Hungry Mouth

Zuni Cafe Lunch

The August issue of Saveur magazine featured the Zuni Cafe and its owner, Judy Rodgers. Rightfully so as the restaurant is a successful crystallization of the Bay Area food zeitgeist...casual, fresh, organic, politically correct. Exciting? No. Delicious? Yes.

I feel shame that I lived here for two years without indulging in Zuni's pleasures, particularly since I am a big fan of the cookbook. But I finally had a good excuse to go when a foodie friend from New York paid a visit last week.

My friend insisted on starting with a signature dish, the Zuni Caesar Salad. (I avoid this salad in restaurants in recent years because typically it is just plain bad). This was an excellent version, in fact, much like the one I make at home based on Julia Child's recipe. The romaine leaves are left whole, the anchovies are incorporated into the dressing in such a way that they are distinct yet subtle. The croutons are freshly made. Delicious. But not unique.

Next, I ordered a few oysters from the seafood bar. I requested small oysters. They were fabulous: a Humboldt Kunomoto, a Marin Miyagi, and a Pacific Orchard from BC served with a delicate champagne mignonette. My friend insisted I taste an eastern Malpeque...it was good but didn't have the Pacific brine that I adore. I want to taste the sea in my mouth. Why bother otherwise?

Then I couldn't resist the "House-cured Anchovies". I think 95% of the American population despises anchovies. Caesar's Salad only became popular when the anchovy element disappeared. I enjoy pizza with anchovies on the rare occassions when I have a companion who can tolerate it.

The Zuni Cafe anchovies should change the mind of anchovy phobes. They are not salty, not oily, not fishy. They are served with thin shards of top quality Parmigiano-Reggiano, and paper thin slices of celery. A few nicoise olives are tossed about the plate. Simple but perfect. I have to give credit for the idea of combining anchovies and celery...a surprising but brilliant combination.

For the main dish of our lunch we ordered one of the brick oven pizzas...described as pizza with parmesan, mozzarella, pork sausage, red onions and radicchio. When it was served I was surprised to see it was a white pizza, no sauce at all. It didn't need sauce. The crust was almost paper thin and crisp with well charred areas. The toppings took second stage to the delicious crust.

Zuni's signature dish is a roast chicken with bread salad for two which takes 40 minutes to cook to order. I saw it served to a table near me. Looked good. But I make roast chicken so often at home that I have no interest in eating it out.

In summary, the Zuni Cafe certainly isn't breaking any new culinary ground, but it's an excellent choice for good basic food made from top-notch ingredients. I just wish the cookbook had the pizza crust recipe!

Floating Island: Lake Titicaca

The Uros Indians of Peru live their lives on a man-made island that floats in Lake Titicaca. The lake is 14,000 feet in altitude, the highest navigable inland lake in the world. It's cold for much of the year. Yet, this tribe chooses to live there. Maintaining the island is a year round job. Every day parts of the island succumb to rot and every day new parts are added by the inhabitants. The island is constructed of a native reed that grows along the shore. During our visit we were given a piece of the reed and instructed to peel and eat it. It was quite refreshing, full of fresh water.

The island was an odd and fun place to explore because...due to the reed structure...one's feet sunk about 6 inches deep with each step. It really was like walking on a water bed.

Unfortunately, the Uros did not move to the island by choice. In the early 1500's, the conquistadores invaded. At that time the Uros tribe lived in the mountains surrounding Lake Titicaca. Shortly after the invasion, the Uros were conscripted to work in silver mines for the Spaniards who were intent on returning to Spain with great riches. Within 10 years over 90% of the Uros population was wiped out due to conditions in the mines. The remaining 10% decided to escape. They built a floating island and paddled out to the middle of Lake Titicaca. The Spaniards did not follow them and so they survived.

Their life today is very different than in the past. They rely on the tourist income, but also fishing. They dry fish and use it to barter for other items they need. There is a one room schoolhouse that educates the children to the high school level. At that point the only way to continue education is for their parents to rent an apartment in Puno, the nearest city. The trip to the island takes too long to commute on a daily basis.

Cooking:

Grinding grain:

Fishing boat and island:

Festival Peruvian Style 2

On the 3rd weekend in July many towns and villages in the Peruvian state of Cusco celebrate the Festival de las Virgenes de Carmen. I had the good fortune to observe the festival this year in the village of Pisac, near the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The heart of the festival was a procession that began at the church and encircled the village. Hundreds of villagers participated, at times there seemed to be more participants than observers.

Apparently, preparation for the festival starts a year in advance. The various neighborhoods in the village form "teams". Each team sponsors a specific group of participants. The groups consist of 10-20 people all of whom wear indentical costumes and march (or dance) in the procession. Each team selects one member to fill the roll of Majordomo. The Majordomo has many responsibilities including paying for and making the costumes for her group as well as hosting a 3 day feast/openhouse the weekend of the festival. As you can see in the pictures the costumes are extremely elaborate and beautiful. I had assumed they were recycled from year to year but instead they are made fresh. This clearly entails quite an expense on the part of the Majordomo. Supposedly, it costs the family of the Majordomo an entire year's earnings. However, it is believed that every $ spent will be returned to them in the form of good luck!

I was for some reason expecting the procession to involve "real virgins" a la Miss Peanut Festival or Miss Artichoke Festival in the USA. Rather, the virgins were inanimate "dolls", carried on a platform on the shoulders of participants. Pisac had two virgins.

The Cuckoos: This group dressed to resemble the cuckoo bird make bird sounds...they must not utter human words while in costume.

The Demons: Many groups represented various sorts of demons. They try to get close to the Virgins but are repelled by other groups. Demons and Virgins must never mix!

The Spaniards: Mocking the Conquistadores.

Blue Eyes: Not sure what this group represents but I found their blue eyes and pink skin interesting.

Hats: Throughout Peru the native tribes distinguish themselves from each other via their hats. These are particularly lovely.

The Feast: A majordomo sets-up for the 3 day feast.

Festival Peruvian Style 1

Our second day in Cusco, before heading up to Machu Picchu, we hired a taxi driver and a guide to show us the Inca ruins in the vicinity of Cusco, in particular the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Around 11am we arrived at the town of Pisac and stopped for a 15 minute look at the market. Whoops! Three hours later we reluctantly left. July 16 was the major holiday for Pisac and much of the Peruvian state of Cusco: The Festival de Las Virgenes de Carmen. Some teaser pictures with explanation to follow: