Incanto (San Francisco, CA)

I can imagine no better way to celebrate any special occasion than with a huge chunk of meat. Law school graduations are no exception.

Inspired mostly by Anthony Bourdain (which should come as no surprise), we decided to check out the flagship restaurant of one of his good friends, Chris Cosentino. A big proponent of the head-to-tail movement and an evangelist of big, Cosentino has recently made news for his vocal protest against the impending foie gras ban in California. (link) 

While I have my own opinions on foie gras and the hypocrisy of targeting one practice that affects a small minority while the majority of animals destined to become food suffer far worse conditions, I don't believe at discussing politics at the table. So on with the meal.

Incanto Leg of the Beast Meal

Here is the set menu. Be forewarned: You need a reservation ahead of time and a party of 6-8 people.

We start off with a delightful salad of bitter greens and parm.

Next comes the antipasti, which Cosentino is well-known for. In fact, it's so good that Cosentino opened a store (Boccalone Salumeria) in the Ferry Building that features it in sandwiches. By the way, if you get a chance to visit the Ferry Building in SF, it's a foodie paradise. The meats were all fantastic.

Next came the accoutrements for the leg of the beast. They included toasted bread, whole grain mustard, and a knob of horseradish with a grater.

Sides include a beautiful dish of cannellini beans and cardoons, a relative of the artichoke that supposedly requires long stewing to get rid of its bitterness. Not a fan of cardoons.

And the star of the meal. A whole beef shank, long roasted, with a side of bone marrow for everyone. Oh man it's beautiful...

And here is the meat falling cleanly off the bone. The meat was absolutely delicious, a tribute to beef and the beauty of slow roasts. Especially when paired with freshly grated horseradish, the meat satisfies in a primal way. Moreover, it's just sexy to look at.

 

Dinner ends with a nice little dessert... though if you have room for it, you probably ate dinner wrong.

Overall, a fantastic meal that carried a wonderful sense of occasion!

Congrats Jueyoung!

-JK

Mission Chinese Food (San Francisco, CA)

My dear brother, Jueyoung, graduated from law school this summer, making him the first of us to finish his education. Of course, I had to be there to help him celebrate! It was a wonderful weekend for the Khwarg family, and naturally, it involved some epic meals. Here is one of the most memorable:

Mission Chinese Food

The first pop-up restaurant, Mission Chinese Food is the brainchild of chef Danny Bowien. Not having the resources to open his own restaurant, he made a deal with a random out-of-the-way Chinese restaurant to use their facilities for a limited time during the day. The staff shares the kitchen with the old, more traditional staff, who make mainly take-out food. It's frankly a pretty fantastic idea that along with food trucks have really expanded the possibilities for talented young chefs. To read more, here's a NYT article.

Mission Chinese Food specializes in modern Chinese food that is equal parts a celebration and subversion of the Chinese-American joints that can be found all over America. Applying Western cooking techniques, more impactful flavors and fresh ingredients to Chinese classic, this restaurant offers unique and powerful cuisine that challenged my views on what modern Chinese food can be. As an added bonus, a portion of all profits go to charity. 

Ma po tofu - One of my favorite Chinese dishes. Mission's take on this spicy tofu stew was unlike any version I've ever had... Generous use of tongue-numbing Schezuan peppercorn elevated this dish to new heights, making it spicier and more pungent.

Cumin lamb - a Schezuan classic that is another personal favorite. Here they use chopped up lamb belly with bones still in rather than the usual fillet. The cut of meat is perfect, as it gives the dish a meatier and fattier flavor than usual that is tempered with a heavy dose of cumin. Delicious.

Pork belly - crispy and unctuous. This was as delicious as can be expected, though it wasn't as unique to me as other dishes.

White person taking a picture of an asian taking a picture of food.

Here, I will mention the smoked veal ribs, which were so amazing that I forgot to take a picture. These were easily the best thing I ate during my entire trip to SF. Imagine the best Southern BBQ beef ribs you've ever had, then make it more tender and fatty and douse it in a Chinese sweet&sour sauce... and you'd have only part of an idea of how delicious these were.

Thrice-cooked bacon - This struck me as a Chinese-take on the traditional Korean rice-cake stir fry. Surprisingly, rice-cakes were the star of this dish over the bacon, which was not crispy like I expected.

Kung-pao pastrami - I'm not sure how I feel about the use of potato slices. On the one hand, it gives the dish more body and texture, yet it also causes a loss of focus from the idea of parodying "kung-pao." Pastrami isn't very assertive, which also affects the power of this dish.

Overall, I think this is a must-try in San Francisco, a city filled with "must-tries." Mission Chinese Food offers a unique vision for the future of Chinese food that is innovative and delicious without sacrificing the essential Chinese quality of iconic dishes.

One note - some in my family felt the food was too greasy. I personally believe it goes with the whole idea of playing off of the Chinese-American food genre, but you've been warned. I am craving smoked veal ribs now.

-JK

Cleveland Finds: Fat Casual BBQ

Fat Casual BBQ

Sometimes, photos just don't do justice. I can think of no more of an egregious example than here. Simply put, despite the crappy picture, Fat Casual BBQ is the best BBQ I've ever had, and I've eaten a lot of BBQ in my life.

This is the real thing. Everything is smoked slowly in a hickory wood fueled apparatus till the meat is so tender, it seems to melt. The guys in charge of the establishment clearly take their art very seriously, and seem to still be exploring their boundaries. They will essentially BBQ whatever they are interested in at the moment that tastes good. They've smoked lamb, venison, alligator, etc.

For example, the last time we visited, it was near St. Patrick's Day. So corned beef was on the menu. The smoking process gave the usually blunt saltiness of the meat a more rounded depth that made it much more palatable, even when eaten without bread. Also available were newer additions like chicken salad (hand pulled BBQ'd chicken made into salad form).

Better though are the standards: brisket, turkey, pulled pork and sausage. My favorite is most likely the turkey. Turkey! I never would've dreamed turkey could beat pulled pork and brisket, yet it does here. Tender and moist, the meat exudes a strong turkey flavor like I've never tasted before. But honestly, everything here is amazing. Definitely try it.

Oh, and the sauces. There's like 10 of them, all home-made. All delicious. The sides are also made from scratch. Definitely get the beans. Amazing.

It is a bit far from downtown Cleveland... about a 30 minute drive south to Macedonia, OH. But it's worth it. I myself have made the drive many times to get one pound containers of brisket, pulled pork and turkey. Pack them up with some ramkins of sauce and a side of coleslaw and you have the makings of the best sandwiches ever.

-JK