At the Table With… Michelle Bernstein

Dish you crave from your abuela: Neither one ever really cooked. So in turn, I always crave my mom's dish I crave would be a stew made in Argentina called Puchero.

Secret ingredient to make a dish pop: Any type of acid, good quality vinegar, orange, lemon or lime juice 

Favorite Latin restaurant in the U.S.: La Taqueria, San Francisco (Mission District)

Favorite Latin restaurant in the world: It’s not really a restaurant; its the Mercado 21 de Agosto in Oaxaca Mexico; we go every year and its an open-air market with the best mole, calabaza flower quesadillas, and aguas frescas in every flavor.

Favorite city to eat:  San Sebastian in Spain

Secret to a perfect dinner party: Prepare as much as you can the day before; it will relieve the stress and you will have more time for finishing the food with patience.

Biggest food indulgence: French Fries 

Favorite vegetable: Fennel

Best food memory: Picking and eating strawberries in the Redlands as a kid with my sister and parents

Ideal breakfast, lunch and dinner:  Breakfast: Poached eggs, toast and butter; Lunch: Milanesa or steak with a salad; Dinner: Salt crusted whole fish with vegetables

Favorite Latin cocktail: Pisco Sour

Favorite kitchen gadget: Spoon    

Perfect song to cook to: Anything by Bob Marley

Most adventurous food you eat: ever? Blowfish

Favorite fusion: Korean/Mexican