Category Archives: Chefs

Soda-Pop Pickled Cucumbers

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Yup, a splash of soda pop adds a fun sweetness to these pickled cucumbers.
Yup, a splash of soda pop adds a fun sweetness to these pickled cucumbers.

These crunchy pickled cucumbers have the usual suspects of ingredients — vinegar, salt, and sugar — but also something rather unusual.

7Up. Or Sprite for those who prefer the competing lemon-lime soda.

Yup, how crazy is that?

I have to say that surprising ingredient was what drew me to this particular recipe, “Sweet-and-Sour 7Up Pickled Cucumbers,” in the new cookbook, “Koreaworld: A Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Deuki Hong, the chef-owner of the Sunday Family Hospitality Group in San Francisco; and Matt Rodbard, the founding editor of the online magazine, Taste.

Korean cuisine is having a major moment right now. Hong and Rodbard attribute that in great part early on to Chef Roy Choi’s Kogi trucks in Los Angeles that drew crowds for its Korean-Mexican mashup tacos and to Chef David Chang, whose Momofuku in New York introduced a wide audience to the Korean feast known as bo ssam.

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The Brixton Gets A Revamp in San Francisco

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Dragon roll pressed sushi at The Brixton.
Dragon roll pressed sushi at The Brixton.

After opening in 2011 on Union Street in San Francisco, The Brixton slowly but surely began to evolve into more of a drinking establishment.

But last week, after a revamp, the restaurant, named for an iconic rock and roll venue in London, reopened as a modern gastropub, with as much emphasis placed on the food as the drink.

To redesign and expand the menu, owner Hugo Gamboa brought in long-time Bay Area chef Joey Altman of San Francisco’s Hazie’s as a consultant.

On a prime spot on San Francisco's Union Street.
On a prime spot on San Francisco’s Union Street.
The bar.
The bar.

Last week, I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant to try a sampling of the new menu the night before it opened to the public. It’s an eclectic mix with everything from deviled eggs topped with bourbon bacon ($14) and Korean barbecue ribs ($24) to a spicy tuna roll ($21), a Brixton Prime Rib burger ($25), and shrimp scampi and linquine ($28).

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Jammy Crumble Crostata

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One dough is used for the top and the bottom of this tart that gets filled with your favorite jam.
One dough is used for the top and the bottom of this tart that gets filled with your favorite jam.

You know those times where you devour something indulgent, then promise yourself that you’ll work out twice as hard in the gym the next day to make up for it?

Well, you needn’t worry about that with “Jammy Crumble Crostata.”

That’s because your biceps and shoulders will feel the burn when you make this buttery, crunchy, tart-like creation that has a hidden filling of your favorite jam.

Yet have no fear. This dessert isn’t complicated or overly time-consuming to make. But it does require that you freeze your dough rock hard, then grate the whole shebang by hand, an endeavor that will make your arms feel the burn. It’s all for a good cause, though — to fashion a unique tart with a crisp cookie-like texture.

This winsome crostata is from “Beatrix Bakes Another Slice” (Hardie Grant), of which I received a review copy.

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All Roads Lead to Routier

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A most satisfying duck leg confit at Routier.
A most satisfying duck leg confit at Routier.

Watching the Olympics these past few weeks sure made me long to be in Paris.

Fortunately, San Francisco’s Routier more than satisfied my yearning with its comforting French bistro-like fare with California aplomb.

Audaciously opened during the height of the pandemic with only food to-go, Routier has grown into a warm, cozy dining spot, the type every neighborhood would be so lucky to have.

That it not only launched but overcame such a tumultuous time is a testament to its owners: Chef John Paul Carmona, former chef de cuisine of the former Michelin powerhouse Manresa in Los Gatos; Pastry Chef Belinda Leong, who also owns B. Patisserie a few steps away and B. On The Go, the kitty-corner sandwich shop; and Michel Suas, co-owner of B. Patisserie and founder of the San Francisco Baking Institute.

The main floor dining room.
The main floor dining room.

On a Friday night, the corner restaurant with windows all around, was humming with diners galore in the dining room done up in shades of blue.

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Salmon and Corn — The Epitome of Summer

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A restaurant-quality salmon and corn dish.
A restaurant-quality salmon and corn dish.

Gaze at that orange glow of succulent salmon with crisp skin, all in a pool of sunshine-y buttery corn sauce with fancy salmon roe dolloped on top.

I didn’t enjoy it at an upscale restaurant.

Nope, I actually made that dish at home.

Not to brag, but this dish easily looks and tastes like one that would be $40 at a restaurant. However, I made it for probably less than half that cost per person.

What’s more, “Pan-Roasted Salmon with Seared Corn Sauce” is a looker of a dish that actually doesn’t require hours of prepping and primping.

The recipe is from “The Hog Island Book of Fish & Seafood” (Abrams Books, 2023), of which I received a review copy.

Written by chef-restaurateur John Ash, it features more than 250 recipes from Hog Island Oyster Co., the premier sustainable bivalve producer in Tomales Bay, as well as from other chefs and restaurants who are passionate about its shellfish.

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