House Stuffed Pepper

   I 'apartment sat' for my neighbors last month. This mostly involved checking for the scent of gas once a week as protection against a poorly functioning pilot light in their stove. As a thank you Merrill made me this (above) stuffed bell pepper. Giving it to me yesterday she explained that she had been experimenting for the last few days, trying to get it right - to achieve the proper Turkish flavor, I believe. Furthermore it was made with good meat. This was a real food drama of a gesture, in my mind, sort of the equivalent of knitting someone a nice scarf or hat. Most importantly, it was tasty! 

Los Tres ACheeseGos

Food Drama from the monthly convention of the 3Cheeseketeers: Nate, Gabe, and I. This month Gabe created a thematic tasting session based on sourcing beer and cheese from a specific region of the world. Here we go...

[Ratings: -2: Awful, -1: Bad, 0: Neutral, 1: Good, 2: Ethereal]

Australia: Foster's with an Australian Sheep Feta (1)

UK: Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale and Fuller's ESB with a 5 year English Cheddar (0)

South Bay: IPAs from Drakes and Alimony with a Super Aged Gouda

(rating was impossible due to the utter and extreme intensity of the cheese)

OR: Deschutes Black Butte Porter and Full Sail LTD Lager with Smoked Blue (2 - for LTD, 1- for Porter)

Upstate NY: Ommengang Rare Vos with a pungent Camembert (1)

Ole!

Beer Bars in the Bay

Nice photo slideshow and descriptions.

Restaurant Week in Oakland

Oakland before the lake was redone, as it now looks to the rest of the world, according to the NYTimes.

It is restaurant week in Oakland next week causing me to get anxious about the idea of eating in multiple restaurants at the same time. Impossible I know, though Nate was awe-inspiring last month when he attended two dinners in a row at Mission Chinese and purportedly ate the entire menu.

Personally I am going to hit up Chop Bar, as they are offering a bottomless glass of wine. They are the best cheap-and-cheerful Food Wave restaurant in the city. Go with a group of 6 and you qualify for a reservation.

An appropriate way for the city to ride the #5 wave!