B Restaurant in Old Town Oakland

I've got a new favorite restaurant in Oakland -- it's B Restaurant. Tracy and I have been there a few times now, and it hits the spot every time. The ambiance is great, and its situated in Old Town Oakland (9th Street between Clay and Broadway), which is urban without being ghetto.

What we usually order:

• Truffle Fries    $6
• Perfectly fried potatoes tossed with parsley and truffle oil.
• P.E.I. Mussels - bacon, smoked gouda broth, rosemary foccacia   $14
• The idea of a smoked gouda broth sounds odd, but is super tasty without being heavy.
• Lamb Sugo - braised lamb, mostaccioli pasta, carrots, onions, tomatoes, ricotta salata   $12 small/ $19 large
• I love saucy braised meats, and this hits the spot every time. The thick chewy pasta complements the texture of the chunks of lamb.

They also have some pretty good wood-fired pizzas which we've had a couple times. The host, bartender and wait staff are all very professional, personal, and inviting. So come check it out for dinner some time soon. They're only open for dinner.

UPDATE: I just bought three $40 gift certificates on Living Social, for only $20 each, so we'll be going there several more times for sure.

Feeling Crabby

Tracy's been in a crabby mood the last few weeks, which found us almost having to wait for nearly two hours at PPQ Dungeness Island on Clement Street in San Francisco. Fortunately, we made a call to Yummy Yummy on Irving and they saved us a seat. I don't see the big fuss over waiting such so long for crab. I remember being quoted a wait time of 3 hours at Boiling Crab in San Jose last year.

Crab boils are pretty simple. You buy a live crab (like Ferdinand here), and throw him in the freezer for a bit so gets nice and comfy. Later, boil a huge pot of water and season it (there are tons of different crab boil seasoning recipes, just google it). Boil for 10-20 minutes depending on the size. Throw in some of your other accoutrements like chopped corn on the cob, potatoes, onion, or sausage. Once Ferdinand starts floating, go a couple more minutes and you're good.

For that "I just waited for 3-hours for this" restaurant feel, put some butcher paper down over your dining table, and dump the strained crab and goodies onto the table and dig in.

Chile Verde Soup

This dish is sort of a mash-up of Chicken Tortilla Soup and Chile Verde. I experimented by taking ideas from a few different recipes, and ditching the measuring cups and spoons.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into small pieces (you can use chicken thighs if you want to impart more flavor, moisture, and fat)
• 1 chopped onion
• 3-6 cloves chopped garlic
• 2 diced anaheim chiles (or poblano/pasilla chiles)
• 10 tomatillos - husked and chopped
• 1/2 or 1 Bell pepper (I like red for contrast and flavor, green works well too in keeping it verde. If you feel bold, go with yellow or orange)
• 4 cups or so chicken broth
• Olive oil
• Oregano
• Chili powder
• Cumin
• Paprika
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cinnamon (2 sticks preferred, but a few dashes of ground cinnamon is fine too)
• 1-3 zucchinis (depends on size)
• Cilantro
• Tortilla chips (or Fritos)

Cooking instructions:

1. Chop everything in advance, except for the zucchini (that comes at the end)
2. Season the chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Heat a wok or skillet on high heat with olive oil.
4. Add chicken and toss and stir for a couple minutes. This is to give the chicken some color. You may want to do this in two batches to get good color - don't crowd the pan.
5. Transfer to a slow cooker, crock pot, or cooking pot [hereby called the "chicken pot"]
6. Add more oil to the pan and add chopped onion and garlic for a few minutes, then transfer to the chicken pot.
7. Add more oil to the pan and add bell peppers and chiles and saute for a few minutes, then transfer to the chicken pot.
8. Add the tomatillos and chicken broth to the chicken pot along with oregano, chili powder, cumin, paprika, additional salt and pepper. 
9. Stir everything around in the chicken pot to mix in the seasoning and various ingredients. If you are using ground cinnamon, put a few dashes of that in before stirring, if you are using cinnamon sticks, add that in after stirring and submerge it in the mixture.
10. Slow cook that bad boy
• If slow cooking or crock potting, set it on low and slow for at least 4 hours. If you have a high setting, maybe 2.5 hours is enough, but generally longer and lower the better.
• You can alternatively simmer over the stove for a couple hours, stirring occasionally.
• If you're pressed for time, just bring it to a boil then set on medium for 15-20 minutes.
11. Add chopped zucchini with about 30 minutes remaining to avoid getting it too mushy.
12. Serve in a bowl with cilantro and crushed tortilla chips.

Some other tasty tips:

• Add canned corn at some point for extra goodness and color.
• Since I use a slow cooker and am a firm believer in low-and-slow, I like to do steps 1-9 the night before and throw it in the fridge. In the morning, I put it in the slow cooker and set it for the maximum 9-hours so its ready when I get home.

Closing Time at Le Cheval

One of our favorite restaurants, Le Cheval in Oakland, is closing its doors after 25 years. Apparently they were forced to move out of their location at Clay St. and Tenth St. due to an unwarranted eviction by the building's jerkstore landlord, Monica Ung, who's company is under investigation by California State Attorney General and Alameda County District Attorney.

Tracy and I were fortunate enough to be there for Le Cheval's last dinner service -- salty calamari, lemongrass chicken, and their famous beef cubes.

Tracy inquired with an employee from Le Cheval about their closure, and we were pleased to learn that they would be opening a new location at Clay and 11th Street where China Wok Restaurant used to be (underneath Arsimona Bar and Grill). The new location will be significantly smaller (about 100 person capacity compared to 285), and may offer a slightly different menu. Inside Scoop SF's Paolo Lucchesi reports that the new location may be a wine bar called LCX.

So its bitter sweet that they are leaving, but on the bright side, the new location will be opening, and their other locations in Berkeley and Walnut Creek will continue to be open for business.

Chicken Nugget Experiment

By popular demand to my friends that missed this when I posted it in Facebook (seriously guys, social media - its gonna be a thing). This is a video clip from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on ABC, in which he shows and explains to a group of kids how chicken nuggets and chicken patties are made.

I'll admit, I used to really like chicken nuggets, and those cheapo $1 McChicken Sandwiches when I was in a rush, but I doubt I'll eat them anymore after watching this. Enjoy.




So, would you still eat it?