Benny Choi's Profile
Is Yummy Yummy yummy yummy?
Thumbs up on Yummy Yummy. I've been many times for lunch and dinner.
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Yummy Yummy
1015 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122
Friday night traffic on peninsula - will I make it to Salinas for tacos?
It's quite a long drive just to Salinas without traffic. Depending on where you are starting in San Francisco, and depending on the unpredictable Friday evening traffic, you might make it at a decent hour, but then again you might not. Your chosen route is your best bet in terms of traffic and distance.
However, you might enjoy getting Chinese food in Millbrae (a handful of choices) near 101 and let traffic thin out before you hit the road. Or Vietnamese food in MIllbrae: Le Petite Camille on El Camino Real. Or Hong Kong style food at Blue Sky Cafe in Belmont.
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Broadway Bistro
349 Broadway, Millbrae, CA 94030
Cafe Salina
235 Broadway, Millbrae, CA 94030
Blue Sky Cafe
1625 El Camino Real, Belmont, CA
La Petite Camille
170 El Camino Real, Millbrae, CA 94030
Shanghai- and Beijing-style food
Michael, I'm on the other side of your experience cycle. I recently vacationed in Shanghai and Beijing for my first time and had some excellent food experiences there.
Shanghai East and Happy Cafe, both in San Mateo, are good starts for Shanghainese cuisine here. Try the drunken chicken and the minced greens and tofu dishes. I found the XLB in Shanghai to have more robust, meaty flavors inside than what you find here in the Bay Area. I ate at Yank Sing just a few days after returning from my trip and I found the XLB there to be bland compared to the real stuff.
Other than Everyday Beijing, I don't know of any Beijing cuisine restaurants here. Just some tips while you're in Beijing - avoid the touristy night market, the food was universally disappointing; don't be surprised to find some of the excellent Peking duck meat and crispy skin to have much more of a gamey flavor than what you get here.
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Everyday Beijing
637 South B Street, San Mateo, CA
Shanghai East Restaurant
105 W 25th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403
Happy Cafe Restaurant
250 S B St, San Mateo, CA 94401
Local Crabs are Coming
I was at 99 Ranch Market last night in San Mateo and I saw live Dungenness crabs for $3.49/lbs. I did not buy as I was there to buy fish instead. I did not ask where the crabs were from.
Local Crabs are Coming
Clean the live crab with a strong brush under running water. In a large pot, bring some water to boil - no need for the water to be enough to submerse the crab, steaming is fine. You can put salt, fresh garlic, fresh ginger in the water if you want. Throw the whole live crab in the pot and cover. Steam for 12 to 15 minutes depending on the size and how intense you boil the water. Take it out to cool down. Serve, crack, and enjoy.
Local Crabs are Coming
Visited Pillar Point late yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. You could see many stacks of the crab pots still in the parking lot and on many of the boats in dock. No local crabs available from boats at that time late yesterday afternoon.
Instead, picked up a few live Washington state crabs at Marina market in San Mateo, $3.99/lbs. They were quite nice fried up in Singaporean chili crab sauce.
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Marina Food
2992 S Norfolk St, San Mateo, CA 94403
sushi in Japantown
I was recently part of one of those large parties at Cafe Mums and we got the AYCE&D shabu shabu deal. Certainly an enjoyable experience for a group, with the shared cooking on the table and such. Not sure I can say it was the very best shabu shabu I've ever had though.
I also recently enjoyed the special omakase at KISS. Really great food experience, especially the sashimi course. Too bad for the OP they're closed on Sunday, although I'm just noticing the OP posted many months ago.
For the group of 10 on Friday before heading to Yoshi's, I suggest calling ahead for Osaka on Fillmore, across the street from the previously suggested Toraya. The sushi is more affordable there and is more casual with friendly service. Not the greatest sushi, but certainly decent. I must admit it's been about a year since I've eaten there since I moved away from the neighborhood.
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Kiss Seafood
1700 Laguna St, San Francisco, CA 94115
Cafe Mums
1800 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA
Osaka Japanese Restaurant
1923 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115
BBQ Apple and Cherry wood chunks in SF
Thanks yimster and Nancy for the Lazzari tip!! Definitely closer to home than BBQ Galore.
BBQ Apple and Cherry wood chunks in SF
The peninsula location is in Palo Alto on El Camino Real. The San Rafael location is not too far from the city assuming there's not much traffic along the Golden Gate Bridge. Both do carry apple and cherry wood chunks. Consider the oak wood chunks if you're smoking something for a really long time, like brisket.
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Barbeques Galore
2080 El, Camino Real Palo Alto, CA
Barbeques Galore
620 Francisco Blvd W, San Rafael, CA 94901
When does crab season start?
In addition to directly supporting the fishermen, it's just a cool experience, especially with out of town guests in tow, to walk right up to a boat and buy direct from the guys who clearly worked very hard to bring in the crabs themselves. $4/lbs cash, with the possibility an extra crab or two when buying a larger quantity, is totally worth it.
When does crab season start?
When crab season gets started, you just follow the crowd - you'll see plenty of people going to and from the piers.
You can either buy directly from the boats or walk to the very end of the pier where there is one processor with huge bins of live crabs.
When does crab season start?
I've posted this before, the one time I brought an ice chest, the crabbers told me that ice might kill the live crabs, so if you're going to keep them alive for cooking later the same day, don't use ice in your ice chest. I've found the ice chest with wheels and a high handle, like airport luggage, works quite nice when buying directly from the boats at Princeton Harbor.
When you buy larger quantities, often the crabbers will toss in an extra crab or two for free, usually smaller ones they can't easily sell. Once, one crabber gave us so many free crabs with the ones we wanted that we literally could not finish them all at our crab party.
2008 Michelin Guide San Francisco
I have disagree with Michelin on Cortez. I went with a group about a year ago and we had a dreadful meal. Food, service, and price were all very disappointing. It's difficult to imagine them earning a Michelin star.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/344327
Gary Dankos or French Laundry
I agree the two restaurants are quite different and also agree it's extremely difficult to get a reservation at French Laundry.
Having eaten twice at Gary Danko and once at French Laundry, and enjoyed all three experiences, I would concur with the suggestion of trying to make the French Laundry reservation, and treating Gary Danko as a back up.
The food and atmospheres are quite different. However, I would say Gary Danko is a better value, especially given the increased prices at French Laundry the last couple of years.
Service at French Laundry is very efficient and proper.
Service at Gary Danko is also efficient, but I've found they will reflect whatever attitude you and your guests bring.
By the way, the locals never say "San Fran". It's "San Francisco" or simply, "the city". Definitely not "Frisco". I realize everyone outside of the Bay Area calls it "San Fran" but it easily pegs you as a tourist around here.
Santa is Moving
I drove by the new space again last night. The signs on the door and along the top of the building are in place for Santa Ramen. So, there's progress, but I did not see any indication as to how soon they'll move in.
Venue for a large party?
It's become a bit of a conventioners' bus stop, but I'd say Tres Agaves, which has the party room space, the popular tequila bar for fun, and generally good food, although they get inconsistent reviews here.
If it's a weeknight, you could go to Henry's Hunan at 2nd and Natoma. They've got plenty of space and aren't crowded for dinner. Very popular Chinese food. Easy walk from BART Montgomery Station.
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Tres Agaves Restaurant
130 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA 94107
Henry's Hunan Restaurant
110 Natoma St, San Francisco, CA 94105
Venue for a large party?
I've eaten downstairs at the Last Supper Club once - it's dark and cramped feeling, not ideal for pre-wedding party even if it was just for 40 people. The food was not impressive the time I went.
Good B-Day dinner for 3 under a 100 bucks with food rules
Depending on how your friends feel about restaurants and how special or not they like to be treated for their belated b-days, I would recommend Hard Knox for accessible soul food in the Dog Patch neighborhood. Definitely, you'll stay under budget, including alcohol, and there's lots of meat and potato and rice choices. It's certainly a more casual place, so maybe it's not special enough for a birthday, but the food is consistently good there and the atmosphere is lively without being too loud.
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Hard Knox Cafe
2526 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94107
New Balompie venue(s)!
I just discovered this myself today. The big sign out front still says Our Place #3 but there is now a banner hanging that says "Under New Management, Reopening Sept 20th, Mon thru Fri 7 am to 3 pm".
I went in and saw the changes. In terms of the facility, it's subtle. You now order from the counter. All the chairs along the counter are gone. There's an espresso machine installed. They also cut a wide pass through space to the previously isolated kitchen. There are some new decoration items on the walls.
The menu has been heavily simplified to emphasize Salvadoran platters, although you can still get a burger there.
I had the chicken pupusas platter and found it to be quite tasty. I am not an expert on Salvadoran cuisine - only had pupusas before La Bamba in Richmond many years ago.
I was served small bowls of pickled spicy cabbage, a black bean paste, a smooth red salsa, and some homemade tortilla chips. All of these were quite good.
The pupusas were cheesy, not a lot of meat, served with a small bit of rice, more black bean paste, and a dark roasted salsa. All in all, I enjoyed it.
The staff is much bigger than before, although I recognize at least one of the cooks from the Our Place incarnation.
Chicken Hooray in Marin?
The Chicken Hooray truck was at the Belmont Farmers Market earlier today. We tried the whole roast chicken. It was seasoned ok but the meat wasn't that great. It was one of the last chickens from that particular rotisserie stick so it was waiting the longest to be sold, resulting in the meat being just slightly drier, despite the greasiness from the drippings from the chickens above.
The concept is identical to Roli Roti, but Roli Roti (at least the multiple times I've had it at the Ferry Building Farmers Market) tastes better and offers an organic chicken option. The people at today's Chicken Hooray truck, when asked by someone whether the chicken was free-range, said only that the chicken is "all natural".
Seems more like a copy-cat operation to Roli Roti than an innovator.
Santa is Moving
I drove by the upcoming location on ECR. The former Ishin Japanese Restaurant space at 1944 South El Camino Real in San Mateo, next door to the Payless Shoe store and across from the Nijiya Japanese market and Men's Wearhouse, is being worked on right now. I saw interior construction work happening with construction guys working. In addition, there was a public notice sign in the window indicating the owners and the name, "Santa Ramen". The space seems fairly narrow from the front.
What am I missing at the French Laundry?
I think I need to clarify my story about encouraging my friends to adjust expectations before we arrived at FL. I really do think people go with hyped up expectations and have unreasonable expectations that the food will blow them away and then they are easily disappointed.
I don't think I asked my friends to "lower" their expectations. Just make them more realistic.
The thought recently came to mind that you would tell your friends to adjust, not lower, expectations, if they were thinking they would experience being "blown away" at a Metallica concert when in fact you're all attending a Yo Yo Ma concert.
Low-key wedding dinner for small party?
ACME Chophouse at the ballpark is somewhat out of your price range, but will give you the atmosphere and private room for your group size, as well as the American steakhouse fare you're asking for. December means no baseball games. They have experience handling wedding dinners. Depending on the hour of the day, you may also get some nice wedding photos around the exterior of the ballpark and near the boat docks and with the Bay Bridge in the background.
What am I missing at the French Laundry?
Bourdain's "A Cook's Tour" episode on FL definitely motivated me and at least one of my friends for that visit. However, that TV show was a special experience for Bourdain and his guests, as they were treated to nearly 40 different dishes by Chef Keller and crew. Regular guests get 9 courses from the popular tasting menu. Everyone gets mostly the same food throughout the meal and not the wildly varied selection of dishes passed around by Bourdain and entourage.
From my one FL experience, I must say, by course 6, we were getting quite full. One of us at the table couldn't eat any more past course 6. I barely finished the 9th course (the last 3 courses are dessert). I don't recall regaining any appetite through the marathon meal.
What am I missing at the French Laundry?
I agree, the one time I went to FL, I encouraged everyone in the car to not expect to be blown away, but instead to pay attention to the details and the effort the kitchen puts into the food. We knew we also had to be patient as the 4 hour experience would seem slowly paced.
With those metered expectations, we were all thoroughly impressed and very much enjoyed our meal.
Returning to SF - my old stomping grounds...
For #2, I recommend you take your wife to Piperade for great Basque inspired food. Upscale feel, quality food, without the massive wallet drain.
As for trends, the crudo trend was big last year, not sure if it's still around.
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Piperade
1015 Battery St., San Francisco, CA 94111
100 Brannan St - kiss of death location
Some how the next door deli store, which sells pretty good sandwiches, salad bar, and chilled deli salads, but fairly awful hot food, stays in business.
There must have been really high rent for 100 Brannan. We'll see how the landlord does in opening their own restaurant.
100 Brannan St - kiss of death location
Agreed splitting the space might help keep the rent down for future tenants, but since the shape is so odd, I'm having a hard time imagining where a second entrance would be, since so little of the current space juts out towards the sidewalk.
J's Pots of Soul, and a poem!
I wonder how these wings compare to Mama Lucy's
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J's Pots of Soul
203 Octavia St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Mama Lucy's Soulful Comfort Cuisine
1 Gilbert St, San Francisco, CA 94103
100 Brannan St - kiss of death location
We talked about this before and I wanted to see if others had more opinions about this.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/46736
100 Brannan Street is along the South Beach waterfront, near the AT&T ball park. There have been a long list of restaurants which have set up shop and then closed down, with one exception being Slanted Door. As posted by others in the previous thread (plus some web sleuthing), this location has housed:
Embarko (late '80s, early '90s) - thrived before '89 earthquake, then suffered from freeway changes
Short lived Italian place called something like "Prego, Pizza, Pasta & More"
Pickled Ginger (1997) - pan Asian by chef Andrew Toy and Bayside Restaurant Resources (a Bulow connection?), including Chinese, Korean, and Filipino influences. There may have also been a "Ginger Express" at this location, based on some obscure web listings.
Live Fire (2000) - chef Fred Halpert's attempt for an SF location of his Yountville restaurant serving steak and wood fired pizza.
The Slanted Door (2002) - the only restaurant in the past decade to make this location successful, due in large part to the existing fan base of chef Charles Pham's trendy Vietnamese food. This was essentially a temporary location, first to wait out the earthquake retrofitting and refurbishment of their original Valencia St location, and then later to wait for the eventual Ferry Building facility to finish remodeling.
La Suite (2004) - Jocelyn Bulow's attempt at a larger restaurant (sibling to Chez Papa and Chez Mama), starting with chef Bruno Chemel, and later chef David Bazirgan, featuring French brasserie cuisine
Sutra (2006) - Bulow's makeover attempt at French-Asian Fusion, starting with chef Mike Yakura (previously of Le Colonial) and later chef Yo Matsuzaki (previously of Ozumo). Recently closed.
On the bright side for this location, there are even more condos in the neighborhood, Beale Street under the Bay Bridge has been reopened which alleviates some afternoon traffic, and the parking lot next door got a minor makeover.
Discouraging for this location, the Giants are terrible this year. The nearby planned cruise ship terminal development is indefinitely delayed due to the withdrawal of the private developer from the city's partnership deal. Nearby Java House may get shut down from jacked up rents by the Port.
I really think this location can only work for a place with a price point that neighboring residents can afford to eat at frequently, and is welcoming in atmosphere and space configuration to Giants fans who walk by on game days.
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Sutra (CLOSED)
100 Brannan St, San Francisco, CA 94107
Java House
40 Pier 45, San Francisco, CA 94133
