Big Larry's Profile
Looking for an awesome porkchop
NOPA has quite the pork chop. A couple weeks ago it was served over white beans with a salsa verde. Perfectly cooked to a medium rare it was really good.
Bostonians looking for chow near Golden Gate Park
9th and Irving has a couple really good options. Yummy Yummy on Irving @ 11th is very good vietnamese. Yumma's on Irving @ 10th is very good middle eastern (falafel/schwarma/kabobs) and they have a nice little patio outback to sit in the sun. Park Chow in my mind is quite overated.
Jeanty @ Jack's: recent impressions?
for what it is it's still great. solid food, good atmoshpere, professional service, great space, and good prices. last couple times i've been there (within last 6 months) i've had steak frites and steak tartar, and both were solid.
Your Favorite places for Soup
el delfin on 24th in the mission has really good soups for this type of weather. their chicken soup is a homey concoction that you'd swear your grandma made. very rich chicken stock with a nice celery taste, a few veggies (cabage, carrots, and potato), and tender dark meat chicken (i think last time it was a whole leg quarter). their pozole is about the best i've found in the city, and they use fresh hominy...last time i had it a few saturday's ago it was fresh purple hominy. i was there last night and had the beef soup, and it was the weakest of all the soups i've had there. it was good and had great flavor, but the broth was a little murkey and the beef wasn't as tender as it could have been.....though it hit the spot on a chilly night.
Best Wings in SF?
they are not good. they deliver to the bars on union street so i've had them on numerous occasions watching football down that way. the sauce isn't that bad, it's pretty close to a traditional buffalo wing sauce, but the wings are very very small and deep frying them totally dries them out and makes them chewy and tough.
pho cubes in bay area?
99 Ranch does carry pho cubes. there are a few different flavors...chicken, etc. they are not very good and don't come close to having the flavor of a mediocre pho broth, let alone a decent one....i found that if you add a little hoisin and fish sauce it improves them a bit...
Ad Hoc, an off night? (long post)
i think the original post is terribly over-sensationalized to the point where it's hard to take serious. it's also hard to take a review serious from a person with self-imposed eating restrictions. tough to call yourself a chowhound if you choose to restrict your diet.....
"Then he took one bite, turned an unusual shade of green, ran to the sink and spit it out."Jesus! What is that?!? Raw liver?!?," he exclaimed. He went on to hold his mouth under the faucet with the water running, while yelling for something, anything, to get the taste out of his mouth. I was laughing too hard to comply. When he finally came up for air, he said, "That's the most vile thing I've ever tasted."
the reaction that the OP describes is what one would experience eating poop..... i find it hard to believe that food from Ad Hoc, which has received tremendous reviews and is another great restaurant in the TK empire, could ellicit a reaction like that. in fact, i'm calling BS on that line. it didn't happen.
Cask-conditioned ales in Berkeley or Bay area?
Thirsty Bear has it. They were out last time I was there....
And Cato's (the beer bar on piedmont in oakland) has it.
Please check this Boston hound's homework
For a large team dinner R&G Lounge is perfect. Had one there recently for 18 people. They seated us upstairs in a seperate room with one big table. We ordered off the menu night of, but it was fabulous. Crabs, suckling pig, duck, stuffed bean curd, and on and on. A great meal for a big group and the food doesn't have to be 'scary and foreign' to people used to simple food or pf changs.
Ad Hoc, an off night? (long post)
I had quite an excellent meal at Ad Hoc a couple of Friday's ago. Heirloom tomato salald with fresh mozzarella and cucumbers, Santa Maria Skirt Steak cooked sous vide served with potatoes and rocket, a soft sheep's milk cheese with an endive salad, and panna cotta for dessert. The salad was supremely fresh with very flavorful and sweet tomatoes and the house made cheese was perfect as well, the steak was tender like a filet, the cheese was fine, and the panna cotta was sublime.....the combination of buttermilk and creme fraiche made for one of the best versions i've had. the service was very good....not in your face, but very helfpful with questions and good with descriptions. with 2 glasses of wine a piece it was $140-something before tax and tip. quite affordable for what you get.
knowing the concept of the restaurant ahead of time, it seems to me that it would be a waste of time and money to go there and substitute/omit items. when a menu is built around certain ingredients that came in that day, there's going to be a bit lacking if you leave things out and/or substitute. essentially it's an affront to the chef...and then to write a negative review...........
jubili on fillmore, frozen yogurt
oh, it's very good. per the kid working there "it's some 'new' technology for frozen yogurt from somewhere? there might be a patent on it?" but the plain almost tastes like pana cotta. it has super rich yogurt flavor with a creme fraiche (sp?) tang and most of the sweetness seems to come from fat. really a treat when it comes to dessert. or a snack.
Best Fruits de Mer in SF?
bouchon is my favorite. the oysters are pristine. sit at the end of the zinc bar, get a good glass of wine and a big seafood platter, and it can't be beat. zuni is a very close second.
Desperately seeking chicken wings
The Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings at Pho Hoa Hiep (Irving Btw. 19th & 20th) fit the bill. 5 huge wings to an order (the whole wings) fried to a golden brown and served with some pickled vegetables and nuoc cham? They are the best chicken wings of that style in the city. They also have an Oakland branch where they are good as well.
Rec's for Dinner In Oakland with Friend from KC
yes to Lukas for someone from KC. it's totally unlike anything they would find there....and such a good scene as well. Pizzaiolo would be a good bet too.
birthday dinner for beer guy during SF visit?
if you are going to sonoma at any point in your visit do not miss Russia River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa. they are brewing the best beer in California and possibly the country at this time. Their Double IPA, Pliny the Elder, is amazingly hoppy and not as bitter as you'd think. it's a special place for beer. they only have pizza's, calzones, foccacia's, and a few appetizers on their menu, but the food is pretty solid as well. it's a drive up that way, 50 minutes, but a place not to be missed for a true beer lover.
Alemany Farmer's Market Report
i've been getting cling peaches there the last few weeks that have been fabulous. they actually taste like peach.
also, the ferrari farms people and their $1/lb selection of organic plums, pluots, peaches, nectarines, etc. is unbeatable, and it's all been terribly sweet lately.
the okra has been good recently.
and cherry tomatoes for 80cents a pound is great.
there's a stand that sells huge bunches of swiss chard (red and green) for $1 a piece.
and there's a guy who sets up shop over by the asian fish market and the people who sells chickens who sells new all clad cookware. i haven't bought anything yet, but he's had some good pots/pans at good prices. no doubt it's hot, but it is cheap.
alemany totally rocks. i could go on and on. it's such an amazing market.
it's a farmers market for the people!!!!
El Delfin - Costillas De Puerco en Rojo
i thought the caldo de pollo at el delfin was quite good. the broth reminded me of my mothers chicken soup, just clean chicken flavor with overtones of celery.
i agree with you on the tortillas. that's my one complaint with the restaurant, that they don't make their own tortillas.
El Delfin - Costillas De Puerco en Rojo
I continue to be impressed by this place. was there last week and the fish in creamy garlic sauce keeps getting better and better. the sauce was a darker shade of yellow this time and was just terribly complex and creamy and flavorful. the mole served with the tamales was pretty darn good too. it's consistently one of the top mexican joints in the city.
Ten
Are the roll's 'spicy' simply because they're smothered in rooster sauce or is the spiciness from something else? As much as I love rooster sauce I'm not a fan of a 'spicy' roll just smothered in the stuff. When I order a 'spicy' roll it would taste the same and be cheaper to just eat sushi rice and rooster sauce....in most cases.
New Orlean Trip Itinerary (July 3rd-6th)
Coming to New Orleans Next Week. Please critique my tentative itinerary?
Tuesday Evening: Couchon
Wed: 4th of July BBQ's etc.
Thurs: Lunch Crabby Jacks
Dinner Clancy's
Friday:Not sure????
We are looking for a brunch/lunch place to have a long meal on Friday as we leave at 5:00PM. Suggestions for that?
Please let me know what you think.
Thanks
Memphis Chowhounds coming to SF
It would be a waste of a meal, being from Memphis, to eat at Memphis Minnies in SF. The BBQ doesn't compare at all to what you'd get in Memphis or KC.
Where to Find Hite 'Pitcher' - Restaurants and Markets in SF
Hite Beer (Korean) makes something called a 'pitcher'. It's a 1.6L plastic bottle of beer with a screw top cap....for when a 40oz just isn't enough. What restaurants or markets in SF sell this novelty? I found on Yelp that Pine Restaurant on Noriega has them. Any others?
Memphis Chowhounds coming to SF
J's Pots of Soul at Octavia & Page gives a solid breakfast/lunch in a cozy, unique setting. It's kind of a soul food type place, but run by an asian family who treats diners like family. Really, really good fried chicken wings that you can get at breakfast or lunch. And good coffee served in mismatched mugs like you'd have at home. D-Jay and Skinny Black would approve.
Lahore Karahi - Brief Report
i love lahore karahi and guddu like nobody's business, but the service there really wears on me. i don't go anymore if it's busy, 'cause it ends up being a 1.5 hour meal, which is fine sometimes...... but other times you just want to eat.
Somerset- Oakland
Same story here with the fried chicken. And it was terribly salty as well.
din tai fung coming to vallco mall, cupertino, ca
that would be wonderful. the branch in arcadia is great.
Favorite SF Restaurants for the Money
Agree. And if you say spicy, it comes out spicy.
The fish tandoori, when cooked well, is great 'for the money'. You get 4-5 big hunks of fish served sizzling with onions for $10.
yummy yummy not! and etc.
I ate at Yummy Yummy last night and it was great as usual. Chicken soup (hu tieu ga), the vietnamese crepe (banh xeo), and grilled clams (???) were all real good.
PPQ Chicken Noodle House - New in SF
Walked by PPQ Chicken Noodle House on Irving the other night and it was closed with signs in the window saying some sort of Tofu House was Coming Soon (the exact name escapes me). Not terribly sad to see it go as it wasn't as good as the two Pho houses at 19th and Irving (Pho Hoa Hiep and PPQ). I guess since it replaced Jook n' Fun, which was a favorite of mine, I never wanted to see PPQ Chicken make it.
El Delfin - Costillas De Puerco en Rojo
Had an awesome dish at El Delfin on 24th last weekend. Pork ribs in a red sauce. Meaty chunks of pork ribs, which were quite tender, swimming in a red spicy sauce. The red sauce (made with Pasilla peppers the chef told me) was complex and spicy. It wasn't quite *hot* enough for me, but tapatio did the trick. Others had chicken mole. Enchiladas with mole. And filet of fish with creamy garlic sauce. All was very good. have been there 4 times recently, and it's always been solid. I think the specials are the way to go. The lady running the front of the house (owner and chef's wife) said the red sauce (and the mole) were her mother in law's recipe.
