Good Bites Pt 1: Fire Cracker Balls

Tucked around San Francisco are individual dishes that deserve some limelight. So I'm going to show them some love with a solo appearance on this page. And you should show them some love by ordering them when you're next in their 'hood.

We start our series with a sketchily titled, but unquestionably delicious, dish in Hayes Valley. Fire cracker balls (above left). That's right. They're on the menu at Domo Sushi, Hayes' boutique neighborhood sushi joint.

What is it you ask? Delicious, first off. It's a spicy tuna roll, coated in panko bread crumbs , fried lightly, and then covered in a mouth watering combination of spicy mayo, bbq unagi sauce, and scallions. And just to put it over the top, it's then dusted lightly with tobiko. Not something your doctor would recommend, but trust me - it's gonna make your tummy really happy.

Domo Sushi
511 Laguna St
San Francisco
415.861.8887

Maple Mascarpone Heaven

I adore cheesecake. For the longest time, I was an ardent believer that the best cheesecake in New York City (and I know this is a dangerous topic) lived at Veniero's Pasticceria in the East Village.

But I have found a higher order of cheesecake being. It makes its fleeting, ephemeral appearances at a famous NY eatery, a place called Babbo - owned by one Mario Batali. But credit for the creation of this amazing dessert goes to his pastry chef, Gina DePalma.

What is this magical edible thing? It's a maple-mascarpone cheesecake and it's unlike any cheesecake I've had before. The texture is so light and airy that you can eat the whole thing after a 10 course tasting menu and genuinely believe your pants won't pop off (as I did). The flavor is delicate yet rich - it comforts, and avoids over powering the taster with sweetness. And the presentation is delightful - don't dwell on it too long as this thing is better off in your mouth and tummy!

Make sure you order it. And if you dare to try recreating this piece of heaven on a plate, you can try the recipe too.

Babbo
110 Waverly Place
New York, NY
212.777.0303

Food as Art (?)

I've been meaning to go to SFMOMA since I moved to SF. It took me over a year, but I finally made it there right before the holidays.

It was fun. I walked around, saw some Dali and Jasper Johns, relished some Olafur Eliasson and Shiro Kuramata (I want that cabinet). I had a latte in the cafe, wore my most artistic outfit, discussed politics with a disdaining tone - and walked around like an all-to-serious conneiseur of life's finer things.

But for the life of me, I really did not know how to react to the museum's special exhibition, called "The Art of Participation." At moments walking through those installations and pieces, I swung between stifling yawns, laughing aloud with incredulity, intaking my breathe sharply in wonder, appreciating profound things, and playing (see below; is it appropriate to faux-fight in a work of art?).

A range of reactions for a range of artwork. In the experimental exhibition, you can 1) drink free beer with an artist (Tom Marioni), 2) pile brooms on top of people, and 3) have your portrait taken for display - among other things. And at the end of it all, thanks to one artist's huge stack of reprinted photos, I even walked out with a piece of free photocopied art to take home with me.


One installation in particular, though, resonated with me. Against a black white wall, in a thin white shelf, one artist offered a modest sample if kitchen groceries. A green bell pepper, an orange, a banana, a carrot and a single can of food. The scribbled drawing on the side instructed viewers to, in fact, play with the food items. Make a living statue. Rearrange them on the shelf. And so, therein lay the most profound message of the whole show. For me, anyway: play with your food! After all, if it's in SFMOMA, it's haute arte. . .