nsheth's Profile
Cole Valley -- anything worth eating?
Second Zazie, good for both brunch (expect a wait on weekends) and dinner.
The no name sushi spot (Hama-Ko) is great, don't go in expecting a quick meal, things kind of just go at their own pace in there.
Oahu with a vegetarian?
Thanks all for the suggestions! Just wanted to report back quickly on the places we hit on our trip. This list is in no particular order, and I may have missed a place or two. Warning, long review!
Kakaako Kitchen
Went here straight from the airport for lunch. I ordered a mixed plate with shoyu chicken and spareribs. It was filling, as I was hungry, but nothing I feel like I need to rush back to. Perhaps I mis-ordered? My wife ordered the tofu and vegetable burger. She thought it was ok, but I liked it, the patty had a subtle mushroomy / vegetal flavor that was pleasant.
Liliha Bakery
Our friends brought us some Coco Puffs. Tasty - very similar to Beard Papa for me, but better.
Shimazu Shave Ice
HUGE portions, great selection of toppings and flavors. I don't have a huge comparison point for Shave Ice, but I'd recommend a visit here.
Roy's Waikiki
Had a toddler with us for this meal - the restaurant was VERY kid-friendly. Food-wise, things were good. I've been to Roy's in a couple other places before - there are items on the menu here that I haven't seen at Roy's on the mainland, and the food seemed to be a notch better. Highlights included the whole fish preparation (whole fish wrapped in bacon, served with hummus and pickled meyer lemon) and the pineapple upside down cake. An appetizer of foie gras mousse was a miss. It was served too cold, and the flavors on the plate never really came together. A number of vegetarian options which they pulled together into a bit of a tasting menu for my wife.
Wailana Coffee House
Good deal, quick breakfast. Standard diner fare. Under $7 for a couple eggs, a couple pieces of bacon, and all you can eat pancakes. I do have a love for pancakes, and, while not nearly the best I've ever had, they did a serviceable job. I resisted a second order, knowing that the day ahead was full of eating.
Teddy's Bigger Burgers
Good fast-food burger. Bun was a little soft, didn't quite seem to hold up, but nothing really problematic. Fries were very good and addictive (got the "spicy" version)
Alan Wongs
Sat at the chef's counter. I got the 7 course tasting menu, my wife had a custom 5 course vegetarian tasting menu. First, it was fun sitting at the counter, seeing all the food coming out. In comparison to other counters of this nature I've sat at - I wish it was set a little lower, so you can see more of the hands at work! Food-wise, I thought things were very good and mostly very well executed, but not without flaws. I found there was a little too much repetition between courses. For example, I think I had bonito flakes garnishing 3 out of my 7 plates. The key component on both of my wife's first 2 courses was exactly the same, a medly of halved baby tomatoes. I also found that the presentations, while visually stunning, were at times a bit unfunctional, something I wouldn't expect at this price point. The silverware and plateware wasn't always ideal for the course. For example, I had soup-ish courses / courses with a large amount of sauce that weren't served with a spoon. I had one course where the dish was deep and narrow, and it was difficult to get to the bottom. Food-wise, again, things were good to very good, but rarely great. A course of "crab agedashi" really stood out, but past that, nothing too memorable from my meal. That said, I found my wife's meal was outstanding (despite the ingredient repetition). Her first course was served on some sort of tomato shave ice / granita bed - one of the best things I tasted all trip. Talking with the chefs, they said the kitchen enjoys doing special requests like this, as they can get more creative. There's obviously skill in the kitchen.
One point that started coming to mind while at this meal. I'm lucky to live in the Bay Area, where we are surrounding by amazing ingredients and world-class dining, with fantastic food options throughout the entire price range. Eating in Oahu, I got a little of "big fish in little pond" sentiment. That is, perhaps I'm a bit spoiled, but I kept thinking, especially at some of the more expensive places (perhaps I'm paying tourist prices), while this is good, I feel like I could do much better at this cost back home. I tried to mix up some high-end dining with cheaper options while here, and, thinking more about it, perhaps the right approach would be to cut out the higher-end places, as that may not be what shines here. I ultimately cancelled my reservation at Chef Mavro, as I didn't think I'd get much out of another meal of this nature here.
Cinnamon's
Great coffee. Had the famed guava chiffon pancakes as part of an eggs and meat combo. The pancake itself may have been a bit dry, but the topping covered up any of those flaws. Worth a visit.
3660 On The Rise
Enjoyed this one. For the price range, presentation was a bit sloppy, and the service, while well-intentioned, was at times a little confused. Still, the food was good and flavorful, and portions very generous. I got a poke appetizer and a garlic-heavy new york strip for the main course. My wife had a salad (a very addicitive dressing) and the vegetarian entree was a japanese curry with a sort of portabello katsu. The curry could have definitely used some heat, but it was tasty. I'd recommend this to anyone looking to get off the tourist path a bit.
Eggs 'N Things
Got a bit fooled by this wait. We were told 45 min when arriving, which was at my upper bound. Turned out to be perhaps an hour 15. Was tempted to leave, but kept getting sucked into a "well we waited this long . . ." mentality. This place must be in some Japanese tour book, ha, based on the crowd. Very busy. Food was good. Again, keeping with the pancake theme, I tried the pineapple w/ whip cream pancakes (as part of another egg / meat combo). Very good. I'd go to this place again if the wait was less than, say, 15-20 min, otherwise not worth it. Again, as I mentioned with Alan Wong's above, I feel like for the cost (in this case, more specifically, the time cost of waiting!), I could do much better at home for breakfast / brunch.
Agnes' Portuguese Bake Shop
Stopped here to get some malasadas. Delicious when hot. Had a few left over that we tried later in the day, not worth eating at that point.
Waiola Shave Ice
Our second shave ice of the trip. I liked the texture of this much better than Shimazu - very smooth. I'd say the toppings (and value) of Shimazu were a bit better, so I'd lean towards that, but this was very good also. (Later in the trip, we did go by Matsumoto, but the lines there and at Aoki deterred us.)
Rainbow Drive-In
Quick bite here, I had a loco moco bowl. Tasty and cheap. Given all the food plans, I didn't want to commit to the whole plate. so this was a good option. Not on the main menu, but listed somewhere on the side. You get one hamrburger patty, one egg, and one scoop of rice with gravy.
Salt Kitchen
This is what I replaced our meal at Chef Mavro with. We enjoyed this meal a good deal - it reminded me very much of a restaurant you'd easily find in SF. An emphasis on local ingredients, and a menu geared towards trying a bunch of different small tastes. Service was a bit poor. We sat for quite some time without menus - finally, when placing our drink orders, the waiter asked us if we want to order any food to go along with them, not realizing he never gave us menus. Also, when adding on some items later in the meal, a little guidance would have been nice, as we ordered a couple things that didn't seem appropriate for that point in the meal. Food-wise, a few things were underseasoned, and not all the things we tried were a hit (for example, the crab bruschetta), but overall food was very well done (enjoyed the fried egg, the pig trotters dish). I had been told to expect a wait here, but we managed to walk right in and get seated immediately.
Fumi Shrimp Truck
Based on reviews online, picked this one over Giovanni's or Romy's. I ordered the spicy garlic shrimp plate, my wife was content with a couple pieces of their corn. I found the shrimp pretty tasty, though perhaps a tad overcooked. Value-wise, $12 for 12 little shrimp didn't seem great, but overall, the experience was fun.
Ted's Bakery
Stopped off for a slice of their famous Chocolate Haupia Pie. Was good, if not a bit supermarket-y. Looking at the ingredient list, it was full of industrial goodness. I heard it used to be better? Perhaps now geared a little more for mass production?
Hiroshi Euarsian Tapas
Went here for their happy hour. Great deal, 50% off all food, so we feasted. The sushi-oriented dishes were generally good, but the ratio of rice to fish/topping was off, way too much rice. The butterfish was outstanding. They were very accomodating in terms of vegetarian options, coming up with a mushroom pasta that was pretty good, a couple other items. I'd come back here without reservation.
A few other places I wanted to get to included either Helena's or Ono, Poke Stop, Leonards to compare to Agnes, and a few more, but just ran out of time!
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Alan Wong's Restaurant
1857 S King St Fl 3, Honolulu, HI 96826
Chef Mavro restaurant
1969 South King Street, Honolulu, HI 96826
Rainbow Drive-In
3308 Kanaina Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815
Kakaako Kitchen
1200 Ala Moana Blvd # 135, Honolulu, HI
Wailana Coffee House
1860 Ala Moana Blvd Ste Lbby, Honolulu, HI 96815
Beard Papa
7192 Kalanianaole Hwy, Honolulu, HI 96825
Oahu with a vegetarian?
Looks like Da Spot has closed, looking online? Some mention of a re-opening, but wasn't clear to me.
Oahu with a vegetarian?
We're coming from San Francisco, there's a few Loving Hut ouposts here in the city!
Overall, I'm not necessarily looking for vegetarian restaurants, just places that a vegetarian won't be forced to go hungry! For example, I noticed most of the plate lunch type places may be tough going, but Kakaako Kitchen seems to both get some love on this board and have some veggie options.
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Kakaako Kitchen
1200 Ala Moana Blvd # 135, Honolulu, HI
Oahu with a vegetarian?
Cool, thanks for the suggestions. We're coming from the Bay Area, so unless particularly destination-worthy or something I can't get here, no necessity to really seek out Chinese food!
Oahu with a vegetarian?
Yup, not worried about these "nicer" places - I've already called each and made sure that she can be accommodated!
I've left one evening free to play by ear, perhaps Salt, which doesn't seem to take reservations anyway.
Any thoughts on replacing the meal at Mavro with 3660?
Also, surprised to see some of these restaurants' hours! For example, 3660 closes at 8:30? Perhaps folks eat a little earlier here than I'm used to!
Oahu with a vegetarian?
Hey all -
Going to be in Oahu (staying in Waikiki) over Labor Day weekend. My wife is vegetarian, so some places I'd like to go may be a little difficult, but going to try! In any case, I've got a few meals planned out.
I currently have reservations one night for dinner at Roy's (meeting some local friends, their choice).
I've got reservations one night at Alan Wong's.
Now, I do have reservations for dinner one night at Chef Mavro's. However, I've come across some decidedly mixed (or negative) recent reviews on this board. Thoughts on me cancelling that and replacing with something else? I've seen a lot of love for 3660 here, for example.
This leaves one other dinner for me to fill, ideally something at a lower price point than some of the places I'm already going to. Open to any recommendations! Also, not sure what the range / variety in these scheduled meals will be (all "upscale Hawaiian?"), so perhaps something a bit different?
I'm still figuring out breakfast / lunch for the various days. Any recs would be appreciated, though I've found a ton of useful info in a couple other (older) threads. (Thanks especially to posts from KaimukiMan and Bill Hunt!)
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Alan Wong's Restaurant
1857 S King St Fl 3, Honolulu, HI 96826
Chef Mavro restaurant
1969 South King Street, Honolulu, HI 96826
Burger and Fries in SF, $10?
Lunchtime, we sometimes trek over to Grumpy's for lunch. A bit farther out, but a huge step up from Bistro Burger.
Burger and Fries in SF, $10?
That Rosamunde burger is awesome. Great way to play hooky from work, a burger from Rosamunde and an afternoon at Toronado. Been a while since I've been, tough to get to for a weekday lunch . . .
Burger and Fries in SF, $10?
I see a couple active threads about finding the best burgers in the city. I'm partial to NOPA, but I've tried and enjoyed a few of the ones on the list.
However, most of these come in a bit of a higher price point, and are often at some fairly nice restaurants, some of which are not easy to pop into for a quick bite.
What are some favorites in the city for a quick casual burger? Let's say, in the neighborhood of $10 (or less!) for a (cheese)burger and fries?
People often praise Burgermeister, but I find I'm not a fan. I've heard Roam's pretty good, but I've never been. Gott's (Taylor's) may fit the casual bill, but I find it a bit overpriced for what you get. I went to Bill's Place not too long ago, thought it was decent.
Thoughts / suggestions?
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Bill's Place
2315 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121
Sushirrito (Asian fusion burrito) SF SOMA
Lots of reviews on Sentinel on the board here. Here's a link to their site / menu -
http://www.thesentinelsf.com/
Sushirrito (Asian fusion burrito) SF SOMA
Last couple times folks from work have gone to Sushirrito, I've just quietly left the group while they're ordering and picked up my lunch at Sentinel.
I agree with a previous comment - too much filler (rice, way too much cucumber) for the price.
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Sushirrito
59 New Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA 94105
Best street food in SF
To follow up a little, I do find myself returning time and time again! Guess I liked it more than I originally reported here!
best pancakes
I'm a fan of Zazie's pancakes. Easy muni ride, but will have a wait if it's on the weekend.
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Zazie
941 Cole St, San Francisco, CA 94117
Large group - Monterey / Carmel / Pacific Grove
Ah, to be clear, I'm Indian, and this was all family - like I mentioned earlier, going to an Indian restaurant is usually a pretty safe and easy option!
Also, I wouldn't consider myself knowledgeable about wine, but they seemed to have a pretty extensive list for an Indian restaurant, not something I notice often. (We brought our own bottles.)
Large group - Monterey / Carmel / Pacific Grove
Thanks all for the recs, again. We ended up at Ambrosia. We had to sit outdoors on the patio due to our large party size and the late notice. It was a cold night, but enough heat lamps that it was comfortable enough.
Food was very good, and they handled the group size very well. We had pre-ordered for the group. If I recall, we had samosas, pakora, papad, raita, garlic / butter naan, chicken curry, dal bukhara, palak paneer, and malai kofta (perhaps I'm missing something).
One slight complaint, we hadn't specified how spicy to make everything, and, while tasty and balanced, a little more heat would have been nice. We did order one last chicken curry and requested it spicy, and it made a world of difference, almost tasted like another dish entirely. If I wasn't so stuffed at that point, I would have gladly eaten the whole serving myself.
The graduating individual mentioned that's there's only a couple Indian restaurants in Monterey, and this is the only one with good food. With such a low density of options, I'd cynically expect things to be at most serviceable, but Ambrosia far exceeded those expectations and should be a real option for anyone looking for quality Indian food in the area.
(We also had a group dinner at Cibo over the weekend. Pretty disappointing across the board, with items being sent back, a couple significant service snafus / kitchen mistakes, and overall mediocre food.)
Large group - Monterey / Carmel / Pacific Grove
Thanks Melanie, ran this by a couple people, they've eaten there, said it was good. (Our group will mostly Indian, so Indian restaurants often are a "safe" choice.) They had availability for next weekend, so this works.
I'll report back on how it went!
Large group - Monterey / Carmel / Pacific Grove
Thanks, I'll take a look at these, and call to see what availability is like. This is for a business school graduation, we'll have a broad range of ages (a couple small children, a bunch of people in their 20s, and then folks who are older).
Budget-wise, I'll have to confirm, but let's say no more than $25/pp for food. Also, we'll have a good number of vegetarians.
(Keeping all this in mind, perhaps Vito's is a good option based on the suggestions given so far?)
Large group - Monterey / Carmel / Pacific Grove
Ack, a little last minute, I've been asked to find a restaurant for a large group (30-35 people) for a graduation dinner next weekend (a week away), Sat night.
At a bit of a loss, as I don't know the area all that well, and browsing through the boards, a bit tough to figure out what would actually be good for such a large group. Ideally, something that's more mid-range - not too expensive, but we can still have some wine, etc.
Any thoughts from folks?
Thanks!
Best Veggie Burger in SF
Hillstone (formerly Houston's) also makes their own veggie patty. Was there last night, my wife ordered it, and she enjoyed it (I thought it was merely ok).
Description:
Brown rice, black beans and oat bran recipe with sweet soy and melted Jack
Best Veggie Burger in SF
I've liked the one at Monk's Kettle.
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The Monk's Kettle
3141 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Best Veggie Burger in SF
Link:
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2011/03/best_veggie_burgers_in_the_bay_area_laura_hooper_beck.php
Troya -- SO much better than I remembered
Yup, that prix-fixe deal was fantastic. More food than any single person could (well, should) eat. You get a great representation of the entire menu, I'd heartily recommend it for any group outing.
Super Bowl suggestions needed for visitor
To my knowledge, Magnolia doesn't have any tvs.
I'd suggest Toronado. Great beer selection, as good as any you'll find in the city. You can bring in food from outside (great sausages next door, good bbq right across the street.)
They've got 2 tvs, one above the bar and one in the back room. You may need to be there early-ish to grab a seat where you can see the game, though. And, if it's too busy, Mad Dog in the Haight is across the street, though not too familiar with what they'd have on tap or their food options.
(Much different venue than Jillians would be, Toronado's small and dive-y.)
Namu - Mixed Review
A few of us went to Namu last night. I've been there in the past, and have generally liked the food (with the exception of their Korean fried chicken, which I found almost inedible).
Around the table, we ordered a couple burgers, a couple bowls of ramen, some of their mushroom dumplings, a stone pot (bibimbap-like) dish, some brussel sprouts, and a couple desserts.
The burger was liked all around the table. I've had it before, and really enjoyed it (cooked a good bit past my requested doneness, but still very good).
We were excited about the ramen - the menu states only 6 bowls available a night, and we snagged the last 2. In previous trips there, I've always been too late to get a bowl. All in all, it was probably one of the least successful ramen bowls I've had in recent memory. They were out of pork belly, so they substituted with tonkatsu, which was fine. There was a panko-crusted fried egg on top, which was very good. Nothing else in the bowl worked for me. The broth was a bit flat, boring. There were some pickled green beans, which clashed with everything. The kimchee didn't seem to belong. All in all, a pretty disappointing bowl. Anybody else have any reports on it? Not sure if things were just "off" last night . . .
Everything else we had was very good. I'd definitely go back, if just for the burger and appetizers.
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Namu
439 Balboa Street, San Francisco, CA 94118
FIDI "nice" inexpensive lunch?
Barbacco?
Restaurant Ducroix?
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Barbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111
Ducroix
690 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA
ISO Burgers, Fries and Shakes in SF
Inspired by this thread, went and checked out Bill's this weekend, not too far from my place. Definitely took me back, haven't had the burger / fries / shake meal in a while!
My burger was pretty good - not really comparing it to, say, Nopa, but it was good for a casual, diner-y place. They've got a number of topping options (including once with beets and pineapple). Menu says all burgers come out medium-rare, mine definitely came out cooked a bit past that, but still good.
Fries, eh. Very similar to In N Out's fries, not a huge fan.
Shakes made with Dreyer's ice cream. Served with the rest of the shake in the metal container, plenty for two.
Best bites of 2010
I'm a fan of Z&Y. Haven't noticed the lamb ribs on the menu. There's a mention of yelp of some sort of "spicy lamb chops on a secret menu" . . .
ISO Burgers, Fries and Shakes in SF
Bistro Burger . . . we end up there fairly often, not because it's anything good, but because it's an adequate option for a reasonably priced burger meal for a workday lunch in the financial district. Nothing I'd ever go out of my way for nor recommend to anyone.
Vegetarian Ramen?
Genki Ramen has some sort of vegetarian curry ramen. I think one of the Japantown places (Suzu? Tanpopo?) has a vegetarian ramen also.
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Genki Ramen
3944 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94118
Tanpopo
1740 Buchanan St, San Francisco, CA
