Wednesday, April 18, 2012

First Look: Cocktails at Local Edition in San Francisco

 
 

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via Serious Eats by Lauren Sloss on 4/17/12

From Drinks

Slideshow

VIEW SLIDESHOW: First Look: Cocktails at Local Edition in San Francisco

[Photographs: Danielle Tsi]

The folks behind Tenderloin speakeasy Bourbon & Branch and Financial District punch destination Rickhouse have become synonymous with serious cocktail-making in San Francisco. So when word got out that the purveyors of some of the city's best drinks were opening a new bar downtown, we were all ears.

Local Edition opened last Thursday in the basement of the storied Hearst building. The bar is in the space that once held the printing presses for the Examiner. "Doing a newspaper theme was an obvious choice," said bar manager Ian Scalzo. Having been involved with the Hearst building since opening the group's retail liquor store, Cask, Scalzo and the bar's design team were given full access to the Hearst archives, allowing them to design a space and create a menu centered around the family's rich newspaper history.

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The decor announces this intention immediately—typewriters, acquired off eBay and from the Alameda Flea Market, line the walls, along with full-scale printing presses. Red booths and sconce-enclosed lights lend the bar the feeling of a 1950s nightclub, an era that's further reflected in the cocktail menu.

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"All of the drink names are based on the newspaper business: on people, places, and things of the '50s and 60s, and all things Hearst," said Scalzo of the menu, which will have 11 to 12 drinks, all priced around $9. Expect period favorites like gimlets and highballs, created with quality spirits and syrups made in-house. Check out the drinks in the slideshow above.

Still to come: bottled cocktails (which will serve 6), 500 mL carafes of high-quality whiskeys and tequilas, and live music. "We want this to be the place in the city where you can see some great music and have a great cocktail," Scalzo said.

Local Edition

691 Market Street, San Francisco CA 94105 (map)
415-795-1395; localeditionsf.com


About the author: Lauren Sloss is a bicoastal food-lover who is based in San Francisco. Some of her favorite things include The Black Keys, goat gouda, and guacamole. You can follow her on Twitter @laurensloss.


 
 

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Combination Refrigerator, Dishwasher, & Oven Unit from Alpes InoxEuroCucina ...

 
 

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via Main | The Kitchn by Faith Durand on 4/18/12

2012_04_18-Alpes01.jpgWho: Alpes Inox, German kitchen design
What We Noticed: This modestly-sized stainless steel cabinet didn't look like much... until we opened it and found practically a whole kitchen inside! Read on for more info and photos. More


Read More...

 
 

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Thursday, April 12, 2012

Just Wondering…

 
 

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Sunday, April 8, 2012

Emo Bun shuns your Easter celebration

 
 

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via Cute Overload by Meg on 4/7/12

Emo Bun will not be taking part in your Easter celebration.

Emo Bun would rather write a softcore punk song. Or watch Behind the Music: My Chemical Romance. Or go get new Converse at Hot Topic.

You don't understand—painting Peeps black for Easter was pretty cool but—not cool enough.

Emo Bun encore presentayshe suggested via C.O. Twitter by ennui-tastic SFogg25.


Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Bunnies, encore presentayshe

 
 

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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Our Secret List of Banned Words

 
 

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via Serious Eats by J. Kenji López-Alt on 4/5/12

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[Illustration: Robyn Lee]

If you've ever worked in publishing, you've probably probably come across a list much like this one. Every publishing house, magazine, newspaper, major website, or even individual editor has one: a list of words that are banned from ever appearing in print. We keep ours in a shared Google doc so that editors can share their newest grievances and consult with others on whether or not the phrase or word makes our list. I keep that doc in the same folder as our "Worst PR Pitch Ever Nominees" list and our "Office Quirks Ed Has" list.

A list of banned words from the website is a subtly different from the many, many, many lists of "words foodies hate" that you see going around the web (it's a perennial topic in our Talk threads). These ones aren't necessarily words that grate our ears (though some of them definitely are), but are words that are simply bad descriptors, overused, or plain silly.

This is only a glance at our list, but it hits a few of our major problem areas.

Disclaimer: Ok, so perhaps "ban" is too strong a word. These are just words we try to avoid as much as possible. Obviously, context is everything.

Strictly Banned!

  • "Cook till" instead of "Cook until," unless, of course, you really mean to throw your money chest in the oven.
  • "X until perfection" or "X to perfection." This language is strictly the territory of chain restaurant menus. Likewise phrases like "on a bed of" or "medley."
  • "X of deliciousnesss" or "X of goodness." It's just butter, for god's sake, it's not "buttery goodness!"
  • Converting nouns into new verbs, such as "gingered" or "truffled." It's "pasta with truffles," not "truffled pasta"
  • Zing. e.g. "The cheese added zippy zing to the meatballs." Gah!
  • Zip. e.g. "The meatballs added zingy zip to the cheese." Eek!
  • Oomph. Why would I want my food to taste like the sound of someone punching me in the gut?
  • Yummy. I dearly hope we don't need to explain this one.
  • Farm Fresh. It's an overused phrase with little to no real meaning.
  • Decadent or sinful. Or anything else that makes food sound like a vice. We are here to celebrate it, not hate ourselves for loving it.
  • "On offer" instead of "offered." This is a British phrasing that doesn't sit well on our ears.
  • "Taste" when you mean "Flavor." If those mussels really had "good taste", they'd all be wearing designer jeans.
  • "Addicting" when you mean "Addictive." We know there's arguments on both sides as to whether "addicting" can be used when you mean "causes addiction," but why not just use the form in which there's no debate at all? "Addictive" leaves no room for argument.
  • "Spheres" or "orbs" to describe round foods. Ice cream is served in scoops. Doughnuts can be fried as balls. Neither are orbs. That's just forced use of thesaurus right there.
  • Foodie. The very word makes our stomachs churn just a bit.
  • Über- (as in, "über-rich" or "über-creamy") This rule, above all else.
  • Heavenly. See "decadent or sinful" above. It's just food, dammit!
  • "To die for." Really? You're really willing to die for the butter-flavored dip that comes with the new all-you-can-eat claw bucket from Crimson Crustacean?
  • Luscious. This is a name for a character on Jersey Shore. Not something you want your food to be.
  • Luxurious. Or worse, "luxe." Calling a chocolate pudding "luxurious" doesn't tell us all that much. We need details!
  • "Kick it up." An Emeril-ism that I'm sure even he wishes he'd never uttered in the first place.
  • "Take it to the next level." Your chicken salad has levels?

Use Sparingly!

  • Post titles that end in question marks. Usually, a question in a title implies that you've already answered it. Present the answer up front.
  • Mouthfeel. This is just icky.
  • Toothsome. There are better, less off-putting ways of expressing the same idea.
  • Pretty much all non-specific adjectives. The best food writing and descriptions are able to evoke a sensation based on nouns and verbs alone. Adjectives should only be used when they are very specific. (Yes, we violate this rule all the time).
  • Authentic. For more on this word, check out our article on Xiao Long Bao and Authenticity.
  • "Artisanal." Unless you really really mean it. Ask yourself: Is the person making this product really an artisan? Is everything made by hand by someone extremely skilled in their trade? Every new pickle-maker or ice cream churner peddling their fare at the Farmer's Market has not necessarily earned that title yet.
  • That guy behind the bar? He's a bartender, not a mixologist. Okay, so sometimes he's a mixologist. But when major national chains start referring to the people shaking your margaritas as "star mixologists," we roll our eyes. Same goes for "bar chefs." Rule of thumb: if the title is self applied, it probably shouldn't be used.

Of course, now that we've outed this list, we'll have to keep on our toes because I've no doubt that we'll get called out as soon as we make one false move in the future...

So tell us, Serious Eaters—what words or phrases would you add to our list?

About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook.


 
 

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The Super Friends

 
 

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via Loldogs - Dogs - Puppy Dog Pictures - I Has A Hotdog! by Cheezburger Network on 4/4/12

funny dog pictures - The Super Friends


Batdog, Super Baby, and Wonder Goggie unite!


Tagged: baby, costumes, dogs, super heroes

Submitted by: Unknown

Via: Reddit


 
 

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