One of San Francisco's first celebrity chefs, Jeremiah Tower, who came up during a time when "celebrity" and "chef" weren't often said together, still has a few things to say food and restaurants. And at age 81, he has just launched a Substack newsletter.

Calling the newsletter a "weekly selection of my personal archives, written, photos, videos, menus, and other visual materials, on eating, cooking, and travel from the simplest to the grandest, everyone from local fishermen to the world’s most famous names," Tower arrived in my inbox a little over a week ago. The first entry, titled "Cocaine & Cooking at Chez Panisse," appears to be an excerpt from Tower's controversial 2003 memoir California Dish: What I Saw (and Cooked) at the American Culinary Revolution. And it tells the story about how he and some of his compatriots in the Chez Panisse kitchen, and on staff, were fueled by cocaine in the early and mid-1970s, beginning with one particular dinner.

"At Chez Panisse it started on the restaurant’s third birthday in 1974," Tower writes, going on to describe the prix fixe menu ($5 per head) that he came up with, offering up "panisses" that he saw in a cookbook without knowing what they were or ever having cooked them. After trying to make the chickpea-flour pancakes one time, Tower says he gave up and just made "little pizzas," telling everyone that that's what "panisse" meant.

[Sidebar: Chef Melissa Perello has had panisses frites on the menu at Frances since the restuarant's early days, which she fashioned as breaded, fried, oblong sticks of chickpea custard — closer to what is served in the South of France, and the namesake of Alice Waters' restaurant, which actually originated with a trio of films by Marcel Pagnol.]

But then, he said, making single-serving pizzas all night using leftover ingredients from a bouillabaisse the night before, was getting exhausting.

Per Tower:

I was flagging a bit, and everyone was buying me champagne, which slowed me down even more. Word went out that the chef needed a boost.

In sauntered a friend of one of our waiters with a black-leather- coated accomplice. Flashing a gold-toothy smile as he glided by me, he pulled a plastic bag out of his coat. Then dumped half a pound of white powder on top of the chest freezer at the back of the kitchen. He cut it into several long lines and handed me a straw fashioned from a rolled-up twenty-dollar bill.

In an instant, I was back at the stoves. Then a conga line formed (this time not for the pizza), snaking out through the kitchen, into the dining room, and up the stairs into the bar.

He says that this ushered in a few years of constant cocaine use at Chez Panisse, and while "Alice disapproved of using cocaine... she turned a mostly blind eye."

Tower has a paid-subscription tier on the Substack, but the latest free newsletter, published Tuesday, is titled "Basic Dough." It is also pretty saucy, as he recounts sitting in a neighborhood bar drinking a Manhattan, after turning in edited galleys for a book, and noting on a sign on the wall that warns pregnant women against drinking. (This also appears to be excerpted from something, possibly written about 20 years ago, but it does not say.)

"My mother had a couple of martinis every day she was pregnant with me, and here I am slurping down a giant cocktail when I should be working off all this mental fatigue in the gym," Tower writes.

In San Francisco, a while after his days at Chez Panisse, Tower became most famous for his Civic Center restaurant Stars, which closed in the late 1990s. The late Anthony Bourdain counted hismelf a fan of Tower, and he executive produced the 2017 documentary about him, Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent.

Tower's last literary effort, a revision and new introduction for Henri-Paul Pellaprat's The Great Book of French Cuisine, was published last year.

Find the Out of the Oven newsletter, and sign up for it, here.

Top image:  Film subject, chef Jeremiah Tower speaks on stage at CNN Films - Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent at TFF Panel & Party on April 16, 2016 in New York City. 26123_001_0117.JPG (Photo by Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for Turner)

Hey everyone, it's time for the annual Perseid meteor shower! And, as it's San Francisco in August, that also means it's time for everyone to get disappointed that their view of the Perseid meteor shower is obstructed by clouds. However, there are a few ways for fog-bound San Franciscans to see the hours-long light show, and as KQED News reports not all of them involve getting out of the city.

First, lets start with the basics. What is this thing, anyway? The good folks at NASA have put together a helpful explainer which drops the following bits of knowledge. The light streaks you'll see in the sky are "tiny specks of comet-stuff hitting Earth's atmosphere at very high speed and disintegrating in flashes of light." The comet in question is 109P/Swift-Tuttle (impress your friends with that), and thanks to Jupiter's gravity moving some of the comet debris around, this year's show is going to be more spectacular than usual. "Even though the moon phase is not the best for viewing, the 2016 shower will be an outburst, with rates double the normal levels," NASA explains.

That translates to up to 200 meteors per hour tonight and Friday night.

"Every Perseid meteor is a tiny piece of the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 133 years," NASA further explains. "Each swing through the inner solar system can leave trillions of small particles in its wake. When Earth crosses paths with Swift-Tuttle’s debris, specks of comet-stuff hit Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrate in flashes of light. These meteors are called Perseids because they seem to fly out of the constellation Perseus."

So there you have it.

Prime time to see the meteor show is around 1:10 a.m., but you should be able to spot something starting around 11:00 p.m. If you're sticking in San Francisco (where it is expected to be cloudy), KQED News says that as long as you get in a "moon shadow" and look to the north-east you'll be good. "Have the moon be blocked by a tree or a chubby neighbor,” Foothill College's astronomy professor Andrew Fraknoi told the publication.

If you want to be sure to see some meteors, however, your best bet will be to head out of SF. Thankfully, there are plenty of great viewing spots. Get yourself to Lawrence Berkeley Lab or Vollmer Peak located in Tilden Park. Or, if you're lazy, there's a much easier option: NASA will livestream the media shower (the stream starts at 7:00 p.m. PST and is embedded below) so you don't even have to leave your bed.

Happy gazing!

Previously: Where To Watch The Perseid Meteor Shower Tonight

Chef Jeremiah Tower, who made a name for himself in the Bay Area first behind the line at Chez Panisse and later as the chef-impresario of Stars in San Francisco, has decided to come out of retirement at age 71 to take over the kitchen at the iconic Tavern on the Green in Central Park. Tower's been hinting for a couple of years about wanting to leave behind his self-imposed exile in Mexico, and even attached himself to a food-hall project in New Rochelle, NY two years ago. Now, he says, after a friend suggested the Tavern on the Green job to him on a whim — as the New York Times reports, the owners have been looking for a replacement chef after reopening chef Katy Sparks quit in September — it only took him a day to seriously consider it.

"Out of the blue, he came to us with this real passion for this restaurant," [said co-owner Jim Caiola]. "Jeremiah Tower contacts you, and you understand what he represents. An icon meets an icon... The 26-year-olds out there have no idea."

Tower tells the Times that he's prepared for the challenge of this 400-seat, high-volume restaurant, saying that Stars was a similar sort of operation. At Tavern on the Green, he says, he wants to bring "more flowers, more fun" to the place, and he adds that he'll probably bring some of that Stars American brasserie style to the menu. "Katy didn’t want to do fries or pasta. That leaves me speechless." (NYT critic Pete Wells was one of those who was not a fan of the reopened restaurant, giving it zero stars in a lackluster review this past June.)

Always known as much for his big personality as for his food, Tower and Stars have remained legends in San Francisco in large part because nothing quite so bustling and glamorous have come along to replace Stars — though critic Michael Bauer has made connections to busy newer places like Park Tavern and Prospect, which owe some style debt to Tower. (Tower ultimately left Stars in 1998 after almost 15 years in business, and it closed a year later.) At last year's Stars reunion dinner at Foreign Cinema (the second of two similar such Stars reunion events Tower has presided over in the Bay Area in recent years), Tower wrote with signature immodesty on the chalkboard, "A great restaurant is like a Broadway show. It travels around and has revivals."

Fans may also know Tower for his 2003 autobiography California Dish, in which he famously took most of the credit for the success of Chez Panisse, at the expense of friend and former employer Alice Waters. In a 2011 interview with Grub Street, shortly after he attended the 40th anniversary of Chez Panisse, Tower said he was inspired by that trip to reconsider an earlier plan to move to Italy. Looking out at a stunning view of the San Francisco Bay from a friend's apartment, after a decade living in Mexico, he said, "Why would I not come back?"

Tower is reportedly in New York and already "plunging right in," proposing 250 different dishes for the possible menu. He says he'll be introducing just a few things at first, with a goal of completely revamping the menu by the new year.

The annual Perseid Meteor Shower dotted the sky last night. Did you see it? Probably not, especially if you live in San Francisco, a city held captive by Karl this summer. But if you would like to see it, we recommend a few things: 1) Allow time for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, 3) catch it just after midnight, and 3) leave San Francisco.

Lawrence Berkeley Lab is good, so is Vollmer Peak in Tilden Park. And Highway 35 could be good, "if you can find a spot with a clear view over the valley halfway between San Jose and San Francisco."

West Point Inn, located on the south face of Mount Tamalpais above fog level, could also be a good bet.

Also, as SF Fun Cheap notes, there will be a viewing party Coyote Lake Viewing Party tonight in Gilroy.

But what, exactly, makes the Perseid Meteor Shower show special? Well, this shower is plump with shooting stars, more so than less spectacular showers.

“It’s one of the best showers of the year and can produce approximately 60-80 meteors per hour," Bing Quock, Assistant Director at the Morrison Planetarium, explains to Zerve. "Since it occurs in August, fewer people have any problem with the idea of staying out late on a warm summer night. The Perseids are also known to produce more fireballs (i.e. very bright meteors) than any other shower."

However, NASA notes that meteor rates can get as high as 100 per hour, adding that "for optimal viewing, find an open sky because Perseid meteors come across the sky from all directions. Lie on the ground and look straight up into the dark sky. Again, it is important to be far away from artificial lights. Your eyes can take up to 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness, so allow plenty of time for your eyes to dark-adapt."

If you cannot make it out tonight, the best way to watch the show will be online.

Live streaming video by Ustream

Occupiers, political pundits, twitter humorists and TV talking heads have all been speculating on what the post-Occupy future holds for embattled Oakland mayor Jean Quan. While the general consensus seems to be "she blew it", there are some (goddess bless them) who seek a higher, cosmic purpose to their political analysis. Enter Oakland astrologist Djenne Ba, who has gone ahead and peered in to Quan's future by lining it up with like, stars and planets and elements and whatever. According to those celestial bodies, the bad stigma of this whole Occupy Oakland thing is going to follow Mayor Quan around for long time coming. It's all right here in the astrology charts, Oakland Local reports:

Quan is born on a new moon. Her chart reveals Mars and Pluto in the sign Leo in the eighth house in Scorpio. The indications are an elusive personality, an affinity towards power and stoicism and a compassionate and well-meaning person. Leo is the actor of the zodiac. Ba says there’s no doubt Quan will run for higher office. She wants to be known and is a social being.

Occupy Oakland’s chart and planetary placements are intimately interwoven into Quan’s planetary placements. That connection will follow her career for some time to come and will long be associated with the Occupy movement for unfavorable reasons.

Sure, any one who briefly looked at a newspaper headline anytime in November has probably reached the same conclusion at this point, but this analysis is one backed by an actual "metaphysical lecturer". (Sidenote: we think she means she lectures on the topic of metaphysics, not that she herself is a metaphysical being delivering lectures. We could be wrong though. Hard to say.)

Anyhow, there you have it: cosmic proof that Jean Quan totally blew it in Oakland.

[OaklandLocal]

The 2012 Michelin stars are slowly trickling in today. Chefs and restaurants are given the news via a phone call (similar to the ones semi-finalists receive on America's Next Top Model). So far, according to Grub Street (who are live-blogging the news), Benu (rad!), Baumé, and Saison received two fresh new stars. Sons & Daughters and Atelier Crenn both scored one.

Staying put? Cyrus retains two Michelin stars, while Meadowood kept three. starsSpruce, Campton Place,Chez TJ, and One Market have all held on to one stars.

Manresa accidentally sent out a Twitter message saying that they nabbed a coveted three stars. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

The official list will be revealed at 4 p.m. Check back here for updates.

Update: The list is life... and it's been revealed! The 2012 Michelin Guide pretty much stays the same. The number of one-stars in the Bay Area remain at 39. (Pst, Chez Panisse didn't get back its star. Alas.) The big news? Benu (where your SFist editor swallowed some tantalizing cod sperm), Joshua Skenes’ Saison and Baume (Palo Alto) all debuted at two.

Check out the entire list at Inside Scoop.

SF Citizen's Jim Herd snapped this amazing shot of last night's Jupiter, Venus, and moon sighting from Golden Gate Park. This planets were visible from all around the world last night. Did you catch it? Hope so. Because it won't be happening again until 2052.

Check out more shots of the spectacular scene.

Since the Scientologists moved the day of celebrating their church's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, from last Saturday to this Saturday, due to last week's protest, there will be yet another rally against the CoS this Saturday. Ta da.

Enturbulation.org has word that this protest will be "at the Hilton [at] 750 Kearny on the corners of Washington and Columbus" at 5 p.m. They'll be meeting on the Washington side iof the hotel near the CoS on Montgomery. (Moving forward, let's just assume there will be a protest at the "Co$" every Saturday.)

Oh, and guess who might show up to the protest? American slam poet, spoken word comedian, and L. Ron's great grandson, Jamie DeWolf. It'll bea star-studded event!

Also, as always, if you go to the protest you are advised to "protect your identity." Which? We don't understand. Unless you have a development deal in the works with Jenna Elfman, we don't see why this is necessary.

SFist has been a fan of Why? since we first saw them at Bottom of the Hill a few years back. We recently came across a cover they did of the Cure’s “Close to Me”, which we highly recommend. Their new album “Alopecia” comes out on March 11th. Besides being named for everyone’s favorite form of hair loss. its good. They’ll be performing some of these new songs tonight at the Great American Music Hall. They’ll playing some other great local bands including a new Asthmatic Kitty band, Cryptacize. Cryptacize members include former Kill Rock Stars artist Nedelle Torrisi and Chris Cohen of The Curtains and formerly of Deerhoof. Why? front man Yoni Wolf has undergone the SFist interview—read on for more.

Favorite song to perform these days?
"The Fall of Mr. Fifths"

Where are the best fans?
Right here in sunny San Francisco!

Lamest crowd request?
"Take your shirt off!!"...Frankly ladies, I look better with my shirt on.

Favorite thing about your own music?
I know all the words and can sing along.

What music are you listening to these days?
Leonard Cohen and a lot of Ambient music like The Dead Texan and Fennesz. Anything I might fall asleep to (not in a bad way).

*CRAFT: Knitters and crocheters come together in harmony tonight over at the (newly remodeled!) Three Dollar Bill Cafe. Don't know how? No worries. Someone will be there to teach you. Happens every Monday.

Q&A: Ask Dr. Hal is back. One time fixture over Chicken John's the Odeon (RIP), you can now find Hal over at 12 Galaxies. So head on down to Mission Street to ask him whatever pressing questions are on you mind while you're throwing a few back.

MUSIC: Punk Rock Sideshow present Dead Ringers and Two Timin' Hussies for a night of loudness over at the Hemlock.

FILM: The Red Vic presents the moving flick, . It tells the tale about an old-school, old-timer novelist and a "nimble graduate student named Heather." Stars Frank Langella.

The listed events were chosen by the editors of SFist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla.

The last time we saw Sandra Bernhard, which was at Bimbo's earlier this year, we almost walked into her as we were leaving the ladies room and she was making her entrance from the back of the theater, crooning "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." After a stagehand or security guy or au pair grabbed and shook the holy hell out of us, preventing us from colliding with Ms. Sandra, we went back to our seat, shamefaced. Naturally, out of fear, we can never ever see her again. Ever. But you sure can. In fact, you can catch her during her annual New Year's Eve stint here in glorious San Francisco.

Who is she, you ask? Well, she was in The King of Comedy playing the best stalker in the world, ever. She understands Liza Minnelli. She was Nancy (the dyke) on Roseanne. The archnemisis of the vile Elizabeth Hasselbeck. She can wear pretty much anything. She possesses a voice that will blow you to the back wall of the theater, comedic stylings that will have you wetting your G-Stars, and blunt insight that will have you scratching your well-exfoliated chins.

Event: Sandra Bernhard's New Year’s Eve Extravaganza
When: New Year's Eve, of course
Where: Castro Theatre
Time: 11 p.m.
Cost: $35-$100

We featured Eskimo Joe in our weekly column a few weeks ago and stated that "Hands down, one of the best CD's of 2007." We still completely agree with that sentiment - even more so, now. Eskimo Joe played mostly songs from their current release, Black Fingernails, Red Wine with a couple of songs from their first record, A Song is a City. We have a feeling that the band members are used to rocking it out in huge venues with thousands of fans since their performance had such a great energy and was significantly polished especially compared to self-absorbed opener, Jeff Klein. (Yikes!)

"Now we shall rock," Temperley said at the beginning of the show and he did exactly as promised - he rocked. His vocals were spot on and the talent oozing from every band member was impressive. (Joel Quartermain, the guitarist, at one point played simultaneously with the pianist and then moved on to play with the drummer as well.) "London Bombs" and "New York" were highlights of the performance but "Black Fingernails, Red Wine," the title track, was definitely the show-stopper which finished out their perfect set. Stars of the Track and Field headlined the show (and they were pretty good - we downloaded their CD today) but they seemed to get completely overshadowed by the real stars: Eskimo Joe.

Picture taken by author

Take the jump to check out videos from the concert...