Porcupine is on hiatus!

That's right, sandwich lovers, Porcupine is on leave for the next few weeks, but stay tuned for our next adventure. We might just pop up at a venue close to you!

Autumn, and our thoughts turn to...meatloaf.

Ah, Autumn. Squash and brussels, and persimmons and....meatloaf! This week's menu.

Monday at Z's. November 2, 2009

This Monday's Sandoes at Z's": Braised lamb shank with farro, butternut squash, brussels, pecorino, herb vinaigrette, on an Acme Torpedo. $8.50 Roasted Chicken Breast with mint gremolata and oven-dried Roma tomatoes. Acme Ciabatta roll. $8.50

Tonight at Z's

Tonight's menu - finally! See you at Z's Cocktail Lounge in Alameda.

Rainy days and Mondays always get me hungry.

Monday, October 19, 2009 at Z's. It was nice to see the Z's faithful weren't about to be put off by a few billion gallons of water falling from the sky. Thanks for the support, guys. Glad you like the sandwiches, especially the veggie deal which we thought might be a hard sell. Who knew? The Menu:
Stout-braised Short Ribs with root vegetable & horseradish slaw. $9.00

Autumn Veggies; roasted squash, persimmon, toasted Brussels sprouts, pumpkin seeds, crema di balsamico. $6.50 Wild Oregon Bay Shrimp salad, shredded romaine, ACME torpedo. $7.50

See you next week!

Porcupine at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

A couple Fridays back Porcupine bumped into a fishmonger buddy of ours. He was very keen on some Blue Fin tuna he had sourced out of Bolinas. We couldn't resist, and took a couple choice pieces back to the kitchen, put a gentle marinade on it, and stuck in the fridge overnight. The next day we poached it slowly in extra-good, extra-virgin.

We decided we couldn't wait until Monday night at Z's, and having no small hankering for live music of the tangy, twangy sort, on Sunday we built, wrapped, stacked and packed 40 sandwiches.

We then wended our wary way into the heart of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park. (Gotta love free festivals. Security, what security?) That little patch between the Red Cross stand and that string of food vendor heinousness near the Rooster stage seemed a spot as a good as any to plant our cooler.

Billy Bragg, in full-throated ease, welcomed us onto our sunny little plot and we got down to business. What an enjoyable afternoon, indeed, if only for people watching. Talk about life's rich pageant. We got many interesting offers of trade, but mostly we prefer cash.

Took a couple hours to sell all our sandwiches, and we had fun doing it. We met a lot of very cool, interesting people and bumped into a few friends as well. Chef Gordon Drysdale, for instance, stopped by with the happy news that he'll soon be ending his exile from San Francisco. He and his partners are taking over the old Prego space on Union.

Thanks to all for the support that afternoon. Street food forever!

Remember Porcupine is at Z's in Alameda every Monday night during football season.

Porcupine makes its debut at Z's Cocktail Lounge in Alameda 9/20/09

Porcupine made its teeny, tiny, super-secret debut at the charming Z's in Alameda this past Sunday.

On the menu: Moroccan meatballs with ras el hanout tomato sauce and cucumber raita tucked neatly into a torpedo pocket, and olive oil-poached local albacore with arugula, parsley, nicoise olives, red onion and sliced farm egg.

And while comments like "this is the best goddamn tuna sandwich I ever had, and I don't even like tuna!" encourage and confuse us at the same time, the concept of the "best" makes us a little uncomfortable. I mean...but, thanks.

And to the guy who really, really liked the meatball sando, your effusive, though unintelligible (your mouth was full) praise is music to our prickly little ears.

We'll be back at Z's for Monday Night Football in two weeks, October 5th. Come see us.