Happy Birthday... Jeff?

Sweets from the super kawaiiiii (I'm listening to Gwen Stefani at the moment) Pinkie's in SOMA: ganache with sea salt and hazelnut praline

My friend Jess celebrated her birthday this past weekend at Beretta and I was in charge of the cake. I've been meaning to check out Pinkie's for a long time, so I ordered up a vanilla-lilikoi cake and some additional treats. They must have misheard me on the phone because when I picked it up, it wasn't exactly what I had expected....

DOH!!! I didn't ask them to change it either because I knew the person who did it and felt bad =T My attempt at damage control was not very successful, either....

MASSIVE FAIL

Almost believable?

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Big Ideas

Lunch at Outerlands on NYE. So packed, but their bread is tasty and better than waiting for Tartine's and putting up with the tourist mob. We also stopped by the beach and saw some fishermen catching shrimp to use as bait. Apparently they hide in the sand at the shore.

Some places I visited this fall/winter that I never posted about:
Una Pizza Napoletana
Heart: not as pretentious as one would think
T-rex: perfect post-game food
Grub
Frances: still impossible to get a reservation which boggles my mind, but very easy to walk in and eat at the bar if you go before 7pm
Serpentine

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benu

The standout dish: "shark's fin soup" with a delicately silky truffle custard at the base

It's too early to say much about Benu, but I definitely appreciated how much thought and precision went into the food, space, and the service. I have mixed feelings, but again, it's only day 3! Any restaurant needs time to find its groove and get situated, regardless of the caliber of the team.

(R) Monkfish liver torchon was truly beautiful to look at, and the accompanying brioche was quite perfect

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Something Old Something New

Eiji miso cod and strawberry mochi (photos courtesy of she-rene)

Lots and lots of puff pastry dough and butter, pizza from Americano

Brussel sprout chips (the lemon really makes it sing!), ADD burger drenched in grease from Marlowe

Pork bun from Spice Kit (short ribs are pretty money), kouglof and pain au chocolat et pistache from Laduree

some dish from the lazy ox, burma superstar leftovers

heart attack from namu, santa ramen on easter sunday

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Rumpus!

Empanadas from El Porteno while waiting for wild things (chicken and cheese were our favorites)

Tanto, a nontraditional izakaya (I prefer Oyaji): simmered sea urchin w/ egg, roasted rice balls w/ roe

Chili/slaw burger at Five; bad choice of platter.


PI flood relief: Brazilian coconut stew that tasted like Thai curry, chicken + waffles from Little Skillet (I don't know what spices they used, but combined with the syrup, I swear this tasted like peanut butter).


Brisket from Bakesale Betty (pre-stuffed with chips), view of the bay

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DA BEEF: it's what's for dinner

After having disappointing and flavorless meat at Phat Philly, my friend suggested this tiny Chicago-style hot dog stand for its Italian Beef sandwiches. Topped with giardiniera and gravy which they like to call "da jus," this messy wet sandwich is satisfying and surprisingly not too coma-inducing.

What's really great about this place is the fact that it's not really a "place." It's just a tiny cart on the corner of 7th and Folsom, perfect for all the nearby construction workers and auto-shop hands around. I mean, we could see the blood and meat liquid (wouldn't call it juice) at the bottom of the ziploc bags they were kept in. No worries, we don't discriminate against vendors. If anything, what SF majorly lacks is the presence of non-taco food trucks... but let's not get into that. The woman running it is so sweet - a Chicago native who came to SF and just fell in love with this city. If I worked closer to that corner (it was less than a 10 minute bus ride, but still), I wouldn't eat there every day, but I might stop by and say hi -- that's how nice she is!

As far as authenticity goes, I wouldn't know, but the friend who suggested it said it's pretty comparable. The meat wasn't the best, but it's really the peppers and "da jus" that give the sandwich a lot of flavor. According to the 6 yelp reviews it has (that's it?), the hot dogs are true to their city with the bright green relish and everything. Maybe next time.

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Anchor & Hope

Time flew by so quickly and the month of January is over. The only Dine about Town restaurant I went to this year was Anchor & Hope. We actually didn't end up ordering the DAT menu because there are other stuff that we wanted to try. There are some interesting stuff they have on the menu, but the overall experience was ok.

Smoked Salmon with potato cakes.

Breaded Catfish Sandwich with Sweet Potato Ribbon Fries


Lobster Roll


Steamed Mussels with Herbed Ribbon Fries

Creme Brulee with homemade Oreo

So here's the load down: The salmon was a bit fishy. The catfish sandwich reminded me of Filet O Fish, but the sweet potato ribbon fries were good. Even though they were sliced so thin, u can still taste the sweet potato. The lobster roll was better than expected - balanced flavor, u can really taste the sweetness in the lobster meat, not like the overloaded mayo ones that you usually find. Kathy and Stacy really like the brioche as the roll. Mussel was good, the herbed ribbon fries were not as good as the sweet potato. The creme brulee was good, but Kathy didn't approve the Oreo so I didnt try :).

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Town Hall

Town Hall is one of those restaurants that have been on my radar for a long time, but I just never had the motivation to make my way over there. I finally went for lunch with bsze, who's a big fan of Salt House (sister restaurant). Its SOMA/outer financial location allows them a crapload of space for this Cajun joint, way bigger than the rest of the family, and an anomaly in SF's restaurant scene. We didn't sample the entire menu obviously, but we had an overall pretty good lunch.

Brian had basically a croque madame (I forget what exactly they called it) - small, but the poached egg was really lovely, and perfectly runny when punctured. I got duck enchiladas, which were pretty tasty, although the tortillas were difficult to cut through. We also shared some jalapeno cornbread, which came in this cast iron corn mold (I should've flipped them over for the photo, sorry). Sticky due to the honey, but cute nonetheless.

And of course, I had (not Brian because he doesn't like sweets) the butterscotch/chocolate pot de creme that they're known for. I didn't expect the portion to be so generous (seriously an entire bowl) since at Salt House we usually put the puddings and such in little mason jars. I seriously ate almost the entire thing, and immediately regretted it, but didn't. It definitely lives up to its reputation, being incredibly rich but just airy/light enough to not feel sick (unless you eat the whole thing like me). The accompanying chocolate-dipped toffee also adds some good contrast in texture, even if it does make it a bit more over the top decadent.

Town Hall is great for a power lunch, spacious enough for groups, and I'd be down to go again if someone suggested it.

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Catching Up

Here's a list of places I've gone to in the last few months but just haven't gotten around to posting about.

- Red Crane
- Beretta
- Q
- Spruce
- Fresca
- Koi palace
- Umbria
- Lobster shack
- House of Prime Rib

Brief "reviews" after the jump! (Useless yelp-style?)

Beretta: Italian in the Mission
Like SPQR, this new restaurant got a "blow job" by Michael Bauer (my old pastry chef's exact words). And just like SPQR, this Italian joint was just OK for me. I definitely enjoyed my meal there... but it was also quite forgettable. Pizzas are aiight, apps are decent, drinks are whatevs.

Q: Diner/Comfort Food in Inner Richmond
Slightly upscale diner food - add blue cheese to the burger and it's not even close to the Spotted Pig's, but it's still satisfying. Eat all the accompanying garlic fries and you'll definitely pass out. Definitely a must if you like tater tots.

Spruce: Contemporary American Fine Dining in Laurel Heights
Really upscale for the neighborhood - who would've known! Very pricey for what it was. Had the charcuterie, fries, lobster, some kind of med fish, and palmiers for dessert. Those heart-shaped cookies should NOT be on the menu. They have a side-bakery so I don't see the point in wasting a menu spot with those. We only got them because we didn't realize what they were. Doh!

Fresca: Peruvian in Lower Pac Heights (there are other locations too)
Why did I eat Peruvian right after coming back from Peru? Honestly, I didn't know until I got there. My friend invited me to join her double date (5th wheel!) and I just went in blind. I like Limon better, but honestly... it's hard for me to even think of spending $35 on a meal that would be less than $5 in Peru!

Red Crane: Japanese Asian Fusion in Cupertino
Despite its identity crisis of a location, this restaurant actually has very very good food. Although the sashimi plate (pictured to the right) looks very impressive, it isn't worth it. However, every single other dish we got was fantastic. The only drawback is the location - very Asian suburbia....

Koi palace: Dim Sum in Daly City
If you want to know where all the Chinese people eat, wake up at 9am to get here by 10am on a Saturday morning.

Umbria: Italian in SOMA
bsze wanted to bid SF adieu by going to Baron Davis's favorite restaurant. Olive Garden anyone?

Lobster shack: Seafood in North Beach
$20 sandwiches? (pictured at the top) They do leave you pretty comatose. They actually weren't very big, but they were generous with the lobster meat. I don't think I like lobster enough to justify the cost though.

House of Prime Rib: MEAT in Nob Hill
Four years ago HOPR used to be $30 total... those were they days.

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21st Amendment

563 2nd St (and Brannan)
(415) 369-0900

American Brewery in SOMA

After my coworkers had raved about this place for the past 6 months, I finally got a chance to check it out before seeing Spoon (they were playing at popscene, which is very close). This is a great restaurant to go to before a Giants game, or after work for happy hour since they have a pretty unique beer menu. I got a very sweet pomegranate ale (not on the online list), and Jason got a tall glass of their signature watermelon wheat, slice of watermelon garnished on the lip and all. Never in question, Jason's masculinity barely wavered when he was served his girly-looking drink. Kudos. You couldn't taste the actual watermelon, but he said it was definitely sweeter (I couldn't tell).

So I came here for the jerk chicken, and I'll agree that it was good. It was moist (I almost never get chicken at restaurants because it's so normal and oftentimes dry) and had a lot of flavor... but I just don't think it was worth $15. I also expected the portions to be huge, but I thought they were normal-sized... or maybe I just eat a lot. Either way, it was good but not $15 good. Jason got fish & chips, which he said were ok... so I'm going to take that as ordinary and nothing special.

Like most breweries, this place is more about the beer and the atmosphere, so I wouldn't come with high expectations for the food. Spoon ended up being an unfortunate experience, too. They had no advance tickets so we had to wait forever in line and in the cold! We barely made it and when we finally got in, there were no openers and Spoon's set was incredibly short. Despite it being short-lived, they're still good live. I don't really remember which songs they played from their new album, but they did start with "Don't Make Me A Target."

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Pazzia Caffe and Trattoria

337 3rd St. (and Folsom)
(415) 512-1693

Italian in SOMA (specializing in homemade pasta)

The service is great, and the ambience is very cute. This is a good place to eat if you're in the Metreon area and don't feel like eating something commercial. The pasta dishes are typical, but the pasta itself is very good (you can taste the freshness). They're served in small portions which are enough, but it's also very oily. Average priced, but personally not worth it. Once is good enough for me.

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Yank Sing

101 Spear (and Mission St. in the Rincon Center)
(415) 957-9300


Chinese, Dim Sum in Financial

The first time I was here was actually for my 2nd cousin's wedding reception - they rented out the place and it was reallllly nice, since the restaurant basically pours into the floor of the Rincon Center, surrounded by waterfalls and a high ceiling. =) The food at the wedding was fabulous - not exactly americanized Chinese food, but rather a western twist on non-traditional Chinese.

The second time was for dim sum with my family, and it was a good thing we got reservations (probably the only dim sum place that you would need reservations for) and it was verrrry good. =) They had your traditional dishes, as well as some interesting spins on what would usually be main courses. Their xiao long bao was very authentic (I'm not an expert obviously, but my parents agreed!) and the best I've had other than in China. Very delicate though.

Definitely a classy Chinese place that's actually good. Expensive though. If you're ever tempted to go to Yank Sing 2 -- DON'T!! It sucks majorly.

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The Slanted Door

1 Ferry Building #3
(415) 861-8032

French Vietnamese in SOMA/Embarcadero

Very trendy and always packed - they have lunch reservations for the weekdays! Located in the Ferry Building, this restaurant has a great view of the bay and the Golden Gate bridge, and is a fabulous place to eat for lunch (I don't think the prices are worth it for dinner). It has a very sleek (almost sterile) atmosphere - super mod and exuding the hip asian trend.

The food was actually pretty good. They put twists on traditional Asian foods, and I don't mean "twists" like P.F. Chang's. Their egg/spring rolls are fresh and good quality, as are most of their dishes. Serving amount is a bit on the small side, but it's definitely enough to keep you satisfied. The "shaking beef" was by far the winner - very moist and flavorful.

Good lunch place, but not worth the money for dinner.

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