Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

14 Apr 2016

Zuni Café – San Francisco

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After dining at two super-hip restaurants back-to-back while in San Francisco (see: State Bird Provisions and Al’s Place), a low-key lunch at beloved institution Zuni Café was just my speed before catching a flight back to Los Angeles.

I’ve been hearing about Chef and Owner Judy Rogers‘ legendary roast chicken ever since I started reading and writing about food, and my colleagues were kind enough to satisfy my longtime culinary curiosity on our final afternoon in the city.

Opened in 1979, Zuni Café serves an ever-changing seasonal menu inspired by traditional Italian and French recipes. As one of the pioneers of California cuisine, it’s not surprising that nearly all of the produce, meat, and fish served here is farmed or harvested in a sustainable manner.

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Now Closed

11 Apr 2016

Al’s Place – San Francisco

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On my second night in San Francisco, I met up with my Bay Area-dwelling cousins for a family dinner at Al’s Place, the newly anointed best new restaurant in America by Bon Appetit.

Here at the corner of Valencia and 26th Street on a quieter stretch of the Mission, Chef Aaron London cooks mostly vegetables and a little meat. This makes sense because prior to opening Al’s Place, he was the chef of the much-lauded vegetarian restaurant Ubuntu in Napa.

We began with a duo of “Snackles.” First up were the brine-pickled french fries ($7) served with smoked apple sauce. They were perfectly snackable and even palatable, but not quite the revelation that Bon Appetit’s Andrew Knowlton made them out to be. Can’t say this is the first time I’ve fallen victim to hyperbolic food writing. (more…)

Food Delivery

06 Apr 2016

Test Drive: Sun Basket Meal Kit Delivery

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One of the biggest trends in food at the moment is home meal delivery. Whether it’s ready-to-eat restaurant delivery services like Postmates and UberEATS, cook-to-eat services like Blue Apron and Sun Basket, or in between heat-to-eat services like Munchery and Maple, these businesses are striking a chord with everyone from working parents needing an assist to younger folks obsessed with convenience.

While I’ve employed ready-to-eat and heat-to-eat services on occasion, as well as good old fashion CSAs, cook-to-eat services never appealed to me because I love the thrill of finding recipes and have a husband who doesn’t mind grocery shopping.

When Sun Basket reached out to see if I’d take their meal kits for a test drive, I couldn’t resist out of pure curiosity. Beyond seeing if I would enjoy the service, I wondered if it was actually more convenient than thumbing through cookbooks and grocery shopping. (more…)