After going a couple of times to the Tenderloin branch, I've been twice to Hayes. The roast duck was quite good, and even better was the shrimp fried rice with shrimp paste (on the house specialties list). Moderately spicy, but the winning details were the strong shrimp paste and the pickled (or fermented?) egg. The combination was great, if advanced.

I think their strength is the more authentic dishes, not the generic Americanized dishes. I tried to ask them what they recommend but I they pointed me to the later, probably because I didn't specify that I wanted to eat what -they- eat.

I'm glad that Ryan and Katharine from The Broken Record resurfaced at Bruno's because I was jonesing for their southern-style, yet somehow not heavy fare. I had not been to Bruno's since it was a happening club in the early 90s. It is good to be back for Ryan and Kat's menu.

I had the chicken and waffles. How does one make waffles so ethereal, so light? The chicken was perfectly crispy, and the whole dish together was gratifying yet not too heavy, a little savory, a little sweet.

My companions had the frito pie and bbq ribs, which both got high marks although I didn't taste them.

Another favorite that I always ordered at the Broken Record is the hush puppies. (They basically moved the same menu here.) Again - surprisingly light for what is essentially a ball of fried corn dough and butter.

They are serving dinner Tues-Sat, which is good because those poor kids were cooking 7 nights a week over at Broken Record. I hesitate to write this review because the place is still on the down-low so I can get in for dinner without a wait. But they deserve to do well. Theirs is a completely fresh, careful and thoughtful take on old southern standards.

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Bruno's Restaurant
2389 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

I'm from food-obsessed San Francisco, traveling alone in Sydney for a few days. Staying in Newtown, no car. Willing to walk far or train for quality food, particularly if it's something I can't get at home. I've had great hole-in-the wall Chinese out in Ashfield and Thai out at the Rocks - both were nice because the styles were different than in SF.

Since I'm alone, I'd like to go somewhere that serves at the bar, or is very casual. Perhaps a gastropub would fit the bill one night.

I agree that he did a striking job of using almost no protein. I did wonder if the farro and meat juice was a smooth cover for a botched piece of meat? Impressive either way. He rocked it.

I also thought he picked an easy Iron Chef to beat, given Kinch's style and talent. Would have been harder to beat Morimoto, for instance on plating and perhaps originality.

That's a hard one. Maybe fresh summer strawberries?

Really, you thought the malt was subtle? I thought it totally tasted like a malted milkshake. Just finished off the pint of it moments ago, in fact, and noticed that it left a decadent layer of frozen cream coating my mouth that has slowly warmed and dissolved. Been a long time since I've had ice cream that did that.

I like Bi-Rite a lot but always cringed at paying $8 for such a lightweight pint. I'm more comfortable paying $7.50 for Humphry's densely packed, equally delicious pint.

Yeah I liked the vinegaryness, too. Made me feel less embarrassed about how I've been stirring cheap balsamic into my vanilla ice cream to make vinegar soft serve for years.

The Thai chili lime was great, little spicy kick as described by Melanie. I paired it with the Strauss Yogurt, which I thought was nicely tangy.

Also tried the malted dulce de leche. Dug it. No swirls of caramel, but the malt flavor comes through.

Secret breakfast was awesome. Very bourbony...and crunchy with the corn flakes. They said that one will likely stay on as a regular.

Cute little place with old soda fountain red twirling stools in the window. I hope to make this a regular stop. Owner guy was really nice, too!

It went well. I was hesitant to include so much sugar, but it did cook down into a thick sauce that you really only need a small amount of to flavor a whole bowl of rice. I didn't have lemongrass or the right chili paste, either, but I used kafir lime, harissa paste and also a little fish sauce. I guess I changed most of the ingredients in the end! But the concept of making a sweet, sticky, tangy sauce with crunchy tempeh certainly worked great.

Thank you, operagirl! I've been wanting to replicate the tempeh la-la from Asian Rose for years. I don't have galangal but I think I can sub ginger and lemon juice - can't hurt, anyway.

Luckily, no longer true. Rainbow sells Anson Mills grits in bulk.
Joy!

Last night:

Octopus carpaccio with cumin and smoked paprika appetizer was delicious. Lots of lemon to balance the strong seasoning and the octopus was tender.

Fried shrimp in jicama tacos was really interesting. The jicama was sliced really thin and provided a nice refreshing crunch instead of the usual corn tortilla.

Duck confit was in a build-your-own taco format. A little boring but tasty.

Had a really nice, bright Austrian white (not reisling) on the rec of the waiter.

The staff were really friendly and attentive. The decor is really fun. You can tell someone had a great time putting it together. Prices are reasonable.

Nice to see something cute and a bit edgy like this on 22nd Street!

Tanks, all. I tried it with pigeon peas and a tiny bit to thin an egg salad -- basically anything that might be good with chopped olives I have discovered works.

Great ideas! Thanks.

Is there anything to be done with the brine leftover from a nice can of Spanish olives stuffed with tuna? It's very flavorful but I can't think of a way to use it.

The new Bar Bambino has a nice rabbit with paparadelle. Simply prepared, probably just a few herbs and olive oil with bunny meat.

The steamed sea bass, when it's available, is phenomenal and worth the $25 (!). Perectly cooked, buttery, moist, and falls apart on your fork. It's in a light black bean sauce.

Other than Piperade, is there anywhere with a table like this for a group of 8-12? Long tables just don't allow you to talk to more than the 3 people sitting around you. The group will be coming from the Hyatt Embarcadero, so walking or short cab distance is preferable.

Alternatively, we could take the risk of showing up somewhere with a first-come-first-served lounge area that serves appetizers, so long as the place is conductive to keeping the group together and not splitting us up. Perbacco and Slanted Door tell me this can be done. Any experience with this?

Is there such a thing as raw rice for purchase? I mean, fresh, not dried? And is there any reason why it would be better or used differently than dried rice?

I'll be staying at the Omni on Michigan Avenue the week of November 13 and am looking for delicious and creative places to dine alone. So, I figure places that serve at the bar would probably be most comfortable for a solo experience? And not too hard to get to from the hotel. I really liked Avec when I was in town last time with a colleague, if that gives you a sense for my taste.

I am also up for quintessential Chicago deliciousness that I can take out and eat in my hotel room, such as deep dish pizza from, say, Lou Malnati's.

If I don't make it there until around 2pm, is it still worth going? I see they close at 3. Will it be overpicked by 2?

I go a few times a year because it is in my neighborhood and my dining companions and I are always left with the same feeling: nice people but mediocre food at fairly high prices. You can get much better food at about a million other places in SF in that price range. Why do I still go? Occassional laziness. I lament that we don't have a better selection in Glen Park. The food is so unmemorable that I can't even recall what I had there last time, 2 weeks ago.