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I make a lot of middle eastern food, especially lately.  Turkish, Israeli, Syrian, Bulgarian, Greek, Persian, you name it.  Partly it's because I find middle eastern food is adaptable to many dietary requirements, especially non-meat.  Partly it's because it's healthful.  Partly it's because I own a lot of really good middle eastern cookbooks.

However, a lot of those recipes require special ingredients.  And in the Bay Area, the absolute best place to get those is Alhana in San Mateo.  More ... 

San Francisco has had an veritable caffeine frenzy of local small roasters ever since gourmet coffee in the US was kicked off in Berkeley in the 1970's. Nobody, however, has been quite as fanatical as Blue Bottle Coffee Company, known to spend $1000's on special bags and custom equipment, and never to sell any bean more than 2 days old.

The region constituting southwest Oregon and northern California is often called Jefferson State by the locals, in memory of a brief and unserious succession attempt in the 1940's. Jeffersonians see themselves as aloof from the Sodom and Gomorrahs of Portland and the California cities, and much abused by them.

Despite this, the hundreds of wealthy California retirees moving into the Rogue Valley over the last 15 years have brough a taste for the finer things with them, and have made the region a reasonable place to cook, provided you're willing to spend a whole day of driving to get the groceries. Here's where to find everything: