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

Akiko's Restaurant 3/16/2016 5 Forks

Akiko's Restaurant  431 Bush St., San Francisco, CA 94108

Fuck me.  This place is seared in my brain as one of the best sushi experiences I've had in a while.  It might be because I went on a super casual Wednesday for lunch, so it wasn't crowded at all and the weather in SF was absolutely perfect, so I was in an unusually good mood.  I had read about this place based on the review in The Infatuation (they almost never steer me wrong) and it was luckily a 7 min walk from my hotel.  Perfect!  The place is a bit hard to find - it has literally no sign on the outside.  It's right on the corner of Bush Street and this cute alley way that has an Irish pub in it.  I got there right when it opened and got an excellent seat at the sushi bar.  The decor was simple but still upscale with full floor to ceiling windows and the sun shining right through. 

I was a bit nervous at first when I noticed that all the sushi chefs were not Japanese but as soon as they started talking to me about sushi, I knew they were legit.  Soon this guy sits next to me at the bar and he clearly knew the chef and I found out he was a sushi chef at another restaurant and it was just his off day.  He started shooting the shit with the chef here and it was like nothing I had ever heard before.  The intense passion they had for the culture and food was very inspiring and it was literally all they talked about for 1 1/2 hours.  Their knowledge and love for sushi had me very enamored with both of them and made me kind of sad to not have a job that I felt that strongly about (although they both claimed to be making no money).  The chef here told me that making salmon avocado roll is his worst nightmare, so you can imagine the level of food here.  It's all stripped down, basic, authentic sushi.  No California rolls or Philly rolls in sight.  I was dying to get the omakase but I restrained myself.  Instead I got uni sushi to start ($12 for 2 pieces) and the sashimi/tempura lunch ($19).  I saw the uni come out of the box and the chef told me it was Santa Barbara uni - amazing!!  This is the kind of stuff I live for and since it was from right down the coast, it just seemed fresher than ever.   The sashimi/tempura lunch comes with a very small but elegant sashimi starter - basic cuts of yellowtail, salmon, tuna, and white tuna. They were all melt in your mouth high quality fish. Incredible.  

The tempura came out next and it's a VERY large serving of veggies and shrimp.  The tempura batter was a bit on the thick side but nothing too terrible.  While it was a very good and filling tempura meal, I couldn't help but wish that I had stuck to just fish instead.  Everything the chef was making for other people looked mind blowing.  I watched him serve up all sorts of unique types of fish to his friend, using the blow torch and other tools to really do it up.  I ended up striking up a nice conversation with the guy sitting next to me and asked what he liked best (he had about 10 pieces of sushi).  He had said that the monkfish liver was really good and I was a bit skeptical, so the chef kindly gave me a free tasting.  It was creamy and quite smooth - I can absolutely see why they call it froie gras of the sea  - totally spot on description of what it was.  I was torn between getting scallop or sweet shrimp sushi but the chef swayed me on to barracuda.  I couldn't remember if I had it or not before but it was a really lovely smooth mild fish.  It was gorgeous in presentation and I loved that I tried a few different things that I normally wouldn't get.  I could have literally sat there for 3 more hours talking to that guy and trying different types of fish and been happy as a clam. 

By the time I left, I was full and happy.  I don't know if it was the sun or the intense passion that the 2 chefs (ok, it can border on being a bit snobby but I was ok with it) had but it was all around such a joyful meal for me.  My only big regret is not going full on sushi/sashimi and not splurging more (even if it meant paying out of pocket for it).  This will definitely be my go-to sushi place whenever I am in town again.  Trust me, sit at the bar and do the omakase.  Your mouth and soul will thank you for it.  Tip:  Don't mix this up with Akiko Sushi which is around the corner from it.  I don't know what it's like there but definitely make sure to make a reservation at the right place.  Total bill:  $50 with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Hog Island Oyster Co Visited 3/15/2016 4.5 Forks

Hog Island Oyster Co  1 Ferry Bldg, San Francisco, CA 94111

Oh, Hog Island, how I love thee.  I've been here a few times before and I'm not sure why I've never blogged about it before.  While I know the Ferry Building is a bit touristy, it's still very popular with locals and it's still one of my go-to spots when I'm in SF.  It's just such a calming place for me and it's right by the water with gorgeous views of the Bay.  Hog Island might be my 2nd favorite oyster place behind Maison Premiere and it's a very close second.  

I stopped by the restaurant after the conference was over on Tuesday and got there right before the crowds really started to settle in.  I got a nice seat at the bar and was immediately torn about what to order.  I wasn't super hungry even though I could have easily eaten everything on the menu.  Even though I was on a corporate card, I couldn't really bring myself to go too crazy with the ordering.  I settled on 1/2 dozen bar mix of oysters ($20) and the steamers ($15).  I've always preferred West Coast oysters over East Coast oysters and this definitely confirmed my love for them.  I don't remember the exact types but they were all amazing - hearty, briny and delicious.  If they weren't so expensive here, I would have ordered another 2 dozen of them.  I was a bit surprised that they didn't have a Happy Hour special but I guess they get such great business that they don't really need it to bring in a crowd.  If you are in to oysters, definitely get the bar mix so that you can try a little bit of everything.  The steamers were also great - piled high with Manila clams, corona beans, fennel sausage, and leeks in a buttery white wine broth.   I was pleased with the amount of food in it given that I had opted not to get it with pasta.  The broth was such buttery goodness that I was sopping it all up with the crusty delicious bread that I was trying to stay away from but couldn't (it comes from next door - Acme Bread). 

Overall, this is the kind of place that has a spot place in my heart because it's super casual but serves amazingly fresh seafood at a price that isn't too hard to swallow.  Everyone there was super friendly and tourist place, be damned, it's totally worth it no matter if you are a local or a visitor.  Total bill:  $45 with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

Sushiritto Visited 3/15/2016 3 Forks

Sushiritto  388 Market St., Ste 107, San Francisco, CA 94111

I stumbled upon Sushiritto totally by accident.  I was walking around downtown SF on my way to another poke stand when I noticed a long line of people on Market Street.  Now I am a total sucker for long lines and peered around the line to see what everyone was waiting for and the sign said Sushiritto.  I had vague recollections of reading about this place and I thought to myself "Why Not?" - I'm only in SF for a limited amount of time and I had already had delicious poke the day before at Bowl'd Acai, so why not try something unexpected.  I had gathered from the name of the place that it was a sushi + burrito.  Honestly, it did sound kind of gross but a long line 10 people deep couldn't be wrong right? 

The menu is actually mostly cooked fish burritos with the exception of the Satori and the Geisha's Kiss.  All the other burritos had either cooked fish, tempura or some other kind of warm food in it, so it's actually not all a combination of sushi and burrito. I had wanted to try the Santori because it was yellowtail focused but by the time I got up to the counter around 12:30, they were already sold out of it!  Bummer.  So I opted for the Geisha's Kiss which was made with raw tuna, tamago (Japanese omelette), piquillo peppers, lotus chips, cucumber, lettuce, ginger guac, yuzu tobkiko and sesame white soya all wrapped in rice and seaweed.  

At first glance, I was relieved that it wasn't full of rice.  I was afraid that it would be super rice heavy with not much else.  But I was bummed that it wasn't also big on the tuna but instead full of the other ingredients.  It was definitely not as weird of a dish as it sounded - in fact, it tasted exactly like what you would think - a giant tuna hand roll.  The seaweed needed a bit of re-enforcement since as soon as I took a bite of it, it completely fell apart in my hands.  I will say that it was a pretty filling meal and was probably not all that terrible for you since it was light on the white rice.  It was definitely a fun SF novelty (although I heard there is a place in NYC that has it now too) which I'm glad to cross off my list but I'm not sure if it's something I really need to do again.  Total bill:  $15 with tax and drink 

Bowl'd Acai Visited 3/14/2016 4.5 Forks

Bowl'd Acai  14 Mint Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94103

Oh my, this is the kind of stuff I LOVE about California.  It's so freaking hippie dippie but so awesome at the same time.  I totally stumbled upon this place by accident.  I was having breakfast at one of my other favorite places in SF, Blue Bottle, when I saw this acai food truck pull up into Mint Plaza.  I've had acai a few times in Brazil and while I didn't love it, I am still fascinated by it's super food status.  I quickly googled this truck and discovered that they also have a poke bowl option too! Perfect.  I made a beeline for this place during lunch time and was pleasantly happy to see that there were only a few people in line.  

The acai bowls all sounded great and looked delicious but I was here for one thing and one thing only, poke.  They only have 1 poke option which is brown rice with fresh cubes of tuna (marinated in what tasted like a soy/sesame oil/ginger mixture), macadamia nuts, scallions and black sesame.  You can also add hot sauce to it - I got it medium which was the right amount of heat for me.  The guy who ran the truck was super friendly and nice and he reminded me why CA can be so great sometimes.  He was just really happy and positive to all the customers who came to the truck.  I didn't wait too long for my food and when I got it, it was a beautiful sight - lots of fresh fish piled high on a bed of brown rice.  It just reeks of healthiness and it was delicious to boot.  It's such a simple and easy dish and a great nutritious lunch time option.  I was super tempted to come back the next day and get an acai bowl for breakfast but there were so many other places to try in SF that I didn't come back but I would most definitely come back here in a heart beat and if they ever need a NYC extension, I'm totally here to help!  My only complaint about it was that there isn't a whole lot of seating in the plaza and the outdoor seating that did have tables were for customers of those cafes and restaurants, so if you wan to sit, they have a few chairs but you might be better off taking it to go and sitting somewhere else. Total bill:  $15 with tax and tip

Dojima Ann Visited 3/13/2016 3 Forks

Dojima Ann  219 O'Farrell St., San Francisco, CA 94102

I was staying downtown in the Union Square area which was great because the area is full of Japanese restaurants (unsurprising given that it's SF).  I was exhausted from the day and ducked into this place not too far from my hotel. This seemed like it would be a good place judging from the crowdedness and homey feel to it.  It had a similar waiting model to Ramen Parlor where you put your name on a list by the door and wait to get seated.  Luckily, since I was only 1, so I got seated right away.  I sat at the very small sushi "bar" - it was really just a ledge that had 3 small stools and it didn't face a sushi bar but the bustling kitchen instead.  The menu is HUGE and had a bunch of Japanese comfort food like donburi, udon, soba, bento boxes, and of course sushi - they also had a lot of specials written on the walls as well.  I wasn't starving so I wanted to get some sashimi and ended up getting the sashimi platter, which came with soup and salad. 

The miso soup came with fried bit of tofu instead of the usual silken kind.  While I know that almost all miso soup from a restaurant is usually made from a powder or mix - this kind of too real for me because it just looked too packaged.  The salad was your standard salad except it wasn't a carrot ginger dressing but some other kind of vinaigrette which was totally fine.  Then I waited for my sashimi...it was a bit weird to be sitting at a sushi bar and not see the fish they use for the sushi. The sashimi came out and it was quite a large portion.  Similar to Yama in NYC, the cuts of fish were enormous - multi-bite pieces.  They were definitely not your delicate fine cuts that you see in more traditional places or even like at Yuba.  The salmon, tuna and yellowtail were all fine but my true test if the fish is really spot on is when I eat the mackerel or octopus.  Unfortunately, neither of these cuts of fish were very good here - it's kind of what makes people not want to eat raw fish.  The mackerel pieces were also huge and super super fishy tasting.  It didn't taste like I was eating something that was made with care or high quality.  I ate 1 piece and couldn't eat the 2nd one.  Same with the octopus.  I've had good octopus before and I could just tell from looking at it that it would be super chewy and not pleasant on the tongue.  Again, I ate the 1st one but not the 2nd piece.

The guy next to me got a donburi dish that looked pretty good - so maybe this is the kind of place where you should stick to the non-sushi (or at least non-sashimi) stuff?  The cuts of "normal" fish were totally edible and fine, if not, just cut too large.  This place is totally passable if you are tired and in a pinch but I will review another sushi place not too far from it that was fucking out of this world in term of quality, presentation, authenticity and well, price too.  Total bill:  $30/pp with tax, tip and hot tea

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Farmer Brown Visited 3/13/2016 3.5 Forks

Farmer Brown  25 Mason St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Ahhh, San Francisco.  I have such a love/hate relationship with this city.  It's a great city with the views of the water and a great food scene but slowly the city has become a total cliche right out of the show Silicon Valley.  Literally the city is full of socially awkward, hoodie/back pack wearing engineers who only want to start about the start-up or app they are working on.  It's a bit overwhelming.  But there are still pockets of hippie bohemians still flocking around the city.  The hippie Southern rockers all seemed to be hanging out at Farmer Brown - a soul food place in the middle of the Tenderloin area, which is quite unique as SF is generally filled with either Mexican or Japanese food.  

Louise had gotten us a reservation for 1:30 for brunch which sounded great.  The place was packed when we got there.  While they have a full brunch menu, the star of the show is their Southern-Soul food packed buffet ($25.95).  It's got fried chicken, waffles, biscuit, gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon, grits, catfish, cajun potatoes, succotash veggies, brownies, banana bread, fruit salad and house salad. But when we sat down the waiter told us that they would stop filling the buffet at 2pm, which was 15 mins from when we sat down.  WTF?! Who stops brunch smack in the middle of the afternoon - especially on a lazy Sunday?  So we rushed over to the buffet to pile on everything that we could on our plate.  They still had a little bit of everything but you could tell that it was definitely down to it's last bits.  We were also disappointed that they were out of the biscuits and gravy - how can you have soul food with no biscuits and gravy?!  Luckily, the waiter was nice enough to sneak into the kitchen and get us a few extra.  The food was all pretty filling and I was a big fan of the cornmeal catfish - it was flakey and not too heavy on the cornmeal.  The fried chicken was nice and crispy although I would have liked to have gotten a few thigh or drumsticks, as by the time we got there, all they had left were the wings which was a bit thin on meat.  

Our friend May got there 45 mins late, so we asked to move to a larger table but it took forever for the waitstaff to figure out what to do with us and when they did find us a table it was smack in front of the live band that was there.  Maybe I am just an old lady and despite the guys being kind of cute, I was so not in the mood to have an electric guitar blaring in my right ear during brunch.  We quickly packed up our things and asked for the check but apparently that was a pain for them and that took forever too.  While I like the idea of live music, it just wasn't what I was in the mood for.  If you do want to come here for the buffet, definitely come here early so that you aren't eating the dregs of the pan and/or forced to sit next to the band.  Total bill:  $30/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Ramen Parlor Visited 3/12/2016 3.5 Forks

Ramen Parlor  901 S B St., San Mateo, CA 94401

When I had to go to SF for a work conference, I jumped at the chance to go early and visit several of my good friends.  First stop, San Mateo to visit Neera and Levi and their adorable daughters.  San Mateo is about 15 minutes from the airport, so it's a convenient first stop before heading into the city. It's a cute town with its own downtown area but it's definitely doesn't have the same vibe as being in the city. 

 I've stayed with Neera and Levi before and have always found good eating options there.  I mean, this is California after all.  Unfortunately it was pouring rain on Saturday night and we were going to try for Ramen Dojo, which is apparently the best ramen in town, but even with all the rain, people were still standing in line outside.  No thank you.  So we went to Ramen Parlor right across the street where at least they have an awning you can stand underneath.  I like the system here (and in many parts of SF) of putting your name on a list on the door, so that you can see exactly where you stand and how many people are in front of you.  But the system is a bit weird here where they will call your name first to say that you're table is coming up and they will hand you a menu.  You then have to quickly make a decision on what you want to eat and place your order while you're still waiting in line.  So by the time you sit down, your food arrives within minutes.  I can't decide if that's genius or really stress inducing.  But in any case, I got a basic miso ramen with nappa cabbage, Neera got a spicy pork ramen with corn and we split the fried oysters to start.  

It is kind of nice to not have to wait for your food and I guess in a place like there where there aren't that many options to choose from, it's not so bad.  The fried oysters were nice and plump but steaming hot inside.  Be careful!  My ramen was your standard ramen with pork, seaweed and an egg.  The egg was done well, the noodles chewy but good, however the broth was a tad bit on the mild side.  I wish it had a bit more heat or kick to it (or maybe MSG?).  It was definitely good and I inhaled the whole thing but it didn't draw me in like the ramen at Ippudo does.  They did have a special lobster oil broth that is apparently their signature dish, so maybe I should have gotten that but for me, I like to keep my ramen more traditional and stick with a pork based broth.  Overall, it's a nice casual place that hit the spot on a cold rainy night although if I had to wait in line and order while standing every time I came here, I might be a bit annoyed.  Total bill for 2 people with tax and tip:  $61

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

Mission Rock Resort Visited 5/31/2015 3 Forks

Mission Rock Resort 817 Terry Francois Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94158

When we first pulled up to Mission Rock, I was like where the hell are we?  It's located in a rather isolated part of SF but once you walk in and go upstairs, you get some killer views and you come to appreciate it's slightly remote location.  Jenn, April, Krush and I got there on the early side, just in time for happy hour.  We sat outside on the upper deck and even though it was a bit chilly, it was still just really nice to sit outside by the water and enjoy the views. 

Happy hour (3-7pm) consisted of $1 oysters and drink specials.  But the rest of the menu sounded great as well - it was all seafood, which is obviously my favorite.  Unfortunately, I was still pretty full from gorging on breakfast at The Pork Store, so I wasn't all that hungry.  We started with a dozen oysters ($12) and the mussels and fries ($17).  Unlike my all time favorite oyster place, Maison Premiere, this place doesn't have a selection of oysters to choose from for happy hour - there was just 1 kind and unfortunately I didn't catch what kind they were.  I usually prefer West Coast oysters since they are more plumb and meaty but sadly these were the opposite - smaller and very thin.  They also didn't do a fab job of shucking them as I found a bunch of shell bits in a few of my oysters.  They weren't the worst  oysters I've had before but given how spoiled and slightly snobby I've become, I didn't feel compelled to order more of them even though they were only $1.  Moving on to the mussels, they also seemed a bit thin and skinny as well which was disappointing.  But the great thing about this dish was that it was cooked in a very buttery bacon, onion, Dijon cream sauce.  It was delicious with the fries.  After a few more rounds of drinks, we started to get a bit hungrier, so we ordered the Ahi Tuna Tartare ($18).  It was served with avocado, soy sauce, scallions, sriracha and wonton chips.  This dish redeemed this place a bit as it was a really solid fresh tuna dish.  This was a dish that I would have ordered more of. 

Overall, the Mission Rock was a really great place to relax, have a few happy hour drinks and some snacks.  While the food wasn't the best I've had in terms of either in SF or in the seafood realm, the general atmosphere and vibe was lovely and worth the trip, which is rather high praise for a 3 fork place.  Total bill:  $40/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Pork Store Cafe Visited 5/31/2015 4.5 Forks

Pork Store Cafe 1451 Haight St., San Francisco, CA 94117

With a name like the Pork Store Cafe, how could this place not be the bomb?!  It's your classic greasy spoon diner with every imaginable kind of breakfast egg dish you can think of.  Jenn, April and I went on our last day in SF and for a random Monday morning, it was surprisingly crowded.  It's in the Haight Ashbury area so the crowd was a bit on the hippie dippie side.  

As you can imagine, the menu was super overwhelming.  So many choices between benedicts, omelets, pancakes, burgers, sandwiches, scrambles - the possibilities are endless if you are a breakfast fan.  And this being California, I loved that many options had avocado in it.  After much hemming and hawing I opted for Soutwest scramble with avocado and biscuits ($9.50).  The dish is a beast and when it came out, I said that there was no way I could finish it - famous last words although I restrain myself and didn't finish everything.  I'm going to be honest and say that I can't really remember everything that was in my eggs except that it was super delicious, perfectly scrambled eggs and they put practically an entire avocado on top of it.  Oh and there was a side of sour cream somewhere on the plate, so how could it have not been amazing?  The hash browns were also salty, fatty, crispy goodness.  I couldn't help but want to combine the hash, eggs and avocado all into one bite all the time.   Sadly, I had to draw the fat line somewhere and didn't get to try the biscuit although I'm sure that it was also delicious.  

Luckily for us, we ended up walking almost 3 miles that afternoon because otherwise, I probably would have had a coronary on the spot.  This food is most definitely not your health conscious California food.  It's also not anything fancy - just your good old greasy diner breakfast food, but sometimes that's really all you need to make you happy in life.  Plus the prices were very affordable here, but it should be given the type of food it is.  Total bill:  $37 for 3 people with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

The Front Porch Visited 5/30/2015 3.5 Forks

The Front Porch  65 29th St., San Francisco, CA 94110

When you think of San Francisco, one usually thinks of organic salads and other healthy foods.  But alas, places like The Front Porch also exist too.  It's a funky Southern divey restaurant in Bernal Heights with a menu you'd more likely find in New Orleans or somewhere less health conscious.  I met a bunch of my old high school and one college friend there while I was passing by SF.  

The menu has bunch of yummy sounding starters like deviled eggs with bacon bourbon jam, chicken gumbo,  crawfish hush puppies and frito pie.  We split an order of the mac and cheese ($7.50) for the table.  I had just come back from a gluttonous weekend of excessive eating and drinking so I didn't feel like I could dive into the bucket of fried chicken (no matter how much I wanted to).  So I opted for the shrimp and grits ($24) instead - even though grits aren't really super healthy, I figured it was better than eating fried food.  The mac and cheese came out first and it was a bit small (I guess it was a side order and not an entree) but it was gooey and cheesey like a mac and cheese should be.  It had a hint of jalapeño and heat to it as well.  As for our entrees, the shrimp and grits was served with andouille sausage and gravy.  There were several pieces of medium sized wild Louisiana gulf shrimp and they were cooked just right.  As for the grits, they were super buttery and garlic-y.  I think there may have used 50 cloves of garlic in it.  But it was creamy and paired really well with the shrimp and sausage.  I definitely enjoyed it and kind of wish there was more of it because I finished it quickly and still felt a bit hungry afterwards.  Jill did end up getting the fried chicken and it looked delicious and I would totally be game for it if I ever end up back here.   

For dessert, we all hovered around May's order of the beignets and I must say they were quite good. Warm, soft and sprinkled with lots of powdered sugar.  I'm glad someone had the common sense to order it.  

Overall, this place was a nice and pleasant and not what I expected from California.  It's kind of nice to know that you can still get a heart stopping Southern meal in a hippie town like SF if you want it. Total bill:  $54/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

El Dorado Kitchen Visited 5/24/2015 3.5 Forks

El Dorado Kitchen 405 1st St W, Sonoma, CA 95476

Sonoma and Napa are known for lots of great restaurants all over the region and many people come to Sonoma Square to get their eats on.  It's convenient and has a bunch of great options in 1 block. Luckily our house was only 5 minutes away from the square and we were able to get a dinner reservation for 9 people at 7:30 on a Friday night.  That would never happen in NYC!  El Dorado is the epitome of California dining.  It's bright, sunny, and has a great outdoor space.  We even got our own cabana outside which was so nice.  As you can imagine the clientele in Sonoma overall is a bit high brow and older and it was no different here.  It was a very refined yet relaxed atmosphere.

The menu has a variety of classic American dishes - some salads, pastas and steaks.  Since our table was so big, we kind of split the table up into 2 sections.  I was sitting with Jen, Jenn and Krush and we opted to start with the beet salad ($13) and tuna tartare ($15) and then we all had a massive carb craving so we created our own pasta tasting menu - seafood paella ($32), spring vegetable risotto ($24), fettuccine ($22), and ravioli ($22).   The beet salad was fantastic and fresh and served with horseradish puree, grapefruit, fennel, arugula, orange, yogurt and pistachios.  There were a ton of beets in there and could have almost been a meal in itself.  The tuna was also very fresh and delicious, it was served with avocado mousse, super intense wasabi salmon roe, and wonton chips.

Next came the line up of pasta.  I started with the spring vegetable risotto which had peas, asparagus, king mushrooms, lemon, spinach pesto, parmesan and a touch of truffle oil.  Sounds great, right? It could have been a really fabulous dish but it was incredibly salty.  I was sad that the salt was so overpowering because I couldn't really taste all the delicious sounding vegetables in there.  The texture of the risotto was pretty good - not too watery and not too undercooked.  Meanwhile, the fettuccine didn't have enough salt in it.  It was served with a lamb bolognese, mushrooms, peas, parmesan and breadcrumbs.  This also had a lot of potential except I could have used more seasoning on it.  Perhaps I should have just mixed the two dishes together? Next I tried the ravioli which was filled with lemon and ricotta and served with marinara sauce.  I'll be honest and say that while I love lemon, I don't love it in my pasta.  I just prefer a more hearty/meatier flavor with my pasta.  But given that, it was a nice homemade pasta and unlike many places where if you order ravioli they only give you like 3 pieces, this was a very large and filling dish.  Lastly I tried the paella which had shrimp, mussels, clams, scallop, fish, chicken, chorizo, and crispy saffron rice.  It's basically everything I love to eat in 1 sizzling plate.  While some people like their paella rice super crunchy, I don't, I like it a bit softer and it was a bit too hard for me here.  But I did love all the seafood and meat flavor together in this dish and it was also an enormous portion, enough for 2 people.

Of course we had to end the night with lots of dessert, especially since it was a belated birthday for our friend Amy.  We got the drunken sundae ($10), upside down banana cake ($10) and the chocolate caramel tart ($10).  Of the 3, the upside down banana cake was my favorite - it was a moist cake/bread like dessert covered with salted caramel and lemon ice cream.  It was rich from the cake but refreshing from the ice cream.  I then ended the night with a mind blowing scotch trio of Glenfiddich, Oban and Lagavulin ($30) - I might have died a bit because they were all really great high quality scotches, 2 of which I had never had before but had always wanted to try. At $30, this is actually an incredible deal to try all three of them.

Overall, it was a nice dinner with fabulous friends.  I was kind of expecting a bit more with the food and thought each of the pastas had definite room for improvement, but if you put the wine, scotches, decor and service together with the food, you have a pretty solid outing.  Considering all the food and drink we had, the price of the experience was well worth it.  Total bill:  $84/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Park 121 Visited 5/29/2015 4.5 Forks

Park 121 23584 Arnold Dr., Sonoma, CA 95476

Ahh, California.   How can you not love it?  It's sunny, everyone is nice and the food is amazing.  I was on a girl's trip to Sonoma with some good friends and after a lovely hike in Marin Headleads, we stopped for lunch at the first place we saw in Sonoma which happened to be Park 121.  This place was perfect because it was casual, had outdoor seating and most importantly had lots of wine. 

True to any place in Sonoma, they had a great wine menu but they also had very lunch friendly food options like fresh sounding salads, sandwiches, cheese plates and pastas.  We were all starving so we started with a meat and cheese plate ($16) and I got the grilled chicken croissant sandwich ($12) and of course, we ordered a chilled bottle of pinot noir rose to kick everything off.  What I love about food in California is how fresh and simple everything is not to mention that they put avocado on everything! Heaven.  The meat and cheese plate was simple but delicious.  We got manchego, camembert, and prosciutto and it came with a bunch of warm bread, breadsticks and a yummy quince paste and spiced almonds.  It was a wonderful start to our meal.   On to my sandwich - I'm trying not to eat so many carbs these days but there's something about a warm buttery croissant that gets me every time.  Not to mention this one had super juicy sliced chicken breast, melted pepper jack cheese, avocado, fresh ripe tomato, daikon sprouts, and an outrageously addictive chipotle aioli.  Everything about this sandwich screamed California as its best.  I inhaled the entire thing in a matter of minutes. The chicken was incredibly moist that I felt like I was eating chicken that just came out of a rotisserie.  I also have to give a shout out to the salad too.  The dressing was out of this world good - it was great tangy citrus vinaigrette.  Everyone at the table commented how delicious it was and the couple at the table next to us asked if they bottle it because they wanted to take it home.  

The rose was also great and the service was friendly.  My review might be a bit gushing and overboard but it was such an idyllic way to kick off a wonderful weekend in Wine Country.  It's hard to compete because there are so many fabulous places to eat in Sonoma but if you are looking for a very casual and relaxing start to your trip, I definitely recommend making a pit stop at Park 121.  Total bill: $27/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp  

Himawari Visited 7/26/2013 3.5 Forks

Himawari 202 2nd Ave., San Mateo, CA 94401

So this review is super delayed because I wasn't sure if I should review it since I had it as take-out and not in the restaurant, but I figured it's worth mentioning anyways.  I got in late to San Mateo on Friday night and since Levi and Neera are new parents, take-out seemed to be the best option for dinner.  Apparently the neighborhood that they live in is full of ramen places which I thought was interesting.  I know that there are tons of Asians in the San Fran area but I was still surprised at how many ramen places there were in such a small block radius.  We opted for Himawari mostly because they were one of the few ramen places that offered take-out.  I actually was surprised that any ramen place did take out given the soupy broth base and difficulty in transporting all the ingredients but I was open to trying it out.  I opted for the deluxe ramen ($10.50) and both Neera and Levi got the tan tan ramen ($8) and we also split an order of the fresh spring rolls ($4.50).  The rest of the menu looked great but it seemed a bit excessive to order 2 entrees for dinner but there were other things on the menu that I would definitely check out at another time. 

When we went to go pick up the order, the place was teeming with lots of Asian locals, which is always a great sign.  I was curious as to how they would do take out ramen and they did exactly what I thought they were going to do which was to put the broth in one container and then the noodles and toppings in another container so that it doesn't get soggy.  The deluxe miso came with steamed pork, egg, sliced pork, bamboo stems and green onions (I also ordered a side topping of bean sprouts for $1 extra) while the tan tan version came with spicy chili with ground pork.  Even though it made sense to give us all the ingredients separately, it was challenging to put it all together in a bowl one has at home. Ramen bowls in restaurants are generally very large and deep to accommodate the all the ingredients, but rarely do most people have ramen style bowls at home.  We had to kind of eat our meal piece meal by pouring half of the broth and noodles into the bowl at a time.  I really enjoyed the broth of my deluxe ramen as it was nice and salty as a ramen should be but not to the point where I thought I was sucking on a salt lick.  The egg was actually a bit undercooked, so it had almost a poached like texture which was fine with me because it gave the broth a bit of that yolky feel to it.  The sliced pork was nice and tasty but I really liked the steamed pork better.  The steamed pork was really just large hunks of pork belly and they were pretty heavy on the fat.  Of course that's not for everyone, but I totally love to eat that stuff up.  The noodles were slightly al dente but it didn't quite have the same fresh, right out of the boiling pot taste that you would get if you were eating at the restaurant.  I didn't try the tan tan noodle but it definitely looked spicy as the broth was bright red.  The spring rolls were your typical Vietnamese like spring rolls although it was a bit heavy on the veggies and not enough pork - but hey I got enough pork from my ramen.

All in all, for a soup based take out meal, it was a tasty experience.  But the challenges of transporting the soup and the slightly out too long noodles still doesn't make take out ramen ideal.  It's still much better to eat it fresh and pipping hot in the restaurant and if you live in the area, definitely give Himawari a shot.  Total bill:  $47 

Photo Credit:  Yelp