Check out the recipe for duck hunters below.
SAN FRANCISCO— Whenever I'm in a new city always go to the front desk of the hotel and ask, “Where is the best independent breakfast joint?” I tell them, “I want to go to the place where the old men are sitting around a table every morning talking about sports and politics.” It never fails, that's the place I'm going to learn more about a city or town. That's also the place where I will typically get the most authentic local breakfast.
Every time I’ve been in San Francisco for the past two decades, I have eaten at least one breakfast at Sears Fine Food. Sears has been there for about 90 years and although it mostly serves tourists these days, I can sit in that dining room and imagine what it was like in its heyday and appreciate a foodservice business— touristy or not— that has been in business for almost a century.
Another local restaurant I always frequent when I'm in town is R&G Lounge. It's an excellent Chinese restaurant right on the edge of Chinatown and I've never eaten a bad meal there. I flew in late last night ,and checked into the hotel at midnight, so dinner was out. In a few minutes I'll be heading north into the redwoods on the banks of the Russian river for the next few days but hope on my return I'll be able to grab lunch at R&G.
Sears is known for their tiny Swedish pancakes. I have enjoyed them in the past, but I mostly enjoy the energy in that room. This morning, I got there early, and the dining room was half full with 100% tourists (your columnist chief among them) and it felt different than it has on previous visits. This was my first time in town post Covid and everything feels different. The entire city feels different. It made me wonder if people who visit my hometown back in Mississippi feel that way about Hattiesburg.
Does Hattiesburg feel different post-Covid? To me, we’ve gotten back into the groove, and although we’ve lost a lot of independent restaurants over the past three years (a couple of mine included), I feel as if we have bounced back like champions. Though it might be that I can’t see the forest for the pine trees. I hope that’s not the case.
That is certainly not the feeling I get here in San Francisco. There seems to be a pall hanging over the city. Things have changed.
As bad as Covid was for the restaurant industry, our restaurant group came out on the other side stronger, leaner, more organized, and operating at a more professional level. I was having that conversation with someone a few days ago. In times of stress, one has two options— fight or flight. We fought. We continue to fight. Not in the traditional sense of the word. We fought to get just a little bit better every day. We started communicating our core values of “Hospitality, quality, consistency, cleanliness, and community.” And we do our best to live our mission of “Giving our guests exceptional experiences through fanatical wall-to-wall hospitality,” at every turn.
I had a set of core values and a mission for the 30 years before Covid, but I was a poor leader and was negligent in constantly communicating that to our team and leadership. So, I guess when I break it down, Covid— as bad as it was— was also a wake-up call for me. It re-energized me and my passion for the restaurant business. We are hitting on all cylinders these days. We still have problems and issues, but we use our mission and values as our guideposts and do our best to live in the solution.
Back to the first meal of the day. There's something that compels me to eat breakfast. It's been that way all my life. Seriously, always. I can probably count the number of times I have missed breakfast in the last 50 years on both hands. Although, the misses are so infrequent, I might be able to only use one hand. I truly never miss breakfast.
Even after last night’s late flight I had that compulsion to eat breakfast hit early this morning and got up and powered through a meal before coming back to the hotel to lay back down.
The bill for a one-person breakfast at Sears was a shocking $50.00 ($60.00 with tip). Things have definitely changed in this city. That’s not a breakfast from then Four Seasons, it’s a community café in the heart of downtown San Francisco. To be clear, it’s not some big-city sticker shock for the boy from South Mississippi. Within the last month I’ve eaten breakfast in Chicago, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and New Orleans. Nothing came near that price tag. Four people could eat breakfast at our community café in Hattiesburg, The Midtowner, for that price.
Was a Sears breakfast worth $60.00? Nope. Will I return? Probably. That is the curse of a restaurateur. I love this business. I am a student of restaurants. I eat, sleep, and breathe this business. Though now I’m ready to head north into the redwoods for a few days and recharge the old batteries.
I am hopeful that I am misreading San Francisco on just a short drop-in-and-out. It has always been one of America’s great restaurant cities. Maybe they’ll start living in the solution.
Onward.
Smoked Duck and Grits
This is a recipe I developed specifically for this book. My brother is an avid duck hunter and I was thinking of him when we were testing it. The grits say “basic” though they’re anything but basic. They are very rich, but so good, and perfect for this recipe. The caramelized onions are an equal player in this three-component game.
Yield: 6 servings
6 Duck Breasts-5-6 ounces each
Brine:
2 cups Apple Juice
1 cup Cranberry Juice
1 ½ TBSP Kosher Salt
2 TBSP Brown Sugar
2 TBSP Soy Sauce
1 ½ tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 ½ tsp Black Pepper
Place all ingredients for the brine in a small sauce pot. Bring to a simmer and cook just long enough for the salt and sugar to dissolve. Remove from the heat and cool completely before placing the duck in the brine.
The duck will need to be scored before placing them in the brine. Using a very sharp knife cut shallow slices in the duck fat in a crisscross pattern. Be careful not to cut the meat of the duck.
Once the brine is cool, place duck breasts and brine in a gallon sized Ziplock baggie and refrigerate for 5-6 hours. Occasionally turn the baggie from side to side to ensure all surfaces are marinated.
At this time, you will also want to soak your woodchips.
Preheat Smoker to 200 degrees
Place the duck in preheated smoker, fat side up, along with the soaked wood chips.
Smoke for 35-45 minutes or until the duck reaches and internal temperature of 135.
As soon as the duck reaches 135, plate a heavy-duty skillet over medium-high heat. Place the duck breast fat side down in the dry, hot skillet to crisp the skin. Sear for 3-4 minutes. Turn the breasts over and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from the pan and let them rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
1 batch Basic Grits
Caramelized Onion Sauce:
2 TBSP Bacon Fat or Olive Oil
1 quart Yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 ½ tsp Kosher Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
1 TBSP Fresh Garlic, minced
¾ cup White Wine
2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth or Stock
2 tsp Fresh Thyme, chopped
¼ cup Unsalted Butter, cold and cubed
While the duck is smoking, prepare one batch of basic grits, cover and hold in a warm place until ready to serve.
Next, heat the bacon fat or olive oil in a large skillet over low-medium heat. Add the onions, salt and pepper to the hot skillet. Cook until the onions are light brown in color, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add the garlic and cook for 3-4 more minutes. Stir in the white wine and reduce the wine by half. Add in the chicken broth and simmer until most of the liquid is gone. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the thyme and cold butter. Hold in a warm place until ready to plate.
Divide the grits between 6 large shallow bowls. Starting at the thick side of the breast, slice the breast on the bias into 5-6 pieces. Arrange the slices in a semicircle over the grits. Spoon the onion mixture on the grits next to the duck and serve.
Basic Grits
These grits are anything but basic. The recipe uses heavy cream and chicken stock. Basic grits just use water. I probably should have named this recipe, “Not So Basic Grits.” But there are two other grits recipes following this one and these seem pretty basic compared to those.
Buy the best stone-ground grits you can find. Use only water if you like.
Yield: 6-8 servings
2 cups Water
2 cups Chicken Broth
2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 ½ tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 ½ cups Stone Ground Grits
2 tsp Hot Sauce
Combine water, broth, cream, salt, and pepper in a medium-sized sauce pot. Heat on medium-high heat until mixture begins to simmer. Using a wire whisk, stir in the grits and lower the heat.
Slowly simmer the grits for 18-20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Once the grits are thickened, remove from heat and stir in the hot sauce.
Serve immediately, or store covered in a warm place until needed.
