Posts Tagged ‘Plow’
A Few Quick Brunches
t says: Since moving on out here, g and I have done a lot of cooking at home, especially for dinner. I will say that the restaurant scene provides plenty of temptation (never have we lived in a city with so many different kinds and calibers of restaurant), but we have been careful to not exceed the usual “going out” quota we had in Philly (and choosing restaurants that were of a similar price-point). But if there’s one area where we are splurging, it’s for breakfast: we like waking up, walking around our neighborhood because the weather’s so nice, and get easily side-tracked by brunch. The problem is this: we keep going to the same places over and over!!
For instance, just when we thought Piccino couldn’t get any better, they went and did something like this:
It is a known fact that if you try and study something immediately before bedtime, then fall asleep, you will have less likelihood of remembering it in the morning than had you studied something, waited a while, and then fallen asleep. I think that this is a similar explanation to why I can’t remember what this dish was called. It hit the table, and I blacked out. When I came to, I had a smile on my face, an empty plate, and a scent of something chocolatey and hazlenutty in my nose. Was it chocolate bread pudding? Was it chocolate brioche french toast? Gawd – it’s really gone. Now, if you told me that I ate it all, I’d believe you, because that sounds like something I’d do. But if you told me that a ninja jumped out of nowhere, knocked me out, and stole my breakfast (as it was the last one they were serving that day), I’d believe you, too (it’d be worth it!). Piccino could still do no wrong (and g liked her omelette thing, too)
Speaking of wonderful brunches: it’s confirmed, we’re also addicted to Plow. I keep dragging g back (but it’s not like she’s putting up much of a fight). I just wanted to leave this reminder here: the lemon ricotta pancakes are wonderful, but the French toast are also a nice carb-loaded breakfast as well (you know, just in case you’ve exceeded your pancake quota for the month …).
Living in SF is rough indeed …
Revisiting with Family
t says: g’s mom visited in January, which was a ton of fun. In between all of the cooking we made her do (that’s right: meatballs, lasagna, chicken parm – all the classics) so she could stock our freezer, we also went out a few times. And when we have family in town, we like to deal with “known quantities” – no crazy-new adventures – just the greatest hits!
One of the first places we dragged g’s mom to was Nopalito. Oh. Em. Gee. It’s still just as good as it was years ago. Because I have such terrible grasp of Spanish, I cannot recall the names of any of the dishes – but I think that’s the point – you can do no wrong at Nopalito. Pork, veggies, beef, whatever – the only “loser” is the person who dares to try and be bashful while sharing plates family-style … I know the above pictures is under-whelming – I know that a and v back in Philly are probably thinking: “that doesn’t look that good” – but it is – we promise.
What is the only thing better than Bi-Rite’s creme brulee ice cream? Bi-Rite’s creme brulee ice cream with hot fudge. Once again: the picture sucks, but the food is insane. g’s mom fell for the salted caramel. I think g went for the roasted banana. Damn – I have to work out more if I’m going to eat like this …
One delightful morning, we took g’s mom to Plow in Potrero Hill. We knew we liked it once before, so why not try it again? So yea: the Plow potatoes and pancakes are still crazy-good, as was everything else. So why take a picture? To remind myself that they make their own sausage, and it, like the rest of the breakfast was precisely perfect. The more I think of it, the more I appreciate Plow’s reliability, even if they’re not redefining brunch as we know it.
We did venture out to one new eatery with g’s mom and that was a pizza spot in Sausalito. And while the town wasn’t exactly as she had remembered it, g’s mom was still happy to enjoy the clear skies, the small shops, the thin crust pizza at Sandrino. I felt that the crust was a little too thin to support the weight of the cheese/sauce, but I was happy with the additional shaved parmagiano reggiano they used. All in all, it was “pretty good”, but not as good as what we had but a few days later …
… when we hit up Piccino. After our pretty-darn-good previous meal there, we knew the key was to just order a bunch of courses and share. We started the meal off with some respectable spinach Arancini. It’s hard to go wrong with fried rice balls, though.
This was the star of the show. It was a sausage and red onion pizza. Sounds pretty easy, right? I was actually a little disinterested when g suggested it, but because I got to choose another one of the dishes for the table, I acquiesced to her choice of pizza. Boy am I glad I did!! It had just the right amount of onion-y punch and flavorful ?fennel?-piggy sausage, with a perfect crust. It totally killed the pizza we had in Sausalito.
So what was this black blob? It was perhaps the most unctuous piece of short rib I’ve ever had. I’m so glad we split it three ways because this beautifully braised, well-glazed piece of meat was super-rich. Served with a wine reduction, carrots, and celery root puree, it was the perfect way to crescendo towards the end of a meal (salad, pizza, meat). Wonderful.
A productive week in SF!
t says: Since moving here, g and I needed to re-visit a few places we’ve eaten – you know – just to make sure they were still good. It’s not that we’re afraid of trying some place new, but we needed to start off with the familiar before venturing out to the boundaries of the SF dining scene!
For a “chill” last meal in SF with my folks we did some pizza. They had just returned from a trip to Monterey/Carmel-by-the-Sea/Big Sur and we wanted to get some comforting take-out. Having been introduced to Little Star by kp, we ordered it up and had it delivered. My parents loved the deep dish (in the background), while I preferred this white pesto pizza with all kinds of other toppings. We got the chicken wings as kind-of-a-joke, but they were actually quite tasty! (Their size was just microscopic – I guess those chickens weren’t given the normal growth hormones that we’re used to – I’m sure they were free range and lived happy lives …)
We broke fast one morning at Plow in Potrero Hill. An interesting place, Plow, as reviews suggest that this place warrants huge-ass lines on the weekends in excess of 2 hours!! While it is a cute place, and while the pancakes ate exactly as a perfected buttermilk pancake, I’m not sure they’re worth obsessing over …
… g did however love the “Plow potatoes” and the “perfectly” poached eggs. Our decision: Plow is delicious, and we had no faults with a single thing we ate. They weren’t redefining brunch as we know it, but they were merely doing no wrong in the delivery of any of their dishes. So they get a bravo … but maybe just a bravo we’d rather visit during the week when there are no lines …
Enter Sightglass roasters. They have some tasty coffees, and even tastier pastries from a smattering of bakeries across the city. The spacious seating area is nice, but I have to say that the folks are being too nonchalantly cool for my taste – either that or I am neither nonchalant nor cool enough to hang with them … g did mention some insane-sounding scone that included cherry and chocolate that was SO good that she didn’t save me any :’-(
So g and I wanted to hit up “DogPatch” the “up-and-coming” area just to the south of us on New Year’s Eve. It’s a peculiar neighborhood, not so much “seedy” as it is “unpopulated”. That said, there are a few cool places to visit including a cheese shop (Fromagerie) and this place: Smokestack. One part bar, one part bbq cafeteria, the food was super-tasty. They do ribs and brisket and sausage and duck by the half-pound, with an assortment of sauces. While the ribs ar ethe most eye-catching (they’re huge and wagyu), go for the brisket, which was absolutely, positively insane (and that’s not just the kimchi bbq sauce, talkin’). I also did notice their brewery onsite (it’s Magnolia Brewing) which most people would love (we don’t do beer), and an adventurous whisky list (at usual SF-inflated prices). Their cocktails were reasonably priced (surprise!), including one I got call Dutchman’s Flat, that included rye with ginger and lemon as well as savory hits of nori and beef bouillon. In the end the latter were very subtle (so it was more rye + ginger + lemon), but I appreciate the thought! We texted kp while we were there to tell him we “found” a place to take him when he visits … yea … he already knew about it and was here – you can’t pull one over on kp! We were surprised, however, to find out that the place is in some financial troubles, according to a recent Eater article; whatever is going on, we had a delicious meal and want to bring my sis and her new fiance here pronto! (I hope they’re still open!) We did also go to The Third Rail (no pictures) – also some reasonably priced cocktails! And Whisky-Jerky pairings! We’ll have to come back to do an official review sooner or later.
On a return to Absinthe on a rainy afternoon of window-shopping, g and I were allured by their burger and portobello-grilled-cheese sandwiches (guess who got which). And while both were solid, I have to say that the star was the carrot cake dessert. I don’t know what was in that white-looking shmear ont he plate, but it had a sour kick to it that was amazing with the sweet carrot cake. The lavender ice cream was useless, however. It was a dessert that flirted with perfection – next time, Absinthe!
g and I have also been searching for “our new Gusto”. When we lived in Philly, we were right around the corner from Gusto’s Pizza, which was our go-to every two weeks for a quick take-out pie, at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, around us, in Mission Bay, there ain’t much in the way of pizza. I mean, yea, Domino’s and Papa Johns would probably deliver, but we want something with a better neighborhood connection. We went with Goat Hill Pizza, which I have to say was quite good! Their sourdough crust’s flavor was subtly (i.e. I didn’t object, which normally I hate sourdough) and there was something especially “creamy” with the cheese which was a nice touch; and the sauce wasn’t sweet! Yay! It’s no Zavino’s “Stache” pizza, but it was solid! We’d definitely try it again.
after dinner sneeze 