Jennifer James Walks Away from Graze!—Hours before the Alibi went to press, it was announced that Chef Jennifer James is leaving her Nob Hill restaurant for good. She and business partner Michael Chesley have decided to end their six-year-long collaboration, which included two acclaimed restaurants--Restaurant Jennifer James and Albuquerque’s popular small-plates restaurant, Graze. Graze won’t close in James’ absence—it will continue to operate under the eye of remaining partner Michael Chesley.

When it comes to grilling, there’s a tendency to eschew anything that involves plates. The usual suspects (hot dogs, burgers and kebabs) are fine for finger-foodin’ it—especially if you need to have one hand free for drinking, smoking, tossing a Frisbee or getting into a fistfight—but sometimes it’s worth splurging on a stack of paper plates.

Tabatha Roybal

An old flame still shines bright in Nob Hill

Who knew meatballs were such a cosmopolitan food? Through a little webbing, I discovered that almost every culture has their own version of our much-adored spaghetti topper. In Norway, they are called kjøttkaker ("meat cakes") and are served with peas and potatoes. Indonesian meatballs are served in a bowl with eggs, tofu and noodles, and are called bakso. There are more than 80 types of regional meatballs made in Turkey, and in Italy, the forebear of our own American meatball, they are known as polpette, and are served as a course unto themselves.

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