#143 | Culinary Dispatches From The Weeds
Where food gets personal, and we get inappropriately judgemental.
Greetings from the eye of the hurricane! Melody here, editor and publisher of Edible San Francisco. I’ve barricaded myself for a few weeks to push our print magazine to the finish line. Deadlines, like vengeful exes, wait for no one. But I’m stealing away some precious moments to write — partly due to journalism responsibilities, but also as proof of my cognitive function.
Enjoy — and I can’t wait to show you what’s to come in our June issue. Hope you’re having a great Easter holiday.
UNDERBELLY: CHEF’S CONFESSIONS
This week, I’m honored to share a confessional voice note of Max Blachman-Gentile of Jules Pizza, one of our city’s most anticipated openings. This darling dough slinger has some major NYC and LA credibility, leaving his legendary mark on the iconic Tartine name. He’s weeks away from opening on 273 Fillmore Street, and while Eater, SF Gate, and SF Standard have all scrambled for the standard promotional pieces, I wanted something more… raw.
So I DM’d him, asking if he’d be interested in sending me some behind-the-scenes WhatsApp memos to give us a glimpse into what restaurant owners actually deal with.
As it turns out, quite a lot — he received a 5-minute verbal lashing from a Department of Building Inspections officer after asking for first-time business owner guidance. And discovered he needed to replace a wildly non-compliant CO2 death trap with the help of a recommended plumber, though he’s suspicious the handyman isn’t really certified.
But his passion for bringing exceptional pizza craft remains undimmed. He tackles these challenges with a dry, deadpan humor. Sometimes the best restaurant stories happen before the first customer ever walks through the door.
SF CLIMATE WEEK: WHERE SUSTAINABLE DINING TAKES CENTER STAGE
SF Climate Week brings thoughtful innovations to our local food scene this April 19-27. Leading the charge is the Sustainable Food & Wine Expo (4/24) held at One Market Plaza. An epicurean laboratory where ingenious food connects every dot in our food system. This impressive vendor showcase will excite any sci-fi foodie: AI-driven agriculture, edible insects as power foods, and protein crafted from air.
Next is a pop-up event featuring croissants made of methane (4/26), promising the traditional French pastry tastes better with carbon. This collaboration with Jane the Baker and Savor pledges that we don’t need to sacrifice the sensory buttery mouthfeel, and they’re inviting those daring enough to try it for free first before it goes to market. First come, first served — I may be in line for this one.
In similar forward-thinking fashion, Café Vivant prepares for its summer opening in Menlo Park, with an approach that’s going full poultry-purist. With 17 MICHELIN stars behind this chef team, they’re set to open the nation’s first heritage chicken breed restaurant and farm experiment. We’ve been so busy arguing about whether “cage-free” means anything, while completely missing what cultures like Japan and France have known for centuries — that breed is fundamental to flavor. SF Chronicle
Rendering by Marahmik Inc
FROM TIDE TO TABLE: MUSSEL HUSTLING
While San Francisco’s culinary elite tinkered with environmental science theories, I conducted my own research in the Pacific waters by hunting bivalves with my bare hands. Run by Carrie and Ricardo, Fork In The Path is a wildlife foraging learning center specializing in programs to cultivate a reciprocal relationship between humans and the land. Their intentions to preserve the natural ecosystem are genuine and honorable — their foraging locations are untagged and unpublished, and attendees must agree to deliberate secrecy to protect these fragile habitats.
My 4-hour experience left me with a heavyweight bounty of live mussels and a visceral reminder that every meal comes with an ecological debt to be paid.
For those seeking a genuine connection to our local foodshed, I can’t recommend this program enough. Beyond mussels, Fork In The Path’s seasonal calendar includes mindful expeditions for seaweed harvesting, mushroom hunting, and the rare privilege of uni foraging in secret tidal pools. Each experience is meticulously designed around conservation principles, limited to small groups, and guided by naturalists who understand that what's left behind matters more than what's taken.
NETFLIX ALERT: CHEF’S TABLE RETURNS
Award-winning documentary Chef’s Table returns to Netflix on 4/28, featuring our own Bay Area culinary legend, Thomas Keller. This acclaimed series continues its tradition of intimate culinary portraits, giving viewers access to the philosophies and techniques of the most influential chefs to date. An absolute bingewatch.
Easter Dinner: Bayonne Ham-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Asparagus and Créme Fraîche Vinaigrette
🍽️ Scrambling for a last-minute Easter dinner idea? Check out our easy-to-put-together meal in under an hour: Bayonne Ham-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, straight from our recipe archives. Edible San Francisco
🥗 Or do a little eggy gem salad, a la Samin Nosrat style: Little Gem Salad With Fresh Herbs, so crunchy! Edible San Francisco
Until our next culinary expedition, I remain dedicated to the stories beneath the surface.
Will return soon,
—Melody