Tuesday, February 1st - Lunch in SOMA - 'Wichcraft - *Yawn*



Vegetarian Avocado and Goat Cheese Sandwich at Wichcraft

 (Jumping back to SFO catch up on my postings)

I am not a big sandwich person when eating out.  D is.  He loves a good sandwich for lunch.  I always think, if I had spent a few minutes in the morning, I could have made myself a sandwich, probably with more cheese, at home for about a 10th of the cost at a cafe.  D thinks it's worth the extra few minutes of sleep not to think about it.  Plus, we don't own a Panini press, which I would love to have actually but he doesn't like unitaskers.  We don't even own a rice cooker if you can believe it!  Me?!  No rice cooker!?  Well, I did manage to slip in a microwave cooker from my London days but I'm pretty sure, if I were to go away for more than a week, it would disappear.

Anyhoo, we were walking around in SOMA after seeing the Wine exhibit in at the MOMA when I hit my wall of walking/need for food.  We happened to be near Macy's at that point and I really hadn't the energy to think of an alternative and I know D and my sister O like Wichcraft.  D tried to get me excited about it by telling me it's owned by Thomas C from Top Chef.  I told him that as I have never seen him cook, but once on the show, his culinary prowess or his sandwich skills were not selling points. 

First thing I noticed on the menu (as I normally do) is that the Combo for Soup and Sandwich is actually not a deal.  So don't order it.  The half Sandwich and bowl of Soup is a better deal for the restaurant.  I'm the Rain-man of dubious combo deals.  Trust me. 

I settled on what sounded like a hearty Vegetarian option of  Avocado, Pesto and Goat Cheese on Multigrain bread.  Appearance wise, it was disappoint on arrival.  It well and truly looked like a sandwich I could have made at home.  It was very tastey and a great combination between the greens, Avo and the soft/sharpness of the Cheese.  That said, it had no real oomph or sparkle.  The bread was so plain and boring.  It definitely looked better on paper.  Nice enough but I won't return.  I did appreciate the free bag of Tim's extra thick chips they throw in because I ordered a Tea. 

D ordered a pressed Pork and Provolone Sandwich.  It was a tad dry and skimpy on the meat.   Usually, when the sandwiches are this, well, run of the mill, it's because it's not the main star.  But ... well, it's in the name, so would have liked a bit more of something.... filling, interesting breads, lush ingredients or sides.  If you go to their website, they show you this luscious and decadent sandwich which is nothing like the ones we had.

I can see it as the yuppie lunch crowd joint.  Yeah. Bright two storey windows. White everything. Lots of seating.  Though, I'd probably have to admit falling into that demographic but it isn't my lunch scene. 

Cost: $$-$$$ (for a sandwich)
Ambiance: Light and airy
Service: Friendly counter service

'Wichcraft

(866) 942-4272
868 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94103
www.wichcraftnyc.com/LH-san-francisco

I would have given it a 3.  D's a 'nicer marker'. :^P

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Monday, February 7th - Dosa - Mission - Mission Must!! Yummoriffic!

Bhatura - Puffy Wheat Bread

We got together with some of our friends in the Mission after our first full day in San Francisco.  S, N's wife won't be able to join us in Tahoe so we wanted to make sure to spend time with her.  A volunteered to find us a place that could accomodate us all.  Luckily Monday's are alot easier to negotiate bigger tables.  Dosa normally doesn't accept groups larger than 6 or so and on weekends, it's not unusual for there to be a queue at the door.

Channa - Stew of Chick Peas MMMMM

N and S came the first week they opened and they waited 2 hours.  I personally would have walked around the corner for a 3$ Burrito but they said it was worth the wait! 

Dahi Papadi Chaat

Dahi Vada

A and R are from India though I'm not certain if they are from the South where Dosa's originate.  The appetisers and 'street' food starters are pretty common everywhere.  We ordered a few to share:  Dahi Papadi Chaat and Dahi Vada.  And for the first time, were told how to actually eat them.  I was thrilled.  We'd often seen these puffy little pockets in the Dahi Papadi Chaat, bite-sized flat crispy bread, potatoes, spiced organic yogurt, tamarind and mint-cilantro chutneys. Before but had no idea as to the proper way of eating them. You are meant to take one of the little puffs and poke a small hole in the top with your finger (which we shall all assume is already immaculately clean). Fill it with the vegetables and sauces that accompany them on the plate and then pop it whole into your mouth.  Watch out for the green Chile sauce.  It's got a serious kick.  The Vada were little Lentil Dumplings with Yogurt.  So goooood!

We actually put a good dent into the entire menu. We ordered at least half the Dosa's on the menu.  Dosa's are thin, crepe like pancakes, typically made of Lentil flour, filled with a variety of vegetables, cheeses or meats.  They do come from Rice and Wheat as well but normally, the menu would specify if they were like in the case of the Rava Masala Dosa at this restaurant.

Dangerously Spicy Mango Habanero Dosa, wooooo!

We also shared a Channa Bhatura which is my favourite vegetarian Chick Pea Masala with Vegan Poori.  It's that gigantic puffy bread you see at the top of the post.  It was the size of a dodge ball and served piping hot.  Carefully poke a hole at the top with a clean knife,since it's for sharing, to let the steam out. Tear apart and eat with the Chick Peas.

As a concession to our Omnivorous mates at the table, we ordered a Tamil Lamb Curry.  It was a thick stew of large chunks of Lamb.  Not too spicy.

We shared the following Dosa. I would have all of them again except maybe the Spring which I though was a bit run of the mill with the Pea & Carrot veg mix inside :

Masala  Dosa:  classic dosa filled with creamy spiced potatoes, onions, and cashew nuts (masala)
Habanero-Mango Masala: (Warning: very intense heat!) Masala dosa layered with spread of spicy habanero chutney
Rava Masala A wispy dosa made of semolina and wheat, served with spiced Indian potatoes, onions and cashews
Paneer and Peas Dosa filled with spiced and shredded farmer’s cheese, lightly grilled, peas and cilantro
Spring Masala dosa combined with fresh vegetables including peas, carrots, cabbage and red onion

My favourites with both the Dahi's and the Paneer and the Rava Dosa's.  Please Please Please heed the warning about the Mango Habanero Dosa.  They ain't kidding.  It is killer.  There were at least 3 of us at the table with stomach's of steel that agreed we could not have ordered that one alone nor even eaten more than the 1/5th we did. I say 1/5th because some were to fearful to even try when we steelier ones started to weep.

Cost: $$$-$$$$
Service: informative, helpful, cautioned us on an over order, which I love!
Ambiance: Cozy, stylish but not pretentious
Wine List: Decent

Dosa
(415) 642-3672
995 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110
Mission District
http://www.dosasf.com/






(Bear in mind I normally top out @ 6/7, have never given a 7.  Still waiting :^)

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Sunday, January 30th - Gialina Pizzeria - Glen Park/Noe Valley - Crusty Goodness!

Gialina's Antipasto Platter

I have been a bit lapse on the updates.  We had some great dinners after the souffle and ate out in Seattle last week but vacation did not give me the energy in catch up I thought it would.  I blame the altitude. :^P  ..maybe the hot tub.  I'll start with SFO before Seattle.

We had our annual ski trip with D's grad school buddies this week.  We rotate between Whistler and Tahoe, normally.  We nearly tried Japan to make it closer to VM for once but we made the suggestion too late for good flight costs.  Even though it was unseasonably warm for this time of year in the Bay Area and Tahoe, it worked out oddly well because D and I were able to visit my sisters and get our Sunshine injection for the winter.  This Vitamin D hit is vital for survival in Vancouver for East Coasters (My sister V,  has repeatedly asked me to correct this to read Vitamin D as Vitamin E is making her scientific eyes hurt.  Whislt I know that sun deprived people or those with an addiction to 60SPF, suffer from Vitamin D deficiency, equally too, do we need Vitamin E for healthy skin and I did not think it was the end of the world. She reminded me again last night on the phone to change it so here I am. I think she needs to get out of her lab in Palo Alto and get some Vitamin D :^D)  We discovered this in the first years here when January saw 30 days of rain and 45 days without 'sunshine'.

Gialina's Wild Nettle and Pancetta Pizza

Our first night in San Fran, V my sister and her man, P came in from Menlo and we went out in O's, my other sister's, hood. V and O had tried this new popular pizza place a few weeks earlier.  They raved about the crust which was written up in the chronicle as being the reason to visit.  I normally prefer thin crust and if faced with a gorgeous pizza that I want to finish, will forego the crust.  This crust had the texture and flavour of a nice Italian loaf.  You couldn't leave it behind!

Gialina's Dates with Gorgonzola

Funny thing is my sister V is the tiniest of us all.  She's 5' nothing and a lean marathon runner.  She's the one that suggested we all get our own pizza's.   I looked over at a neighbouring table at the 15" pies and thought, well, maybe my eyes are wrong if V thinks she can finish it.

Gialina's Polenta and Italian Cauliflower

We started with a few starters to share which in retrospect, should have reduced our pizza order.  Our server was very nice but I would have greatly appreciated him telling us we ordered 1 or 2 too many pies.  Oh well.  We started with some Polenta with Cauliflower, right up my alley.  The Polenta with smooth, not too heavy.  Very nice!  The carnivores shared an Anti Pasto platter which is a good starter for 4-5 people.  And finally, one of my favourites which I will definitely try at home was the Dates stuffed with Gorgonzola on baby greens.  Delicious!!

Gialina's Atomica Pizza

Then came the pizza madness, V ordered the Atomica, a simple Red za.  P and D both ordered the Wild Nettles and Pancetta.  P is super lean as well but there is something about or tall, skinny friends from Europe.  They are all born with hollow legs.  He could probably have ploughed through two.  He's quite funny though, if he's not eaten he's very quite like an unwould toy. 

Gialina's Italian Sausage Pizza

I ordered the Pesto with Chard and Olives.  I added Anchovies but with the Olives it was way too salty.  Actually don't think it was the Anchovies.  I think there may have been too many olives.  O and A shared a Sweet Italian Sausage pie.  There was alot of slice swapping and in the end we hand an entire pizza for O to take home for work.

Gialina's Pesto Goat Cheese and Swiss Chard Pizza

I would definitely recommend you go but go early because there are no reservations and it seats maybe 40.  The great thing is you do not feel hurried or rushed despite the queue outside :^D.  I think next time I'd add my anchovies to the Butternut Squash pizza.  The server had told me it's on the sweet side so maybe that would have worked better.

Cost: $$-$$$
Ambiance: Casual, chic cafeteria
Service: Attentive, friendly but not overbearing
Crust: Thick but not bready

Gialina
2842 Diamond St
San Francisco, CA
94131
http://www.gialina.com/
(415) 239-8500

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June 1st - Catch Up - May 24th - Chez NSA - Portrero Hill French Canadian Dinner Party

I am having leftover Bouillabaisse tonight so I am catching up on our eventful weekend in San Francisco.

We had the delightful pleasure of being invited to our friends N and S in Portrero Hill for dinner for our last night in town.  We had reservations at A16 for the evening with my sister O and her boyfriend but how could we turn down such a invitation.  O and A were grateful for the time alone, I'm sure.  We had been hogging all of O's time while visiting.  We left her with our A16 reservation but they opted for Oola instead.  But that's not my blog :^D

I think if I had my choice of neighbourhoods to live in San Francisco, Portrero Hill would definitely make my top two.  It is darling.  It feels like a village with lovely cafes like Farleys and organic markets and cheese shops around the corner.  That capped off with the stellar view of the city from just about any North facing window.  Spectacular.  Add to that, N and S have a big backyard with garden.  How lucky is that! We started with a bit of Rose we brought from D's old favourite wine shop near the Embarcadero.  Aaaaah

D first met N in Paris during grad school.  Then when D moved to San Francisco to live, they became a little gang of INSEAD grads and their friends.  They were a great gang of food, travel and wine loving brainiacs.  What better town to find yourself in your late twenties, hey!?  Now when we go back to visit, we catch up and visit with his wife S and their darling, nearly trilingual son A.

S made a great dinner with goodies from their garden.  We started with a Watermelon, Arugula and Feta Salad.  N tried to give us seed for Arugula which was prolific in their garden but we were not sure they would do very well our balcony.  That and we were not sure if we were allowed to bring the seeds across the border.  In the end, I think we forgot them on his counter.  What is about Feta and Watermelon?  It is just summer magic.  Then add Arugula to any salad, for me and I'm happy.

For our main they had a Pesto made from the Greens of their Radish Plants.  I love that, making Pesto from aromatic, piquante greens other than Basil.  It was YUMMMO!  I will definitely give that a go.  Whenever I buy Radishes, I like to hang on to the greens because it seems like such a waste to throw out.  I will toss them into salads or stirfries.  I never thought of a Pesto.  Brilliant.  S stir friend some onions, a minced carrot and some mushrooms to which she added the Papardelle Pasta and Pesto. 

We had a couple of fantastic wines from their collection.

I would put this lovely Chimney Rock on my bunker-worthy list.  

Dessert we had a Peach and Blueberry Galette we bought a Trader Joe's and N topped it off with a Ciao Bella Coconut Sorbet.  They paired it with a Late Harvest Gewurtztraminer from Navarro Vineyards

May 31st - Catch up on May 23rd - Paradiso Trattoria - Monterey - Not Paradise!

When I was in San Fran earlier this month, D and his friend N wanted to scuba dive in Monterey.  It was windy and barely 11 degrees.  So I chose to stay on dry land... dry land however, was still really chilly.

O and I thought we could just drop the two of them off and wander on the coast with the car until they were done but no such luck.  Little did we know they were going to use a shop that only rented equipment rather than leading an excursion so they needed the car to drop them off on the beach.  So O and I really only had an hour or so of free time.  O was famished.  She had had a nice hefty  scone that morning but she was getting the empty stomach grumps.  That never happens.  That always happens to me.  So we had to find food asap. I had no intention of eating at Bubba Gump's and did not want to eat 20$ chowder, we walked along.  As I stopped at every menu along the Cannery Row, O got grumpier and grumpier.  We chose Paradiso Trattoria mainly because they had a seafront view and the dude at the door offered a free Calamari appetizer for lunch.


Really all I wanted was fresh seafood, like I might have got at Fisherman's wharf.  You know, affordable, off the boat and full of flavour.  O wanted something fried.  Well, little did I know that Cannery Row and the Aquarium make this a prime tourist area.  Affordable was not on the menu.   N had told us that Sardines were the local specialty.  Actually, it is quite embedded in the history of the town and the Portuguese and Japanese immigrants. The Paradiso had a Sardine lunch special so it would do.


All the window seats were occupied but we sat up on the 'mezzanine' and still had a great view.  The decor reminded me of one of those episodes of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.  It was all pretty old fashioned Italian of the 80's, decent looking at a distance but with any tighter scrutiny looked shabby.

We started with our free Calamari.  It was probably one of the nicer things we ate and that was probably due to the turnover.  O ordered a cup of Chowder to start.  We shared the Frito Misto and the Sardines.  O was skeptical about the Sardines because she was worried about the fishiness which is common to people who only think of the canned variety.  I had had some beautiful Sardines while living in Spain so I knew there was more to them.

The waiter messed up the order on the Chowder and argued with us about it.  He said that we had ordered a bowl because he wrote it down.  I said, it did not really matter what he wrote down, we specifically asked about the size of the cup and ordered the cup.  The Chowder was fairly average and a bit gloopy.

The Sardines were fresh and I got quite a large portion.  They were fried and served on a bed of Tomato Sauce.  The sauce was not nice.  It tasted canned and too sweet sort of like brand that rhymes with Hardy.  O tried one but decided the many bones were not worth it.  Those are normal and why D and I decided that the one time we bought them fresh and cooked them at home was enough.

The Frito Misto, was a mix of Fried Scallop, Calamari and Fish.  It was bad.  Oddly enough, the Calamari on this plate were different from the Calamari we received earlier.  Rather than looking like someone cut a Squid and breaded it as it was on the appetiser, it had that rounded hoop shape.  The breading was more of that breadcrumb rather than a batter.  The breading tasted stale.  The fries were greasy and obviously frozen bought and not made in house.  The Scallops were RAW, RAW, RAW. We complained.... or rather I complained to the manager and all he did was take 10 percent of the plate and give us a free rock hard, dessert.

When D and N got out of the ocean and we met up with friends, they chose Bubba Gump because they had their kids with them.  D was not happy since he hates chains but the food was much better there than it was at Paradiso Trattoria.  The fries were fresh cut and the staff responsive and friendly. D did admit his Fish Sandwich at Bubba's was  pretty good and I had his slaw and it was good.

Paradiso Trattoria

Cost: $$-$$$
Location: Seaside, Cannery Row tourist zone
Staff: Argumentative and not customer focussed

Paradiso Trattoria

Monterey
654 Cannery Row
Monterey, CA 93940
(831) 375-4155





(mainly for the great view)

May 24th - Tu Lan, Tenderloin - SOMA - Noodles worth a streetfight :^P

D and I had wide-open day in the city today.  Everytime we come in I have an unvoiced desire to visit the Haight and Ashbury area.  D never seems so interested.  I think I'll have to make a push for it next time because I get pretty bored of the same old shops in Union Square.  There are times when I forget where I am.  It could be shopping district anywhere with a few exceptions like Tu Lan. 

We went from Slanted Door to Tu Lan, in a day.  How big a testimony to diversity of San Francisco is that!?  Tu Lan is 'real' Vietnamese.  It is one of D's favourites and mine.  I have been there 4 times which is huge considering I have only been in San Francisco like 6.  It is hearty, greasy, fresh and generous helpings of down to earth Asian food.  They say it's Vietnamese but it seems more Chinese, particularly my favourite #20 Crispy Fried Noodles with Vegetables and Shrimp.  Well originally it comes with Pork and Chicken too but I ask for Shrimp alone and they do not blink and do not skimp on the Shrimp.

It is on the edge of the Downtown core in the area called the Tenderloin.  It can be a tad dodgy and the city has been trying for ages to 'clean' it up.  The name Tenderloin originated from the fact that way way way back when the Cops who patrolled the area received the best, juiciest kickbacks; Tenderloins. Anyhoo, if they were here today, I doubt they would struggle to recognise it.  Two doors away from Tu Lan, two gentlmen from the Italian Bar on the corner were trying to break up a fight between two walking homeless people over ownership of a wheelchair. I was caught in the cross-fire as one of them propelled his Vitamin Water at the other.  Upscale for homeless quaff, I have to say.  As well, I am glad it was just Vitamin Water.  What a waste really for him. 

Like I said, I ordered my usual of Crispy Noodles with Shrimp.  It's a generic brown asian sauce but it is an enormous heaping helping of crispy, vermicelli egg noodles with Broccoli, Straw Mushrooms, Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots and Baby Corn, with lots and lots of Shrimp.  It was piping hot and made to order.  It was a tad greasy but nothing out of the ordinary for stirfry.  I like that there is Hoisin and Sirachi Hot Sauce on the Table.  The cutlery is on the table too as is the case in many authetic Asian restaurants.  I would suggest wiping it down with our napkin first.

D ordered the Shaking Beef.  They had this on the menu at Slanted Door.  I would have been interested in the comparison.  This one looked quite substantial.  Lots of fresh meat, not over cooked. Again, it was cooked to order and piping hot.  D explained that Shaking Beef was the description of the syle of cooking Vietnamese stir fry and not the beef itself.  Interesting.  He orders that dish regularly too. 

Do not get put off by the location or the odd sketch of Julia Child on the menu.  Apparently she ate there once.  It has high turn over and a regular be-suited lunch crowd.  They handle substitues gracefully and service is super fast.

Cost: $ - $$
Location: Tenderloin 2 blocks from Union Square
Ambiance: Diner/'greasy spoon'
Staff: Efficient and friendly enuff
Tu Lan
SOMA/Tenderloin
8 6th St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 626-0927

May 23 - Slanted Door, San Francisco - Haute Vietnamese, a Local Fave

We rushed.  I mean Rushed back from Monterey.  After my so-so day in Monterey, D knew he would not have heard the end of it if we missed our reservations at the Slanted Door.  The computer and camera gadgets he would have had to buy me to make up for it just were not going to be worth it.  O was being her regular cheerful self, tell me that at least we got to hang out and chat.  I see that now but in that car after hanging out sleepy Monterey eating terrible food at Paradiso Trattoria, all I saw was red. If you do not want overpriced souvenirs or the icey cold diving, do not go to Monterey.  Oh yes, there is the aquarium.

It could not have been closer.  We called the restaurant to see if there was any wiggle room on the reservation.  When I first made the booking, I thought to myself, it's sunday night, really, how full could it be?  I only saw three openings but I assumed it was only because alot of places do no use OpenTable for all their tables.  Anyhoo, Slanted Door told us that they could only hold our table for 15 minutes.  As we trucked along, I had O's GPS in my lap screaming, 'you're not gonna make it.'. We ran a few scenarios where we dropped N off at home first, or we changed first. Then we ran out of gas.  D said he'd been running on fumes for at least 20k.  We got off and I thought that was it.  Though at this point we were aiming for 7h15 not 7.

It was decided for us that N had to be dropped of in Portrero first and we had to go in our grubbies to the top rated restaurant in San Francisco.  I was horrified.  It was that or miss it. We came to a skidding stop in front of the Ferry Building at 7h10.  O and I ran in to get our table and D went to park.  We were seated almost right away and the hostess made no comment about how close we were.  Some snooty places do that, like I don't have a watch or hadn't been clutching, white knuckled to the GPS.

We had a lovely middle table in front of the water.  Normally, I have a strong aversion to middle of the room tables.  An odd thing that D has grown accustomed to dealing with.  We were in the middle of the middle but we were there!

We started with drinks.  I had a Tangerine Mojito, O a Pisco Sour and D an Indian Summer.  My Mojito was a nice salve to the stressed out arrival though far too much ice for the tall glass.  O's Pisco Sour had a nice head of the traditional Egg White.  The strange thing was that the lovely Fron that was drawn in the foam, morphed into, without coaxing, into a smiley face.  How funny?

Slanted door is a high end, slightly fusion Vietnamese restaurant.  The food is served family style and meant for sharing.  The whole menu highlights the various farms and local butchers from whence the ingredients were procured.

Our appetisers were Seared Dayboat Scallops with Spicy Red Curry with Pink lady Apples, Jicama Slaw and Crispy Vegetarian Imperial Rolls  with taro root, cabbage, glass noodles and peanuts. The Scallops were really nicely cooked, tender but cooked through.  The sauce was so good I could have tipped the remnants into my mouth or on my rice had it arrived on time.  It was not Spicy at all though. 

The lightly deep fried Imperial Roll is served with large Cabbage leaves and sauce and shredded Daikon.  D was the one to tell us that we were meant to wrap the pieces of roll in the Cabbage with the Salad, fresh Mint and Sauce.  I really liked this dish.  Be aware if you order the Spring Rolls that do not say Crispy, you are getting the soft cold rolls which I love as well but are not the Chinese variety.

Our server did not tell us how to eat the rolls.  Actually, I found him rather aloof.  The sommelier was nice but our server was not very attentive nor welcoming.  Admittedly, after the rushed arrival, I pretty much tried to order my drink as soon as we sat down and from then on I became invisible to him. There is also the chance I smelled of the Monterey and a rental car.  I was not rude about just quickly blurted out my drink order with a please at the end. It did not matter. He would answer my questions through my sister or D for the rest of the evening.  He never topped off my wine glass unless O and D were already full.  Thankfully, I was picking up the tab ;^) and had the final word.

We also ordered a Grapefruit and Jicama Salad which we waited until the main to come.  Actually, it was dominated by shredded Red Cabbage in volume and flavour.  I did not really care for it and it came nearly at the end of the meal. Our snooty bearded waiter told us it was coming from a different area.  Excuse me?

Wood oven roasted whole Branzino with pickled Green Mango and spicy Gingered Fish sauce.  The fish was lovely.  It was well cooked the sauce was well balanced and on the side!  It was rather disappointing that the servers do not help break up the fish and remove the spine.  I guess that's the dichotomy of it being a family style Asian restaurant while trying to be upscale.  They chose the best parts of both: high prices and low service and high suggest tips ranges.  Nice.

Then came the Hodo Soy Beanery Yuba with Glass Noodles, Parsnips and Pioppini Mushrooms.  The Yuba is the brown bean curd skin you may have seen in pouch form on Sushi.  These were cut in strips for this dish.  It was a great vegetarian light yet 'meaty' add to the dinner.  After all the fried food at lunch, this was what we needed.  The there was an abundance of the Parsnips and Mushrooms so that every serving was evenly meted with Yuba and Veggie goodness.   

I quite enjoyed the food but did not necessarily feel as dazzled as I expected.  D and O like this place but they are essentially locals and as a local remember the more modest yet just as yummo days of Slanted Door or hear the constant buzz about it from which I am immune.  I would concede it is difficult to see Asian food served to it's full potential and Slanted Door does give you that.  I greatly appreciated the use of local ingredients and the freshness was undeniable.  The one minor suggestion I would make is to order the rice for one less person than is in your party.  It was a lot of rice and we had two Asians at our table.  Also, avoid the whole fish if you do not want to mess with the bones.  Volume-wise, it would count as 1 to 1.5 mains if you are assessing what to order.

Book ahead.  It was packed with the bar service full as well on a Sunday evening!  They are on OpenTable. I booked 2 weeks ahead.

Cost: $$$-$$$$
Location: Ferry Building on the Water!
Staff: Inconsistent. Sommelier was lovely. Waiter was aloof and not terribly helpful.  Food arrival was sporadic.
Wine: Great selection and variety

Slanted Door

1 Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA 94111
www.slanteddoor.com
(415) 861-8032

(if I factor in  the lack lustre service given the $$$ range)

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)

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/

 

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/