South Asian Leftover Mash-up

The Chef: Joni

The Menu: A mishmash of leftover Thai, Burmese, and Indian foods—spicy tofu, glazed eggplant, yellow veggie curry, and coconut rice

The Dish: I had family in town recently, which means lots of dining out (no complaints here!). I’m pretty sure we ate at every South Asian restaurant in San Francisco, hence the assortment of leftovers for lunch today. While South Asian cuisine occupies a large portion of my love for food, so does dessert, and I’m ready for some cookies! We spent much of yesterday sorting through the myriad of recipe entries to the VegNews Holiday Cookie Contest and our top 10 finalists sound amazing. We’ll be having a bake-off on Friday to determine the winners and I can’t wait to bake the Peanut Butter Blossoms. It will surely be the perfect end to the week.

Burmese Deliciousness

The Chefs: Joni and Yamo Burmese restaurant

The Menu: Spicy Burmese vegetable curry made with carrots, mushrooms, okra, broccoli, eggplant, zucchini, and green beans, served with rice.

The Goods: During an awesome date with my boyfriend at Burma Susperstar celebrating the much-anticipated arrival of the September+October issue last night, I developed an uncontrollable obsession with Burmese food after my first bite. Fortunately for me, I got to indulge in round two of Burmese deliciousness at Yamo, just down the street from the VNHQ. While not the elegant atmosphere of the acclaimed Burma Superstar, this hole-in-the-wall had a line out the door, with people waiting for access to one of the 10-or-so prized stools at the bar in front of the open, bustling kitchen. Yamo’s skilled chefs seemed used to the lunch rush, and managed to get everyone in and out as quickly as possible, giving me just enough time to savor every last carrot, broccoli, and grain of rice, doused in Sriracha sauce, before delivering the bill. Walking back to the VNHQ on this chilly, cloudy San Francisco day, the curry kept me warm from the belly out; I will surely be back to Yamo’s in the near future to feed my newfound Burmese cuisine obsession.