#71 | Our Little Local Fish: Herring Are Here!
Snap, Crackle, Splat
Hello!
ABUNDANCE
It’s impossible to be lonely
when you’re zesting an orange.
Scrape the soft rind once
and the whole room
fills with fruit.
Look around: you have
more than enough.
Always have.
You just didn’t notice
until now.
—Amy Schmidt, from Poets Respond
By the way, I'm Bruce Cole, Publisher of Edible San Francisco. Welcome to all the new subscribers—especially those of you who subscribed to our print series—thanks for joining us!
Let’s go fishing.
Here Come The Herring! The peak spawning season for herring in the SF Bay is here (there were some small spawns in December but the herring really move in during the month of January). If you spot large gatherings of gulls, pelicans, and sea lions near the shoreline anywhere in the Bay Area, it’s a sure sign that the Pacific herring have come close to shore and laid their eggs (they always seek out structure, mostly rocks and seaweed, to attach the eggs too). In the past, we’ve caught them with our casting net during the spawn along the rocky shoreline on Bridgeway in Sausalito, McCovey cove next to the ballpark, Belvedere Cove, and the Coyote Point marina.
Herring Spawn Tracker Updated Daily: The Lost Anchovy. #Protip: herring usually spawn on the incoming tide, so check the tide tables if you are heading out to try your luck.
Herring On The Menu: A few boats still ply the waters with nets to catch herring in the bay for the commercial/wholesale market, and you’ll find them on the menu in just a few select spots. Kantine on Market Street will have them for a few days, and we suspect that Fish in Sausalito will be serving them too, as TwoXSea, the wholesale fishery partner of the restaurant, acquired herring from the boat FV Captain Midnight per this Instagram post. Check the TwoXSea pricelist here for availability. We’re going to keep an eye on Hook Fish Co. and the fish counter at Bi-Rite too.
From The Archives:
The SF Bay Herring Run: Our interview with fisherman Ernie Kopf c. 2014.
Recipe: Pickled Herring with Sour Cream and Onions from Bar Tartine: Techniques & Recipes.
If You Must: Sheetpan Macaroni. The easiest, most indulgent take on the classic pasta dish. Salon
No One Can Eat Just One: Microwave-fried capers; crispy, salty, briny. America’s Test Kitchen
Orange You Glad For Tangerine Sorbet? David Lebovitz mentioned this mouthwatering recipe in his recent tnewsletter. Definitely tracking down some tangerines at the farmers market this weekend. David Lebovitz Newsletter
Crazy Delicious Garlic Chili Noodles: The Yeung Man Cooking channel from Wil Yeung on YouTube has lots of relatively easy vegan recipes, including this one which uses mashed tofu in place of pork, combined with a spicy garlic sauce and noodles. We made it last week and everyone at the table was speechless. Because their mouths were full. 😉
🐯 Year Of The Tiger: What are you making for Lunar New Year (begins Feb. 1)? Five Asian cooks share dishes from their celebrations (including Irvin Lin of Eat the Love in SF). The Washington Post (paywall)
Throw Me The Money: Chain restaurants are moving into Bay Area spaces vacated by small businesses and independently owned restaurants. “Where three years ago you couldn’t find or afford real estate, landlords are throwing keys at you.” SF Chronicle (paywall)
Where There’s Smoke: The booming popularity of mezcal has Mexican activists challenging the spirit industry’s rapid expansion. “And as it booms, you’re seeing the landscape of Oaxaca, and the landscape of wild lands, wild plants, wild animals being displaced by espadín farms.” Vinepair
More Doesn’t Equal Less: The plant-based food market is exploding in popularity, but it doesn’t mean people are eating less meat. “Although we’re seeing significant growth in the purchase of [plant-based] products, we don’t see a corresponding decline in meat consumption across most of the wealthy world.” Vox
Tastes Like Paste: Cell-based chicken get’s mixed reviews in the “world’s first public blind tasting.” But there’s a long way to go before you’ll be able to stage your own blind taste test. Larissa Zimberoff reminds us “that it took Quorn over ten years to get their simple fungi-based mycelium protein approved for sale in the frozen aisle.” Technically Food
Democratizing Our Food System with Frances Moore Lappé: In this excerpt from the 50th anniversary of her revolutionary book Diet for a Small Planet, Lappe discusses why protecting our democracy is so essential to creating a sustainable and equitable food future. CUESA
Snap, Crackle, Splat: “English has far fewer descriptors, and most—like crackle, crack, crisp, crunch, and snap—refer to the sensation of biting into something firm. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone describing a delicious meal as going squish or splat.” Popular Science
🍸 How Low Can You Go? With the demand for upside-down Manhattans (two parts vermouth to one part rye) and 50-50 martinis (equal parts gin, white vermouth, and orange bitters) growing, brands like Haus and Ghia are finding their way onto more cocktail menus aimed at offering consumers low ABV drinks. “I wanted to convert people to low abv,” says Price Hambrecht of Haus, “It’s showing people they do have options.” Wine Enthusiast
Related: A French 75 for everyone (low ABV version). The New York Times (paywall)
Taking Twitter By Storm: Succession season 3 but Logan tries to order Domino's. @Buncahn
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Radicchio Rosso di Treviso is the first print in the series. When you subscribe you’ll receive:
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We’re gonna go all the way tonight: RIP Meatloaf, whose Bat Out Of Hell album was at the top of the charts our freshman year in college:
That’s all for this week.
We’re outta here. Be well and take care,
–Bruce
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