Korean Comfort Food At Berkeley Social Club

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G.I. Fried Rice -- with Spam -- at Berkeley Social Club.

G.I. Fried Rice — with Spam — at Berkeley Social Club.

 

Steven Choi may have 11 restaurants in the Bay Area now, including Surisan in San Francisco and Fred’s Place in Sausalito. But Berkeley Social Club, which opened in 2016, was the first one to really take inspiration from his Korean heritage.

Located in the heart of Berkeley’s bustling University Avenue corridor, it features an eclectic mix of brunch classics and contemporary Korean fare. It’s pure comfort food with global panache, as I discovered on a recent early Sunday evening, when I visited for dinner with my husband, paying our tab at the end.

Take a seat at the bar.

Take a seat at the bar.

The soaring space is done up with Edison chandeliers, a cement bar, and exposed pipes on the ceiling to give it a trendy industrial vibe.

Choi has made his name with Millionaire’s Bacon, which is served at almost every one of his restaurants. He didn’t necessarily invent this sweet, spicy, smoky porcine treat (he’ll be the first to acknowledge it was inspired by a dish he tried elsewhere years ago), but he surely has perfected it.

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Grilled Sesame Shrimp For The Win

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Tahini helps marinade the shrimp and creates the foundation for the dipping sauce.

Tahini helps marinade the shrimp and creates the foundation for the dipping sauce.

 

Tahini is having a moment.

And it’s about time.

If you love peanut butter, almond butter or any other nut butter, you will easily fall for its cousin, tahini, which is essentially a form of sesame butter. Raw or toasted sesame seeds are ground, releasing their oil, and creating a creamy, thick, velvety, and spoonable sauce redolent of pure sweet nuttiness.

It’s what gives hummus its unmistakable lushness. It’s what fortifies so many great Middle Eastern dressings and spreads. And it’s what perks up palates with interest anew after tiredness sets in from same ol’, same ol’ peanut butter.

Levant Book

Restaurateur Rawia Bishara calls it one of her favorite pantry items. She says she could devote an entire book to it. She hasn’t gone that far, but she does include quite a few recipes using the sesame paste in her new cookbook, “Levant: New Middle Eastern Cooking From Tanoreen” (Kyle), of which I received a review copy.

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Seasonal Indian Fare at Ritu

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Yes, kale has made its way into chaat -- and deliciously so -- at Ritu.

Yes, kale has made its way into chaat — and deliciously so — at Ritu.

 

With Ritu the word for “seasons” in Hindi, it’s no surprise that this hip Indian restaurant in San Francisco’s Mission District changes up its menu, accordingly. In fact, it adheres to the six seasons recognized in India: spring, summer, monsoon, autumn, pre-winter and winter.

Since it was full-on summer when I was invited in as a guest recently, the menu was redolent of tomatoes, zucchini, corn and green beans. And of course, kale, because this “it” green still takes center stage in popularity.

Chef-Owner Rupam Bhagat graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and worked his way up to sous chef at various Ritz-Carlton Hotel properties, including the one in Half Moon Bay. In 2014, he started his Dum food truck, which is still going strong. In 2016, he opened his restaurant, first naming it Dum, then rebranding it this year as Ritu to distinguish it from his other venture.

Chef-Owner Rapam Bhagat.

Chef-Owner Rapam Bhagat.

It’s a long narrow space full of vibrant color that has an open kitchen, where you can watch Bhagat cooking your meal.

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Kronner Shrimp Burger

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KronnerBurger's Shrimp (and Sweet Potato) Burger.

KronnerBurger’s Shrimp (and Sweet Potato) Burger.

 

With Labor Day on the horizon, look no farther than Chris Kronner for all your burger needs.

After all, Kronner, late of the now-shuttered Slow Club and Bar Tartine, as well as Serpentine in San Francisco, has been perfecting his burgers for more than a decade.

The burger impresario, who now heads Henry’s in Berkeley’s Graduate Hotel, is best known for his KronnerBurger restaurant in Oakland, which closed following a fire earlier this year.

In his new cookbook, “A Burger to Believe In” (Ten Speed Press), written with the San Francisco Chronicle Food & Wine section editor Paolo Lucchesi, Kronner takes you through the fine points of making the ultimate burgers, as well as salads, sides, drinks, desserts and condiments.

KronnerBurgerbook

There’s every iteration imaginable, from the “Patty Melt” made with bechamel to the “Earth Burger” made with mushrooms, mushroom powder and a host of other veggies, and “Pickle-Brined Fried Chicken” burger in which you will need 3 cups of pickle juice to submerge chicken thighs in before further soaking them in buttermilk.

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Recchiuti Confections New Collection For A Cause, An Afternoon with El Cajon & More

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Recchiuti Confections' new Musical Jamboree collection. (photo courtesy of Recchiuti)

Recchiuti Confections’ new Musical Jamboree collection. (photo courtesy of Recchiuti)

Recchiuti Truffles Get Extra Artsy

If there wasn’t ample reason already to love Recchiuti Confections’ burnt caramel truffles, its new limited edition collection offers up yet another one: They are decorated with dazzling art by Creativity Explored, a San Francisco non-profit that gives those with developmental disabilities the opportunity to create and share their work.

This marks the 14th year that the San Francisco chocolatier has partnered with that organization.

The special Musical Jamboree chocolate collection showcases artist Kate Thompson’s whimsical comic book-like illustrations of musicians in full color on top of each truffle. Thompson’s artwork also was featured on Google’s 2015 prototype of self-driving cars.

“I like to tell stories through my artwork and have it convey people doing things whether that is people on a bike, riding a bus, or playing an instrument,” Thompson said in a statement. “I never thought of having my artwork on chocolate, but I’m very excited!”

An 8-piece box is $23, with a portion of all proceeds donated to Creativity Explored.

Saturday, Sept. 8, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Recchiuti’s Ferry Building store will host a celebratory jamboree, where Thompson’s current work will be on display.

El Cajon’s Epicurean Tasting Event

For a quarter of a century, the Bay Area’s El Cajon Project has worked to give at-risk and disadvantaged high school students training in the culinary arts that includes hands-on experience at such notable establishments as Chez T.J. in Mountain View, Evvia in Palo Alto, Alexander’s Patisserie in Mountain View, and the Menlo Grill in the Stanford Park Hotel in Menlo Park.

Sunday, Oct. 21, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., it will host “An Afternoon with El Cajon,” a tasting event at The Sea by Alexander’s Steakhouse in Palo Alto.

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