Gather... dare I say it, more enticing than Chez Panisse?

Compelling argument, no?  I guess I don't have hard data to back up my argument, but we walked around the Gourmet Ghetto with friends today and stopped to look at Chez Panisse's menu.  It was ridiculously expensive, especially compared to Gather, and while the food looked enticing, Gather had a similar locally-oriented, farm-to-table ambiance with a much more reasonable cost.  This pork belly sandwich with arugula was great, although I missed the normal accompaniment of cabbage (today it was replaced with onions and peppers).  The arugula side salad was perfect with the salty hearty sandwich, though.  So well composed.

Noyeaux? Oh, yes!

What is Noyeaux, you ask?  Don't worry, I had to ask too... it is the kernel of the apricot pit, which has a nutty almond like flavor.  This orange flavored ice cream had bits of noyeaux and crunchy burnt sugar (hence, the name créme brulée).  While the Earl Grey flavor still eludes me, apparently if you call Ici and press 2 you can hear their daily menu.  Or I could just keep playing the ice cream lottery and have lots of fun trying.

Panchan party...

Beautimous, is it not?  After our midterm massacre a few of my 한국어 배우는 학생드이 (Korean learnin' compadres) went to the lovely Sura (수라) in Oakland.  The meal was a bright spot after the test, in addition to mention the weird racial tension that hangs over the city like a specter.

Does the bright purple color of the cabbage come through in the photo?  It tasted even better than it looks.  Right underneath was the silkiest 알찜 (aljim) ever, a custard-like egg concoction with the most amazing texture.  Another favorite was included in the panchan, the first item in the middle row -- 무킴치 (moo kimchi), a fiery hot pickled and slightly fermented radish.  Sura was the first Korean restaurant I have ever been to that did not oversalt the food.   Everything was light, fresh, healthy tasting, and delicious, although my potato soup had a flavor I am unaccustomed to: perilla leaves, which I like by themselves in soy sauce, but was not as crazy about in a soup. 

I had a fascinating conversation with a friend today regarding (the resistance to) vegetarianism in Korea.  Sura could be a place in which you would be able to get the closest; while many other Asian cuisines have been more readily translated to accommodate vegetarians (and even vegans, re: Burma Superstar), Korean food remains particularly resistant.  Seafood and beef in particular are national sources of pride in Korea, and to not eat them may seem almost, well, un-Korean?  For all I know there is a burgeoning vegetarian movement in the bustling city of Seoul, but in America, the Korean restaurants have had a continued focus on bulgogi and kalbi as the stars of the cuisine's show, and fish or shrimp in various forms manage to sneak their way into almost every little panchan dish.  Sura seemed to offer a few vegetarian options, more than I have seen at other Korean places, but it is a far cry from the variety you can get at say, Burma Superstar or a million Thai restaurants.

Is it because Burmese or Thai food are more adaptable inherently?  I don't actually think so.  I think that you could create amazing Korean vegetarian food, especially with the use of interesting vegetables and frequent pickling.  I haven't jumped on the vegetarian boat yet though I try to ration my meat consumption for sustainability reasons, but I feel about vegetarianism the way I feel about shopping... it's more fun when you can go shopping with your friends, regardless of what size each of you are, and feels awful when you can't spend time in the same store or department because your size isn't offered.  Similarly, it feels pretty crappy when your friends don't have vegetarian options on the menu to choose from.  As yummy as tofu can be, that shouldn't be the only vegetarian option available. 

Bring on the unusual...

Poor neglected blog.  I still love you, even though I have been ignoring you for awhile, in the meantime eating up a storm with friends.  I think I forget to take photos when I see the food and just dig in, not remembering to snap one until it is too late.  A very memorable 4th of July weekend was spent at a return trip to Burma Superstar (with more vegan friends), the Counter in Palo Alto (their veggie burger is actually vegan, must try to replicate this at home!), a take-out trip to the famous Falafel's Drive-in in San Jose (where we ran into Mr. & Mrs. Cupcake of all people), and then a lovely afternoon drinking vino and lying in the grass at a beautiful winery in Livermore.

What I do have pictures of are some of the more unusual things I've tried lately.  S & I went to the Berkeley Farmers' Market and saw these:

Fresh chickpeas!  Neat, huh!  They are fascinating looking, individually wrapped by nature, each delicate pod housing one green, sweet, nutty chickpea.  They tasted a bit like peas, actually, and would be wonderful in a salad; although, as my in-laws have taught me to say, this would entail a lot of patschke-ing around.  And since my summer kitchen facilities are less than optimal and my available time to cook short, I resisted purchasing them.

Another unusual item I tried (actually for the second time) is 팓빙수, patbingsu.

Yes it was as big as it looks in the photo.  This is what you call a delicious abomination.  It shouldn't be good but it is: shaved ice milk slathered in artificial strawberry syrup, topped with kiwis, strawberries, canned pineapple, banana small bits of mochi, chocolate syrup, vanilla syrup, sweet red beans, and ice cream.  There's a cute Korean sandwich shop/cafe near my building that also sells patbingsu.  It wasn't as good as the first one I tried in the South Bay, but it was pretty good and lots of fun to eat a mishmash of tastes that shouldn't go together, but do.