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.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Hello, Goodbye
Sunday, May 17, 2009
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.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Humphry Slo-what?
There's a new ice cream shop in town named after characters from BBC's Are You Being Served? - Humphry Slocombe. Since it was opened by Jake Godby, a former pastry chef at Coi, it's obvious to expect the unexpected, and their line-up already lists a ton of bold and arresting flavors. There's a really great interview of him at 7x7. I don't really know if "ice cream is the new cupcake," since it's not really a trend (although there was a huge gelato fad back in the early 2000's). Plus, most of the establishments he listed have been doing business for quite some time.
Since it's still so new, they are only offering a limited selection, but people are already starting the Mitchell's/Bi-rite/Sketch/Ici comparisons. What did I think? I really enjoyed how "daring" the flavors were. The textures differed between the flavors, but that's as to be expected when using different ingredients (see Michael Laiskonis' lastest blog post). We ended up trying practically all they had to offer that day: we sampled the balsamic caramel, "secret breakfast," blue bottle vietnamese coffee, thai chili lime sorbet, malted dulce de leche... and I think that's it.
Both Stacy and I ended up getting the combo of the first two. The balsamic caramel was really balsamic-y which was almost gross, but quite perfect. The texture was very smooth and melty, too. The "secret breakfast" was like a morning meal for adults - bourbon ice cream with candied cornflakes. While I really liked the boozey cereal flavor, the cornflakes were mostly tiny bits, with maybe one random chunk. They weren't crunchy either, as to be expected since they get soggy so easily, even if they are candied. It was still yummy though.
Will definitely return! I really appreciate their innovative flavors, and even though they might not all work, they're definitely worth trying.