It Was a Good Day

Morning run in Golden Gate Park, fried chicken sandwich + ginger cookie at Bakesale Betty, a stop by Remedy, latte at Blue Bottle Oakland, baby shower near Jack London, groceries at Berkeley Bowl, chef salad at Intermezzo, ice cream sandwich at Cream... and to top it all off, a lovely evening with a dear friend and a classic.

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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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Commis

Please excuse the craptastic photos - Commis' signless storefront intimidated me enough to not bring my camera, though it didn't stop me from snapping a few with my phone.

I had read a lot about this restaurant since its anticipated opening, followed by Michael Bauer's griping review and others mixed. I am not one to ever take him seriously, so I was still curious and decided to go a few weekends ago. Despite its lack of any signage and overall pretentious aura from the outside, I found the ambiance to be comfortable and not sterile at all, the service warm and friendly, and the food subtle and unexpected.

To address a few of MB's complaints - Yes, it was strange that the utensils were placed upside-down, but after asking the hostess she explained that it was really just the design, and if they were placed right-side-up they would rock back and forth. Odd choice, but really a minor detail. The walls were bare, yes, but there were so many live plants and other decor that I didn't feel like I was in a lab at all.

Let's get to the food. Their signature amuse (poached egg yolk surrounded by onion cream) was quite unctuous - fatty, rich, and delicious. I wasn't a fan of everything we had (broccoli soup tasted like strong ginger to me), but one app was a revelation - crispy sweetbreads with cereal grain and fowl juices (think savory oatmeal). The cod entree felt like Asian comfort food with its clear broth, turnips, and cabbage. The food was surprisingly accessible and familiar, yet still refined in technique.

The third course, however, was a bit underwhelming. Presented with 3 options (fruit, chocolate, cheese), we went with the goat cheese panna cotta with beet-blood orange sorbet, blood orange segments, beet foam, and candied pistachios. The pistachios had the perfect texture, but something went awry with the panna cotta which seemed to have tiny air bubbles and seemed to foam in the mouth. Instead of the chocolate, I thought the cheese course sounded interesting, but while the menu said "warmed," I was not expecting melted cheese on puff pastry! The lavender onion marmalade accompaniment was interesting, but it was really a waste of a dish.

While not every dish was stellar, there were definitely a few winners that made the meal satisfying. The wine pairing was also spot-on, and our servers were extremely knowledgeable in each bottle's story. I don't know if I would go back since it was over $100 per person, but I'm glad I tried it.

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Here and There

Apple galette with almond frangipane and really great homemade puff pastry (I didn't peel the apples so there would be some color - the reds are from pink ladies); chicken adobo burrito with garlic fried rice from papalote's annual mexi-pino menu mmm

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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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Bits + Bites

Carte415: Alice, just a tad disappointed by their "gourmet sea salt chips." Grilled cheese w/ Mt. Tam a la Kathy


Liou's House: stuffed duck, winter melon soup


Lechon at Pistahan, Palabok and pork adobo = fatty goodnesssss

[not pictured] Flour+Water: good crust and pasta, but very skimpy on toppings and overall a bit unsatisfying. Very similar to Dopo, but not as good. Really great service though.

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Hello, Goodbye

It's been over a month since Mike moved into his new condo, but we finally introduced ourselves to his hood by having a food crawl down Piedmont Ave. We started at Adesso, Dopo's semi-new sister bar with quite a selection of salumi and other small plates. Very well aware that they have happy hour with free food from 5-7pm, we clocked in just before it ended but I guess they stop serving food around 6:30pm. My wallet was sad, but that didn't stop us from ordering.

One of the absolute best things about Adesso is the integrity of their menu. In both the drinks and food we tried, you could taste how each individual flavor component contributed to the dish/drink as a whole. It was straight and simple - transparent and exactly what you expected.

Salumi was essentially a similar experience to Dopo, rabbit pate was a bit dry, sardines w/ mozzarella were refreshing and not fishy at all, and the risotto balls w/ pork ragu in the middle were AMAZING. Good thing they only gave us 5 because I could eat them endlessly.

The drinks were also really tasty. They have a large selection of wine and beer in addition to their cocktail and aperitif menu. From the five we tasted, they were all deceptively strong and incredibly delicious. The pisco sour left a lasting impression on Mike - he was still talking about it the day after. The pisco sours I've had in the past usually have more of a frothy egg white on top, but this one was so thick that it almost seemed like they were whipped with some sugar. It was also topped with a sprinkling of spices that made me think of vanilla chai. The strawberry-cucumber-mint cocktail was my favorite. It was just a perfect summer drink, as girly as it may be.

Despite our hefty bill (about $100 for 2 ppl, inc. tax and tip), I would definitely return. The quality of the food is very high, and the atmosphere is still down to earth and chill. Too bad it's so far for me, because I would otherwise try to get there at 5!

After our delicious experience at Adesso, we somehow thought it would be a good idea to ruin it by going to Cesar. I'd been once before to the Berkeley location years ago (my 21st birthday, when my palate newly discovered a taste for "fine" food) and it was a terrible experience, but Mike had never been so we figured we'd stop in for some more tapas. The food was warm and comforting, with a lot of spreads, stews, and essentially anything you can dip your bread into. While satsfying, it was still another case of a menu far exceeding the actual execution of the dishes. Mike likened the atmosphere to Cheesecake Factory, but I wouldn't go that far. It was indeed much larger than its intimate Berkeley counterpart and the techno music didn't really help, but hey it's Piedmont. You can't be that picky. =)

We ended the gluttonous evening with, of course, Fenton's. I'm actually not a huge fan of their ice cream, but its popularity really stems from being a long-established institution of the community. Oh yeah, and I guess Up. Regardless, I enjoyed my second ice cream of the evening, coffee + cookies!

The next day, we also stopped into the new Berkeley Bowl (West) and its adjoining cafe. My first time was actually last week when I was picking up some fruit for a wedding, but this was my first time actually exploring it in its spacious glory. Selection is comparable, but it just feels like more because the warehouse is so Costco-like. The cafe is still working out many kinks in efficiency and menu (mostly sandwiches and salads), but the old burrito and Panda-Express-quality "Chinese" food is still available in the market-side.

So while we said many hellos this weekend, there were also many goodbyes. My absolute favorite shop and ice cream store closed its doors this weekend. The normally friendly chef-owners of Sketch were visibly stressed and not in the mood to chat, so it was a sad goodbye. I did leave with sweet memories and some nectarine sorbet swirled with vanilla bean ice cream, before the onset of our Piedmont run.

One of Mike's childhood friends is also leaving SF, so we said goodbye to him with lots of food including Little Star, fried chicken, lots of sangria, and much much more. I made some leche flan for a tasting earlier that day, and brought the leftovers with me. The ultimate compliment: tastes like a Filipino person made it. Success!

It was a bittersweet weekend, full of happy and sad moments, but great food wherever we went. RIP Michelle.

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Weekend Recap

This weekend was packed and the crazy weather led to lots of activity, some food-related and some not.

Front Porch: after years of passing by (it's right next to Mitchell's) I finally went. We avoided the 40-min wait by nabbing a seat at the bar. We got a few freebies (jalapeno cornbread, tomato "tartare" crostini) during the 20min wait for the food. Fried chicken was nice and crisp, but could've used some more seasoning. I wanted to try the shrimp and grits, but I only have one stomach and had to save room for some grasshopper pie. It was nice to finally try it, but I don't really have a desire to go back.

Mitchell's: yes, even after polishing off the fried chicken on my own, of course I had to get some grasshopper pie! The 30+ min wait was enough to digest my dinner, anyway.

Le Cheval (Oakland location): pretty standard Vietnamese food, very spacious and perfect for Cyn's post-graduation lunch despite the slow service. Yay you're a lawyer (almost)!

Sketch: <3

La Mar: finally gave the US version a try and had a great time. However, the original location in Lima is definitely better. As to be expected, in Lima the ingredients were just fresher, the prices were lower, and the service was better. Business was also a bit slow which was surprising, especially given their great location and the hot day!

MR: I'm over the club/bar scene and usually limit those visits to happy hours. However, my friend's friend was having a get-together here and it totally reminded me of Freemans Sporting Club, except it was a bar and not a clothing store. Definitely a boys club but I was also very much tempted to get my hair washed because it was so freaking hot!

B2B: omg so hot. My group of friends likes to run it, but it was really difficult with the temp pushing 90 at 8am and the severe lack of water stations! If you saw Dharma scientists, that was us! ("What's Dharma? Must be an Asian thing") LOVED the beaver dam on Fell.

Underdogs: post-b2b lunch and watched the beginning of the Rockets/Lakers game. Fish taco Nick's way is so satisfying!

OK back to 60-degree weather.

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Dopo was dope... o

As mentioned, last weekend I went to Dopo for the first time for a late meal. We were so stuffed with butter-laden goodies that we didn't mind the 45min wait in the bitter cold. The host was really friendly and graciously spread blankets in our laps to help keep somewhat warm. When we were finally seated, we followed him around the side to an uncovered alley where they managed to squeeze about 5 more tables. At least we weren't right next to the tarp "door," because the draft kept blowing in and that couple was visibly miserable.

All that aside, our experience was really great. The food was yummy and you could see the pride and integrity in the cooks' work. The salumi plate was especially an example of their craft - very thought out pieces of cured meats that were explained to us by a cook (perhaps the chef de cuisine? not sure) in detail. The goat pate in the middle of the pic was a bit too crumbly/dry for my taste, so I asked for some olive oil, which really made it amazing for me. I don't have the best palate when it comes to olive oil, but theirs was so smooth with so much flavor, definitely high quality you would expect from a good Italian restaurant.

So Dopo is primarily known for their pizza and handmade pastas, and both were really great. The pizza in particular (speck, green garlic, and sweet hot peppers) had super super thin crust, similar to Gaspare's but much more crisp. It was definitely the highlight of the meal in both flavor (green garlic is just so tasty) and texture. The pasta we shared was a pretty simple pork ragu that was very generous with the meat. You can't really go wrong with handmade pasta, but we both felt that we could probably find similar quality elsewhere.

Despite the elements working against us, we had a really great time at Dopo. Our waiter also recommended a wine that was exactly what I asked for - a light red with minimal tannins (my tongue hurt from boozing all day!) but still rich and creamy - which just enhanced our meal even further. I would definitely return on a warmer evening... I know space is hard to come by, but people really shouldn't be dining outside in bad weather. I felt so bad for the couple next to the draft.. that is, until they complained to a cook (or chef? it was the guy who explained the salumi plate to us) and threatened to write "10 bad reviews" on what I'm guessing is yelp. Who does that?? The cook handled it graciously and gave them a gift certificate to encourage their return. Either way, they had a point.

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Gioia to the World

* UPDATE 22Feb09 *
Lesson learned, we ordered by phone and got their sausage and mushroom pies. They ran out of dough again, but we just made it. Their housemade sausage was the real winner. Hopefully next time we'll get to try a seasonal pizza! They were out of the butternut squash.

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Mikey and I came here the night before Super Bowl, which ended up being a bad idea especially since we didn't call ahead. Gioia is closed on Sundays, so people were buying stacks of pies to reheat for the next day's game, making our wait over an hour long. They didn't even have pies by the slice when we got there. We were lucky to get our order in though... right before they ran out of dough.

This North Berkeley pizzeria marriages the owner's native east coast with its west coast location - New York style pizza with seasonal and fresh ingredients. Very simple, made with love and care. The general manager is really great (not Will Gioia) and friendly, and puts the finishing touches on each pie with some freshly chopped oregano.

Since they were getting so slammed that night, we just bought one whole pie - basically cheese with anchovies. After about 30 minutes or so, they started busting out pies that weren't on the menu (sausage, butternut squash, etc etc), but we had already ordered and didn't want to overly stuff our faces. Once they finally called our name, Mike didn't want to eat there, so we sped home in hopes that it would stay hot. Well, it was a cold, cold night, and hot it was not. It's hard to judge based on one luke-warm-congealing-cheese pizza (microwaving it did help a bit, but really.. what a shame), but based on that experience alone, I prefer Pizzetta 211. Gioia's crust was nice and chewy, had some good yeasty flavor... but I just wasn't feeling the toppings. But that's not a fair assessment, I know. I will definitely have to go again if I'm ever in Berk and craving pizza. And I will call ahead! We were seriously there FOREVER.

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Berkeley Thai Temple

I haven't been here since college (ie, a LONG time ago) and it was pretty much how I remember: Berkeley students and hippies, lines lines everywhere, and tasty Thai food. Spicier than I remember, and the token exchange lady this time was really rude, but that still won't spoil good food with great friends on a sunny day. Yay!

Here are some prices for reference:
Thai iced tea = $1
1 entree over rice = $5
2 entrees = $6
...
papaya salad = $5
mango sticky rice = $5
Sweet Coconut & green onion rice ball things (SO GOOD) + fried taro = $4

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Ketchup

Things have been so busy so I haven't really been able to blog, let alone filter through my feeds! There has been a lot going on, including another wedding (post to come). Busy busy busy!

In this post: dinner at Pizzaiolo, brunch at Bouchon, and Gigi's 4-year anniversary at Swan Oyster Depot!

I've been wanting to go to Swan Oyster Depot for a really long time - basically since I moved to the city. My old roommate Shinie used to work near there and would always talk about it, but since it's only open for lunch and weekends are a madhouse, I just have never been able to go over the years.

Thank goodness for foodie managers heh, because we took a nice long lunch on a Monday to celebrate Gigi's accomplishment of bearing with our company for the last 4 years. Good God!

We got almost everything - clam chowder, oysters, seafood salad. The seafood salad is deceptively filling - doesn't look like much, but man I was so stuffed afterwards. Like all seafood places, this wasn't cheap. It was definitely good to try, but I don't think I would go out of my way to return... especially with the wait! My only complaint is that they don't have purse hooks under the counter. I mean, you're sitting on stools and the only place to put a bag is on the floor or on the hooks behind you where people can easily steal it without you noticing.

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Awhile ago (i.e. before my trip to nyc), Cyn, Elvie, and I went to Pizzaiolo in Oakland's temescal neighborhood (up and coming gentrified borderline Berkeley on Telegraph area near Bakesale Betty and other restaurants). As a frequenter of Betty's fried chicken sandwiches, I've passed by many times since it's only down the block. It didn't click that it was the same place that Michael Bauer has lauded until Mike mentioned that he heard mixed things about it.

Elvin and I are good eaters, so we got 2 pizzas and a main. The space is surprisingly large - open kitchen, sunny with tall windows, and a large party area in the back. The ambiance was very family-friendly... very Californian, if you will... laid back, casual, and welcoming. The food, amazing. Do I say that often? Not at all! But it was! The clam pizza was so flavorful and juicy... a bit on the salty side, but I like salty. It doesn't look like it's on the menu anymore, but if you go there you should keep an eye out. Their braised pork entree was also very tasty (also not on the menu now). The other pizza we got (rapini and sausage, topped with an egg) was ok - not for those who don't like bitter greens. Definitely would go back! We were raving about it for the rest of the evening.

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After my trip to nyc, I went straight to Vegas for a bachelorette party. Our last day there we had a nice brunch at Bouchon, which was actually my first time aside from bakery visits. Aside from a classy play on chicken and waffles (bacon + chive waffles with roast chicken), their strawberry croissants were really interesting. They really didn't look like croissants at all... and I wish I tried them dangit. Another time. But here's a picture that boggles my mind.

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