To Go a Notch Above at American Eatery

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

When was the last time your “to go” food contained watercress, rapini, nettles, and other fashionable greens associated with fine dining?
The American Eatery, open less than two weeks ago in the Ferry Building in San Francisco, packs its elegant takeout containers with gourmet staples like Waldorf Salad and Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb at wonderfully reasonable prices.
An offspring of the Prather Ranch Meat Co., the American Eatery is understandably meat-centered.
However, Executive Chef Erica Holland-Toll creates enough vegetarian dishes and adds enough leeks, sprouts, and house-pickled onions to her beefy sandwiches and porky sausages to satisfy the most discriminating tastes.

Winter chills are easily dispelled by hot soups, stews, and chili from her lunch-dinner menu. Braised Beef & Barley Soup with Mushrooms and Sage is light, aromatic, and very satisfactory.

Slow Cooked Pork Stew with Pumpkin, Leeks, & Nettles – a definite winner – is richly flavorful and more substantial an option for a freezing afternoon by the Bay.

Among the cold sandwiches, Rare Roast Beef is a stand-out, spiced up with onion sprouts, pickled red onions, and caper sauce.

Munich Style White Bockwurst takes applause (and usually sells out first) in the sausage category. Mustard sauce and sauerkraut balance it out nicely, especially with a side of Hand-Cut Crispy French Fries.

The American Eatery is the only dining establishment in San Francisco to serve intriguingly flavored Boylan’s gourmet sodas from a fountain.

On the day I stopped by the counter, decorated with locally produced Heath tiles, reclaimed wood from the 1880s barn, and “diamond point” barbed wire from the original Prather Ranch, I ran into Keith J. Morris, the architect of the American Eatery, who also stopped by with some friends and a bunch of kids to pick up Chef Erica’s goodies after skating on the Embarcadero Holiday Rink.
According to the General Manager Harlan Joseph, the takeout restaurant will soon add prepackaged dinners to its menu so the worker bees running to the ferry terminals would be able to pick up a healthy evening meal literally on the go.
Currently, the American Eatery provides breakfast, lunch and dinner to go – Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The American Eatery is located at 1 Ferry Building, shop #33, in San Francisco. Call (415) 391-0420 or visit www.AmericanEaterySF.com.

Tavola Italian Kitchen Brings Whole Pig to Novato

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

Working with local and sustainable produce and meats, and using the whole animal are some of the principles of Tavola Italian Kitchen – a newcomer on the Novato dining scene, located in the Hamilton Marketplace.
A pleasantly-dark and round dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows, exposed stone interior detailing, dark wood tables, and intimate lighting has a communal table, a semi-private enclosure with cozy banquettes, and a bar-type seating overlooking the open kitchen.

A duet of creative chefs Rob Hurd and Ryan Favini, always on premises, work here side by side, hand-rolling fresh pasta, grinding meat, and operating a wood-burning oven of enormous temperature from where some unusual pizza pies emerge seemingly every minute.

The menu at Tavola is short and sweet. Diverse antipasti include a plate (or rather a slate) of creamy di Stefano burrata with house-made tomato and honey jam, and crostini.

Herb and Ricotta Meatballs are made with veal, pork, beef, ricotta cheese, and are wonderfully jazzed up with spicy Calabrian chili.

Enticing ingredient combinations are typical for Tavola pizzas. On the night we dined, Anatra was absolutely divine with smoky chunks of duck leg confit, earthy Jerusalem artichokes, gooey Fontina cheese, and seared castelfranco radicchio – an heirloom Italian lettuce.

Some good Secondi include Wild Boar Sugo with wide flat ribbons of maltagliati and diced butternut squash, and Pork Milanese over cannellini and quartered Brussels sprouts, topped with a heap of mustardy arugula cutting through the richness of the breaded meat.

For dessert, an absolute must is a slender slice of a decadent chocolate tart with large crystals of sea salt on top and olive oil sprinkled around.

The wine list at Tavola is all-Italian, and therefore, splendid.
Chardonnay and Barbera d’Alba from Piedmont region are good choices for most of the dishes on the menu.
Tavola Italian Kitchen is located at 5800 Nave Drive in Novato, California. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Call for reservations (415) 883-6686 or visit: www.tavolaitaliankitchen.com.

Skool in Winter

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

Why go to Skool on winter break? To share a couple of soul-warming cocktails, get some fresh “nightly fish” skillfully seared, grilled, or sauteed by Chef Toshihiro Nagano, and just chill out in the coolest little place in Potrero Hill neighborhood with tasteful décor, warm friendly atmosphere, and attentive service.

This kind of Skool is not to be missed day in or day out.
The new winter menu features more amazing dishes inspired by the traditional Japanese cuisine – healthy, satisfying, and positively umami with all the miso and soy sauces, eryngii and shimeji mushrooms, and house-made dashi.

A definite star on the menu is warm Rock Shrimp Salad with fresh arugula and tiny exotic mushrooms bathed in the most delicate citrus seaweed vinaigrette.

Uni Flan remains the signature dish of Skool, baked overnight, served in a glass jar, and topped with raw sea urchin and miso-marinated salmon roe. It comes with dainty toasts, just like foie gras, only with less fat, more omega-3s, and better coloring.

Sauteed Seabass, succulent and golden-brown, finds great company in charred baby bok choy and nasu dengaku – flash-fried eggplant, marinated in miso and baked the way its skin forms a little dish filled with its tender flesh. I love eggplant, eat it everywhere I can find it, and often cook it myself, but Skool’s nasu dengaku gotta be the king of all eggplant preparations.

The only, or rather the one and only meat dish on the menu of this seafood-oriented restaurant is Schezuan Lamb – probably the best lamb you’ve ever tried. Tender medium-rare Sonoma lamb chops are served with a side of polenta-and-parmesan cake, and ratatouille creating a winning combination of winter hits.

Skool’s comprehensive wine list features some wonderful California wines, among them Alternative Reds, like Pinot Meunier from Domaine Chandon in Carneros, and Alternative Whites, like “Fatto a Mano” Tocai Friulano from Mendocino.

As always, pastry chef Hiroko Nagano comes up with more creative takes on dessert classics. Not to be missed is Blue Cheese Cake made with Point Reyes blue, and surrounded with chardonnay-pouched pear, almonds, and honeycomb on a gorgeous matte ceramic plate.

Marchese Antinori vinsanto from Tuscany, and Robert Mondavi moscato from Napa Valley are the best tasting and the best looking dessert wines – especially upon the Skool’s walnut designer table.

A dynamic duo of husband-and-wife team Olia Kedik and Andy Mirabell are at the helm of the establishment, greeting customers, taking orders, and making sure everyone is well taken care of, in other words, creating that special ambiance that makes people run to Skool on winter break.
Skool Restaurant and Bar is located at 1725 Alameda Street in San Francisco, and is open nightly for dinner, for lunch Monday through Friday, and for brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Call for reservations: (415) 255 8800, or visit: www.skoolsf.com.

Christmas Table Centerpiece: Breaded Ham from A. G. Ferrari

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

Unlike any other holiday ham, A. G. Ferrari’s Prosciutto Cotto in Crosta comes breaded in artisanal dough that forms a golden-brown crisp crust lined with pork juices.
The traditional celebratory dish from northern Italy is a ready-to-eat boneless smoked ham rubbed with honey and then baked in dough.
The meat is fresh, tender, and mildly seasoned, and the crust is so decadent, you’ll have to make sure you divide it between all your guests fairly.
There is some work to be done by the home chef – to heat the 3.5 lbs. ham, place it in the 300-degree oven, uncovered in a baking pan, and watch for the coloring of the dough. If it gets too dark, cover with foil. It takes from 2 to 3 hours to heat the ham through and let it rest before carving.
To carve, cut through the breaded ham in the middle and set aside one half until needed so it would retain its temperature. Break off the baked bread shell and slice the ham.

It requires very little garnish. Fresh bell peppers, tomatoes, and canned sweet peas, or green salad with arugula would do splendidly.
This is by far the easiest way to serve a main course at a holiday party.
Named after Annibale Giovanni Ferrari, born in 1898 in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, who founded a specialty food store in the San Francisco Bay Area, the A.G. Ferrari, now more than 90 years in existence, is well-known for its authentic Italian products. They range from olive oils and balsamic vinegars to pastas, sauces, and smoked meats selected from 20 different culinary regions of Italy.
To order your holiday ham and other delicacies, call 1-877-878-2783 or visit: www.agferrari.com.

How to Throw Food and Wine Orgy at Jeriko Estate in Mendocino

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

It’s simple, really. All you have to do is win a prize and share it with friends who know how to operate a pizza oven, cook perfect pork with salsa verde, and make breakfast mimosas. As long as all are in agreement on what food and wine is going to be consumed first and what next, your orgy is “bound” to be a success.

So, the backstory goes as follows: I don’t usually participate in contests and win prizes, but when I do I win big. By taking part in one of the Jetset Extra contests, I won a two-night stay at the Jeriko Villa, a part of the family-owned boutique organic winery on California Highway 101.
Jeriko Estate produces pinot noir, chardonnay, syrah, merlot, sauvignon blanc, and sangiovese since 1997, is surrounded by 180 acres of vineyards, and has a rustic-looking tasting room with plenty to see and taste.

I quickly compiled a list of friends based on their presumed compatibility [and it worked!]. Teresa, Jason, and baby Cassandra Rose – check, Jean – check, Patty – check, Wilson – check, Alex and Jason – check, and Yuri and moi. The date was set for a weekend of Indian Summer, and the weather was California-balmy.
We arrived at the gate when the sun was still high, and had a chance to explore the historic colonial house built in 1898 by Judge J. H. Sturtevant from San Francisco, and nestled among oak groves and rolling hills.

Current proprietor Daniel Fetzer remodeled and extended the house into a 7000 square-foot Mediterranean-style villa with an outdoor pool, balconies with panoramic views, and a circular drive with a green lawn and palm trees in front of the building.
There are six spacious guest rooms at the villa, named after wines, a living room with a fireplace, a library, and a pool table, and a gourmet kitchen with wood-burning oven.

Alex and her Jason took it upon themselves to make the fire burn, and it did. Then each of us attempted to create a special-recipe pizza with ready-made dough and random ingredients.

Wilson, a thorough home chef, who apparently studied the subject before slapping tomato sauce on the dough, came up with the best pizza that evening, and explained his success by using just a little sauce so the crust wouldn’t get soggy. Who knew?

In the pizza posing competition, Teresa and baby Cassandra Rose were named the hardest working couple by the oven.

There were many great things to be said at the table that night, many great laughs to be shared, and more than necessary slices of pizza to be gobbled up.

Next morning, the girls were having a mimosa glamour shot before breakfast, while the men were working in the kitchen and tending to the baby – voluntarily, of course.

Yuri’s famous chanterelle omelet with forest-gathered mushrooms was complemented by Patty’s blueberry cornbread, Jean’s fresh fruit plate, and Alex’s brandy and vanilla bread pudding. Come to think of it, the girls were still slaving in the kitchen – oh well.

Breakfast over, the mother-and-daughter dynamic duo were putting on their stylish shades for a walk in the vineyards, and we all felt that we needed plenty of exercise to make up for all the carbs and proteins we washed down with char and pinot the night before and the morning after…

Alex was playing the Spirit of the Grapes first, and then offered a glass of red to a herd of resident goats living on premises.
As a city girl, she probably didn’t know better, but what about that goat getting all excited over her offer?

We had to retreat to the villa and show her an old well where some people could be dipped for behaving badly.

Relaxing by the pool, our jolly group was photographed by Wilson, who did a great job despite having a wine glass constantly glued to his hand.
Alex’s ikebana graced our dinner table, crowded with collectively grilled chicken, zucchini and peppers, freshly-made salads, and pickles from a jar.

We opened several bottles of Jeriko wines, courtesy of our gracious host, Mr. Danny Fetzer, and went on and on discussing their impeccable qualities.
Everyone slept like a baby that night, besides the real baby Cassandra, who made her mommy and daddy jump a little – apparently, she reserved all her good behavior for the company. From the company standpoint, it would be hard to imagine a more sociable, happy, and polite baby. (There is nothing like a well-behaved little human who knows how important it is to look good in public).
Next morning, her mommy made a huge breakfast of her family recipe pork with salsa verde to set us off for the day of traveling back to our respective dwellings.
So long, Jeriko Villa! You will be always associated with good time in our collective memory.
To reserve your own stay or event at the Villa, a wine tasting and a tour, call 707-744-1140 or visit: www.jeriko.us.

Goth Talk with Saturno Butto

By Alex Krasov, guest reviewer
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, admirers of Saturno Butto’s show at the Mishin Fine Arts gallery in San Francisco might want to get checked for astigmatism. Anyone with proper prescriptive lenses will see that Mr. Butto tries very hard. Tries so hard, in fact, to be dark, shocking, and above all, interesting, that the viewer is left wincing with boredom. Butto’s world is a sort of anti-Renaissance: whorish Madonnas, devils dominating angels, and all manners of naked and semi-naked bodies in bondage. But rather than disturb, his assorted S&M practitioners illuminated by a garish red Thomas Kincaid-style light call to mind the adolescent fantasies of small-town Goths. The faces of Butto’s beastly beauties are uniformly trite – the painted equivalent of so many airbrushed 80s Maybelline cosmetic ads: full lips, thinned eyebrows, pert noses. It’s hard to tell if Butto is trying to evoke innocent sluts or slutty innocents, but after viewing a few of these paintings one would be hard-pressed to care. Despite his dark and sexual subject matter, Butto somehow fails to reveal even a glimpse of the darker side of human sexuality – but he does succeed in making banalities of ball gags, bound breasts, and whipped behinds.One work, perhaps the most honest piece in the exhibit, depicts an obese, shirtless man, leaning forward in a convalescent chair like a Hawaiian king. More gross than grotesque, he is hooked up to an IV and wears black leather devil horns on his bald dome. He grins and gazes off to the side. The work reads true because you can readily picture a man like this buying a Butto – hell, even calling it “beautiful.”

Imagine a Bunga Bunga party thrown by Silvio Berlusconi, with a guest list that includes Herman Cain and the greasy proprietor of an off-the-strip Vegas titty bar, and you start to see who makes up Butto’s fan base. Actually, Berlusconi probably has better taste than to adorn his walls with a Butto.
The piece de résistance of the exhibit is a portrait of a nude woman, reclining on a bed and propped up on her elbows. With legs spreading, she directs a look of nonchalant relief down towards a gravity-defying stream of [real] rhinestones that project from the vicinity of her vagina. Is Butto celebrating female ejaculation or testing out his new Bedazzler? No matter; the effect is dull.
Mr. Butto tries hard to shock his viewer. I’m afraid he only gets a yawn.
Mishin Fine Arts is located at 445 Sutter St., San Francisco. Call for information: 415-391-6100 or visit www.mishingallery.com.
Images courtesy Mishin Fine Arts.

Incline Gallery – Mature One-Year-Old

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri KrasovIncline Gallery is a new (only one year in existence) contemporary art venue presenting the work of a number of artists from San Francisco and the Bay Area.Located in the former mortuary (1914-1979), with a sharp-angle gurney ramp ascending the narrow space of the three-level building to the former embalming room, the gallery uses its natural incline for the enticing wall displays of new and fresh artwork coming from the local talent.Founded and curated by Christo Oropeza and Brian Perrin, Incline Gallery is a result of the collaboration between Paxton Gate and the San Pancho Art Collective, and provides support for emerging artists through a range of services, discounted art materials, and ever-changing exhibition displays.On the day of the well-attended one-year anniversary celebration, Tim Svenonius just finished his site-specific pen-and-ink wall piece depicting a procession of hooded figures heading for a ritualistic structure with a smoking coal bowl at the top, titled Reason Laid in Stony Sleep.A couple of interesting works by Howie Katz was mounted on the walls in different corners. One – a copper and glass piece, The Treachery of the Treachery of Images, another – an acrylic Ghost Quidji Board.Charcoal on paper figures in various stages of abstraction by Rosarie McHugh shared a segment of the ramp with Lucky Mummy and other gouache and color pencil works by Katie Bacigalupi.At the bottom of the ramp there was an eye-catching serene acrylic painting by Michael Pickard, The Field.There were many more paintings by a diverse group of artists, with their various subject matter, styles and materials, comfortably placed throughout the gallery.If current interest and attendance is any indication, Incline Gallery is obviously ascending to its growing glory.Incline Gallery is located at 766 Valencia St. in San Francisco. Open Thursday and Friday 4-8pm, Saturday and Sunday 12-5pm, and by appointment. More information at: www.inclinegallerysf.com.