A Haiku:
Pizza is decent
Upgrade to awesome after
Full day of drinking
or
Thank you, Hawaiian
For saving my life with your
Pineapple goodness
Monday, May 18, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Sunflower Vietnamese
Went with the family for Mother's Day Part 2 on Monday night. Nothing particularly special, but an all around solid Vietnamese restaurant with super friendly service and fairly cheap prices. We ordered Vietnamese Pot Stickers, Garlic Noodles (really tasty- meant to order with vegetables but forgot), Curry Chicken, Spicy Green Beans, Shaken Beef.
Everything was good- I'd order it all again. The spicy green beans could have been spicier, they were the least interesting thing we had. We ordered the Vietnamese Post Stickers as an experiment because they sounded weird. Essentially, sticky rice surrounding a meatball like filling (like regular potsticker filling) and fried. Little fried rice balls with meat inside. Different, interesting, and yummy. I'd like to go back and try the Pho sometime.
Sunflower probably ranks as my favorite Vietnamese spot in the greater Castro/Mission area, and a solid option in the restaurant crammed 16th and Valencia region.
Everything was good- I'd order it all again. The spicy green beans could have been spicier, they were the least interesting thing we had. We ordered the Vietnamese Post Stickers as an experiment because they sounded weird. Essentially, sticky rice surrounding a meatball like filling (like regular potsticker filling) and fried. Little fried rice balls with meat inside. Different, interesting, and yummy. I'd like to go back and try the Pho sometime.
Sunflower probably ranks as my favorite Vietnamese spot in the greater Castro/Mission area, and a solid option in the restaurant crammed 16th and Valencia region.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Chez Panisse
I had lived in the bay area for around 20 years and, until Wednesday, had yet to dine at one of the most iconic restaurants of the region. Chez Panisse, a Berkeley institution, is widely regarded as the birthplace of California Cuisine. Chef Alice Waters stresses the use of local, fresh, organically grown ingredients.
The one-option prix-fixe menu changes daily (and is updated weekly). The last time we tried to go (for Julia's Birthday) we joked about how the worst that could happen would be an all seafood dinner (as I haven't traditionally been a seafood fan). Of course, when they posted the menu for the night we had a reservation, it said in all caps (no joke) TUESDAY: ALL SEAFOOD MENU. Seriously? We decided not to go.
This time around we were more fortunate with the menu:
Wednesday, May 6
Asparagus vinaigrette with farm egg, golden beets, and pancetta
-Um, yum. This might have been the best dish of the meal. The asparagus was tender with a delicately balanced vinaigrette with great citrus, mustard, and garlic flavors. The crumbled pancetta added nice texture and a bit of salt. Perfect.
Local petrale sole belle meunière
-We didn't (and still don't) know what "belle meuniere" means. Sole is a sweet(ish), local fish. This was served in a buttery sauce. There were a few kumkwat pieces on top. I wish there were more, because the bites with the Kumkwat were drastically more flavorful and interesting than the bites without. In general, the dish was decent, but nothing particularly special. My least favorite dish of the night. We had this dish paired with a Vouvray Chenin Blanc. Nice wine, touch of citrus, played well with the fish.
Braised and grilled Laughing Stock pork with morel mushrooms, green garlic purée,
peas, and fava beans
Reminded me of my brother who, as a 12 year old, had a one day internship in the kitchen at Chez Panisse for a school project. He spent most of the day shelling fava beans, so I couldn't help but laugh. The pork was actually served in thin slices, which was a bit of a surprise, but not an unpleasant one. Pork was served au jus with morel mushrooms on top, the entire plate was sprinkled with bright green peas and fava beans. Even though I'm not a huge mushroom fan, the flavor of the morels blended nicely with the pork. Green garlic puree was delicious. I think it was mixed with potatoes. This course was paired with a Gamay Noir from Brickhouse Vineyards in Oregon. It was smokey, and subtle. Nice.
Cannard Farm rhubarb and strawberry tartlet with crème légère
This dish was also in the running for best of the night. Sort of like a fancified strawberry shortcake. Super flaky pastry, topped with a layer of creme legere (whatever it is, its delicious), rhubarb, and super fresh awesome strawberries. Plate was decorated with a rhubarb gastrique. Oh my. Happiness.
On top of the food, it was a very pleasant dining experience. The waiter was friendly and helpful, and the kitchen was open for diners to look at. Now if only it weren't so expensive/difficult to eat locally and organically in my daily life...
The one-option prix-fixe menu changes daily (and is updated weekly). The last time we tried to go (for Julia's Birthday) we joked about how the worst that could happen would be an all seafood dinner (as I haven't traditionally been a seafood fan). Of course, when they posted the menu for the night we had a reservation, it said in all caps (no joke) TUESDAY: ALL SEAFOOD MENU. Seriously? We decided not to go.
This time around we were more fortunate with the menu:
Wednesday, May 6
Asparagus vinaigrette with farm egg, golden beets, and pancetta
-Um, yum. This might have been the best dish of the meal. The asparagus was tender with a delicately balanced vinaigrette with great citrus, mustard, and garlic flavors. The crumbled pancetta added nice texture and a bit of salt. Perfect.
Local petrale sole belle meunière
-We didn't (and still don't) know what "belle meuniere" means. Sole is a sweet(ish), local fish. This was served in a buttery sauce. There were a few kumkwat pieces on top. I wish there were more, because the bites with the Kumkwat were drastically more flavorful and interesting than the bites without. In general, the dish was decent, but nothing particularly special. My least favorite dish of the night. We had this dish paired with a Vouvray Chenin Blanc. Nice wine, touch of citrus, played well with the fish.
Braised and grilled Laughing Stock pork with morel mushrooms, green garlic purée,
peas, and fava beans
Reminded me of my brother who, as a 12 year old, had a one day internship in the kitchen at Chez Panisse for a school project. He spent most of the day shelling fava beans, so I couldn't help but laugh. The pork was actually served in thin slices, which was a bit of a surprise, but not an unpleasant one. Pork was served au jus with morel mushrooms on top, the entire plate was sprinkled with bright green peas and fava beans. Even though I'm not a huge mushroom fan, the flavor of the morels blended nicely with the pork. Green garlic puree was delicious. I think it was mixed with potatoes. This course was paired with a Gamay Noir from Brickhouse Vineyards in Oregon. It was smokey, and subtle. Nice.
Cannard Farm rhubarb and strawberry tartlet with crème légère
This dish was also in the running for best of the night. Sort of like a fancified strawberry shortcake. Super flaky pastry, topped with a layer of creme legere (whatever it is, its delicious), rhubarb, and super fresh awesome strawberries. Plate was decorated with a rhubarb gastrique. Oh my. Happiness.
On top of the food, it was a very pleasant dining experience. The waiter was friendly and helpful, and the kitchen was open for diners to look at. Now if only it weren't so expensive/difficult to eat locally and organically in my daily life...
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Humphry Slocombe
Ladies and gentlemen, there's a new ice cream kid on the block. My brother started working at Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream a couple weeks ago which is very fortunate, because otherwise, I might never have stumbled across it. I went in for the first time a week ago, right before closing, and was able to have a little taste of all of their offereings. Their flavors are unique, varied, and interesting. Even better, they rotate flavors almost daily. So every time you go there's something new and crazy to try.
If I can remember, I tried:
Secret Breakfast (AKA Bourbon and Cornflakes)
Balsamic Caramel
Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee
McEvoy Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Strawberry Candied Jalapeno
Thai Chili Lime (sorbet)
There might have been more. It was ice cream overload. As you can see from some of the flavors I listed, they're not afraid of creating crazy flavors. My favorite (the one I eventually ordered) was the Secret Breakfast. Delicious. Yes, I'm an alcoholic. But everything's good, and everything tastes like it says it will. Kinda like those Harry Potter Jelly Beans, but delicious.
So go check it out. And get out out of your strawberry, chocolate, vanilla box.
If I can remember, I tried:
Secret Breakfast (AKA Bourbon and Cornflakes)
Balsamic Caramel
Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee
McEvoy Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Strawberry Candied Jalapeno
Thai Chili Lime (sorbet)
There might have been more. It was ice cream overload. As you can see from some of the flavors I listed, they're not afraid of creating crazy flavors. My favorite (the one I eventually ordered) was the Secret Breakfast. Delicious. Yes, I'm an alcoholic. But everything's good, and everything tastes like it says it will. Kinda like those Harry Potter Jelly Beans, but delicious.
So go check it out. And get out out of your strawberry, chocolate, vanilla box.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Mandalay
Who knew that a mere two blocks from the perennially overcrowded there is ANOTHER Burmese restaurant? For that matter, who knew there was another Burmese restaurant in San Francisco? Turns out a bunch of people knew both of these things. We headed over to Mandalay (found on Yelp) when the wait at Burma Superstar was almost 2hrs (and yes, we did call ahead to put our name on the list anyway). Mandalay was pretty crowded itself- there was about a 20 minute wait when we got there at 8:30 on a Saturday night- but it's in a bigger space than Superstar so turnover was a little faster.
Menu is comparable to Burma Superstar. We tried to stick to Burmese specialties since we were with out of town guests and how often do you get Burmese food anyway. We started with the Tea Leaf Salad, a favorite of ours from Superstar. It was yummy, with a great combination of flavors and textures. On the menu, the ingredients include "grounded shrimps," which made us wonder what shrimps with their heads in the clouds taste like.
We also shared Burmese Hot and Sour Soup, which was sort of blah- not enough spice for any of our tastes.
For entrees, we shared:
Chin Mong Jaw
Burmese style sour vegetables, sauteed with green chili, prawns, and bamboo shoots. Can be prepared with tofu.
Nan Gyi Dok (Available with Tofu)
Burmese rice noodle with spiced coconut tofu, split yellow pea, powder, and fried onion
Mango Chicken
Pan fry chicken sauteed with fresh mango, onions, and green chili
Burmese Style Curry Chicken
Burmese style yellow curry chicken with potatoes
The burmese style vegetables were really strange. Lots of pickled vegetables combined to make a strange flavor with a pretty bad (IMHO) smell. Yuck.
The chicken dishes were both pretty good, but again both were lacking in heat (spicy heat, not temperature heat). Especially the mango chicken which had a great opportunity to play a little spice of the sweetness of the mango.
The noodles were probably the best dish of the evening. Nice coconut flavor that didn't overpower the dish.
Speaking of coconuts, we got into a discussion about what coconuts look like. At Mandalay, they serve coconut juice from a fresh coconut, which prompted a conversation about whether coconuts have a green skin or a brown, hairy skin. After some extensive internet research (ie I looked at wikipedia), it looks like both are true. The YOUNG coconut, while growing on the tree, is green on the outside. At this immature stage, coconuts contain a liquid called "coconut water" which is often drunk fresh. That's what they serve at Mandalay. As the coconut ages (on the tree), the outside (or mesocarp, for the botanical enthusiasts) turns brown and hardens. Mature, healthy coconuts do not fall from the tree until covered in the brown, hairy husk. However, most culinary uses are from the unripened coconut as the flesh and liquid are generally sweeter. Consider the coconut disambiguated.
Menu is comparable to Burma Superstar. We tried to stick to Burmese specialties since we were with out of town guests and how often do you get Burmese food anyway. We started with the Tea Leaf Salad, a favorite of ours from Superstar. It was yummy, with a great combination of flavors and textures. On the menu, the ingredients include "grounded shrimps," which made us wonder what shrimps with their heads in the clouds taste like.
We also shared Burmese Hot and Sour Soup, which was sort of blah- not enough spice for any of our tastes.
For entrees, we shared:
Chin Mong Jaw
Burmese style sour vegetables, sauteed with green chili, prawns, and bamboo shoots. Can be prepared with tofu.
Nan Gyi Dok (Available with Tofu)
Burmese rice noodle with spiced coconut tofu, split yellow pea, powder, and fried onion
Mango Chicken
Pan fry chicken sauteed with fresh mango, onions, and green chili
Burmese Style Curry Chicken
Burmese style yellow curry chicken with potatoes
The burmese style vegetables were really strange. Lots of pickled vegetables combined to make a strange flavor with a pretty bad (IMHO) smell. Yuck.
The chicken dishes were both pretty good, but again both were lacking in heat (spicy heat, not temperature heat). Especially the mango chicken which had a great opportunity to play a little spice of the sweetness of the mango.
The noodles were probably the best dish of the evening. Nice coconut flavor that didn't overpower the dish.
Speaking of coconuts, we got into a discussion about what coconuts look like. At Mandalay, they serve coconut juice from a fresh coconut, which prompted a conversation about whether coconuts have a green skin or a brown, hairy skin. After some extensive internet research (ie I looked at wikipedia), it looks like both are true. The YOUNG coconut, while growing on the tree, is green on the outside. At this immature stage, coconuts contain a liquid called "coconut water" which is often drunk fresh. That's what they serve at Mandalay. As the coconut ages (on the tree), the outside (or mesocarp, for the botanical enthusiasts) turns brown and hardens. Mature, healthy coconuts do not fall from the tree until covered in the brown, hairy husk. However, most culinary uses are from the unripened coconut as the flesh and liquid are generally sweeter. Consider the coconut disambiguated.
Man On Wire
I fell asleep. It wasn't the movie's fault. The parts I saw were interesting. I was just really tired.
La Ciccia
I'd been hearing about La Ciccia since it opened a little while ago at the very end of Church St. I think there used to be a pizza spot there, which has now been transformed into a neighborhoody Italian spot. Well, not exactly Italian. La Ciccia is a Sardinian restaurant. Sardinia is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, technically part of Italy but with hints of Greek and Mediterranean culture. Interesting culinary potential for sure.
Julia and I ended up checking it out last Thursday. It's a small restaurant, filled to the brim with people who looked like they'd been there before. That's a good sign. The chef came out a couple times to talk to people at different tables, the waiters knew some of the patrons... A very friendly and familial atmosphere, for sure. As first timers, we were a bit out of the loop, but settled in pretty quickly and tried to figure out what to do with the menu.
We decided to go with one appetizer, two firsts, and a main to share. The wine list was another story. They have a huge wine list, with mostly Italian wines and a huge number of varietals that I had never heard of. Neither of us were drinking too much, so we each ordered a glass. Can't even remeber what I had. But it was nice. Should have written it down.
In the end, we decided to start with one of the specials (there were a few daily specials, which is nice) which was a plate of Sardines. The dish was definitely not what we (Julia) expected. She was thinking the little sardines like the size of the canned ones. These were some big sucker sardines. With heads. Maybe 8-10". My experiments in seafood eating continued- it was an interesting experience to try and separate the meat from the crazy little fish skeleton. Flavor wise, they were a little on the fishy side for my taste, but not too bad.
For firsts, Julia got another special- a linguini (or something like it) with baby clams and a simple oil and garlic sauce. I had gnocchetti with pork sugo. Both were good, neither were excellent. I liked the texture of the gnocchetti, but generally found the sauce a little lacking- perhaps a little less rich then I would like from a meaty sauce.
For the main, we shared a slow cooked pork with olives and carrots. It was more stew-like then we anticipated and almost beef-y in flavor. Really, it tasted like a beef stew with some salty-olive-acid flavor. Not exactly what I was looking for.
In general, dinner was fine but not great. Wouldn't necessarily rush back. We might have ordered the wrong things. Hard to tell on the first trip.
Julia and I ended up checking it out last Thursday. It's a small restaurant, filled to the brim with people who looked like they'd been there before. That's a good sign. The chef came out a couple times to talk to people at different tables, the waiters knew some of the patrons... A very friendly and familial atmosphere, for sure. As first timers, we were a bit out of the loop, but settled in pretty quickly and tried to figure out what to do with the menu.
We decided to go with one appetizer, two firsts, and a main to share. The wine list was another story. They have a huge wine list, with mostly Italian wines and a huge number of varietals that I had never heard of. Neither of us were drinking too much, so we each ordered a glass. Can't even remeber what I had. But it was nice. Should have written it down.
In the end, we decided to start with one of the specials (there were a few daily specials, which is nice) which was a plate of Sardines. The dish was definitely not what we (Julia) expected. She was thinking the little sardines like the size of the canned ones. These were some big sucker sardines. With heads. Maybe 8-10". My experiments in seafood eating continued- it was an interesting experience to try and separate the meat from the crazy little fish skeleton. Flavor wise, they were a little on the fishy side for my taste, but not too bad.
For firsts, Julia got another special- a linguini (or something like it) with baby clams and a simple oil and garlic sauce. I had gnocchetti with pork sugo. Both were good, neither were excellent. I liked the texture of the gnocchetti, but generally found the sauce a little lacking- perhaps a little less rich then I would like from a meaty sauce.
For the main, we shared a slow cooked pork with olives and carrots. It was more stew-like then we anticipated and almost beef-y in flavor. Really, it tasted like a beef stew with some salty-olive-acid flavor. Not exactly what I was looking for.
In general, dinner was fine but not great. Wouldn't necessarily rush back. We might have ordered the wrong things. Hard to tell on the first trip.
Up
For the first time in my Pixar career, the movie was somewhat of a surprise to me at the pre-release wrap party. When I was working in Post, I watched the movies a couple hundred times before they were done. Going into a completed movie semi-in-the-dark was something of a treat. I knew the basics of the story, but hadn't seen anything for at least a year and a half. "Up" was a treat, especially since I didn't know what to expect.
While I don't want to reveal too much about the movie, I thought it was fantastic, heartfelt, and a great ride. It's full of emotion and some very adult themes. Bring tissues if you have any crying tendencies. It was amazing to be in a theater with about 2000 people hearing the entire audience whimpering. For me, pretty cool to see that animation can be that successful at playing the audience's heartstrings.
I've been asked where it ranks among my favorite Pixar films. I don't really have an answer. I really enjoyed it, and think you should see it for sure.
While I don't want to reveal too much about the movie, I thought it was fantastic, heartfelt, and a great ride. It's full of emotion and some very adult themes. Bring tissues if you have any crying tendencies. It was amazing to be in a theater with about 2000 people hearing the entire audience whimpering. For me, pretty cool to see that animation can be that successful at playing the audience's heartstrings.
I've been asked where it ranks among my favorite Pixar films. I don't really have an answer. I really enjoyed it, and think you should see it for sure.
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