TGIF Feature: Chronicle's new food writer Soleil Ho challenges restaurant icon

KICKSTARTER

Soleil Ho, right, on her podcast Racist Sandwich, that she hosts with Zahir Mohammed.

This Sunday (Mar. 3) the San Francisco Chronicle's new food writer will make her debut with five restaurant reviews and shows she's not afraid of sacred cows. One of her initial reviews will tackle Alice Waters' iconic Chez Panisse.

In Soleil Ho's own words, this is what she has to say about herself on her website:

"My name is Soleil Ho, and I wear a lot of hats: I’m a freelance food, culture, and travel writer and the host of two podcasts, the multiple award-nominated Racist Sandwich and Popaganda. I’ve written about assimilation food, my proto-feminist love for Sailor Moon, and the curious culinary legacy of Asian immigration in Mexico. In addition to all of that, I’m the co-writer of MEAL, a graphic novel on culinary mentorship, queer romance, and eating insects. (Amazon)

"In 2018, I received a Southern Foodways Alliance Smith Symposium Fellowship and a UC Berkeley-11th Hour Food and Farming Journalism Fellowship. In 2017, I was featured in this really funky short on chefs and tattoos for Bulleit Whiskey and Pop-Up Magazine."

Ho has some big shoes to fill. She takes over from legendary food writer Michael Bauer, who wrote on the subject for 32 years and helped usher in the Bay Area's rising status as a foodie haven.

“I’m so honored to be the Bay Area’s full-time food critic and to be tasked with doing this diverse, complicated region’s foodways justice through my writing,”  Ho told the Chronicle when the newspaper announced her hire. “This is a total dream for me.”

The Chron published an advance review to tease readers and local foodies in which she tackles another Bay Area legend, Chez Panisse, the seminal Berkeley restaurant in which chef Alice Waters introduced a new vocabulary in food and launched a bunch a legion of chefs trained in her kitchen and philosophy.

And Ho isn't cowed by  Waters' status akin to food royalty. "When there are so many interesting points of view that have emerged from the food world since 1971, Chez Panisse’s approach comes off as stale," Ho writes. "I get that the whole premise of Chez Panisse is that simple presentation and purity of ingredients constitute a more meaningful way to eat, but that lack of ambition on the menu feels more like a bug than a feature, especially considering the unevenness of the dishes I had there on these visits."

In a Chronicle podcast, Ho mentioned the other restaurants she'll be writing about:

“Some pretty wonderful Chinese American restaurants,” presumably in a group review, La Folie and its lounge (just when you thought Ho’s predecessor, Michael Bauer, was gone for good), Cambodian hit Nyum Bai in Oakland, and La Calenda, Thomas Keller’s new casual Mexican restaurant in Yountville. 

Ho comes to the Bay area from Minneapolis with stops in kitchens across the country, such as Bayona in New Orleans and Grand Cafe in Minneapolis. 

Her podcast, Racist Sandwich, has been an increasingly influential voice in discussions of race, class, and gender in the restaurant industry (and beyond); she founded it with co-host Zahir Janmohamed. 

According to Chronicle editor-in-chief Audrey Cooper, “[Ho] was a clear choice: she has a fresh and modern approach to food journalism.”

In hiring Ho, the Chron is acknowledging the cultural diversity that makes up the Bay Area. Ho reportedly won't be afraid to write from the perspective of a person of color.

Ho’s work thus far has focused on fostering conversations around social justice and ethics, bringing voices of marginalized communities into the spotlight. We hope she won't lose that viewpoint. However, as the Chron reports, the ultimate goal remains to “enlighten, entertain and most of all, determine whether local restaurants are worth a diner’s time and money.”

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Anthony Bourdain, RIP; he promoted Asian cuisines to western audiences

White House photographer took this shot with Anthony Bourdain and President Barack Obama in Hanoi.

TO CALL Anthony Bourdain a food critic is to miss the whole point of his television series traveling around the world to taste and experience the world. Food was both a gateway and the result of a people's culture.

TV host Bourdain committed suicide today in Paris, France. He was 61.

President Obama tweeted out the same picture above with his own condolences:

It's not often a U.S. President will tweet about a TV personality.

Whether he would have admit or not, Bourdain's influence on America's palate preferences were tremendous. He especially elevated Asian cuisines to a level at least equal to that of the better known cuisines of France, Italy and Spain.

“I’m not a critic." he said. "I was 30 years in the restaurant business. I don’t want to think about my food. I don’t want to evaluate it and write tasting notes and score them on a basis of one to ten… I want to experience food emotionally, like a child. I want to be lost in the moment. I want to take a bite of food and it takes me to another time or in another place, whether it’s my childhood or somebody else’s childhood. Anybody’s grandma’s food is preferable in my mind than a fine dining restaurant in almost every case.”

Comedian Jenny Yang appreciated the transcultural exchanges offered by Bourdain's programs.

Through his shows on the Food Channel and on CNN, Bourdain introduced an appreciation of Asian food and culture to geographically challenged Americans. He raised questions in Euro-centric America's mind that perhaps there is a world beyond Europe with people who just as creative, innovative, daring, brave or adventurous as someone from the countries of Europe.

He loved all cuisines. Food, after all, is the product of historical and environmental circumstances. To know a peoples' food is to learn something about their culture. Bourdain never looked down on the food offered to him, whether it be from a street vendor in Vietnam or a hold-in-the-wall ramen noodle shop in Tokyo. He lived -- and ate -- in the moment.

“There is nothing more political than food… The things that we eat are the direct reflection of our histories,” he said. “The ingredients, whether they are dried, they are pickled or preserved, these are reflections of long, often painful histories. That’s how we got to these dishes.”

“I often say wealthy cultures that are lucky and fortunate and prosperous generally don’t cook very well because they never had to,” he continued. “It’s the countries that struggle that make the most of what they have who, over time, learned to make wonderful things.”

He often said that if had a last meal, he would want it to be high grade sushi. If he had to move to a city and stay they forever, he said it would be Tokyo.

For me, I'll always remember him for his visits to the Philippines or when he went to Filipino/American restaurants in the U.S. 

SCREEN CAPTURE

Anthony Bourdain in the Phlippines.

In one visit, he said in one of his famous monologues that asks questions for the audience to ponder; question  to which he will find an answer to during the episode:

This episode is an attempt to address the question of why so many Filipinos are so damn caring. Why they care so much -- for each other -- for strangers. Because my experience is far from unusual. Hundreds of thousands -- maybe millions -- of children have been raised by Filipino nannies. Usually mothers of their own children who they were forced to leave behind in the Philippines.

Doctors, nurses, housekeepers, babysitters, in so many cases, people who you'd call "caregivers" but who, in every case I've ever heard of, actually care. Where does this kindness, this instinct for ... charity come from?

Along with fellow TV traveler/host Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Foods), Bourdain was an advocate for Filipino food. He would tell U.S. food critics that the cuisine from the Philippines would become the "next big thing."

He told CNN that he thinks Filipino food will be the next big thing in America, naming the dish pork sisig as the gateway drug. Sisig, the sizzling, crispy pork dish, he said, is "perfectly positioned to win the hearts and minds of the world as a whole."

He believes that American palates weren’t ready for the sour notes of traditional Filipino dishes, but they’ve evolved in the last few years as evidenced by the popularity of D.C.’s Bad Saint and others and credit should be given to the numerous food truck entrepreneurs who have introducedd sisig, lumpia and adobo to adventurous foodies.

Bourdain's suicide shocked the culianary world and drew a reaction from fellow celebrity chefs. 

David Chang, founder of the Momofuku empire, tweeted a black box with the lyrics from songwriter Will Oldham. 

TV host and chef Ming (Tsai) tweeted ... "just so sad ..."

Xi'an Famous Foods, a popular New York City restaurant chain that specializes in northwestern Chinese cuisine, announced that it's donating its net sales to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline today in honor of Anthony Bourdain.

Jason Wang, the company's CEO, credits Bourdain with much of their success. Their business has been booming since Bourdain's visit in 2007. Wang wrote a moving tribute to Bourdain in a series of tweets. Read it here.

In his book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, Bourdain wrote:

“[When I die], I will decidedly not be regretting missed opportunities for a good time. My regrets will be more along the lines of a sad list of people hurt, people let down, assets wasted and advantages squandered.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

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