Mecca (part 1)

I’m not a very religious person, heck I’m not really much of a spiritual person. I was raised in a Jewish home, got a decent Jewish education (Sunday school, Hebrew school, Bar Mitzvah) but we never really talked about God, or what he/she was, how it manifested itself in our daily lives, or how we could communicate with God for advice and favors (generally known as “praying” in the Christian world).

Even during my Jewish education period, from 8 years old until I hit 15, I never really caught the God bug. I think it has something to do with the fact that the majority of the population believed in something that I “knew” (and was taught almost on a daily basis) wasn’t true, so it was quite easy for me to eliminate the rest of religion as something that you get to chose, or not.

Plus I liked to ask A LOT of questions. The whole “it comes down to faith” argument never really impressed me. I’m a Virgo, so I’m supposed to be logical, analytical, and skeptical. At least that’s what my astrologer told me, and she’s never wrong!
(I really DO have an analytical mind! And I’m always looking for new ways to challenge myself!! And puppies…I really like puppies)

So, is this some sort of rant, essay, riff (if you will) ,on the President’s latest “Intelligent Design is Good, kids should hear both sides to debates in schools” nonsense?

Well, no.

It’s about Food. To be more specific, where you can see, taste, and buy it. Ok, even more specifically, I’m talking about my very own spiritual center, my Vatican, Wailing Wall, Dome of the Rock, and Jesus on a piece of toast…

The San Francisco Ferry Building (and farmer’s market)

Where to begin? When I moved to SF, in 1996, the building was just offices…and the ferry landing. The farmer’s market was located a couple of blocks away, in a parking lot.
Then I heard that “they” (the mysterious city people) were going to refurbish the building, return the farmers market to the area in and around the ferry plaza and fill the building interior with gourmet shops, food stands and the like. Like the Pike Place Market in Seattle and Granville Island in Vancouver (BC).

I was intrigued.

My mom made home-cooked meals almost every night and it was considered a treat to go out to a restaurant. I would watch her make Potato Latkes from scratch, the smell of onions filling up the house, quickly followed by the aroma of fried potatoes.
She would make other traditional Jewish/Eastern European foods as well;
Stuffed Cabbage, Rugulah, Tsimmis, chopped liver and everyone’s favorite--
Beef Tongue. These dishes were the exception, not the rule, but she was/is a good cook always looking to try new cuisines (tonight, Chow Mein, tomorrow, Tacos)

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that I was exposed to different foods as a child and it must’ve rubbed off on me in some way. I like to consider myself an adventurous food eater. Like Tony Bourdain without the travel budget…and the classical chef’s training.

Then I got into the restaurant business. It’s not what you think. Trust me, I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not that. I worked for suburban chain restaurants. Think Chili’s, Friday’s or for you “Office Space” fans, it was just like Chotchkie's …and yes, I made sure my staff wore the proper flair.

We made burgers, burritos, bbq ribs, and every trendy appetizer that hit the market—Potato skins! Chicken Wings! Jalapeño Poppers!
(this was the 80’s and these were still new and exciting foods)
I worked in the “front of the house” (not the kitchen) and had a staff of up to 100 employees. Good times…except when it sucked. And it could really suck.

Anyway…this experience also contributed to my food education. Sure, it was crappy food, usually bland enough not to offend anyone, but it was fresh, fast and priced to move. In other words, you could’ve done a lot worse. This is where I learned my way around a kitchen.

So, what have we got? A guy who grew up in an interesting and challenging food home, became a manager in a chain full-service restaurant, and then moved to one of the greatest food cities in the world.
So I quit the restaurant biz, took about a year off of work, and cooked dinner every night for my wife.

It was during this time I heard about the Ferry Building renovation, and I was excited.