some I've written about in depth, some make frequent cameo appearances. Here are the unsung (at least at this site) producers I relied on in 2005. Fatted Calf Great charcuterie is hard to find. No wonder, then, that Fatted Calf has a cult following among cured meat connoisseurs. Taylor and Toponia, who started the business with their own savings, use top-notch ingredients to......

When it came time to pick the best place to shop for food, we fretted over the decision. We knew the winner would be a farmer's market, since seasonal produce bought from local farmers beats virtually every store's fruits and vegetables. But which market to choose? The Bay Area probably has more farmer's markets per capita than anywhere else, each with its own personality and devotees. The Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market gets plenty of......

We loves us a good piece of meat, but we can't stand buying the factory-farmed animal products we find in most stores. An American obsession with cheap meat has left us with powerful producers who use their government-approved anonymity to wreak all sorts of travesties. (Have you read Fast Food Nation yet? You should.) We try not to contribute to this karmic sinkhole, and so we were happy to see Marin Sun Farms at......

When we shop at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, we almost always swing by Achadinha's stall to taste some Capricious, the company's popular aged goat cheese. We've long been fans of the nutty, buttery taste and smooth, firm texture of this cheese, and we're not the only ones. The first time Ginger Olsen and Diane Livingston brought Capricious to the American Cheese Society's annual competition, the cheese won Best in Show and Best Aged......

Organic satsuma oranges made for a nice snack as we shopped at Tuesday's Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, but we thought we'd mention the dried mandarins at Everything Under the Sun's [PDF] stall. These brittle, bitter wheels aren't exactly an accessible snack on their own, but a moment in our spice grinder turned them into a flavorful powder with a multitude of uses. We particularly liked this dust as a coating for Cointreau-flavored chocolate truffles,......

Alaina Browne moves west, and NYCeats becomes A Full Belly....