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Normally, the unpretentious local hangout serves coffee and light lunches to bikers from nearby Golden Gate Park. But on Wednesday and Thursday nights it is open for dinner, when chef Eskender Aseged brings his nomadic restaurant to the café. Radio Africa & Kitchen, as Aseged calls his roving eatery, references his childhood in Ethiopia, when groups of boys would gather to listen to soccer games on whatever working radio they could find in the village, eating snacks and sharing a community moment together. Aseged’s cooking reflects his Ethiopian roots, but shows even more influence from the Mediterranean food he has encountered in 20 years working as a professional waiter in some of San Francisco’s top restaurants, such as Square One and Boulevard. He learned much of his cooking from chefs he has worked with along the way. He takes a farmers market approach, planning his menus around what he finds fresh and in season in the market. Our group gathered on a Thursday evening at three large communal tables in the café, fulfilling the chef’s vision of the importance of breaking bread together as an expression of community. The menu started off with a shared mezze plate that included eggplant with pine nuts, a delightful apple salad with Buddha’s hand citron, crimini mushrooms with sherry, almonds and manchego cheese, and baby green beans with chermoula, a North African spice mixture. After an arugula and shaved fennel salad, diners were forced to choose among three delicious entrée options: free range chicken breast with pomegranate seeds, olives and preserved lemon; barley risotto with artichokes, edamame, chestnuts, and a goat cheese-yogurt raita; or seared ahi. The saffroned spinach that accompanied the ahi was a standout. Because he has limited time in his borrowed space, Aseged did not attempt to prepare a complicated dessert, but the mixed fresh fruit and wild honey ice cream he served was a satisfying ending to a very enjoyable dinner. East Bay attendees were delighted to hear that Aseged plans to bring his itinerant restaurant to Berkeley in early February at Jennifer Millar’s Sweet Adeline Bake Shop. For San Francisco dwellers who missed the dinner, visit Velo Rouge Café’s website, http://www.velorougecafe.com and click on “Local Happiness” for future Radio Africa dates (currently every Wednesday and Thursday) or call them at 415-752-7799. Velo Rouge Café is located at 798 Arguello Blvd. (at McAllister) in San Francisco.
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