No Toying Around: Ho-Toy Restaurant

A big tray of Chow Mein or crispy Orange Chicken historically
wouldn't be out of place at any of my big family gatherings

Chinese-American cuisine has, at least in my household, gained an increasingly important role at the family table over time. I was introduced mainly to the somewhat compact sweet side of the cuisine when my family moved to San Francisco, when boxes full of Custard Tarts or Sesame Balls would occasionally make their way home with my parents and grandparents.  Also memorable were the Haw Flakes, which reminded me of a far tastier rendition of a Communion wafer - my Grandpa would sometimes drive us into Chinatown after a day of fishing at the old Municipal Pier to grab a multi-pack, much to the joy of me and my siblings..

Later on, trays of Chinese-American cuisine standards like Sweet & Sour Pork, Chinese Fried Rice and Chow Mein would make appearances side-by-side by the Filipino standards I grew up with, mainly as a way to ease the cooking load off my elders as well as guaranteeing everyone got more than enough food.  After all, it would be a shame if the foam take-away trays stored conveniently underneath the serving tables ended up unused.

Nowadays, I don't actively seek out Chinese-American restaurants on a regular basis, but I'll get the occasional random craving for it.  However, my move to Columbus revealed that something that I thought I had conquered in the pursuit of tasty treats still needed some work.

Central Cooling: Java Central (Westerville, OH)

Once nationally known as "The Dry Capital of the World", the Columbus
suburb of Westerville is attracting a new wave of culinary and beverage treats

For those unfamiliar with the San Francisco Bay Area, the "Casual Carpool" was and is a familiar concept to numerous area commuters.  Essentially, anyone driving a vehicle into or out of San Francisco who needed passengers to (legally) cruise the carpool lane would drop by designated pickup spots, typically at area Park & Ride lots. There, they would find commuters who either weren't keen on driving themselves and/or didn't want to pay a transit fare.

As it turned out, there was one very talkative driver in a small pickup that by sheer coincidence I'd ride with every 4-6 months. It turned out this was enough time to advance the narrative that he had shared during the last drive, whether it would be a new job assignment, family-related issues, and possible future developments.  Interestingly enough, this unique "several months later/new developments" has been duplicated over here whenever I've dropped by Java Central in Westerville.

Break The Chains of Love: A Look At "Best Of" Lists (Part 3: Columbus's Counterparts)

The Tech Museum Of Innovation in San Jose, CA, our first of ten cities
we compare with Columbus in regard to "Best Of" lists

In Part 1 of this "Chains on "Best Of" Lists" series of blog posts, we looked at how Columbus locals voted on various media-based polls, and in Part 2, we compared and contrasted Columbus's "Best Of" lists to those produced in the four largest cities in the Buckeye State.

Well, it only seemed right to continue the progression to its logical conclusion. How do cities that are Columbus's counterparts in terms of population size chime in on their local "Best Of" polls?  The selecting was pretty easy: I took 2015 population statistics and took the five cities ranked just above and just below Columbus (I used the list found on Politifact for my numbers, which at the time of this post dated to 2015) and found a the best "Best Of" list that I could find.

In many ways, the look at these ten cities kind of cemented my initial thoughts I posted on the first blog post looking at Columbus's reader poll list.  While Columbus wasn't alone in the questionable nods to chains as "Best Of" category, the fact that it did and has happened in the past shows that improvement is there to be had.

With that said, the right kind of outsider chain love can be a good thing: the arrival of Chicago's Giordano's and its stuffed deep dish pizzas was eagerly anticipated, and there is growing anticipation related to the arrival of Akron-based Swenson's Drive-In. And if you look at Seattle's polls, three of their "outsider" chains would be great additions to any scene, including here in Columbus.

Evolution of a Mission: Mission Coffee

When Mission Coffee opened up in October of 2012 in the Short North, they had joined a coffee scene whose quality and general public awareness was under the radar to most folks outside the immediate area. Things have changed immensely since that debut for Mission and the Columbus coffee scene, however. Slowly but surely, the quality of the Columbus coffee scene has received notice on a national scale, as exampled by this March 2018 article by USA Today

Add in an appealing incentive in the Columbus Coffee Experience, a coffee trail featuring some of the best area coffee purveyors, as well as by an influx of new roasters such as Florin, Ramble and Bacca joining established members like Thunderkiss, Stauf's and Crimson Cup in creating a wealth of beans for the local consumer to sample, and you have the definition of a burgeoning scene. In its own right, Mission has tapped into this momentum to become one of the city's best coffee experiences.

Three For The Road: Until We Meet Again, Bay Area...

As is typical, our Bay Area travels covered a number of random delectable destinations around the region, and we'll be closing this extended series with three of those places, covering the worlds of craft beer, coffee and ice cream.

Barebottle Brewing Company - San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood is a little bit off the radar for most visitors to the area, but the area holds some fairly respectable culinary charms.  Barebottle Brewing Company's arrival to the area in June 2016 (courtesy of Michael Seitz and Lester Koga, whose success in homebrewing competitions encouraged them to go professional) added a craft beer element to the area.

Uncharted Waters: Anchor Public Taps (San Francisco, CA)

San Francisco's iconic Anchor Brewing Company

In the increasingly muddled world of what defines a craft brewer, the August 2017 news related to San Francisco's Anchor Brewing threw more haze into the equation. Essentially, the purchase of this craft beer pioneer by Japan-based Sapporo Holdings technically made Anchor a craft brewer no more, at least according to the current Brewers Association definition.

For many craft beer aficionados, the news was disappointing to say the least and, as a long time resident of the Bay Area, it had a similar effect.  With that said, it wasn't surprising, knowing the company's numerous struggles to keep its foothold within its home port (something we learned on a tour of the main brewery roughly eight years ago, ironically just before longtime owner/brewer Fritz Maytag’s sale to an investor group was widely known) as well as get its brews out to a larger audience. In a weird way, it made the brewery's new Anchor Public Taps space, advertised on Anchor Brewing's website as a "new pilot brewery and bar" and "one-of-a-kind San Francisco experience" a must visit on our recent travels to California to see what was going on.

Ice Cream Chronicles (Yr. 4) - Toasted Marshmallows and Other Miscellany

The Mitchell's of ice creams (both San Francisco and Cleveland renditions) are
no longer my only case of California-Ohio deja vu after a visit to Cincinnati

Some time ago, I wrote a bit about Mitchell's Ice Cream. However, depending on the part of the country you were from, it could refer to the longtime ice cream maker in San Francisco which married tropical flavors like jackfruit, ube and mango (its most popular flavor, even now) to its dense, old-school, high-butterfat content ice creams to consistently long lines into its cozy Bernal Heights shop. Or it could refer to the Cleveland-area confectionery which spins hand-crafted, locally focused artisanal ice creams that have time and again earned it "Best Of" honors in Northeast Ohio as well as one of the top ice cream purveyors within the Buckeye State.

Social media has been a source of confusion between the two Mitchell's, with people using one shop's media handles to tout their latest ice cream experiences when it belongs to the other (and I won't even mention another Mitchell's Ice Cream in Chicago that I've seen bandied about.)

On a recent jaunt into Cincinnati, I found another Buckeye State ice cream purveyor that reminds me greatly of one of my favorites in the Bay Area, so much so that it's put both of them for visits in the future for more exploration.

Tea for Two and Ma Po Tofu - Tripping into San Francisco

The South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood in San Francisco stands a bar with a
name many Columbus residents would recognize in Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker's

Christmas in San Francisco has become a tradition for us on our trips back to the West Coast. Perhaps the most unusual thing about this trip was it was the only day we made our way into "The City by the Bay" (cue background "whoa-whoas" by Steve Perry now.)

Of course, with the day being Christmas, the venues that are open are limited, and those that are are often jam-packed with people wanting to get out of the house for the day. We both agreed very early on that the touristy places were generally ones to avoid, but slowly but surely they have made an appearance on our itineraries with a bit more regularity. On this day, we journeyed to Golden Gate Park for a visit to a place neither of us had ever visited before: the Japanese Tea Garden.

The Honey-Doers: Marshall's Honey (American Canyon, CA)/San FranciscoMead (San Francisco, CA)

I admit that I was late to the honey party. Basically, honey was a sweetener my parents never had around the house, and I never had any reason to seek it out for the first couple decades or so of my life.

However, eventually a life of overeating and lack of exercise started to catch up with me, and I finally decided it was time to do something about it. Interestingly, I became more discerning about what I put into my body, the universe of food items I considered on a regular basis expanded greatly. One of the many things I tried doing as often as possible was using honey as a sweetener versus refined sugars and artificial sweeteners.

I've learned that Ohio has its own share of very reliable honey producers; Honeyrun Farms and SaraBee Honey are a couple of the local honey producers which we have quite happily bought products from the Worthington Farmers Market, our personal favorite farmers market. But even then, it's not like we can't not go back to California and bring back our empty jars for refill to the place where we found our first whoa-moment honey ever.

Warrior Pose: Terra Cotta Warrior (San Francisco, CA)

The exterior of the Shaanxi-oriented eatery Terra Cotta Warrior

This may be my first San Francisco experience influenced by a Columbus, Ohio finding. Various media reports over 2015 in this area had mentioned that a Chinese restaurant I had passed by numerous times during my travels, Ying Teahouse & Yum-Yum, had implemented a more traditional menu, including some Xi'an/Shaanxi specialties such as roujiamos (essentially, meat burgers) and Qi-Shan Noodles, which are made from wheat flour. For a market like Columbus, this definitely rates as an outlier in the area's Chinese cuisine offerings, and we had (and still have) Ying on the short list of places to try.

However, we found that on our recent travels to California, a little research showed we had a chance to explore that world in the form of the Outer Sunset neighborhood's Terra Cotta Restaurant, and we were more than happy to dive right in on a free Christmas Day for us. As it turned out, our experience here made us even more eager to explore this cuisine in the future.

Terra Cotta Warrior restaurant opened quietly on its Judah Street location back in March of 2014. As noted in this sfgate.com article, owner David Deng, discouraged by Americanized-Chinese that the restaurants he had opened was serving, sought out and found a chef who could cook recipes from his native Shaanxi province for his new restaurant venture.

Terra Cotta summarizes the origins of Shaanxi cuisine on their menus
and sports a welcoming and nicely designed (if slightly cramped) interior

As hinted by the exterior, Terra Cotta Warrior is not a hole-in-the-wall by any stretch, sporting a nicely appointed (if slightly dark) and slightly larger interior. With that said, this space will still feel cramped when the restaurant is either near or at capacity. A mural of the famed Terra Cotta Warriors of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (the famous figures of which were uncovered in the Shaanxi Province in 1974) predominates on one wall, while various art prints and wooden tree branches line the walls in other spots. 

Terra Cotta has specials listed in the front, but the diner can do fine going straight to their main menu for their concise selection of Shaanxi specialties. Having paced ourselves well with a very light breakfast and a long wait until lunch (helped out by a visit to the movie theater to watch the new Star Wars flick), we were quite hungry and eager to dive into more dishes than we would normally try.

The eatery's menu is divided Cold and Hot Dishes as well as a "Restaurant Special" section. As it turned out, two items turned out to be of the cold variety (one of them, the ubiquitous Shaanxi mian-pi, was listed on the "Special" section and two of them hot.

Pictured Left to Right: Shaanxi Mian Pi and Beef Lungs in Chili Sauce

The previously mentioned Shaanxi Mian Pi came out first. In general, both my spouse and I are noodle-dish fans, and I in particular like those that sport flatter noodles. The length of these noodles in this and our other dishes proved to be a challenge, but one we both undertook with great pleasure as we bit into these nicely toothy constructs. The noodles sported a unique sour tang (vinegar?) with a somewhat muted heat from the chili oil. A light bite of garlic added a nice touch, as well as the bean sprouts, which provided some textural variety.  What looked like cubed bread absorbed the whole flavor shebang nicely (I learned in the days after our meal that these are actually kaofu, or wheat bran gluten, as detailed on the excellent blogposts of San Francisco-based blogger Gary Soup.)

The Beef Lungs in Chili Sauce was a dish from the "Cold" portion of the menu which surprised us. Expecting something spongy, we instead got a lean, slightly chewy but not tough (my spouse said it reminded her of the texture of dried chipped beef) thin strips that frankly tasted a lot more like beef than anything organ-related. Unlike the Mian Pi, these strips were only lightly coated in the chili sauce but sported more heat.

The waitstaff-recommended Stir-Fried Lamb with Cumin

The Shaanxi Stir-Fried Wide Noodles finally brought on that full ma la type sensation to both of our mouths. This mix of wide noodles (though thinner than the Mian Pi), onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and jalapenos was pleaser for both of us; if I was a regular and didn't want to think too hard, this would be on my short list of go-to dishes.

Finally, the Stir-Fried Lamb with Cumin (recommended to us by our server) does not skimp on the cumin. This dish, sporting fatty lamb bits with onions and jalapenos, ended up on our take-home pack with a little bit of the Stir-Fried Wide Noodles (the portions here are fairly large and at an inexpensive price by San Francisco standards) and actually made a great impromptu add-in protein for some breakfast burritos a couple days after our meal.

Tables of various sizes are packed throughout the space; as a twosome, we were able to find a table within minutes of our arrival (other larger groups had to wait for what seemed to be 15-20 minutes or so.) Some mentions of slow service had been noted in various social media review sites, but our only delays were experienced after we had finished our meal in terms of grabbing the check. Our food orders came out quite quickly on this busy Christmas afternoon.

Terra Cotta Warrior

2555 Judah St (Outer Sunset)
(b/t 30th Ave & 31st Ave)

San Francisco, CA 94122

(415) 681-3288

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Breakfast Via The 415: Tasi Cafe

Being nestled off the main traffic pathways of the Short North
hasn't hurt Tasi Cafe's popularity one bit

Living three decades in the San Francisco Bay Area, I've grown attuned to people in this area who have connections to my former stomping grounds. On one of my early visits to the Columbus, a brunch date with my spouse brought me (unknowingly at the time) to a Short North institution whose origins more or less came from the city by the bay..

As detailed in this Short North Gazette article, Anastasia Rigsby (or Tasi for short) spent her childhood years growing up in San Francisco. Her experiences as a youth with her restaurant-owner father gave her a feeling she would go into the restaurant business long before a chance meeting with her future husband Kent at his pioneering Short North restaurant Rigsby's Cafe gave her a channel to bring that notion to life in her namesake cafe, Tasi. The pair has expanded their eateries since the cafe's opening in 2008, adding the Short North-based Eleni-Christina Bakery (which provides all the pastries to the cafe) as well as their newest venture, the Bexley-based Zoe Cafe.

Interestingly enough, this somewhat off-the-main-drag location in the Short North at the corner of Brickel and Pearl gave me the vibe of a neighborhood-type place I might find in San Francisco during my first dining experience there. In terms of a local comparison, I found Tasi eventually reminding me as a slightly less expensive but slightly more conventional take on what Northstar Cafe brings to their diners.

Not much has changed with Tasi's general interior atmosphere,
operations, or popularity since my spouse and I made our first visit here

Despite new eateries arriving in the neighborhood since Tasi's opening and the general increase in brunch/breakfast service by area restaurants in general, Tasi has remained popular with neighborhood denizens. This fact, along with the rather cozy quarters within this brick-lined space (warning: the practice of diners "reserving" seats at empty tables before they place their orders at the counter is really frowned upon) makes having time to burn, a willingness/ability to go during off-peak hours, or a desire to take something to go a must for non-neighborhood visitors.

Not much has changed either with the ordering process: diners queue up at the counter (on our latest visit, staff seemed to be making a conscious effort to take no new orders until seats open up, which wasn't always the case on earlier visits) to place their orders. When things are busy, visitors to Tasi have plenty of time to peruse the length-of-the-room breakfast and lunch chalkboard menu above. Once an order is placed for those dining in-house, Tasi adds a colorful touch by giving you a placard representing a particular dog breed to place on your table instead of the usual numbered tiles.

Along with regular menu items like the Pastrami Hash (upper left), Tasi's
specials like the Chorizo Frittata and Crabcake Benny with Asparagus
have provided us many tasty options to pair with our cup of java

Tasi's entree items for breakfast (which is served all day) and lunch are typically priced at $10 or less and cover the gamut of crowd-pleasing choices from Fish Tacos to Frittatas, Cubano Sandwiches to Challah French Toast, and so forth. We've learned that the specials often are quite good, such as the Crab Cake Benny we ordered on our last visit. Sides to supplement your meal are as varied as the entrees, ranging from the usual (sausage,bacon and fries) to the more novel (Potato Latkes and Zucchini a la Grecque, zucchini slices simmered with various herbs and spices.)

Beverages circulate around the usual coffee variations (Lavazza is Tasi's preferred coffee of choice), as well as pop, tea and water; a small selection of adult beverages (beer, wine and cocktails) is also available to diners. Tasi also makes a point of featuring local vendors, including some from the nearby North Market (North Market Spices and North Market Poultry) and milk shakes featuring Bexley-based Johnson's Ice Cream.

Tasi Cafe

680 N. Pearl Street (Short North)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 222-0788

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The Ice Cream Chronicles (Vol. 11): The Tale of Two Mitchell's (San Francisco, CA/Cleveland, OH)

It may have been the ninth store built, but the Ohio City neighborhood
location of Mitchell's Ice Cream, located in an old theater, has quickly
ascended to be the flagship store of this Cleveland-area business.

The recent spate of summer-styled weather reminded me it was about time to revive a mini-segment of posts that kind of took a life of their own last year. This season's first candidate is one I know by name, but is really two entities. One of those I grew up with as a kid, while the other I first sighted late last year on a visit to Northeast Ohio. This shared name, in fact, has become the source of some unknowing mis-identification by numerous Twitter users trying to rave over ice cream they were tasting from these two same-named entities on social media.

Despite the confusion, I already knew one was a longtime favorite, while one was I heard great things about. So why not a double post about the ice cream known as Mitchell's?

For me as a kid, Mitchell's Ice Cream was something that my grandpa would bring home as a treat for me and my siblings on a regular basis, and no matter what the flavor, it was devoured in short order. This particular Mitchell's, now a Bay Area institution, was opened up in the 1950s sporting 19 fairly standard flavors and an old-school ice cream with a distinct mouth-coating texture (due to its high butterfat content.) These days, however, it is the tropical and Filipino-styled favors like Halo Halo, Ube and Buko that provide as much if not more of a draw for ice cream lovers than the more traditional flavors. In fact, this ice creamery was the first in the Bay Area to introduce Mango as an ice cream flavor; this proved to be an instant hit and remains the store's most popular flavor.

Their small, cramped storefront on San Jose Avenue, located at the merge of the San Francisco's Mission District and Noe Valley neighborhoods, typically has lines out the door, with a "take-a-number" system for those wanting to purchase cones, bowls and other ice cream and frozen confections. Thankfully, the store keeps one cash register open specifically for those who want to pick up pre-packed half-gallon tubs from their freezers, so customers (and there are many) can get in and out in fairly quick amount of time. Mitchell's ice cream is also served by the scoop by a select number of scoop shops/restaurants; a number of grocery stores also sell the pre-packed half-gallon tubs.

There is a distinct lack of parking close to the store (the store's small parking lot in the back is often full); for auto-bound customers, it helps to have a "partner in crime" to get into line while the other tries to park the car. Tourists who want to pay Mitchell's a visit may be best served by taking public transit and walking a few blocks over to their shop, or even taking a taxi for a visit.

Mitchell's (San Francisco) offers old-school ice cream with a tropical
twist, including this combo of Ube (purple yam) and Lucuma, a fruit
from the South America Andes Mountain regions.

Here in Ohio, Mitchell's is a Cleveland-area institution that started in 1999 with a focus on the use of local and/or sustainably-produced ingredients. Their current flagship location, which I had the chance to visit, is actually the company's ninth store, but it's easy to see early why their parlor at the former Rialto Theater in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood has ascended to the prime spot for a visit.

It's quite easy to picture the trappings of an old-time structure when you look
 Mitchell's (Cleveland) expansive and remade main parlor area.

The main parlor space is clean and expansive with lots of seating; it's easy to picture the counter that now holds ice cream-filled cases being a concession stand for the old theater. If you look carefully behind the servers, you'll find that the journey is just beginning; glass windows give a hint of the production facility located behind the parlor area. Customers can scoot on over to the back to get a closer look: not only will you find more seating but get a closer look at the employees and the myriad of ice cream production equipment. A stairway to the second level allows you to glance down from overhead into the area; it reminded me a bit of the experience we had taking the Jelly Belly Factory Tour in Fairfield, California.

Mitchell's (Ohio) ice cream production from the side and above; plus
but a small sample of the works of art found throughout the building.

Mitchell's Ohio seems to stay in the wheel of traditional flavors sprinkled with some more novel seasonal offerings. In similar fashion to last year ice cream samplings, I grabbed a trio of scoops, including my traditional pick of butter pecan, plus something simple (strawberry) and a seasonal (their Great Lakes Brewing Porter Chocolate Chip.)

With the small batch production, the texture of Mitchell's ice creams fall between Jeni's and a more commercial-styled ice cream like Velvet. Of the three, I enjoyed the perfect blend of tart and sweet that the strawberry gave me. Their take on Butter Pecan was also quite nice, with hints of butterscotch and sea salt adding some complexity. I didn't quite get as much of a porter taste profile as I would've liked with the GLBC ice cream; however, I did love the irregularly-chunked dark chocolate chips. It reminded quite a bit of the wildly-sized chocolate chunks you get in Graeter's french pot processed ice creams that feature chocolate chips.

Both Mitchell's Ice Cream franchises are basically area-only enterprises; for anyone visiting either the San Francisco or Cleveland areas, these same-named (but not the same company) ice cream makers are well worth the stop.

And yes, there is also a Mitchell's Ice Cream (not the same as either) in Chicago as well. I'm thinking I'm going to have to make it a trifecta one of these days, right?

Mitchell's Ice Cream - San Francisco
688 San Jose Ave (Bernal Heights)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 648-2300
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Mitchell's Ice Cream -  Cleveland
1867 W 25th St (Ohio City)
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 861-2799
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California Odds and Ends: SoMa Streat Food Park (San Francisco)/Mountain Grounds (Martinez)/Track 7 Brewing (Sacramento)

This final food-oriented post on our 2014 California travels covers one of San Francisco's newer mobile food bastions, a rather unlike place to find some great coffee, and a nice little take on the West Coast style IPA by a brewer in California's capital city.

An oasis in a concrete jungle: the entrance to SoMa Streat Food Park

SoMa Streat Food Park: Driving through San Francisco on our last trip to California, my spouse and I had a "Empire Strikes Back" moment. In that classic movie, there is a scene where Han Solo and his Rebel crew escape pursuing Imperial ships by pretending to attack a Star Destroyer as a guise for latching his ship, the Millennium Falcon, to the bottom of the Destroyer. The Imperial Fleet loses track of the ship and decide that the Falcon has jumped to hyperspace. Before the fleet itself jumps to hyperspace, they perform a standard Imperial procedure by dumping their garbage into space.

Ah, but Han Solo knows this, so as the trash is dumped out, he simply unlatches his ship and floats away with the garbage until all Imperial Fleet ships have jumped to hyperspace. However, he needs to find a place where they can shelter down as well as fix the creaky hyperdrive engine and scans the computer maps for something nearby.

Han Solo: No. Well, wait. This is interesting. Lando.

Princess Leia: Lando system?

Han Solo: Lando's not a system, he's a man.

For us, the conversation went similarly:

Me: Okay, food trucks...wait, Streat Food.

Spouse: Street what?

Me: Streat Food. Food truck park South of Market.

San Francisco's SoMa (as in the South of Market neighborhood) Streat Food Park, nestled between the US 101 freeway and the local Costco, was in development prior to my departure to Ohio. I had always wanted to drop by to see the finished product, especially to compare it to other versions I had encountered like Columbus' Dinin' Hall and Traverse City's The Little Fleet (my blogpost on the latter can be found here.) My spouse and I found that the Streat Food Park offers a bit of an oasis from the surrounding concrete jungle, offering arcade-style games, the "Streat Brew" beverage truck with wine, beer & other mixed drinks, and a covered main seating area with televisions and patio tables to complement the rotating collection of food trucks.

Food trucks, covered seating, coffee vendors and the Streat Brew
alcoholic beverage truck are just some of the sights at SoMa Streat Food.

The food trucks here include some of the more regionally famous mobile vendors (Chairman Bao, Señor Sisig, Little Green Cyclo and Roli Roti, to name a few) as well as trucks with some unique food focuses (from the Irish-Eritrean(!) menu of EireTrea to Chef Pelle's Nordic Scandinavian specialties to Sugar and Spun's natural and organic (?!) cotton candy.)

The Caribbean Spices and El Calmar food trucks and their respective eats

None of the big-name or truly unique vendors seemed to be around during the time of our visit, so we took a shot with what sounded appetizing at that time and ended up with some decent eats. My spouse's fish tacos from the Peruvian oriented El Calamar were nothing eye-popping taste-wise, but did serve as solid belly fillers. 

Meanwhile, I went with the Haitian-oriented Caribbean Spices truck and their Kongo Jerk Sliders, a mix of Haitian pikliz with jerk chicken between plantain patties. The slider did not quite really hold up as such and I had a much easier time mixing everything together as a plate lunch. I wouldn't have minded a little more kick from both the jerk and the pikliz (which uses the notoriously capsaicin-laden Scotch bonnet pepper in its preparation), but otherwise it made for a decent lunch.

SoMa Streat Food Park

429 11th Street (SoMa)

San Francisco, CA 94103

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The front of the rather unassuming location of Martinez-based
Mountain Grounds, great coffee by way of Martinez

Mountain Grounds: While boasting the distinction of being legendary New York Yankees slugger Joe DiMaggio's birthplace, as well as being home to the National Historic Site dedicated to famed author and naturalist John Muir, the small East Bay town of Martinez, California does not normally come to the top of the area's destination places. However, if you do find yourself near here, a tasty reason to visit can be found in an otherwise unremarkable strip mall on the outskirts of town.

My initial visit to the Mountain Grounds coffee shop a couple years ago was a couple months after their initial opening in September 2013. It was something of a take-a-chance stab at some good coffee in an area dominated by chain coffee places such as Starbucks and Peet's. The owners indeed had an interesting history, pulling roots from Montana to setup shop in this normally very quiet county seat of Contra Costa County. The coffee beans sourced are also roasted and shipped from a longtime friend located in Montana.

The lattes I received that day were about the best we had during that whole visit to California. As it turned out, others have noticed the quality of the beans used at this coffee shop: Coffee Review placed the Guatemala Acatenango Gesha beans sourced by Mountain Roasters in the Top 30 Coffees of 2013 and the second highest in the state of California for that year. Since then, they have joined the nitro-charged iced coffee trend (before Starbucks and local-purveyor Crimson Cup brought out their beer-oriented versions), added a way to beat the California heat with a myriad of Starbucks-styled coffee concoctions and a more straightforward espresso over ice cream, and have integrated themselves within the local community.

My return trip to this coffee house showed me a much more bustling place than my previous visit, especially considering it was a lazy between-holidays Sunday morning. Mountain Grounds has added basic cafe-styled food items to their menu (including bagels, muffins and paninis) as well as other non-coffee beverages like chai and cider. And yes, the coffee was quite good again.

Martinez, California and the state of Montana: not two areas you would think of the source of great coffee, but Mountain Grounds is doing a pretty good job of changing that perception.

Mountain Grounds

3750 Alhambra Avenue
Martinez, CA 94553
(406) 459-9206
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Track 7 Brewing Company: We "accidentally" ended up with a bomber of this Sacramento-area brewer' Panic IPA during a trip to grab some non-Ohio-distributed brews for our trip back home. It was definitely not on our list of must-gets initially, but was recommended to us by a store clerk after we pulled a couple bottles of Russian River Brewing's Pliny the Elder for our stash. According to him, this beer took "Best of Show" at the California State Fair Craft Brew Competition in June 2014, besting entries from more well-known breweries such as Stone and Firestone Walker.

I am not the biggest IPA fan, but Panic was an IPA that I very much enjoyed. It started off with that West-Coast style taste profile with hints of grapefruit and pine, but finished with a uniquely and pleasant grassy, bready taste. Even my spouse, who is much more of the hop-head/more IBUs, the tastier gal, could appreciate this very well-balanced brew.

Track 7 Brewery's newest production facility, which began construction in 2014, is slated for its official grand opening festivities on February 21, just in time for the upcoming Sacramento Beer Week, slated to start one week later on February 27.

Track 7 Brewing Company
3747 West Pacific Ave, #F
Sacramento, CA 95820
916-520-HOPS (4677)
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The Rock of the Bay: Alcatraz Island

Yes, Alcatraz has its touristy side, but in reality,  the history behind
this former Federal penitentiary provides the real fascination for
the visitor. There was plenty of informational displays available
for people to view and ponder prior to boarding the ferry.

The Bay Area is rife with places popular with tourists, with one of the foremost being the home of the island holding the former maximum security Federal penitentiary that shared the same name as the island it sat on: Alcatraz.

I never had visited the island in the three decades of living in the area, and perhaps the mentality of "that's only where the tourists go" played into why I never did. My spouse and I do a good job of trying to limit these types of attractions on our visits, but we've been to the area together enough to start putting these places into our rotation. On this trip back to California, we figured it was time to make our first visit to the island.

Like our trip to Mackinac Island in the middle of 2014, pictures really are the best way to tell the tale of our visit on a slightly windy otherwise sunny late-December day:

Approaching the island on the ferry. All visitors to Alcatraz must use the ferry
service owned & operated by Hornblower Cruises. These hybrid ferries (which
uses power from various energy sources) make regular runs to and from the
 island and proved to be a relaxing and comfortable means of transport.

Some of the beautiful views outside the penitentiary, including one of the
gardens and the lighthouse installation. The park rangers explained the trek
from the ferry landing to the top of the island where the penitentiary stood
was equivalent to a 13-story climb; a shuttle to the top was available
for those with either health or mobility issues.

One of the old cannon batteries on the island. The island was first designated
by the U.S. Government for military use shortly after California statehood
and the Gold Rush in 1850. Alcatraz, along with Fort Point and Fort Baker,
formed the defense for a possible San Francisco Bay invasion. Alcatraz's
guns were never fired in battle, and the facility turned into a military prison
prior to takeover by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The old penitentiary looked forbidding from the start, from the prominent
"United States Penitentiary" sign as you get off the ferry boat, to the tiny
shed-like building that served as the facility's morgue (bottom left), and
the shower facilities (upper two pictures.) The shower facilities were
were where visitors received their Cellhouse Audio Tour headsets
 which are included in the ticket price to come to the park.

The audio tour, narrated by former guards and prisoners at Alcatraz,
summarized the details and stories of the prison well. Walkways were
were named (e.g. "Michigan Avenue"), new inmates were given "Rules &
Regulations" books upon admission, and sparse furnishings and iron bars
were commonplace. "D Block" was reserved for the worst of the worst. 

A look at the second floor's "Gun Gallery", where armed guards would patrol
the prison from the walkways in the gallery. Keys that were needed to open a
door were lowered to guards below via the device on the lower half of the grate.

Informational displays were found throughout the facility; we found they
 helped supplement the already detailed audio narration to great effect.

Inside the prison's control/dispatch room: the space reminded me a bit
of the broadcast booth of the radio station I spun records at during
college, sans any turntables or record albums.

Looking at the cell blocks A through C from the corner of "Seedy" Street
(a nickname for the main walkway between C and D cell blocks)

The cell that held Robert Stroud, the famed "Birdman of Alcatraz."
Indeed, Stroud was allowed to keep and study birds in jail, and
ended up making some significant contributions to the field of
avian science. However, this took place during his time at Leavenworth
Prison. After Stroud's transfer to Alcatraz (caused when prison
officials caught him distilling alcohol in his cell), he was relegated to the
hospital ward, where he spent his time writing an autobiography
and a manuscript detailing the history of Federal prisons.

Multi-media art installations by famed Chinese activist Ai Weiwei were
found throughout the island. Titled "@Large", Weiwei's artworks
"explore urgent questions about human rights and freedom of expression
and responds to the potent and layered history of Alcatraz as a place
place of detainment and protest," as described on the National Parks
Service's webpage detailing these exhibits. Activities exhibit visitors
could partake in included sending postcards of support to imprisoned
activists and listen to various musical works inside a prison cell. 

This message on the island's water tower hints at Alcatraz Island's past
as a center of protest for American Indian rights, climaxing with the
nearly 19-month occupation of the island by rights protesters from 1969
to 1971. This spurred other actions that helped bring Indian rights more to
the forefront in the public conscience and the U.S. Government, and led to
the annual "Unthanksgiving Day", a morning gathering on Thanksgiving
Day on the island to honor the indigenous people of America.

A view of the penitentiary's recreation yard, which was made available
to prisoners on weekends and holidays. Games of baseball and basketball
were commonplace in the yard; rights to use the yard were among
the first things to disappear for disruptive inmates.

Just some more of the dark spaces, passageways and crevices found
at this penitentiary. The facility was closed in 1963 mainly due to
the extremely high maintenance and operational costs. The island's
structures fell into neglect and disrepair for the next decade until the
property was transferred to the National Park Service in 1972.

Alcatraz Island National Historic Landmark
(part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area)
Open for regular visits all year except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day
National Park Service Website Page

Ferry service/park admission available through:
Alcatraz Cruises
Pier 33, Alcatraz Landing
San Francisco, California 94111
(415) 981-ROCK (7625)
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Toast of the Town: Dan The Baker/Toast Bar

Dan The Baker breads are a familiar (and eye-pleasing) sight
at many local area farmers markets

My recent re-visit of the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco (my post on this popular and unique attraction can be found here) brought back many tasty memories as I passed from one vendor space to another. Some of the most fond memories were brought on by the baked goods of the Acme Bread Company - their basic bread loaves and baguettes are yeasted glory, sporting that sublime combination of exterior crunch, big bubbles in the crumb, and interior chew that only the best breads get. Their Cinnamon Currant Bread, a pull-apart, just sweet and sticky enough creation that sported a divine combination of zante currants and cinnamon. remains in the top ten of items I miss the most from the San Francisco area.

I simply figured the Columbus metro wouldn't have anything within shouting distance of their bread or any other Bay Area artisan baker's products. That is until I and my spouse came across the creations of one Dan Riesenberger, aka Dan The Baker. Starting off in 2008 via modest means (baking his breads from his backyard with a brick oven fashioned with help from his father), Riesenberger and his breads were well-established in both select Columbus restaurants and farmers market booths by the time we came across them. As we sampled his different breads and pastries, I found his creations more than held their own with the renowned Bay Area-based artisinal bread purveyors.

He eventually opened up a combination small retail cafe/production facility in the Grandview area of town in late 2013. While we still bought most of his breads from local farmers markets, we would occasionally drop by the cafe to hangout or grab a quick bite if our business took us into that part of town or we were headed into Western Ohio for the day. His branching out was not restricted to his cafe: we got a gander of his pizza-making prowess at a pop-up restaurant within Cafe Brioso during the monthly Moonlight Market on Gay Street in June 2014.

And when you think it couldn't get any better, Riesenberger announced that Columbus now has a shrine to toast to call their own, with the opening of Toast Bar two months ago.

Wait, what? Toast? Really, you can't be serious...toast?

Toast? Why, heck yeah, toast! Malaysia showed me the way

Yes, sometimes toast is what you want. During a work stint in Malaysia, I came across the Toast Box, an chain of Asian establishments started initially in Singapore. These restaurants are, to borrow their words, their "reflection of the coffee shops from the 60s and 70s, where the common practice for breakfast was a fragrant cup of Nanyang Coffee accompanied by freshly toasted bread." This quickly became a favorite place for me for either a light breakfast or an afternoon snack: the coffee (or tea) was a must along with two slices of toast, typically one with butter and kaya (coconut jam) and one with peanut butter.

As far as the States, artisinal toast is something of a new fad. starting off in San Francisco with The Trouble Coffee and Coconut Club (and in a tangential way, Ohio; the restaurant's owner grew up in the Cleveland area, as detailed in this story by Pacific Standard Magazine.) The fad eventually spread to neighboring restaurants and then to other parts of the country, as detailed in this Eater.com article.

The newly created Toast Bar adds some twists to the formerly existing space

The Toast Bar's offers a slightly re-designed space from the original cafe within their Ridge Street location, allowing for slightly more seating and a little better traffic flow. On this visit, we were both looking for a light breakfast, and all the new items offered that opportunity. Of course, you wouldn't call yourself Toast Bar without having that on the menu, and the flight of toast is pretty straightforward - three slices from the breads on hand along with three toppings. Another related new item is their Smørrebrød open-faced sandwiches, a blend of avocado, cucumber and dill on Danish Rye bread (their current offerings now offer one version that substitutes salmon for the avocado as well as a bacon, blue cheese and apple option.)

Left: the Avocado Smørrebrød; Right: the Toast Flight

Both these Toast Bar offerings hit the spot. The Smørrebrød was a nicely tangy, creamy and crisp combo which went nicely with the rye bread; my spouse loved how the dill made the flavors pop. As for me and my toast flight, the toppings were a nice way to figure out what went well with the various toasted breads I ordered without having to whip up my own homemade hazelnut spread or lemon curd, as well as experimenting how the toppings themselves blended in tandem or as a threesome. All three of the toppings I chose were quite good, with the cloverton and lemon curd being edging out the others as my fave.

The Smørrebrød (at the time of our visit, it was $4 for a single/$7 for two; the current menu states $6) and the flight (was and still is $5.50) could be considered by many to be on the spendy side; indeed, the Eater article referred to earlier in this post states this as a common criticism of these toast-centric establishments. However, based on that same article, Toast Bar's prices seem to be on the lower end of the expense scale compared with its brethren across the country.

Visitors who aren't all that into the toast concept need not fret; Dan The Baker still has its myriad of pastries, along with a selection of cookies, soup, and of course, the bread in whole-loaf form. Toast Bar also keeps the coffee drinks from its previous iteration on the menu, using beans from two excellent roasters (Intelligentsia and locally-based Cafe Brioso) as well as hot chocolate and tea.

Dan The Baker/Toast Bar
1028 Ridge Street (Grandview Heights)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 928-9035
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Freeway Rescue: The San Francisco Ferry Building and Farmers Market

An earthquake 60 miles away would set this building free

Little did anyone know that when the devastating Loma Prieta Earthquake struck the Bay Area region in October of 1989, it would free an iconic building from a concrete prison.

Opened in 1898, the San Francisco Ferry Building acted as the gateway to the city for those arriving by train and ferry boat well into the 1930s. However, with the opening of the San Francisco Bay Bridge in 1936 and Golden Gate Bridge in 1937, usage of the building eventually dwindled to a minimum by the 1950s. The construction of Interstate 480 over top of The Embarcadero, the roadway next to the Ferry Building, put a cold, double-decked gray facade across the building's beautiful exterior and seemed to complete its journey into obscurity.

The Loma Prieta Earthquake, which took place before a national audience (it struck minutes before Game 3 of the 1989 World Series was due to start,) damaged the Embarcadero Freeway. This, along with its structural similarity to the section of I-880 across the bay in Oakland which tragically pancaked onto itself, crushing the vehicles below and leading to 42 fatalities, caused city officials to condemn the structure.

By 1991, the freeway had been completely torn down, freeing the Ferry Building from its concrete prison. As the Embarcadero roadway itself began its renovation project, city officials began to re-discover the visual splendor and potential of this historic building. Renovation plans were officially approved in 2000 and the building re-opened with its mix of business tenants, ferry terminal facilities, and retail establishments in March 2003.

Perhaps I myself have regained a new appreciation of what had been seemingly always been there; my work in San Francisco began just a few months before the building's reopening, and my foot travels often took me through the building's expanses. Now that I only get to visit it on an infrequent basis now, I count each visit back as a little special, including this latest trip back to California with my spouse.

Fresh produce was in abundant supply at the Ferry Building Farmers Market
and even brought some truly far away "locals" (the dates were brought
courtesy of a vendor from Southern California's Coachella Valley.)

Held at regular intervals throughout the year, the Ferry Building's Farmers Market, started initially as what was intended to be a one-time event September of 1992, has become an attraction in its own right for locals and visitors to the city, with vendors and booths situated outside of the main Ferry Building structure. Obviously, California's large size and varied climates have their advantages, as numerous fruits and vegetables that would never be found in Ohio's winter farmers markets were at ready for purchase. Other products like cheese, honey and prepared food were also present, many familiar to me (Roli Roti and their rotisserie chicken, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, and the Mission District's pastry purveyor Craftsman and Wolves, for example) and a few new vendors whose wares looked promising.)

The regular Ferry Building vendors have a lot to offer visitors on a daily basis,
very much like Columbus' North Market tenants.

Then there are the regular daily vendors of the Ferry Building Marketplace itself. Like Columbus' own similar enterprise (The North Market), some of the vendors have changed over time, but the vendors as a whole cover pretty much every food-related item, from the tools of the trade (Sur La Table and Heath Ceramics) to the basics (fish, produce, cheese, meats, mushrooms and even heirloom beans), from little noshes (Pepple's vegan organic donuts, or the gluten-free goods of Mariposa Baking) to the more fancy (Hog Island Oyster Company's seafood offerings, or The Slanted Door, Charles Phan's renowned upscale take on Vietnamese standards.)

In thinking of the two markets, it is almost impossible not to compare and contrast related vendors. How does Columbus' long-time stalwart coffee roaster Stauf's rate versus Blue Bottle? Maybe crunch out the best breads from the Bay Area's Acme Baking and Columbus' Omega Artisan Baking? What about meticulously crafted ice creams of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams versus the even more outlandish creations of Jake Godby and Humphry Slocombe? Miette Patisseries sweet creations against the lavish creations of German Village's Pistacia Vera? Everyone will reach their own opinions, of course (I have my own, naturally.) The real fun part is the fact that this comparison matrix exists and can be undertaken by anyone willing to do so.

Breakfast this day was Cowgirl Creamery Milk Bar's cheesy creations
and a couple cups of Blue Bottle's java

Our breakfast this day was courtesy of the offshoot of preeminent cheese maker Cowgirl Creamery. Originally based in Marin County at Pt. Reyes Station, this artisan cheesemaker setup the Sidekick Cafe and Milk Bar as a way to branch out from its base business with cheese-oriented preparations and a dairy bar featuring a variety of milk-based beverages (milk is provided by the Straus Family Creamery based in Marshall, CA, which is essentially equivalent to local creamery Snowville out of Pomeroy, OH.)

The Cheese Toasties, essentially an open-faced grilled cheese made with cheddar, caramelized onions & maple mustard and the Baked Egg Sandwich (both items $7.95 and featuring the excellent bread of next door neighbor Acme; I added pancetta to mine for $2 extra) were gloriously gooey and cheesy, and a definite tummy filler. We added a couple of typically well-made java beverages from one of the two Blue Bottle Coffee stands at the Farmers Market (Blue Bottle also has a regular space at the Marketplace; this space is due to be renovated starting January 2015) to add some extra caffeination; this visit was just the start of a big day of touring the city.

Ferry Building Marketplace 
One Ferry Building (Embaracadero/Downtown)
San Francisco, California 94111
(415) 983-8030
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Ferry Building Farmers Farmers Market
Operates Year-Round (except major holidays)
Saturday: 8am–2pm
Tuesday: 10am–2pm
Thursday: 10am–2pm
(415) 291-3276
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Cowgirl Creamery's Sidekick Cafe and Milk Bar
1 Ferry Building # 17
San Francisco, California 94111
(415) 362-9354
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