Left My Heart (and Stomach) in San Francisco

Dear Anna,

Gosh, it’s been … 2 years since I last posted on the blog. I suppose I’ve been busy in the meantime: finishing graduate school, getting married, working. That reminds me, I should probably update my bio on the left side bar, hm?

I thought I would herald my return to the blog with a restaurant review – Dosa in San Francisco, specifically Dosa on Fillmore (there’s also a Dosa on Valencia). But first, the story. My good friends J and J (I figured I would keep it limited to initials since this is a blog and not Facebook) live in the Bay Area, and they are foodies as well. On a visit last year, they took Husband and I to an Indian restaurant called Dosa, and I have to say it’s astoundingly delicious and unlike any Indian food you’ve probably ever had before.

The Interwebs at Wikipedia tells me that dosa is “a fermented crepe or pancake made from rice batter and black lentils … and is a staple dish in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.” Uttapam is a thicker pancake with toppings like onions, chiles, tomatoes and spices are cooked into the batter. I’m no expert, but I think the kormas, paratha, roti, and other dishes in which we used to drown our Cornell studying sorrows and typically think of as “Indian food” is northern Indian cuisine.

So, continuing the story: our friends J and J got married earlier this month, and Husband and I flew in to San Francisco for the wedding. (May I just say that in our experience, it’s a lot more fun to be guests at a wedding versus being the marrying couple.) We made it a point to go back to Dosa while we were there… well actually, it was more like a “hurry-up-and-get-through-baggage-claim-because-we’re-having-dinner-at-Dosa-now” kind of point.

The restaurant itself is quite beautiful, with tables both upstairs and downstairs and at the bar, in that sexy urban restaurant kind of way.

I can’t quite remember if we ordered both dosas AND uttapams during our first visit, but it was the uttapams that we remembered. At the restaurant, you can order a chef’s selection of five different uttapams (South Indian Moons) if you have a hard time making your choice. And you can get both entrée-sized dishes or small plates of meat, fish, and vegetable dishes. The small plates are particularly nice if you, like us, just want to taste EVERYTHING.

I’m trying to think how to describe an uttapam to you … all the descriptors say “pancake,” but that’s like saying that a loaf of ciabatta fresh out of an oven in Tuscany is bread; technically true but misses something important. The texture is dense and moist, with pops of flavor from the toppings and spices.

*sigh*

Too bad this restaurant is 750 miles away from me in Arizona and 2,400 miles away from you in Ohio.

So… when can we go? =D

Love,

Becky

http://dosasf.com/fillmore_home.htm

Ode to Queen Creek Olive Mill

Becky-

Admittedly, I was a little jealous when I found the bacon olive oil at your house in February and I had only hand-carry luggage. So when you called a couple weeks ago to tell me you'd purchased olive oil for my birthday gift, clearly it was a good day :)


Birthday package arrived in the mail yesterday, and I'll have you know that I've made good use of the contents.

Bacon Olive Oil... with Green Beans
2 tblsp bacon olive oil
1 lb french string beans
1/2 cup minced red onion

Heat 2 tblsp bacon olive oil in medium hot pan. Saute onion until soft. Turn up the burner to medium high and add string beans. Saute 3-4 minutes, until string beans are crispy. Season to taste.


Roasted Garlic Olive Oil... with Popcorn
3 tblsp garlic olive oil
1/2 cup popcorn seeds
salt

Heat olive oil in covered soup pot over medium high heat until smoke point is reached (you'll start to see steam coming from the pan). Add popcorn seeds. Cover & shake pot over heat. Remove from heat as popping slows... don't wait until the popping stops, it'll burn every time. Season with salt.

Orange Olive Oil... with Baby Back Ribs
(1) 3 lb rack of baby back ribs
Dry rub- 1 tblsp paprika, 1 tblsp Caribbean sea salt (or jerk seasoning), 1 tblsp steak seasoning
Marinade- 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup red wine, 1/4 cup BBQ sauce (bottled), 1/8 cup honey, 1/8 cup sorghum, 2 tblsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1 cup water
2 tblsp orange olive oil
Extra BBQ sauce (bottled)

Prepare ribs by removing the transparent membrane from bottom. The membrane is slippery and tough to grab onto, so cut the rack in half if you need a place to start peeling. Once you peel a corner, the rest should come off. Don't skip this step if you want your rib meat to "fall off the bone." Rub with dry rub & place in large plastic zipper bag. Cover in marinade and seal, pushing to remove air. Marinate 2-12 hours in refrigerator.

Pre- heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking pan with foil, spray with nonstick, and place ribs ontop. Pour marinade from bag ontop of ribs & add 1 cup water to bottom of pan. Drizzle with orange olive oil. Cover with foil. Bake 2 hours.

Preheat grill to 400 degrees. Remove ribs from baking sheet & drizzle again with orange olive oil. Grill ribs 3-5 minutes or until crispy. Brush with extra BBQ sauce.

Link to Queen Creek Olive Mill in Arizona where Becky found these super-fun olive oils: http://queencreekolivemill.com/