Omnivore Books, two nights in a row

The bookstore was packed tighter than a clown car for the guy giving a talk on bitters. San Franciscans love their booze. Michael Ruhlman's talk was reasonably well-attended but small by comparison. I enjoyed Ruhlman more, though - probably because I know more and have more interest about the subject matter. His talk itself was familiar if you've read Making of a Chef, though.

He confirmed that the sequel to Charcuterie will be out next fall. Also, I brought a sample of bresaola, since I use an adaptation of his recipe. His comments:

"Nice texture. Good balance of salt and herbs, flavors meld nicely. I think this is better than my own."

That may be an exaggeration, but the ego-stroke was really nice. I also commented that I let mine hang much longer than the recipe calls for (three months vs. four weeks). He responded that not unsurprisingly, longer is generally better if it's not going bad.