No Passport Required: Still connecting with food and having a conversation about it with Marcus Samuelsson

Earlier this year, chef Marcus Samuelsson of Food Network Chopped fame took an inspiring journey across the United States in which he explored – and celebrated – the wide-ranging diversity of immigrant traditions and cuisine woven into American food and culture.

On “No Passport Required,” a six-episode PBS/Eater series which first aired across the U.S. during the summer months, Samuelsson visited Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago, New York City, Miami and Washington, D.C. An immigrant himself, who was born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, Samuelsson discovered dynamic and creative ways in which a particular community thrives – making its mark, so to speak. He spoke to poets and musicians, business owners and community leaders, as well as artists and home cooks – each who have contributed to enhancing our nation’s culture and its cuisine.

In Detroit, Samuelsson gathered with Middle Eastern immigrants who call the Motor City home and in New Orleans, he learned how the culinary traditions of the Vietnamese have been fully integrated into the fabric of the Big Easy, which has its long-established French and Creole influences. Samuelsson gathered with Ethiopians in Washington, D.C., and with the Indo-Guyanese in Queens, New York. He discovered how Chicago’s Mexican neighborhoods have impacted that area’s food and culture, and in Miami, he was welcomed by the city’s proud Haitian community.

The bottom line in Samuelsson’s adventures – and what I learned from watching – is this: there are many wondrous global food traditions that are waiting to be discovered throughout the United States. Sometimes, we just need a little bit of encouragement. After all, as the title of Samuelsson’s show reinforces, there’s No Passport Required.

 • • •

There’s a great back story about chef Samuelsson I blogged about six years ago that's worth sharing, again. Back in July 2012, he wrote a memoir, Yes, Chef – an incomparable story – about what it means to be an American. Through his cooking, he told a story that in the words of former President Bill Clinton, “reached past racial and national divides to the foundations of family, hope and downright good food.” Gabrielle Hamilton, the bestselling author of Blood, Bones & Butter said that Samuelsson exudes “a quiet bravery, and a lyrical and discreetly glittering style – in the kitchen and on the page.”

Thus, an opportunity to meet chef Samuelsson in person, hear him wax poetically on his life’s passion and get a signed copy of his memoir was too good an opportunity to pass up.

“It begins with a simple ritual: Every Saturday afternoon, a boy who loves to cook walks to his grandmother’s house and helps her prepare a roast chicken for dinner. The grandmother is Swedish, a retired domestic. The boy is Ethiopian and adopted, and he will grow up to become the world-renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson.” His memoir, Yes, Chef, became his love letter to food and family in all its manifestations.

As Samuelsson shared his fascinating life’s story at Book Passage’s intimate San Francisco Ferry Building store, he said, “Sometimes, the worst situation can become the best situation.”

In a chapter of Yes, Chef devoted to his grandmother, Helga, Samuelsson wrote: “Mormor (the Swedish word for mother’s mother) treated her house like it was her own little food factory. She made everything herself: jams, pickles, and breads. She bought large cuts of meat or whole chickens and game animals from the butcher and then broke them down into chops and roasts at home. It’s so funny to me how, today, we celebrate braising as some refined, elegant approach, when it’s the same slow cooking method Mormor used. Her menus followed a simple logic:

“You have bread today because it’s fresh. You have toast tomorrow because the bread has gone stale. You make croutons the next day, and whatever bread is left after that gets ground into crumbs that you’ll use to batter fish.

“I don’t think I saw a rib-eye steak until my late teens when I started working in restaurants. At home, we ate mostly ground meat that was rolled into balls and stretched even further by ample additions of breadcrumbs. We ate our own Swedish version of a hamburger: pan beef, a patty topped with caramel iced onions. Sometimes we ate beef Lindstrom: a hamburger patty mixed with onions, capers, and pickled beets before being seared in butter. That’s comfort food where I come from, and it’s damn good.”

• • •

At times, it’s been a struggle for Samuelsson to find his place, both in the kitchen and in the world. At least now, he has the appearance of a man who’s found peace in all the right places – and he’s always with a smile on his face.

“I am an immigrant, not a refugee,” Samuelsson reminds us. “There is a big difference. I am as a patriotic as any American. I am determined and grateful.”

As a chef, Samuelsson states that inside the kitchen or out, “it’s a matter of luck and the belief in others.

“Cooking has changed, but the core values remain the same. It’s about expressing a journey and culture. What better way than through food,” he says. And, besides, as Samuelsson playfully shared with his San Francisco audience on that summer night six years ago, “My fried chicken is better than yours!”

Thoughts on food: Fix me a plate, please

On “Fix Me a Plate,” world-renowned chef Alex Guarnaschelli’s weekly web series, the quintessential New Yorker shows us in delightful four-and-five-minute bites that she knows just where to go for a truly New York food experience.

Guarnaschelli, a Food Network star recognized for her work as a "Chopped" judge and an "Iron Chef," has selected old-school cafes and restaurants throughout New York’s five boroughs to highlight on “Fix Me a Plate.” These are places where one can still get fresh and authentic, quality-made dishes. Most of these are no-frills establishments – hangouts, if you will – that are filled with longtime traditions and plenty of charm.

In each episode, Guarnaschelli explores a different iconic New York eatery “that has built its success on a confidence and connection to doing things the way they’ve always been done.”

In the first six episodes of “Fix Me a Plate,” Guarnaschelli visits Lucali – think best pizza in Brooklyn – then, follows it with soulful chicken and waffles at Amy Ruth’s in Harlem. Need we say more? She also stops by Tanoreen in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, for traditional Middle Eastern cuisine, and Nom Wah Tea Parlor, a Chinatown delight that serves a variety of treats from egg rolls to almond cookies. Finally, there’s Indian samosas at Dhaka in Queens, and Russ and Daughters on the Lower East Side for bagels piled high with cream cheese and lox.

Recently, “Fix Me a Plate” returned with a new season of shows that so far has served up Polish pierogi at Krolewskie Jadlo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn; tacos at Rockaway Beach Surf Club on Long Island, and doughnuts at the Donut Pub in Chelsea. Also, there’s been Thai at Brooklyn’s Pok Pok, the knock-out combo of Sicilian-style square pizza and Italian spumoni ice cream at Spumoni Garden in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn; and chopped liver at Sammy’ Roumanian in lower Manhattan. This week, “Fix Me a Plate” introduced viewers to the Original Crab Shanty in City Island by the Bronx for a family-style portion size of pasta with crabs and lobster.

Asked via Twitter if she has a favorite episode of “Fix Me a Plate,” Guarnaschelli tweeted, “Spumoni Garden obviously. Also love Sammy’s Roumanian and a couple of others that haven’t aired yet.”

New episodes of “Fix Me a Plate” debut weekly on the show’s Facebook page on Monday evenings.

Telling a story through the Presidents who shaped history

Barack Obama

Recently, while entertaining out of state friends, we happened one evening to visit the nation's only complete collection of presidential portraits outside of the White House at the Smithsonian Institute's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. The gallery of Presidential Portraits is a timeless exhibition that lies at the heart of the National Portrait Gallery's core mission: telling the American story through the individuals who shaped it.

From George Washington to Barack Obama, presidential portraits have always attracted our interest. Once upon a time – before newspapers, magazines and television – a painted portrait or a sculpted image was the only means that most of us knew of our Presidents. And, as I've learned, throughout much of the 19th century, there was a lively debate over which portrait of George Washington most accurately conveyed his proper image.

Inside the gallery of Presidential Portraits, there are a variety of presidential likenesses, including oil on canvas, marble head busts, engravings – and, there's the Chuck Close portrait of Bill Clinton that is truly amazing and has to be seen. As I took note while walking through the gallery and viewing the presidential portraiture in order of their presidency, from Washington to Obama, I couldn't help but notice that some portraits were more sophisticated and interesting than others. Let's face it – I think Teddy Roosevelt is just a bit more striking a figure than Millard Fillmore. Same goes for JFK compared to Calvin Coolidge. No offense, some presidents are just more interesting than others.

Bill Clinton

As I drew closer to the newest presidential portrait – of Barack Obama – I noticed an orderly queue line and soon I joined it so that I could take a few candid photographs. The portrait of the 44th President by artist Kehinde Wiley was unveiled on February 12 at the National Portrait Gallery and it's become the center of attention – along with the new portrait of former first lady Michelle Obama – inside the entire National Portrait Gallery.

"Historically, portraiture has always been about saying yes to things that we want to celebrate, but I think also the commissioned portrait has often times been about a society saying, 'Who are the people we collectively want to honor?' and particularly with the presidential portrait, this is the highest aspect of that tradition," said Wiley, during a recent interview with Time. "It's been – I can't tell you – an extraordinary honor to be able to participate in that."

The portrait of Obama makes quite a statement. It's anything but drab. The former president is shown wearing a black suit with an open-collared shirt. He's sitting on a wooden chair. And, he's surrounded by flowers and green foliage. The flowers, I learned, include: blue lilies, from his father's home in Kenya; jasmine from Obama's home state of Hawaii; and chrysanthemums, the official flower of Chicago, the former president's hometown.

John F. Kennedy

At the unveiling of his portrait, Obama said, "What I was always struck by whenever I saw (Wiley's) portraits was the degree to which they challenged our conventional views of power and privilege."

Wiley stated, "The ability to be the first African-American painter to paint the first African-American president of the United States is absolutely overwhelming. It doesn't get any better than that."

After seeing the Obama portrait, Brian T. Allen wrote in The National Review, "Obama looks directly at us, as if he reads our minds and challenges our assumptions. It's jarring but effective. He's formal and familiar, both tense and loose. He leans toward the viewer. It's not a position comfortably sustained. It's not repose. It suggests imminent action. For Obama, this probably means he's about to tell us, 'That's not who we are,' instructing us to question some near-universally held sentiment. Wiley builds the figure with straight lines and diagonals. His suit is dark. Aside from his wedding ring, he's unornamented. Obama's open collar softens the effect. It's his trademark look but seems like a uniform. He's a role model, so it works."

"Baseballet": Baseball meets ballet and it's a perfect fit

Baseballet / When performance art combines with sports
on one of the most scenic sports stages in the world.

The kid can dance.

The "kid" is Weston Krukow, who is the youngest of five children of former Major League baseball pitcher and current San Francisco Giants television analyst Mike Krukow.

As a kid, "I was always dancing," the younger Krukow said. "I never stopped thinking about it." He regularly put on after-dinner shows at home for his family. The older Krukow adds: "We encouraged him to take dance classes." Now, Weston Krukow is a professional dancer for the famed San Francisco company Smuin Ballet. He's expressive, tight with his choreography, entertaining and, most of all, athletic. He can jump, he can tumble.

So, it should come as no surprise that Weston Krukow has created "Baseballet," which combines baseball inspired movements with traditional ballet movements together with athletic prowess set on one of the most scenic sports stages in the world. Interspersed throughout the eight-minute film are candid observations from both Krukows.


http://www.csnbayarea.com/show/baseballet

Weston Krukow (left) and Ben Needham-Wood /
Moving about the AT&T Park infield, the San Francisco
Giants' home ballpark, in "Baseballet."

After watching "Baseballet," the similarity between baseball and ballet movements becomes clear. It is brought out by the various strength-power-movement components that the charismatic Krukow and his dance partner, Ben Needham-Wood, exhibit as they gracefully move about the AT&T Park infield, the Giants' home ballpark, where "Baseballet" was beautifully filmed recently one early morning.

On his Instagram account, Weston Krukow wrote: "Getting up at 4:30 totally worth it."

In "Baseballet," Mike Krukow recalls a dinner conversation between him, his son and Needham-Wood. "They were marveling at how graceful baseball players were," he said. "There's a lot of ballet in baseball, just by the way they move ... there was rhythm. Rhythm was constantly being referred to: the rhythm of the pitcher, the rhythm of the hitter, the rhythm defensively. And, I think that was interesting to the dancers because their whole life is about rhythm."

Said Needham-Wood: "We found there were so many parallels between this idea of legacy where, in baseball, there's the previous generation that has to train the new guys exactly how to throw the perfect pitch, exactly how to come in contact with the ball. So, there a finesse to it you can't learn from a textbook. It has to be taught to you. And, it's the same with dance. One generation has to teach the next generation, otherwise the art form is going to die out."

In a 2014 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Mike Krukow said: "Some of the ballet techniques that have been around for a hundred years, I wish I could have used some of them as a pitcher.

Weston and Mike Krukow /
Together, sharing a conversation about life
in "Baseballet."

"I used to think I worked hard. I never did what Wes does. ... He's in a lifestyle directly related to what I did, and I'm reliving my past through him, in a world I knew nothing about. It's opened my eyes not just to dance, but to many things. We've just been intrigued by this journey. It's been one of the most exhilarating things that's ever happened to our entire family. It's fantastic."

Adds the soft-spoken Wes: "I live with my hero," he said, in describing his relationship with his father. "I talk with him all the time about what I'm going through emotionally and physically, and get advice from him."

Is there a baseball lesson that Wes has absorbed from his Dad? Yes, indeed. "As a professional, you have to find a balance and moderation in all of it," he said."The thing I've been able to get from (Mike) is to ground yourself, be humble. You're never as bad as you think you are, and you're never as good as you think you are."

In watching "Baseballet," not only are we witnessing the beauty of sport and dance combined, we are also seeing a loving father and his son sharing a conversation about life. It's one generation passing along wisdom to another.

Seeing the younger Krukow dance is an emotional experience for his Dad. "It's emotional," Mike Krukow says near the end of "Baseballet." He admits: "It brings tears to my eyes every time I watch him dance. I cloud up because he's doing what he's needs to do, what he wants to do. It has made all of us in our family very proud."

When he performs in front of his Dad, it's game on! "I pull out all the stops," Weston Krukow says. "I love it because it's such a nostalgic feeling for me. It's where I can feel like I'm performing for my hero."

Photos: Courtesy of CSNBayArea.com.

On Tunisian tennis: A season on the brink?

Malek Jaziri / The No. 1-rated Arab tennis player in the world.

At a glance, the order of play for last Friday's quarterfinal-round of the ATP Challenger event in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which included three of the top four remaining seeds, seemed ordinary enough.

Except that it wasn't.

At 10 a.m. on Court No. 3, the order of play showed a scheduled match between two unseeded players, one an Arab, the other an Israeli. However, before play began in this lower-tier tennis tournament -- the minor leagues of professional men's tennis, if you will -- Malek Jaziri of Tunisia, ranked 169th in the world at the time but currently the top-rated Arab player, withdrew from his match against Amir Weintraub, an Israeli, who advanced on the walkover to the semifinals.

More often than not, a walkover is the result of one player being too injured to be able to play. Only, this time, Jaziri's inability to play was because of political interference and not because of a knee injury, diplomatic and convenient as it might seem -- regardless of what the tournament's website indicated as the official reason.

Instead, in a move that arguably shocked the tennis world and garnered the attention of both USA Today and Sports Illustrated here in the U.S. as well as various international media abroad, Tunisia's tennis federation ordered its best player off the court, forbidding him from playing. Simply because his opponent-to-be was an Israeli.

In an e-mail provided by Jaziri's brother and manager, Amir, to the Tunisian state news agency on Friday, the Tunisian tennis federation on Thursday stated: "Following a meeting this afternoon with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, I have the immense regret to inform you that you are ordered not to play against the Israeli player."

A sports ministry spokesman, Sadok Touati, confirmed for the Associated Press that the federation sent the e-mail on Thursday after it consulted the ministry.

"The ministry does not interfere in the affairs of the sports federations," said Touati. Meanwhile, the federation president was unavailable for comment.

Although Jaziri, 29, is ranked well below the top players in his sport  -- a little over a year ago he was 100 places higher (69th) before injuries and a string of losses against lower-ranked opponents derailed him -- by all indications he is afraid the Tunisian federation's decision could harm his career. Few besides Jaziri in Tunisia have achieved a world ranking that would garner much notice. And, Jaziri could have risen to 135th had he won the tournament in Tashkent. Instead, when the new rankings were released on Monday, his ranking changed from 169th to 165th following last week's tournament.

Malek Jaziri drapes himself in his country's flag after he won
his first round match in the 2012 French Open.

While Arab countries have over the past decades observed boycotts of varying degrees against Israeli athletes in a protest over Israel's treatment of Palestinians, it's a shame to see athletes today become pawns in a geo-political chess game. And, in a sport which prides itself on global competition and is played worldwide, it's a disturbing interference of politics by a country (Tunisia) which is still searching for a democratic balance after its Jasmine Revolution paved the way for other Arab Spring revolutions a little more than two years ago. Tunisia has been in the midst of a political crisis for many months as a result of deadlocked negotiations between the ruling Islamist party, Ennadha, and the opposition over new parliamentary and presidential elections.

"It's a pity for the athletes who get caught up in these situations that end up hurting their personal career," said Shlomo Glickstein, the director of Israel's tennis association. In a statement, he added that it was sad such incidents such as what happened on Friday still occur.

In an interview with L'Equipe, Selima Sfar, a former Tunisian professional tennis player and the only Arab woman to achieve a top-100 world ranking (she was once ranked 75th in 2001), said she was shocked and worried about the "regressive" behavior shown her country's tennis federation.

Selima Sfar

"I am angry and disappointed," Sfar told the French sports daily. "It is a very bad image for my country. We fought hard to become professionals and now we are not supported."

Sfar, who retired from the tour in 2011, believes that political interference is unbearable. "Our people fought also with blood to move towards democracy and openness, and instead we are moving backwards," she said. "To play against an Israeli does not mean you are being a bad Tunisian Arabic or a bad Muslim. I'm proud to be Tunisian, Arab and Muslim, but I am ashamed of my country when it behaves like that."

In this day and age, it seems to me that if an Indian (Rohan Bophanna) and a Pakistani (Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi) can separate their differences and unite as a formidable doubles team, putting the politics of their two warring nations aside and promoting peace on the court, then an Arab nation which is struggling to establish its identity in the world of tennis should allow its best player to face all comers -- even if the player on the other side of the net is Israeli.

Just imagine, Jaziri and Weintraub could have used their match to try to improve relations between their countries. Ironically, both belong to the same French tennis club, Sarcelles Tennis, north of Paris. If they can both get along and be friends on and off the court -- they have known each other for years through their sport -- why can't Tunisia work towards promoting tolerance and understanding with Israel and allow Jaziri and other Tunisian athletes to compete against Israelis?

According to various published reports, the president of the Sarcelles tennis club, Jonathan Chaouat, said he spoke to Jaziri last Thursday night and that the player was upset that he would be unable to play Weintraub.

"He explained to me that he could not play the match," said Chaouat. "When I asked him where the pressure not to play was coming from he replied 'my country.'

"What is certain is that it was not Malek who decided not to play this match. Malek was taken hostage."

Malek Jaziri

Although he was reluctant to discuss the matter, Weintraub told the Jerusalem Post that Malek "is a good friend" and that "he really wanted to play."

While Jaziri has not spoken publicly about last week's incident, earlier he described the challenges of being a professional tennis player in the Arab world in an interview published on the tournament's website.

"In Arabic countries there is not a tradition of tennis except in North African countries like Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria," said Jaziri. "There are, however, professional events in the Arab world like in Dubai and Qatar, but the Arab countries should come out and give more opportunities to players from the region. Giving wild cards is not enough; they need to support players in other ways, too.

"Tennis is a tough sport. We as professional tennis players have to fight it out every day," he said. "One week is good, one week is bad. And, we have to go through these ups and downs. In some countries, the situation is favorable for tennis players because of the support of their associations. But in some countries, like ours, it is really bad. Life for us is a battle every day."

Asked about finding support in his home country, Jaziri said: "I had a national sponsor, but now my country is going through a very bad period economically and politically; it is not easy for me. I have a tough job at hand to manage my tennis. I want to travel with a coach, but can't afford one. But, I'm hoping that the situation will change for the better."

In an interview with Agence France-Presse on Monday, Amir Jaziri blasted the decision of the Tunsian tennis federation as "shocking, because it brings politics into sport. We are totally against that. And Malek is the first victim, because tennis is his career, his bread-winner.

"To be clear, Malek pulled out for sporting reasons, because he was injured. He did his warm up, something was wrong and the doctor found that his knee was swollen," Amir Jaziri said.

"But at the political level, we received an order not to play. It was an e-mail from the Tunisian Tennis Federation, via the technical director."

Amir Jaziri said in the interview with AFP that he didn't know whether his brother would have played the match if it weren't for the knee injury. He said he failed to understand how the Tunisian Tennis Federation could give such an order considering that Jaziri has previously faced Weintraub and Tunisia played against Israel in the 2009 Federation Cup.

"Tennis doesn't normally get much media coverage in Tunisia," said Amir Jaziri. "What happened was only done as part of an electoral campaign, and everyone profits (electorally) from this."

The International Tennis Federation (ITF), which has jurisdiction over federations (while the ATP -- the Association of Tennis Professionals -- has jurisdiction over the players), is investigating the whole matter involving the Tunisian federation forcing Jaziri to withdraw against his wishes at Tashkent. While it is unclear what, if any, sanctions might be imposed against the Tunisian federation, I'm in agreement with the ITF's ideals.

"The ITF believes that sport fosters good collaboration between nations," said ITF spokesman Nick Imison. "And, as such, players should be able to compete freely on the international circuit. If a federation were responsible for a player taking part that would go against the ethos of the organization and against the ITF constitution.

"The most important thing going forward is for Tunisian players to be able to play freely against any opponents in the future. That is the aim of all the tennis governing bodies."

A postscript: On Wednesday, the ATP released a statement saying it had completed its investigation and relieved Malek Jaziri of any culpability.

"We have found no wrongdoing on the part of the player and all of the information we have gathered has been passed  on to the ITF," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the ITF's investigation of the alleged forced pullout remains ongoing, said ITF spokeswoman Barbara Travers.

"The ITF takes any matter regarding discrimination very seriously and this incident will be discussed by the ITF Board of Directors at its regularly scheduled meeting (Oct. 31-Nov. 1) in Cagliari, Italy," Travers wrote in an e-mail. "We have asked the Federation Tunisinne de Tennis to make any relevant submissions to the ITF ahead of that meeting."

While Travers said the ITF would have no further comment until after the board meets, the ITF could bring sanctions against the Tunisian tennis federation, such as bans from Davis Cup competition, if it finds that the federation violated regulations. The ITF is also affiliated with the International Olympic Committee.

Malek Jaziri photographs courtesy of footplus.tn, rolandgarros.com and atpworldtour.com.
Selima Sfar photograph courtesy of tunisienumerique.com.

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!

Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant poster art
 depicts Beaujolais Nouveau harvest.

Every year, I look forward to the third Thursday in November.

It's Beaujolais de Vendange, or Harvest Beaujolais. 

"Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!" 

On November 15, this year's Beaujolais Nouveau was released across the world. On Saturday night, my wife and I enjoyed a glass of the 2012 ultra-natural Beaujolais Nouveau, purchased earlier in the day at Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant in Berkeley, California, with our home-cooked dinner of risotto with pesto and peas.

It was serious fun, but it made our meal most enjoyable.

Beaujolais Nouveau is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It's a young wine (usually only six to eight weeks old) that not only is fruity, but also light-bodied and virtually tannin-free. It is an easy-to-drink wine that is popular with Thanksgiving meals, but could just as easily be enjoyed with pizza, too. While it may be ridiculed by some wine critics, it's beloved by the masses. 

2012 Beaujolais Nouveau

Each year, Beaujolais Nouveau is released starting at a second past midnight on the third Thursday in November (and no date earlier, as per French law) that has become custom and tradition, as some 65 million bottles are trekked to Paris for distribution throughout the world in any means reasonable ~ from jets to elephant runners.

This year's Harvest Beaujolais enjoyed its world-wide debut last Thursday. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, each year, Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant always receives its shipment of the Beaujolais Nouveau from France in time to sell it on the date of its official release for about $18 per bottle.

"Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!"

Indeed, and as American wine importer Kermit Lynch proclaimed in his newsletter promoting Beaujolais Nouveau 2012: "Undeniably the most thirst-quenching day of the year!"

Poster art image courtesy of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, 2012.
Photo image of 2012 Beaujolais Nouveau courtesy of Grapelive.com.