The Pierces are sassy, but I think I like them best when they're earnest.

Same goes for most people I guess (meaning, I like them best when earnest, especially if they're usually sassy).  I especially love how "Three Wishes" is a study in sounds.  Wishes, delicious, fishes, blisses, vicious... lover, ever, heavens... it's just such a pleasure to listen to.

Three Wishes by The Pierces

We'd be so less fragile

If we're made from metal
And our hearts from iron
And our minds from steel
And if we built an army
Full of tender bodies
Could we love each other
Would we stop to feel

And you want three wishes:
One to fly the heavens
One to swim like fishes
And then one you're saving for a rainy day
If your lover ever takes her love away

You say you want to know her like a lover
And undo her damage, she'll be new again
Soon you'll find that if you try to save her
It will lose her anger
You will never win

And you want three wishes:
You want never bitter
And all delicious
And then one you're saving for a rainy day
If your lover ever takes her love away

You want three wishes:
One to fly the heavens
One to swim like fishes
You want never bitter
And all delicious
And a clean conscience
And all its blisses
You want one true lover with a thousand kisses
You want soft and gentle and never vicious
And then one you're saving for a rainy day
If your lover ever takes her love away

I was duped by an uncommonly cruel April Fool's prank.

I have to learn not to be so damn gullible.  Especially on April Fool's.  Last week I sent this very excited e-mail to a group of fellow foodies:
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Hi foodie friends!
 
This is the most exciting news I've gotten all day (yes, it's early, but still).  I've been following this incredible blog for a while, Alinea At Home, in which this woman cooks her way through Grant Achatz's Alinea Cookbook (which, incidentally, Tony C. Yang got me for my birthday last year). This woman has ALREADY cooked her way through Thomas Keller's French Laundry cookbook, and just looking at all the steps it takes to produce 8 bites of flavor experience makes me want to faint.
 
Anyway, she has decided to take her cooking on a cross-country road trip, and she'll be serving food out of her truck!  She comes to SF (at 18th and Dolores) on May 14-15.  Some of the things on her menu:
  • Hot dog air
  • Banh mi explosion
  • Sweetbread and lobster popsicle
  • Falafel liquid shot
  • Pho on a pin
I am definitely going, and if you're interested we can all mob her truck together!  Then, we can go to Bi-Rite or Delfina or Tartine for some more filling food.  How 'bout it???
 
Steph
____________________________
 
You can imagine some of the excited responses I got from this e-mail.  People promising, "I'm in!" and "Sounds awesome!" and whatnot.  But then, I started reading some of the comments on the woman's blog post, and that creeping feeling of dread came over me.  And before long it became clear that there was to be no cross-country road trip after all.  And so I was compelled to send this very shameful follow-up e-mail:
____________________________

I am so sad and embarrassed to say this.

But I think I (and all ya'll) have been duped.  After reading comments on the blog post, I'm realizing the whole thing was most likely a very well conceived, very cruel April Fool's joke.  Apparently I don't follow the blog closely enough to realize she's done the same thing for a few years running.

Which means Carol (that mean person behind Alinea at Home) will probably not be taking a cross-country road trip after all.  And there is probably no such thing as "hot dog air," though I didn't doubt for a second that there could be such a thing as a "rich, flavorful hot dog stock."  Sorry to get your hopes up!  Believe me, I am beYOND crushed.  Le sigh.

Oh well, I still plan on making Grant Achatz's black truffle explosion sometime this year, but first I have to get used to using my new pasta roller/cutter (which means practising a lot with ravioli, if you want to join for that).  Or if you feel like drowning your sorrows in a pint of Bi-Rite and a ham and cheese Tartine croissant, then call me up.

Bummed,
Steph
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I'm glad my friends were understanding, but the whole thing still sucked and I'm quite salty about it still.  I just might refuse to go if the Alinea woman DOES decide to do a real cross-country tour, I'm so mad.  Might.  But probably not.

Some of the funny and touching responses I got (interestingly, my friends use a lot of emoticons when they are being nice and understanding):
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HAHAHAHAH!  omg.  happy april fools to all!  Dont' worry Steph, I was equally as excited and equally as fooled...although I did find her truck to be a bit suspicious....darn her clever ways!

Taco shots?  Ugh.  Didn't even want to try those ANYWAY....maybe.  Cheers and thanks for the invite in any case!

Jane
____________________________
 
Poor Steph!  That was a very elaborate April Fool's joke.  I didn't get it, either, and I've been thinking about hot dog air, wondering what keeps the vapor from going back to liquid, and how, when you bite into the balloon, you keep from burning yourself on the hot vapor.  I was thinking of coming up, just to find out.

The sweetbread and lobster popsicle seemed pretty disgusting--even to me, who eats pretty much anything.  :)
 
Miss you!
Grace
____________________________
 
HA!  I was sort of sad that I didn't get pranked all day.  

I was pretty excited about the Pho Pin. I'm going to have to sit down and think about what that means for my life. Thanks for the giggle, Stephanie. :)

Micah
____________________________
 
so sad, i wanted to go to this with you... but like many people, it was the only april fool's joke i got, so that's one good thing about the prank :)

Jennie
____________________________
 
OMG, this gourmet truck food sounded like a dream coming true for a quick second ;-) 
 
Let me know when you decide to make fresh pasta again--I can bring some recipe ideas from Batalli's (or Tyler's) book.

Thais

To start your week: Behold, the Samosa Burrito at Curry Up Now in San Mateo

When I ordered it, I thought the concept of "samosa" was figurative.  I thought maybe they stuffed some potatoes inside the burrito.

But no, when I bit into the burrito, I found spiced rice, pickles, chickpeas....and AN ENTIRE DEEP-FRIED SAMOSA.  Inside. My burrito!  If this is not worthy of a submission to This Is Why You're Fat, I don't know what is.  

The burrito, by the way, was gloriously tasty.  I ate half of it and it sat like a log in my stomach all afternoon.  Check it out at Curry Up Now (they now take online orders in advance!).

Foodie Tuesday: Himalayan Salt Plate. I want.

This is one of the coolest things I've heard of in a while (well, not quote as cool as Motivational Wolf, but close).  When I mentioned that I wanted to try salt-roasting a fish (more on that later), my coworker Thais told me about the Himalaya pink salt plate her friend used to bake some delectable, flavorful fish.

So apparently you can use pink Himalayan salt like regular salt, dusted over your food, but to really take this delicacy (and I am a sucker for fancy salts) to the next level, you can buy an entire block of it, cut out of rock high in the mountains of Pakistan, that serves as an extremely versatile cooking instrument.

You can place it directly over your stovetop burner and fry an egg.  Or place it over your barbecue to grill shrimp.  Or stick it in the oven.  Food comes away with just enough saltiness plus some extra flavor from the minerals of the salt block.

You can even freeze the block and use it to serve sushi and other cold dishes!  

From the NY TImes:   

This thick 8-by-11-inch piece of solid salt, mined in Pakistan, can be used for cooking. It will not melt when placed directly on a stove burner and heated gradually. Lightly brushed with butter or oil, it will fry eggs, shrimp, fish steaks or thin slices of beef that come away with quite enough salt. The slab can go in the oven or on a grill and can also be chilled or even frozen to use for serving sushi or other seafood. It will retain the cold for an hour or more. Scrub it with a stiff brush or plastic scouring pad after use and rinse it quickly. It must be thoroughly dried overnight before heating again.