Kevin Hoskins Eats Out

Kevin Hoskins Eats Out.

Kevin Hoskins at Moby Dick

Kevin is one of my friends that agrees with me when I say – “Tripe sounds good today”. How many people can you say that about in your life? He’s a great cook. He likes things simple. One of my favorite things Kevin has ever made for me are his Black Olive Cookies. I probably get them about once a year – which isn’t nearly enough. They are rich from oil-cured black olives and have a great balance of sugar and salt. He confesses his love for Lemon Cake here – and this past year for his birthday I got to make him one. I don’t know if it matched up to his Aunts – but I think it satisfied his craving. Kevin is currently part of the team that brings you the weekly party Some Thing (the art, drag dance party) at The Stud.

What is your favorite dessert?

Hmmmm… My aunt always made a lemon bundt cake with lemon juice and powdered sugar frosting for my birthday. It was simple and refreshing. I love semi-sweets. When I do bake its usually olive cookies. And when the first strawberries come in around February when they have flavor but it hasn’t gotten warm enough for them to be sweet, I love dipping them in sour cream and brown sugar.

What restaurant would you call your home?

I just ate at Zuni Cafe and realized how much it is like my home. I’m friends with like half of the staff. Unfortunately its not exactly like my home since I don’t have a wood oven to roast my broccoli and cauliflower with my pork chop. It always inspires me to cook simply and a little out of my comfort zone.

What is the strangest thing you’ve eaten?

When I was fifteen I went on a student exchange to Kazakhstan. A Kazakh version of a toast is centered around a roasted goat head. The host hands a piece of the head to you with choice words and you eat it. My last night there – my host father gave me and my host brother each an eyeball saying he hoped “we would be such great friends that we always see in the same direction.” Eyeballs aside, I am always looking for Central Asian food, and I’d love to not have to go to Coney Island or Beijing to find it.

What was your favorite breakfast cereal as a kid?

My sister ate Golden Grahams, and the smell really grossed me out. So I liked Corn Bran, or when I was on vacation, Cap’n Crunch Berries. My sister and I were allergic to milk, so we used Mocha Mix which also may explain why I didn’t need sweet cereal. It was sweet enough.

What is your favorite food to pig-out on after the club?

If my neighbor is up, I like to go to his house and make baked eggs. I don’t mind cooking them, but I like him to clean the ramekins.

Kevin and I at an art opening in NYC, 2004

The Juanita MORE! Cocktail

The Juanita MORE! Cocktail – Available at QBar/SF

Pablo knows how to squeeze my lemons.

It’s a popular drink on the cocktail menu. And it’s absolutely delicious! Created by bar manager Dana Gleim and served exclusively at QBar/SF – home to Booty Call Wednesdays and a host of other hot party nights, this cocktail was designed with my tastes in mind. I’ve been a whiskey and ginger gal for quite a long time. And I love to start my night off with one of these refreshing drinks. You can stop into QBar any night of the week and order one of these specialty cocktails up. Or, for those of you that consider yourself a master mixologist – you can just follow the recipe here.

The Juanita MORE! Cocktail
4 blackberries / plus one for garnish

1/4 of a freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 ounces of Jameson Irish Whiskey

3 dashes of Angostura bitters

Splash of Bundaberg ginger beer
Ice

Gently muddle the blackberries in a pint glass. Squeeze the lemon juice into the glass and add the Jameson and bitters. Shake well and double-strain over a tall iced glass.

Bartender Pablo straining the muddled blackberries.

Top with Bundaberg ginger beer and garnish with a blackberry.

Drink and enjoy!

The Juanita MORE! Cocktail

Mission District Food Tour by an Obsessive Completest

Mission District Food Tour by an Obsessive Completest

Phil Ventura

My dear friend Phil Ventura has been a favorite dinner guest at my table for years. He’s got an endless appetite! We talk about food while we’re eating it. He took on the daunting task of trying to eat at just about every restaurant in his neighborhood’s radius – The Mission District.  We swoon about dishes we tried together and shared a most memorable late lunch together when we once traveled to NYC and ate offal at one our favorite spots – Casa Mono. Here is more of diary of his eating tour than review.

La Taqueria - This place was my introduction to the mission years ago when Juanita shared it with me.  The chorizo quesadilla is still my favorite thing on the menu, it will leave you completely incapacitated, but it’ll take you to heaven first. No way will there be a bite left in your little plastic basket.  Having eaten at most of the Mission taquerias, of which there are an insane amount, I still rank this one the best, though El Metate will do and El Farolito on 24th and Mission (not the Alabama one!) is really the only option after midnight.

La Santaneca de la Mission - Best pupusas in the mission, hands down. For less than ten bucks you can get a plate of pupusas revueltas with crunchy cabbage topping and tangy red sauce that’ll make your eyes roll back in your head.  I’ve taken many friends here and it never fails to elicit embarrassing food orgasms. The wait staff is sweet and the fried plantains are an awesome cap off to the meal if you aren’t already leaned back with your pants unbuttoned.

Yamo - This place is not known for comfortable seating or excellent service, so don’t expect a second tiny glass of water to go with your food.  That said, everything on the menu is fucking delicious and there is nothing more satisfying than their house noodles with beef when you’ve got an empty stomach. Get a place at the tiny bar, stuff your face with food so tasty you want to cry, then get the hell out.

Pal’s Takeaway - The sandwich situation in the mission is pretty abysmal.  Luckily, there’s this tiny operation inside Tony’s Market on 24th.  It’s only open 3 hours a day and has three sandwiches on offer along with some sides.  The menu changes daily but the food is consistently complex and satisfying with lots of fresh, local ingredients and creative combinations.

Bar Bambino - I eat at fancy restaurants as well.  New ones are popping up constantly in this neighborhood and a lot of them, like Delfina, Farina, Foreign Cinema, Bar Tartine, Commonwealth, Beretta, etc. get talked about a hell of a lot already.  I feel like the only reason Bar Bambino isn’t as chatted up, despite the fact that it’s better than most of those places, is because it’s on a pretty sketchy stretch of 16th street.  It’s the kind of block that makes my relatives worry about my safety when they come to visit.  Still, I’d take the awesome pasta plates at Bambino over Flour+Water or Locanda any day.  And if you’re scared, head there during the day, there’s a cute outdoor area in the back.

Mr. Pollo - I got so freaking excited when I heard this place was finally opening for lunch.  However, you probably want to get there in the evening so you can stare at Manny Torres Gimenez working behind the counter.  He’s a cutie and when you order the 20 dollar (!!!) four course tasting menu, he’ll walk over and talk to you about each dish and how he picked the mushrooms himself while you make your best dreamy face.

Mr. Pollo

El Gallo Giro - Simply put, best taco truck.  Super cheap, massive tacos with delicious, juicy al pastor and carnitas, or lengua if you like that creepy, bumpy shit.  Tons of fresh toppings and a spicy sauce to make your eyes water.

St. Francis Fountain - This is the haven for your hangover.  They seriously have a dish called the chef’s mess which is a mountain of potatoes and bacon with melted cheese.  Even in your deluded, morning-after state, you will not be able to finish this thing.  Most important, it is frequently staffed by some of the cutest boys in the mission.  A definite sight for sore eyes.

Humphry Slocombe - I am not a sweets person.  At all.  Give me a grilled cheese sandwich over a donut any day.  That said, how could I resist an ice cream shop sporting a flavor called Jesus Juice??  It’s red wine and coca cola, and it used to be my favorite until I literally ate a quart of it in one sitting.  Secret Breakfast (cornflakes and bourbon) is now my go to, but there’s always new flavors to make you feel fat.

Walter Gomez Eats Out

Walter Gomez Eats Out

Walter Gomez

I don’t know if you’ve had the pleasure or in some cases the misfortune of meeting my son – the walking / talking Puerto Rican Parade of ONE, Walter Gomez.  Anyway, I’m sure that you will be extremely entertained by his razor-sharp tongue and fiery mouthful of sass that he spews on everyone and everything in his sight. All joking aside (although I’m not joking) he’s simply a joy. He’s patented his own little dance – arms flapping furiously, whilst turning from side to side and doesn’t normally like to wear pants. On the food front he is always a welcome guest at my table and has enjoyed many a gourmet meal here at Chez MORE! When we travel together, our priorities are to seek out new and exciting restaurants, ordering everything possible and all of the desserts.

We host a monthly party together every third Saturday of the month at the notorious SoMa bar Powerhouse called BEATPIG. It brings together the worlds of music, leather, fashion and drag.

Walter and I at BEATPIG.

Walter Gomez answers my foodie questionnaire here:

What is your favorite dessert?

I don’t think any meal is complete without dessert. In fact, I won’t assess a restaurant’s prowess until I get to the dessert. There’s very few dessert things I wouldn’t try, aside from the combination of mint and chocolate (it makes me poopy). After moving from Puerto Rico, I’ve become obsessed with trying flans whenever available. It’s such an easy dessert to make, but people in the west coast have perfected the art of fucking it up. So, a simple and smooth flan will make me a happy piglet.

Sassy face.

What restaurant would you call your home?

It would be a tie between Rocco’s Cafe and Basil Thai, both in SoMa. The pork chop sandwich (with added cheddar cheese) from the former is a must for lunch. And I’m pretty sure I’ve had the roasted duck curry from the latter roughly 49 times..

What is the strangest or most inspiring thing you’ve ever eaten?

Back home, morcillas (pig’s blood sausages) are kind of a big deal, especially over Christmas. I think they’re disgusting, and as a child, I was pressured into eating those abominations every year. As far as inspiring, I have to give props to Skool for introducing me to their uni flan; I never thought I’d enjoy sea urchin. Also, any pizza with an egg on it, because it’s fucking genius!

What was your favorite breakfast cereal as a kid?

I had surprisingly boring tastes as a kid, so Frosted Flakes or Corn Pops usually did the trick.

What is your favorite food to pig-out on after the club?

Denny’s now has a burger that has bacon, hash browns and a fried egg in it, and there’s one ‘conveniently’ located about 2 blocks from my house and open 24 hours. The heartburn you get from it the morning after is about as close to God as one can get.

Walter as a human ketchup holder for my fries.

Robert Polacek Eats Out

Robert Polacek Eats Out

Robert Polacek

My friend Roby is the Chief Creative Officer and Partner at Puccini Group. The San Francisco based design firm that specializes in creating restaurants with personality and style. You’ve probably stepped foot into one of his firms countless sophisticated, chef-tailored, noteworthy restaurants across the globe for clients such as Jumeirah, Kimpton, Fairmont and Four Seasons among others. He heads up the concept development and design side of the company. He’s promised me over a few drinks (I said a few) that I would someday be the inspiration for a boutique hotel and restaurant. Can you imagine? “I’d like to stay in Juanita’s suite and can you send up an order of  the MORE!marrow appetizer with a bottle of champagne from room service”.

Enjoying “a few drinks” in the Tenderloin.

Robert Polacek answers my foodie questionnaire here:

What is your favorite dessert?

Hands down – Goat Cheese Cheesecake! There is something about the fact that it has to be made fresh in order to serve it.  I love the tanginess of the goat cheese combined with the sweetness of the cheesecake. I think it is the perfect combination.

What restaurant would you call your home?

The  very establishment of a restaurant in general is my home, given I’m always on the road researching them for upcoming concepts and designs. But if I had to choose one in San Francisco, it would be Anchor Oyster Bar. Everything about it feels like home – the simplicity of the concept to the welcoming staff. I love that everything is fresh and local and there is a ‘feeling’ of genuineness that truly defines what a restaurant experience should be.

Roby and I. We are way overdue for a lunch date.

What is the strangest or most inspiring thing you’ve ever eaten?

Most inspiring and strangest was when I dedicated two full days (all in the name of research) to Singapore Street Food. Everything from pig intestine soup, to chicken feet, duck heart stew, you name it tired it. Long story short – every organ of every animal in two days! In Singapore, one of the most vital food cultures in the world, eating, or as the locals say, ‘makan’, is more than just food. It’s a national obsession, a passion, a way of life. Friends don’t greet each other with hello, instead they’ll say, “have you eaten?”. This philosophy struck me because I share that thinking and which is why my passion in life is creating the perfect stage for eating and enjoying  meals with friends and family.  That exploration in Singapore enlightened me to look further into the culture of eating for my inspiration to design.

What was your favorite breakfast cereal as a kid?

Growing up with divorced parents, I learned at an early age the joys of choices and never just settling for one of anything! During the week and at my mom’s I shoveled Fruity Pebbles before they got soggy and during the weekends, sans sugar and sweets, I enjoyed Honey Nut Cheerios at my dad’s house.

What is your favorite food to pig out on after the club?

Cheddar cheese, peanut butter and dill pickles. But that’s only if don’t make it to Cybelle’s pizza – I love a mushroom slice with tons of hot pepper flakes.

Roby in my apartment.

Dan Pelosi Eats Out

Dan Pelosi Eats Out

Dan Pelosi

Dan and I both consider ourselves big eaters as well as feeders. We’ll both spend hours in our kitchens creating food so that we can feed or give it away to our hungry friends. It’s an illness. And one I think both of us will never get over. We once went on a date to the Ferry Buildings Farmers Market and I got to watch Dan smell fresh summer tomatoes. It looked like he was getting high. I knew at that moment that we would be friends forever. We’ve shared a lot of meals around town – but its been the meals at my table that have proven most memorable. Dan is a great conversationalist with a whip smart sense of humor. After dinner he always offers to do the dishes – but is really in the kitchen scrapping up the bottom of the pot and eating it with a spoon.

Dan & I on a date.

Dan answers my foodie questionnaire here:

What is your favorite dessert?

Lillian’s Cherry Nut Cake. My grandmother’s best friend Lillian used to make it all the time when i was little. It’s incredible- not too sweet and the perfect texture . My mom got her hands on the recipe and would always make it for me for my birthday. I would spend the whole week following my birthday sitting in front of the fridge with a fork (or 2) eating away at it. It only got better with time. The recipe has now been passed into my hands, and when i am making a cherry nut cake, it’s always for someone special. If you ask nicely, i will share the recipe with you.

Dan’s kitchen

What restaurant would you call your home?

Anyone who knows me at all knows the answer to this question is Bar Jules. I live in Hayes Valley, and from the moment Bar Jules opened, I have been obsessed. Jessica (the owner) and her staff treat me like family. I have spent so many special occasions there. Jessica has taken all the things that make Northern California cuisine so wonderful and has simplified them into a tiny delicious menu that changes daily. Many nights i am eating dinner alone at the bar chatting with a stranger, and many mornings i wake up dreaming of their burger.

Dan & Grandpa Pelosi – the meatball maker!

What is the strangest or most inspiring thing you’ve ever eaten?

On my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary, my grandparents made my parents 30 pounds of homemade cavatelli to celebrate  (they are known to make meatballs in batches of 100, so this feat was something they were ready for.) The cavatelli lasted (frozen) for a while. On the christmas after my Grandmother died, we gathered as a family and ate the last few pounds of cavatelli that she had ever made as a tribute to her. Everyone was crying and laughing as we all told stories about her and shared one of her greatest gifts, food. Before she died, my grandmother taught me how to make her cavatelli, and now i get to pass her recipe on to the next generation.

What was your favorite breakfast cereal as a kid?

I don’t think i knew other cereals besides Lucky Charms even existed when i was a kid. The way that the marshmallows got really weird in the milk was fascinating to me. The milk would turn all kinds of cuckoo colors. And it only got better once it was all in my mouth. Also, any leftover milk was transformed into a sip-able sugary form of crystal meth.

Dan and his mom.

What is your favorite food to pig-out on after the club?

Well as of late there have been no clubs, and i am pretty much a full-time stay-at-home lesbian. So that means lots of crumbs in the sheets from Goldfish Crackers or my homemade chocolate chip cookies. In my glory days as a Booty Call Wednesday regular, though, if i wasn’t eating my own tears after the club, i was definitely eating some form of pizza from that place on 18th or chicken fingers at one of those 24 hour diner places that somehow exist despite strict health codes.

Dan Pelosi

After leaving his job in July as a designer for GAP after 5 years, he has been working as Creative Director for an experiential retail design firm. The job has had him very busy traveling, and eating, all over the country. I know the minute he lands in  San Francisco – he smells the croissants baking at Tartine – and heads straight there.

I dreamt of Ty-Lor A Boring – Top Chef Season 9 Contestant

If you are a Top Chef fan then you’ve probably guessed that I’m so on Team Tylor – so much so that I had a dream about him last night.

I dreamt that we had a cooking challenge at my grandmothers house – we had to use only ingredients that were on the property. Lucky for us the garden was always amazing. Everything she planted grew. Including an abundance of fruit trees – avocado, persimmon, grapefruit, orange, Meyer lemon, Santa Rosa plums & passion fruit. We were doing great until you decided to run off and find a pigs heart.

Go Tylor!!!

Image / Greg Endries

William August Cullen Eats Out

William and I finally got to meet just moments before this photo was taken at my Pride Party in 2009.

William and I

We had been admiring each other over the internet for quite a while. When he arrived to the party he made a bee-line to my side and since that day we have been steadily involved in a hardcore / ongoing sexting conversation that continues to outlive some of my most ravenous affairs. We are making plans to spend a romantic weekend in Pasa Robles – I want to stay at La Bellasera – he’s asking if I would settle for a one and a half star motel with partially clean linens and a  Continental breakfast.

William August Cullen

William is currently involved in hosting the new LA weekly party Rasputin: Russian Love Machine which I will be DJing at in January.

William answers my foodie questionnaire here:

What is your favorite desert?
My favorite is at Animal on Fairfax Ave in LA.  They have these AMAZING Chocolate Crunch bars with pieces of bacon sprinkled on top accompanied with a salt and pepper ice cream…If I’m poor I’ll settle for a Butterfinger.

Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar at Animal

What restaurant would you call home?
Madame Matisse in Silverlake or when I’m in NY Artichoke Pie.

What is the strangest or most inspiring thing you’ve ever eaten?
I’m pretty vanilla when it comes to food..I’ll eat ANYTHING but best not tell me what it is first.  I’ve come to love oxtail gravy especially in a poutine.  YUM.

What was your favorite breakfast cereal as a kid?
Cinnamon Toast Crunch

What is your favorite food to pig-out on after the club?
I’m such a Guido at heart…slices of pizza!

Guido at heart.

Brunch at Boulette’s Larder

Spending Sundays brunching has never been my thing. I like to eat breakfast first thing in the morning. And, when lunchtime rolls around I enjoy sitting down to a substantial meal – minus the champagne mimosa’s. Boulette’s Larder at San Francisco’s Ferry Building has changed all of that for me. Thankfully there are no mimosa’s or Bloody Mary’s on the menu. When the weather is great – sitting outside with the view of the bay can be the perfect start any Sunday. When its a bit cool – I prefer to sit at the over-sized communal table indoors. There always seems to be someone seated with some sort of “six degrees of separation” friend at one end or the other. And, the romantic floral arrangements on the table are always somehow perfectly in bloom.

Today my friend and I shared two simple plates cooked with local ingredients. She had scrambled eggs with truffle butter and fresh asparagus. The eggs were so soft and buttery. I had the chopped chicken liver salad – which was served with some delicious red beets and a perfectly cooked soft-boiled. Both plates were so satisfying. The meal was complimented by the loving attention of the owners Laurie, Amaryll and staff. They make you feel like you could spend the entire day sitting at their table.

There are other great reasons to stop into Boulette’s Larder besides brunch, lunch or a special private dinner. There is an amazing array of dry pantry items and there is a case packed with deliciously  prepared local food, ready for you to take-away, which makes planning dinner for your busy city life super easy.

The lovely man Cole to your left was our host! The perfect smile to greet us.