My friend Kayoko and her partner Yoko launched a couple of years ago Umami Mart, a foodie-oriented store focusing on Japanese products and other fine barware, glassware and kitchen gadgets. I finally stopped by their downtown Oakland shop this weekend and was very pleased with what I saw. Inside the shop, they have a carefully…
Category: Food and Drink
Beyond Buffets: Less is More
Here's a picture of a typical buffet spread at my family's gatherings. For most of my life, I've loved a good buffet meal. The idea of endless choices of dishes and heaping plates of food has been a fantasy of mine. A lot of this comes from my family, who throw lavish potluck meals…
Gordon Webster: Swing Bandleader, Supreme Coffee Geek
Of all the things I expected to be doing last night, making espresso shots at 2am with one of the most popular lindy hop bandleaders in the country was not what I anticipated. Gordon Webster is a much celebrated swing bandleader based in New Jersey who travels the world sharing his unique take on swing…
The Gatsby Summer Afternoon: Visiting a World without Plastic
The Gatsby Summer Afternoon is a lavish 1920s era lawn party put on by the Art Deco Society of California. Hundreds of vintage hounds gathered yesterday on the lawn of the elegant Dunmuir estate in Oakland to be transported briefly into another time, bathed in warm sunshine and fresh air. I've been to "prohibition-era"…
Q Ginger: My New Favorite Ginger Beverage
I have a six pack of Reeds ginger beer sitting untouched in my fridge. It's a decent beverage, but I can't drink it anymore after having "Q Ginger," billed as "a superior ginger ale." That reads to me like up-sell marketing, but in fact I have to agree. It's the best ginger beverage I've ever…
Atamon Danish Preservative & Chinese Stereotypes (redux)
About a year ago, I posted about this strange product I saw in a Swedish super market called "Atamon." The store clerk had no idea what it was, and so I turned to the internets. Apparently "Atamon" is a Danish product that is used in jellies and pickles to preserve the freshness of the food…
The Joys and Pitfalls of Sobriety in a Drinking Culture
Here's my sister and her boyfriend drinking shots at Mua in Oakland, with the third shot meant for me sitting on the table untouched. We are all celebrating our respective birthdays. I haven't had a full glass of any kind of alcohol for many, many years. I wish I could say it's because of my…
Concession Stand with a Pig Cooking a Corndog
Yesterday I went to the reliably hokey Alameda County Fair in my hometown of Pleasanton, California. There is always a lot of fun and odd signage there. My favorite this year was a concession stand that featured a picture of a pig cooking a corn dog. As a friend pointed out, the pig could…
Turntable Cake by My Cousin Raf
Check out this hella dope cake created by my cousin Rafael Martin. The occasion was the opening of the offices of Verducci Entertainment in Berkeley, whose working spaces Raf also did the interior design for. Verducci specializes in providing DJs for all sorts of private and public affairs, so the turntable cake was the perfect…
Taste Test: Tteokbokki Snack from Seoul 7-Eleven
Tteokbokki is one of the most popular street snacks in Seoul, often being vended by older women in street carts everywhere you go, particularly late at night. Tteokbokki is essentially little cylindrical rice cakes that are cooked in a spicy red sauce, and served on plates with toothpicks for about $2-3. I don't really care…