San Francisco this past weekend gave us a pretty killer food experience. PPQ for crab and garlic noodles, Kirala in Berkeley for amazing sushi, Blue Bottle for the smoothest coffee, PPQ noodle house for bun bo hue and satay noodles, and a sneak peak of the new Arizmendi Bakery in the Mission District. This will the fourth Arizmendi Bakery to open in the Bay Area and no doubt, with it’s prime location will probably be one of the most successful. We used to frequent the Sunset District location for their delicious baked goods and amazing, no-sauce pizzas. Everyday, they would make a different type of pizza and it was so darn good.

Arizmendi Bakery is a worker owned cooperative, each of the employees at each location have a stake in the business. Their first bakery was in Oakland and the successive stores were opened with the same secret recipes and knowledge of cooperative business practices. My brother, Troy, is one of the new member/owners of the Mission District, San Francisco location. He is the man behind Sweedeedee Jerky, the home made jerky business you may have read about in previous posts. Every time he’d make a batch, it would sell out to the crowds of thousands at the San Francisco Underground Market. It’s safe to say Troy is a natural when it comes to food, Arizmendi is that much better having Troy on board. That is my “unbiased” opinion.

Arizmendi Bakery is in soft launch mode, making smaller batches of their menu, preparing for their grand opening in the next week or so. Their doors are open, baking and doing everything as they would and getting their flow and efficiency down. Already, San Francisco is waiting in anticipation and lining up for the free baked goods. Yep, until their official opening, all of the goods that they are baking for their soft launch are free! Be prepared to wait in line, but, you won’t be disappointed.

You can learn more and read a day in the life at ArizmendiBakery.org and Arizmendi.coop. Visit the new bakery on Valencia Street, cross street is 24th Street in the Mission District.

No matter where you are in Seoul, you will always find good food. Restaurants there specialize in one thing and they do it well. For example, we stopped in Myung Dong Kyoja (yes, there is also a Los Angeles location), and the line was out the door, but, as soon as you are in, you order one thing, it comes right away and there is no fiddling around–eat and go, give up your table to the next patient customer–or get the stare.

Not only restaurants, but, anywhere on the street…. good treats are often presented in an even more interesting way. I guess there has to be something to attract the masses. Like fashion, Seoul food is trendy, foods come and go and there is always something new.

Travel=Inspiration.

Even the vending machine lattes rival the boutique cafes in Los Angeles…. sort of.

Take me back to Palm Springs! I wish!! Last weekend was special, a little R&R is always great… Rented a killer house in hot Palm Springs, played in water, and overall chilled. If a vacation home is not your style, The Ace Hotel has been offering some sweet deals. Wherever this weekend takes you, Summer is pretty much here so get ready! Not sure what we are up to yet, but, we’ll be catching up digitally I’m sure.

I blogged a few weeks ago about my brother Troy and his new jerky biz, Swee Dee Dee Jerky. He debuted the culinary delight at the San Francisco Underground Market and sold out within hours. Troy was giving tasters and people instantly bought not just one bag, but, multiples. It was that good… and to no surprise, this was a recipe that has been passed down through the family, I remember eating the jerky on special occasions and outdoor family outings. Good to see my little brother revive this recipe for the public and even better to see people devouring it. You can order a bag online at sweedeedeejerky.com and emailing him at sweedeedeejerky(at)gmail.com. He makes to order, so just email him for the details! He’ll send it to you in a cute, little hand stamped bag and a little note about when it shipped and how to store it. Because this is all natural and no preservatives, you should eat it in a reasonable time… but, I guarantee that will not be a problem, it’s totally addictive, one bite and you end up eating the whole bag. I already got the Poketo crew hooked on “the meat treat with the sweet heat”…. I’m like the pusher man.

Swee Dee Dee Jerky will be at the next San Francisco Underground Market slated for June 4th so mark your calendar.