There’s A New Citrus in Town — and It’s a Sumo

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The luscious Sumo is a breeze to peel and bursting with super sweet juice.

Nope, there’s no wrestling required to enjoy this new citrus known as the Sumo.

A hybrid, seedless mandarin-orange, it’s as effortless to peel as a tangerine. It’s enormous — about the size of a large orange. With a knob on top like a tangelo and quite bumpy skin, it probably won’t win any beauty awards. But it will floor you with flavor. Its plump segments are loaded with concentrated juice that’s quite tangerine-like, yet with a far higher sugar content. Biting into one is so quenching that it’s like eating a glass of orange juice, if you can imagine that.

Also known as the “Dekopon” in Japan and “Hallabong” in Korea, the Sumo originated in Japan, where perfect ones can be found selling for a staggering $8 a piece in Tokyo gift shops.

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The Kapow of Absinthe Cake & A Dave Lebovitz Book Giveaway

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Looks so innocent, doesn't it? But wait until you get a taste of the glaze. Yowza!

So, you might not want to get behind the wheel of a car after eating a slice of this unique cake.

Or try to recite the alphabet backwards. Or even attempt walking a straight line.

OK, I exaggerate — but just a little.

You see, this cake has absinthe in it. Yes, the potent Green Fairy, the once illicit spirit that was once thought to be hallucinogenic (a notion that’s since been debunked) that’s typically 100-plus proof.

The recipe is from “The Sweet Life In Paris” (Broadway Books) by cookbook author and blogger extraordinaire, David Lebovitz.

There’s 1/4 cup of absinthe in the batter, which largely mellows through baking. But there’s also a glaze of sugar mixed with another 1/4 cup of absinthe that’s brushed over the cake after it cools, giving it the appearance of a winter white icing. This glaze is so wicked strong that my husband wouldn’t even let me give him a few slices to take to his colleagues at work, because he feared they’d all end up tipsy.

This moist, anise-forward cake is made with a little almond flour or stone-ground cornmeal. However, you also can use pistachio meal, which will give it a faint yellow-green tinge like that of absinthe.

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Basking in the Glow of Quince

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Rack of rabbit done to perfection at Quince.

Quince, the much-heralded Italian restaurant in the Jackson Square neighborhood of San Francisco, is the kind of place where, on any night of the week, you might find the likes of food cognoscenti Ruth Reichl, and actors, James Spader, Roy Romano and Peter Krause, dining.

Because at this gorgeous, historic 1907 brick and timber building, it’s easy to feel like a glam celebrity, even if you’re not one at all.

That’s because Quince treats you with such utmost care that you can’t help feeling a bit special.

After hearing so many friends and chefs rave about the restaurant, which is a short stroll from the Club Quarters San Francisco hotel, my husband and I finally decided to splurge on dinner there recently.

There’s a warm glow to the restaurant, with its exposed brick walls, artsy chandeliers and gallery-ready, contemporary paintings. The waitstaff — both the men and women — are nattily attired in sharp, dark suits, giving them the air of serious professionalism.

They provide some of the best and most seamless service I’ve seen in a long time. Each and every time that a server pours a wine for you to taste, he/she will tilt the bottle at a particular angle just so as you try a sip — and continue holding it that way until you’re done — all the better for you to examine the label more closely.

Although two tasting menus are usually offered each night, we decided to order off the a la carte menu instead.

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Model Bakery’s Famous English Muffins Now Available Through Mail-Order

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The famous Model Bakery English muffins. (Photo courtesy of the bakery)

Thank Chef Michael Chiarello for this.

The chef-owner of Bottega restaurant in Yountville and a long-time Napa Valley resident recently appeared on an episode of  the Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” show, in which he rhapsodized about the English muffins at the Model Bakery in St. Helena.

The next thing ya know, the phone is ringing off the hook at the bakery from people around the country dying to try these wonderful, fresh-made muffins.

So, the bakery, which has been around for more than 80 years and now has a second outpost in Napa, has finally made them available through mail-order.

After all, we can’t all be as fortunate as Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, who were visiting Wine Country a couple days ago. According to a source, the celeb couple had their personal assistant run over to the bakery for some goodies to satisfy their craving, before they departed aboard their private jet.

Puffy and rich. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

I’ve long been a fan of these English muffins, too, which are quite rich and buttery tasting because they are made from a brioche dough. These are not English muffins that have nooks and crannies galore. They are more pastry-like with an airy, fluffy texture that you can’t wait to sink your teeth into.

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Tomato Sale to End All Tomato Sales & More

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Grow your own tomatoes -- with the help of Love Apple Farm. (Photo courtesy of the farm)

Love Apple Farm’s Annual Tomato Seedling Sale

Yes, folks, this is the biggie — the tomato seedling sale that’s the largest in California, the one that attracts droves of home gardeners, including folks from Los Angeles, who have been known to drive up and back in one day just for it.

Why? Because Owner Cynthia Sandberg knows her tomatoes.

Sandberg runs the 20-acre Love Apple Farm in Santa Cruz, which supplies one — and only one — restaurant with an astounding variety of produce. That would be the Michelin-two-star Manresa in Los Gatos.

The seedling sale will kick off at 9 a.m. March 26 and run through June 26. An astounding 30,000 plants representing more than 100 varieties of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes will be sold, including Black Oxheart, Gary O’ Sena, Hippy Zebra and Mountain Pride. Seedling prices range from $3.50 to $5.50 each.

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