Category Archives: Great Finds

Three Summer Reads — That Aren’t Your Usual Cookbooks

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“TomatoLand”

If you’ve ever eaten a tomato, “Tomatoland” (Andrews McMeel), is an absolute must-read.

What Eric Schlosser’s book, “Fast Food Nation” (Harper Perennial), did to unveil the dark side of the cheap, drive-through burgers Americans can’t get enough of, James Beard Award-winning writer Barry Estabrook does the same to modern industrial agribusiness that has reaped the profits from creating tomatoes that are tasteless, less nutritious, 14 times higher in sodium, and inexplicably available year-round in supermarkets nationwide.

Award-winning investigative journalist Barry Estabrook delves into the industrial tomato business. (Photo coutesy of Mr. Estabrook)You’ll learn that Florida may grow one-third of all tomatoes in the United States, yet its climate is highly unsuitable for that crop. Its sandy soil possesses little nutrients, requiring the need for chemical fertilizers. Its humid, torrid temperatures foster fungal diseases and insects, necessitating hundreds of herbicides and pesticides. And the largely Hispanic migrants who pick the tomatoes work in dangerous conditions, and in some cases, treated little better than modern-day slaves.

Estabrook first popped the lid on the horrendous conditions some tomato pickers face in an investigative piece he wrote two years ago when he was a former contributing editor to Gourmet magazine.

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Pica Pica Maize Kitchen is Amazing

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The shredded beef-black bean-sweet plaintain cachapa is a big seller for good reasons.

Pica Pica Maize Kitchen, which serves up lusty Venezuelan food, is an ideal place for celiacs, as the menu is entirely gluten-free.

But more than that, it’s a must-stop place for anyone who just loves the soulful flavors of corn, yuca, plaintains, avocado, black beans, chiles and long-cooked, tender meats.

Adriana Lopez Vermut opened the first Pica Pica Maize three years ago in Napa’s Oxbow Public Market, with her father, Leopoldo Lopez Gil, who owns several restaurants in Caracas. A year ago, they opened their first San Francisco outpost in the Mission District, which is the one I visited when I was invited in to try the menu recently.

“Pica pica” means “a little bit of this, a little bit of that” and that’s exactly what you’ll want when you see the tempting offerings available as you scan the wall menu, then order at the counter.

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Olallieberry Time

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Olallieberry pie -- as only Duarte's makes it.

With a lyrical name that’s just too much fun to say, olallieberries are black knobby berries with a sweet-tart, wine-y flavor that grow along the Central coast for a fleeting six weeks in summer.

Now’s the time to enjoy them fresh, especially at u-pick farms such as Phipps Country Store & Farm in Pescadero.

Perhaps no place has made olallieberries more famous, though, than Duarte’s Tavern in Pescadero.

The family-run business that started in 1934 is justly known for its artichoke soup, cioppino and other fresh seafood dishes. But it’s the hand-made ollalieberry pie that everyone saves room for. Enjoy it at this landmark restaurant for$6.50 a slice or $25 for a whole pie. Because Duarte’s freezes a huge supply of the ollalieberries each season, the pie is available year-round.

For the past few years, Duarte’s also has been selling ($14) unbaked, frozen whole olallieberry pies at select Bay Area stores, including Zanotto’s in San Jose and the Milk Pail in Mountain View.  Later this year, the frozen pies also will begin being sold at all Whole Foods in Northern California.

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Home-Grown Sorbets

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French Press sorbet made with agave nectar and no dairy products.

With searing temperatures of late, why not reach for some new sorbets to beat the heat?

Especially when they’re made right here in the Bay Area in small batches with locally sourced ingredients and without any dairy.

Garden Creamery, which is made in Marin County, is the brainchild of Bay Area residents, Erin Lang and Natalie Parker. Recently, they reformulated the sorbets to make them even smoother in texture. Additionally, they added two new flavors: French Press Coffee and Thai Iced Tea.

All the sorbets are made with coconut puree to add body and sweetened with organic agave syrup.

Recently, I had a chance to try the new flavors.

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Gelato — In A Convenient, Totable Bar

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New Bar Gelato treats: Grapefruit, TCHO Chocolate and Blue Bottle Coffee.

From now on, I’m seriously going to have to put blinders on when I stroll past the freezer case at Whole Foods.

That’s because the supermarket chain has just started selling fabulous gelato bars by the Bay Area’s Naia that if left to my own devices, I could eat daily.

Forget those lickable ice cream bars of childhood, which were enjoyed mostly because of their creamy coolness, not their flavor. These gelato bars are made with primo, local ingredients including Oakland’s Blue Bottle Coffee, San Francisco’s TCHO Chocolate, Oakland’s Numi jasmine tea  and Alameda’s St. Georges Spirits single malt whiskey.

Yeah, I thought that would get your attention.

Gelateria Naia (pronounced “NIGH-ah”) was founded in Berkeley in 2002 by Chris Tan and Trevor Morris, world travelers who studied with artisan gelato makers in Italy. The two now have two retail scoop shops in Walnut Creek and San Francisco.

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