Grocery Outlet Reviews

The main reason many of us shop at Grocery Outlet are for the bargains, especially for goods seriously marked down because they're so close to the "Best By" date. But also, there's the kitsch factor. Here's two examples, both appropriate for celebrating the 4th of July in the 21st Century. Above: Star-Spangled Hostess Cup Cakes; below: Chinese Skippy.

Keeping up with trends. Above: Diet Oreos. Below: "Truffle Spread" with Cocoa & Palm Oil.

Grocery Outlet in San Pablo.

Last summer, Robin and I started going to Grocery Outlet, first as a joke & only ones near where we live, but soon we started going to any new ones we happened upon. Sure, they have all kinds of absurd products that grocery chains couldn't sell, discounted to move, but there's usually some really good bargains, especially the wine. Every store is slightly different, though most of the stock is roughly the same from store to store. Following are capsule reviews and select memories. I'll probably continually update this post.


Vallejo Grocery Outlet, 66 Admiral Callaghan Ln.
The second one we went to, and certainly the one we've been to the most. Solid wine selection, sometimes there's good bargains on cheeses and meats (I think this is the one where Robin found bargain Copa a few months ago for a couple of bucks). This one also has some of the best selection of non-food items I've seen at a "Gross Out" (the common nickname by locals, which is more a sarcastic exaggeration than a reality.) Usually, they're playing classic R&B from the 60s and 70s at this one, frequently interrupted by their stupid Grocery Outlet radio commercials, featuring the bimbo-voiced character "Lois Prices" (geared to please the little kids shopping with their moms, I suppose), cheerfully touting the great bargains they have ("Score!"), followed by the Grocery Outlet jingle, then back to the music. No doubt this crap drives the employees crazy, because this place has even more turnover than the flagship Whole Foods Market in Austin, Texas. I've never seen the same employee here twice, even though I've probably shopped here at least a dozen times since June. 


Novato Grocery Outlet, 1535 S. Novato Blvd.
Generally you don't find Grocery Outlets in rich neighborhoods. Thus, there's not that many in Marin County. I'm not saying this one's fancy, by any means, but it definitely has the best wine selection I've seen. Not that many of them have spirits, but this one does, and some weird ones at that.


Petaluma Grocery Outlet, 80 E. Washington St.
This is one of the only Gross Outs I can recall located in the heart of a town's historic downtown area, and it's also one of the best ones. Great wine selection, rivaling that of Novato's, and also the one with the best meat bargains, though I think that might have been a case of being in the right place at the right time (locally sourced ground lamb, frozen, seriously cheap, but great quality). I usually don't pay much attention to the produce at Gross Out because the Vallejo Farmer's Market has a combination of high quality and low prices that just can't be beat (unless someone's giving me produce they grew themselves as a gift), but I seem to recall the Petaluma store having fresher produce. Also, this is probably the only one with a scenic view, of sorts, of the Petaluma riverfront right next to it. 


Berkeley Grocery Outlet, 2001 4th St.
Most people think of Berkeley as a place with beautiful homes designed by famous architects in the hills, with beautiful trees and landscapes, costing millions of dollars. Yes, Berkeley is a demi-paradise, but it also has a rougher side to it on the West Side which is a combination of Cal student housing, Industry and West Oakland. And here, just a mile or so north of Grocery Outlet's Headquarters, is the Berkeley Gross Out, which is pretty good and pretty ghetto at the same time. On the good side: cheapest place to shop that's not a Dollar Store in Berkeley, and definitely a good wine selection. On the down side: aggressive panhandlers in the parking lot who seem to assume, erroneously, that everyone shopping here is a member of the 1%. 


San Francisco (Outer Richmond) Grocery Outlet, 6333 Geary
Located not that far from Land's End/Legion of Honor, I'm sure there's a lot of people in SF who take the #38 bus just to shop here. Probably the smallest one I've been to, the one where we found canned fresh crab for $5. The couple of times we were there the clientele was exclusively young (younger than we are) whites & Asians (otherwise, as a rule, it tends to be United Colors of Benetton). Also, I remember this one had some gawdy food containers.


Pinole Grocery Outlet, 1460 Fitzgerald Dr.
Pretty big location, gigantic parking lot in an Enormo-Strip Mall. Huge selection of Guy Fieri-brand cookware.

Pinole Grocery Outlet.

San Pablo Grocery Outlet, 2079 23rd St.
Without a doubt, the edgiest Gross Out I've been to, though I think it had something to do with the neighborhood, being close to the poorer areas of Richmond. Neighborhood and clientele dominated by Central Americanss (Salvadoreans largely), SE Asians (quite a few Cambodians), and African-American. Only one I've been into where the music was traditional up tempo tunes sung in Spanish (kind of nice, actually), and the "Lois Prices" commercials were done in Espanol, of the style you hear on Spanish-language radio. That said, pretty decent selection. Got some of the same wine I always get (for $3.99), some corn tortillas, frozen shrimp ($7/lb--decent quality), and some frozen Indian eggplant Robin likes. 


Richmond Grocery Outlet, 12010 San Pablo Ave.
The first Gross Out I ever went to, in the nice part of Richmond East of 80. Similar in many ways to the one in Vallejo: Classic R&B music, decent wine selection, odd mix of produce and remaindered package goods. Robin and I went in there as a joke, but then we were kind of fascinated by the mix. Every single one has a lot of the same kind of stuff: good prices on nuts & nut butters (one time we bought two one pound jars of Tahini, $2 each, perfectly good quality), bargains on olive oil & coconut oil, inexpensive bagged tea. There's a whole bunch of stuff we never even look at except to laugh at, because we just don't ever buy it: cookies, crackers, chips, cereal, sandwich bread, refined carbs in general. This is why we love this place: there are genuine random bargains, but then there's the sublimely ridiculous. For example: yesterday I saw a bottle of wine (can't remember the name) but the marketing was clearly aimed at Thug Culture--> it was a pair of hands (of a white man, btw) in hand cuffs. On a wine label. I guess this is some sort of tough guy thing, huh? The wine itself is probably decent, made in Graton, which is part of the Russian River wine growing region. No wonder they couldn't sell that wine--I can't imagine what grocery store would. Unless in places like Richmond & San Pablo where most of the young white men dress in hoodies.


Oakland Grocery Outlet, 2900 Broadway
I just love this one, surprisingly large wine selection. Last time I was there they had a bunch of plants and trees for sale out front, kind of unusual for this local chain (though apparently each one is independently owned). Clientele here has a penchant for gawdy clothing and hair styles, and I noticed they had clothing for sale here that matched their tastes.


Santa Rosa Grocery Outlet, 1116 4th St.
I think this was the first one where I noticed that Gross Out sometimes sells shoes and clothing. Sometimes just a couple of racks of t-shirts and bathrobes, sometimes much more elaborate. This might be a good place to make the observation that while there's amazing prices on bottles of wine, I can't say the same thing about beer. Which probably says something about the differences in the industry. Pretty much all the beers at Gross Out will be varieties that an established brewer tried out (Newcastle's "Werewolf" comes to mind) that didn't sell that well, but then the discounts aren't as deep. $1 off a six pack, for example. I did find a British Stout I'd never heard of before (and can't remember, had some Heavy Metal Band-sounding name) that was good and only about $5 for a six pack, but that didn't last long, probably because customers are more liable to take a chance on cheap beer than cheap wine.

Placerville (Amador County) Grocery Outlet, 1426 Broadway
Robin and I were visiting a family friend of hers in Amador County, an old gold mine town, SE of Sacramento in the Sierra foothills. Her friend had never been to a Gross Out before, and we pointed out this place was good for wine bargains and more. Friendly folks here.


Sacramento Grocery Outlet, 1700 Capitol Ave.
Holy cow, there's 5 Gross Outs in Sacramento? I guess that makes sense. This one was close to the State Capitol, which we were heading to that morning on the way home. We were low on dog food, and we found a bargain on that which was unbelievable. $2.79 for a five pound bag of dog food made from salmon & vegetables, and Frances just loves it. Without a doubt the tiniest Gross Out we've ever been in.


Monterey (actually in Seaside) Grocery Outlet, 1523 Fremont
This one is located inside a former Safeway, built in the late 50s/early 60s, by the looks of it. A whole bunch of non-food items. Some friendly drunk, who reminded me of Barney on The Simpsons, was following me around, sort of, talking to himself in a loud voice while he shopped, probably hoping I'd invite him over to the party I was having (he saw the bottle of $4 cab in my basket).


Pleasant Hill Grocery Outlet, 1671 Contra Costa Blvd
Located close to Concord and Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill was pretty much a plain old suburban bedroom community with practically no history (most of these towns at least had a small downtown area where the trains once stopped), so a few years ago, some city planner decided to invent one. Basically bunch of Big Box Stores plopped down and built at the same time around some very sterile looking plazas, reminding me of what happened to much of the land around Austin's old Mueller Airport. Anyway, there's one neighborhood that's more working class, and we found our people shopping here. Pretty much the same old Gross Out, but they did have one bargain which Robin found: $5 Gel Insoles of the best quality you can find, usually priced around $10-15.


Concord Grocery Outlet, 1840 Willow Pass Rd.
Tough neighborhood for a Gross Out with a 99 Ranch across the street. 85% of the Clientele were retirement age anglos. This is the one that had Cappucino-flavored Lays Potato Chips. Seems like the music here was Muzak-y.

Bay Area Restaurants 2015

There's certain truths about the culinary scene in the Bay Area. The produce, seafood and bread is outstanding, which prompts comparisons to France. Using local, seasonal ingredients only seems novel in a milieu where avocados, mangos and raspberries are available all the time. During my very first trip to San Francisco (and beyond) in 1992, I had a meal at a Thai restaurant that was amazing, at least in terms of how fresh the fish was, how bright and ripe the chilies, onions, lemongrass and cilantro were (though not "Thai Spicy").

Which highlights another salient truth about San Francisco: it is a free port town, where one can walk the streets and hear a dozen different languages spoken on any given day. The food scene here is so diverse, complex, and metropolitan. There's historical reasons why there's so many people here from many other countries, and perhaps no other immigrant group has had more of an effect on the Bay Area than the Chinese.

And there's no other restaurant that's had more of an effect on me since I returned in 2013 than China Village in Albany. Chef John Yao is working on a level I didn't know existed until I encountered his work firsthand. His Famous Five Spice Hot and Spicy Pork Shoulder (#72) is as dramatic as it gets, all five senses working overtime. And, yet, Yao is a master of subtlety. The floral notes of the Sichuan Peppercorn is exploited to full effect in many other dishes.

I've only been in the South Bay a couple of times, and the other day I found the main reason to exit the highway at Milpitas. Amid high tech office parks, there's a strip mall anchored by a 99 Ranch. This must be the role model for the MT Supermarket Chinatown Center on North Lamar in Austin, I thought to myself. On either side of the centrally-sited 99 Ranch sit dozens of Asian restaurants.

We decided on Mayflower Seafood Restaurant where you can order Chinese Wedding Food any day of the week. We had Giant Surf Clam topped with shredded sauteed scallions, a Seafood and Greens combo, and Noodles with Crab, all of which was fresh and prepared as perfectly as one can imagine. This place is gigantic, and the waiters are dressed to the nines, and yet the menu is wide ranging enough to accommodate any budget. As far as I'm concerned, this place is the only reason to ever go to the South Bay.

Everyone knows about Chinatown abutting North Beach in San Francisco, and while there's a number of great restaurants there, one might not know about restaurants in the Secret Chinatowns and other parts of the City. Notably, there's the scene on Clement Street in the Richmond District. And my two favorite places in Richmond are next door to each other: Chili House serves some of the best Szechuan cuisine I've ever had the pleasure to encounter. Fish Fillet With Flaming Chili Oil is what you wanna have for dinner: a succulent fish soup covered with dozens of red chilies. Chili House is a dinner destination; Good Luck Dim Sum is appropriate for Brunch, Lunch, Second Lunch or High Tea. Two hearty diners can get full to bursting for $8-10 here. Everything they serve is top-notch, just fill out one of the sheets with the little pencils provided to indicate how many of each you want--each order is 3 pieces. Chive Dumpling with Shrimp is a must have. They list one item which should be more accurately labelled *Mock* Shark Fin Dumpling (probably flavored Agar).

One Chinatown that's so on the down-low that many natives are barely aware of it, is the Portola neighborhood, just west of Bayview, on the other side of 101. One place on San Bruno is Hong Kong Restaurant, which serves old school homestyle Chinese fare that is so inexpensive it is rather unbelievable. They have Roast Ducks and Pork hanging in the window like so many other places (I highly recommend both), which they'll serve on white rice and some perfectly cooked vegetable side (usually cabbage, bok choy or chinese broccoli) no doubt sauteed in chicken stock made from scratch. But first, they'll bring you a giant bowl of soup. Vegetarians, don't come here. The soup is always some sort of meat on the bone with plenty of vegetables and some beans, one time the dominating flavor was Bitter Melon. I think the soup is the key here, as it is a subtle way of serving you good medicine. On one recent trip, we looked more carefully at the roasts in the windows, and I did a double take when I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "Is that...duck liver?!" I inquired. The young waitress made face of disgust briefly, and answered in the affirmative. I had that last time I was there. Exquisitely prepared, cooked to perfection & redolent of Five Spice Powder. And it was only $4. With rice, vegetable side, and soup.

San Tung, on the other hand, is no secret, as the long lines will attest. This Inner Sunset establishment on Irving specializes in cuisine from the city of its name, in Manchuria on the Korean border. They'll serve you a version of Kim Chee you might not be familiar with, and in-house made noodles that are to die for. I can't recommend a place any higher.

Old Mandarin Islamic, in Outer Sunset, is located squarely in the middle of a neighborhood that until fairly recently was entirely Irish, but now seems as diverse as any neighborhood in SF. Properly Xi'an cuisine, this place specializes in Lamb--probably the best quality red meat you can get in this region. Cumin Lamb is the thing to try--next time we go we'll have to check out their Lamb Kidneys, some of their many noodle dishes, and Stirred Flour Ball dishes.

There's so many great Korean restaurants in the Bay Area I don't know where to start. You could practically choose any place at random and not go wrong, it seems. The Temescal area of Oakland, Inner Sunset and Richmond Districts of SF have many great places. Bowl'd in Albany (there's also an Oakland location of great repute) specializes in Bibimbop. I've only had this dish a few times in my life, and as far as I'm concerned, this is the best version. They give you so many options--cold vs. hot, what protein you want, you can even choose Mixed Grain (barley, red rice, wild rice, black rice, brown rice) instead of White Rice. I recommend the Hot version with Mixed Grain. By the way, the Spicy Chili Sauce served with your meal? They aren't kidding around. I'm so used to people here playing it safe, but this is the real deal, it is seriously spicy and delicious. This is one of the best restaurants in the Bay Area.

And I can say the same for Seoul Gom Tang, located on the NW corner of Telegraph and MacArthur in Oakland. Look for the building with the blue awning, signs in Korean (no English), and a parking lot that's jam-packed. While Bowl'd specializes in Bibimbop (everything else I've had there is equally astounding), Seoul Gom Tang specializes in soups. Since this place is usually crowded, you often have to wait to get a table, and sometimes service can be relatively slow, but don't let that put you off. Highlights include Ginseng Chicken, Oxtail Soups, Shredded Beef, Seafood & Soft Tofu. I haven't had anything yet that wasn't extraordinary.

Vietnamese is another cuisine where you just about can't go wrong around here. I couldn't believe the first time I had a Bahn Mi here that utterly blew away my favorite version in Austin. Why is that? Because the quality of the meat, seafood, tofu, bread and vegetables--in other words, everything--is far superior to what you can find in Austin, Texas, unless you're talking about beef. Aside from that, there's the skill of the chef and the type of regional speciality within Vietnamese. Pho Pho Quoc Beef Noodle House in Sunset on Irving serves brilliantly-spiced Vermicelli dishes, and exquisite Pho. You might try going there before or after the normal dinner or lunch rush, as the place can get quite full.

Pho Pho Quoc Beef Noodle House's sister restaurant, PPQ Dungeness Crab on Clement in the Richmond district of SF specializes in Roast Dungeness Crab, which many point to as the best version of that locally-sourced crustacean.

If you're flying to SF from a different part of the country, you really owe it to yourself to try Dungeness while you're here.

I'd been hearing about Burmese cuisine for years, and the first place I had it was at a place that used to be in the Tenderloin, Burmese Kitchen, now moving elsewhere. However, Burma Superstar, located in several places, including Temescal in Oakland, reigns supreme. Their version of the traditional Tea Leaf Salad is something you must try to believe. Burmese Curry is a prime example of both the singularity of this cuisine, and similarities to dishes from the region of South Asia.

There's so many great Indian/Pakistani restaurants throughout the Bay Area that I'll probably need a few more years of "research" to get a handle on it. The best Pakistani place (on O'Farrell in SF) had to shut down because it got too popular (a case where a rave review in the NY Times had an undesired effect). There's some other places in SF and Berkeley that I simply haven't had time to check out yet, but here's a couple of places that I've been to multiple times that are fabulous: Shalimar in the Tenderloin, Punjabi Dhaba in Dixon, and All Spice in American Canyon. All three places make curries and sauces just like I like them: with plenty of spices that taste freshly ground and roasted, and an overall sense that you are eating something similar to a home-cooked meal. They also all take advantage of sourcing local vegetables, seafood and meat--you can find multiple goat and lamb dishes. Also, Naan that doesn't taste like it came out of a frozen package. All Spice also serves a number of Fijian entrees.

You'll notice right away I'm not mentioning many high dollar restaurants like Chez Panisse & French Laundry (which I've never been to). Those of us who are with the Broke, Not Poor set (tip of the hat to Ed Ward) find Asian takeout a viable alternative. For sushi and Japanese cuisine I recommend Nijiya Market (Japantown, Mountain View & elsewhere) & Tokyo Fish Market, on San Pablo near Gilman in Berkeley; Koreana Plaza, in Oakland on Telegraph, is a great place to get squid, fish cakes, noodles and other Korean delicacies for cheap; Russian Deli Eliseevski (Inner Richmond) has a nice selection of smoked fish, sausages, and fresh breads; 99 Ranch (multiple locations) is an Asian grocery store with great prices, but their in-store restaurant has a deal that can't be beat. Get the two meat plate (we usually get Chinese BBQ Duck and Roast Pork), which comes with a huge pile of rice and side vegetable (usually chinese broccoli or bok choy) for less than $10. That's enough food to feed two very hungry people with healthy appetites.

Messob Ethiopian in the Piedmont neighborhood of Oakland is one of many fine Ethiopian restaurants in the East Bay and elsewhere, though this one seriously stands out. Quite comparable to the Indian Curry places, the fare here is heavily spiced, and the produce and meat is succulent, ripe and fresh. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming.

I could probably spend five years eating pizza and other Italian-American cuisine throughout the Bay Area and still barely scratch the surface. One thing for sure: there's plenty of top-notch pizza places. A couple of folks I know who are from NYC, or lived there for years, tell me that Napoli's here in Vallejo is as good as any place back home, and I've also had many great slices in North Beach. But forget about pizza, here's one place that is utterly amazing: Genoa Deli in the Temescal area of Oakland. Every time I've been there, there's at least 30-40 people with numbers in front of me. Genoa is an old-school kind of place, with fresh ravioli, lasagna, soups and other items on the steam table, with a huge deli full of top quality Salumi, Cheeses, and Salads, and freshly baked breads on the counter behind. I guarantee you've never had a better Italian-American style sandwich.

There's brewpubs and gastropubs galore around here, but the one with the best food that I've happened upon is Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley on Gilman. They have a huge selection of beers, and a great looking menu, but there's only one item you need to know about: their Wagyu beef burgers. Gotta say, it takes a lot to impress me with a hamburger, but the beef is such high quality, and every aspect--the bread, the sauces, the veggies--is perfect. The atmosphere is a bit on the sports and bro-ish side, but not overwhelmingly so (after all, this is Berkeley).

Bakeries? I'm not eating that many refined carbs these days, and I made pastries for years, so I'm a little jaded. La Farine (East Bay locations) is a great overall bakery, known for their cakes and tarts. Everything I've tried at the Cheese Board (a Collective including Ariz Mendi in various locations in the Bay Area) is superb, but I've never had anything like their Corn Cherry Muffins & Foccacias. The Berkeley Shattuck location often has a line down the block, by the way.

Stella Pastry & Cafe in North Beach is arguably the best place to get an authentic Cannoli around here, but we like to go for the lobster-tail shaped Sfogliatelli. If you are going wine-tasting in Napa County, stop in at Bouchon Bakery in Yountville in the morning first for a croissant that tastes exactly like that one you ate in Paris all those years ago. If you're on your way to wine-tasting in the Russian River area of Sonoma, it is worth your while to stop in at Wild Flour Bakery in Freestone, at the southern end of the Bohemian Highway; everything I've had there is fabulous, but I particularly like their Goat Cheese Flats, which uses goat cheese that's probably hyper-local, possibly made by the hippie lady at the Farmer's Market in Occidental.

Speaking of wine-tasting, I recommend Sonoma County rather than Napa for many reasons. Sonoma (especially away from the whole Santa Rosa/Windsor 101 corridor) is much less corporate, they usually don't charge for the tasting, plus you've got more redwoods, the ocean, and more wilderness. Additionally, there's some world-class restaurants using local, seasonal ingredients. Bistro Des Copains in Occidental is French/American Contemporary, with roots in French peasant cuisine (rabbit, duck, escargot). River's End in Jenner, site of the dramatic terminus of the Russian River, emphasizes seafood, steaks, and wine matching. Terrapin Creek in Bodega Bay features a menu that is continually changing, and is the epitome of the local & seasonal restaurant. The seafood is as fresh as can be. I had the Hamachi Crudo, perfectly presented with parsley, radish, lemon, olive oil, & horseradish. The chefs are as skilled as any of the best whose magic I've had the pleasure to behold. The service was spot on--welcoming, professional, helpful without hovering, and a look in the eye that told me they were happy and delighted in the fact that I was happy dining there. This sort of integrity and sincerity is something money can't buy. Later on, I found out that two of our servers were none other than the owners of Terrapin Creek, down there in the trenches with their workers and customers, setting a tone that was unmistakably joyful, a deft soft touch, and radiant.

Finally, one last jewel of a restaurant: Passionfish in Pacific Grove. There's quite a few notable restaurants on the Monterey peninsula, but this one came highly recommended for their sustainably caught seafood, slow cooked meats, organic locally-sourced vegetables, and very reasonably-priced wine list. First we shared the Dungeness Crab & Avocado Salad with spicy ginger vinaigrette.

Here's the albacore tuna & bacon-wilted greens after our eyes were no longer rolled into the back of their sockets in ecstasy.













We also indulged in a serving of the spoonable 12 hour lamb breast served with a Meyer lemon tajine.

Occidental 2015

Freestone, from the parking lot of Wildflower Bakery.

Shots from the CYO camp where the mushroom camp was being held

Cooking demo.

Every time I travel down Hwy 116 from 101 through Cotati, Sebastopol, and then onto Bodega Hwy, turn right on Bohemian Hwy to Occidental, I feel nostalgia for what was once my hometown. For someone with no roots at all, this can be a little odd, like feeling nostalgic about a Valero gas station only because it's on the way to Occidental. But the natural beauty of the place is undeniable, and I have old friends who live here, and remember others who have passed away or moved away. When I rode down that stretch of Hwy for the first time in 8 years back in 2013, I realized at that moment how I had spent my years back in Texas thinking about this wonderful, beautiful place.

Basic shot of Bohemian Hwy, or "Downtown" Occidental. One of those buildings on the right, the Union Hotel, really was a bohemian hotel, and there was a notorious madam running working girls out of those rooms during the days when logging was king and there were railroad tracks instead of asphalt. I remember the day the patrician of Occidental's oldest Italian family died, and how his funeral was a huge deal. Heard someone say he was the last person alive who remembered when the trains still ran. 

Barley & Hops. When I lived in Occidental, this place was Pignoli's. Got offered a job there and turned it down, sort of. Which was one pivotal thing that didn't happen which would have radically changed my life, i.e. I would probably have never moved back to Austin. But then again, the bad times I experienced in Austin in 2006-2013 made me a much stronger person as I learned how to better handle tough times. I am a very different person now. That said, there were some good things which happened with the path I did take. For example, would I have ever met Robin?

Big Sur Health Clinic Fundraiser @ Ventana

The Big Sur Foragers Festival was holding a fundraiser at Ventana for the Big Sur Health Clinic. Most of the participating chefs and vendors were from the area, the rest of us mostly from a bit further north in the Bay Area. When we first arrived I mistook the intense vibe for stuffiness. It turned out people were just wanting to show off their best work, and pretty soon, everyone was so relaxed.

The chef from Esalen won top prize for Best Vegetarian dish.

Best Overall Dish, prepared by the chefs at MonTrio in Monterey, Foie Gras & Bacon over Mushroom Pastry with Candy Cap & Pine Needle Liquor reduction.

Brother Lost Soul

There were oaks and elms, apple and pear trees lining the great grassy expanse, and on one side of the entrance to the thicket grew an abundance of holly. I hid my head with my arms against the oak tree and counted to one hundred. In early springtime, the air was still redolent with smoke from many chimneys. We knew where to find berries growing wild. Lofting in straight green lines were shoots of wild onion on the forest's floor. Throughout the thicket I looked: around hedges, into the greenhouse overgrown with weeds, over by the tulip beds, near where we found a robin's nest with light blue eggs, over beyond the ditches where a porcupine was spotted.

Where did you go? Where did you hide?

You ate all the oranges, peels and all. We heard you screaming, crying from the backyard where you had fallen asleep on an ant pile. It was your idea for us to pretend to be the Three Little Pigs, and for daddy to play the Big Bad Wolf. From then on, that's what we called him. Wolf. He sometimes called you Kal Bee, with an unmistakeable tone of affection. Keller Baby. We furtively made fun of Wolf's cursing and fussing in the mornings. We watched Lost In Space on BBC2 at the hotel near the Marble Arch, where Mama Cass later "choked to death on a ham sandwich." We wandered through woods and playgrounds, found a dead pigeon in El Paso, discovered a dead hedge-hog in Beaconsfield, climbed all around a downed helicopter in Russelsheim, then you climbed through the jungle bracken of Jacksonville.

Where did you go? Where did you hide?

"I bead! I feast," we'd constantly utter on the autobahn, conducting an imaginary auction, bidding on Porsches & Mercedes, speeding past us in the fast lane, feasting our eyes on the occasional Lamborghini, taut leather racing gloves gripping the wheel. From the El Paso desert, to wet sylvan meadows in England then Germany, to Florida's gator-infest bayous, and finally to the suburban wastelands of the Metroplex, you were my shadow.

Concrete, cookie-cutter homes, water towers, the mall. There was nothing to do in Richardson. Even the public library was closed on Sundays. Once Richardson's "charms" quickly evaporated, I devoured books, discovered music and ran my own small businesses. Looking back, I have no idea what you did with your time, how did you deal with your boredom?

Where did you go? Where did you hide?

You adopted
Wolf's stare, starless blank Da'ath
I seen 'em both
Not so many photos of yours
Your empath's cloak
Distracted from your selfishness
Were you holding?
Didn't mean to bring your buzz down
Gritting blue vein
Angrily declining treatment
Hunger disease
Taaka, Jager, Bud Light, Jim Beam
There's not enough
In the world to quench that thirst
Your friend told me:
You fell, face bones broke on pavement
Lit cigarette
Torched the vodka-ridden carpet
Drank eight quick shots
Pissed yourself, stank to high heaven
Brother Lost Soul
Where did you go? Where did you hide?

 Keller on the far left, holding his teddy bear.

That's Keller on the right.

Berkeley Art Museum: Final Day

Someone I read in the San Francisco Chronicle referred to this as Brutalist architecture. Later I learned that it was UC Berkeley's acquisition of a number of Hofmann paintings that led to the building of this museum. It was later found to be unsound structurally, too susceptible to earthquake damage. They're almost finished building a new one not too far away.