My buddy Sam Shank has launched a new site focusing on hotel deals - DealBase.com. Everyone loves to find a great deal these days, and DealBase.com has collected a lot of them - over 11,000 hotel deals for destinations in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. In addition to the broad selection of deals, what I like about DealBase.com is that they help me determine if a deal is truly a deal by comparing the regular price of a deal and any items it may contain to the discounted deal price.

Right about now you're saying to yourself, "Okay, I understand wanting to make the shameless plug for a friend, but Consuming Ambitions is a blog about food. What does this have to do with food?" Glad you asked! DealBase lists over 200 deals that include free dinner, including a deal at the Millennium Biltmore in downtown Los Angeles, and 100 deals that are wine themed. They say there's no such thing as a free lunch, but who said anything about free dinner? (Okay, a paid hotel stay is required, but still there are some good deals to be had.)

Or, if you're looking for an excuse to go to Las Vegas' restaurants, take a look at this amazing deal at the Palms Casino - by the time you factor in the free night and added benefits, the stay is effectively free! Just make sure you don't squander all those savings at the blackjack table.

Get ready for Quickfire Challenges, drama and tears in the kitchen, and of course, the hostess with the mostest, the lovely Padma Lakshmi (pictured here with head judge and famed restauranteur Tom Colicchio). Tonight at 10pm (9pm Central) on Bravo, Season 5 of Top Chef kicks off with a fresh batch of 17 Cheftestants. New faces at the judges' table this season include food critic Toby Young, who also penned the bestselling-novel-turned-movie How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, along with cameos from Martha Stewart, the Foo Fighters, and Dancing with the Stars' Rocco DiSpirito among others. List of contestants below:

• Alex, 33; hometown: New York
• Ariane, 41; hometown: Verona, N.J.
• Carla, 44; hometown: Nashville
• Danny, 26; hometown: New Hyde Park, N.Y.
• Fabio, 30; hometown: Florence, Italy
• Gene, 33; hometown: Whitmore Village, Hawaii
• Hosea, 34; hometown: Taos, N. M.
• Jamie, 30; hometown: New York
• Jeff, 33; hometown: Niceville, Fla.
• Jill, 28; hometown: Latrobe, Pa.
• Lauren, 24; hometown: Cincinnati
• Leah, 27; hometown: Scarsdale, N.Y.
• Melissa, 28; hometown: Maryland
• Patrick, 21; hometown: Quincy, Mass.
• Radhika, 28; hometown: Chicago
• Richard, 27; hometown: Long Island
• Stefan, 35; hometown: Tampere, Finland

Last Saturday my friend Bobby treated me and some friends to a sneak preview 7-course meal at his sleek new Japanese restaurant, Hamon Washoku (note, web site still under construction at press time) which opens today. Replacing the French crepes-n-coffee spot known as the Laurel Street Cafe, the space has been transformed into a tranquil zen oasis of dark wood, live bamboo and stylish furnishings. It would be easy to blow right past Hamon Washoku, which I managed to do despite knowing the street number and focusing on finding it (my better half would say that it was a classic case of my lack of perceptiveness, but that is another topic altogether!). The front of the restaurant is very understated, marked only by tapestries adorned with the restaurant's name written in kanji (reproduced here to save you from my wayward fate).

Hamon translates as "knife literature" (with washoku simply meaning "food of Japan") and according to Bobby is meant to convey the artistry of the fine knifework practiced by the restaurant's head chef Suzuki-san, together with harmony in cooking. Continuing this theme, the restaurant's business card, viewed edgewise, reveals a glimmering silver "blade." The place even commissioned the creation of a custom knife, a hefty blade forged according to traditional samurai methods and engraved with kanji including hamon, and with a ripple representing the ebb and flow of life. This "chef's knife" (or as Dungeons and Dragons groupies might call it, "short sword") will be wielded by Suzuki-san.

We experienced a beautiful, delicate, kaiseki meal that is described below. Besides the artistry of the food, I appreciated its freshness, and small touches such as real grated wasabe (Japanese horseradish) versus the bright green paste-from-a-tube one normally gets. However, keep in mind that Hamon Washoku will not initially offer kaiseki (which is sort of a good thing, in the sense that one does not normally partake of such elaborate food on a regular basis). The chef was putting the finishing touches on the daily select menu, so I did not get to take a look at it, but Bobby's vision is to offer both higher-end, artistic Japanese haute cuisine a la carte, as well as everyday fare meant to attract regulars looking for a simple but delicious meal. By the way, for now it's a dinner-only place, open 3pm-10pm.

By the way, in a sure sign that Yelp is headed for world domination, Hamon Washoku already exists on the reviews site despite not having opened yet, and has several raving fans (albeit all "friends of the house" who also enjoyed a sneak preview prior to the grand opening).

Without further ado, here is a description of the kaiseki menu I experienced Saturday:

Ume "Plum" Course

OSUIMONO
selected mushrooms steamed in a light broth, with mitsuba leaf accent

CHOHKO
mozuku seaweed, spring rain vermicelli, wakame seaweed, daikon radish with ginger vinaigrette

HASSUN
spicy cod roe piped into lotus root, sweet omelette rolled eel with soybean miso, braised ginger prawn in sake and soy, green tea powder dressed taro potato, topped with sweet yuzu red miso, herring roe dressed with sake pulp, pine needle thorned sweetened black bean

TSUKURI
seared kobe beef, cherry stone clam broiled

NI-MONO
choice vegetables braised individually: asparagus, kabocha pumpkin, mini round eggplant, japanese turnip, grilled tofu, bread-pudding rounds, assembled in one dish; puree mountain potato, junsai vegetable topped with red plum lemon vinaigrette

O GO-HAN MONO
seared duckling braised in sake and soy, braised sweetened chestnut, braised asian pear with sesame miso dressing

KONOMONO
assorted pickled vegetables

Some pics are below; unfortunately I spaced and forgot to bring a high-res camera, but props to my buddy Paddy for snapping these photos with his trusty iPhone. (Flash required.)

Hamon Washoku
741 Laurel Street
San Carlos, CA 94070
(650) 631-8020

In the midst of the current economic meltdown comes a welcome recession buster from Doug Klein, CEO of LightPole and earnest foodie. He recently visited Fisher Farm and wrote in to describe his exploits:

I stopped by Fisher on the way home from closing my in-laws' cabin today.

The first two shots are their displays of heirloom tomatoes - picked yesterday, all $1/lb :) The last shot [the top picture in this blog post] is what I brought home for $8.06.

Having visited the California Avenue Palo Alto Farmer's market this morning, I can report that $8.06 buys somewhat less (the heirloom tomatoes and stone fruit there set me back $2.50-$3/pound) but boy is it tasty!

This weekend Slow Food hits Baghdad by the Bay. With a slogan of "Good, clean, and fair," the international movement started in 1989 launches perhaps its finest moment to date with a shindig billed as the largest celebration of American food (some might say that Thanksgiving takes that honor, but I suppose it's a matter of definitions). The confab runs Friday through Monday in San Francisco and will include talks and demonstrations, activities, and, rumor has it, eating. Slowly and with great pleasure.

Sadly, I am unable to make it up for the festivities, but I support the cause!

What is Slow Food all about? Though it started out with the simple idea of slowing down and enjoying quality food (the antithesis of McDonald's and it's ilk, natch), the movement has now expanded its mission to promote environmental and social concerns: make food in a way that doesn't hurt the earth or exploit workers or animals. From the Slow Foods FAQ:

Slow Food USA is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to supporting and celebrating the food traditions of North America through programs and activities dedicated to Taste Education, Defending Biodiversity and Building Food Communities. Slow Food USA believes that pleasure and quality of life is greatly increased when we make time to cook and share meals with family and friends using ingredients that honor our traditions and our land.

Free events include talks, music, and dancing performed on the small stage known as "the soapbox"; access to food stalls hawking local produce as well as hot foods prepared using sustainable ingredients, and some films at Fort Mason Sunday evening (reserve tickets in advance). Paid admission brings access to certain speakers, workshops, and tastings, but at this point the choice stuff is gone -- check out remaining activities on the Slow Food Ticket Page.

Aleta Watson over at the San Jose Mercury ran a nice article Wednesday describing this weekend's festival.

For the Twitter set: Slow Food Nation (which, 27 minutes ago, brought this tidbit: Whole Foods is about to reach an agreement with Comida Giusta for higher produce prices to guarantee better conditions for workers).

Tara Parker-Pope of the New York Times did a piece recently boldly titled The 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating -- a bit presumptuous in that anybody who is at least somewhat health conscious is heeding the frequently heard advice that they should be eating some of these foods (blueberries for example, as an aid to memory -- remember?). But I always enjoy reading such articles, because often there are a few novel suggestions. The NYT article did not disappoint in this regard; my epiphany this time was...spices! And here I thought they were just for flavor. The author claims that cinnamon may help control blood sugar and cholesterol, while turmeric is a dubbed the "superstar of spices" for its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties (pass the curry!).

Okay, last time we did wine, so now it's time to give beer some air time. I am fortunate to work with a bona fide beermeister, and by that I do not mean somebody with Animal House style binge tendencies, but rather a man who actually brews his own. Trinity's controller, Lyle, has taught me most everything I know about the craft of making beer. He was kind enough to pull together a FAQ list and allow me to publish it here. Generally I would never challenge Lyle's beer acumen, but I do have to quibble with his answer to "Do I need to drink the beer tonight?" -- a simple "Yes!" would suffice! His beer is quite tasty, and whenever he passes along a sample, it does not undergo any type of storage procedure in my home, other than a brief stop in the fridge on the way to my tummy. Go ahead, call me a wort hog.

Q: How do you brew beer?

A: Brewing beer is a surprisingly simple process. First, I mash the grains. Mashing is the process of drawing the sugars from the grain. I do this by soaking the grain for an hour or so in hot water ranging from about 150 degrees to about 158 degrees. A lot of chemistry is happening during the mash, but the end result is a sugary solution called "wort". I drain the wort into a large pot and boil it for an hour or so, adding hops for bittering and/or flavoring at several points during the hour.

At the end of the boil, I cool the wort, transfer it into a fermentor and pitch yeast. The yeast spend the next week or so eating the sugars and converting them into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is expelled through an airlock in the top of my fermentor. I let the beer sit in the first fermentor for a couple weeks, then transfer it to a secondary container where I let it condition and clear for a couple more weeks. During this clearing period, most of the yeast and other solids fall to the bottom of the container.

The final step is to mix in a little corn sugar and transfer the flat beer into bottles. The remaining yeast eat the corn sugar, producing a tiny bit more alcohol and carbon dioxide. Since the bottles are capped, the carbon dioxide cannot escape and is absorbed into the beer, creating a carbonated beverage over a three week period. That's it!

Q: How long does it take to brew beer?

A: The actual brewing process on brew day is about six hours or so, although I'm sitting back and enjoying the fruits of my previous labors during much of this time. The typical time from brewing to drinking is about eight weeks. Lighter beers can be sooner and bigger, more complex beers can take up to six months or longer before they reach their full flavor potential.

Q: How much beer do you brew in a batch?

A: My batches currently are five gallons into the fermentor. By the time the beer reaches the bottles, I usually have enough to fill 45-48 12oz. bottles, sometimes less. I have plans to start brewing 10-gallon batches in the near future.

Q: How does your beer compare with other craft beers I am familiar with?

A: The brewing process and ingredients I use are the exact same as those used by any of the larger craft brewers. The only real difference is in the equipment used. The flavors in my beer will be comparable to commercial beers of similar styles. Many, if not most, craft brewers started out as homebrewers.

Q: Why is your beer cloudy?

A: There are two main reasons for this. First, my beer, as with almost all homebrews and many commercial craft beers, is bottle conditioned. This means there is a small amount of yeast in the bottle. Most of this yeast will settle to the bottom of the bottle after a few days of refrigeration. If you pour the yeast into your beer glass, it can cause cloudiness, and possibly some off flavors in the beer. Please pour carefully!

Second, my beer, as with almost all homebrews and many commercial craft beers, is not filtered. One byproduct of mashing grains is grain protein. When the beer is refrigerated, these unfiltered proteins show themselves in the form of "chill haze". As with the yeast, these proteins will settle to the bottom of the bottle after a few days in the refrigerator. Unlike the yeast, these proteins have no effect on the beer whatsoever, other than the cloudy appearance. You cannot taste them.

Q: Do I need to drink the beer tonight? How should I store the beer?

A: Properly stored, the beer will keep just fine for a very long time. Craft beers, particularly bottle conditioned craft beers, will age in much the same way wine ages. The flavor profile will gradually change over time. Refrigeration will slow this process, but there is no harm in leaving a bottle or two in a cool place just to see how it evolves. Freshness as measured by the "born on date" made famous by Budweiser is extremely overrated for most properly stored craft beers.

By properly stored, I mean keep it away from heat and out of the light, particularly direct sunlight. Sunlight causes a chemical reaction with hops, resulting in what is often described as a "skunky" smell and flavor. It takes less than an hour for this reaction to affect the beer. Corona and Heineken, because of their clear or green bottles, are good examples of often "skunked" beers. I believe these brewers skunk their beer on purpose as many people have grown fond of that flavor.

Q: Where do you get your bottles?

A: I buy beer bottles at the store. As luck would have it, they happen to be filled with a tasty liquid. I drink the beer, clean and sanitize the bottles and fill them up with my own homebrew. I can also just buy empty beer bottles at the homebrew supply shop, but where's the fun in that?

Thanks Lyle!

In the recent past, we've heard grumblings of frustration from management of leading wine e-commerce player Wine.com, over the fact that many wine shops and other merchants were skirting the byzantine laws which govern the distribution and shipment of alcoholic beverages in this country. As the Free the Grapes web site explains, "Despite widespread support for expanding consumer choice in wine, many consumers are still prohibited by state law from purchasing the wines they want directly from wineries and retailers." (A detailed description of the issue, including facts and figures, is available on that site.)

Wine.com management has been frustrated by the fact that while it complies fully with all laws related to wine distribution, flatly refusing orders which would violate regulations, many others are all too willing to fill those orders. To be clear, Wine.com does not support the archaic legal rules (which, if abolished, would open the national market fully), but it does feel the need to abide by them. Given the scrutiny that comes with being the web's largest seller of wine, it would be hard for Wine.com to flout those laws. Meanwhile, other parties are taking the orders that Wine.com steers clear of, shipping wines across state lines with abandon.

Wine.com articulates a reasonable position: why should we have to play by the rules and suffer while others don't? Level playing field and all that. Nonetheless, many of us were surprised and dismayed to see that Wine.com has taken to policing its competition: according to the Vinography wine blog, Wine.com has arranged for illegal wine orders to be placed (for example, having wine sold and shipped to Washington state from another state which is banned from doing so), then turned in its competitors to the government -- by forwarding emailed order confirmations along with a "please bust these guys" letter from its lawyers. This bold move has unleashed the fury of wine-lover nation, which does not want to see it get any harder to have tasty fermented grape juice shipped around the country. The fur is flying in the comments section of the Vinography post, and even Wine.com CEO Rich Bergsund has weighed in to defend his actions. BTW, the Tom Cole you see in those comments is not me! I received a laudatory email from the co-owner of a local wine shop (coincidentally, one where I happen to be a happy customer), because the other Tom Cole excoriates Wine.com in the comments. What can I say, it's a common name.

Just in the nick of time, my wife came through with a pointer to a very helpful article in the New York Times (registration required) describing an excellent turkey carving technique. She is hoping to save me from the ignominy of dinner-table turkey launching carving accidents (as described in the article) or worse ("Honey, remember to only cut through joints -- if you try to cut through bone, the bone you cut may be your own!"). The best part of the article is that it includes an excellent 6-minute demonstration video worthy of the Food Network. But to use this technique, you do have to be willing to forgo the Norman Rockwell moment of carving the bird-cum-centerpiece at the table with your adoring loved ones looking on -- with this method, you do the deed in the kitchen, on a cutting board.

Happy Thanksgiving!