Sunday, May 30, 2010

May 22nd - Saturday Field trip to: Namu, Boccolone and Rose's Cafe at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market

Saturday morning visiting San Francisco means a couple of things.  We normally hit Ritual Cafe but O does not live in the Mission anymore so it would have been a big detour in the car.  Instead we went directly to the Ferry Building to eat breakfast at the Farmer's market.  The tents occupy the large area on the water side of the Ferry Building as well as the front on the sidewalk. 

There are alot of local farmers with produce and meats. Along side them are about a dozen food stalls, much more than we have in Vancouver.  Last time I had a FANTASTIC mixed Ceviche Tostada but I guess it was not in season or they went another way but they were serving Mexican inspired breakfast instead. 

O directed me to a Korean fusion stall run by a local restaurant called NAMU.  I wonder if is the 'anglicised' word for sprout.  Not sure.  Anyhoo.  They had a funny menu that incorporate both Western and Japanese food concepts with Korean classics. 

I and O ordered the Kimchee Okonomiyaki or Korean Kimchi Pancake with the Japanese touch of Mayo and Okomiyaki Sauce with Bonito Flakes.  I ordered an Organic Egg on top which they drop on top at the last minute so it is barely cooked by the heat of the pancake.  That is a tribute to the Korean dish, Bibimbap. O was not so jazzed.  She's never liked underdone yolks whereas I cannot handle a wholly cooked yolk.  It tastes like a big ball of lard to me.

We also ordered some Gamja(Potato) Fries which were topped with Bulgogi (BBQ Beef) and Gochu Jang Chili Paste). D had Korean Kalbi (Korean Short Ribs) Tacos which were Rice, Daikon and Kalbi in a Kym (Seaweed) Taco 'shell'.  It looked more like Kym Bap than a Taco really but we were in San Fran.

The pancake was awesome.  Nice spice but probably toned down a bit for non Koreans.  The nice bright Organic Egg on tip added a lovely velvety mouth feel. The bottom was a bit mushy and could have handled a bit more time on the grill. MMMMM I am going to try to experiment with that at home when D is away.  D like the Tacos but they were pretty small for a meal.  But luckily D was thinking ahead to his next stop that he had planned before we left home.  The Gamja Fries were good but I do not like the name.  It's redundant, no? Potato Fries? Who says that?  We thought we ordered the Garlic Fries we saw someone else order but it was like a Korean Poutine.  I avoided the Bulgogi which O and D were fine with :P but I really liked the combination of the Fries and Kochu Jang.  Who knew?  MMMM

Namu
Ferry Building Saturday Farmer's Market OR
439 Balboa St
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 386-8332
www.namusf.com/html/namu.html


 
(three and a half)
Namu on Urbanspoon



This is part of D's bacon pilgrimage.  As per my post on Dynamo Donuts , FoodTV is Bacon obsessed and we are FoodTV obsessed.  We saw this on 'Best thing I ever ate' which is a pretty annoying show.  It's just the same usual suspects patting each other on the back and basking in their own manufactured glory.  Whatever.  Anyhoo, I was mid channel flip when D caught sight of the Salumi Cone at Boccalone.  Finely sliced, three types of Salumi layered in a cone.  They set them up in a wooden holder and when you order a cone, you select your own cone.  O liked it but D did not think he got three types.  The review was that it was tasty but not worth chasing down. If you pay a bit more you can select your meats rather than taking the pre cuts.



Cost: $$-$$$
Location: Ferry Building
Staff: Happy

Boccalone
1 Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 433-6500
http://www.boccalone.com/


 

Boccalone on Urbanspoon

V and P arrived a bit later and decided to go for something slightly more breakfasty.  They hit the very popular Blue Tent at the top of the food area of the Market. There is usually a huge line.  Since it was closer to noon, there were only a few people left.  The place is always moving.  There are two big pans the back for their yummy home fries... not potato home fries because that would be redundant.  They are constantly being replenished.  When I see the turn over like that I'm somewhat concerned that potatoes may be underdone.  They certainly did not look par cooked going in the pan.  They were nice and crispy.

V ordered a Mushroom Scramble.  It was a nice Organic Egg Scramble heaped with at least 4 different types of mushrooms including Straw and Shitake.  I think I recognised a brown version of those Asian mushrooms that look like large Enokis.  The name escapes me.  Finally there were Buttom mushrooms.  This worked out well for me because V did not want anything but the Buttons.  I asked her why she ordered this then to which she woefully exclaimed she did not know.  P ordered Seared Tuna Pesto Sandwich with a lovely Root Veg Salad.  He loved his Sandwhich and yet again left me most of the Veg! Yay!  Does it look fantastic?  He said the dressing was far too acidic for him and it was pretty acidic, I agree.  But how can I say now to such lovely Artichokes and Radishes. MMMMM  I could not eat all of it though because of the acidity.

I may go back for the scramble but like I said, when I go to the Farmer's Market there, I'm usually looking for something I would not make myself at home or could not get in Vancouver.  If I were in that kind of mood, I may have returned that salad for lack of balance in the dressing.

Cost: $$
Location: Prime Farmer's Market real estate
Staff: fast

Rose's Cafe (Rose Pistola / Terzo at Ferry Building Farmer's Market)
Ferry Building Saturday Farmer's Market OR
2298 Union St
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 775-2200
http://www.rosescafesf.com/

 


Rose's Cafe on Urbanspoon

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