Hazel Visited 12/22/2017 3 Forks

Hazel  808 V St NW, Washington, DC 20001

Whenever I meet up with Dan in DC, he tries to find a fun trendy place in the city, which I appreciate.  We both agreed that we didn't really get all the hype around this one and it was a bit of #fail, although he seemed to dislike it more than I did.  The setting of the restaurant was totally fine - it was a bit dark but they had a nice outdoor space that looked like it would have been a lot of fun if it wasn't 20 degrees outside.

The menu here is kind of a mish mosh of a bunch of random small plates as well as a duck special for 2-3 people that I would have totally indulged in if I were with my friends Jen and Kevin.  Instead, Dan and I opted for the zucchini bread ($15), steak tartare ($15), roasted sunchokes ($13) and the gnocchi ($16).  The zucchini bread came out quite quickly (almost too quickly) and was served with a side of foie gras mousse topped with chamomile gelee and bee pollen.  The bread itself was nice, warm and slightly sweet from an overdose of butter on it.  The foie gras was kind of a weird pairing with it - it just felt odd to spread foie gras on a sweet buttered piece of zucchini  bread.  I'm also not a huge fan of gelee either.  Dan and I kept saying that we only liked the bread yet couldn't stop putting foie gras on each piece.   Oh well - who wants to waste foie gras?  Next was the steak tartare and I was on my own for this dish  since Dan wouldn't eat it and it honestly was the best dish of the night.  It was a nice helping of chopped up tartare served with a yolk on the side - the pros of this dish was that it came with a side of tater tots which I thought was a genius way to serve it up, the con was that it also came with a weird topping of onion dip.  I like my steak tartare really clean tasting and a creamy dip on top it didn't work for me.  But I loved the combination of the tater tots with it - yes, it seems a bit childish but I will eat tater tots in any format.  Next came the roasted sunchokes, which we got mostly because the table next to us got it and it looked healthy and green.  It was more like a salad with kale, sunchokes and pieces of fried tofu.  Unfortunately it was majorly overdressed - like to the point where the kale was soaking in dressing.  Total buzzkill.  I liked the idea of the dish but it wasn't executed really well.  Last came the gnocchi which came with a pork kimchi ragu and smoked pecorino.  The gnocchi itself was nice and soft and the pork kimchi ragu was a creative topping.  It was a totally fine dish but it could have used a bit more flavor or heat to it given that it had kimchi.

Overall, the meal was totally fine and enjoyable enough.  But neither Dan nor I felt like it would be a place that we would run back to and we didn't really get what all the buzz was about.  I would definitely come back for the steak tartare and ask them to hold the onion dip and pile on extra tater tots.  Maybe the duck dinner is the way to go but I guess I'll never know.  Total bill:  $57/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit: Yelp

Mission BBQ Visited 12/22/2017 3 Forks

Mission BBQ  885 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852

I was intrigued to hear that a decent BBQ joint had opened up near my mom's house as I'm always a sucker for good BBQ.  I wasn't expecting much since it is the 'burbs but the Yelp reviews would make you feel like it was the 2nd coming.  I feel a bit snobby for saying this but I guess this is the difference between eating in the 'burbs and eating in an urban environment.  Similar to my beloved Fette Sau and Hometown BBQ, you order meat by the pound or in sandwich form.  But unlike my favorite BBQ places, they serve more basic cuts of meat (brisket, pulled pork, turkey, chicken and ribs) and it's got more of a fast food feel vs. a true BBQ joint.  But I was still excited to try it. 

I got the 2 meat sampler ($8.99) of brisket and pulled pork and a side of mac and cheese ($2.09).  The prices were quite shocking - even for the 'burbs.  They asked if I wanted the brisket moist or lean and I opted for moist. They call your name and you pick it up and bring it to your table - it was a pretty standard BBQ look and feel with sliced meat on brown paper on a tray.  They also give you a side of corn bread with your order.  What I liked best about this place is that each table has a 6-pack of different kinds of BBQ sauce that give you a feel of what it's like to eat BBQ in other important BBQ parts of the country like Memphis, Kansas City, Texas, the Carolinas, etc.  I love that idea.  I tried the brisket first and even though I had ordered it moist, it was more on the dry side.  In fact, it wasn't very moist at all.  It wasn't terrible but I had to slather Kansas City sauce on it to make it more wet.  I would have liked a bit more fat to it as well (that would have made it moist).  The pulled pork was better and it was a good heaping of it.  It still required sauce to make it more moist but less so.  The mac and cheese was the yummy ooey gooey Veleeta kind, which I truly love but I can't say it was a culinary wonder.  The corn bread was eh  - they didn't give you any butter or jam for it so it came off as kind of dry.  I would have preferred a nice parker roll to sop up any grease and make my own meat sandwich with any leftovers.  I didn't try Mike's ribs but they did look like they fell right off the bone. 

I will say that the service, while generally self-serve, was great.  The cashiers were all really friendly and manager walked around, asked how everyone was doing and if he could help clear tables.  It was a nice gesture and I appreciated it.  I don't mean to shit all over a place simply because it's in the 'burbs, but the difference in quality between a place like this and Hometown BBQ is pretty evident.  But for the 'burbs, it's not bad and I would come back to try a sandwich or two, just maybe not the brisket version.  I came home and felt super thirsty so I think they probably added a lot of salt to the meat.  I'll give huge props for the price point.  I can easily spend $40/pp at Fette Sau or Hometown BBQ but here the price was a very affordable $37 for 3 people!

Ugly Baby Visited 12/18/2017 3.5 Forks

Ugly Baby  407 Smith St., Brooklyn, NY 11231

I am torn about this review because the flavor profile at Ugly Baby is really outstanding.  Even though I don't love Northern Thai food, it's definitely got a lot more heat and flavor than Southern Thai food and if you're a spicy food nut, I can see why you go crazy for this kind of food.  Your mouth will definitely feel the burn so be prepared.  I'm just not one of those people. 

I met up with Vinita on a random Monday and it was packed to the gills.  This place has been the darling of the food blog world lately, so I wasn't surprised at all.   It's not very big and they don't take reservations, so your wait will likely be in the 45 mins to 1 hour range and there is no place to really wait around.  We ended up getting 2 seats at the bar which was perfect.  The waitress/host was super sweet and helped us with the menu.  Again, the food here is from the Northern region, so it's more khao soi and no pad thai and if you are vegetarian there is absolutely nothing you can eat on this menu - don't even bother trying.   The waitress suggested 3 dishes for 2 people.  We said we were ok with spice but not to the point where our faces were going to hurt.  We went with the Pad Tua Ngok Rau Kao  ($14), Kang Hoh ($17), and the Kao Tod Nam Klook ($16).   If these were "medium spicy" I can't even imagine some of the brutally spicy dishes that were listed.  My face didn't quite fall off but my nostrils were seriously cleaned out after this meal. 

The Pad Tua Ngok Rau Kao was the least spicy dish and I used it as a vehicle to cool off my tongue.  It's stir fried bean sprouts, with minced pork and tofu and was a very nice compliment to the other 2 dishes.  The Kang Hoh was pork shoulder, spare ribs, mung bean noodle, string beans and topped with chicharrones.  It comes with a side of sticky rice and you will need all of it.  Did I forget that this dish is made with red curry paste?  I had no issues with the pork but Vinita was getting pieces that had a lot of bone/cartilage that made it a bit challenging to eat.  The combination of the pork and noodles were great but I definitely hit pockets of insane spice and was downing beer like it was my job.  I was actually pretty full at this point and barely touched the  Kao Tod Nam Klook which made me sad because I think I would have liked it more than the Kang Hog.  It's curried rice with pork skin, peanut and ginger.  The few bites I had were tasty but again, I had to cool my mouth off with the sliced cucumber and string beans that came with it. 

On one hand, I shouldn't have been surprised by any of the food here.  I've been to several Northern Thai places and I always have issues with the spice level.  I really want to enjoy it but I don't think I'm programmed this way.  The rest of the menu sounded great and I would give it another go and try the khao soi or the chicken skewers or red snapper.   I've gotten much better with my tolerance for spice and I'm determined to get even better.  This place is not for the faint of heart - in either wait time or spice level so buckle up.  Total bill:  $55/pp with tax, tip and beer

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Los Mariscos Visited 12/18/2017 4.5 Forks

Los Mariscos 409 W 15th St/. New York, NY 10011

While my experience Casa Neta was a bit less than, my experience at Los Mariscos was much better.  Probably because it was more my speed and I was feeling a lot better .  When you walk in, it pretty much felt like you were walking into a small fish shack only it's inside the Chelsea Market.  It's by the same people who own Los Tacos No. 1 which is amazing, so I was expecting great things from it.  The menu is equally as simple - 3 kinds of tacos (Fish, shrimp and spicy shrimp), 3 kinds of ceviche (fish, shrimp and especial), 2 kinds of cocteles (shrimp or mixed seafood), and 2 kinds of aquachiles (shrimp or scallop).  They also have raw oysters and clams and a pretty serious line up of mezcal and other Mexican beverages.  

Allison and I were there for lunch on a slow Monday afternoon but since it was the holiday season, it was fairly packed.  You order at the counter and then get your food and sit at one of the few picnic tables they have.  Since we both love ceviche, we ordered all 3 of them ($4-6) and I got 2 fish tacos ($3 each - the fish and shrimp tacos are the fried kind while the spicy shrimp is grilled) and we also started with chips and guacamole ($4.50).  As you can see from the prices, they really took the feeling of being in a small fishing village seriously.  Amazing.  The ceviche was a bit different from what I was expecting.  I was expecting more of a Peruvian kind where you had big chunks of fish marinating in lime but this was really chopped up pieces of fish on a hard shell tortilla.  It was tasty and very fresh tasting but when it's cut up like that, it's hard to tell the difference between the shrimp, fish or especial.  But the star of the show was the fish taco.  It was fantastic - it had much more flavor and authenticity than the one at Casa Neta.  Plus the handmade tortillas were pretty spot on too.  I usually get all nervous about small tacos but these were pretty filling and with everything it had going on in it.  The guacamole was pretty damn good too - it was a small plastic container and at $4.50 is really shows you that smooth delicious guacamole shouldn't cost very much and they're still making a huge mark up on it. 

I would have loved to have stayed longer, tried the cocteles and knocked back a few shots of mezcal but I was technically "working" that day....so next time.  I loved the vibe and the quality of the ingredients here but I expected nothing less than excellence since their meat based tacos in the markets are also outstanding.  A quick tip, the entrance is separate from the Chelsea Market on 15th street.   Total bill:  $44/for 2 people with tax, tip and Mexican cokes

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Casa Neta 12/10/2017 3 Forks

Casa Neta 40 E 20th St., New York, NY 10003

I had been battling a terrible cold since Thanksgiving but at some point I had to leave the house and mingle with humanity.  Unfortunately, one of the side effects of having my cold was a persistent cough and lack of taste buds.  That made for eating out not really the most fun thing to do but I still met up with Lav since we would be leaving for the holidays soon and I couldn't be sitting at home in my rob anymore.  

Casa Neta is much more of a mezcal bar than a restaurant.  In fact, the night we were there, someone had rented out the entire bar section for a holiday party but the rest of the restaurant was open and we got to watch people filter in and out of the party.  They try to give off a whole day of the dead vibe, which I normally like here but it was trying a bit too hard.  The menu is what you would expect from a place like this:  mostly tacos, quesadilla, and chips and guacamole.  We started with the chips and guacamole/salsa ($17), the queso fundido without chorizo ($14) and I got the fish tacos ($12) while Lav got the casa salad ($12).

The chips and guacamole and salsa was nothing really special - very typical starter.  It was a bit shocking that they charge $5 for the salsa - it seems like that's the kind of thing that should be free at a Mexican restaurant.  To me, it's like the starter bread you get a Italian places.  The queso fundido was a mix of manchego, oaxaca and poblano - my issue with most queso is that if not eaten right away, it gets super gelatinous and gross.  We were toggling between that and the guacamole and my margarita, so it was a bit hard to not let it cool off a bit.  Maybe it was because I didn't have my taste buds going on full blast but I thought this dish could have used more seasoning and heat.  Perhaps that is what the chorizo would have brought but the dish still shouldn't suffer too much without it.  The fish tacos were the version I usually like: beer battered with aioli.  It wasn't a terrible dish but again, it felt like it was missing something.   Compared to the one I had in Sonoma, it definitely fell short.  Lav's salad honestly looked like a giant plate of lettuce, although it had black beans, roasted corn, radish, onion, tomato, avocado, cilantro and a lime vinaigrette but none of those ingredients really bring out the best in a salad.  We ended the night with the churros bowl ($8)  which was sweet and tasty although probably a bit gimmick-y - we would have done just fine with regular churros.   

I'm not sure if my sickness and lack of taste buds had much to do with my experience there (I'm sure it did).  But the general feeling here was that it felt a bit like a meh Murray Hill hangout.  It's totally fine in a pinch but I'm honestly not sure how long I see this place lasting in an area like this.  Total bill:  $53/pp with tax, tip and drink

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Dons Bogam Black Visited/ 12/1/2017 4 Forks

Dons Bogam Black 

276 5th Ave, 

New York, NY 10001

Every time I have Korean BBQ, I forget how much I love it.  But it's really hard to eat in small groups of people but Holly and I were craving red meat and were in K-town already, so we figured we were up for the task.  Dons Bogam Black is a bit away from the heart of K-town, on a quieter section of 5th Ave.  It's sleeker and more upscale looking than some of the other K-town BBQ places but it's got the same kind of menu and frantic feel of the other BBQ places. 

Like most places in K-town, the menu is extensive and overwhelming.  Even though we were here for BBQ, I would have happily ordered 50 other dishes there like any of the stews, bibimbap, japchae, or beef tartar.  They have a long list of meat, chicken, and seafood options for the BBQ but ordering them on their own can get quite expensive since a single dish can range from $30-45/plate or up to $95/plate for the wagyu version.  They have a few platter options which is a great deal if you want to try a few things but don't want to spend hundred's of dollars.  We got the 5 Variety of Beef Platter for Two ($82) which included rib eye steak, short ribs, marinated short ribs, skirt steak and beef brisket.  They also have a great bar menu and we ordered the fried tiger shrimp ($16) as a way to offset all the meat we were eating.  The BBQ platter came with a side of tofu stew which was great because I was really craving it and now I didn't have to order it separately.  

As with a typical Korean experience, we got a nice line up of banchan - I don't remember all the different dishes that came it but it felt like a pretty standard line up.  The waitress comes to your table with a cart and cuts up all the meat for our platter.  She flips it on our BBQ for us - so we don't do any of the work which is kind of nice.  The brisket came first and while good, Holly felt it had a bit more fat to it than she would like.  I'm used to those cuts with other Asian dishes, so I didn't mind but I can see why people aren't into it.  But after that, all the other cuts of beef were fantastic.  Super tender and melt in your mouth.  We got a few dipping sauces and small helping of salt which helped to season and flavor the beef.  I've been trying to be more healthy but it's meals like this that make a realize that a good red meat dinner really hits the spot.  I was also a huge fan of the tofu stew.  I had a terrible cold and this really helped to open up my sinus' and was a perfect cozy winter time dish.   During the whole meal, they never brought out our shrimp dish.  I kept reminding them and finally our waitress came back but she had brought out raw shrimp for the BBQ - she totally got it mixed up.  Sigh, luckily we were pretty stuffed from all the meat and I would have been ok if they didn't bring it out but it finally came out and I was really happy they did.  It was 2 huge pieces of tiger shrimp, butterflied and lightly fried on the outside.  It was the perfect texture and fantastic with the tartar sauce it came with.  Clearly not healthy but still delicious.  

I was close to giving this place 4.5 forks but the service was a bit off.  We had to ask for certain things over and over again, which was really annoying. They were really nice but I hate repeating myself.  The place was hopping when we left around 9ish - it was full of families and big groups and it was mostly Koreans which was a nice sign.  I would definitely come back here, preferably with more people and go to town with the BBQ order.  Or I could also see myself coming here and saddling up to the bar - they've got a solid bar menu with poke, beef tartar and the fried shrimp and some solid cocktails.  If you're looking for a fun BBQ place that a little more luxurious but not super stuffy, I'd definitely add this to your list.  Total bill:  $88/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

Chaplin's Visited 11/24/2017 3.5 Forks

Chaplin's 1501 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001

Now when I come home for the holidays, I try to meet up with my friends in DC a bit more just to check out the scene.  The food and drink scene has definitely come in to its own and while it's still not NYC to me, it's definitely stepped up over the years. 

I met up with my friend Dan and Kevin after seeing Mean Girls the musical (which I would highly recommend - super fun and campy).  We started at another bar with a few drinks and we were at the point that we needed to eat or be in real trouble.  We went to Chaplin's which wasn't too far from where we were and unbeknownst to me, it turned out to actually be a ramen bar.  It's got this dark funky decor to it and it was definitely not very Japanese, so if I were to pass it I wouldn't have guessed that they were serving Asian inspired food.   The menu is pretty extensive here with a lot of appetizers but their main section is a variety of ramen dishes.  We started with the chaplin buns ($9) and then I got the Stamina Spicy ramen ($14) since I had a bit of congestion going on and thought something spicy would help.  I should note that if you come here before 7pm it's happy hour and they have 1/2 off wine and they have an AMAZING Cab Sauv from Silver Ghost in Napa Valley - it's usually $18 a glass but if you can get it for $9 a glass, do it and drink as many glasses as you can. 

The buns came with braised pork, cucumber, lettuce, carrot, in a steamed white bao bun.  I could have done without the cucumber and carrot part of it, but otherwise it was a standard but tasty pork bun.  As for my ramen, it was indeed spicy AF.  It came out pretty red looking and it tasted how it looked - it was definitely spicy and cleared out my nostrils but it didn't burn or hurt me like some other crazy spicy foods I've had.  It had your sliced pork, scallions and poached egg as well as some ginger an garlic.  I would have liked some bok choy or seaweed in it but I didn't feel like it warranted the extra $4 and making my ramen almost $20.  To me, those are kind of basic ingredients that should be in any ramen dish. 

The meal definitely hit the spot and helped with a congestion issue.  Unlike my other Asian fusion experiences I didn't feel like this was a total fail but compared to true ramen places like Ippudo, it's still not quite up to snuff.   But if I lived here I would definitely come at happy hour, order 2 or 3 glasses of the Ghost Silver Cag Sauv and maybe a less spicy ramen and feel fairly satisfied.  Total bill:  $44/pp with tax, tip and drinks 

Rice and Gold Visited 11/20/2017 3 Forks

Rice and Gold  50 Bowery, New York, NY 10013

One of the very few perks of my job is that sometimes get invited to hotel parties and openings as they are trying to win my client's corporate business.  I had been to the 50 Bowery Hotel before and it's actually a really cool and funky hotel in the heart of Chinatown.  It's got a fantastic rooftop bar but the last time I was there, the restaurant hadn't opened yet.  When it did open, the hotel's GM invited me and my team for a private dinner there. 

I didn't know at the time but the restaurant is run by Dale Talde and unfortunately I just haven't had any good luck with any of his previous restaurants before.  There was just something off about all of them and while this was one better than both of them, I'm not sure I would come screaming back here again.  Part of it was probably because our hotel partners really ordered way too much food and I was so full before the main dishes arrived that it kind of ruined the entire experience. 

Our hotel partners kindly created a custom menu just for us - it turned out to be an 12 course meal.  Most of it were dishes I probably would have wanted to try to so I can't complain about the choices - it was just the quantity of food.  Since there were 11 of us they brought out 3 of everything on the menu, so that was 33 dishes that came past our table.  Way too much food.  As with every other Dale Talde restaurant, the menu here is Asian fusion (you know my feeling about Asian fusion).   The menu started with candied pork buns, lobster and shrimp hargow and pho soup dumplings.  For entrees, we had the crispy papaya salad, octopus skewer, thai fried chicken rice, whole smoke branzino and pork sisig.  For sides, they brought out fried Brussels sprouts and charred eggplant.  On paper they all sounded delicious and if I wasn't a picky eater about Asian food, I probably would have really enjoyed everything.  But for me, I believe you should stick with the traditional ways for some of these dishes - like the hargow.  No need for the lobster and the soup dumplings plus pho soup base didn't really go together in my opinion.  They weren't necessarily bad dishes but I just prefer the traditional versions of each.  The pork buns were more like the char siu bao type and not the pork belly type that I was envisioning in my head.  They were tasty and small, so it was really easy to pop like 3 or 4 in your mouth easily.

The crispy papaya salad would have been good if it didn't have all the fried component to it.  The octopus skewer was nice and tender but not particularly Asian for me.  But this point I was so full and nothing I really ate after this point tasted good because my stomach was so full.  The fried rice was eh - I mean, it was a chicken fried rice so there wasn't much that was super impressive about it.  I did regret not having more room for the branzino.  I love a whole fish and the few bites I had of this were pretty tasty with the caper ginger relish and citrus ponzu.  I didn't try the pork sisig but unfortunately not many of us did.  It came on a bed of broad noodles but since no one really touched it, the noodles ended up all sticking together.   I didn't try any of the sides but apparently they were a huge hit with everyone else.   For dessert they brought out some kind of citrus dish and ice cream - it was a nice way to cleanse the palate from an otherwise very heavy meal.

Overall, it wasn't a terrible experience but just very overwhelming with the sheer amount of food put in front of us.  We ended up having a ton of leftovers and Susanne took some home but she mentioned that it smelled really bad the next day, so she ended up throwing it all out, which is a shame.  I will say that the space and design is really funky and cool - it matches the aesthetic of the rest of the hotel.  Given that this hotel is in the heart of Chinatown, it would be a mistake to come here to eat Asian food when you're literally surrounded by tons of more authentic options.  True, they may look a bit more sketchy but food wise, you would be getting a more traditional meal for a lot less money too.  I would come here for a few cocktails and appetizers and definitely hit the rooftop bar before heading out into the city for a real meal. 

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Diner Visited 11/19/2017 2 Forks

Diner  85 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Ugh this review REALLY hurts to write because Diner is the OG of restaurants in Williamsburg.  It was here before any hipster or artist moved into the neighborhood and has remained a darling of the food blog world.  It put the Williamsburg restaurant scene on the map before there even was a scene.  I hadn't been in over 8 years but when Lav offered to come to BK for dinner, I thought it was worth a re-visit.  I remembered that they don't have a set menu and that it changes daily but I figured they would have something vegetarian friendly to eat. 

Their schtick is that they scribble the menu on the brown paper table mat when in all honesty they could just slowly recite it back to you.  Maybe I'm getting old but it's really dark inside so having them scribble all over the table wasn't helpful.  They should just go with a chalkboard or print out format.  As the waitress was telling us the dishes, we realized quickly that there was practically nothing vegetarian on the menu.  They had was a gem lettuce appetizer and a main dish of beans.  I mean I understand not having multiple veggie dishes but this was just sad.  Lav asked to see if she could get the onion rings on the side that they were offering with the steak but they said that they couldn't do it because they counted out the same number of steak to onion rings.  Lame.  But we didn't want to walk out, so we made do with what they had.  I got the burger that they were famous for because nothing else was really speaking to me and I figured a good burger is always a winner.

Unfortunately, everything about this meal made me sad.  The burger was dry and not medium rare at all.  I could barely taste the cheese and there was really no flavor to any of it at all.  The fries were super salty and didn't help the meal either.  Lav mentioned her dish wasn't good (I mean it was a plate of beans so how good could it really be?) and she barely finished it.  We tried to redeem the meal with a flourless chocolate cake which I thought was actually ok, but Lav wasn't having any of it.  The waitress was non-engaging and not really accommodating to our needs.  To top it all off, my burger and the bean dish were both over $25 each.  WTF?!  I can't give this place a total goose egg because I know it's better than this but this was really so disappointing.  Maybe 3rd times a charm?  Total bill:  $33.75

Photo Credit: Yelp

Martina Pizzeria Visited 11/18/2017 3.5 Forks

Martina Pizzeria  198 E 11th St., New York, NY 10003

I traditionally love everything and anything Danny Meyer does - case in point, Daily Provisions is my current Achilles heel as I will eat that roast beef sandwich as often as I can.  So maybe I had really high unfair expectation for Martina.  To be fair, it was described as more of a fast casual restaurant and shouldn't really be compared to a Marta or Maialino but it was still a bit more underwhelming than my other Union Square Hospitality experiences. 

Anuja, Amy and I decided to have a pizza crawl and Martina was first on our stop and Emily in the West Village as our 2nd stop.  Anuja got a great Gilt City deal where we could order up to $50 of food, which at a fast casual place is actually a lot of food.  The menu has a good line up of appetizers, salads and pizzas - they have a red pie section and white pie section.  The pizzas are 10 inch individual size thin crust Roman style pies, so don't expect a traditional NY slice.  We got the suppli ($4), arugula salad ($6), a margherita (red) pizza with mushroom ($9) and the ortolana ($10) (white) pizza.  The suppli is a fried risotto ball stuffed with mozzarella and it was as yummy as it sounds.  I could have eaten entire bag of them.  I mean what could be better than fried goodness and cheese?  The arugula salad was fairly standard fare with lemon juice, olive oil, and cheese.  It was a bit plain but given that we were planning on eating all day it felt important to get some greens in. 

As for the pizzas, they were good but compared to our next stop Emily's, it didn't stack up.  I like a thin crust pizza but it's just never as satisfying as a thicker crust pizza.  The margherita was a standard red sauce pizza but don't get me wrong, it was still tasty just not mouth watering.  The white pizza had kale, mozzarella, and pecorino cheese so a fun twist to a veggie pizza.  Unfortunately, similar to a white sauce pasta, there's just something that's not the same with a white pizza pie compared to a red pie.  They're always fine but I want to like it more than I do.  

Overall it was a fun experience and if you're looking for fast casual, Martina checks all the boxes.  I guess for me, pizza isn't a fast casual kind of place for me.  It's a sit down, red sauce and chill with beer kind of meal for me. 

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

5ive Spice Visited 11/15/2017 4.5 Forks

5ive Spice  52 5th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11217

This place is officially my new go-to place if I'm ever seeing something at Barclay's Center.  It's less than 10 minutes away, cheap, fast and super delicious.  A win-win for everyone!  Although I spent 10 yrs in Park Slope, I didn't really spend a lot of time in the area closer to Barclay's Center only because when I lived there there was no Barclay's Center yet - jesus do I feel old.  There are actually a ton of places near the center to eat, so don't fret, you won't be stuck with stadium food if you don't want to (although I'll be the first to say that the food at Barclay's is actually much better than a place like MSG).   Aarti and I were there to see Janet Jackson and I wasn't really in the mood for fries or something super greasy and Aarti wasn't feeling well from our last food outing on Sunday anyways. 

I stumbled upon 5ive spice and had a bit of hesitation going into it.  While the bulk of the menu here is Vietnamese comfort food (pho and banh mi) they have this weird taco section and they also serve sides like chips and guacamole and brussels sprouts.  I generally have a distain for any kind of fusion food and this seemed especially disjointed.  But I'm a sucker for pho and desperate for a place that serves a good one so I figured, why not?  

The clientele was definitely very Park Slope - I'm not saying that in a derogatory way but it's not like I stepped into a place full of screaming Asians, which is how I typically like my Asian restaurants.  Ha!  I got the traditional beef pho ($10) and hot Vietnamese coffee ($3.50) - pretty standard but you gotta get the basics right before you try anything else.  I gotta say, I was very impressed!  The broth was flavorful, the noodles the right texture and the best part was that the beef was thinly sliced and raw which is exactly how I like my meat in pho.  It was really one of the better phos I've had in the NYC area in a long time.  The coffee was great too and served in the traditional dripper.  I know that 4.5 forks seems very high and it's honestly much closer to a 4.25 fork rating but it's been a while since I really enjoyed a pho this much. 

The only thing that gives me pause is that I excitedly texted my friend Virginia who is Vietnamese and lives in the hood and she had more of a lukewarm reaction to this place.  I definitely trust her judgement but I would definitely still come back here anytime I'm headed to Barclay's.  The service is super quick which is even better if you're in a hurry or think you'll be late.  The only downside is that it's cash only but when your meal is likely to be less than $20 I guess that's ok.  Total bill:  $16 with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Chennai Garden by Tiffin Wallah Visited 11/12/2017 3 Forks

Chennai Garden by Tiffin Wallah  127 E 28th St., New York, NY 10016

I feel a bit torn about this review because at first I enjoyed my meal but then a few days later both Aarti and I had what seemed like stomach issues and this is the only place I can link it to.  So while I can't pin point this place as the exact culprit, I have a bit of a suspicious eye on it. 

That being said, I always enjoy a nice outing to Curry Hill to experience the more mom and pop Indian food.  This place is very similar to Saravana Bhavan which is right down the street.  They both are more South Indian focused so don't expect any curries or chicken tikka masala type dishes.  Usually when I come to places like this with Aarti I just let her order and go to town, which is what I let her do here.  Unfortunately I can't remember all the things we ordered but in places like this we always get idlis and dosas, which we did here as well a bunch of other dishes that I can't bring myself to pronounce.  I know we definitely over-ordered, to the point where we felt like we really regretted our choices but in the end this is the type of food that you want to sample and try all different kinds of flavors and textures.   I fully acknowledge this review is a bit lame as I'm not giving you much specifics, but trust me, if you come here, just 1-2 dishes from each section and you'll be fine.

The clientele as well as the staff is all Indian which makes me feel like it's a bit more authentic and low key - it's pretty much the opposite feeling of going to a place like Paowalla or Junoon - both of which I enjoyed but you go to these places for very different reasons.  The food tastes like it's made from scratch and is what I would get if I visited someone's grandmother's cozy house vs. if I visited someone's grandmother's fancy palace.

I hope this wasn't the place that made us sick because I truly like to support local mom and pop restaurants - just not at the expense of my stomach!  Total bill:  $31/pp with tax and tip

Le Coq Rico Visited 11/11/2017 4 Forks

Le Coq Rico  30 E 20th St., New York, NY 10003

Ever since Jen, Kevin and I came back from France, we decided we should start a "duck club" once we came back to NYC.  Duck is such an underrated bird and so delicious that we felt like we should hit up all the spots in the city as much as we can.  We were going for more of a Peking style duck when we first decided to start the club but I had seen Le Coq Rico on Instagram and immediately made a reservation. 

The motto for this restaurant is "A bistro of beautiful birds" and indeed they have a full menu of beautiful birds.  It's mostly chicken (they have several whole bird format)  but they had a lovely duck for 3 on the menu which is what we came here for.   Upon entering, I noticed that it's definitely much more on the stuffy French side than I expected.  The clientele is older, whiter and generally more formal.  But none the less, we were here for the birds and not people watching. 

Almost everything is fowl related here, although there are a few sides that have no meat in them.  We started the meal with leeks vinaigrette ($16) and the duck rillettes ($16) and obviously for our main we got the Rohan Farm Duck for 3 ($84) and a side of macaroni au  gratin ($12).  Yes, it is a bit crazy to pay that much for a bird but it's NYC, but I just write everything off as being ridiculous. 

We got the leeks because we thought we were being "healthy" but it was really just covered in hollandaise sauce, so there's that.  It was quite delicious even if it didn't really do it's job in being our healthy green dish of the night.  The duck rillette was a bit of a disappointment as it was on the dry side.  We ended up mixing it with the delicious butter that came with the bread to give it some more moisture to it.  As for the star of the show, the duck was visually beautiful.  It's served breast on the bone but they slice it up for you.  It was quite a site for sore eyes.  They also give you the au jus on the side in case you want to really try to trigger a heart attack but it was moist enough for me that I didn't need it (but I did sneak a taste it was yummy).  The meat was cooked perfectly and the skin wasn't exactly crispy like a Peking duck but there was a nice balance of skin, fat and meat to each cut.  Some of the pieces closer to the bone were harder to eat and eventually I went caveman style and gnawed on the bone but hey, if I'm paying almost $90 for this bird, I'm eating the whole damn thing.   At this point, I didn't really need much of the macaroni and only had a few small bites.

They have a lovely but very expensive wine list - so a heads up on that.  The servers there are all very French and gorgeous - so also a heads up on that.  The overall experience felt very old school to me - it felt like I should have been on the UES instead of Flatiron.  The duck was indeed great and I had a great time which is why I'm giving it 4 forks but the price point did make me pause and consider giving it a slightly lower rating.  But I'm kind of in the holiday mood, so I'll be nice!  Total bill:  $138/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Il Fornaio Visited 11/5/2017 3.5 Forks

Il Fornaio  24 West Union Street, Pasadena, CA 91103

While I was on the West Coast, I decided to "swing by" LA to visit my good friend Vivi as it had been a long time since I had been to visit her family.  She moved to Pasadena a few years ago, which I had never really spent a lot of time in.  It's a lovely suburb and seems like a good place to raise a family.  She doesn't live too far from the Old Town section, which is their main strip/area with lots of chain shops and restaurants. 

Since I was only there for less than 24 hours and she had 4 kids, we had to make this a quick dinner.  She had mentioned that this was one of her husband's favorite places so we figured why not? And who doesn't love Italian food?  From what I understand, it's a fairly large chain in the West Coast and it's kind of got this Cheesecake Factory feel to it - and I don't mean that in a terrible way.  It's just that it's a large cavernous restaurant, with a large extensive menu and large plates to go along with it.  There is a time and place for places like these.  Food wise, we started with the beef carpaccio and I went for a penne a la vodka because that is one of my all time favorite comfort foods. 

The beef carpaccio was thinly sliced and served with capers, arugula, parm and lemon.  It was nicely done and I had no complaints about it.  The same could be said for my penne a la vodka - no complaints.  It was served with bits of bacon in it to really make it even more cozy and comfortable.  It was a huge dish but of course I finished the whole thing - although it was a struggle.  The thing about this dish is that it was clearly not some authentic Italian experience (I'm pretty sure the pasta wasn't home made) but you know what?  That was ok.  I've definitely had better traditional experiences but in terms of a chain restaurant in the 'burbs of California, I don't have a lot of negative things to say about it.  

This was a tough one to review because 3.5 forks seems like it may be harsh but it's really more like a 3.75 fork place.  The waitress was very friendly and it was a nice quiet place to catch up with old friends.  I can see why my friends like coming here but I wouldn't necessarily say it's a destination restaurant.  But if you are in the area and need a place to eat, I would think about this place.  The patio area looked especially nice if you can go when there's sun out.  Total bill:  I don't know, my friends very gracious paid

Photo Credit:  Yelp

72 Hours in Sonoma/Napa - Visited 11/4/2017 4 - 4.5 Forks

Sunflower Caffe  421 1st St W, Sonoma, CA 95476                                                                 4.5 Forks

This is a momentous blog entry...it's my 1,000th entry!  When I first started this adventure, I thought it would last a few months and then I'd get bored of it.  But now, almost 8 years later to the day I started this blog I'm logging my 1,000th write up.  Thank you to everyone who has read and encouraged me to continue. 

I hemmed and hawed over if I wanted to do something special for my 1,000th review but it was kind of nice when it happened when I was on vacation with close friends.  After a lovely day at the Osmosis Day spa on Friday and being a bit jet lagged, my friends and I spent the next day hiking around Sonoma which was great.  We ended our hike with lunch at one of Neera's favorite cafes right in the middle of the Square.  I can see why it's a favorite - it's a California cafe at it's finest.  Everything on the menu sounded healthy and delicious and in true California style seemed to have avocado or some kind of green slant to it.  The breakfast menu looked heavenly with hearty sounding egg dishes, but we were getting take out so I figured a salad might be a better way to go.  I got the kale and sausage salad ($15) since it sounded healthy and full of protein.  

The one major downside of this place is that it's always packed.  The line to order was so long and it took a while for the food to actually come out.  There isn't a great place to stand and wait for your food but everyone waiting around was super nice and also looked like they just got out of a hike.

As for the food, the salad was fantastic.  I know it seems weird to rave about a salad but I really enjoyed this one.  It came with organic kale (of course), cannellini beans,  sausage made out of duck and pork, and a perfectly hard boiled egg.  But what made it especially tasty was the lemon vinaigrette.  All mixed together it was a hearty but healthy tasting salad.  It made me want to re-create at it a home but let's be honest, I probably won't.  I also loved that it was high in protein as well - my nutritionist would have been proud.  I can see why this place always has a long line and I would definitely wait in line again for it.  I would love to come back here with a book (or really an iPad), order a ton of food and people watch.  If you're taking a hike by the Square, this is a definite must stop. 

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Mustards Grill  7399 St Helena Hwy, Napa, CA 94558                                                               4 Forks

After spending some time in Sonoma, we thought we'd fancy it up and spend some time in Napa as well.  Even though they are both wine country and not that far from each other, Napa is definitely more bougie.  In fact, we got turned away from a few wineries (including my favorite Cake bread) because we didn't make a reservation in advance.  Boo!

Mustards Grill is right near many of the wineries but it's a fairly laid back place.  They have a cute little farm/garden next to the restaurant where they source lot of their vegetables and it's a nice place to visit if you have time to kill while you're waiting for your table.  The menu is pretty typical Americana - pork chop, steak, chicken, pasta and burgers.  We started with the onion rings for the table ($9.75) because they were famous for it and the corn tamales ($13) to start and I got the grilled ahi tuna burger ($17.95) for my main.  They had this awesome sounding dish called Truckstop Deluxe which they described on the menu as "always meat, often potatoes, rarely vegetables."  I would have loved to get it but I was trying to be good.  Unfortunately it's been over a month since I ate here, so my memory is a bit fuzzy on what else everyone ordered.

I was all excited for the onion rings because I don't have them often but when I do, they're generally so addictive.  Sadly, this one was not the kind I was expecting.  It was shoe string style which I hate.  I feel like shoe string is such a cop out because you are rarely able to a true taste of what it is because it's so skinny.  I wanted thick, crunchy onion rings where you can see the onion.  This felt like I was eating fried nothing.  It could have been of something totally other than an onion and I would have never known the difference.

Luckily my tuna burger was better.  It came with basil aioli and pickled ginger - it could have been a little bit more rare but overall, it was a solid tuna burger.  But what really made this meal great was the dessert.  Since we were here to celebrate Neera's birthday, we had to go big with the dessert.  We ended up getting 3 ($11 each) - butterscotch pot de creme, lemon-lime tart, and some kind of chocolate tart as well.  The butterscotch pot de creme was out-fucking-standing.  I didn't want to be a piggy but I really could have eaten the entire dish myself.  It was silky smooth and creamy like a pot de creme should be.  My 2nd favorite was the lemon tart, which was basically a large lemon meringue pie.  It was sour and delicious as well.

While many places in Napa can be crazy expensive and intimidating, dinner here felt intimate but casual.  It was a nice way to end our trip and spend some quality time with friends.  Obviously it goes without saying that they have a fantastic wine list - so there is no reason why you can't have a great meal here with at least wine and dessert!  It had been a while since I had visited this part of CA and I was so happy that we didn't cancel our trip.  While I often poo-poo domestic travel, this trip reminded me that there is so much to appreciate in the US.  Total bill:  $441 for 5 people with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

72 Hours in Sonoma/Napa - Part 1 Visited 11/2-11/5/2017 3.5 - 4.5 Forks

El Molino Central  11 Central Ave., Sonoma, CA 95476                                                          4.5 Forks

A few of my friends and I were scheduled to go to Sonoma right after the terrible fires up there, so we weren't really sure what to expect when we got there. But I was so glad that we made it up there to help the local businesses.  It was kind of nice to be there when there weren't a lot of people and the local businesses were thrilled to have us there.

El Molino Central was a total unexpected find and it was fabulous.  Even though Mexican food is super popular in California, when you think Sonoma, you generally think more expensive farm to table or some other kind of bougie food.  El Molino Central is the total opposite.  It's a very casual Mexican place that is super affordable.  What I loved about the place was that the menu was authentic and the place was clearly run by local Mexicans.  Plus for some reason, walking through the kitchen to get to the back patio made me happy because that's how low key it was.

Everything on the menu sounded amazing and had more of a slant towards enchiladas and tamales - there was no burrito or sour cream in sight. I ended up with the fish tacos ($9.50) because if they're on the menu, I'm getting them.  We grabbed a warm cozy table outside under the heat lamp and the food came out fast and furious.  The fish tacos were two huge tacos filled with beer battered white fish, avocado lime mayo, a smokey spicy salsa and shredded cabbage and radish.  The fish was perfectly battered and fried - it wasn't too greasy but it had a great crunch to it.  I loved that it was two very hearty tacos and not the tiny delicate tacos you sometimes get a high end places in NYC.  I ended up splitting my dish with Neera who got one of the enchiladas, which was amazing.  Everyone raved at how fantastic the food was and how it really hit the spot.  It was quick, easy and very filling.  It was the perfect intro to our long weekend in Sonoma and a nice diversion from the rest of the more traditional rustic California food (which isn't bad at all but it is everywhere!).  Plus it'll definitely be the cheapest meal you'll get out here.  We joked that we should have gone back a few times here for lunch or dinner and if we had stayed longer, I could have totally seen us doing that.  Total bill:  $80 for 5 people with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Girl and the Fig 110 W Spain St., Sonoma, CA 95476                                                              3.5 Forks

Girl and the Fig is your quintessential Sonoma restaurant - it's total California locally sourced chic food.  There's nothing super fancy about the place but it's fairly well known since it's right off the main square in town.  Despite the fires, the place was pretty packed when we got there.

One of the downsides of having dinner in Sonoma is that you generally have been wine tasting during the day, so if you're not careful you can arrive to dinner kind of tipsy and or not super hungry because you've been noshing on bread and cheese the whole day.  That's pretty much what happened to us.  We had hit up a few wineries before hand and even though we weren't drunk at all, some of us weren't really on our A-game.  The menu is long and extensive and has a bit of a French feel to it with steak frites, croque Monsieurs, and lots of cheese plates.  They had a great sounding Plats du Jour deal where you can get a 3 course meal for $42 but it was just too much food for me to stomach.  The frustrating thing is that one of the 3 dishes was a Brussels sprout salad that sounded right up my alley but they couldn't/wouldn't offer up just the salad as a stand alone dish, which I thought was kind of annoying.  I hemmed and hawed for a long time on what to get because I was sadly not that hungry but didn't want to waste this opportunity.  I ended up going with the fig and arugula salad ($15) - I know it sounds kind of lame to come all the way here for dinner to just get a salad but we had eaten our weight in bread and cheese earlier so sadly I really screwed myself.  I got this salad because it had figs and hey, we're at Girl and the Fig right?

The salad also came with pecans, pancetta, goat cheese, and dressed with a port vinaigrette.  Honestly, it was a good salad but it didn't blow my mind away.  In fact, it was a bit overdressed and I didn't really get a ton of fig in it.  I also ordered a side of fries because I am such a damn sucker for them and they were delicious - it kind of rounded out the unhealthy part of the meal.

The main reason for the less than 4 fork review was the service was crazy slow.  Even though our waiter was a very kind man, it took forever to place our order.  We had eaten an entire plate of heirloom radishes and bread basket before he came back around to take our order.  Also, I had them bring out a dessert for Neera's birthday and we all agreed on the pumpkin pudding cake and it just tasted like plain pumpkin bread - there wasn't anything super special to it.  Maybe we just didn't order the right thing or maybe it was because we were in a slightly hazy state, but I found our meal at El Molino Central the night before to be way more satisfying.  But Girl and the Fig is an institution in Sonoma so I would go back and try it out again.  Total bill:  $255 for 5 people with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

24 Hours in San Francisco Visited 11/1/2017 3.5 - 4 Forks

Tartine Bakery and Cafe  600 Guerrero St., San Francisco, CA 94110                                     3.5 Forks

Ah, yes.  Tartine  - the famed SF bakery.  Yet somehow every time I come to SF it manages to escape me.  But this time I was staying with my friend Louise and it was about a 25 min walk from her place and with the time difference I was easily able to get there by 8:30am before the masses came in.  I had heard about this place as having the best bread and baked goods in the city, so I was super excited to check it out.  In my head, I had this vision of a cute trendy cafe where it was bright and airy and I could sit outside with my croissant and coffee. 

It turned out to be kind of the opposite and decor-wise not really what I thought.  I was kind of a bleh facade (I actually walked right past it the first time) and bleh inside.  It was much more basic than I thought and kind of cramped seating.  But that's ok.  There was a very short line when I got there and was a bit caught off guard on what I should get.  I still had a very New York state of mind and was looking for bagels.  I quickly pivoted and got an almond croissant and a quiche of the day.  I hindsight, I wish I got the morning bun (pictured) or the bread pudding but it was also only 8:30am, so both of them seemed kind of aggressive but lesson learned for next time. 

I got a seat in the middle of the cafe and started with the almond croissant.  It was super flakey and the almond paste inside was sweet and lovely.  It was indeed a good croissant but I don't know if I would say it's one of the best ones I've had.  It was almost a bit too flakey on the outside for me because when I got up,  I pretty much had an entire batch of croissant flakes sitting in my lap.  The quiche was good but I always forget that I don't like them as much as I think I do.  They're usually too cold and hard crusted for my liking and this one was one different.  I'm glad I got to see what all the fuss was and I believe the other baked goods there are probably better (see my next posting about eating at their restaurant and eating the bread there) but I don't know if I would necessarily go out of my way to come back here the next time I'm in the Bay Area.  Total bill:  $16.34 with tax and tip

Photo Credit: Yelp

Vive La Tarte  1160 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94103                                                         4 Forks

Now this is the California type bakery I was envisioning.  It was this giant, bright loft space with full working open kitchen that you could see into.  It was very industrial chic.  It felt like everyone who was eating there worked at some tech start up or some other too cool for school place.  The menu is kind of like a bakery with a big focus on croissants, desserts and focaccias.   It is a highly Instragram worthy place if you care about that kind of stuff. 

I met up randomly with an old junior school friend who I hadn't seen in over 20 years but it was so nice to catch up!  The only reason I knew about this place was that I walked past it the other day while I was wandering around the city.  If you're looking for other food items, they have a limited menu of very hipster California things like salads and smashed avocado toast.  I honestly can't remember what kind of focacaia I got but I remember enjoying it.  It was a great place to catch up with an old friend as it's super casual but there is room to sit and enjoy a conversation without the pressure of being pushed out of your table.  I got Louise a beautiful mango tarte later that she said was tasty.  I'm giving 4 forks to this place over Tartine for this more beautiful decor and overall more enjoyable experience.   My one gripe, like with any bougie place is that it's more expensive than it really needs to be.  Total bill:  $18.44 with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Tartine Manufactory  95 Alabama St., San Francisco, CA 94110                                                4 Forks

I know, you're probably saying how can I give this place and Vive La Tarte the same rating?  Well, this place could have easily been at least a 4.5 Fork place if it wasn't for a few things that really annoyed the hell out of me.  It's actually lucky that the rating didn't start with a 3....

First, while they are on OpenTable, sometimes you just want need to talk to a host about your reservation.  Since the number in my party kept changing, I wanted to speak to someone who could help me figure out if I needed to draw a line in the sand with my friends about RSVP'ing or if we could be a bit more flexible.  Apparently they have no working phone number as every time I dialed it, it was just go silent.   WTF?  So I resorted to emailing them and they were very nice over email but it would take a day or two for them to respond, which wasn't very effective.  On the OT confirmation they make a big deal about how your entire party must be there before they will seat you.  I made all my friends confirm and swear they would be on time.  But then when my friend May got there first the hostess asked if she wanted to sit at our table while she waited for us.  Huh?  My 3rd beef with them will come later but on to the good stuff about this place. 

Yes, it's by the same people at Tartine Bakery, so I'm completing my full Tartine experience.  Instead of a small bakery, this is a fairly large, open concept restaurant with a line of a California focused dishes.  Of course, we had to get the bread and butter ($5) as their bread is the star of the show. While I know their bread is "special", it was a bit annoying to have to pay $5 for it.  Next we got the beet hummus ($9) and the burrata ($10) to start.   We may have ordered some other appetizers but unfortunately I can't seem to remember if we did.  For entree, I got the chicken ($33) based on the way the waitress described it - I can't remember her exact words but there was something in the way that she talked about it that made it seem super yummy and compelling to order. 

When the bread and butter came out, I knew that this was the bread that I was missing from the morning.  It was warm, soft and deliciously crusty on the outside.  Now I understood the hysteria behind it.  But then the hummus and burrata come out with nothing to dip it in (the burrata was almost more like a ricotta than a solid burrata).  We asked the waitress how were we supposed to eat it with nothing to dip it in and she was like "oh, then maybe you would like to order more bread and also the flatbread?"  Mind you that is an extra $10.  WTF?  Who serves spreads but then doesn't give you a warning that there is nothing to eat it with?  Or it would have been nice if she had told us when we ordered our original bread to save it for the spreads.  Not that any of us minded eating more warm delicious bread but it just seemed like a bit of a scam for them to give you dips/spreads but then expect you to know to order additional bread for it.  The beet hummus tasted just like regular hummus but with a bright red color to it instead.  The burrata was luscious with Meyer lemon and pistachios sprinkled on it.  And of course they were all even tastier on the famous Tartine bread.

As for my entree - it was a pretty damn good half chicken.  It reminded me why a roasted chicken can be such an amazing dish.  It was on the bone, juicy and served with crunchy rice and a green chimichurri type of sauce.  I tried not to eat too much of the skin but it was nice and crispy.  I was super stuffed but happy about this dish.

With all the blunders and kind of a lukewarm waitstaff, I could have easily pushed this down to a 3.5 Fork rating but the bread and chicken were pretty damn good.  Apparently this is more of a brunch/lunch type place but Yelp reviews of it seemed scattered with people also frustrated by the service.  While I've been to SF many times before, each visit re-affirms my overall lukewarm feeling about the city - it's a cool city for sure but it somehow just doesn't quite stand up to NYC.  I guess I'm just an East Coast gal at heart.  Sorry SF friends! :)   Total bill:  $98/pp with tax, tip and lots of wine

Photo Credit:  Yelp