Portion Fall 2014

PORTION

I N T HIS IS SU E WORK BREAKFAST Christo Logan

6 - 17

HAIKU Alfred Chung

18 - 19

TENDERLOIN FUSION SANDWICH MASH UP Stephanie Heise & Greg Wong

20 - 23

JAPANESE EGG MCMUFFIN Joseph Kwon

24 - 28

MELBOURNE EGGS AND BREAKFAST Claire Moshenberg

30 - 33

DESAYUNO Andrea Ecstenkamper

34 - 35

PORTION CONTRIBUTORS

ALFRED CHUNG ANDREA ECHSTENKAMPER AIDAN FLAHERTY STEPHANIE HEISE DAVID KWON JOSEPH KWON CHRISTO LOGAN CLAIRE MOSHENBERG GREG WONG

© PORTION 2014 AND THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS

When we first began conversations to put together this magazine, we had no idea if it would happen or not. In the end it sort of happened.

W O R K BREAKFAST

BY CHRISTO LOGAN

Picking up redlines for a comfort station toilet on UWS.

FFE package for University Interior Reno.

90% CDs Chelsea Townhouse.

Shade Structure SD renders in Rhino.

Guide to building giant swings in the New Hampshire forest for campers.

Storefront guidelines to revamp the Rockaways post-Sandy.

Sports complex masterplan presentation for PDC.

Graphics for a school for UES boys.

sausage, egg, biscuit • i love you golden arches • shit! too late. i cry •

Seven eleven • Your breakfast sandwich tastes great • Ow! So fucking hot •

BY ALFRED CHUNG

BY STEPH ANIE HEISE & GREG WONG

ND SA FU ER S N M D IO LO AS W N IN H- IC UP H

TE

S : On e fi n e l ate n i ght no t too long ag o , Greg cam e h ome an d gi ddily swung a coup o n around cl ai m i n g w e ’d be going to f usion Thai-American b re ak fas t t h e n e x t mo r ning . In the Tenderlo in. So I gi ddi l y as se rt : w h y not. I like my hash browns w i t h a s i de of crack .

G: I don ’t kn ow i f “giddy ” is the right wo rd. This i s a pl ace I’v e kn ow n f o r y ears f o r being f ast in se rv i ce an d de l i ci ou s in to -g o entrées. W hen t h e y an n ou n ce d t h e y were do ing a “ f usion” b re ak fas t , I w as i n t rig ued.

S : Th e n e x t m or n i n g, as the f og bore do wn on us an d t h e dri z z l e as saulted any secretly held notio n t h at S pri n g m ay act ually mean sp ring in this f ine ci t y con s t an t l y u n der assault f ro m the wrath of t h e Paci fi c Oce an, we hit up House o f Thai, pre v i ou sl y Th ai Hou se Exp ress o n Larkin.

G: On ce w e s te p ov er the p iles of f ilth o n the si de w al ks an d dodge the walking zo mbies in the st re e t s, w e se e t h at the inside o f House o f Thai i s ai ry an d bri gh t . The hustle and bustle o f the k i t ch e n i s j u st ov e r the low wall to the back o f t h e re st au ran t . Ti n ted g lass windows line two si de s of t h e e st abl i shment, allo wing a clear view t o t h e ou t s i de b u t k eep ing outsiders f ro m p eering i n.

S : A l so, t h e re are a lot of p eo p le who do no t se e m part i cu l arl y i n terested in American f usio n b re ak fas t bu t w ou l d rather stick to , I do n’t kno w, t h e Pl a N e u n g Ma N ow, aka steamed who le gol de n pompan o. A t this p o int, y o u’re thinking: Th i s w i l l e n d i n di s aster. There will be p eanut sau ce an d cu cu mb e r salad in the breakf ast san dw i ch . R i gh t ?

G: Wron g! A s part of House o f Thai’s exp eriment, t h i s fu si on bre ak fas t is under a sp ecial menu t i t l e d “F u se d.” It fe atures Executive C hef Ch ri s t oph e r Wi l l i ams and has items like the Te n de rl oi n El v i s , A merican-Thai Fried Rice, and t h e si mpl y t i t l e d Breakf ast Sandwich.

S : A n d s o w e com e to the breakf ast sandwich, w h i ch , i n a bol d s t roke of unironic luck, I ran doml y orde re d off the menu. In p art because se v e ral ot h e r m e n u items weren’t available, si n ce “F u s e d” i s n e w and exp erimental and f ly b y-t h e -s e at -of-you r-p ants and if it sticks, then i t s t i ck s. A n d i f t h e demand f or Pla Neung Ma Now ou t w e i gh s de s p erate cries f or Tenderloin El v i s (F re n ch t oast with p eanut butter and f ried b an an as, Grace l an d-sty le ( sans up p ers)), the A m e ri can s i de of “F used” will be scaled back, or so w e h e ar.

G: I, u n fort u n ate l y, ordered the steak and eg g s.

Wh i l e t h e ste ak an d egg s were delicious, I would h av e l i ke d t o h av e my own B reakf ast Sandwich, m ayb e as an addi t i on to my already larg e b re ak fas t . Th e b re akf ast sandwich ap p eared as i t s h ou l d: v e rt i cal l y stacked, evenly distributed ab ou t i t s ax i s , an d about the rig ht size to comfort abl y t ake a bite o f all the lay ers of the san dw i ch at on ce . I was q uite surp rised at the b l e n d of fl av ors an d the dep th o f its character.

Th e re i s n o w ay I ca n ever lo o k at a McB iscuit t h e sam e w ay agai n .

S : A s e v i de n ce d ab ove, I shared my breakf ast san dw i ch w i t h Gre g, which is what I ty p ically do w i t h mos t t h i n gs I o rder but this time it was k i n d of t ou gh . Th i s was a damn g o o d breakf ast san dw i ch . In fact , prior to this breakf ast san dw i ch , I h ad n ot thoug ht of breakf ast san dw i ch e s as a st and-alone catego ry . They just sort of b l e n de d i n t o the g eneral no ise o f f oo d opt i on s, an ot h e r w ay to throw carbs, p ro tein, an d gre as e on a pl ate and christen their off sp ring w i t h a prope r n ame . Ho wever, meeting this b re ak fas t s an dw i ch op ened my ey es to breakf ast san dw i ch e s’ ri gh t t o individuality . It was similar t o t h e m om e n t w h e n I realized that not all gro wnu ps are si mpl y “ol d” and “ adults,” but p eop le in t h e i r 30 s , 40 s , 50 s, etc. who had their very own ge n e rat i on -spe ci fi c ho p es, dreams, and desires.

G: I al so h ad s i mi l ar assump tions abo ut breakf ast san dw i ch e s. Th e y w ere what we go t on-the-go so w e cou l d e at w i t h one hand and steer with t h e ot h e r. I h adn ’t realized that the breakf ast san dw i ch cou l d b e a genre o f its o wn and that t h e y cou l d be as fi n ely craf ted as an Italian sport s car. Th e Hou se of Thai breakf ast sandwich i s made of a h ou se -made cheddar-chive biscuit, e gg, h ou s e -grou n d sausag e, and cheddar cheese.

A l l of i t t as te s as i f it were f reshly made just m om e n t s pri or, cu l minating in a p erf ect sto rm o f f lav or.

S : A l so: ch e ap. $ 4.95, unless y o u want f ruit, b u t t h e cos t of t h at seems to be o n a sliding scal e or at l e ast t h e menu imp resarios haven’t qu i te fi gu re d ou t t h e exact p rice p oint y et since t h e re are t h re e di ffe rent p rices o n the menu.

I n an y cas e , I gi v e t his p articular sandwich 10 poi n t s ou t of a pos sible 10, minus two p oints f or t h e crack h e ad skulking aro und outside the rest au ran t , pl u s fou r p o ints to the restaurant ow n e rs for t ryi n g t o tur n the neig hbo rho o d arou n d w i t h s ome goo d o ld-f ashio ned f usioning .

G: (I’m u si n g a fi v e -star rating sy stem, desp ite S te ph an i e ’s k i n d s u gg estion I conf o rm to her scal e .) I gi v e t h i s sandwich an o verall 5 star rat i n g. It i s t h e b e st breakf ast sandwich I’ve ever h ad. I h ope t h e y continue to off er this breakf ast i te m an d con t i n u e t o p rovide hig h-q uality meals at a fast pace . Th e breakf ast exp erience itself w as a 4.2 5, b ase d on the f act that I had wanted t o orde r t w o ot h e r t hing s and was to ld they w e re n ot s e rv i n g t h ose. I like that the owners are t ryi n g s ome t h i n g new and exp anding into a di ffe re n t m arke t , an d it seems to be working f o r t h e m . I re al i z e t h at they don’t want to sink to o m u ch i n v e s t me n t i n to a new venture not kno wing h ow su cce s sfu l a ce r tain item mig ht be, but I’m pre t t y su re you can ’t have too many chicken and w affl e s . O r bre ak fas t sandwiches.

House of Thai | 901 Larkin Street, SF | 415 441 2248

JO Y B

P SE

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O KW

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E S E N A P JA EGG N I F F MU

Prep time 5-10 mins

Cook time 30 mins

Ingredients English Muffin Canadian Bacon Olive Oil Furikake Sriracha

Ingredients for Tamagoyaki 2 Eggs 1 Tablespoon water 1 Teaspoon Usukuchi (light soy sauce) ½ Teaspoon sugar 1 Tablespoon bonito flakes (optional) 1 Tablespoon oil

Ingredients for glaze ¼ Cup Usukuchi (light soy sauce) ½ Ground ginger 2 Cloves of garlic 5 Tablespoon sugar 2 Tablespoon cornstarch 2 Tablespoon mirin 1 Cup of water 2 Stalks of scallions

Ingredients for Pickled Radish 2 Radishes or daikon 2 Tablespoon sugar 2 Tablespoon salt 2 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar 2 Tablespoon sake

1. Crush the two cloves of garlic.

2. Bruise the scallion with the back of your knife and then slice it in half.

2. Into a small pot add the soy sauce, mirin, ground ginger, garlic, scallion and sugar.

3. Bring the mixture to a simmer.

4. Mix the cornstarch and water till it disolves, then add it to the simmering pot.

5. Let the sauce simmer for 7-8 minutes.

You can always simmer it more for desired thickness or add more water to thin it out.

1. Slice the radish 1/8 inch thick using a knife or Japanese mandoline.

2. Sprinkle the radish with sugar, salt and rice wine vinegar then toss it gently.

3. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes.

1. Add two cracked eggs, light soy sauce, sugar, water and bonito flakes into a bowl, then wisk.

Don’t be afraid to wisk vigorously.

2. Add oil to a non-stick pan under gentle heat.

2. Add oil to a non-stick pan under gentle heat.

1. Pour half the mixture into the pan.

2. With a fork or spatula swirl the inside of the omelet once you see the edges cook.

Repeat this process a few time until the omelet is almost fully cook, but still moist.

3. Fold the omlet into a square.

1. Add oil to a medium-high pan.

2. Cook each side of the canadian bacon until you get a nice golden brown sear.

3. After the canadian bacon has slightly cooled, glaze it with the teriyaki sauce.

1. Toast the muffins with a little olive oil.

2. Assemble the sandwich.

3. Sprinkle furikake and add sriracha to taste.

おいしい

s g g E e n r u o b l e t M s a f k a e r B and

n o m e L d e v r g e n s i e s r P s e h t r i D w d e Sala C h e e s erg b n e t osh a m o e r i G a by cl

A good day starts with two poached eggs on toast. The toast is white, or the spongey wheat bread that may as well be white, and comes from a long plastic bag. The eggs are balanced on top, their golden bellies split and punctured with a shard of butter. Yolk and butter soak the crunchy bread. Eggs and toast and plate receive a light sprinkle of salt. The toast is cut into squares that you can spear and briefly drown in slippery salted egg. This was my mother ’s meal for birthdays, holidays, weekends. Special occasions were marked with two poached eggs on toast. In sixth grade I was officially the weirdest kid in my health class when my answer to “What’s your favorite food?” appeared next to a list of beloved pizzas, French fries, and ice cream cakes.

Poached eggs and toast forever—made by my mom, with whatever magic she infuses into two eggs, two slices of bread, hot water and salt that makes it taste like heaven.

Poached eggs were always a home food until we lived in Melbourne. This wasn’t the first time that the dishes of my childhood kitchen appeared on far-flung menus.

I once spent a misty-eyed Thanksgiving morning eating cold spaghetti with thin tomato sauce out of a bento box in Tokyo, as logical of a restaurant food as mixed bowls of cereal (half Crispex, half Frosted Mini-Wheats), or salad dressing toast (a terrible and delicious afterschool snack I made in secret that involved drenching bread in oily vinaigrette, then making it crispy and fragrant in the toaster oven). In Melbourne I ate poached eggs on top of chewy slabs of bacon and halved avocados in the backyard of a Greek restaurant.

I ate them on thick cut toast, rubbed with olive oil and charred, on noisy streets in the CBD. I ate them balanced on a golden rosti and topped with minced

herbs and feta. I ate them, relentlessly, because the eggs in Australia were so good.

I’ve never learned how to poach eggs—the process frightens me, with its potential for rubbery, broken yolked failure, and my mother ’s high bar of poached egg perfection. But during my two-month-long egg feast in Australia, I learned a good egg needs nearly no love to be transcendent. At our first apartment in Melbourne, I mastered the owner ’s fancy espresso machine in a few minutes, but I could never get the burners lit without help.

Since I was by myself until 8:00pm every night, and was on a tight budget, I had to improvise. This mostly meant buying a kabob and making it last two days, or calling a sleeve of Tim Tams cute new names like “breakfast” or “lunch.” One day, desperate and shaky with caffeine, I cracked an egg in a coffee cup and microwaved it for a minute. I was sure it would be awful—microwaved eggs were a staple of my often misguided college diet. But it slipped out of the cup, neat and rich, the yolk soft and golden. I smashed it on a piece of stale bread and happily munched.

I don’t microwave eggs at home. But when I come into possession of some very good eggs, I hard-boil them carelessly, and the results are like those Melbourne apartment eggs—effortless, and outrageously good. This weekend was full of long brunches in the sun, bowls of mussels with loaves of bread, late-night bar food on the one night of the year when San Francisco is warm enough to sit outside without a coat and sweater. I woke up Monday morning with a nearly empty fridge, the desire for some raw vegetables at breakfast, and a few good eggs. I got to work.

Breakfast Salad with Preserved Lemon Goat Cheese Dressing and a Goat Cheese Truffle Zest half of a preserved lemon (you could also use a regular lemon here). Combine with two tablespoons olive oil, one tablespoon goat cheese, and a splash of white wine vinegar. I mix my dressing at the bottom of a large salad bowl and build the salad on top. This salad was about two cups mâche (or lamb lettuce) and a cup of halved cherry tomatoes. Toss salad in the dressing.

Carelessly hard-boil a good egg. This is the only way I know how to get that picturesque yolk. I use very unexceptional eggs most of the time, especially when I’m baking, so this is a rare treat. I submerged the egg in water, let the water start to boil, then boiled the egg for about three to five minutes. I drained the water, filled it with cold water and ice, let the ice melt, filled it with cold water and ice again, and cracked them once the second round of ice was melted. Put this on top of your salad. Slice it with a sharp knife so that it quickly splits on top of the salad greens—a sharp knife ensures that the yolk won’t have the chance to stick to the blade.

Keep all the yolk for yourself.

Roll a tablespoon and a half of goat cheese into a ball. This is so simple that it shouldn’t feel delicious and special. You know it’s not really a truffle. It’s just a restaurant cheese plate trick to con you into getting excited about cheap goat cheese. But it’s still fun once it’s on your plate and you get to cut into a soft, salty chunk of molded cheese. Place it next to your egg.

Top the whole operation with black pepper and flaky salt. Dig in.

DESAYUNO by andrea echstenkamper B re a k fa s t i s an opti mi stic meal.

A nti s e p ti c in the sun’ s ray s.

In f ull vi ew of the world, often pers o nal .

No th i n g li ke a salty break fast wh en yo u l o s t al l yo u r bo dy’s s al t to swe a t th e d ay before. G reasy bites that eq u al ize the Cl u b Co l u mbia Ca p r i o s k a s you drank the night befo re.

Co l um bi a. I’ve he ard i t ’ s beau tifu l an d green . A p a ra di se. I’ve he ard I sh o u ld be carefu l. I’m lo o kin g fo r w ard t o t he pl e asure of bein g s o mewh ere n ew an d d i f fi c ul t .

R a c he l , m y t ravel part ner, is a kin d s o u l. An o ld s o u l.

Q ui c k t o di v i ne t he ag gregate of a s itu atio n –“ Th is is go i n g t o be dangerous/d elicio u s /u n fo rgettable, ” s h e a n nounces ri g ht away. Sh e kn ows h ow to package life i n t o v i brant l i g ht wei g h t s to ries .

R a c he l and I l and i n Cartagen a an d are a bit o u t of s o rts t r y i ng t o adj ust . It ’s hon es tly h ard to th in k in a s u n -is f r y i ng - your- brai n ki nd of a way.

We e ndure our fi rst ni gh t an d s tu mble to breakfas t. I c h ec k t he m e nu and i t ’s in s tan tly clear–I wan t it all.

R a c he l fee l s t he sam e w ay.

T h ey drop t hese pl at es in fro n t of u s . It’s a s pectacle.

I ’m l ooki ng at t hese t reas u res wo n derin g wh at’s in s ide, w h at ’s next for t hi s t ri p.

“Fo rt i fyi ng,” R ac he l says to me with a s mile.

Q U ES O FR E S CO : pe asant ch ees e made with o u t lactic c ul ture s B O LLO LIMPIO : t radi t i on al wh ite co rn cake A R EPA CO N HU E VO : everyday fo o d fo r Co lu mbian s as a b a s i c si de or for bre akfas t C A R IMAÑ O LA DE Q U E S O: yu cca textu re is th e bes t–plu s c h ee se i nsi de !

B U T IFAR R A : a short e r nearly ro u n d vers io n of th e Sp a ni sh but i farra SUE RO - CO S TE NO : a t oppin g s imilar to s o u r cream an d go o d on eve ryt hi ng