Chips Ahoy, Cocktails Down the Hatch: This Week in Food Bloggery

J. Birdsall

Behold: The majestic chocolate chip cookie.

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1. You know how some people get a reputation for liking owls, and suddenly they're receiving owl earrings for Christmas, owl thank-you cards after dinner parties, and owl pencils? Well, John Birdsall put the word out that he was tasting chocolate chip cookies, and ended up sampling a few dozen. Here are his favorites.

2. Why don't you have plans to attend SF Cocktail Week? Tomorrow: absinthe tastings, a lecture on fern bars, a grand gala attended by every bartender in the city. Sunday: Barbecue at St. George. Monday: Emergen-C and no regrets.

3. Bite o' the week: The meatloaf sandwich at Hayes Valley's new Fatted Calf store. While it's no surprise that Taylor Boetticher's instinct for ground meat is sure, his addition of house-cured bacon and caramelized onions turned a sando I begrudgingly ordered ― I'd gone for the promised bollito misto ― into the best lunch I've had this month. (The sun helped.)

4. Michael Leaverton's instructions on how to order artisanal ice cream cover attire, etiquette, and comportment. On stance, for instance: "Imagine you're some asshole who just got published. It's also okay to slowly slide one foot out and perch there like a drugged ballerina."

5. According to Brian Yaeger, Northern California showed well at this year's Great American Beer Festival, with honors going to Sierra Nevada, Mad River, Bear Republic, Trumer, Triple Rock, and others. Pluses: A list of a dozen new beers to search out. Minuses: You'll have to drive to the brewery to taste most of them.