Taco Tuesday
Round two of Taco Tuesday was a great success. We hit two spots; El Metate and La Taqueria. El Metate was delicious, great condiments, pickled carrots and chilis on the side, and my veggie taco came with grilled vegetables. Joe feels passionate about the Chile Verde Carnitas taco. A lovely spot and at the top of the pack thus far in the taco race against time.
La Taqueria is a neighborhood favorite. It was a solid contender with bonus points added because of their unique technique (say that fast ten times) of melting a slice of cheese on the tortilla before adding the taco fixins. The overall experience was tasty but a bit boring. Apparently on the menu it costs $1.20 to get your food without beans. hmmm?
4 tacos down and hundreds ahead!
Men eating
Sadly, my New York visit is coming to a close. It has been great seeing family and friends, eating my way across town (thanks Momofuku Milk Bar), and even getting some freelance work done. I also found time to start a project which is an extension of my eating portraits project on my 
website. I am shooting people eating and picnicing out in the real world. I am uncertain which direction this will take as I have some close ups, some similiar to the studio portraits, and some that focus more on the social aspects. But Madison Square Park was ripe with subjects and I look forward to shooting some more when I get back to San Francisco. Here a few that seem to go together in an interesting way. I am intrigued by the solitary activity of these men and the sometimes awkwardness of their pose. Many of the subjects are listening to music and wearing sunglasses as if to protect themselves from the world.
Craft Service
My brother Tom is producing a feature film in New York called Monogamy. I had a great time visiting the set yesterday and seeing the production in action. Check out the colorful craft service selection. Glad to know that Goldfish not only come in bulk, but in rainbow colors!
New York Pretzels
Forget nasty street vendor pretzels. The best pretzels in New York are at the Union Square Green Market. Yes, they are of the hard crunchy variety but so good with mustard. Martin’s Pretzels have been my favorite for years, made by hand and more delicious than anything. I had to go back and stock up the minute I arrived in New York. I love that you can buy a few or a giant bag and they always give you a bonus pretzel to eat immediately upon purchase. And why are they guys that man the market booth so darn cute? It used to be that the Silver Swan bar on 20th Street had baskets of these goodies on the bar along with mustard in a tube from Germany. Yes, the bar was a bit tacky but the free baskets of pretzels kept me glued to my seat for hours. I am going to eat one right now. Thanks Martin.
Shoes!
I have been shooting photos of shoes at the New York Shoe Expo for the past few days. It has been great working with Fashion Week Daily, and I of course love looking at shoes all day. I shot hundreds of styles and brands, mostly checking out what is coming up for Spring 2010, and some of what will be sold this upcoming Fall. I adore these sandals from Gentle Souls for Kenneth Cole. Definitely buying new shoes this week after being tempted by all the new fashions. I have been obsessed with finding the perfect red, slightly retro sandals but the Shoe Expo definitely gave me some more ideas of brands to check out. Maybe KorkEase or Jeffrey Campbell….just as long as I don’t have to wait for next Spring for my favorite styles to be released.
Taco Tuesday
Joe and I have decided to do an unscientific survey of our neighborhood taco joints. The Mission is famous for the proliferation of Mexican restaurants, and sometimes it seems as though every other store front serves tacos, burritos, and tamales. Most residents of the Mission have a favorite spot or two and it is always easiest to go somewhere no farther than a block away.
However, it is my goal to find what I consider to be the best taco within a 10? block radius. We are evaluating on 5 criteria; overall, meat (or veggie option in my case), toppings, salsa, and wrapper (the tortilla). I was hoping we could hit three spots per session but after our maiden voyage, I think we will be going to two per evening. And of course Taco Tuesday can only happen on a Tuesday.
We struck out at the first two spots as famous La Palma Mexica-tessen was closed, and I was scared of Taqueria Vallarta because it looked like they only had steak, brains, tongue, and hip. Upon further reading of Yelp, I was probably too quick to judge. Perhaps we can try it another time.
We did manage to get tacos at Corneta and Tonayense Taqueria. Further analysis of the results to follow once we have successfully conquered a few more Taco Tuesdays. But exit polls reveal Tonayense was way better!
iGoogle + candy = success
I entered a photography competetion for igoogle. Here is my entry of 5 igoogle headers…..if I don’t win (although I am sure I will), I will make these headers available publicly. Let me know if ya want ‘em. The candy was delicious.
Jelly Belly
Last week I had a blast visiting the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, California. I am fascinated by factories and food production, and was hoping to get up close and personal with the process. The giant industrial machines and huge warehouses are amazing in that all that machinery creates tiny little sugary gems. Alas, you aren’t allowed near the machines and it is forbidden to take pictures of the factory floor (but I did it on the sly!). I really want to develop a project and take photos of any candy or food production machinery up close. So, if anyone reading this has any contacts, please let me know. Until then, enjoy these pictures.
dehydration and a full belly.
These rings are amazing. Great fun and creative. Cathy in Austin, a recent college graduate is the artist behind these dehydrated fruit works of art. They look like rare flowers set atop a ring of silver. Reminds me of my college roommate Val’s mom who sent us shipments of dried apples every few weeks because I think she was in love with her food dehydrator. I should get one……thanks to my friend Jenny who sent me Cathy’s blog.
My family is visiting San Francisco for a long weekend, and we are eating our way across the city. I highly recommend everywhere we have been so far.
Anchor and Hope : I love their bread and butter, great seafood. The decor is perfect. East coast meets West coast. Hello West Coast.
Cafe Gratitude : Mostly raw, entirely vegan. I am a huge fan of rabbit food. Their spring rolls and coleslaw would be on my top 25 (vegetarian) San Francisco foods.
Luna Park : My favorite drink of all time is their Dr Pepper. Frosty glass bottle of Dr Pepper soda, vanilla vodka, vanilla syrup, silver tray, silver Dr Pepper Jelly Bellys. And check out Luna Park’s twitter feed where you can find out the password that will get you a sweet discount.
Tomorrow morning we hit the Ferry Building Farmers Market. One of the best food outings in all of SF.
Meat Cards
So, I think this is traveling around the internet at the moment, but how cool is this? Meat business cards! What a great way to promote your business or slaughter house. I sort of want some. How could you not hire someone who gave you a business card made out of filet mignon? I think you could probably print on fruit rollups too.
all images ©2009 emily heller