Business as usual

Although most of the hot dog vendors are gone, the strawberry vendors are out in full force. I always see them on Mission street by the Bart stations and on random corners east of Mission street, but today [Cinco de Mayo] I saw a few guys out in the more fancypants neighborhood west of Mission Street in Noe Valley. I heard that the Mission Street cholos charge rent to the vendors in their neighborhood, even the bootleg CDR and DVD guys. Up in Noe Valley there are less cholos and more well to do customers. Business is all about location. Mission street is the perfect location for the hotdogueros though, right between Beauty Bar and Baobab. But it's kinda hard to hide a whole hot dog cart when the cops come looking for your permit amongst a rowdy group of drunks waiting for a greazy 2:15AM snack. The Happy Belly kim chee hot dog cart is also gone from Golden Gate Park. But otherwise, it's business as usual.

Tune: 'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do by Bessie Smith

Tune: The Bizness [feat. Common Sens] by De la Soul

Tune: Ruff Bizzness by Rivel, "a California native producer, exposes his vision Ruff Bizzness from dancehall through obscure lows fused with island rooted vocals" ~ from Filtro Records

Tune: The Ragman & the Junkman Ran from the Businessman They Laughed & Cried by Rahsaan Roland Kirk
~along with Charles Mingus and Moondog, Roland Kirk has some pretty wild titles for his songs.

Tune: Nobody's Business But My Own by Ebenezer Calender & His Maringar Band

Tune: Kizz Bizz ft. Madison by Izza Kizza adn Nick Catchdubs from The Wizzard of Iz
Download Wizzard of Iz mixtape

Tune: Bizzy Bizzy Blazz by Red Rat

Tune: It's Nobody's Business If I Do by Bert Williams

Tune: Nobody Business by Clint Eastwood

Tune: Biz Size Asik Olduk by Baba Zulu

Tune: Take Care of Business by Nina Simone

Tune: Monkey Business by Chuck Berry




Business as usual on this wonderful Cinco de Mayo. I enjoyed snacking on some of my Duqqa on toasted pita bread with olive oil.

Soul Cocina Duqqa:
2 cups toasted and peeled, hazelnuts
1 cup toasted sesame seeds
1 cup zatar
1/8 cup dried mint
1/8 cup ground sumac
3 Tablespoons toasted cumin seeds
3 tablespoons toasted coriander seeds
3 Tablespoon Nigella
1 1/2 Tablespoon caraway seeds


Grind the hazelnuts to a coarse meal. Grind the cumin, nigella, caraway and coriander to a fine powder. Grind half of the sesame seeds to a coarse powder, leave the other half of the sesame seeds whole. Combine all ingredients together.

Dip toasted bread first in olive oil and crushed garlic then dip into Soul Cocina duqqa.

Next time, I want to try the variation with channa dal [small chick peas] in place of the hazelnuts.

There are as many variations on duqqa in Egypt as there are variations
of ras al hanout in Morocco
I want to try to locate some fun ingredients for my next batch of ras al hanout like Spanish Fly/ Cantherides, Belladonna Berries and Monk's Pepper

Here is Thelonious Monk playing Fats Waller's Lulu's back in town