This weekend was RIDICULOUSLY hot! I think Saturday was almost 90 in Berkeley, and SF wasn't much cooler. Times like these are rare (I think 2007 there were maybe 2 or 3 days in the entire year that were comparable in SF), so I spent the entire weekend outdoors and sweaty... definitely a hot mess.
Here's what was on the menu this weekend:
- First time at Herbivore
- First time at Genova Delicatessen
- Homemade butternut squash lasagna
- Late night run to CJ's
- Cherry Blossom Festival
So Mike works near Shattuck, where the new Berkeley Herbivore opened a little while ago. Now after my experience at Cafe Gratitude, I wasn't exactly jumping to try this place, but I soon noticed a ton of locations popping up in the city. Mike and his friends went and said it was pretty decent, so I thought I'd give it a try instead of my usual salad fix at Intermezzo. I got the wasabi soba noodles which were ok, but Mike's shawarma was actually really really good. Their soy chicken was quite tasty (who knows if it's actually good for you though since there are probably a lot of preservatives and chemicals in there), and I'd say it was comparable to, but not better than, a normal meat shawarma. I would go back for sure, and maybe try their other middle eastern inspired dishes.
Saturday we intended to take it easy, but ended up stuffing our faces with Genova Delicatessen. Erina had been lauding this place for awhile now, so we decided to give it a try. It's in the Temescal area off of Telegraph, in the Walgreens plaza across the street from Bakesale Betty. The line was ridiculous, but we passed the time by ogling the hordes of meat in their display cases. I ordered specialty sandwich #2, which was prosciutto, anchovies, and mozzarella, and it was pretty amazing (pictured below). Mike's Genova salami mix was a little disappointing, but there are so many choices we'll have to come again. One yelp review said their cucumber salad was really good, but it was way too sweet for our tastes.
We also had the privilege of enjoying Erina's home-cooking! Among other things, she made this really light and tasty butternut squash lasagna, using a bechemel that didn't require THAT much butter and low-fat mozzarella, so it wasn't that unhealthy =)
Mike has also been craving Carl's Jr.'s Cap'n Crunch shake, which sounds disgusting to me, so we made a quick run. Man, watching the lady make it made me really uneasy! It was basically a vanilla soft-serve, some kind of brown syrup (flavoring? who knows!), and actual Cap'n Crunch cereal, all blended up. It wasn't bad, but I didn't want to take more than a sip. Mike, on the other hand, drank it all and even saved some to put in his cereal later on. Yes, he is gross.
Today I met up with friends at the Cherry Blossom Festival. It's continuing next weekend, but who knows how the weather will be (rain on Wednesday??) so a ton of people were out. I went a few years ago and got more traditional food like takoyaki and stuff like that, but this time I just really wanted ribs, so we waited in the 30+ min (I might be exaggerating) line for them. I'd been craving BBQ all weekend!
I think I'm more tan now, but it'll probably fade in a few days once SF returns to 50 degree weather =P
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Fierce Hot Mess
Thursday, March 22, 2007
TOP 5 ramen joints if you're an old man (or not)
guest contributor: ze faja
Santa – try the stew pork and the chicken is really good too. Tofu is so-so. Long wait. Wear sneakers so you can sprint to the head of the wait line from your car and keep an eye on competing sprinters (in other cars) in case they jump the gun!
Maruichi – good set lunch which comes with
Ringer Hut – their Nagasaki Champon noodle is pretty tasty and you can order the set lunch A, which includes a small dish of fried rice. A good size and nice place with plenty of space.
Mifune – in J-Town upstairs. Offer large variety of set lunch options and you can choose ramen or udon. Kathy was not a fan of this place.
Suzu – in J-Town downstairs. Small place and normally crowded.
** I've witnessed the Santa Ramen madness and it's pretty ridiculous. If no one's lined up before it's opened, that means everyone is waiting in their cars hawking the other parked cars. Intense! I would've also added Ryowa in both Berkeley and Mountain View. -kathy
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Takara
22 Peace Plaza
Suite 202
(Miyako Mall, Japantown)
(415) 921-2000
Japanese in Japantown (If that's not unique, what is?)
There are many Japanese restaurants in San Francisco. This is one is better than most that I've tried and has some distinguishing features. The first distinguishing feature is the tank of live shrimp outside the entryway. The second is that the boss and all but one member of the waitstaff speak Japanese (as opposed to Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, English, or Spanish) . The third is that the set meals start off with two dishes of pickled vegetables and a cup of a savory custard. (Set meals are $18.50 for a two-item one and $23.50 for a three-item one ... I think.) In all the Japanese restaurants I've eaten around the world -- Japanese restaurants in California, Hawaii, Beijing, Taiwan, and British Columbia -- I've never had those two types of pickled vegetables nor the custard. The pickled vegetables were new, but I didn't particularly like them. I liked the custard. It was served steaming hot, had julienned fish cake and mushrooms, and some broth sitting under the thick but fluffy egg-custard surface layer. The set meals also come with miso soup, white rice, and a scoop of ice cream.
My friends, who eat Japanese food often, complimented the quality of Takara's sushi. Even with my brutish palate, I could tell that the sashimi was better than the average SF Japanese restaurant. My half-Japanese half-Korean commented that their green tea was good.
The restaurant's disposable chopsticks are made from bamboo, so they don't split awkwardly and asymmetrically like disposable chopsticks made from wood.
-J
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
kappa
1700 Post St. (at Buchanan)
415-673-6004
Japanese in J-town (who would've thought), small plates style
Being someone who loves Japanese food, I've realized how limited my exposure to this cuisine has been. As a Sushi House lover, my meal at this place has made me realize that I am uber American, as are my taste buds. I had some good, traditional food in Japan, but even so, I still enjoy classic American Japanese food. This place, however, has opened my eyes and expanded my palate.
This place is tiny (seats about 8-10 people) and is run by only two (I think) Japanese people (maybe husband and wife?). There are no signs, and even if you found it, you wouldn't know what it was because the door is closed without any windows. Once you walk in, the dining area is blocked off by a hanging curtain, giving your meal the utmost privacy. It is bar-style seating, also giving you a view of the displayed raw seafood (fish, squid, octopus, etc). The hostess is a lovely older woman dressed in kimono, who speaks both English and Japanese. It is definitely a date place, but there was a party of 3 when I ate there. The menu was in both English and Japanese, but being used to American Japanese food, I had no idea what to order and let my dinner partner take care of everything.
My dinner partner had sake, which came in this really pretty clear teapot lined with gold trimming. The sake cup was like this matching mini goblet (I probably sound so uncultured right now).
The food (hopefully I didn't forget anything):
- seafood salad: given to start and before we ordered, this tiny dollop of seafood salad was very light and fresh. I'm not really sure what was in it, to be honest.
- misc sashimi (hamachi, squid, other fish): very good quality and fresh. There's nothing better than raw fish melting in your mouth mmm
- mountain yam: I had never had this before, and it wasn't like an American yam at all. It was more like daikon in texture and color, but it was gooey (as if doused in rubber cement or something). Thinly sliced, the pieces of yam were crispy (much like daikon) and a good accompaniment to the rest of the dishes. It didn't have much flavor itself, but I really liked the texture, and I could probably eat this as a snack any time.
- duck: very rich in flavor and moist
- boiled stuff - tofu, edamame pod?, some type of mushroom, squash, and some kind of melon (similar to melon used in chinese soups) in broth
- fried fish cake: I almost burned my tongue and actually took it out of my mouth because it was so hot. I felt so rude.
- tonkatsu (fried pork): unlike most tonkatsu, this was in a more cubic chunk, as opposed to flat and pancake-like. I thought this cut was to its detriment, as each bite had more pork than fried goodness. There was also a chunk of fat in my piece (which I was really surprised by, since Japanese food tends to be super lean), but I ate it anyway because I thought it would be rude not to. Thank God I have a high metabolism.
- miso soup with clams and green onions
The service was good - my ocha (green tea) cup was never empty, and they were very attentive and polite. I couldn't really get a good feel for the staff because my dinner partner talked to them in Japanese only, but regardless, service was good and food came at a good pace. They were also very flexible, as we stayed there for probably over 2 hours, and even when everybody else had gone, we still ordered one more dish.
Go here. =)