me:

Okay, I don’t forage in the traditional sense, I do my foraging in restaurants.  There are so many delicious spots to explore in the Bay Area, and I do a fair amount of it out in the far reaches of the East Bay.  Join me as I explore menus, searching out specialties and fabled dishes and share them here with you.  Occasionally I post my favorite recipes, but mostly I’m out there eating and taking photos along the way.

The information that I post up may resemble restaurant reviews, but I’m really not a critic; I am an enthusiast and tend to focus on things that I liked about a restaurant or meal.  All of these meals are paid for with my own dime, and shhhhh, I admit that I occasionally resort to consulting the unreliable oracle called Yelp to research recommended dishes…

photography:

I have an avid interest in photography.  If you haven’t already read this fantastic post on Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen, you should.  It is an excellent resource on home lighting techniques that has proven to be revelatory for me. I bought a single Lowel EGO light and keep it in my kitchen for taking pics of food.

My main cameras right now are :

Sony Cybershot DSC-W300 practically fits in my pocket.  It’s small and fast, it goes with me everywhere.

When inspired to carry it, I schlep around a Panasonic Lumix G2, which is not really a DSLR, but accepts interchangeable micro four thirds lenses.  My favorite lens for food photography is the Leica 45 mm.  It takes beautiful pictures but has some serious limitations… like I generally have to be around 2-3 feet back from the plate for a super closeup shot!

I often eat at restaurants at night, most of whom have dim mood lighting, so I’ve recently begun using the flashlight feature on my cell phone for additional illumination.  So, yeah, that crazy person using her phone as a flashlight at the table across the room  last night at the restaurant you dined at?  That was probably me…