Tag: women

Mother’s Day

I must jump ahead to Mother’s Day. There were many good meals in between, but that one filled a hole. One that I didn’t know I had.

I am a lucky one in that my offspring remembers this day most years and we usually celebrate it together.

The older they get, the more we become friends and have space to share meals and time and gossip and woes without the overbearing weight of parent-child boundaries leaning on our shoulders during our visits.

And thank all that is grace, they are a foodie! So we have that in common and can enjoy a good brunch, lunch, dinner, wine or cocktail, and possibly even a dessert. Phew!

So this year, I got asked where I wanted to go and to everyone’s surprise I did not say “boozy brunch” or “dim sum” (though both are spectacular ideas!) Nope! I said “Kin Khao” in hopes of a terrific experience. And did it live up to my hopes.

My journey to Kin Khao started a bit less than 20 years ago when I started blogging and reading other blogs. And there were a few that stood out (and still do!)

The one that led me to this meal was by Pim. First working in kitchens (like I wanted to) and making jam (when I was working in kitchens) and then one day she switched to IG and I kept up a bit less but still tried.

A few years later I heard of KK and it’s been on my list since then. Since we are now more seriously sojourning to SF for food again (thank everything!) and since I somehow decided this is the Year of Women in Restaurants, off we went.

Pim has since obtained a Michelin Star AND taken on a position in Bangkok at a two-star hotel restaurant there (where she worked with another of my heroes, Shuna Lydon). I continue to be impressed by her talent, work ethic and palate.

A noon (or so) reservation for us a lovely corner table looking out over the scene. Casual tables, nicely uniformed servers, a beautiful wall of colorful postcards showing off her food and we spent a copious amount of time trying to pare down what we would order. For four!

We started with drinks from the bar and spiced peanuts and moved on to Mushroom Hor Mok, Nam Tok Beans, Baby Chow Sum and, of course, Pretty Hot Wings (and yes, they are both pretty and pretty hot, if that lovely Thai way of building heat and sweet until you can’t not have more even with tingling lips.)

[note: I don’t have the receipt handy so there aren’t prices here, I’ll try to add them later. ]

The mushroom Hor Mok was phenomenal. Unctuous curry mousse with rich bites of shittake served with housemade rice cakes (think savory crispy treats?)The other dishes not far behind. The Nam Tok had crisp romaine had what may have been cranberry beans nestled in them for a lovely contrast of crunch and soft. The chicken wings had a crunchy hot exterior with soft, tender, juicy interior and that addictive sweet-hot flavor. And the Chow Sum (like bok choy) was bright, refreshing and so fresh. A good contrast.

For mains, we shared Khao Mun Gai, Ngop Pla (trout rubbed in red curry and roasted in a banana leaf), Yaowaraj Noodle with Hodo tofu, and The Pork Bowl.

The trout was cooked perfectly and had lovely flavor. It was served with white rice with provided great balance.

The pork bowl was lighter on seasoning than we would have liked and the chili paste served with it didn’t quite make up for it. The pork was, however, perfectly cooked and it was the most photogenic of the mains.

KMG was a bit tacky, the rice a bit plain. Not my favorite version. The noodles with tofu was delicious. Pan-fried rice noodle with crumbled tofu – it was umami all the way and a dish I’m still dreaming of.

With this course, we had a lovely bottle of Riesling from a compact but well-curated list of bottles.

And finally dessert. At lunch, KK has one. And that’s okay. Because it’s a black rice pudding with coconut cream and caramel alongside a house-made praline. We all kept going back for more even was full as we were.

I want to be back there right now, for dinner and have the green curry with rabbit and another Yaowaraj or maybe the Massaman beef cheeks. Oh, but there is also squid and prik laab and… sigh. Yes, please.

The company was exquisite. The food so good, I’d eat there solo… but then I wouldn’t get to try everything again.

An evening in Albany

Have you been to the Hotsy Totsy?

Do you drink?

Shot and a beer? Or something more clever in cocktail form?

Do you like local memorabilia?

Are you intrigued yet?

The HTC has been a staple of the easy bay since 1934.

Currently owned by Jessica Maria and Michael Valladares (since 2008) it’s a lovely combination of dive bar and craft cocktail establishment. More info on the owners here.

We have had consistently good cocktails each visit.

This visit we enjoyed a “Warm Hug” made with Merlet VSOP cognac, pumpkin butter and black walnut. A lovely dessert drink.

The “Femme Fetale” with Magnus whisky, sour cherry liqueur, LoFi dry vermouth and saffron bitters.

All in all a lovely start to the evening which ended with dinner at Zaytoon on Solano Avenue which had their bar program crafted by Jessica Maria as well.

We ate small plates-style and enjoyed several plates. Handsome was not wowed by the hummus but the rest of the Mazza plate ($12) was balanced, thoughtful and well-crafted.

The wine list is compact but selves into broad regions. We enjoyed both Greek and Lebanese wine with our meal (glass avg $12.50)

The Warak Inab (Lebanese name for the more familiar Turkish dolma) was soft, and fragrant with herbs that made it a lovely contrast to the baba ghanouj and tabbouli $8)

I look forward to trying more on our next visit.

Women in food

A few months ago, a lovely friend and I were talking about restaurants and women and as a result I decided to start a list of local places that were owned or run by women.

Since then, the list has grown with a little help from my friends and we’ve used it as a basis for where we have been eating this year.

Of course, as always, there have been exceptions but in general we are eating what women cook or from restaurants owned by women or we are cooking it ourselves.

Over the next few posts, I’ll try to catch you up where we’ve been so far.

Anyone who would like the list or wants to contribute to it, please send me a PM here or on IG with an email so I can share it out to you.

The first foray was to Buttercup Diner with dad. Yup. Betcha thought I was gonna say something else. But we eat like the rest of the world and after a Dad Dr. appointment there is not much better for him than a slice of something Debbie made. Read on for more:

Buttercup is local, family owned and yes, at least one of them is a woman. Its owners Debbie and David (and their kids) have owned the chain for over 28 years and it has 5 locations around the East Bay.

Debbie’s desserts are all her own recipes and, well, my dad loves her bread pudding. Her seasonal pumpkin is great when it is the right time of year and most days you’ll see my honey and I racing for bites of her chocolate cream.

Every location is open 7 days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner with no breaks in between . (And that is a feat in itself.) The food is consistent, homey and the atmosphere’s are all comfortable.

Well worth it and did I mention it is locally owned? 😉