What we ate in San Francisco

This morning we got back from a real actual vacation.

It's hard to believe that this time yesterday we were on the West Coast, finishing up a week of eating and sightseeing and hearing about the powerful warm weather back home (the temperature barely hit 70 the whole time we were in California).

I have to write it all down as much for my own purposes (failing memory and all) as to share adventures in eating (which included food trucks, street food and Chez Panisse; some of these most definitely earn a post of their own).

So here's a rundown of some of the things we ate in San Francisco.

From Far West Funghi in the Ferry Building market, a truffle macaron (because they were all out of porcini). It was an intriguing (in a good way) balance of desserty sweetness with truffle's dark earthiness.



We also checked out the Cowgirl Creamery location and drooled over cheeses (they had a few of the New England types we tried at ONCE Cheese).



And we picked up a snack pack to go: Bellwether Farms Crescenza with marinated olives and sesame crackers, as close to butter as you can get while still being cheese.



We also wandered into the Mission, where we did a little pirate-goods shopping at 826 Valencia and then had lunch at Regalito Rosticeria.

The fresh guacamole comes with warm, whole, crispy tortillas.



The cochinita pibil was smoky, warm-spicy, slow-cooked and topped with pickled red onion.



The food was not unlike the style of Mexican found here, except. Except. The cheese was queso fresco, the tortillas tasted like corn, the salsa verde was made with fresh tomatillos and the tomatoes were full of flavor.

We had drinks at the Rickhouse, which is a lot like Drink or Eastern Standard in that the bartenders have encyclopedic cocktail knowledge. It's a lovely space. Note the jars of fresh garnish.







At Wexler's we had scotch eggs with runny yolks. That blew my mind-grapes.



And then there was our visit to the Fillmore Jazz Fest on July 4th, which meant we got to try all kinds of fun stuff, including pupusas stuffed with pork, tomato and avocado:



Fresh, warm beignets, loaded with powdered sugar:



And the two best discoveries: Spam musubi, a work of Hawai'ian genius involving Spam and rice wrapped in seaweed:



And BBQ oysters (shucked, grilled, and basted with garlic butter)



What a country!

Cheap eats and a meat ship

In these troubled economic times, we're all looking for ways to cut costs. One easy solution is to spend less on food.

But does that mean mealtime needs to become monotonous?

Heck no!

What would you say to a hearty bean soup, or perhaps some sophisticated cucumber-avocado sandwiches? They can be yours, as long as you have that magical, indestructable pantry staple: Spam.

Yep, get your fill of gelatinous meat-like-food-product menu ideas at spamrecipes.net, where you'll learn:

• The secret behind the Hawaiian Spam Sandwich (psst: it's pineapple)
• The mystery of the Polynesian Bake (apricots, maraschino cherries and more pineapple)
• And the complex distinction between the Hot Spam Sandwich and the Cold Spam Sandwich (hint: in one, the Kraft Sandwich Spread is optional).

What's that you say? You're looking for something made with slightly less mechanically separated chicken?

How about something with an exotic Asian element? Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry, or Lo Mein, or Taco Ramen Salad?

Okay, the last one gives it away; we're talking Ramen recipes in all their high-sodium glory.

Still, who can say no to Chicken Hollandaise Ramen, all Frenchified with egg yolks, lemon juice and margarine?

Or, for a special occasion, Creamy Chicken Ramen:

1 package chicken ramen noodles
2 cups water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 3oz. can mushrooms

Cook noodles according to package directions and drain. Heat soup concentrate, mushrooms and 1/4 seasoning packet over medium heat for five minutes. Top noodles with sauce.

Mm-mmm good! (And big thanks to Mike for finding the above and thinking, Hey, LimeyG would like these.)

But there are times when delicate dishes of chicken and pineapple and canned mushrooms just aren't enough; when even the most thrifty gourmand seeks something more satisfying.

For these occasions, it's worth checking out This Is Why You're Fat, a fantastic photographic picnic basket of artery-clogging, metabolism-slowing, sleep-inducing dishes (or handfuls, or things on sticks) guaranteed to fill you up.

Example: Gravy-covered pizza.



Example: The bacon donut.



Example (and my particular favorite): The meat ship, created from sausage, bacon, pastry and ground pork.



Ahoy, me heart(attack)ies!

Spam, poetry

I admit a guilty enjoyment of Spam.

Especially Spam light, because it's made with mechanically separated chicken.

Though of course I liked it better when I was imagining a cartoon-style conveyor belt, on which perplexed cartoon hens met their ends at the hands of 1930s-style cartoon robot arms. To be honest, I never actually imagined the event itself; just the sound effects:

"Buk -- buk -- buk -- bukKAA!!!"

(oh ... it's so much funnier when it's not written down ...)

And then I discovered (thanks, Wikipedia!) that mechanical separation involves forcing all parts of the bird through a fine sieve at high pressure, essentially turning anything not completely solid into a fine slurry, which is then blended with an assortment of spices and preservatives and baked into cans.

Yum.

Still tasty though.

Anyway, I didn't mean to start out with the glories of processed food, but rather to give a shout-out to my friend J, who needs to be better at updating his spam poetry blog. He finds interesting junk-mail messages, adds line breaks at appropriate points, and presto change-o! It's art!

When I found out about this, I sent him one I'd discovered a while ago.