Yogurtsoda – Page 83 – Eating my way around the world by Mariam Hosseini

Boccalone

May 1, 2011

You might not know this, but mortadella is very much an Iranian food. Sure, it may have originated in Italy, but for me and countless other kids in the Iranian diaspora, we grew up eating garlic and pistachio-flecked mortadella, wrapped up in lavash and enjoyed with a side of pickled Persian cucumbers.

It’s this childhood nostalgia that compels me to seek out new variations of mortadella wherever I can find it, and Boccalone in San Francisco’s Ferry Building is doing amazing things with it. (Not to mention a whole cornucopia of other high-quality cured meats.) Run by Chris Cosentino of Incanto fame, one of my favorite things to do is to buy a sandwich at Boccalone and enjoy it in front of the pier. (The shop does not have a seating area.)

During my last visit, Boccalone was carrying their seasonal truffled mortadella, so I shared a sandwich with a friend. Stuffed with provolone, lettuce, tomatoes and mortadella and encased in a crispy baguette, the sandwich was perfect except for one thing: too much mustard. I mean, it was terrific, whole-grain mustard, but whoa. The mustard was so strong that I couldn’t taste the truffles.

Despite the overzealous mustard incident, Boccalone is still one of my favorite sandwich shops and I’ll be back the next time I’m at the Ferry Building. Their menu is always changing so I know I’ll be in for a surprise. Just go easy on the mustard, thanks.

Okonomiyaki

April 30, 2011February 7, 2019

The first time I tried okonomiyaki, I had just moved in with my new roommates for college, two of whom were from Japan: Sanae from Tokyo and Sanae from Osaka. Throughout the year, I was fortunate to learn to cook all kinds of regional dishes with them, many of which can be hard to find in restaurants.

Okonomiyaki was the first homestyle Japanese dish that they taught me, and to this day, it remains one of my favorites. Loosely translated as “as you like it,” okonomiyaki is a savory pancake consisting of varying filling ingredients but the flour, egg, cabbage, and dashi base remain consistent.

My version of okonomiyaki is pretty standard, albeit without the mountain yam that can be so hard to track down. When I was in Japan two years ago, I tried a delicious rendition in Kyoto that had a fried noodle base, as well as another version with melted cheese and dried anchovies, so the possibilities are endless. The ingredient list might be daunting, but it’s worth the search – and oh, don’t forget the giant octopus tentacle.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup dashi stock
1 egg
1 cup cabbage, shredded
2 green onions, thinly sliced
benishoga red pickled ginger, chopped (not to be confused with gari pickled ginger, which is commonly served alongside sushi)
3 inches cooked octopus, finely chopped
1 handful dried bonito flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried nori flakes
okonomi sauce (available in Japanese and well-stocked Asian grocers)
Japanese-style mayonnaise (I recommend Kewpie brand)
vegetable oil

1. Place the flour and dashi stock in a bowl, and mix well. Add the cabbage, onion, benishoga ginger, octopus, and egg to the bowl, and mix well.

2. Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat and add one tablespoon vegetable oil. Pour 1/3 cup of the batter mixture into the pan, and sprinkle a few dried bonito flakes on top. Cook for about 3 minutes.

3. Carefully flip the pancake over, and cook for about 4 minutes. Reverse again, and cook for another 4 minutes. Transfer the pancake to a serving plate.

4. Spread okonomi sauce and mayonnaise on top of the pancake, and sprinkle with dried nori and bonito flakes.

5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 until batter is finished.

Comstock Saloon

April 17, 2011April 17, 2011

Ever since it opened last year, Comstock Saloon in North Beach has become one of my favorite after-work hangouts. As its name implies, the vibe is saloon-like, down to the live piano on the mezzanine and the old-school cocktails (think Manhattans and Sazeracs). And to be honest, I rarely visit a bar with the quality of food in mind, but Comstock’s dishes are just as good as their drinks.

During one of my last visits, I ordered a hop toad cocktail, made of Jamaican rum, apricot brandy, lime and bitters. Strong and oh-so-slightly sweet and tart, it was a good accompaniment to the plate of fried potatoes I shared with a friend. Served with cheese curds and gravy, I imagine these amazing potatoes are a tribute to poutine, the classic Quebecois dish that I wish would take hold in California already.

That’s what makes Comstock so great. They have terrific all-day fare, with an emphasis on hearty, traditional cuisine. Naturally, a place with solid drinks and food, and in a convenient neighborhood to boot, gets busy, even on weeknights. If you’re coming with a large group, it’s best to make reservations ahead of time. But even with a crowd, the service at Comstock is consistently friendly yet professional.

They may have been open for less than a year, but Comstock seems to have it all.

Vik’s Chaat Corner

March 23, 2011March 23, 2011

I have an embarrassing confession to make. For an ethnic food-loving, Bay Area native, it wasn’t until late last year that I made my inaugural visit to Vik’s Chaat Corner. To be fair, I’d been hearing about it for years (decades, even), but I just didn’t understand what all the fuss was about so I never got around to it.

I’m kicking myself now because since that first visit last Fall, I can’t get enough. Located on 4th Street in Berkeley, Vik’s is always busy, despite its early closing hours (6:00 pm on weeknights and 8:00 pm Friday through Sunday). The process is simple: get in line, place your order, give your name, find a seat in the cafeteria-style dining area, and listen attentively for your name as the cooks behind the counters call out your order.

My favorite thing about Vik’s is that they specialize in chaat, or savory snacks that are popular in roadside stands in South Asia. Fried dough is a prominent ingredient, as are potatoes, chickpeas, yogurt, and chutney. During my first visit, I shared an order of dahi papdi chaat and chicken biryani, paired with mango and salt lassis.

The papdi chaat were comprised of fried dough wafers and served with potatoes, chickpeas, chilies, and tamarind chutney. The dish is spicy, but the tamarind provides a cooling contrast to the otherwise fiery bowl. This has since become one of my favorite dishes at Vik’s.

The chicken biryani was even spicier. I shared this with my dining companion who had been endlessly searching for good-quality, authentic biryani since a trip he made to Hyderabad three years ago. As it turns out, Vik’s is the closest to the real Hyderabadi thing.

If you find yourself to recreate these dishes at home, there’s a South Asian grocery store at Vik’s as well, stocking everything from rice to legumes to produce to spices. Many of the dishes may not be familiar to you if you’ve never had chaat, but that’s part of the fun at Vik’s: with so many dishes to choose from, I keep coming up with reasons to go back for more.

Onigilly

March 8, 2011

It’s almost as if the food truck gods heard my food truck prayers and answered my wish. For months, I’d been telling people that what San Francisco needs is an onigiri stand. And lo and behold, Onigilly opened up shop in the Embarcadero.

Onigiri are Japanese rice balls wrapped in nori seaweed and stuffed with an array of delicious fillings like pickled plum or salted salmon. Portable and easily customizable, they make the perfect snack or lunch on the go. When Onigilly began serving lunch a few months ago, I stopped by with a colleague to try out their healthy riff on one of my favorite foods.

Onigilly uses brown rice instead of the traditional white, and their fillings are a modern take as well. I had two masago roe and one hijiki seaweed onigiri, garnished with edamame and pickled radish. The masago was rich, as the salty roe had been folded into a spicy aioli, and the hijiki served as a delicious palate cleanser. These are not the onigiri that I became used to snacking on in Japan, but a California-style take that’s just as tasty.

The Onigilly food cart can get busy, so plan accordingly. Each onigiri is made with care and by hand, and service can be slow at times. The owner is charming and happy to talk to patrons about his creations, so the wait goes by quickly. Make sure to check their Twitter account ahead of time to make sure they’ll be open.