Any Way You Slice It

At the end of a night out with friends, usually the best looking thing to me is the pizza across the street. No matter how much I ate at dinner, or how recently I ate, I usually want to go home with some greasy slice, or a bacon wrapped hot dog. Seeing as how this is detrimental to my waist-line and a habit I'm trying to break, I wonder if it's psychological (I've conditioned to 'treating' myself to this gastro-fiasco at the end of the night), or if it's truly biological. Something beyond my control and who am I to fight it?

Although there doesn't seem to yet be definitive answers to this question. There are quite a few hypothesis out there, all which sound pretty legit to me. The most basic one, is that alcohol contains a lot of sugar. And usually, before we know we're going on a big binge, we tend to stock up on carbs, to 'absorb' the alcohol. That means that we're consuming high quantities of sugar and once our body digests that and breaks it all down, our blood sugar eventually drops, leaving us hungry. Now, this is the most basic idea that I read. The other one gets much more complicated and scientific but I'll try to simplify it as best as I can.

In conjunction with the theory that eating so many foods with sugar in them, and thereby temporarily raising our blood sugar, the body must prepare for this rise in blood sugar by increasing the production of insulin. This spike in insulin production interferes with the function of leptin, a protein hormone that affects our appetite. Leptin is involved with regulating how the body takes in and expends energy, which we get from food. Low levels of leptin, or preventing leptin from properly interacting with the brain, increases appetite.

Ghrelin is another hormone that also affects our appetites. It is a hormone found mostly in the stomach but can also be found in the hypothalamic region. There is an increase in ghrelin before we eat, and a reduction of it after our meal. When ghrelin is activated it increases our appetites and fat mass; it is sensitive to leptin as well as insulin levels.

And finally, when we drink, our brain releases an amino acid peptide neurotransmitter, called neuropeptide Y (NPY). NPY is secreted by the hypothalamus and tends to increase our desire for food intake as well as affecting the way energy is stored as fat. Fat now tends to be stored more in the abdominal area (not sexy on men or women, just an fyi). NPY also works together with ghrelin and leptin in your body to contribute to hunger when you've been drinking, I just can't totally figure it all out from all the scientific talk, but I know that it says it somewhere.

All three of these work together to make us hungrier when we've been drinking, and needless to say, when we've been drinking it's harder for us to resist what our bodies want. Now that I know it is biological, I won't feel so bad having that last slice at the end of the night, cause if it tastes so good, how can it be wrong?

Kombucha with Me

Kombucha tea seems to be all the rage these days and is the new 'it' drink. I see it being sold in all the high end super markets now, and 'organic' cafes. Now, one of my closest friends raves about how much she like the tea, but what is it really? My own first personal experience was picking it up at the mushroom shop down at the ferry building. It's marketed as a drink made from mushrooms and my friend comments on how there's 'floaties' in the tea. Clearly some research was needed.

Unlike my friend, I'm not a fan of Kombucha. It has an odd tart taste to it, a strange combination of it tasting somewhat refreshing (I think partly due to the carbonation) but at the same time slightly fermented. People have said that it can taste a bit like apple cider, while others say it's like a light wine. As I had mentioned earlier, it's been marketed as a tea made of mushrooms, but this isn't actually true, it's brewed form a colony of bacteria and yeast. Brewers add sugar to the colony and steep it in black or green tea. The resultant 'tea' now has a combination of vinegar, B vitamins and other chemical compounds.

Because of these elements, some people believe that Kombucha tea is a 'fountain of youth elixir,' and has been used for thousands of years in places such as China. It's believed to have many restorative powers and can help with such things as: lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, losing weight, headaches and insomnia among many other things. However, there have been numerous studies done with conflicting results. Although, some do believe that Kombucha is this magical elixir, others believe that there is no real evidence of these healing qualities. Below are a couple of websites that speak to both sides of the Kombucha argument.

http://www.anahatabalance.com/teakombucha2.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/kombucha-tea/AN01658

http://www.nutrition4health.org/nohanews/NNW97KombuchaTea.htm

You can also brew Kombucha at home yourself. Just be sure to do your homework and read the vast material out there that guides you through the steps. Many of the sites that guide you through the home-brewing process also have your own bacteria colony which you can purchase online. One of the main points they seemed to make, were to be careful of contamination. If there is any hint of that, either through a strange odor or mold growing, be sure to throw the brew out and start over. Whatever you decide to do though, cheers to your health!

What's That Smell?

'Oooo, wanna share a side of asparagus?'

'Uhhh, no thanks...it makes my pee smell.'

'Really? I didn't know that...'

So goes this conversation all across the world. Seems that some people are well aware of this natural occurance, and others seem completely oblivious. Although, I myself have often heard this, I'm not sure that I've ever noticed it myself. So, as I sit here writing, I made sure to eat some asparagus beforehand to see what the results will be later. The sacrifice and self-experiments I do to inform my readers...

But of course, aside from just my little experiment, I've also done some research to back up the results of my experiment. Interestingly enough, studies show that it only takes 20-30 minutes for your body to breakdown the asparagus, thereby creating the notorious odor. What sort of odor some of you may be asking? It's like rotten eggs or ammonia, definitely not pleasant. And what creates this smell? Well, some say that there is a sulfur in the aspargus that contains amino acids which break down during digestion (this sulfur comes from the same group of sulfurs that make the ).

However, there are apparently to two different beliefs to the 'asparagus making your pee' smell theory. Studies have shown that only about 40-50% of people actually have the gene that breaks down the amino acids in your body. The OTHER studies show that everyone breaks down the amino acids, but only 40-50% of the people have the gene that allows you to actually smell it! So, the big question now is 'Do 50% of the people break down the asparagus, or are only half the people able to smell it?'

Well, the results are in of my experiment. I either don't have the gene to break down the amino acid, or I don't have the gene to smell it...

You Wanna Pop a Cherry?

Ever wondered about maraschino cherries? Are they real or synthetic? How do they come to be, these artifically sweet treats in our drinks, or on top of our sundaes? Well, be prepared, cause I'm here to tell you the truth about them.

Not that there's a whole lot to tell...but yes, maraschino cherries are actually made of real cherries. Not bing though, typically the light colored cherries, like the Royal Ann. First they're brined (used to be in alcohol), then they sit in a bath of food coloring, sugar syrup, artificial and natural flavors and a few other things. Finally, after all that, they're dyed, usually red, but they acutally come in a variety of other colors, like green, blue, orange and even pink, who knew?

Interestingly enough, maraschino cherries were first created as a delicacy for royalty and the wealthy...oh how far they've fallen. The were also originally made using the marasca cherry and preserved in maraschino liquer, hence it's name. However, once brought over to the United States, producers were looking for an equivilant substitute to the expensive, imported cherries. Plus cherries tend to be a delicate and temperamental fruit, so this was a way of preserving some of the crop and letting less of it rot.

The current method of brining these cherries can be attributed to a man named Ernest Weigand. He developed a method that did not require alcohol, only more convenient since he figured this out right around the time of Prohibition. This method is for the most part, the same method that we still use to this day. So, the next time you order a Manhatten, or a Shirley Temple if that's more your cup of tea, ask for an extra cherry and toast one to the man for bringing us these tasty little treats.

Pisco, Packs Quite a Punch

More and more I hear of places serving Pisco or making cocktails out of them, probably Pisco Punch being the most famous. Although it sounds familiar, I thought it was just an old-school fruity drink, but there is actually a lot more history to it than expected.

Turns out that Pisco is a South American brandy distilled from grapes. Where in South America? Well, there's a tiny area called Pisco, but whether it's in Chile or Peru is a matter of some dispute, and of course, slightly different ways of producing the alcohol, although both are aged in clay jars or wooden barrels to mellow.

Chile - tends to be sweeter and lighter because producers add water to reduce the proof of the alcohol. Peru - slightly higher proof and is made with the Quebranta grape, a grape not found in Chile.

In the 19th Century, Pisco became very popular in California, especially in San Francisco, because people were looking for getting the maximum alcohol potency, but in the smoothest way possible. Thus the Pisco Punch was born by Duncan Nicol of "The Bank Exchange and Billiard Saloon" in San Francisco. The Bank, however, closed in 1919, due to Prohibition and in 1926, Duncan Nicol passed away, many thinking the recipe dying with him. However, as we can see, there seems to be a revival and more and more places are serving Pisco and their version of Pisco Punch.

Below are some links to recipes for Pisco Punch, mix and enjoy!

http://www.esquire.com/drinks/pisco-punch-drink-recipe

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pisco-Punch-234788

http://www.cocktaildb.com/recipe_detail?id=3558

And, if you're not in the mood to make your own Punch, here are a couple places in San Francisco that are known to serve up a mean drink, Pisco Punch or otherwise:

http://www.lamarcebicheria.com/web/intro.php

http://www.piscosf.com/

Reservations 101

It would seem that having spent so much time in this industry, you would think most things wouldn't surprise me. I suppose it's not that people don't know how to make a proper reservation that surprises me, so much as how frequently people don't seem to know how to make a reservation.

Below are some of the most common reservation blunders I come into contact with on a daily basis. If any of them sound familiar to you (because you do them), promptly read the remedy following.

1. You don't have any information ready.

Just because you know what day you want your reservation, and what meal period you want your reservation to be for, you should also figure out what time you want your reservation to be and how many people will be in your party. Asking the reservationist what time is a good time to come in tends to leave us speechless. How're we supposed to know what time you want to eat and what your plans are? Just ask for the time you want, if it's not available, you can always see what's open within a certain time frame.

2. Apparently you don't even know your own information.

Restaurants usually like to know your name and phone number in case we need to get ahold of you for any reason. For some reason, people seem to have a hard time giving a number when asked, and sometimes even a name. If you're making a reservation for somebody, it's probably best to give their name, since they'll be the one checking in. As for the number, we usually just ask for it to confirm a reservation, so figure out who you want the reservation to confirm with, you or whoever your making the reservation for.

3. Don't assume we know what date you want your reservation.

Then we get those who seem like they know how to make a proper reservation. They speak slowly, letting us know name, time, number of people. Then, when you get to confirming the reservation, and ask if it's for tomorrow, they're like 'Oh no, it's for xxx' (usually 4 weeks away, or something like that). Really? You didn't think maybe that was what you should've mentioned first so that we were putting the information down for the right date?

4. You don't know what 'reservation' means.

It amazes me how many people call in for a 'reservation' wanting a table in 10 to 15 minutes. Basically, they're on their way in and think it's best to 'call ahead.' At this point, you're really just calling to see if a table is available and if we're willing to hold a table for you if there is one. The worst is when people get angry that you won't make this 'reservation' for them. Even an hour notice is better (although still a little annoying). Don't be angry that we can't accommodate your last minute plans.

Hopefully this little tutorial helps you with making reservations in the future and you'll spare the reservationist some pain. If you have any questions, I'll be available during office hours....

Do You Like It On Top or On the Bottom?

Your yeast, I mean. Depending on what kind of yeast used in fermenting your beer, it either ferments on the top or on the bottom, developing a very different flavor and style of beer. What were you thinking? Personally, I like bottom fermented beers.

"What's the difference?" you may be wondering. Well, the purpose of yeast in beer is that it converts the sugar into alcohol. First off, methodology in top fermented beers is different than that of bottom fermented beers. The fermentation process occurs at warmer temperatures, closer to room temperature, causing the yeasts to act quickly. Also, you want to expose the beer to as much air as possible in the few days that the beer is stored and allowed to ferment. In the end, the yeasts are unable to fully convert all the sugars, and you're left with a fruitier, sweeter, often more complex beer. Top fermented beers include: ales, stouts, bitters and traditionally British beer.

Bottom fermentation is pretty much the opposite of top fermented beer. The beer is fermented at much colder temperatures with minimal air contact and for much longer periods of time, varying from 6 weeks to 6 months. During that time, the yeasts and any by-products fall to the bottom. This process usually results in a cleaner, crisper beer, often known as lagers and pilsners.