Mifune

July 29, 2005

Bart and I were trying to think of a place to grab some lunch, and we ended up deciding on another old high school haunt of ours, Mifune. Mifune is a restaurant in the Kintetsu mall in Japantown that serves mainly noodles. We used to go all the time in high school; Kirk, a frequent customer since childhood, used to go so often he became sort of friends with one of the waiters. That guy doesn't seem to be around anymore. I hadn't been for probably 3 years, so I was glad to check it out.

tekka don & ramen combo - ~$9 Forgot to note the prices but I remember at least the dollar digits. Bart went for their lunch combo special, which allows you to choose an item from 2 categories, the first mostly involving rice and the second mostly involving noodles. Bart reports that the stuff he ate was better than he remembered it. It looked pretty good from across the table.

tenzaru soba - ~$8 I had the old Mifune standby, tenzaru soba, which is just cold soba with dipping sauce and a side of tempura. This was just like the old days - cool, refreshing noodles, with decent tempura. The soba is quite respectable here; I get this dish almost every time. Of course, just like in high school, I started to run out of dipping sauce by the end... I'm now in Paris - we just arrived yesterday. Had a great dinner at Le Meurice last night. Tonight, I'm going for my first-ever 3 star meal, at Guy Savoy. Things are going great here. � bient�t!

Isa

July 27, 2005

After reading this review by Amy, I was inspired again to go check out Isa. I've been there 3 or 4 times before, but not for a couple of years. It was always good - in particular, I remember a potato-leek soup with sea scallops that was out of this world. From that point on, I realized the kitchen was very good at soups, and ordered whatever was on the menu each time I went. I've never been disappointed. Anyway, flash forward to 2005. I tried the spinoff L�x last year, and it was alright but not great. A week or two ago I made a trip back to Isa with my mom and Bart. It turns out the restaurant has doubled in size and completely renovated, having taken over the nail salon (I think) that used to be next to it. The place is much wider now, with a decent sized bar and a lot more tables. Isa is a small shared plates restaurant, so here come a lot of pictures...

butter lettuce salad with bartlett pears, roquefort & candied walnuts - $8.5 This simple salad was well-executed and refreshing. The sweet, ripe pears went very well with the fairly mild roquefort. A good start to the meal.

lobster broth with tiger prawns & fresh tarragon - $7

smooth corn soup with fresh herbs & roasted corn garnish - $6 The soups now come in portions for either one or two (for a couple of dollars more). We wanted to try both soups, so instead we just got one serving of each, with the lobster split into two for me and Bart. I'm glad to report the kitchen has not lost its deft touch with soup, as both of these were just fantastic. The lobster soup was smoky and flavorful, with generous servings of big, plump prawns, and delicious croutons. The corn soup was equally good with chunks of super sweet kernels and a hearty broth. Also, both were piping hot. I think I may start coming to Isa for lunch and just having some nice soup!

sauteed pea shoots with garlic - $6 The biggest misstep of the night were these pea shoots (or in Chinese, dou miao). I guess they're catering to an audience that isn't too familiar with the real thing - you get damn good pea shoots in Hong Kong. These pea shoots aren't even worth putting on the menu, if you ask me.

potato wrapped seabass with brown buter, capers, lemon & parsley - $15 Pretty good seabass. It looked dry at first, but that was probably cuz of the potato crust. The inside was juicy and tender, and the brown butter sauce was nice, though a bit too salty and intense.

seared foie gras with white peaches & a custard brioche - $16 Along with the soups, the best dish of the night. This was a very nice, smooth, rich piece of foie, and the picture doesn't show how generous the serving was. It was definitely the biggest seared foie gras I've seen in a while. The peaches were sweet, but not too sweet, and we actually ate them all. The brioche sopped up all the juices nicely.

seared duck breast with balsamic onions, potato rosti & wild huckleberry sauce - $17 A nice juicy duck breast, rosy and rare in the middle. Bart, who claims he doesn't eat duck much, liked this a lot. The potatoes were just glorified hash browns, but at least they were very good hash browns (and I love the stuff). The onions were crisp with just the slightest balsamic flavor - quite refreshing.

tortiglioni pasta with crushed black truffles, tomato, basil & parmesan reggiano - $11 Finally, a nice and simple pasta. It had plenty of truffle scent but not a ton of taste. Still, I really loved this dish - a very light tomato/basil sauce with a heavy dose of tasty parmigiano. The pasta was perfectly al dente.

passion fruit soup with mango - $6 As you can see, this chilled soup had a beautiful, bright color. It tasted intensely tropical, quite sweet and quite sour (though not too much of either). Tons of little mango chunks are hidden at the bottom. It was sort of like a really concentrated juice. Very refreshing.

semifreddo agli amaretti - $5 This serving was big! The semifreddo was like a very rich ice cream with a strong nutty flavor. I liked this a lot but we were too full to finish. I think Isa is actually even better than it was before. The crowds seem to have died down a bit - back in the day, it was tough to get a table. Now they've expanded and seem to be trying to pimp Lux pretty hard. The food at Isa is better if you ask me. Get the soup!

Philly Cheese Steak Shop

July 25, 2005

One of our old high school stomping grounds was the Philly Cheese Steak Shop on Divisadero. They have a bright yellow canopy and sign that's hard to miss. Back in high school, we went through tons of their frequent eater cards which reward you with a free sandwich after 10 stamps. Tuesdays were double stamp days, so you'd get 2 for every $5 spent. Boy did we abuse that...

10" deluxe steak (tomato sauce + mushrooms), twister fries anda drink - $7.44 Somehow it seems smaller than I remember it, but that may be because of all the times I used to get overzealous and order a 15". I'd say the Philly cheesesteak is greasy deliciousness in its purest form. During freshman year I went to visit Danny at Penn, and I got to try the real deal there. I must say the cheesesteaks in SF are not the most authentic. Cheese Steak Shop seems to chop it up and mix it more than they do in Philly - the result is a fairly different, but also delicious sandwich. I don't know which kind I like better, actually...

Kyo-ya

July 24, 2005

One of the best options for Japanese in SF is Kyo-ya. The place is expensive, but it continues to be one of the standard bearers for Japanese food in SF. It's extremely consistent, and you always know you'll be getting top notch ingredients - stuff like fresh wasabi and some of the best toro in town. They're also one of the few places in town that will do a kaiseki dinner, although I haven't tried one there. Here is a lunch I had recently with my dad.

toro nigiri - $20 As you can see, this toro is really, really good. It's so good you could call it the real thing with a straight face. But at $10 a pop, it's pretty prohibitive to eat too much of this stuff. As my dad says, at least it's cheaper than the real real thing in Japan...

chirashi - $32 Again, at $32 this makes for one of the more expensive chirashis around. But you do get what you pay for - 4 nice, thick slices each of maguro and hamachi, a big juicy scallop, some very fresh ika, some akagai, a piece of ebi, some kazunoku (the yellow herring roe), and some tamago. They also give you a healthy dose of ikura, though I'm not a big fan of the stuff. This thing was too big for me to finish, and all of the fish was great. It may be expensive but at least you know what you're getting at Kyo-ya. It's good food at a high price. Now, I'm off to Marseilles to try real bouillabaisse! :)

Bella Trattoria

July 22, 2005

I am now officially posting from a house in Maillane, a small town in the south of France near Avignon. It took a little tinkering with the settings but the DSL here does indeed work! I've already had a very nice piece of foie gras (last night) and some great rillettes with a fresh baguette (just now for breakfast), but I've still got a bit of SF posting to go. Next up is Bella Trattoria, a little Italian place in Inner Richmond that makes their own pasta. The place is a pretty classic neighborhood Italian place, with consistently good food and friendly service. This is from a meal with my mom and a few of her friends. Anyway, we're about to head to St. Remy so I gotta make this a bit quick.

antipasto della casa - grilled eggplant, zucchini, cold cuts - $9 Pretty solid appetizer plate... I especially liked the zucchini. All of the meats were quite good too.

mozzarella con bruschetta - fresh mozzarella served with tomato bruschetta - $7.95 This was very well prepared, but the tomatoes weren't that great. This meal is from a couple of weeks ago; I guess the really awesome tomatoes weren't quite out yet.

la polenta di Bella - shitake mushroom & gorgonzola over polenta - $6.5 Nice, soft polenta. It's a bit reminiscent of the version at Zuni, but with a pretty good dose of gorgonzola. The mushrooms were a nice addition.

portobello balsamico - portobello mushroom prepared with balsamic vinegar reduction - $9.5 This was very tasty. The mushrooms were juicy and delicious. The balsamic vinegar reduction was very flavorful; I ended up sopping up most of it with bread.

anatra - potato dumplings with a muscovy duck ragu - $13.95 Delicious, fluffy little gnocchi in a hearty duck sauce. I think the picture can speak for itself on this one. They were very generous with the ragu, so much so that I'd probably have liked more gnocchi to balance it out! :) Sorry to make this short but I gotta run. Bella is a great neighborhood pasta spot... I've tried many of the pastas on the menu and they're pretty much all well prepared and delicious. Check it out!

I'm going to France!

July 21, 2005

I am happy to report that I'll be boarding a plane bound for Paris in about 2 hours. I'm spending a week in Provence, in a town called Maillane. We'll have a car to drive around for good food. After that, I'm spending 4 nights in Paris, where I'll find out what this fancy French food is all about. Hopefully I'll have internet access, and I'll try to keep the updates coming. If I time this right, I should be able to finish SF posts while I'm in France, and then start posting French meals right when I get back. Anyway, I'm off to eat my first-ever Michelin stars!

The House

July 21, 2005

So my mom and I were again looking for a place to eat dinner the other night. We decided on The House, a restaurant I pass by all the time while going to Mo's. I went to The House many many years ago, and more recently (but still a long time ago) I also tried the bigger but now closed House over in the Sunset. I'd say that the original House on Grant was one of the earlier fusion restaurants - they started doing it way in the beginning, back when Oritalia was on Fillmore I think. Years later, I still remember House's delicious garlic noodles. The restaurant hasn't changed at all from what I can tell. The dining room is clean, simple and modern, not to mention rather small. We got a table near the window with a good amount of natural light still coming in.

blue lake bean tempura with pickled ginger soy - $7.5 My mom was all over this dish - bean tempura is one of her favorite dishes, I think. The beans here were big, crisp, and meaty. They were maybe a touch greasy, but that's really nitpicking.

deep-fried chicken liver with baby greens - $8 This sounded better than it tasted. For some reason, I sort of half-expected an overbattered mess, which luckily these livers were not. They were tasty with that familiar livery texture, but not mindblowing. The accompanying salad was just okay.

vegetarian wasabi house noodles with tofu, carrots, eggplant, mushrooms, I forget what else... - $? So the garlic noodles I remember have now become wasabi house noodles, which are usually served with something else - on the night we went, it was flatiron steak (listed at $17; I'm sure our vegetarian one was less). The waiter told us making a vegetarian version would be no problem, so my mom opted for this. Now I'll be honest: I didn't really taste any wasabi in these noodles. That didn't matter though, because these noodles were awesome, and they could have called it whatever they wanted and I'd still have eaten them. These noodles just had a wonderful texture and substance to them that made them slightly chewy and delicious. I'll definitely order this with the steak next time...

grilled ahi tuna (rare) with spicy mustard aioli - $21 Lucky for me, my mom's noodles didn't win the dinner. My ahi tuna totally stole the show, considering we went in expecting great noodles. As you can see, the menu description totally does not do this dish justice. Other than mustard aioli, the tuna was surrounded by rings of two more flavors - some chili oil, and also some kind of lemon-infused oil. The mixture of the aioli, the chili, and the citrus, PLUS the roe, created a delicious dressing for the tuna (which itself was moist, nicely seasoned and cooked just right). Combined with rice, this was almost like eating a really good maki. The simple spinach and fried vermicelli were just icing on the cake. I wiped this plate completely clean, as did the guy eating next to us who ordered the same thing.

apple crumb pie a la mode - $7.5 We asked the waiter to suggest a dessert, and he said the apple crumb pie was the best hands down. It was very good indeed, piping hot and very crumby, with a good ratio of apple to crust. It's good to see The House still doing well after so long. I'll definitely be back.

Jitlada

July 20, 2005

My mom felt like Thai food the other night, so I suggested we try out Jitlada (website hasn't been updated for a long time, but most of the info seems to be accurate). It's a tiny restaurant on the edge of Japantown - I'd been once a long time ago and had a nice meal. The main room is cozy and intimate, with the setting sun shining in. The last time I went, it seemed like a pretty hidden neighborhood spot, but this time around it seemed like there were at least a few tables of tourists who had wandered in. The restaurant seems to be doing alright.

shrimp in sleeping bags - shrimp marinated with Thai seasoning and wrapped with rice paper, served with sweet & spicy sauce - $7.25 The menu has a few cutely-named dishes like this one. As you can see, they're sort of like rolls, but wrapped around the shrimp themselves. The shrimp were fresh, bright, and meaty. A good app that I'd order again, although it was hard to finish on my own!

papaya wedges - green papaya mixed with rice flour and shredded coconut batter and sesame seeds, deep fried and served with sweet & sour sauce - $6.5 Another interesting dish - it's hard to see much in the picture, but these were quite unlike most fried things I've tasted. The texture varies throughout as you bite through coconut, papaya and batter. Quite good, but a little bit greasy and heavy with the batter and frying. Again, this should be shared by more than 2 - I think I ate too many...

jungle curry with tofu - Thai "country-style" curry with eggplant, long green beans, bamboo, karchai and fresh Thai white basil - $10.95 Best dish of the night. You can choose between chicken, pork, beef and tofu - we went with tofu so my mom could eat. The curry is thin, almost soupy, but bursting with flavor and a nice bit of kick. I'd love to try this again with meat.

Jitlada nuer yang (steak) - grilled NY steak marinated with Thai herbs, garlic, cilantro and lemongrass, served with spicy chili sauce - $13.95 This dish was pretty blah, but I guess that's what I get for going with a more boring dish. I was tempted by the garlic/cilantro/lemongrass, three things that I love, but this was basically just an average steak. It was more medium than medium rare. For $14 though you can't expect the best. I'm sure I'll go back to Jitlada at some point to try more of the curries. I can't remember what I ate on my first trip - it must have been curry as well, but it was a long time ago. I'm also curious about their soup - if the jungle curry is any sign, they probably make a pretty good tom yum.

Zuni Cafe

July 19, 2005

Went for a nice lunch stop at Zuni Cafe with my dad. Zuni's become a somewhat regular stop for me again. We sat in the very corner of the restaurant, just to the left of the front entrance. It's usually pretty easy to walk in and get a table (for 2, at least) in that spot. Every time I go to Zuni I am amazed by the beautiful natural light that just fills up the whole restaurant. I think that Zuni is one of the few places out there in which a digital camera simply refuses to use flash - it's like being outside!

house-made bresaola with spicy carrot-radish salad - $12 This was an excellent opener. I assume they were using the same bresaola that Sam had a couple of weeks earlier, and it looks like they listened to her comments - our bresaola was sliced perfectly and tasted great. Perhaps even better was the carrot-radish salad on the side, which had a wonderful dressing. It was just a simple vinaigrette with some kind of chili or pepper oil mixed in, but boy was it delicious. Neither of us are big carrot fans (although I love radishes - my dad doesn't like those either), but we devoured this salad. There was also a strange root vegetable mixed in there with the carrots and radishes - it was like a cross between the two. I thought at first that they were French radishes from the shape, but they were actually orange inside - red-skinned carrots! It's like the carrots and the radishes had babies. Very intriguing. I'd never seen it before; anyone know what they were? Unfortunately, you can't see them too well in my photo. Look for the long cut pieces of carrot in the back, and you might be able to see the red skin.

shoestring potatoes - $6 The shoestrings were as good as ever - light, crisp, and tasty. We asked for some aioli to dip it in and they happily obliged, bringing a great tangy mayo. I think this plate of fries can handle a very large number of people. We tried hard but just couldn't clean it off...

house-ground hamburger on grilled rosemary focaccia with garden lettuces, aioli and Zuni pickles + gruy�re- $12 My dad went with the burger, which he claims he enjoys as a counterpoint to the massive Mo's burger every once in a while. And although I still prefer Mo's overall, a bite of this was a nice reminder that Zuni puts out a pretty damn good burger too. I'll admit it's been a while since I've given the Zuni burger a chance...

rigatoni pasta with red-wine duck sauce - $13 I went with the pasta that day - Zuni usually does a pretty good job with them. It was pretty good - the sauce was hearty but still very light, and the myriad of ingredients provided much flavor. It was a great main dish for lunch. Zuni continues to hold its own as one of the best lunches around. Simple, great food and a relaxing atmosphere ensure that I'll keep going back.

Da Flora

July 18, 2005

My mom received a recommendation from someone to try out Da Flora, a small Italian place at the edge of North Beach. The place really is quite small, occupying a weird corner space of a very sharp block on Columbus. Racks of wine cover the back wall, while a presumably tiny kitchen is hidden somewhere in the back. The menu came handwritten, which was a nice homely touch. Completely unrelated: I'm about 80% sure that Chris Moneymaker (he won the World Series of Poker a couple of years ago) was eating a couple of tables away from us. I have no idea what he would be in SF for (this was like 2 weeks ago, so it's possible he was here just before the WSOP started), but it really really looked like him! Anyway, on to the food...

carpaccio � la Harry's Bar - raw tenderloin sliced thin & topped with horseradish caper dressing - $10.75 The menu has at least some of a Venetian slant to it, considering it had this dish as well as a squid ink risotto on there. When I saw the claim "� la Harry's Bar," it was set in stone that I'd order this. My mom briefly inquired about the Harry's Bar part, and our server (who appeared to be the owner) went into the story of how carpaccio was invented at Harry's Bar, and somewhere along the line became served with olive oil instead of Harry's Bar's creamy dressing thing. I don't know how often she runs into a customer who has had the real deal at Harry's Bar (I'm soo awesome aren't I? It was pre-Arthur Hungry though, and still the best carpaccio I've ever had). Since I knew the story already, I was eager to try. The result: meh. It was good, but not great. The sauce certainly tasted a little different - Harry's Bar's had more of an aioli type of flavor to it. I guess when they've set up such a comparison, it's tough not to be a little disappointed. Still, it was a pretty good carpaccio.

burrata, marinated peppers, crostini - $9.75 (I think) This was a special so I'm not sure if I got the price right. It was replacing a fava bean puree crostini that was on the menu and listed at $9.75, so it should be at least in that ballpark. Anyway, here was another dish that immediately set itself up for comparison, this time to the heavenly burrata at A16. I know, it's not like A16 invented burrata, but their version seems to have become a pretty famous dish around our fair city. The one at Da Flora, apparently flown in from Italy that day, was again very good but not great. It wasn't as good as the one at A16, which I guess is not a huge knock considering how good that one is and how hard it is now to get a table there. This cheese was very nice but something was missing - maybe it could have used another drop of olive oil, or the crostini needed another pinch of salt. My mom still loved it and probably appreciated the peppers more than I did.

"their own" sweet potato gnocchi swathed in sherry cream with smoked bacon - $9.75 This is Da Flora's signature dish, and it was definitely the winner of the night. The gnocchi were rich and hearty, and the sauce was delicious. The gnocchi were cooked til they were very lightly browned at the edge, which gave each bite an ever so slight contrast in texture. Excellent dish.

housemade tagliatelle with roasted corn & rock shrimp in a tarragon cream sauce There was a slight bit of confusion and at first I was brought a cavatappi bolognese. The owner had apparently misheard my order and actually written down cavatappi (I checked on the bill later), so it wasn't her forgetting something. I felt bad because at some point while we were eating our apps, she told someone at a table next to us while they were ordering that they were out of the cavatappi bolognese. Anyway, they corrected the mistake quickly and without any complaint - I dunno what happened with that bolognese, but it may have immediately gone to another table that ordered it. Anyway, as you can see the tagliatelle looks absolutely great. The pasta had a good texture, and the shrimp (which were even more plentiful than the picture reveals) were extremely plump and firm - not mushy at all. The corn was a nice bonus. My only complaint is that there was slightly too much tarragon, which during some bites overpowered the other flavors a bit. Overall it was a very good meal and I'd be happy to go back. It's a great nearby option, and there's one main dish in particular that I want to try: sonoma duck livers seared until rosy with caramelized onions, sage & pancetta, over toasted polenta.

Mo's

July 16, 2005

Of course, it was time for my 6 month checkup at Mo's. I'll swing by some time today to snap a picture of the place. Mo's is still without a doubt my favorite straight-up hamburger place in the world, as I've mentioned numerous times on this site.

alpine burger - sauteed mushrooms and gruyere - $7.95 The price seems to be fluctuating now by a quarter or so, but at least it's staying under the $8 dollar mark. Of course, the normal mushroom burger is under $7, and I think a regular burger is around $6, but I just have to like the alpine the best. One of the best things about this burger is that their sauteed mushroom concoction, simple as it may be, is the best burger topping I've ever had. That, coupled with the fact that they know what a medium rare burger is, means one delicious piece of meat. Honestly, I'd pay $10 for this. Probably $15 if I really had to.

Ino Sushi

July 14, 2005

I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed, but I feel like it's been months since my last sushi post. Looking at the archive, it appears I haven't posted about it since my horrible experience at Typhoon. I guess on some level I chose to tough it out and just eat sushi in SF. So my first dinner out in SF was at Ino Sushi at its new location inside the Miyako mall in Japantown (next to the Miyako Hotel). I went to the old Ino (was torn down for that new complex that is taking over the old Japantown Bowl spot) years ago, and remember it being quite good. The new Ino location is great - quite small, very clean, and simply decorated. The room contains only a nice little sushi bar and maybe 3 or 4 tables. The setting is very comfortable and quiet. My dad and I went on a pretty quiet night - Ino manned the bar by himself, and the only other customers were 2 Japanese business-looking types at the other end of the bar.

toro nigiri My dad and I were both eager to try what Ino had to offer, so we dove right in and opened with some toro nigiri. I'll note here that Ino uses the counter directly - he puts all of the sushi onto the counter itself without the use of plates. This has always been a good sign in the past. As for the toro, it was delicious. Ino goes the route of putting a little wasabi into the nigiri, and though I've read complaints of him being a little too heavy-handed with it, he used the perfect amount here. After such a long sushi drought, biting into the soft, buttery toro was a relevation for me. It's good to be home again!

hamachi nigiri We kept going with "normal" fish, and the hamachi was great as well. It tasted very smooth and clean, and had a nice texture.

uni nigiri At this point I was practicing my newly-learned first-semester Japanese skills by reading the hiragana on the wooden planks behind the sushi bar. Of course it helped that I already knew most of the names of the fish, so I kinda just put two and two together if I had trouble with any of the characters. Next up was uni - very sweet and creamy. I forgot to ask where it came from, though.

kanpachi nigiri We asked Ino what other good stuff he had on hand, and he said he had a few fish just flown in from Japan. Kanpachi was one of them, and we always jump on kanpachi when we get the chance. This stuff was excellent - probably my favorite fish of the night (along with toro of course). It had a slightly chewier, more substantial texture than the hamachi and blended very well with the rice. Afterwards, we also had some suzuki (unpictured) from Japan - also tasty, although not as wonderful as the kanpachi.

anago nigiri Next we went with some anago, which we always prefer to the more usual unagi. Ino was generous with the eel, which had a subtle grilled flavor.

toro nigiri again Of course, gluttons that we are, we couldn't resist more toro. We actually got some negitoromaki cones before this, but I can never figure out how to take a picture of something I'm holding with one hand. I want to mention though that Ino does a great job with the hand rolls. One of the main reasons is that he toasts the nori briefly before he makes the roll, which makes it very nice and crispy. Our second round of toro nigiri may have actually been nicer than the first - simply delicious.

tamago nigiri We often like to finish with tamago, sort of like a dessert sushi. Very cakey and light. The bill ended up somewhere around $140 for the two of us, which sounds pretty steep. Still, considering that total included 6 total orders (1 cone and 4 pieces of nigiri for each of us) of toro, as well as 2 orders of uni, it was not a bad deal for the quality of the food. The toro/uni probably accounted for the majority of the bill, and it's no one's fault but our own that we got that much of the stuff. This is easily the best sushi meal I've had for quite a long time. Ino's rice is nicely vinegared and textured, and just right temperature to balance the fish. I look forward to returning here.

Teatro

July 13, 2005

Okay, I thought I was through with my Boston photos, but I found a couple from Teatro that I'd forgotten about because I was hoping to grab a picture of their sign. Of course, I actually did go back there, but forgot my camera. That's life I guess. Anyway, Teatro is a nice little Italian spot at Boston Common. The room looks pretty swanky, with a high, arched ceiling and blue lighting. There's also a small bar in the front. The place is actually right next to the Loews movie theater - Geoff and I went before a showing of Batman Begins right before I left Boston (the trip on which I was camera-less). The following photos are actually from a trip like 2 months ago.

Teatro antipasto for two - $23 This massive appetizer plate for two is somewhat famous, so I was eager to try it. I'll try to name everything on the plate from left to right, but I'm sure to have forgotten something. There's also stuff hidden behind/under other stuff, so I'm sure I'll leave something out. But here goes: some kind of eggplant spread/salad, marinated bell peppers on top of crostini, a bell pepper salad, mozzarella & tomato, various cold cuts (if I recall correctly, soppressata, prosciutto, and salami) with some cheese, arancini, fennel salad, olives, and a hummus-like spread. The highlight for me was the arancini, which are little deep-fried balls of risotto with cheese in the middle. I first tried this dish when I was a very small kid, at a restaurant called Bonta[1]. The arancini at Teatro were hot, crispy and cheesy. Then again, the concept of deep fried rice balls with cheese means automatic deliciousness to me. Pretty much everything else on the plate was good, too. Mike, who absolutely hates celery, took a bite of the fennel salad and made the most hilarious face ever (he didn't see it until too late). I, on the other hand, found the fennel salad was tasty and refreshing. [1] Bonta, rest in peace, was a small Italian place on Union here in SF, and it can take a lot of credit for cultivating my tastes at a young age. It's there (and at North Beach Restaurant - still thriving) that I learned to love pasta, fried calamari and Italian food in general when I was like 10 (or even younger). Italian food was easily my favorite food for a long time, until I went to Japan for the first time and sushi challenged pasta's seat on the Arthur Hungry throne.

fettuccine all'uovo with Vermont butter and parmesan cheese - $16 What I really wanted to try at Teatro was the pasta. The menu has a bunch of selections that I want to try. First on the list was the above fettuccine. It sounds all fancy but basically it's egg pasta with butter and parmesan - in other words, an authentic alfredo!!! As soon as I saw this item I flashed back to several years ago in Rome, when I tried the original Alfredo in Rome. I learned that despite the omnipresent cream in alfredo sauce in this country, the original was just hot fettuccine tossed with a lot of butter and a lot of cheese. And boy was it delicious. The version at Teatro was good, though different from what I remember in Rome. There was more of a "sauce" to it (I suspect they do use a bit of cream too), and the toasted breadcrumb topping added a different but interesting element. Every few chews you get a little crunch in there. This pasta is probably one of the richest and heaviest you can find in the city, but it sure tasted good going down. As it turns out, many of Teatro's pastas are extremely rich. I've tried the carbonara and the bolognese as well, and both are very generous with the butter/oil. The result is that an appetizer and a pasta turn into quite a big meal. No complaints here... as you all know I love butter, but I'll again warn those who are fainter of stomach. :) San Francisco is up next, and let me assure you, I'm on a true eating rampage from now through the rest of the summer.

Brasserie Jo

July 12, 2005

I felt like French so I brought Geoff to Brasserie Jo in the Colonnade Hotel, where I've had solid bistro-type fare in the past. Mike and even Dave came along. The prices are reasonable. They've actually got a bar menu with a croque monsieur I've been wanting to try - just haven't gotten around to it yet. They also serve a nice warm baguette and nicely-dressed carrots at the beginning of the meal.

french ham crepe gratin - $7.95 This thing is bolded in their list of appetizers, which I guess means it's some sort of specialty. It turned out quite delicious, not to mention quite rich for an app. I've never really seen crepes baked like this - the result was a lot of nice, gooey cheese and a softer, cooked-through texture throughout. All four of us liked it, but I suspect it might be too heavy an appetizer for many. Still, this dish made me want to try the croque monsieur even more.

steak tartare, pomme frites - $17.95 Every time I go to Brasserie Jo, I want to try something new like the coq au vin or the skate wing, but I always end up trying to decide between the steak frites or the steak tartare. It must be that part of the reason I go is because of that steak craving. Anyway, the steak tartare here is pretty solid, despite the fact that they don't mix it tableside. It certainly has lots of nice lemon/caper/onion flavor going on. The whole dish is actually quite refreshing. The accompanying grilled bread (not pictured) is good, and the fries are great. Next time, I'll try the skate. Really!

Kitchenette

July 10, 2005

Oops - I accidentally skipped a post. On our very brief trip to NYC, Geoff and I had only one noteworthy meal. I managed to meet up with Danny (!!!!) and a couple of his friends for brunch before we hopped on the bus back to Boston. We ate at a cozy little spot in SoHo called Kitchenette, the homey type of place that doesn't seem to exist in Boston. The restaurant is very small, almost cramped, and was very busy when we went at noon on a Saturday. The room had plenty of bright, natural light, and was buzzing with jovial conversations. We actually had to squeeze the 5 of us onto a table for 4, but it was worth it.

turkey sausage, grilled onion and swiss cheese omelette - $9 After browsing through numerous tasty-looking brunch options, I ended up settling on the turkey sausage omelette (actually I think everyone got the same thing!). Beautiful in its simplicity, this omelette was the best I'd had in a long time (though I guess I don't eat omelettes all that much). The sausage, onion and cheese were all delicious and plentiful, leaving no single bite of the omelette to fend for itself as egg alone. The accompanying home fries were just average, but the homemade biscuits were absolutely great - hot, doughy, and buttery-rich. I have no idea what was in the jam/butter concoction, but it was awesome. As for our other NY meals: we got ripped off at some crappy cafe near Sean's place, and we had a pretty boring late-night/early-morning post-party meal in Koreatown. Nothing to get excited about... Also, I just realized as I'm posting this that this is actually the first NYC post on AH. Perhaps I'll have more time to go down there and eat next year.

Via Matta

July 7, 2005

Okay, for some reason, I've been doing a really bad job lately of remembering to photograph restaurant signs, so two posts are coming up that will be signless. After a quick weekend in NYC, I had dinner in Boston at Via Matta with Geoff (who came to visit for a bit less than a week), Mike, Cat, her brother, Marc, and Brian (a friend of Cat and Sean's who was also visiting). I'd been once before a long time ago with Roger and his parents when they were in town, and I remember it being quite good. Our meal this time was parent-less, but when it came time for the check we got a bit of a surprise. Somehow, Cat's boss knew we were eating dinner there and pre-footed the bill for us. This was a bit of a shock since none of us (other than Cat I guess) even knew Cat's boss knew anything about the meal. It felt like finding a $20 in your pants pocket before throwing said pants into the laundry, except better. In any case, thanks a lot Cat's boss! It was a nice meal indeed.

bruschetta with marinated eggplant and peppers

tagliatelle alla bolognese - $19 The bruschetta came out as a surprise as a treat from the kitchen. Perhaps at that point we should have figured something was up... I didn't think much of it. The bruschetta was nicely toasted, and the eggplant/peppers had a great flavor. Afterwards, we shared a couple of apps that I forgot to take pictures of - a sauteed calamari and some kind of baked cauliflower gratin. Both were delicious. I was especially impressed by the cauliflower, which is not a veggie I'm generally too fond of. Here it was rich and buttery. I felt like pasta, and I'm quite partial to pastas that begin with "taglia," so I figured the bolognese would be a good choice. It turned out very nice. The pasta was cooked very well and had a great texture to it, while the sauce was hearty and fulfilling. Great meal all around. It felt that much better when we found out we didn't have to pay. Thanks again Ms. Sawyer (if I heard the waiter correctly, that is)!

Houston's

July 3, 2005

Well, I'm back in San Francisco. Just arrived last night, and I'll be here for about 3 weeks or so before a much-anticipated trip to Provence and Paris. I've got a few more places from Boston to post about before I switch coasts again - first up is Houston's (Boston). With a Houston's so close to my home in SF, I never really thought I'd go to the one in Boston... Actually, I had no idea there was one in Boston at all until Yuen called me up and suggested we go there. I've had pretty good experiences at the SF one so I figured why not. The place is down by Faneueil Hall, flirting on the edge between hardcore tourist area and downtown. From the outside, their sign looks the same except that it's blue instead of red. The interior is eerily similar to the one in SF - almost identical, actually. Dark wood, a pretty good-looking bar, and big comfortable banquettes deliver a pretty cool vibe. The menu, it turns out, is pretty much exactly the same as well.

guacamole

portuguese-style littleneck clams - $14 It was just me, Michelle and Yuen, so we decided to split a couple of apps. The guacamole was a special (didn't catch the price) and surprisingly good. It had nice, big chunks of avocado - something I tend to see a lot less in Boston. The clams were served with chorizo and a tasty broth with plenty of garlic, shallots, and parsley. It was an excellent dip for the accompanying grilled bread.

hawaiian ribeye - $27 I couldn't decide what main to get so I just gave up and went with the ribeye. The steak is marinated a bit with a hint of sweetness. It was nicely charred and tasty, but slightly overcooked (medium rather than medium rare, but not flagrant enough to complain about). I love the fries - thin, crispy, and even served with mayo (they actually ask if you want ketchup or mustard or mayo!). Anyway, it was another solid meal at Houston's, which appears to be a pretty good chain, relatively speaking. It definitely isn't cheap though.

DMBLGiT & The Cook Next Door

June 28, 2005

Sorry about the brief disappearance. I took a quick trip to NYC to visit a friend. It's my last week now in Boston - I leave for SF on Saturday. Anyway, here are a few updates from the food blogosphere... Meg over at IHEARTBACON is hosting Does My Blog Look Good in This? for the month. It's a photo contest that accepts submissions from all kinds of different food blogs. Meg kindly asked me to help judge this month, which may have been a mistake since I don't really know what I'm talking about! :) Anyway, the results should be up soon, so keep an eye out over there. Fatemeh over at Gastronomie tagged me with this Cook Next Door meme, so here goes. I apologize in advance for my lack of insight on all things cooking, especially compared to my food blogging peers. What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own? I don't cook much at all, so I don't really have any first memory of cooking. If anything it'd be making frozen tater tots. Or something else frozen. Who had the most influence on your cooking? Again, this doesn't apply much to me, but I guess I'd say Dominga, my babysitter growing up. She's a gifted chef, and I wouldn't hesitate a second to claim that she makes some of the best Chinese food in the SF bay. Do you have an old photo as 'evidence' of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it? I might, but certainly not on the computer. I don't have access to any of the old photos from my childhood right now, but I'm sure there are some of me at dinners around the world. Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat? For some reason, I can't imagine myself ever succesfully making any type of pastry... or I guess dessert in general. It just looks so hard. What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest let down? My most valued kitchen gadget is without a doubt my rice cooker. It's a wonderful little machine, and I'm always surprised by the number of people who still try to cook rice manually in a pot. An honorable mention would have to be the Hot Diggity Dogger - that hot dog toaster thing that you always see in the SkyMall catalogs on the plane. My friend Lauren actually bought me one, and believe it or not the thing makes some great hot dogs. Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else! Back home, my mom used to sometimes pick up various p�t�s from the deli. During late-night fridge raids, some p�t� with toast is an awesome snack. Many times in the past, I've discovered that we'd ran out of bread during this raids. One time I got desperate and tried using an Eggo - turns out p�t� on Eggos tastes great. This also works well with foie gras. What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don't want to live without? Sushi. Fresh pasta. I guess... butter! Any question you missed in this meme, that you would have loved to answer? Well then, feel free to add one! Your favorite ice-cream... I'm a purist. I like straight up chocolate. And I mean plain chocolate (as in, not dark or white or something else notable). You will probably never eat... Lamb testicles (dombalan, in Farsi). This is leftover from Fatemeh's answer - I'll just throw in that I'm not too eager to try testicles of any kind. Your own signature dish... I don't have one. Corned beef with rice? I stole that from Keith. A common ingredient you just can't bring yourself to stomach... Most definitely ketchup. I HATE KETCHUP. Which one culture's food would you most like to sample on its home turf? (Added by Fatemeh)... Wow - too many to list here, but I'll go with Thai. I'm gonna send this over to Keiko at Nordljus. Unlike me, she can actually cook!

Reef Cafe

June 17, 2005

So I've posted a few times about Reef Cafe already. You guys know the story. Family-run Lebanese joint in Allston; delicious food. Unfortunately, the Mexican place right next door had a fire earlier this week. This has caused some power problems and whatnot on the block and Reef has been closed for a ocuple of days. Hopefully they'll be open again soon... I won't be back in Boston for 6 months after July, so I need to load up on my Reef intake for the rest of 2005. Anyway, in my previous posts, I never posted a photo of the true lifeblood of my Boston diet - Reef's chicken shawarma sandwich. I finally got a shot of it a while back.

chicken shawarma sandwich - $4.75 The sandwich is just their chicken shawarma, tomatoes, pickles, and lemon-garlic spread from the gods. Everything is rolled up into a pita and put on the little grill for a bit. The result is amazing. I'm not a big fan of pickles, but this sandwich has really converted me. The sourness of the pickle complements the chicken and the lemon-garlic perfectly. I have honestly lost count of how many of these sandwiches I've consumed in the past year. 40 might be a good ballpark number... Then again that sounds extremely high. I dunno. But I've eaten a lot, and you should too!

Matt Murphy's

June 12, 2005

I love fish and chips. Though I've never had the so-called real thing in England or Ireland, I order fish and chips all the time when I see it. One day Jeremy asked me where to find the best fish and chips in Boston. After some research, the consensus appears to be Matt Murphy's Pub in Brookline Village. I ended up going with Jeremy and Tony to check it out for lunch.

crispy cod and chips served with malt vinegar and pickled onions - $13.95 Our first reaction was that $14 for a lunch of fish and chips seemed pretty steep, but we were there for a reason. The meal came wrapped in a huge bundle of newspaper. It actually took us a while to unwrap it well enough to eat! Anyway, once I started digging in, I was very satisfied. The fish was tasty, but perhaps even better was the absolutely delicious tartar sauce that came with it (not pictured). The fries were meaty and filling. They also have a homemade ketchup which a lot of people like, but you guys know where I stand on ketchup... By the end of the meal, all three of us were stuffed. I'll probably go back some time, but I admit it's tough to pay $14 for fish and chips.