Great recommendations, but I'll vote one against Truly Mediterranean. I love the place, but I absolutely loved the street food shawarmas I had in NY. It'll be a tough fight for Truly to stand up against whatever favorite the op had in NY.

Slanted is a good option, I can't recall something quite like it in NY.

-----
Truly Mediterranean
3109 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Oooh good points! I love E&O for their full bar and happy hour. I always felt that the drinks at the House are a bit pricier than they needed to be, even accounting for restaurant mark-up.

Ozumo and Namu are both good options too. Haven't been to Namu in a while, but I remember liking it. Ozumo you can get drinks, sushi, fusion sushi, and other fusion dishes. From that description it's probably not hard to gather that Ozumo is Japanese fusion.

House on the other hand is more Chinese fusion and I agree their decor could use a bit more work relative to E&O,

-----
Namu
439 Balboa Street, San Francisco, CA 94118

Ozumo
2251 Broadway Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612

Like most of the other replies, using Quinoa like couscous or a simple grain is the way to go. It pairs well with most recipes that work for those. Only note that I'd like to add is that sometimes you will still have a hint of the bitter left even after washing. To counter that I like using broth (chicken most commonly), fats (such as butter or olive oil), or natural sweetners (a bit of carrot for example). I never really notice the bitterness anymore or maybe I've gotten better at rinsing it, but I've heard some friends mention the mild bitter element when they try quinoa the first time.

Nice to hear you got the red quinoa as I find it has a bit of flavor on its own too... a bit earthy/savory similar to wild grains.

I eat at Crustacean/Thanh Long in SF a lot (probably too much to be healthy for my arteries for sure). Usually I hear the garlic noodles are the tricky part, but the crab itself doesn't seem as complicated as a lot of the recipes I see online.

The crab itself is cooked (boiled/steamed) before the roasting. I figured this out because I've had the crab at times where it's cooked thoroughly but still cold in the center when it comes out.

The sauce isn't anything too fancy either. A lot of garlic and a lot of butter. The butter is clarified i.e. they skim out the milk solids, because that would burn over high heat. I used to clarify the butter, but I don't always anymore.
The next step is to infuse the butter with garlic as it tastes garlicky, but there aren't pieces of garlic everywhere in the sauce (think PPQ and their garlic pile). For home cooking I'd just smash some garlic, infuse the butter over low-med heat then remove the garlic. Then for a double dosing of garlic goodness add some thin sliced/chopped garlic as well.
Last step for the sauce is a healthy share of cracked/coarse ground pepper. Some people say to add fish sauce, sugar, salt, bouillon powder, and various spices, but that's all just too complicated. For their sauce, I think it's either just a moderate hit of salt or more likely msg (people are afraid of msg a lot, but it's incredibly common across Asian cooking). That's it for the sauce.

From there take the crab and pour the sauce all over it. Then into the oven at high heat until it's warmed through (400 to 450F for 10 minutes should do it if it's not chilled crab).

For those wondering the butter garlic sauce at Crustacean mostly seems different to me because they use a lot of clarified butter and some msg (these two give the rich buttery savory-ness) and they infuse a lot of garlic flavor in.

I usually do 2 crabs, 1 stick of unsalted butter, a head of garlic (10+ bulbs), enough pepper to generously dot the sauce pan, and a good pinch (~1/4 to 1/3 tsp) of salt or msg. At Crustacean though, it might be almost a full stick of butter per crab judging from the happy pool I see sometimes.

Now the garlic noodles... that's a bit trickier but I'm mostly in the fish sauce, parmesan/romano cheese, and a touch of raw sugar camp.

E&O and the House are both good in their own ways. E&O is large and has a nice range of menu items to select from. Their dishes mostly strike me as Western dishes with an Asian kick. The black cod there is pretty good from my memory. It can be noisy (Happy Hour times), but I don't think it'll be a problem at dinner.

The House is much smaller and more cramped than E&O. The food definitely shows more Asian elements, and I think overall the food is better here. In style it makes me think Asian dish with Western twist or half-Asian half-Western. The food and drinks are definitely pricier here, but just about every dish should be good.

For a date I'd probably go with the House, but let us know how it goes whichever one you try! =)

Last three for me were Keller's Ad Hoc at Home - Great book and definitely more approachable than French Laundry and Bouchon

Ripert's Return to Cooking - Simple recipes, clean bright flavors, Also fun to read a little background on Ripert.

Ripert's Avec Eric: A Culinary Journey with Eric Ripert - Yes yes I know, another Ripert book, but he's just awesome, alright? Enjoyed the show and the book, like the show, covers a range of dishes and regional cuisines. While he's the seafood master there are plenty of non-seafood recipes here. Just received this one a short while ago, so haven't tried too many recipes yet.

Right now I'm really excited waiting for Bayless' Authentic Mexican to arrive, since I recently returned from vacation in Mexico. Don't know too much about what's in it, but I'm hoping I can expand my mole-making skills (among other things) with the help of this one.

Just wanted to chime in that I also love the Fu Pei Mei cookbook set. I've adjusted recipes over the years to my own tastes, but these books cover just about everything you need. If you're comfortable with cooking in general these books cover a good range of Chinese dishes that can be be made at home without much difficulty.

I liked both Tai Wu and Asian Pearl the times I've been there. Both pretty solid choices I think, though I sometimes feel like I don't know the best items to order at Asian Pearl. I remember liking the chicken feet and milk yolk bun (nai wong bao) at Asian Pearl last time I went.

-----
Tai Wu Restaurant
1080 Foster City Blvd, Foster City, CA 94404

Asian Pearl
3288 Pierce St, Richmond, CA 94804

S&T still had a low ball dim sum section when I went there. The items like the calamari mentioned in http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/312573 were $1.99 instead of $1.79 I think.

That looks like a solid recipe for beef stew noodle there. Pretty similar to how I make it, then fancied up a bit (plum tomatoes). I think the main thing is to make sure to use the spicy bean paste or the regular bean paste (it's pretty typical for the mandarin/beijing style to not be spicy). The bean paste along with a bit of star anise are what make me think of beef stew noodle flavors.

Just waddled my way back from S&T HK Seafood. Had a chance to try a decent number of items, which were all at least good with a few greats thrown in. Prices are good for sit-down and definitely less than Yank Sing and a bit less (but noticably so) than Koi Palace.

First off, the shrimp rice roll (xia chang fen) is great here, absolutely top notch. The rice roll is silky and smooth, but holds together without falling apart everywhere. The shrimp itself was fresh, plump & juicy, and just cooked through. You can definitely taste the shrimp.

The beef tripe was one of my favorite items as well, though I know many people might be afraid to try it or dislike offal. Here it is cut into nice bite-size portions and poached until tender. For those who have never had it, tripe is mostly about texture as the flavor is mild and slightly sweet to me. Almost like a type of noodle. This comes with a dipping sauce of soy, oil, green onion, and jalapeno to give the dish flavor.

Chao Zhou dumpling here is one of the better renditions I've had. This one has meat in it for those used to all vegetarian versions of this fella. Water chestnut, peanuts, mushrooms... mmm... all good. Skin is medium-thickness, which is appropriate for this dish and not mushy.

Chicken feet (feng zhua) is solid. Tender and not all bone. Not the best I've had, but I wouldn't worry about ordering it here.

Daikon cake also tasty and good portioned with a nice grill on the outside. A bit dense perhaps, but this is one of the dishes that I've noticed varies time to time at many dim sum places. Definitely gotta try it again.

Chinese broccoli (gailan) is approved as well, generous sizing, but really I don't think I've had it wrong at too many places.

Shrimp dumpling (har gao) is definitely a solid rendition with good skin that doesn't rip when I try to pick it up, but isn't tough and chewy when I get into it. I had two nice chunks of shrimp in each dumpling making it a nice safe choice here.

Though it breaks my heart, I have to say the shumai here is pretty average. Fatty and porky, which I don't mind at all, but a touch heavy. Also the steamed pork bun (cha shao bao) is not my favorite. I can tell they put work and effort into it as the meat is lean, but flavorful. The sauce is rendered well with no fat chunks remaining in it. Also the bun itself has no coarseness to it. Despite all this, the sum of all the parts is a bit pasty and the bun lacks the "fluff" and chew that I find in my favorite versions of this bun. The filling lacks a little something and was a bit saucy in the two buns I ate.

When I head back there sometime, I'd be pretty curious about the porridges as many people had ordered it. Also the many other buns/tarts/pastry type offerings are on my to try list.

@SteveG Popped in a picture of the beef tripe with dipping sauce for ya. The goose intestine at Koi Palace is a very similar preparation with the goose intestine replacing the beef tripe. Also a pic of the shrimp rice roll, probably my overall favorite dish this time.

@Windy Sad I didn't get to try the pumpkin with egg yolk. I'm a big fan of all things egg-y, but I barely managed my way through what I had this time. Next time! 0_o

-----
Koi Palace Restaurant
365 Gellert Blvd, Daly City, CA 94015

Yank Sing
49 Stevenson St Ste Stlv, San Francisco, CA 94105

Anything with a braise or good cooking time. My favorite, especially in winter, is Chinese beef stew noodle soup (hong shao nyu ro mien).

I'm heading over to Cheung Hing this weekend for some Roast Duck to go and I'm wondering how S&T Hong Kong Seafood stands up to the other good dim sum joints (Koi Palace, Yank Sing, etc) around the Bay. It's definitely been busy on the other weekends I've been in the area so that's a good sign.

I enjoy all the traditional dim sum items so having good chang fen (stuffed rice roll), shumai, and feng zhua (chicken feet) is definitely a plus. Any offal is also a big plus (I love the goose intestines at Koi). Also any comments on their best/must try items would be great to know.

Thanks for the help!

-----
S&T Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant
2578 Noriega St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Yank Sing
49 Stevenson St Ste Stlv, San Francisco, CA 94105

Cheung Hing
323 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118

Oh! That's right, a picture of the lobster roll and no rating on the bread. Both the hot dog roll and torpedo roll from Acme worked really well. Their bread is a bit more firm than a commercial hot dog roll, but so much more flavorful. I think the milk in the dough does some of that. After toasting it in a pan with some butter the roll is still firm, but nice and soft on the inside. Held up to all the lobster I stuffed inside with falling apart.

@SteveG I totally should have hollowed out my torpedo roll a bit, unfortunately ate'em all for this time. Next time though... next time! =)

Lobster roll turned out great, thanks for recommendations everyone. Just thought I'd stick a pic of one of the lobster rolls using the Acme torpedo roll.

Thanks for the second rec for Acme. Swung by there a bit ago and picked up a few hot dog rolls, a couple of torpedo rolls, and other assorted breads. =) Torpedo rolls might be a bit too much bread for a lobster roll, but I thought I'd give it a try too.

Ah these look like some really solid suggestions. Acme is conveniently close so I'll take a look at their offerings tomorrow. Feel Good Bakery looks like a good option too. Love the picture of their Obama bread.

Guess I'll have to hold out on my lobster roll craving and go with lobster risotto tonight (have some chanterelles and buna shimeji calling to be used too). =)

-----
Feel Good Bakery
1650 Park St, Alameda, CA 94501

I picked up a ton of seafood from New England Lobster in South SF with the great $40 for $80 Yelp deal. Now I have a couple pounds of fresh claw/knuckle meat wanting to be made into a Maine-style lobster roll. Only problem? Where to get some great split top buns/bread for it.

Anywhere near SF would be great, but I'm willing to venture a little farther (Heck I'll go as far as San Jose if I need to) for some great buns. Thanks for the help guys!

-----
New England Lobster
170 Mitchell Ave S, San Francisco, CA

Oh wow! I looked up cochinita pibil and it looks fantastic. Hard for me to turn down anything seasoned porky. Lengua is always welcome too. Definitely marking Hangman down for my next visit.

Now I was really excited to go to San Lucas and it definitely is a more bustlin' town. The Marina is packed with people, cruise ship tourists, vendors, and guys trying to sell boat rides everywhere. Also saw more pelicans than I've ever seen at once in my life, seriously 20+. Skipped the mall other than a brief walk-through and went straight for Solomon's Landing on the Marina. As I understand most of the restaurants/bars around the Marina are about the same so I only tried the one. Solomon's Landing has pretty average margaritas, fruit margaritas, pina coladas, and mixed drinks overall. Prices are eh.... not terrible, but not great. Didn't eat here, but the chicken fingers being eaten next to me looked decent and good portioned.

Moving away from the Marina I decided to get a bite to eat at Gordo Lele's with the singing chef Javier. Took a bit to find, but not too much trouble as it isn't far from the Marina. Walking in the place smells good with onions and cooking meat. Beatles posters/pictures cover all of the walls which is a hoot and gives something for you to do while Javier cooks your food to order. I had the carne asada, pollo, and chorizo tacos. Usually I'm not too big on chicken everywhere I go, but Javier makes great chicken tacos. The chicken is grilled and mixed with buttered corn. Top that taco off with a non-spicy, lightly smokey red sauce and some fresh creamy green sauce and you have the makings of a very tasty taco. The carne asada is shaved thin and cooked with onions until fragrant with a hint of char. Also a hit in my book. Lastly the chorizo is actually chorizo - juicy, fatty, and an almost disturbing bright red. In my book chorizo is sausage, not just ground beef/pork with taco seasoning and a hint of chile pepper like I often see at american breakfasts etc. Here the chorizo taco is great and I would definitely get again. Not a real surprise as Gordo's was really solidly recommended on the boards. For those curious if it's for them I'll try to describe them overall. Fairly large soft warm tortilla is topped with a huge helping of meat and avocado slices. Then you top with red and green sauce to your taste. The prices are incredible for the quality and portion of food. This is however, not fancy upscale tacos, so if that's your thing then this might not be for you.

From Gordo's, I waddled about a bit before making way to a drink stop at Happy Endings Cantina. While I started with just the two beers and two tequila shots for $5, it ended nearly an hour later with a comprehensive "tasting" of almost every Reposado and Anejo tequila between me and my SO. For those who love tequila I will say Don Julio 1942 was up there as one of the smoothest anejo tequila I've had, though a bit too sweet personally for extended sipping. Have a few notes on the many Tequilas I tried so if anyone's interested feel free to ask and I'll put it up. Overall Happy Endings is great fun and fairly priced. Definitely enjoyed it there.

For seafood stops, made a quick beeline to Tacos Gardenia. Passed by El Pescador on the way, which I thought was closed? but seemed open to me. Almost went straight in to try it, but was worried it might be a new different and possibly less good one. Was pretty full when I reached Gardenia, but still managed a few seafood tacos. Their shrimp taco is great with a nice sauce. When I come back to Cabo for another trip I'll definitely be trying more of their food. This place definitely stood out though as a tasty taco stop.

While I ate a few other places in San Lucas, I'll leave them out for now as every time I made it into San Lucas it was a battle between food and Tequila. Thus I can't be sure of my taste buds later on when suddenly everything tastes great. =P For bar/drinking spots I can say Desperados was also a lot of fun and I *think* the food was good too (I'm pretty sure it was good, but it was getting late by the time I stopped in there head a-spinnin' from a multitude of margaritas and tequila shots).

That's all for now, hope this info helps others looking forward to their Cabo Trip!

Hey Chowers,
Long-time visitor here, but decided to sign up after the great advice on these boards for eats in Cabo. I stayed in the Cabo Azul resort in San Jose and then proceeded to eat and eat and... well eat.

For San Jose, I started simple with the seafood ceviche truck that hangs around in the art district. The mixto ceviche with scallop, clam, and shrimp is a great cool snack while wandering about town. The scallops are juicy sweet little morsels and the highlight of the ceviche. Fun to watch them make it to, since they chop up tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion to go with the seafood. Then some leche de tigre (seafood marinade/juices) and lime to top it all off. Inexpensive and tasty. Thumbs up!

Jazmin's Restaurant was the next stop, good solid Mexican food and a coupon they offered at the front door too! I didn't realize it yet, since this was early in my trip, but my meals in San Jose were some of the best bang for the buck during my entire trip. Portions here are plenty for me and I'm always a fan of smoky rich sauces like the chipotle sauce on my chicken here. I would describe Jazmin's overall as a solid choice to just take in the local food in the tourist area.

El Chilar on the other hand is more of a fine dining spot, though the prices are also a bit higher (around $20-ish). My impression is that the cuisine here isn't specific to this region, but that's fine as it was the best fine dining I had during my trip. Compared to Javier's in Cabo Azul resort, I liked El Chilar better. A+ choice for nice sit down.

Javier's is more expensive ($30-ish per entree) and a little less bold on the flavors to me. I probably wouldn't have even tried it if not for the free food credit for staying at Cabo Azul. I had butter garlic shrimp and the SO had the fish in Veracruz sauce. Both are fresh and good with the Veracruz sauce being the highlight of the entire meal. Tortilla soup as a starter was probably the next best thing, but I'm a huge sucker for tortilla soup. =)

Back to San Jose proper, I stuck with local food for the remainder of the trip. Visiting the Mercado Municipal (Municipal Market) I had a delicious meal at Zulema's. Husband and wife there were both incredibly nice and the salsas and dried/smoked peppers with the meal were exactly what I was looking for. I had the pozole con puerco (pork in a tomato soup with corn) which was chock full of ingredients. This is much more home-y food, but it brings a smile to my face eating it. Rolling some smoked peppers up in fresh tortillas makes a great accompaniment to the soup. I also shared some of the SO's sope con camarones (shrimp stew), which was absolutely stuffed with shell-on shrimp. Simple soup that lets you enjoy the shrimp. Last but not least, I just want to say local joints do salsa right. If you can handle some kick, Zulema's spicy salsa with a hint of habanero is perfect! End of the meal I was stuffed and it was $6 US for two people. Big thumbs up here.

Last, but not least is Tacos Rosy a bit of a way's from the municipal market. I'd recommend for most people visiting to go from the municipal market to Tacos Rosy as it's a bit of a ways from the art district where all the nice sit down restaurants are. Sticking with some Chowers recommendations I got a bunch of seafood tacos (fish, shrimp). I wanted to get scallop or octopus etc, but was out-voted (siiiiiigh) and was too full to eat much more. I'll sum this one up quick - Go here, it's great, if you love tacos you will love it, if you love seafood you will love it. Also, like Zumela's, the price is more than fair.

The only thing I was sad to miss out on was Taqueria El Ahorcado (Hangman's Tacos). I hear it's great and I would have loved to try it. Any recommendations on best items there for next visit? Also how does it compare to Gordo Lele's in San Lucas? While I ate many tacos during my stay, I'm almost embarrassed to say that my favorite meat tacos might be the Al Pastor tacos at Cabo Azul resort (made by Javier's chef on Taco Day). Their Al Pastor is unlike any of the ones I've had in the Bay Area/San Francisco. It's a 1/3 fat and 2/3 meat pork chunks that was juicy and tender on the inside with a nice crisp grill on the outside (possibly even fried?). Then the sauce was a beautiful mix of spices and smoked pepper goodness instead of the more soy-sauced based flavors I usually see here. If anyone knows what this kind of Al Pastor is, please inform me *grins*.

Now I've noticed this post is getting long, so I'll continue my comments on San Lucas below.