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Just Say Yes to Marcus Samuelsson’s Memoir, “Yes, Chef”
“Yes, Chef: a memoir.” Photo courtesy marcussamuelsson.com “Food and flavors have become my first language. Not English, not Swedish, not Amharic…” – Marcus Samuelsson in “Yes, Chef” Marcus...
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Traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony Brewed Up by Chef Marcus Samuelsson and...
Hiwot Tadesse makes coffee, the Ethiopian way It’s 10am and I’m part of a crowd in the middle of one of the Financial District’s temples to the caffeine-fueled lifestyle. But instead of jittery office...
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Lali Ghlonti Celebrates her Native Georgian Cuisine at SF Street Food Festival
Lali Ghlonti. Photo courtesy John Ater In 2004, when Lali Ghlonti, came to visit her cousin in San Francisco from her native Georgia (the country which borders the Black Sea, Turkey, Armenia,...
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Food Speaks in Many Tongues
“Shut your smelly Camembert mouth!” – from the French All illustrations courtesy Lila Volkas It was the pungent French insult, shut your smelly Camembert mouth! (ferme ta boîte à Camembert!) that...
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Aileen Suzara Cracks Open Filipino Cuisine in Coconut Cooking Class
Coconut is the new pomegranate. Touted for its health benefits, it’s popping up everywhere. Electrolyte-rich coconut water has replaced Gatorade as the new sports drink and claims abound that coconut...
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North America’s Largest Night Market? It’s in Richmond (B.C. that is)
Slithery, sauced BBQ squid tentacles; spiral, spicy potato curlicues or icy mango cubes, sprinkled with bits of chewy grass jelly. What better way to enjoy these street food treats than among a throng...
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Onigilly Introduces Updated Japanese Comfort Food to the FiDi
teriyaki chicken, salmon and hijiki(seaweed) onigiri Lunch-able staples are culturally relative. While I grew up in LA, toting peanut butter or tuna sandwiches to school, in Denmark, my friend Kim...
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Celebrate Day of the Dead with Sugar Skulls and Pan de Muerto
Sugar Skulls from Berkeley’s Casa Latina Bakery Aren’t skeletons, with their cavernous eye sockets and leering gap-toothed grins, supposed to inspire screams of terror? Growing up in the central...
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Ancient Ethiopian Cuisine Honored with a Limited Run At Guest Chef
Selome Haileleoul cooks traditional Ethiopian dishes served on injera I’m perched on one of five bar seats with a ringside view of the open kitchen at The Guest Chef in Oakland, where Selome...
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Tamale Class at La Cocina — Just in Time for Christmas
Tamales at La Cocina's Tamalada Forty hungry people with sticky hands and tamales on their minds rotated through four tables at La Cocina’s Tamalada event last Wednesday evening, learning how to make...
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LUCKY FOODS for New Year 2013 – We’re Going to Need Them
In scary 2013, we'll all need lucky foods - pictures by Lila Volkas Illustrations by Lila Volkas The dawning of 2013 will usher in an interminable, nerve-wracking 365 days for sufferers of...
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Mazatlán Throws an Endless Seafood Fiesta
Victor, the oyster man It’s early morning and I’m perched on a plastic stool near Mazatlán’s stunning seashore, squeezing lime juice on a plate of oysters that were awakened–rather rudely, I...
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Chinese Astrology and Food Favorites in the Year of the Snake
Illustrations by Lila Volkas THE SNAKE I just discovered that I am a Snake. The Chinese Zodiac celebrates the Snake every 12 years and February 10 will kickoff a significant year for all us charmers....
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Buy a Live Fish in Oakland Chinatown for a Traditional Chinese New Year’s Feast
E&F Market in Oakland Chinatown All Photos: Wendy Goodfriend I’m surrounded by a dozen huge tanks of handsome swimming fish, including red tilapia, black bass and silver carp at the E&F Market...
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Deaf Foodies Savor Gourmet Ghetto Tasting Tour in Sign Language
My pair of professions straddles two worlds. By day, I work as an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter and otherwise, I’m a food writer. Although these domains rarely intersect, it’s a thrill when...
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Chef Nico Vera Shares Peru’s Unique Culinary History
Nico Vera demonstrating how to make ceviche. Photo courtesy: Cathedral Creative Studios What do quinoa, potatoes, tomatoes and hot peppers have in common? They were all indigenous crops cultivated by...
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PBS Wants YOUR Stories for New Film “Asian Chops”
Lisa Murphy just started her own business making a spicy sriracha ketchupWhat does a T-shirt depicting a bottle of Sriracha holding hands with a bottle of Ketchup have to do with a launch party for a...
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Heard the Buzz on Backyard Beekeeping?
honey bee Do you dream of harvesting your own super-local honey to drizzle on your breakfast bread? Wonder how hard it is to keep bees and how to start? Bay Area Bites interviewed some East Bay...
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Sip. Savor. Share! Food Photography Show in SF Opens May 9
Photo by Andria Lo. Pickled vegetables by RicePaperScissors Maybe you’ve had your fill of friends posting pics of their latest meal on social media. If you are hungry for something more satisfying than...
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How to Make Kombucha: An Illustrated Mother/Daughter Tale
Illustrations by Lila Volkas (click on any image to view larger versions and activate slideshow) Last summer, as my daughter Lila unpacked on her return from another year of college in Canada and a...
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