It's pure coincidence that Gene from Hoodscope just wrote about Saigon Sandwiches in his SFE column (which of course tops my own list)! I've been slowly eating my way through the city's banh mis for awhile, and finally visited the last on my list! Props to bsze, Saigon Sandwiches new #1 fan and my partner in crime.
This is a direct comparison of a combo pork banh mi, ie. pate, roast pork, headcheese or some sort of meat jello at each place. That's just what I always get - it's yummy! It's no surprise that Saigon was my favorite since it's everyone's favorite... but people say it's the best for a reason! At the end of the day, it's all about personal preference, but I think big flavor will always win out. This list is also purely SF - I'm sure if you threw in the entire bay into the mix, SJ would dominate fo sho.
1. Saigon Sandwiches
Mounds of salty pate, loaded on top of rich pork goodness. Now I want one.
L: Saigon Sandwiches (a bit manhandled, but you get the idea), R: Wrap Delight
2. Wrap Delight
Yelp calls it "Wrap Delight," but I couldn't see a sign that actually said that; the awning just said "Vietnamese Sandwiches." Overall really tasty with juicy cuts of roast pork - the only real edge Saigon has over it is the amount of pate. I would totally go here again, except that Saigon is only a block away... maybe if it was closed? Or if I was in a rush and didn't want to wait in line?
Baguette Express - note the pork looks like char siu
Great balance, and added flavor with the BBQ pork.
Lee's - my messy room in the background
Not to be mistaken with the chain in Financial, this Little Saigon location is almost like a fast food restaurant, except baking their rolls daily. They take their branding seriously. Fresh, crunchy baguette, but just too much bread for my taste.
5. Little Paris
Tasty pate, but overall a bit small and not as satisfying as the others.
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Others I've visited around town:
Irving Cafe + Deli
Definitely Chinese style in the flavor of the meat, but proximity is a huge plus (for people in the avenues).
Les Croissant
Close to the Embarcadero, but definitely a bit out of proportion. Cucumber was in huge huge pieces that when it actually stayed in the sandwich that was all I could taste. The meat was also mostly headcheese, so there wasn't much flavor aside from the carrots.
Cafe Dolci
Closest to where I work, and consistent with FiDi prices ugh ($5). Very Western-friendly and dumbed down (their combo was "ham and pate"... and that was literally it). A little bit of ham and a lot of pickled veg.
L: Les Croissant - cucumber madness, R: Cafe Dolci
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Although I can appreciate innovative cuisine coming from kitchens like WD-50, Coi, and Alinea (I have yet to visit any of these restaurants), it's just not in my nature to play with gadgets and different elements/chemicals, natural or not. Maybe it's the Californian in me, but there's just something so comforting about making food that is simple and comes from simple ingredients, no matter how "fancy" the end result may seem. Perhaps I will venture down that road one day, but for now, I will just laugh and appreciate lines like this:
"I don't have an immersion circulator, but I do have a big-ass pot and a candy thermometer." -- from Alineaphile[MORE...]
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Have you ever wondered what would happen if you fill a food processor with liquid past the line? Well, I do it all the time and it's never been a problem... until now.
I was making fondant earlier this week and I let it sit for like 15-20 min to let it cool, which meant lots of time to sit and seep out... hot fondant everywhere! Ugh what a pain to clean up.
Every time I cater a wedding I'm reminded of how difficult it is to put out professional results within the confines of your own kitchen. Tools, ingredients, dishwashers, space, multiple ovens, walk-ins... everything is just so much easier and more efficient in a restaurant kitchen. For example, why was I making fondant? Because the only option I had for fondant was Pac Gourmet, but I would've had to buy a $40 tub that I probably wouldn't have used again. Rolled fondant is not the same as liquid fondant, btw. I even tried just to see if it would work. =P
The tuiles I made using the fondant ended up breaking in the mascarpone cheesecake I stuck them in. I'm not quite sure what happened - either the insane 90 degree weather melted them, or they dissolved in the lychee-white wine glaze. This never happened at the restaurant, so I'm assuming it's because I used corn syrup and not glucose (corn syrup contains more water).
I also made some mousse cakes, but I forgot that I didn't have a torch. Doh. Next best thing: letting the gas stove run, and yes, I burned a finger in the process. =P And btw, molds are sooo expensive retail. My go-to spot, Kamei, didn't have any, and I didn't have time to go to other restaurant supply stores.
As always, a lot of other things didn't go as planned, but hey... just gotta roll with it. Hopefully I'll get the wedding photos soon - I didn't take any as usual, but I did manage to snag these few while prepping. Thanks to all the people who helped set up!
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Awhile ago, Curtis mentioned the idea of animal style tacos. Well, that day has finally come! Seeing as there's only one In N Out in SF (Fisherman's Wharf), our plan of attack was to grab some carne asada tacos (plain, just meat + tortilla) at a nearby taqueria, then pile the goods on - cheese, grilled onions, and thousand island - while the tacos were still hot. Well, things didn't exactly go as planned.
First of all, the closest taco shops were all closed since we were scouting after 11pm, so I decided to drive towards the Mission until we found something. As expected, the Columbus/Broadway intersection delivered, and I waited patiently in my car in front of a strip club while Curtis popped in next door.
Our second obstacle was getting the "animal style," in quotes as the noun form. After patiently waiting in the long line of drunkards, the cashier wouldn't let us get animal fries minus the fries, even after explaining our glorious plan. Thus, we just ordered 2 fries and hoped the cheese wouldn't set too quickly.
Once they called our number Curtis immediately began transferring the "animal style" onto the tacos. He is obviously not a food blogger because he wouldn't wait for me to take a picture! Unfortunately, the cheese was already congealed and stuck onto the fries, so we made half of them California animal tacos (think California burrito).
And?? The verdict: epic drunken food. Too bad we weren't drunk. Curtis was quite the opposite, and already stuffed with San Tung chicken wings. The California version was much better, really just because of the cheese. It would've been perfect had we gotten the tacos topped with "animal style" directly, but we just had to work with what we could get. Super super heavy (as expected), but regardless, mission accomplished!
We got a lot of stares, and only one group asked us what we were eating, but I imagine that this would be really popular if a late-night taqueria opened up next door. One can dream.
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This has been starred in my feed for a long time and I finally got around to watching it. I wonder when the SF version will come out. I, for one, would like to hear everyone's story, regardless of the "
controversy" blah blah blah. I am glad, however, that someone finally pointed out in the comments that the Amuse Bouche guy does not sell anything that resembles an amuse bouche... even if he is a nice guy. And as you will see in the video, NYC vendors use forks too.
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A little while ago, Michael Bauer wrote about the rise of comfort food on his blog. Well, unrelated to that (or maybe we're just the type of people he's talking about), we visited 1300 Fillmore after talking about it for ages. Yes, I also just went to Front Porch recently, but it's purely coincidence! Stacy had gone awhile ago for brunch and really enjoyed her meal, so of course we had an itch to scratch after her raving reviews!
Our waiter was really fun, and the ambience was pretty much what I imagined - down to earth, yet still sultry. Definitely an inviting place to lounge around and spend some time before a show at Yoshi's next door. It's also surprisingly big with optional partitions to section off private events.
So how was the food? The hush puppies were non-traditional and pretty much just battered shrimp. The shrimp and grits was tasty, and pretty much a meal in itself. The char - I had to look up what it was, because I just remembered it as "salmon but not salmon" - was boring, and the lobster & andouille hash that was on the side was bland, super wet, and pretty lobster-less.
On a brighter note, the fried chicken had a ton of spices, even if it it was heavy on the batter. Beignets were filled with chocolate, the same chocolate that came as a dipping sauce. Strange, but we just dipped into the coffee foam which was a much better accompaniment.
Not a place I would go out of my way for, but definitely a great option to get you in the mood for some jazz.
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