Serious Eats: emptyage's Profile

Cook the Book: Apple Pie

You know, saying anything other than "Mom" here is just plain heresy.

Romantic Veggie Restaurant in San Francisco?

Just about any nice restaurant in SF will cater to veggies (although we had a really, really bad experience with Amé, so scratch that one) but for a purely veg place that's got great atmosphere, Millenium is hard to top. I think the setting is much more romantic than Green's.

emptyage at 3:04PM on 10/17/07

From Talk

How often do you follow a recipe exactly as written?

Never; I prefer to use them as jumping off points and teaching tools. It's like painting the Mona Lisa by numbers vs. trying to reproduce it on your own.

emptyage at 3:02PM on 10/17/07

From Serious Eats

'Esquire' Magazine's Best New Restaurants

I was really disappointed in the list this year. I just read it on the plane the other day and I thought to myself, either it's been a very boring year for new restaurants, or this piece has missed something exciting.

emptyage at 1:02PM on 10/17/07

From Serious Eats

Lunch at 'Wired' Magazine: Local, Organic, $4

The food at Wired is positively remarkable. I'm floored by it every time I eat there--even when I do so frequently. Phil is a really amazing guy.

emptyage at 6:16PM on 09/24/07

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant'

Soup. Pop open a can. Heat and eat. It's fast, easy, and leaves little to clean.

emptyage at 5:12PM on 08/28/07

From Slice

Domino's Oreo Dessert Pizza

Goodness, no! The commercial alone makes me want to fast.

emptyage at 12:18AM on 08/09/07

From Talk

I want to try ___________.

"what are all of you waiting for? "

Hmmm. Good question. I suppose I'm waiting on someone in the Bay Area to offer fresh, live cobra that they'll pull from a cage, flay, cut the still-beating heart out of and serve to me in a shot glass of rotgut "whiskey."

emptyage at 2:37PM on 07/31/07

From Talk

I want to try ___________.

I scratched Abalone off of my list this year, which leaves cobra. When I was in Vietnam a few years ago, you could order it fresh out of the cage, and have the still-beating heart offered to you in a shot of whiskey. I was too squeamish then, and may still be now. But I've regretted not trying it for several years, and so if the opportunity comes up again...

emptyage at 9:01PM on 07/30/07

From Recipes

Time for a Drink: The Sazerac

I love the sazerac, but it also seems like it would be an interesting case study of how various cocktails come in and out of fashion. A couple of years ago, I don't recall seeing it on many menus. But in the last 18-24 months, specialty versions of it are popping up everywhere.

I assume it is related to the bitters craze, as a lot of the places where it seems to be really hot are also places where bartenders are making their own bitters. Of course, the reverse could be true as well. Maybe it's helped drive the bitters craze.

emptyage at 4:13PM on 07/20/07

From Talk

Best High End Dinner and Lunch in San Francisco

There are so many great place in SF and people will also tell you about French Laundry to the North or Chez Panisse to the East, but I'm going to suggest one a little bit South.

It's in Los Gatos, not SF proper, but Manresa is one of the more amazing places to dine on the planet.

For lunch, you just about can't go wrong at the Ferry Plaza. Although it might not be "high end" the mid-day views from Hog Island or the Slanted Door (and keep in mind the food is excellent at both) are unbeatable.

emptyage at 3:03PM on 06/28/07

From Talk

Ice cream sandwich bars - which are the best?

It's It!

There's no other like it.

emptyage at 8:29PM on 06/18/07

From Talk

Quinoa

Oops, make that "save" at the grocery

emptyage at 5:15PM on 05/18/07

From Talk

Quinoa

Yeah, wash it. Wash wash wash. And I agree with Clare, while I love the bulk bin, when it comes to quinwa what you saw at the grocery you probably pay back at the faucet.

emptyage at 5:14PM on 05/18/07

From Talk

Any high-end boxed wine recommendations, and where to find them?

Have you seen the Box Wines blog?

I've bought several boxes of Three Thieves Bandit Pinot Grigio form Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco and have, well, finished them all by myself.

emptyage at 3:04PM on 03/26/07

From Serious Eats

Spring in Atlanta

All three of these bring back so many memories, but especially Mary Mac's Tea Room. I used to live just a few blocks away from there, on Myrtle Street and 10th in Midtown, and I miss it to this day.

My inability to find good, authentic, non-fru-fru, Southern cuisine in San Francisco (despite having lived here for nearly a decade) continues to frustrate me.

emptyage at 2:44PM on 03/23/07

From Talk