Bay Area Coffee


Book Description

Discover the rich history of San Francisco’s coffee culture from its roots in the nineteenth century to today’s celebrated artisanal roasters. San Francisco was booming in the mid-nineteenth century, and along with adventurers seeking their fortunes came sacks of green coffee beans. The old Yerba Buena Cove swiftly filled with ships, and the city emerged as the third-largest coffee port in the United States. What followed was the rise—and local demise—of the “big three” coffee roasters: Folger’s, Hills Brothers and MJB. Specialized Bay Area roasters like Peerless, Peet’s and Blue Bottle sprang up in their wake, while places such as Tosca’s, Caffé Trieste and the Blue Unicorn blazed the way for modern coffeehouses. In Bay Area Coffee, Monika Trobits explores how the humble coffee bean became an ever-evolving stable of San Francisco Bay.




Private Gardens of the Bay Area


Book Description

Seasoned garden writers Susan Lowry and Nancy Berner, along with leading landscape photographer Marion Brenner, tour more than thirty-five private gardens in the San Francisco Bay Area, illuminating the unrivalled beauty of Northern California—the breadth of the sky, the quality of the light, the sparkle of the Bay, the shapes of the hills—that has beckoned landscape designers and gardeners for generations. Organized geographically—starting with the San Francisco Peninsula, moving north into San Francisco itself, crossing the Bay into Berkeley and Oakland, and finishing in Napa, Sonoma, and Marin—Private Gardens of the Bay Area encompasses an extraordinary range of micro-climates that foster the cultivation of an equally extraordinary range of plants. The kaleidoscope of vigorous plants from five continents bursting out of an Oakland front yard is one kind of garden, the clean-lined contemporary composition of drought-tolerant natives and gravel is another, and the garden tucked into the mountain landscape of oaks, manzanitas, and ceanothus is yet another. This fascinating tour includes gardens such as Green Gables, where the 1911 terraced design by Greene & Greene is meticulously preserved; Big Swing, with a world-renowned collection of salvias; a vertical garden on a vertiginous site in San Francisco by Surfacedesign; and a romantic landscape of lawns, perennial beds, and stately oaks owned by noted collectors and gallerists Gretchen and John Berggruen. Lowry and Berner describe the goals of each garden owner and the principles behind the designs.




Bay Area Wild


Book Description

Nestled among the cities and suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area is the most extensive system of wild greenbelts in the nation. Renowned adventurer and wilderness photographer Galen Rowell has created the ultimate tribute to the place where he was born and raised. His lyrical text, combined with 173 spectacular color photographs, presents a unique view of the Bay Area.




Nom Nom Paleo


Book Description

A New York Times cookbook best-seller. Nom Nom Paleo is a visual feast, crackling with humor and packed with stunningly photographed step-by-step recipes free of gluten, soy, and added sugar. Designed to inspire the whole family to chow down on healthy, home-cooked meals, this cookbook compiles over 100 foolproof paleo recipes that demonstrate how fun and flavorful cooking with wholesome ingredients can be. And did we mention the cartoons? Nom Nom Paleo kicks off with a fresh introduction to Paleo eating, taking readers on a guided tour of author Michelle Tam's real-food strategies for stocking the kitchen, saving time, and maximizing flavors while maintaining a Paleo lifestyle. Also, sprinkled throughout the book are enlightening features on feeding kids, packing nutritious lunches, boosting umami, and much more. The heart of this book are Michelle's award-winning primal Paleo recipes, 50 percent of which are brand-new --- even to diehard fans who own her bestselling iPad cookbook app. Readers can start by marrying their favorite ingredients with building blocks like Sriracha Mayonnaise, Louisiana Remoulade, and the infamous Magic Mushroom Powder. These basic recipes lay the foundation for many of the fabulous delights in the rest of the book including Eggplant "Ricotta" Stacks, Crab Louie, and Devils on Horseback. There's something for everyone in this cookbook, from small bites like Apple Chips and Kabalagala (Ugandan plantain fritters) to family-sized platters of Coconut Pineapple "Rice" and Siu Yoke (crispy roast pork belly). Crave exotic spices? You won't be able to resist the fragrant aromas of Fast Pho or Mulligatawny Soup. In the mood for down-home comforts? Make some Yankee Pot Roast or Chicken Nuggets drizzled with Lemon Honey Sauce. When a quick weeknight meal is in order, Nom Nom Paleo can show you how to make Crispy Smashed Chicken or Whole-Roasted Branzini in less than 30 minutes. And for a cold treat on a hot day, nothing beats Paleo-diet-friendly Mocha Popsicles or a two-minute Strawberry Banana Ice Cream. Eating healthy doesn't mean sacrificing flavor. This book gives you "Paleo with personality," and will make you excited to play in the kitchen again.




The Coffee Book


Book Description

A history of coffee from the sixth century to Starbucks that’s “good to the last sentence” (Las Cruces Sun News). One of Library Journal’s “Best Business Books” This updated edition of The Coffee Book is jammed full of facts, figures, cartoons, and commentary covering coffee from its first use in Ethiopia in the sixth century to the rise of Starbucks and the emergence of Fair Trade coffee in the twenty-first. The book explores the process of cultivation, harvesting, and roasting from bean to cup; surveys the social history of café society from the first coffeehouses in Constantinople to beatnik havens in Berkeley and Greenwich Village; and tells the dramatic tale of high-stakes international trade and speculation for a product that can make or break entire national economies. It also examines the industry’s major players, revealing the damage that’s been done to farmers, laborers, and the environment by mass cultivation—and explores the growing “conscious coffee” market. “Drawing on sources ranging from Molière and beatnik cartoonists to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the authors describe the beverage’s long and colorful rise to ubiquity.” —The Economist “Most stimulating.” —The Baltimore Sun




The New Rules of Coffee


Book Description

An illustrated guide to the essential rules for enjoying coffee both at home and in cafes, including tips on storing and serving coffee, coffee growing, roasting and brewing, plus facts, lore, and popular culture from around the globe. This introduction to all things coffee written by the founders and editors of Sprudge, the premier website for coffee content, features a series of digestible rules accompanied by whimsical illustrations. Divided into three sections (At Home, At the Cafe, and Around the World), The New Rules of Coffee covers the basics of brewing and storage, cafe etiquette and tips for enjoying your visit, as well as essential information about coffee production (What is washed coffee?), coffee myths (Darker is not stronger!), and broadcasts from a new international coffee culture.




All Over Coffee


Book Description

A new voice and vision for art as comics and comics as art -- and poetry.




Bay Area Radio


Book Description

The San Francisco Bay Area was a key national radio-broadcasting center during the first three decades of commercial radio. In 1909, it was home to the very beginnings of the art and science of broadcasting, when Charles "Doc" Herrold began sending out weekly voice and music programs from his radio school in San Jose. Dozens of other radio pioneers soon followed. In 1926, big broadcasting came to San Francisco when the newly formed National Broadcasting Company (NBC) established its West Coast headquarters on Sutter Street. Other national and regional networks soon set up their own broadcast production centers, and for the next 20 years, thousands of actors, musicians, announcers, and engineers were creating important programs that were heard on the West Coast as well as nationwide. During World War II, San Francisco became the key collection center for Pacific war news, and bulletins received in San Francisco were quickly relayed to an anxious nation. Conversely, powerful shortwave stations broadcast war news and propaganda back to the Pacific and entertained American troops overseas.




Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area


Book Description

In this coffee table book of luminous essays accompanied by an array of images, award-winning writer Sylvia Linsteadt brings to life the many microcosms that once flourished in the San Francisco Bay Area: from the farthest reach of the Russian Empire at Fort Ross, to acres upon acres of apricot blossoms in what is now known as Silicon Valley, to the Coney Island of the West on the Alameda shoreline, to San Francisco's bohemian Barbary Coast. For every "lost world," Linsteadt reconstructs the setting in lyrical prose supported by extensive research into each epoch. Vintage photographs, maps, and paintings combined with neo-Victorian design accentuate the words, immersing us fully in the nuances of each reality, whether mining quicksilver at New Almaden or shopping underneath the rotunda of the palatial Emporium. A book both dazzlingly beautiful and sensitive to the complexities of portraying bygone eras, Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area celebrates the ephemeral and, in reminding us of the many moments of humanity threaded through the past, makes our understanding of the present moment that much more rooted.




Bay Area Stand-Up Comedy


Book Description

Comedians of the San Francisco Bay Area changed comedy forever. From visiting acts like Richard Pryor, Steve Martin and Whoopi Goldberg to local favorites who still maintain their following and legacy, the Bay Area has long been a place for comedians to develop their voice and hone their stand-up skills. Popular spots included Cobb's, the Purple Onion, Brainwash, and the holy grail of San Francisco comedy during the 1980s boom, the Holy City Zoo. For over seventy years, these iconic venues and others fostered talent like Ali Wong, Moshe Kasher and the Smothers Brothers, introducing them to local crowds and the world beyond. Join comedians Nina G and OJ Patterson on a hilarious and thoughtful tour through the history of Bay Area comedy.