Author Archives: foodgal

South African Curried Lamb Skewers for Summertime Grilling

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Lamb cubes get marinated overnight, then threaded on skewers with onions and dried apricots.
Lamb cubes get marinated overnight, then threaded on skewers with onions and dried apricots.

Cooking over fire is as primal and universal as it gets.

That’s perfectly illustrated in the new cookbook, “Barbecue: Smoked & Grilled Recipes From Across the Globe” (Phaidon), of which I received a review copy.

This book is a veritable trip around the world through smoky, charred deliciousness.

The specialties of more than 80 countries are represented through more than 270 recipes.

This encyclopedic cookbook is by Hugh Mangum, a Los Angeles musician-turned-chef who was executive chef and pit master of smoking Lil’s in Pennsylvania, and co-founder of the Mighty Quinn’s BBQ chain nationwide. It was written with the assistance of Shana Liebman, a food and culture writer.

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Bubbelah Dishes Up Deliciousness

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Bubbelah's khachapuri made with Che Fico's impeccable pizza dough.
Bubbelah’s khachapuri made with Che Fico’s impeccable pizza dough.

Gone are the shelves of specialty cheeses, imported crackers, fresh seafood, pricey meats, and farm-fresh local produce. In its place are Middle Eastern specialties that are pitch-perfect.

When San Francisco’s Che Fico restaurant opened a sister location, Che Fico Parco Menlo, in the Springline development in Menlo Park last year, it also debuted a nearby gourmet market, Il Mercato di Che Fico.

Trouble was that surrounding residents never became regular shoppers there. So, about a month ago, the market was jettisoned for Bubbelah instead.

The revamped space.
The revamped space.

A Yiddish term of endearment, this fast-casual restaurant leans into Chef-Owner David Nayfeld’s Jewish-Italian heritage.

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Anytime Is Right For Chili Crisp Salmon Burger

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Would you believe this was made with tinned smoked salmon flavored with chili crisp?
Would you believe this was made with tinned smoked salmon flavored with chili crisp?

Tinned fish is having a moment. So much so, that some people are just over it.

Not me, though.

At any given moment, you’ll always find in my pantry tins of anchovies, sardines, trout, tuna, and salmon.

Especially Fishwife Tinned Seafood’s collab with my go-to chili crisp-maker, Fly by Jing, of which I recently received samples.

Fishwife was founded by Becca Millstein and Caroline Goldfarb in 2020 during the pandemic. Like so many of us, they were cooking more at home and unsatisfied with the quality of tinned seafood in the market. So, they set out to create their own, based on wild and farmed seafood that’s sustainable.

Today, Fishwife offers a range of products including salmon, mussels, trout, albacore tuna, mackerel, sardines, anchovies, and even California white sturgeon caviar.

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Marin French Cheese Co. Celebrates 160 Years With New Products

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The new Petit Breakfast Everything from Marin French Cheese Co.
The new Petit Breakfast Everything from Marin French Cheese Co.

America’s oldest cheese company, Marin French, marks its 160th anniversary this year in a big way — with new cheese offerings.

The West Marin company has expanded its “Breakfast Range,” its fresh brie that is rindless and not aged. I had the opportunity to try samples of the new products.

I’ve long been a fan of its Petit Breakfast ($7.99), its 4-ounce wheel that is soft, creamy, tangy yet mild that I often enjoy with jam on an English muffin for breakfast. So, I couldn’t be happier that it now comes in a size that’s twice as large.

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Get Ready for A Good Time at Horsefeather

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Seared tuna brushed with beet ponzu at the new Horsefeather in Palo Alto.
Seared tuna brushed with beet ponzu at the new Horsefeather in Palo Alto.

It’s been so long since I’ve seen a new restaurant sport a menu with entrees mostly in the twenty-something-dollar range that at first I thought I was looking at a mirage at the new Horsefeather in Palo Alto.

But nope, the newest edition to the Town & Country Village has debuted with a price point that’s relatively comfortable in these economically challenged times.

Opened last month, it’s a sister restaurant to the one in San Francisco’s Nopa neighborhood, and it’s already packing in eager diners, as I found when I dined as a guest of the restaurant last week.

The bar and dining room evokes a mid-century '70s ambience.
The bar and dining room evokes a mid-century ’70s ambience.

Think mid-century modern “That ’70s Show,” as the interior features plenty of warm walnut wood, brass track lighting, and smoked glass dividers.

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