I have been so busy with work, SLCAN and Mike’s Campaign – not to mention the girls and trying to keep up with the home, that I haven’t really have much in the way of time to cook regular food, much less international food. But by sheduling it over a month in advance, I managed to get an evening for a meal with our (new) friends Parker & Donovan. I made Bosnian food, and once again I was quite surprised at how good it was. Their kofta-like meatballs, seasoned only with salt, pepper and Hungarian paprika, were particularly delicious.
The menu and recipes will be up on my website as soon as I can manage the time.
Year: 2006 (Page 4 of 10)
Last week, I threw a reception for Brian Copeland at Zocalo. The reception itself doesn’t deserve bear much writing about in a food blog, other than to say that we served delicious Zocalo coffee, cookies and a very nice lemon cake donated by Marita’s Sweet Potato Pie Co.
Before the reception, however, Mike Weisner, the owner of Paradiso, threw a pre-reception for Brian and some of his friends. They served fried calamari and a variety of their oven fired pizzas which were delicious. I’d certainly recommend it as a place to have a casual-elegant reception 🙂
Yesterday, for once in a blew moon, our Sunday was not booked (saved for an early morning meeting at Zocalo, where I enjoyed a chocolate croissant if you want to know), so I suggested to Mike that we have friends over for some Zachary’s. We hadn’t had some in a while, and, you have to admit it, their pizza is phenomenal. Instantly we thought of Eddie and Arthur, given that they’re out “last minute dinner friends;” this is not to say that we don’t have dinner with them on other occasions, but they’re often game for a last minute meal.
Alas, we didn’t have a good connection when we were talking on the phone – and I think my accent is getting thicker, people keep asking me to repeat myself – so Eddie understood “daiquiris” instead of “Zachary’s;” by the time we clarified the confusion Eddie had a craving for daiquiris and Mike for Zachary’s – so we ended up getting both.
Zachary’s – one chorizo, one extra cheese – was as good as usual, and surprisingly warm by the time Mike got it home. It helped that we were all ready to eat by then. The daiquiris were also very good, even though they came from a frozen mix – much better than the second batch Arthur made, this time using frozen strawberries.
So we had Zachary’s and daiquiris, and a great evening seeing friends.
The meal was specially good as our food prospects for the week sound dire. We have meetings tonight, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I’m thinking of having a date on Friday – it’s been a while. So tonight we’ll probably have some frozen ravioli and no ideas what I’ll have the other nights. Something VERY quick – as I’ve discovered that I just cannot have Camila in the kitchen while I cook. Yesterday she burned herself with the George Foreman. 🙁
anyway, happy cooking or eating out 🙂
A mom told me about these sandwich cutters available at Safeway, and I couldn’t believe how useful and simple in design they are. My kids will eat crusted sandwiches, as much as they eat any sandwich, but I know kids who wont, and when I have kids over I always make sure to take off the crusts. It’s always a pain and it never looks nice.
I also cut the crusts when I make tea sandwiches, and these crustless cutters are the solution. The only ones I could find at Safeway were the heart one and the 4X one, but I think the 2X one would be better for my needs. Still, tr
I have managed to offend many nationalities through my international food project. Some day I’ll post all the comments from Appalachians I’ve gotten for comparing Appalachia to the third world – but a more recent comment was from an Albanian who was sure I’d never been to Albania (true) and had never eaten Albanian food (true as well). She says that the only authentic Albanian food comes from women who have kept the traditions for generations, which I can believe. She’s been very gratious to send me some recipes, which I’m posting here. I may cook them someday.
I got another message from a Bolivian woman angry at my comments about Bolivian food. Oh well, honesty just doesn’t jive with some people.
In any case, I understand her points. It’s true that I only spent a few days in Bolivia, and that I probably did not try the most traditional Bolivian dishes (honestly, I can’t remember what I had back then – just that it was not memorable), and I’m sure that cooked by an experience cook some Bolivian dishes would be wonderful. But if a cuisine does take years to learn, then it’s clearly not for me. What has been great about this project is discovering a whole lot of cuisines that are very accessible to a foreign cook.
In any case, here is her comment:
I cannot help her enough, and I that I’m speaking for many people who will come across this page searching for this information.
Mike – my husband, that is – is running for School Board in San Leandro (check out his website) and he’s having a kickoff party next Thursday evening. If you’re a San Leandran, or even if you’re not, you are welcomed to come. It’ll be from 7-8:30 PM at Zocalo.
Anyway, I’m in charge of the menu, and this is what I’m planning to serve so far:
-Meat empanadas
-Mini quiches
-Crudites
-Fresh fruit
-Cookies
-Fish crackers (for the kids)
I may also make pinwheel sandwiches, but I think I probably have enough with the stuff above. Plus I don’t want to over-extend myself either. After all, it’s about him, not the food 🙂 That said, he LOVES deviled eggs, so I may make those as well.
My friend Desiree, who loves food more than anyone I know (with the possible exception of my friend Charlotte, Lotty’s tastes are broader), loves Ratto’s, so when we found ourselves in downtown Oakland a couple of weeks ago, we of course headed there.
Ratto’s has been around for a century in an old, high-ceiling building that gives the deli tons of atmosphere. Still, this is a very informal sort of place – the main function of the deli is as a take-out place, though tables and utensils are provided for those who want to eat there.
Their main fare are sandwiches, and you can either get one of their predetermined choices or make your own. I decided to make my own and it wasn’t that good a decision. I started with their Jam
This fast food pizzeria is probably the kind of place I shouldn’t even bother bloging about, much less putting it on my restaurant review page. It’s basically a place serving slices of re-heated pizza or pasta with a generic tomato sauce, for nearby office workers in a hurry. It’s definitely not the sort of place you’d make a point of heading towards, but if you, like us, are in the way to Children’s Fairyland on Lake Merrit, and wait to the last moment to commit to a place to go eat, you may very well end up there.
Mika and I both got cheese slices ($3 each). They were thick and large, a little bland but nothing that couldn’t be helped with some parmessan cheese. They reminded me of Blondie’s or Fatslice’s pizza. And at $1.60 ($2.25 for pepperoni, $2.50 for combos) it was a steal. The spaghetti at $4.25 was less of one, and I thought it was too generic (but what else can you expect?) but the kids ate it (not up, though).
The restaurant has a bathroom in a nearby building, which can be a hassle if you are alone with two kids.
In all, it’s a good place to stop for a quick/cheap bite.
Theo’s
1956 Webster St.
Oakland, CA
510.834.4902
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