Archive for the ‘in California’ Category
wonderful, pescadero, and the mill
t says: I’ve entered an interesting phase of my time here – one that has a substantial amount of down-time! Yay!! Exciting, right? I know that g and I are excited. So excited that we picked up the pace on our restaurant explorations – almost with the same oomph that we had in Philly when we first started this blog!! The difference, this time, is that we’d go “backwards” in our restaurants searches. In Philly, we’d just pull up eater or foobooz and see what was the latest hip place that we should check out. In SF, with the insane cornucopia of restaurants that grows by the week, we wouldn’t stand a chance. So instead we ask: “what do we want to eat tonight?” and go from there …
Here are some highlights:
This one looks less-than-flattering. I promise it tasted better than it looks. You see, it all started when g and I were really missing Philly’s Han Dynasty. We were reminded of Han after our Han-like experience at Kedai Makan in Seattle. So SF has to have something like that, right? Well, with a quick search, I found a place called “wonderful”. Located outside of the city, it made it to the top of our list for a quick “post-airport” dinner. And voila! When g returned from a recent trip, I picked her up from the airport, and, due to the stupid-traffic that occurs around 5-6pm heading back towards SF, we peeled off towards Millbrae for a stop at wonderful. As supposedly “the best Chinese food in the Bay Area” (pretty big words because what I think is a pretty legit Chinatown sitting right there within SF), wonderful kept us guessing as to what we should expect. We knew it was going to be different than the electric Szechuan of Han, rather, a Hunanese chile-spicy. Above you see the cilantro lamb, a nice upbeat take on a traditionally gamy cut of meat. Highly recommended. (And is a great addition to for homemade fried rice with leftovers the next day.)
We ordered a dish called “Godfather’s noodles”. Everyone raved about them so we were pretty much obligated to try. We were particularly excited because we saw a Dan Dan noodles on the menu and figured that this would clearly be different than Han’s trademark dish. But it wasn’t. It was pretty much the same damn thing (dare I say the same “Dan” thing?). It was very tasty and worth getting (spicy and porky the whole way), but then what the hell are the Dan Dan noodles on the menu? We have no idea … but we know what we’re getting next time …
Ah, yes, the green onion pancake. Beware – this sucker is HUGE. Like YOOOOJ. This, plus the cilantro lamb was the best sandwich ever. Now of course, that’s probably not traditional at all, but I was thinking it the entire time we were there. It was light and fluffy, more like a biscuit than a thousand-layer bread I’ve had at other restaurants – and definitely not anything like a Korean scallion pancake at all. Go ahead and order it, but unless you’ve got more than two people at a table, be prepared to bring some home. As for the restaurant itself, be prepared for a relatively small space, long lines, and slightly pushy service – it’s not as bad as House of Nanking, but it has some of the same spirit. This is not a four-star dining experience – go and eat and be full and happy and laugh all the way home with your leftovers …
On one of our splendid weekend road trips with k and cm, we hit up Harley Farms, a fun place to see some farm animals (and llamas) and buy some goat cheese … and goat soap … and pretty much every darn thing you can make out of goat’s milk. But more impressive was the above dinner table. As we walked around the upper floor of the barn, looking out at the farm below, with a gentle breeze whipping through, it was pretty much settled that if you want a barnyard-chic dinner party, this is the place to go. They also do farm dinners as well that you have can book a seat at ahead of time – if the food is as half as good as the ambience, it’s gotta be a great experience.
Tucked away in Pescadero, there’s a tiny gas station. And in this gas station, there is a counter. And at that counter, you can order some tacos. You MUST order some tacos. You will eat them off of paper plates … and you will love them. I know we did. Mercado & Taqueria De Amigos was phenomenal. It isn’t fancy. It isn’t artisanal. It’s just some really good tacos at a very reasonable price in a very unassuming location. Shrimp tacos for the win! We also sent g’s parents there and they came back with a resounding, “these were the best tacos we’ve ever had”. While you’re in Pescadero, be sure to visit the market in town that has awesome garlic-and-artichoke bread (buy two loaves, one for dinner later than night, and one for the car ride home) and, if you go early enough, “chocolate muffins” … which are more like chocolate cupcakes.
So this one required real planning. The Mill (Western Addition) has BYO Monday and Wednesday pizza nights. Now let me say right off the bat that “BYO” is misleading. It doesn’t mean “bring your own alcohol and pour yourself a glass”, rather, “bring your own alcohol and you can use the paper cups that we allow people to use for water … oh … and you’ll be pretty much the only ones there drinking alcohol … so enjoy being awkward”. So yea, that was a little bit disappointing. It was made up for, however, by the awesome pizza. Above, you see the eggplant pizza with white bbq sauce on some sort of whole grain crust – the toppings were fine, but that crust was ridiculous. Given the crust alone, I kind of regretted not having made it to the the Korean-themed pizza they had the following Wednesday. As I sit here writing this, I have to say that the pizza gets an overall “good”, but I don’t think it’s quite destination-worthy; go if you’re in the neighborhood (it’s kind of a pain in the butt to get to via MUNI), but be prepared for tight seating and the pseudo-BYO-ness. For convenience, g and I will stick it out with nearby Long Bridge for now.
I’ll have to call it a night for now, but I guarantee we have more coming – some ramen, some soondooboo. Good times had by all.
SF Outdoor Adventures!
t says: Living in Mission Bay has its benefits: it’s generally sunnier and warmer than the rest of the peninsula, which is a huge bonus. A downside, however, is that there really isn’t an immediate “neighborhood” – you have to go up to China Basin, east to Potrero Hill, or down to Dogpatch to really get to the neighborhood essentials (cafes, restaurants). As a result, g and I have been guilty of repeatedly going to a few of the nearby restaurants due to laziness. Fortunately, we have friends like k and cm who invite us to all kinds of places … like Cafe St. Jorge.
What have we here? This is their “Savory Waffle”. It looks pretty plain. A waffle, some cheese, some ham, some arugula – no big deal. Wrong. It was a huge deal. It was incredible. A crisp waffle with a nice salty cheese, salty meat, and bitter arugula. But the game changer was the hit of maple syrup, which instantly upped the entire dish. The drawback? I could totally do this at home – and I should do this at home … if only I had a waffle iron … so I guess until then I’ll just have to go back to Cafe St. Jorge.
These two dishes were my “other” options after the Savory Waffle – fortunately, k was on the scene and ordered the fruit waffle (foreground) and cinnamon toast (background). Both were solid dishes and tasted pretty much as good as they seem (i.e. awesome!) … but neither could stand in the way of me and finishing the aforementioned Savory Waffle (seriously – that thing was gone in 5 minutes – not even sure if I gave anyone a bite).
Now that g and I live in SF, we had to join the SF “cult”. Prior to coming here, g and I didn’t really do a whole lot of “outdoor activities”. k promised us, “yea, when you live in SF, you go hiking a lot”. The concept (“hiking”) was so foreign that I had to have k properly define the practice, because that sounded like a lot of work to me. Apparently, my notion of “hiking” was more akin to “camping” (which I’m still against), whereas hiking was more like “walks in or around nature with subtle changes in elevation and no necessary additional equipment”. That didn’t sound too bad. I mean, we were still reluctant at the time. After moving here … and seeing pretty much the same perfect-for-t weather every day (70 degrees, minimal humidity, gentle breeze), we decided to give it a whirl. But rather than show you pictures of us hiking/walking around Half Moon Bay (which would consist of the usual obligatory photos of dramatic rocky shoreline this area is so full of), here’s a picture of what we ate. I admit it: we fell victim to “Sam’s Chowder House”, a clear tourist trap complete with t-shirts. But we couldn’t help it – someone else told us we “had” to go … so we did. We skipped the chowder (who the hell wants to eat chowder when you’re sitting outside in the sun, on a wonderful deck, looking at a body of water, on a beautiful day?) and went straight for the above sandwich and salad, both of which were superb. But a special shoutout to that lobster roll, which is undoubtedly the best I’ve ever had (warning: I’ve never had a proper Maine lobster roll in Maine). The amount of succulent, perfectly cooked lobster was incredible – I swear it was like a whole lobster was dismembered and shoved between the buttery, soft roll. I also liked that it was minimally dressed – so you weren’t going to be able to hide bland lobster if you wanted to. This is an easy referral for our parents for their next visit: go for a walk, eat some lobster roll, life will be good.
The following weekend, we hiked at Tiburon. Some hilarity ensued when I managed to lose my phone at Turtle Rock (short story: I was stupid, g was heroic), but it was fortunately recovered in time for lunch at Sam’s Anchor Cafe (that’s right, another Sam’s establishment, but probably unrelated to the one at Half Moon Bay – no t-shirts). The menu looked fine, but what really spoke to me was their bone marrow special. As you can see, it consisted of three key ingredients. Bone marrow. Crab. Arugula. That’s bait x3. Could not have done it any better that what your imagination has put together (assuming you like roasted bone marrow) …
… or so I thought until we had this … good gawd. Bread pudding. I forget the details. I’m sure that there was something special about it (cinnamon roll bread pudding? french toast bread pudding? chocolate chip bread pudding?), but both g and I blacked out completely when this hit the table, and when we came to, the plate was empty. Completely blank memory. Crazy. The only evidence that we even ate the damn thing were the used spoons in our hands and dribbles of ice cream on our face. I guess we’re going to have to try it again – and this time I might shoot a video as proof that I actually even ate it.
Ah, yes – for our final trick, we went out to see the SF Ballet at The Grove. We got a great spot (which took some hunting) and had a wonderful Riesling-fueled picnic … right underneath the “no alcoholic beverages” sign. You know … because we’re badasses. To my untrained eyes (my dancing is a terrible, terrible travesty), the dancers were quite skilled and put on a very nice outdoor show. g, with many-a-childhood-years of dance, agreed, hinting, “maybe we should see go and see a show?” My response: I wonder if they’d allow me to bring my own Riesling … ? By the way, when did leather/suede vests come into fashion?
A Missing Month!
t says: Holy cow! It’s been a whole month since our last post! How shameful! I guarantee that we’ve been eating – it’s just that I didn’t have time to eat and type! So it’s time for a photostorm!!!!
We’ve eaten a LOT of Long Bridge pizza. It’s a bit insane to think that this is our “local pizza place”, as it’s definitely something that we would typically reserve for a weekend (given cost and fancy-ness). However, when faced with just how good it tastes, g and I happily splurge on these two: the meatball pizza with the calabrian chili is to crazy-good, and the kale pizza special. Hell – we’ve been guilty of ordering a large (or two) and freezing the rest for those lazy weekday nights when all we can muster is the strength to reheat a slice or two.
For our anniversary, we ventured to Flour + Water. This was my first time and g’s nth time. Given the difficulty in securing a reservation and how much our friends had loved it, I knew it was going to be good – definitely anniversary-worthy. We also pulled out a bottle of ’08 Detert Cab Franc (in the background) to mark the occasion – and boy did the sparks fly between the wine and the food!
This pork rind and pickled tomatoes and ?polenta-corn-something-or-other? were an incredible way to start the meal. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until taking these first bites. I swear that these pictures just do not do justice to just how yummy these items were. Given the excess of pork rinds, we held a moment of silence for kp: we miss you! come back!
This salmon-filled pasta pouch was a complete mind-twist. It was served with a clear [tomato?] broth, that when combined with the pasta gave the mouth a sensation that was as deep and full of flavor as any soulful cioppino or seafood stew that I could imagine … but it was a simple ravioli-ish thing in a clear broth! Crazy!
The rabbit tortellini ripped my head clear off my shoulders. In some kind of buttery sauce, it sang for minutes on the palate with a delicate-but-unctuous presence that combined with the cab franc just so! I mean, the other dishes were amazing as well that night (we’ll spare you the photos of pasta on pasta on pasta), but this one was the one I’ll remember [until my next time]. I do want to say that Flour + Water’s showing that night was superior to SPQR’s pasta menu because the flavors are homier, but just as profound, which we think make for a more craveable experience. Don’t get me wrong – they’re both tasty – and SPQR rides the “unique” train (beet+beef + pasta!) – but as I daydream of pastas, it’s going to be F+W’s that come to mind.
This picture is NOT from F+W, rather from Foreign Cinema. Let me just get it out of the way right now: Foreign Cinema was underwhelming. The “movie” that you’re supposed to be able to watch was a lie – it wasn’t even started when we got there, and we were seated far out of the way. I guess you have to request a seat out in the garden? On top of that, the food was quite forgettable. I mean – I forgot what anyone else had already. Even this dish, a pasta with bitter greens, cheese, and breadcrumbs should have been an easy homerun (I mean, if g and I can kill it at home with these ingredients, a restaurant should do better, right?), but it was “meh” at best. The rest of the meal was similar – nothing remarkable – all quite snooze-worthy. We sat, we ate, we left, and we proceeded to forget … We did, however, go to Butter for Karaoke Sunday. Pictures are not included to protect the innocent. We’d definitely go back (with friends).
During a trip to Napa, we hit up Redd Wood in Yountville. Now this was redemption after the previous night’s snoozefest at Foreign Cinema. The pole beans were a pretty boring looking item on the menu, but let’s just say that the char on these was fabulous. I’m never eating steamed beans every again – burn mine forevermore! We also did an obligatory four-cheese pizza (with an egg), a cheese plate, and a squid salad – but my sis claims that the pole beans were the best. The rest of us can’t believe that she’d dis’ a four-cheese pizza like that, but I guess the bottom line is that Redd Wood delivered in spades, and might be my new favorite Napa lunch! (Better than Addendum? Maybe …)
I have but a single picture from a dinner at Statebird Provisions. A crime – I know. Above is a japanese egg custard topped with kimchi and uni. Go ahead and imagine that for a second. Well this was even better than what you’re imagining. It was rich and somehow light. It was spicy and somehow flavorful (i.e. it wasn’t just a mouthful of spice). It was a perfect bite. Yes, Statebird had a lot of other wonderful dishes, from dumplings, to fried rice, to a crazy good kung poa sweetbreads, to burrata – and while it seems ridiculous to omit all the description of the variety that we had, I think you’re better served by this summary: if you want an “interesting”, “delicious” meal that’s an “experience”, then this is your place. If you’re prone to hesitation or fear or food restrictions or sefishness (i.e. can’t share with tablemates), then don’t even bother. Your interaction with hearing about food, choosing food, eating food, and groaning about deliciousness takes center stage here – so if that doesn’t appeal to you, then SBP isn’t going to be fun. Now me: I love this place. g “likes” it, but it’s not going to win over her heart of hearts – she wants less fuss, less “show”, less pressure to choose between plates that arrive at the table in random order – just give her delicious food and that’s it.
Oh Zazie. You sly dog. We roll in there on a Tuesday and you blow us away with delightful food, a BYO policy, and tip-includedness. You can do no wrong. Seafood stew (above)? Done. Lamb? No problem. Pork? Piece of cake. Now if only you were closer …
Sous Buerre and Souvla – an exercise in opposites
t says: There’s no reason that Souvla and Sous Buerre Kitchen should be in the same review. They feature different cuisines. They’re in different neighborhoods. They are entirely different concepts (restaurant vs. order-and-sit). Really, the only thing keeping them in the same post is that they both begin with the same-sounding first syllable: “soo”. But if you look deeper, maybe there is a point, because one’s failing is precisely the reason why the other is a success.
Take Sous Buerre. Referred to us by a server at Neuf in Philly (which was AWESOME – review coming …), we thought that it would have been a slam dunk. It was more of a lay-up. It got the job done, but it wasn’t spectacular. Above is the sous vide pork loin. You look at it on the plate and it looks like it has the potential knock your socks off. Then you begin tasting: pork tastes like a good pork, the asparagus tastes like good asparagus, the jus is tasty, the kale leaf is weird. And you put it all together and it just doesn’t quite sing. It tasted like a pork with a side of veggie. Not bad – but not great; the sum of the dish was not above its components.
And this is the last photo I’ll share: the dessert. Once again – lots of components strewn across the plate … but there was no synergy – which was surprising as hell because it was all bait! (chocolate, marshmallow, etc). Unfortunately, the rest of the group didn’t have much else to praise (the gnocchi seemed like they were well-received, but no one shouted out: “OMG – you have to try this!”). Fortunately, the company we had was awesome, and more than made up for the food.
Meanwhile, look at Souvla. Here, I ordered the lamb wrap …
… and g got the pork salad. And they were CRAZY-good. It took them all of 10 minutes to construct (and that’s probably because they were so backed up) and I just couldn’t understand why it tasted so good; basically it was meat-and-veggies arranged in different proportions depending on if you wanted it in a salad or wrap . It was one of those things where they mashed a bunch of ingredients together and it just really “worked” – every ingredient had a contribution in the final perfect bite, every aspect was balanced, and it was incredibly not-fussy (i.e. there weren’t signs on the door saying “world’s best souvlaki”). The end result was a craveable sandwich/salad that was reasonably priced and we’d be happy to have again! Now I understand why the line is always so frickin’ long! The dining experience was a bit frustrating (they take your order … but you still have to vie for a seat – so it’s better to walk in and get a seat first and THEN order), but if you need to grab-and-go in Hayes Valley, this is the way to do it.
UPDATE: OH NO!! Sous Buerre Kitchen has just closed!!! Read about it here: http://sf.eater.com/2016/5/18/11701524/sous-beurre-kitchen-closed-mission-san-francisco. I guess our review wasn’t far off from the truth!
A Word about Crenn
t says: g and I literally just ate at Petite Crenn last night … and it. was. fabulous. Really. Every dish. Now, on one hand, we should expect it to be fabulous, as Dominique Crenn was just honored as “Best Female Chef” in the WORLD – the WORLD!! (and the DLROW, too, for all my neurology friends) But she really delivered!
Now, this post has no pictures – g was exceptionally self-conscious that evening, so photos were vetoed. But take my word as to why I think that this is the first SF restaurant we’ve gone to that’s worth the fixed price meal:
- Service was prompt and courteous. You think that that would be a “given” – but it was nice to see people serving us who appeared to be excited by the food – it was contagious!
- The room is casual enough to make you feel at ease. No white tablecloths. No excessive silverware. A higher-than-usual volume in the dining room allowed for more of a fun-night-out feel than a worship-at-the-altar-of-food feel.
- The wine list was reasonable. Ok – I take that back; I’m sure that it’s marked-up by a bajillion percent – but they’re bringing in things that are unconventional, so I’m ok with it (it’s like paying a “finder’s fee” for interesting wine). g had an actually wonderful rose cava (that I can’t find anywhere else in the U.S. except one retailer in San Jose …), and I had a Sauvignon Blanc that rode this very interesting line between New Zealand power and French austerity.
- Each dish was excellent. From the bread course, to the oyster, to the gnocchi, to the fish, to the salad (salad!!! the SALAD!), I was hooked. It was like this magical mix of Little Fish and Talula’s Garden and Ottolenghi, where the hits just kept on coming. The “weakest” course might have been the dessert, which was a mixed berry galette – but you know what – after so many other wonderful dishes, a humble berry tart which was nicely executed, was all I needed.
- We saw Dominique Crenn. Sporting her short hair, tattoos, and [we think] a dog in a pet carrier, it was like seeing Bradley Cooper in the wild (there’s more to this joke).
Even g loved the dining experience – and she’s as anti-fixed-price as they come. She has decreed: “yea … I’d come back … how about for my birthday?”. ‘Nuff said.
Double-brunch in MB/Dogpatch!
t says: There was this curious little frontage called “the Lab” in Dogpatch – we’ve seen it on numerous ventures to Piccino. Each time we peered into the windows and read the posted flyers we were intrigued; we had stumbled upon one of the sites of “Feastly”, which is essentially an organization that conducts pop-ups all over the country. As far as the Dogpatch site, I would say that it is reminiscent of “Cook” in Philly, but less “instructional” (i.e. you’re not all up in the chef’s business the entire night), and more like a venue that is forever a pop-up restaurant. Each night (nearly every night), there’s a different chef and “theme”. Hoping to be one of the cool kids, I dipped my toe into the water by making a brunch reservation for a Saturday.
April 2016, Saturday Brunch, Party of 2. The space is pretty simple. The tables are simple. The chairs are simple. They aren’t going to win any awards for decor … but we got the feeling that that wasn’t the point. This was not a showcase for “the next super chef” or “chef that’s so hot right now” (even though that’s what the website is espousing), rather, this was a space for some chefs to share their independent creations with a bunch of random people. The theme for the morning: crepes.
There was an open kitchen adjacent to a dining room of about 20 seats among two communal tables. We arrived precisely on time and had the whole table to ourselves, but as you can see, by the time we left, it was getting full (lesson: early bird got the worm … with more elbow room)
It started with a savory crepe – this one featured mushrooms, onions, and egg, and it was amazing. The buckwheat added this grainy texture and savory, bittery flavor as a backdrop to the shrooms and sweet onions.
The ham and cheese was similarly awesome – I mean – yes, a saltier ham might have been nicer, but there was something about it that really brought me back to breakfasts with my family at Verona in Vineland. All smiles here.
And then there was a dessert crepe. Yours truly ventured the nutella crepe (above) while g ventured the salted caramel. They were both the homiest sweet hug that you could get in the morning. And because it was paper-thin, you were free to rationalize, “no, this is way better for me than eating a slice of cake for breakfast …”. Exceedingly complex? No. Mouthwateringly delicious? Absolutely.
Above is a single shot of the pancakes at Cafe Reveille. You read it here first: these are bite-for-bite as delicious as Plow’s pancakes. And there’s no line to wait through. ‘Nuff said …
Tosca Cafe hits some high notes (and some low ones)
t says: Let’s just come out and say it: Tosca Cafe is a weird place. There’s no way to sugar-coat it. A North Beach staple, it’s been around a while – and when you walk in, you feel it immediately. I could have sworn that I walked into another decade (80’s? Early 90’s?). Be that as it may, there’s supposed to be some real talent behind the scenes, pulling the strings (April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman). So what was the food like? It varied …
So we ordered some charcuterie, which had cuts ranging from a delectable speck to a mortadella that hit me almost as something from a deli counter in Jersey (i.e. bland and not exactly “artisanal”). The cheese selection had the requisite soft, semi-soft, and blue. But where was the love? Where was the excitement? For “innovative and fresh Italian cuisine”, these were “fine”, but more like a plane on autopilot than an exciting airshow.
The mains held more promise. The grilled polenta with marscapone and mushrooms (foreground) was spot-on in terms of flavor. It was bold and beautiful and balanced, with good textures. Very nice. The Brussels in the background were a bit more steamed than roasted, but at the very least offered a vegetal counterpoint to the pasta and cheese fest on my plate. g’s bucatini was also nicely done – her one word review was “classic” (which is pretty high praise – she’s Italian like whoa). No pictures because I was trying not to draw attention to myself.
I have no pictures of the desserts. Tiramisu was a notch above what I like to call “the usual Tiramisu” (like the kind you might get at something like the Olive Garden – if the Olive Garden serves Tiramisu). It wasn’t as good as the one that some old, frail Italian grandmother slaved over, but for a dessert that could be made ahead of time and sliced on demand, it was well put together. I think we also had some cannolis on the table, but I don’t believe I tried any.
So I’m not sure if the new ownership has truly innovated anything on the menu (or if they did, I dread what it used to look like), but the end result was “pretty good”. We’re glad we checked it out, but I think we’re off to bigger/badder/better places – after all, this is SF. (We heard that Cotogna is pretty darn good – that might be our next Italian destination).
after dinner sneeze 