3 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
I eat at S.F.'s best restaurants. This dining experience is the one I look forward to all year
In my line of work, I routinely eat at some of the best restaurants in the world, but one of the dining experiences I look forward to most all year has no Michelin stars, brand name chef or even paid staff. All the dishes are economical — no caviar supplements available — and there is no wine list. Oh, and it's a 30-course tasting menu.
The Tenderloin Family Housing Cooking Competition is an annual event where the residents of 201 Turk, a building that provides affordable housing to low-income families, compete for bragging rights across three categories — appetizers, entrees and desserts. Last week I served as a judge for the second year in a row, and while I would like to say I do this out of my commitment to community, a sense of civic responsibility, etc. etc., between you and me I'm there because the food is really stinking good.
Located in the heart of the Tenderloin, 201 Turk is a 175-unit building with a focus on families managed by the Chinatown Community Development Center. A large percentage of the building's residents are immigrants, and this diversity is a big part of what makes this cooking competition such a delight. This year there were chicken masala sliders, a tagine, fish sauce chicken wings, Syrian and Egyptian molokhia, sweet glutinous rice cakes, chocoflan and apple pie.
With 10 entries in every category, my fellow judges, including Oakland-based chef Pierre Thiam and AA Bakery owner Henry Chen, and I were in for a lot of eating. We made our way down the line of folding tables, each home cook serving us a portion while describing his or her dish, sometimes through a translator. After sampling the entries, we deliberated on who would place first, second and third in each category while the rest of the attendees filled their plates.
Much debate and horse trading ensued before we announced the winners. The woman who took third place in the dessert category with her marzipan-like cookies known as makrouta sauntered victoriously to the front of the auditorium with an Algerian flag wrapped around her shoulders. A cook in the appetizer category was both humble and incredulous when her flavorful Yemeni bean dish took first place. 'It's just beans,' she said. Award-winning beans.
Amazing home cooking aside, what I love most about the Tenderloin Family Housing Cooking Competition is the sense of palpable community in this building, even among people who might not speak the same language. I watched the Yemeni bean wizard trade bites with her neighbor, who made a punchy pico de gallo, and when one resident took second place with his eggplant lasagna, he called his wife of 27 years up with him and said it was her recipe and she deserved the credit. This is the feel-good food event we all need, and I can't wait for next year.
