Khan Toke Thai House

Robin pointed out this place on Geary to me a year or so ago, and we finally made it. She said it's one of the oldest thai restaurants in the Bay Area and had been there a number of times.

All this shiny wood panelling makes me feel like I'm on a ship. Take off your shoes before you are seated at sunken tables.

Duck Larb. Tangy & redolent of spices and fish sauce. Exquisite!

If this place has fallen off in quality compared to the old days, it must have been truly amazing. I've never had a Larb like this before, probably because I've also never seen Duck as a Larb option.

Basil Rice Noodle with Squid.

Absolutely amazing--not just flavor-wise, but texture-wise. Perfect squid. The combo with the rice noodles, also cooked perfectly, just other-worldly. Tons of garlic. Nice balance of spices. 

Both of these dishes (which we shared, natch) had a One Chile rating on the menu. The old menus used to have items with up to Three Chiles. Maybe that's what people are complaining about? My experience with SE Asian and other traditionally spicy hot cuisines is folks in the Bay Area want food that's much blander than what I like. My guess is they were forced to tone it down because of this. But if anyone wants it spicier, why not make a point of asking for that when you order?

For my culinary needs, these dishes were just spicy enough, in fact, so outstandingly executed that you wouldn't want to be distracted by the skillful interplay of aroma, visual stimulation, flavors and texture.

http://khantokethai.com/

Braised Game Hen Stew

Grocery Outlet has frozen Game Hens for less than $2 each, so I got some recently, thawed them, then improvised this dish last night.

Braised Game Hen Stew

5 Shallots

2 Game Hens

Half Pound Mushrooms

9 Fingerling Potatoes

Aromatics:

5 Cloves Garlic

Zest & Juice of a Meyer Lemon

A Rough Chopped Salt-Cured Anchovy

1-2 Tablespoons of Smoked Paprika

Pinch of Saffron soaked in 1/4 cup room temp water

Splash of Wine, Port, Sherry or Madeira

Caramelize shallots in light oil, then set aside.

Drain, rinse & lightly salt the game hens. Cut in half down the spine. Brown on one side then the other in the dutch oven or pan you've used just now to brown the onions. Rough chop mushrooms, and add all at once the hens are browned. Then add the potatoes (if they seem a bit big, you can chop em in half) and everything else in the order it appears in the list above. Add the browned onions, a liberal splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, then cover dutch oven or pan, then cook in a preheated 350 F oven for 40 minutes, stirring & turning once halfway. Most of the juices will be rendered from the poultry itself. 

Serve with green leafy vegetables and perhaps a small bit of brown or wild rice. I encourage readers to add their own improvisations to this. I'm thinking olives, capers and maybe even some dried fruit would be good.

Cam Hong El Sobrante

Cam Hong expanded to El Sobrante from Oakland. Folks there don't speak English well, which is a virtue in this case, as they are serving Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine to Working Class Vietnamese here and whoever else walks in the door.

Oh yeah, and these are their incredibly exquisite Deep-Fried Quail.

Seafood noodle soup. Seafood items were Aight, but the broth was incredibly delicious and good for those of us nursing colds.

And here's their Beef Stew. Outstanding, but different flavor from Pho Ao Sen's--still plenty of spices, no turmeric though, and of course the backbone being beef on the bone. Killer.

Christmas Lights in Glen Cove, Vallejo, CA

There's a lot I don't like about Christmas, but here's a couple of things I love. How can you not like kitschy Christmas lights to such an overwhelming display? Notice on this first shot, that this house is on the line between the City of Vallejo, and the unincorporated areas around South Vallejo. 

If you're coming to the Glen Cove area of Vallejo, most likely you're coming down the 780/680 road to the strip mall nearby with a Safeway and a Yo Sushi (reviewed here recently). This is probably the brightest block in Vallejo for the next week.

Frosty! Where's Burl Ives sanging "Silver & Gold"?

Where are the Ice Capades?

Santa piglet!

No baby Jesus in the manger that I could see which leads me to believe these folks might hail from Mexico or another country that doesn't put Jesus in the manger until December 25th.

Santa!

Christmas doggies! Frances was so excited about this. Seriously. It was like having a child in the backseat, then pulling on the leash.

Santa in the hot tub!

Now here's a Texas/Mexico tradition I miss. Christmas tamales. The ones here aren't quite up to snuff. But at least this person's trying.

Chai Thai Noodles in Oakland

Had lunch here today (9/28/17), and like I say every time, I'm more and more impressed by Chai Thai Noodles, which is, without a doubt, one of the best Thai restaurants in the Bay Area, unsurpassed as far as I'm concerned, with only a few of such exalted status. This was one of the best meals of my life.

Yum Pla Muk: squid salad with onion, cilantro, ginger, chili, lemongrass. Perfectly cooked squid with a sauce that's both complex and deep, and everything at the perfect ripeness and flavor. Great start to a meal with cold elements.

Gang Panang with chicken. Red curry with fresh basil, green beans, red bell peppers, carrots. We've both been wanting some Red Curry lately, and hands-down, I've never had a better version. All the flavors of chiles, ginger, lime, fish sauce, coconut milk, and the red curry paste--this doesn't taste like a mix from box. The flavors just zinged my palate once again, and lingered. The chicken tasted like chicken, and was moist and tender. Hard to imagine a more perfect dish. Isn't this Royal Cuisine? Isn't this as exalted as the best cuisines of Europe, Asia, and everywhere else? I certainly think so.

Pad Kee Mao: wide rice stick noodles charred in spicy sauce with beef, chinese broccoli, chiles, basil, caramelized onion, & tomatoes. What a great version of this dish, and I've had some great ones from the other top Thai restaurants, this one stands out because of, once again, the intensity and power of the sauce. We order everything as Medium in terms of spicy heat level, and you definitely can taste the chiles, but they don't overwhelm the other flavors, complementing the aromatic Thai Basil, the sweetly caramelized onions, the very ripe tomato, the tender flavorful pieces of beef, and a sauce that left my tastebuds buzzing for an hour afterwards. 

For some odd reason, we hadn't been here since 2015! (Today is 8/2/17) I remembered it was good, but not this good, as excellent as any Lao food we've had, and perfect for hot summer weather. Above and below: squid salad.

Drunken Noodles with Beef, jalapeno, tomato, Chinese broccoli. Superb & intense spices! Tender beef, and noodles perfectly cooked.

Above and below: Rice Ball Salad. This was the first place I had this dish, about two years ago. Fantastic version, with super-fresh lettuce, mint & cilantro, the texture of the rice, peanuts, & fermented pork so satisfying in terms of flavor and mouth-feel with the leafy greens.

***

We returned to Chai Thai this afternoon (12/26), and got the Kao Nam Tod once again. If anything, even better than last time.

This time we also got Pork Leg Soup with fat noodles. Rich and soulful.

Tasted like rich pork shoulder spiced with five spice powder, probably some ginger and lemongrass as well.

A view of the wide noodles. 

Robin had her car at her mechanic's this afternoon, so I BARTed over and met her there, and we had an early dinner/late lunch here.

This is Kao Nam Tod, rice ball with preserved pork served with peanuts, lettuce to make wraps with, cilantro & mint. Definitely the star of the meal. Never even heard of this before, or noticed it. Quite singular, like Burmese Tea Leaf Salad or Bibimbop. Robin thinks this Rice Ball Salad might be considered a down home dish in Thailand. Sharp contrasts in terms of flavor and textures. Would be a great light summer dish.

I can't stress enough how compelling this appetizer is. The rice was cooked but slightly crunchy--nice counterpoint that way with the nuts, chiles and rice having crunch, while the pork is spongy, and the greens with a nice clean snap.

Kao Poon, a chile infused yellow curry with chicken over vermicelli. Amazing.

Five Spice infused Duck Noodle Soup with wide noodles. Loved it!

http://www.chaithainoodle.com

Newcastle Produce: A Locavore Gem

We got up pretty early this morning to attend the Wild Mushroom Exposition north of Nevada City, CA, and the closer we got, the more intense the storms were. Not a whole lot of traffic on a Sunday morning on I-80. We stopped for coffee refill & lunch items at the Sacramento Food Co-op, and by the time we were back on the road, visibility was getting sketchy. We attended this crafts fair last year, when it was in downtown Nevada City, but this year's location was up and down windy forested mountain roads. I could see raging streams cascading down below.

Then we took a really huge right turn following the banks of a pretty big looking river strewn with gigantic boulders. "Gary Snyder lives near here; that's the South Yuba River." We crossed the bridge then started up the windy, treacherous road, looking for mud slides above to my right, and well aware of the torrent further and further down below to my left. 

The path straightened, and soon, we're on the road to the event, according to the digital phone map. We find the place, we think, but now visibility is decreasing even more rapidly with the abrupt arrival of olive pit-sized hailstones and slushy snow getting cast aside by windshield wipers working overtime.

We seem to be at the right place, but there's no signs indicating where we should drive to unload. We stop at a likely-looking building with the name "Conference Center" spelled out in black letters against beige. We get out of the car and go in. The doors are unlocked. "Hello? Anybody here," our voices echoe down cavernous hallways, a moment reminding me of Scatman Crothers' entrance into the Overlook Hotel.

We drive around to some other buildings, where there's some cars, but nobody seems to be about. Finally, as we're heading back to the entrance to the complex, we see someone on the hill above us wearing a dayglo yellow raincoat. We drive up to her, and she shows us where to park. She's suggesting we embark from there down a steep hill to the Geodomes we can see some quarter of a mile in the distance. Just at this moment, Robin's friend Kathy shows up. The parking attendant says nobody else has arrived. We decided to bail. 

We returned to Nevada City, had lunch in town. After a while we decided to hit the road, somewhat relieved we didn't waste an entire day trying to sell Robin's stuff to non-existent customers.

So we both knew the area around Auburn, which is the junction between I-80 and Hwy 49 that goes to Nevada City, is a place where Satsumas grow. We kept our eyes peeled for produce stands. As we pulled into a parking lot in Auburn, I decided to ask a local for recommendations. She told us about this place, Newcastle Produce & Deli, in the town of Newcastle, just a little ways west of Auburn. 

Score! Newcastle Produce is a bit out of our way most of the time, but we sometimes head that way, and from now on, this is a mandatory stop for us when in the area, and if you're ever heading East on I-80 from Sacramento towards the Sierras & Tahoe, you owe it to yourself to stop in. These are easily the best Satsumas I've ever tasted, which are in season right now.

Pretty nice looking deli--but we were still full from lunch.

Pomegranates grown by some local dude named Jim. This is the way it used to be. The only things transported thousands of miles were valuables like spices, silk and gold. (OK, slavery, disease, war and ignorance too...)

Many wine purveyors break up their selections into countries and regions. How many do it like this: here's the wines from this tiny village, here's a nice Syrah from a hamlet.

Sauces, oils, vinegars. 

Local honey, hell yeah!

Some folks nearby grew and picked this arugula. And cured the olives below.

Why should this matter? Yesterday I ate some broccoli sprouts at the Berkeley Farmer's Market that the lady cut right before we ate them. So fresh tasting and intense, plus I'm sure the nutrition is higher. Transportation of goods over long distances is problematic for many reasons: you're getting stuff out of season, cost of fuel, environmental issues, and so on. If you eat local stuff, you're also helping your own local economy, and not funding the military machine and fossil fuels. Plus, maybe you might know Earl--much less alienating?