Tanoshi Sushi looks like countless other uptown sushi joints, but it's generated a singular amount of buzz—most recently an ecstatic Serious Eats review that anoints it the "Holy Grail" for seekers of high-quality sushi at a moderate price. Chowhounds, though not quite so enthralled, say there's a lot to like here. READ MORE
Michael Cimarusti’s restaurant Providence is renowned for its food and service, so when news came that the chef would open a more casual concept in West Hollywood, eager 'hounds counted down to opening day.
Named after Cimarusti’s immigrant grandparents, Connie and Ted’s is a contemporary seafood shack with a truckload of East Coast classics. There’s a raw bar with fresh oysters and clams, Rhode Island “stuffies” with linguiça, chowders, Portuguese fish stew, a lobster roll (served hot or cold), and slew of other dishes sourced from the sea. For dessert there’s a blondie with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce and an Indian pudding made with New England cornmeal and molasses, among others. Bold red accents, dark wood tables, floor-to-ceiling windows, and one wall papered in old delivery slips make up the interior. “It's a very playful, fun look,” says susiequeue. READ MORE
The coffee scene on Brooklyn's Smith Street just got an overdue upgrade with the arrival of Roogla. The coffee's "freaking great," says HungryWino, a Chowhound and self-described caffeine freak who compares the three-week-old café to 'hound-endorsed java joints like Blue Bottle, Café Pedlar, and Joe Coffee. READ MORE
Wanting to avoid using nonstick surfaces, LPJ13 recently got a waffle iron with cooking surfaces made from cast aluminum. But even after seasoning for three or four cooking cycles with safflower and grapeseed oils, the waffles were a stuck-on, burnt mess. How do you clean up after a disaster like this without losing the seasoning—and how do you make successful waffles on a seasoned surface? READ MORE
Heating up the indoor oven in summertime is something reptilegrrl dreads—even though she loves to braise and roast meats and vegetables. Can the outdoor gas grill—the kind with a lid that closes—be used as an outdoor oven that won't heat up the house on hot summer days? READ MORE
South Bay restaurant Manresa, proud holder of two Michelin stars, recently announced the dates for its annual Tomato Modernista event: September 21 and 22. The dinner showcases tomatoes from Love Apple Farms, the Santa Cruz operation that supplies all of the restaurant's produce. Dinner at Manresa is both an event and an investment, so the announcement got Chowhounds talking about whether this occasion is worth the price tag. READ MORE
Velveting is a technique used in Chinese cuisine to give meats a soft, tender, velvety texture. You can use cornstarch, like in Grace Young's recipe for Hoisin Explosion Chicken, which calls for marinating chicken in a mixture of cornstarch, egg white, and Shaoxing wine. Or instead of marinating the meat, it also works to pound cornstarch into chicken, pork, or beef prior to cooking it, Chowhound Steve says. READ MORE
Rising interest in DIY kitchen projects like canning and home fermentation have many people choosing to make instead of buy, in pursuit of both superior flavor and cost savings. On Chowhound, pegasis0066 wonders, how does homemade butter compare to store-bought? READ MORE
San Francisco's Larkin Street offers a garden of Vietnamese delights, from beef broths pricked with star anise to spring rolls laced with pickled vegetables. But for a brief time, the bloom was off the rose: Turtle Tower, a pho shop best known for its chicken soup, had closed its original location on Larkin to prepare for a move to a bigger spot on the same street.
Now TT's open again at 645 Larkin Street, and 'hounds willing to wait with the famished masses welcomed the return. On Chowhound, Cynsa praises the "clean, pure flavors" of the restaurant's signature chicken broth, perked up with a squeeze of lemon and slices of jalapeño. The Tenderloin menu now includes banh mi sandwiches, which had only been offered at the Outer Richmond and SOMA locations previously, but srr says to stick with the soup.
Turtle Tower [Tenderloin]
645 Larkin Street, San Francisco
415-409-3333
Discuss: Larkin St Turtle Tower Reopens (SF)
Photo by Chris Rochelle / CHOW.com
Macaroni and cheese may be the ultimate American comfort food, but it's more a category than a specific dish. There are both baked and stovetop versions, and several methods for making each type, with variations in ingredients and resulting texture. Which you prefer comes down to personal taste. READ MORE
