What We Eat


	Exact Match

Desert Island Dinners

What We Eat welcomes Chef Joanna Karlinksy to our desert island.

Joanna Karlinsky was born & bred in New York City. Weaned on the finest restaurants in that city she quickly took to cooking at college & thereafter. Having no real interest in following her brother's footsteps to Law School she took a job at a café in Boston. Three years later at the urging of the first tough chef she worked with she applied & was accepted at the Culinary Institute of America. 21 months of cooking theory & discipline changed her life. She met John Snell, another serious minded cook, and fled for the west coast. After stints in Seattle, the Washington Coast, Sonoma & Napa Valleys, the pair decided to set down roots in San Francisco and do their own thing.
The Meetinghouse was intended to be a nice balance of neighborhood ambiance and three-star food, wine & service. Six years later, John has left and Joanna thrives as the executive chef & baker of this adorable locals' haunt, as well as a full service catering company and commissary kitchen - delivering good quality foods to local cafes.

Now read about Joanna's Desert Island Dinners experience:

WWE: Joanna Karlinsky, thank you for joining us for Desert Island Dinners at What We Eat.
Joanna Karlinsky: Thanks for having me.

WWE: OK, a quick breakfast question, how do you like your eggs cooked?
Joanna Karlinsky: Well...I like eggs most ways - but probably best when just barely hard cooked, still warm with a pinch of kosher salt.

WWE: Imagine that we whisk you off to a desert island. You are allowed one meal and one drink, but it has to be the same one every day. What would you choose?
Joanna Karlinsky: I'd start with a little bite of caviar on a wooden spoon, then a tiny sliver of seared fois gras with pomegranate syrup, then another small, bite-sized appetizer of vine ripe tomatoes with mayonnaise & my own walnut bread, next: a small bowl of Sweet corn chowder with a great big seared sea scallop on top. after that: a slice of Niman Ranch Beef Tenderloin with a tiny portion of potato & artichoke gratin & red wine jus. Cheese would come next: any kind & then chocolate - any good quality would suffice. I think that would keep me happy for an extended period of time. Oh... a few bottles of Spencer-Roloson's wines (any of them, they are always awesome)

WWE: We are pleased to tell you that we have decided to build a restaurant on your desert island. So to you, our only customer, what type of food would you like us to serve?
Joanna Karlinsky: Japanese - mostly sushi pulled out of pristine waters, and edamame & tempura & lots of Japanese style vegetables

WWE: Is there any restaurant, other than The Meetinghouse, that you'd like us to model ours after? Remember, you have to eat here every single day!
Joanna Karlinsky: Not really - I am still looking for a sushi bar with comfortable chairs, decent lighting, good jazz & big band music playing and servers that keep my water glass & beer glass full!!!

WWE: As a special thanks to you for visiting our island, we will bring you a bag of goodies - what 5 food items would you like us to pack?
Joanna Karlinsky: 1) some CHEESE (I am afraid to admit that processed American cheese would be fine- it's my "guilty pleasure") but cheese is something I would have trouble living without 2) chocolate - preferable 41% milk chocolate from El Rey of Venezuela or 62% semi-sweet from Valrhona 3) bursting at the seems, vine ripened, heirloom tomatoes with salt & best foods mayonnaise 4) Niman ranch tenderloin of beef grilled over oak wood & served with a nice red wine 5) artichokes - preferably steamed with melted butter..or with a nice roasted garlic mayonnaise or made in to a ragout with sweated leeks, tomatoes, olives & white wine...

WWE: And we can't let you leave the island without making something extra special, so what Desert Island Dessert would you like us to make you?
Joanna Karlinsky: Much too difficult a choice for this "chef with a sweet tooth". But Fresh from the farmer's market nectarine crisp..simple, homey & delicious would have to take the top slot.

WWE: Thank you very much Joanna for supporting What We Eat and for sharing some food fun with all the foodies out there!
Joanna Karlinsky:Thanks for having me - it was a fun exercise

Read previous months' Desert Island Dinners interviews :

What I Eat