Yearly Archives: 2006

Bad bread in Albany

We have a roast chicken for dinner today, so Steve went to get some bread and came back with a large Semifreddi’s sourdough batard.  We toasted slices of it and served it with heirloom tomatoes.  Speaking of bread, I meant to write a bit about a new place at 841 San Pablo Avenue in Albany called House of Bread that Matt and I hit up a few days before we went to New York.  First off, it takes nerve to open a bread shop so close to Acme Bread Company.  Maybe it’s not nerve, maybe it’s something else, but Acme has nothing to worry about.  All the bread was in plastic when we arrived, which did not bode well.  I wanted a loaf of Italian and requested one not in plastic, but the nice lady behind the counter said that all the bread goes into plastic bags at about 9:00 a.m.  We bought one anyhoo – one with cheddar cheese, since they had a vast array of flavored breads.  The taste wasn’t bad, but the texture was poppin’ fresh, if you get my drift.  We also tried some of the quick breads and sweet dough items, which were perfectly fine.  Since House of Bread also carries a full selection of sandwiches (made with Boar’s Head cold cuts) I am hoping they are able to stay afloat via the lunch and sweet treat trade.  I so wanted to support a local business, but I just can’t see going to a bake shop where all the bread is executed at 9:00 a.m.

The Embers in Pinole

Matt and I drove up to Pinole today to take a look around and have lunch.  We wound up eating at The Embers (600 San Pablo Avenue), since I wanted to try to get the roast beef sandwich I saw my neighbor enjoying the last time I was there having a dish I didn’t care for.   I spent that whole meal craning my neck to examine the sandwich and being slightly pissed off about my chicken.  My family and friends know very well that I have a tendency to start in when I think someone else’s food looks better than mine.  What might start out as an idle comment can quickly turn into a meal-long whine.  My friend Paul and I often order the same thing when we eat out, since we share this unappetizing trait, in fact.  The Embers, a kitschy kind of diner that specializes in BBQ, is uneven in terms of quality, but we were willing to give it another go.  The lunch menu offered a French dip au jus for $8.95, which seemed about right, so I ordered it.  The friendly server asked me how I wanted my meat.  “Rare!”  This was a sign that there was actually a piece of beast roasting in the kitchen, and I became giddy.  Turns out this was the best French dip I ever had.  Lots of hand-carved sirloin, really rare, the way I like it, served with a cup of beef tea for dipping and some decent from-frozen — I think — fries.  Matt had the chicken fried steak again and. while he liked it, it didn’t look like great shakes to me.  I’ll be dragging my mom and Steven up there soon.

Dim sum at Asian Pearl

Curry fish balls at dim sum

To cheer ourselves up, we went to dim sum at Asian Pearl in Pacific East Mall (3288 Pierce Street, Richmond).  This is our ‘regular’ dim sum joint and we like it fine.  It has a wide range of offerings and most items are quite decent.  Non-greasy, which is a plus.  Depending on the day you visit, the food might be fab or pretty good, but I’ve never had a bad meal here.  The prices are about average for this tier of quality, and it is conveniently located near chez akitachow.  That said, if you go on a Sunday at noon, be ready to be aggressive about getting a number and waiting, waiting, waiting…

Fried squid at dim sum

Hanging herb garden

Hanging herb garden

This year I planted my annual herbs in a hanging moss planter, which gives me an attractive garden piece, is easy to maintain, and keeps the tender vittles away from the bug population.  I grew the herbs from seed in peat pots and then just panted the pots in some extra soil, watered and hung it on the Jacaranda tree in the backyard.  When the moss part of these contraptions starts to get really ratty looking you can simply buy new moss liners.  This system is working so well I think I’ll use it every year from now on.  In the past I was never able to keep the bugs off the basil.  The snails never seemed to bother with it, nor the raccoons, nor the roof rat we had living in the yard for a couple of months.  Bugs are not usually a problem with most herbs given the strong taste, but I suppose Albany bugs know what’s good.