Four Barrel Coffee, SF: The Cappuccino and Dynamo Donut Routine

When there's great coffee 4 blocks away from a BART stop, you STOP.
When the free UCSF shuttle goes from campus to that BART stop, well .. you take an extended coffee break every day around 4 and get a cappuccino and maybe one of the Dynamo donuts they also happen to be selling there.
Ever since Sam Kim from LAist told me about this place, that's pretty much what I've been doing ...

Four Barrel was started by the co-founder and co-owner of Ritual Coffee, Jeremy Tooker.
I had a hard time deciding between the free wi-fi at Ritual (there's no wi-fi at Four Barrel) or the dynamo donuts at Four Barrel, but Four Barrel's proximity to the 16th/Mission BART stop won after all.

The seats and tables are arranged like desks and you can see people working on their laptops but don't be fooled, like I said, no wi-fi, so just get your coffee and enjoy it.
Freshly roasted beans are always available for purchase, of course, from Sumatra beans to Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Burundi.
A strong and dark cappuccino that's smooth and without the bitterness.

The apricot cardamom donut from Dynamo was moist and held the fruit inside. Nicely spiced and the glaze wasn't overwhelmingly sweet. I was very happy with this.
The passionfruit donut was covered in chocolate chunks. A nice tartness and passionfruit flavor here. My friend passed on my invite to get donuts at Four Barrel but I brought her this anyway and she changed her mind and went to get her hubby a dozen Dynamo donuts the week after.

(On another note, the chocolate spice one in the first picture didn't fare as well with me. It had nice flavors but the donut itself wasn't as moist as these other two).

I'm not enough of a coffee connoisseur to tell you if the coffee here is better Intelligentsia, Ritual, or Blue Bottle (well I do think it's better than Blue Bottle ... ). All I know is that the coffee here is darn good and they sell Dynamo donuts. 'Nuff for me.

Four Barrel Coffee
375 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 252-0800
www.fourbarrelcoffee.com


Dynamo Donuts
2760 24th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 920-1978
www.dynamodonut.com

Recipe: Torta Xocolata (Chef John Sedlar, Rivera)

Here's another recipe from chef John Sedlar (Rivera Restaurant)! This was the dessert he made for the LA Mag's latest culinary event at Snyder Diamond. Rich and smooth, this was so good. Definitely worth a try. Enjoy.

Chocolate Torte with Caramel Lime Sauce
by Chef John Sedlar, Rivera Restaurant

Chocolate Torte

3/4 cup heavy cream
10 oz dark, semisweet chocolate, broken into 1/2-inch pieces (Rivera uses 61% Valrhona w/ cream added)

1 1/2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Line an 8-inch circular cake pan with a large circular coffee filter or a circle of waxed paper large enough to come halfway up to the pan's side.

In the top of a double boiler, place the cream and chocolate pieces and stir until the chocolate has melted completely and is fully blended with the cream.

Pour the mixture into the lined cake pan and chill it in the refrigerator until solid, at least 2 hours. To unmold the torte, place a circle of cardboard or a flat plate over the pan. Dunk the bottom of the pan in warm water, then invert it turning it out onto the cardboard or plate. Lift off the pan and peel off the paper.

Place a decorative stencil on top of the torte. Hold a small, fine sieve over the torte's surface and spoon the cocoa poder into the sieve. Gently tap the sieve as you move it around above the torte to dust its surface evenly. Carefully lift off the stencil. Store the torte in the refrigerator until serving time.

Caramel Lime Sauce
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Put the sugar and water in a heavy medium-sized skillet. Heat the mixture over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar melts and turns a medium caramel color, 10 to 15 minutes.

Immediately add the cream and stir until it is fully incorporated. Remove the pan from the heat. Then, stir in the lime juice and let the sauce cool to room temperature.

To serve the torte, spoon some of the sauce into the middle of each chilled dessert plate. Cut a wedge of the torte and place it on top of the sauce.

Recipe: Scallops Arabesque (Chef John Sedlar, Rivera)

A few weeks ago, Los Angeles Magazine held a culinary demonstration at the Santa Monica Snyder Diamond showroom with Chef John Sedlar of Rivera Restaurant. We tasted the Casino cocktail by one of Rivera's bartender, watched and learned as chef Sedlar and his executive chef Kevin made two dishes for us: Scallops Arabesque and Torta Xocolata.

Since I haven't had time to write a full post on it yet, in the meantime I will give you the recipe for Chef Sedlar's Scallops Arabesque! Enjoy!
Scallops Arabesque
by Chef John Sedlar (Rivera)

Eggplant Puree
2 Italian eggplant
2 whole roasted garlic
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Cut eggplant in half, score, season with salt and pepper and pour olive oil over the flesh. Roast in 300 degree oven until soft, about an hour. Once eggplant is fully cooked remove skin and put cooked eggplant in a food processor, add the garlic and puree together. Add additional salt and pepper to taste if desire.

Ras El Hanout Sauce
2 cups chicken stock
5 tbsp Vadouvan*
1 1/2 oz cold butter, cubed
salt to taste

Place chicken stock and vadouvan in sauce pan. Over low heat reduce to sauce consistency. Add salt and cold butter cubes stirring constantly.

*Vadouvan is a blend of spices and the recipe may vary for each person/chef. To get an idea, here's one recipe from Epicurious. Or you can buy it (from Amazon or wherever): Vadouvan, Ground.


Preserved Lemons
4 lemon
3 cups sugar
1 cup salt

Juice lemons and remove pith. Bring salt water to a boil and cook lemons for 5 minutes. Repeat process 3-4 times using new salt water each time. Dry lemons and place in pan. Cover with sugar and salt mixture, wrap container and store in refrigerator for 5-7 days. After 5-7 days remove lemon from container and rinse off. Cut lemon into small cubes and store in olive oil.

Sea Scallops
18 large sea scallops
1/2 cup grapeseed oil

Serve

Heat all components and keep warm on the stovetop. Season the scallops with sea salt. Over high heat fill a large saute pan with the grapeseed oil.

Once the oil is almost smoking, gently place the scallops in the pan. Once the scallops have a dark golden sear, turn the scallops and finish cooking on the other side until preferred doneness. If you enjoy your scallops cooked over medium-medium well, place the pan in the oven for about 6 minutes. Spoon a line of eggplant puree onto the center of your dish, creating a bed for the scallops. Place three scallops per plate and top with the ras el hanout (vadouvan) sauce. Finally top the scallops with about 1/2 tsp of the preserved lemons. Sprinkle with Ras el Hanout.