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News & Politics Neighborhood News News Ticker Under the Radar

Food & Drink Beverage News Booze News Drinks All Around Feast! San Diego Beer Tin Fork

Movies Big Screen Movie Archives Movie Reviews Movies@Home

Happenings Fishing Report Outdoors Reader Travel Roam-O-Rama Surf Diego Theater Your Week

Music Blurt Classical Music The Gonzo Report Live Five Musician Interviews Of Note Upcoming Shows

Comics Famous Former Neighbors Obermeyer Overheard in San Diego

Archives Reader by issue date Today’s stories All of the latest stories

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news

News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

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Mary Beth Abate

Mary Beth Abate is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.

Grazie e arrivederci: Caffe Vergnano 1882

Yeah, the owner was a nice guy too.
— January 18, 2012 3:15 p.m.

Uninspired in Clairemont: Kitchen 4140

That’s fine. Curiosity is good. But let’s take a step back and not make any assumptions about each other, okay? If I thought you were a troll, I would have ignored your comment entirely. There’s nothing to be gained by giving professional pot-stirrers the attention they crave. Also, I didn’t say that your question is irrelevant. I’d never try to tell someone what to think. What I said was that whether I went to culinary school or not is irrelevant. It doesn’t make my opinion any more valid than the next person’s, and I’d rather that people trust their own taste buds. Far too much emphasis is put on fancy titles, celebrity chefs, reality show “endorsements” and annual award lists and not enough on whether the food tastes good and is properly cooked. You also brought up a couple of points, plastic wrap vs. plastic bags, and sous vide, to which I responded for clarification purposes. It's obvious that you’re familiar with sous vide, but other readers may not be. I admit to being somewhat sad, though, that you were taught in culinary school that cooking eggs in plastic and calling it “poaching” is perfectly fine. I believe it’s fundamentally incorrect, but again, that’s just my opinion.
— January 16, 2012 11:22 a.m.

None

I don't really think it's the only thing the Reader talks about, I still see current events, politics, art, theatre and movies being reported and discussed. But, food is a large part of any culture, and San Diego gets a lot of support from tourism, which of course includes our restaurant scene. After a long slack period due to the poor economy, there seems to be a resurgence of new places to dine. That, along with the general popularity of cooking, celebrity chefs and restaurant "reality" shows in the media probably makes it seem so. The restaurants reviewed in Feast! range from expensive to very affordable, so hopefully there's something for everyone.
— January 13, 2012 10:39 a.m.

None

— January 13, 2012 10:37 a.m.

Uninspired in Clairemont: Kitchen 4140

Yes, I have been to culinary school, and I've worked in the food service industry. But whether I have or have not is irrelevant. You don't need to go to culinary school to be a journalist and restaurant critic. When an egg is boiled in plastic wrap, the ends of the wrap are gathered up and tied, like a beggar's purse. The result looks a little more like a poached egg should in shape. The eggs I was served have a pointed end, typical of being put in a plastic bag and have taken the shape of the corners of the bag. Either way, it's boiling in plastic. Cooking in plastic is not poaching, which requires direct contact between the food and the acidulated liquid, without any barrier. The exception would be au torchon, where the foie gras may be wrapped in cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel. The foie gras still has direct contact with liquid, though, which soaks through the cloth. They're not sous vide, either, as they were unevenly cooked, one end being overcooked and the other raw. Eggs are cooked sous vide in the shell after being vacuum sealed in plastic, making them also more typical of a boiled egg (though they would probably be cooked at 140 F or so, not 212 F. Poaching an egg is a simple bit of protein chemistry and just takes practice and attention, whether you are poaching one egg or two hundred. The bottom line is, when a restaurant charges nearly $50 (inc. tax and tip) for breakfast for two, the food should to be stellar. If it's not, people may not outright complain to the management, they may even say it's great if management asks, but they won't come back.
— January 13, 2012 9:44 a.m.

Uninspired in Clairemont: Kitchen 4140

I based it on the 92117 zip code, which extends between the 805 and the 5, from the 52 down to Balboa Ave., and along the 5 as far down as Tecolote Canyon Park. The neighborhoods are: Bay Ho, Bay Park, Clairemont, Clairemont Mesa East, Clairemont Mesa West, North Clairemont, and Sunset, according to http://www.city-data.com/zips/92117.html.
— January 12, 2012 9:52 p.m.

Uninspired in Clairemont: Kitchen 4140

Classic culinary techniques aside, my concern is the risk of bacterial contamination as well. Clear egg whites on my plate are a real red flag. Anyone in a high risk group, young children, the elderly, and immune compromised individuals should avoid eggs that are not thoroughly cooked. I love a good runny egg yolk though, and eat them all the time. Fortunately, I'm not in a high risk group so I do indulge.
— January 12, 2012 9:40 p.m.

Uninspired in Clairemont: Kitchen 4140

If it's done right, it will not taste burnt. The key is to have a uniformly thin piece of meat or fish and a screaming hot pan, preferably cast iron or similarly heavy duty, and work fast. It will only take a minute or two per side. Have everything ready before you start cooking and don't leave the stove during the cooking process. There are a lot of good cooking tutorials on the internet, so have a look and then just practice. You might overcook a few pieces, but you'll get the technique down if you give it a try or two.
— January 12, 2012 9:31 p.m.

Shinebox TV? AMC Readies Goodfellas: The Series

Maybe AMC can bring back a PC version of Deadwood while they're at it.
— January 11, 2012 9:28 a.m.

Uninspired in Clairemont: Kitchen 4140

Thanks for the comments. I love the idea of a chef putting his/her individual twist on a dish. But, you have to be able to execute basic cooking techniques first. Then, feel free to innovate. You also have to recognize if the twist doesn't work. I've "innovated" dishes straight into the garbage can in my own kitchen. Plus, you can only take a dish so far before you lose the integrity of it. For example, just putting lettuce, tomato, toast and bacon together on a plate doesn't make it a BLT, at that point it's a salad with bacon and a side of toast. MB
— January 10, 2012 9:09 a.m.

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News & Politics Neighborhood News News Ticker Under the Radar

Food & Drink Beverage News Booze News Drinks All Around Feast! San Diego Beer Tin Fork

Movies Big Screen Movie Archives Movie Reviews Movies@Home

Happenings Fishing Report Outdoors Reader Travel Roam-O-Rama Surf Diego Theater Your Week

Music Blurt Classical Music The Gonzo Report Live Five Musician Interviews Of Note Upcoming Shows

Comics Famous Former Neighbors Obermeyer Overheard in San Diego

Archives Reader by issue date Today’s stories All of the latest stories

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

See all neighborhoods

February 28, 2024

February 21, 2024

February 14, 2024

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