Doesn't hurt me. But I've had friends who've gone and were bothered by not being able to call their cocktails using nonlocal booze.

adesso makes a great manhattan w michters rye which I haven't had anywhere else. i really like their program bc it's bitters focused. camino remains my fave cocktail place for their perfectly balanced drinks, but they are driven by local ingredients focus, which has its limits.

Well, if you're going to the expense of buying a Rocky, then the Blue Bottle espresso blends are very nice. You do have to buy the espresso blends specifically, not the regular blends for brewing or pour overs. If you go to any of the local roasters they advise the same. That said, it took me more than a year of fiddling with the grind and my espresso machine to get a really nice drink.

Zazie in Cole Valley is probably closest. Brunch starts at 8a and they serve mimosas.

Not to pile on but we went to Sparky's Piedmont the other night and were told by the server that the burgers MUST be cooked medium well to well. They wouldn't cook it less. Some mumbojumbo about how the health inspector told them it had to be so.

+1 for Adesso, it has the most extensive cocktail options of the places mentioned so far, and they do interesting things with bitters

But they reserve the bar for dining, so unless you go at an off hour, you can't just have a drink.

As in all food, it's a matter of taste and preference. I really thought I would have an aha moment at P Luger's but didn't. While it was a fine piece of meat it didn't put me over the top. As the saying goes, Peter Luger's is the best steak in . . . Brooklyn. Eating nearby, I've enjoyed the tbone at Corso the most. Prather does dry aged grassfed so such a thing does exist.

I agree that the ramen has been consistently good. On a bright note, I was solo last Friday evening and slid right into a seat within minutes of arriving ~ 8p. Couples were being told the wait was 1 hr.

Me too. I felt that this is what MB was alluding to in his comments.

It wasn't so much that I tasted it but I saw the sprig under the skin (also there last night). It definitely wasn't a sage leaf. Maybe chefj can tell us what s/he learned.

I also enjoyed both but the chicken will escape being a favorite bc there was cilantro under the skin. Crust was great though, really crunchy and served piping hot. One thing of note is that the online menu didn't resemble yesterday's dinner offerings. I'm guessing that the full menu is intended to describe the scope of what they plan to offer but not daily.

At the FM at least, the Knee Deep meat is labeled as such. The PR cattle are raised in pasture, so they are grassfed, just not for the entirety of their lives.

BTW, your description of the PR burger meat sounds right based on the ones I've made from their GB.

It's one of the few places where I've eaten where I've distinctly had the thought that the server was indifferent to us at best and/or didn't care if we had a nice time or good meal. Attitude is they'd really rather being doing something else. I've been enough times and experienced it from different people that it may be who they hire or a training issue.

Ours really was not hot. I probably added 1TB or more to the rice. I don't eat a lot of spicy foods either.

Not sure if we had the same thing but if it's the golden hot sauce in the big bottles that you can grab for your table, it hardly had any heat, but was v tasty, nice acid. Or maybe some are mild? The rice and beans were unseasoned but came alive w the sauce.

I wouldn't cross the bay either, not given all the good pizza in sf. Plus I've never had welcoming service there.

Anyone using Prather is using DAB.

I don't. I was mainly attracted by "grassfed" and "CA". It's about the same price I pay for whole animal purchase but more convenient. They have other cuts and chops but the price goes up with more handling. But the frenched racks were a reasonable $12.99/lb.

can be had for a good price: $6.99 for leg or shanks, $6.49 for sirloin roasts, $5.99 for ground. butchering services free.

But would you cross the bay to eat there? There are lots of places in SF doing similar food wout the hassle factor. As a neighbor I can never get in unless I plan it. I can't even drink at the bar bc they use it for dining.

Of the orig choices I would say duende but more for location. that area is walkable, bartable, and offers many good options.

wood tavern the other night: still really loud heading into 10p, the pork chop came smothered in gravy, ug. safe food. def not if you're trying to endear them to oakland. it's a neighborhood joint for people who can't be bothered to head downtown or sf. only lovable during the no mans land btw lunch and dinner

ramen shop is cute, haven't tried the other thoughts. duende is sexy fr the outside but portions/prices remind me of canales @ oliveto. camino is still my fave in oak. try brunch w cocktails.

Schubert's makes great sheet and round cakes which they'll decorate with beautiful chocolate flowers upon request, no extra charge. I think they give the most bang for the buck of the bakeries mentioned. But if taste is truly what you're after, b. patisserie is making the most delicious things these days. From a looks standpoint, Craftsmen & Wolves, is doing some very inventive things.

I definitely agree about the economies of scale for chains vs independents but in my experience the prices for direct purchases from ranchers are always less expensive than what you will pay for the same quality retail. In fact, the meat that I get humanely, pasture raised rivals the price of the Safeway meat. However, bulk purchases are not for everyone, and there are logistics for pickup, butchering and storage to contend with. Truth be told, I've been completely surprised at the price the ranchers get for the animal even under glorified conditions. It is less than half the cost of the meat. The butcher/processor gets paid as much if not more. The small producers suffer from the lack of nearby USDA-approved slaughterhouses and it's the costs of shipping, killing, processing the animals makes their products much less price competitive as a result.

Ver Brugge carries USDA Choice and Prime beef. The Prime is marked. The rest is Choice. I don't think their meat is of a particular provenance. These days provenance is such a selling point that if it's not not stated, I really doubt that the meat is from anything but a large ranch/factory farm. I've seen Prime short ribs there for ~$7-8/lb at times, if that's of interest. They do have good weekly specials because they have to move merch to keep things fresh, so check the signs on the window.

I don't have specific delivery suggestions except to note that when someone lands in the hospital their sense of taste and even desire to eat can be vary quite a bit from their normal lives. It would be worthwhile to check in with the parents to find out what, if any, dietary restrictions will be in place before ordering up. During my stays, I found that I was unable to appreciate well seasoned food (a lot of stuff tasted way too salty) and my appetite was nominal. Now I kind of get why hospital food seems so off to the rest of us!

We stopped by on Friday for a quick bite, didn't realize it was a pizza place (no mention on sign). Looks like a sports bar with some nice outdoor seating. Wait was 20 mins at 8p but there was open communal table seating which is FCFS. Interesting input from our waiter on what to order: all the apps, no mention of pizza or mains. So we proceeded with fried cheese curds (really good, could have eaten the entire order), halbut crudo (tasty but pan seared on one side), smoked chicken wings (nicely smoky, a bit too salty, but not flabby), and the pepperoni pizza (the saltiness of the meat wasn't balanced by the sauce or peppers, not a fan of red sauce pizzas without cheese, crust was oddly flat like flatbread but I liked the char). The potato pizza that was mistakenly delivered to us looked better. The cocktails were a real bargain at $7-8, we tried four, all deliciously inventive, full pours. I'd go back for apps and drinks waterside on a nice afternoon .

The best way to get good meat in that price range to buy whole animal shares via a meat club, but you have to commit to 30-40lbs at a time (fills up a regular freezer) or find someone to split with you. I get pasture raised, grassfed beef for ~$5/lb this way, all cuts. I also shop the sales at Whole Foods. They only buy from suppliers that raise their meat humanely.

Oops, I translated guayaba and it's guava, not passionfruit. Although called a martini, I would describe it as a margarita served up. They used Gonzalez tequila and some puree/juice they had made. Just half a fine salt rim--unexpected. Refined with just a hint of fruit and not too sweet.

Curious to know if your Gum Wah outings have been recent. My last outing there (October) was not good, and I didn't see familiar faces in the shop which made me wonder if an ownership change had happened. Broth tasted one dimensional and the wonton innards tasted old. It used to be my go to spot for WTS. FWIW I have yet to eat a bowl of WTS in the BA that tastes like the HK bowls, which really lean toward the tilefish/shrimp for savoriness.