Recent Eats Around San Francisco

A bit late on this one, but prior to leaving for Australia I headed out to try a few new places and wanted to share some of the delicious dishes and restaurants I enjoyed along the way.

A quick pit stop to Flour+Water with my roommate @douglasli led us to some amazing pasta dishes and a continued disappointment with their overly chewy pizzas.

I wondered over to North Beach to try some of Tony's Pizza Napolentana.  Unfortunately they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays so I made my way down to Giordano Bros. sandwich shop their somewhat famous Pittsburgh style deli sandwich, jam packed with fries and slaw.  I found my turkey sando to be extremely light on turkey and extremely heavy on the bread and fries filler.  I was unimpressed as the relatively unique toppings did little to make the sandwich full of flavor.

My next sandwich adventure turned out to be an amazing treat.  Hidden inside a small bodgea called Tony's Market on 24th at Hampshire is Pal's Takeaway.  This little gem serves up a few unique sandwiches each day.  I had an amazing coconut shrimp banh mi with jalapeno, cucumbers, cilantro, pickled-carrot daikon and lemony mayo.  This puppy was top shelf.

After an afternoon of sipping various teas over at Samovar in the Castro, I made my with @tammycamp for my first encounter at Starbelly.  I had heard nothing but fantastic things about the pizza and burger, and Starbelly certainly did nothing to disappoint.  We thoroughly explored the menu, enjoying a wonderful charcuterie plate that included their own homemade chorizo.  We also had some wonderful fried oysters, a wonderful pate and some delicious meatballs.  The real winner of the evening was the pizza with Starbelly bacon, jalapenos, arugula and green goddess dressing.

 My dining companion @tammycamp

Meatballs

Charcuterie board

Pate like whoa

Fried Oysters

Pizza with bacon, jalapenos and green goddess dressing, so YUM!

A few hours prior to departing for Australia we were getting a bit hungry and didn't have time to sit down for a meal.  I cruised over to John Campbell's Irish Bakery at the base of Potrero Hill.  While the inside was a bit spartan the food line-up didn't disappoint.  I grabbed the sausage roll and pesto foccacia as well as the raspberry tart.  The place was certainly affordable and I found the pesto foccacia to be the real winner.  The sausage roll could have used a bit more flavor and a gravy wouldn't have hurt.

What's the word?

The Belly Rules the Mind

The blog title is from an old Spanish proverb that most certainly describes the strong bond between my belly and mind.  And my mind (aka belly) has been having some serious desire to spend a little more time out of the kitchen and in restaurants.

I was able to find a frozen yogurt place I actually like, Fraiche (note: I am not a fan of ice cream or frozen yogurt at all - shakes/malts not included)!  I took a first past at the new-ish SliderBarCafe in Palo Alto, made a Giants pre-game stop to Little Skillet on Tuesday and enjoyed one of my favorite cold weather grey day San Francisco meals at Chez Maman.  With the rain and drizzle around town the latter half of the past week it certainly called for some delicious pasta to-go from Aperto and my favorite peanut brittle from Baked to snack on around the house.

The low light of the week was a meal was over at Dosa on Fillmore.  So disappointed in the quality of the food and amateur service that I couldn't even bring myself to take pictures of the dishes, the two most impressive dishes were an app and dessert, which isn't a good sign in my book.

As I was running some errands on the peninsula I was caught with a burger and shake craving and met a friend over at SliderBarCafe on University Ave. in Palo Alto.  We got aggressive and over-ordered, faced with 8 sliders, a plate of chicken wings, a salad (I didn't order that!) and a vanilla shake we did our best to finish half the meal.   I found the sliders to be so-so and the wings a little above average.  The two sliders that stood out to me were the kobe beef slider and the Memphis style bbq pulled pork slider.  The vanilla shake was average too, nothing mind blowing.  So all and all a pretty average of over-priced meal ($50+).

After we wrapped up our meal we took a quick walk (nope I lied, we drove the 5+ blocks!) over to Fraiche.  My desire to go here was more from what I had read about the founder and her entrepreneurial spirit and success with the business, but how could I not give it a try?!  A noted above, not a fan of ice cream or frozen yogurt usually, but I couldn't get enough of my plain frozen yogurt topped with ollaliberries.

The next day was a big day in the world of San Francisco sports, game 3 of the NLCS, Giants against the Phils (Giants are now World Series bound baby!).  On our way over to the game we intentionally walked down the narrow Rich street and had our first go at Little Skillet where the menu is simple and limited with a focus on chicken and waffles.  In addition to ordering the chicken and waffles my roomie Doug and I split the grits with andouille and cheddar.  The chicken and waffles were great (not amazing).  Syrup + Crystal Sauce + Fried Chicken + Waffle is a flavor combination that works well for my taste buds.  The grits were a little runnier than I would have liked, but the andouille sausage helped bring it up a level.

The grey overcast weather got my desires riled up for some warm comfort French comfort food so I headed down the hill to Chez Maman to have some good grub.  When it comes to French food I always find myself hunting for a great French onion soup, some mussels and frites or the croques madame.  My favorite pit stop for these dishes is Cafe de la Presse in Union square, but Chez Maman is a close second and not far away from the apartment.

I love being able to pull up at the bar less than 8 feet away from where my food is being made and ordering some deliciousness.  I opted for the French onion soup and the mussels in white wine and garlic with frites as well as the a Kroenbourg.  Chez Maman never ever disappoints as they consistently dish out great grub.  The only time I find issue is with their to-go food and soggy fries, but let's be honest who gets thin crispy to-go fries right?

I took a quick walk a few doors down to Baked, a great local neighborhood bakery full of tasty desserts and sweets.  While I fancy the cupcakes from time to time, the one thing I can't stay away from is their peanut brittle.  I would love to hear if you have had better or tasted Bake's and have different thoughts.

Dining on the hill yet another night I opted to get some takeout from Aperto.  I hadn't been in ages and have only been for their delicious brunch setting.  I rarely crave pasta, but Aperto is a great place for some good pasta.  I opted for the Tagliolini "Peparti with garlic, smoked bacon, jalapeno, roast tomato sauce, arugula, butter, pecorino and grana cheeses as well as their Cesar salad.  The pasta was delicious and the smoked bacon and jalapeno's were an amazing compliment to the Tagliolini pasta.

So what's up, have you been to any of these places?  Are there dishes that you love that I haven't tried?  Let me know...

Dining about San Francisco

This past week I had some free time and was able to pop into some new recently opened spots as well as some of my San Francisco favorites that I don't spend enough time at.  The memorable stops were at the recently opened Poquito in the Dogpatch on 22nd.  I also dropped into Town Hall for a post work snack, grabbed breakfast at Il Cane Rosso and had a delicious lunch at Umi.

As the Tablehopper mentioned in her recent write-up of Poquito, the inside is a bit barren and still needs some work, but outside of that the menu was plentiful and the food was all reasonably priced -- no dish over $10.  We enjoyed some pantas bravas, the llapingachos - an Ecuadorian potato pancake with cheese and green onions, some chicken empanadas, red snapper fish tacos and my favorite the chorizo sliders.

                                                 Chorizo Sliders

                           Chicken Empandas with house made onion pickles

                                                     llapingachos

                                             Red Snapper fish tacos

I can't think of a San Francisco institution that delivers on high quality American comfort food better than Town Hall.  This San Francisco staple always serves up tasty oysters on the half shell, what I would argue is the best fried chicken in the city (sorry Tyler Florence, but you are a very close second!) and some delicious smoked St. Louis ribs and soul soothing jalapeno cornbread.

I was meeting a few friends at the bar and we grabbed a few starters, some oysters and beers.  I cannot come to Town Hall and not order their BBQ shrimp in Worcestershire sauce with garlic herb toast.  We also grabbed a couple orders of the tuna tartare with fried green tomatoes, garlic chips and Tabasco green  onion vinaigrette.  The one dish we tried that I had not yet encountered at Town Hall were the veal meatballs with a creamy smooth potato puree and green peppercorn sauce.  All three dishes were fantastic and I wouldn't hesitate to order any of the three again, but you cannot pass on the BBQ shrimp!!!

                                                      BBQ Shrimp

                                 Tuna Tartare with Fried Green Tomatoes

Early morning mid week I was walking Hunterman down on the Embarcadero and working up an appetite as we passed the Ferry Building.  As often as I have been to Il Cane Rosso to enjoy their pork or egg salad sandwich I hadn't ever taken a pass at their breakfast menu, I'm certainly glad I rectified that.

Weekday mornings at the Ferry Building are one of the few times you can avoid long lines and lots of tourists.  Hunter and I were able to commandeer a table outside and enjoy (yes we shared!!!) one of the better breakfast sandwiches I have had in a long time.  The olive oil egg sandwich came with crispy boccalone pancetta, aged provolone and sweet onion butter.  The brilliance of the sandwich was due to the over easy eggs which exploded as soon as you take your first bite into the sandwich, softening the bread and creating a simple dipping sauce through each bite of the sando.  They also serve Gus's grown up soda which I first discovered a Bouchon Bakery.  The last thing in the world I would call myself is a soda drinker, but Gus's is so refreshing with tasty flavors that I always have a hard time not ordering one (Meyer Lemon, Dry Valencia Orange and Dry Cranberry Lime are my favs).

I was able to get up to my stomping grounds on Potrero Hill for lunch at my favorite sushi spots in the city.  If you are nigiri lover and haven't been to Umi you are doing yourself a serious disservice.  Their focus on high quality sustainable fish and a diverse sake list make this one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area.  The nigiri sampler is always the standout at Umi, with a fresh, daily menu of anywhere between 6-11 pieces of nigiri.  Umi also does a wonderful job with their small plates, my favorites are the Beef Enoki & Asparagus Maki, the Katsu Asparagus Maki and the Grilled Butterfish.

This being lunch I wanted to try something unique to their lunch specials.  Speaking with Shamus, the owner and GM who is always in the house, he recommended the Katsu Don, which is a sizable hot dish of pork cutlet, onion and egg over rice.  Shamus mentioned that most Japanese businessmen in the area order this as their regular lunch staple when dining here, I was sold.  I also grabbed a couple pieces of nigiri, including the Sanma (a beautiful silver backed saury pike), the Ma-Saba (Japanese Mackerel) and a golden butterfish if I am not mistaken.  As always the nigiri were suberb, but the Katsu Don was a magnificently simple, warm hearty dish perfect for the fall chill that was hanging over San Francisco.

 From front to back - Sanma, Ma-Saba and Golden Butterfish

          Katsu Don

The trifecta, Echigo beer included!

Where are some other great spots I need to get out and try?  Any SF favs or new spots I should put on my list?

Home Cooking Throwdown - Pickles, Bacon & Cheese Grits, Pulled Pork and More...

The week was filled with a lot of time in the kitchen prepping for a 31st birthday we were hosting at our place for our good buddy Travis.

A trip over to my friend Matt's house inspired me to pickle some wonderful zucchini that his wife Anna had recently made.  The recipe is straight forward and can be found here.  In addition to the zucchini I also dug up a pickled jalapeno recipe here.  Outside of the tips of my fingers being on fire from quartering and cleaning the jalapeno's the recipe was breeze.

Quartered Jalapenos                                                                                        

Sliced and Cleaned, ready to pickle

                        Jalapenos and Carrots soaking on the stove top in vinegar

                      Jalapeno & Carrots and Zucchini & Onion pickled and cooling

 As I was pickling I threw 7lbs. of pork shoulder from Drewes Bros. (my new favorite butcher in the city) in the slow cooker for 18 hours.  I sliced up a white onion, crushed 5 or 6 cloves of garlic and made the Lee Bros. North Carolina BBQ sauce, which is basically vinegar with some red chili and pepper.  The vinegar does a fabulous job of breaking down the pork into what eventually becomes uber tender pulled pork.  On top of the North Carolina BBQ sauce, I also pulled together the Lee Bros. South Carolina BBQ sauce, a heavy mustard based BBQ sauce that we used as a sauce to go on top of the pulled pork.

                Pork shoulder prepped and ready for 18 hours of slow cooking

North Carolina BBQ Sauce

                                             South Carolina BBQ Sauce                                        

Canned and Ready for Consumption

For sides we served up some green goddess potato salad from the Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern Cookbook as well as their coleslaw and bacon and cheese grits recipes from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook.

                                                              
                                  Beautiful Green Goddess Dressing                                

 Potatoes Tossed in Green Goddess

                                               Coleslaw

Browned Bacon and Cheese Grits

With an abundant amount of leftovers there were certainly a lot of goodies to play with.  We ended up having some nachos and cheese with pulled pork and pickled jalapenos and carrots that was beyond ballgame worthy.  On top of that my roomie Doug cooked up a homemade pizza with pulled pork, liquid smoke BBQ sauce, thyme, rosemary, onion, shallots and bacon.  The pizza was absolutely delicious and belongs on some restaurants menu.

                                                                                                      
                                             Nachos!

Semi devoured BBQ pulled pork pizza with bacon

What have you been cooking this week?  Any new recipe finds you adore or old faithfuls that you have been hooked on lately?