shellshock24's Profile
Foodie from Chicago needs to know what SFO Neighborhood to live in.
Just pointing out that OP does not mention a kid anywhere in his original post.
I would vote Noe due to its proximity to everything (especially the Mission) and easy freeway access.
Help me fill in the blank: Fleur de Lys, Incanto, ________?
I would probably pick Plum.
REVIEW w/ pics: Creative Cooking at Chef Michael Voltaggio's restaurant, ink.
I just got back from Ink. I just wanted to share my impressions.
Decor - Typical industrial/minimalist decor with an unfinished floor, gray walls, and interesting artwork.
Service - Very good. Pretty spot on except for a few snafus. For example, one of our "appetizer" plates came out after a "main" dish. Also we were served a plate that we didn't order and we had to track down a server to inform her of the mistake.
Drinks - I had a bourbon and fernet cocktail and a rye and lemon cocktail. Both were very good.
Food -
1. Fluke crudo, romaine hearts, fried caesar dressing, lemon oil - Not bad. I felt like it needed more citrus to brighten up the dish. Very fresh fish, but the flavors fell a bit a flat.
2. Charred avocado, hen of the woods, whipped fish sauce, mushroom chicharrón - Avacados were very nice, but i wasn't sure the role of the fish foam.
3. Beef tartare, horseradish, hearts of palm, sea bean chimichurri - Well doe, but not memorable
4. Berkshire pork, charcoal crust, macaroni and cheese, leeks - Hands down the best dish of the evening. The char was excellent and added a nice smokiness to the pork. The pork was tender and perfectly cooked . The "macaroni" was a rigatoni stuffed with cheese. Went very well with the pork.
5. Akushi beef dish (I forget the name) - Pretty good dish. Beef was tender and perfectly cooked.
6. Dessert - chocolate, coffee, spice - Very good dessert. Spiced ice cream, liquid nitrogen chocolate, and coffee crumbles.
Overall - I was really coming in expecting much more. In a sense, I feel like MV kind of succumbed to what people expect him to cook - foam, liquid nitrogen, sous vie. While I enjoy those techniques, it felt a bit forced and seemed like he was trying to live up to a certain persona. I'm glad I went, but it's not a restaurant i would rush back to.
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ink.
8360 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069
looking for killer bar food
I third Beer Belly. The food there is just great and very good (and local) craft beer selection.
Dark Lord
I agree, it's a good RIS, but way overrated. It's a bit too dry for me as well. On a blind side-by-side, I overwhelmingly preferred Stone's regular ol' RIS over DL. Go figure.
Commonwealth SF Report
I completely agree. Having lived in SF for some time and now living in LA, we're really missing the quality molecular gastronomy restaurants down in LA. Commonwealth, for me, is hands down one of the best restaurants I have been to dollar-for-dollar. It's not over the top, but its not pedestrian, and very very fairly priced.
I haven't tried Bistro LQ yet, but I'm hoping that'll make me a bit more optimistic about the creativity of food in LA.
Belgium Ale and Blue Cheese- WOW!
I agree, I don't care much for any of the Chimay cheeses. They all have some sort of grainy/sandy quality to them that is kind of off-putting.
Belgium Ale and Blue Cheese- WOW!
Cuvee Van de Keizer Blauw is my go to BSD/Quad. I try to stock up whenever I see it anywhere.
Best deep dish pizza?
For me its the Little Star crust that's the standout. I love that cornmeal texture.
Belgium Ale and Blue Cheese- WOW!
Ooops, I don't know how I forgot about the sale of Anchor! Thanks for the correction. I know Fritz is on the Board for the Maytag farms, but not the sole owner.
Belgium Ale and Blue Cheese- WOW!
Although not a Belgian beer, my first beer and cheese mind blowing moment many years ago was when I took a sip of Anchor's Old Fogforn barleywine and a bite of Maytag Bleu Cheese (and both the brewery and the cheese are owned by Fritz Maytag).
As for Belgian beers, I love a Caralous Van Keizer Blauw and a good cave-aged gruyere
Today's Beer Drinkers and the Future of Craft Beer
I agree that if the industry as a whole reverted back to brewing beers that fit within the framework of the BJCP guidelines that it would be a huge step back for the industry. However, I think when the dust settles and those who hopped on the "trend train" move on to the next big thing, there's going to be a call for more pilsners, and more dobblebocks, and more subtle beers where flaws in the beers can't be easily hidden by the addition of a ton more hops or malts or coffee etc.
I've been on Beer Advocate for awhile and I am definitely seeing a trend among some of the "older" users towards more traditionally styled beers.
I love all beers that are brewed well, within or without the BJCP framework, but I'm just not a huge fan of beers that cover up flaws with more alcohol.
Today's Beer Drinkers and the Future of Craft Beer
I feel like there will be a shift in the next few years to beers that are brewed to style (or close to the BJCP guidelines). With any explosion of an particular sub-industry, there are few variants in the consumer base. There are definitely many individuals who are just joining the craft beer "wave" and will probably drop off once they find something else that fancies them. However, I think some of us who have been in it for the long haul are going to witness more breweries aiming to brew a beer closer to the guidelines and really trying to one-up one another when it comes to the subtlties of flavor, aroma, etc. I love what Brian Hunt is doing at Moonlight or even what Mark Jilg is doing (and has been doing for many years) at Craftsman.
Plum Review (Oakland)
I just revisited this thread and I think I need to make a return trip to Plum. It seems like my experience may have been an anomaly (especially in light of the Manresa/Plum comparisons below!)
Non-Asian Restaurant Suggestion in Downtown Area?
I love mo-chica but you're not going to get the "fun" atmosphere which was requested. It's basically in a food court so you lose the atmosphere. Food is excellent though.
Non-Asian Restaurant Suggestion in Downtown Area?
I like the food at Corkbar, however on non-game nights it's usually pretty dead. I would suggest Rivera. Good food and a fun atmosphere.
Japantown roundup
It's unfortunate Japantown doesn't have better food options. I lived in the neighborhood for 4 years and was always underwhelmed by the lunch and dinner options. I unfortunately never had a chance to try Bushi-Tei Bistro, although I did like the main restaurant (although it is pretty pricey).
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Bushi-Tei Bistro
1581 Webster St, San Francisco, CA
Plum Review (Oakland)
I had a similar experience when I went last week. We had a lage party so we had to do a tasting menu which came out to $65/pp. Everything that came out was good, but nothing really blew me away. While there were a lot of plates, everyone really just got 1 bite of food per plate. Nothing really stood out, other than the duck and the cheesecake in the jar. By the time we got back to SF we were still hungry so we ended up feating on some Spices II leftovers!
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Spices II
291 6th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94118
Good bar near Dosa on Fillmore?
I second Fat Angel on O'Farrell. Good wine and beer selection and its never too crazy (at least the times I have gone).
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Fat Angel
1740 Ofarrell St, San Francisco, CA 94115
Need recos for Japenese lunch on Friday in SF
Ooops, I completely glossed over the "client" part of the request!
Need recos for Japenese lunch on Friday in SF
I know you didn't say curry, but my favorite Japanese lunch place is Muracci's Japanese Curry on Kearny. Like wolfe said, there really isn't any great Japanese lunch spots. San Mateo would probably provide you with some better options.
Casual VEGETERIAN lunch (dine-in or take out) places in FiDi and SOMA?
I third Oasis Grill. Mohammed remembers everyone. I ran into him in the Richmond District one time and he went out of his way to say hello. Plus, I love my usual order of "falafel wrap, spicy!"
Casual VEGETERIAN lunch (dine-in or take out) places in FiDi and SOMA?
Are you looking for a vegetarian only restaurant or a restaurant that also serves vegetarian dishes? I ask because a vast majority of the good restaurants/take out places in SoMa and FiDi serve multiple vegetarian dishes.
Troya -- SO much better than I remembered
I definitely agree. We recently went to Troya with a large group and did a pre-fixe menu that came out to $25/person. Every dish was flavorful and tasty and there were a LOT of dishes. The service was excellent and we were all very happy when we saw the bill. I feel like for a group dinner Troya is one of those SF "best kept secrets" restaurants.
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Troya
349 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94118
The Spice Table - Perceptor's Photo Report
I'm going to break rank here slightly on my review of Spice Table. I was really excited for this place to open since I live 2 blocks away. The quick and dirty - decent food, but I don't see myself running back here despite living in the neighborhood.
Service - not bad. Prompt waiters. Our order was messed up a few times. Certain dishes we ordered 2 of and only received 1 and some which we ordered 1 of and got 2. They also brought out a dish we didn't order, but we got it comped. The plates also came out in spurts - sometime we'd have 5 dishes on the table, other times we're waiting for 10 minutes. I guess this is expected in a new restaurant.
Food -
Stand outs were the satay dishes, especially the pork and lamb belly satays. Everything else was just okay, not bad by any means, but lacked a little something or was just way to over spiced. Although my table disagreed, I enjoyed the ontai, which was like a southeast asian tamale. The chicken liver pate was just lost in spices and the pork noodle dish had so much fish sauce that it just overpowered the whole dish. There were a few other dishes, but again nonstandouts.
Desserts were just okay - kefir lime custard and a frozen yogurt. No standouts there.
I'd like to revisit this place after 6 months. Thinking the service and food inconsistencies should be ironed out by then.
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The Spice Table
114 S. Central Avenue, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Waterloo and City report
We went last night with another couple to Waterloo and City. The quick and dirty - absolutely loved the charcuterie plate. Probably one of the best I have ever had. The main dish was okay and a side we ordered was meh.
Drinks - Ordered an Allagash Curiex for the table and then I ordered an Orval.
Charcuterie -
We did the Prince charcuterie plate which came with a cured meat selection (prosciutto, salame, and a few others that I'm blanking on). The charcuterie we chose for the Prince platter was the Chicken Liver & Foie Gras Mousse, Duck & Walnut Country Pate, Orange Marmalade, Pork Terrine with truffle butter and orange jelly, and a wild boar pate with a red pepper jam. All of this came with toasted brioche, cornichons, and pickled onions. All of it was very very good. My favorites were the foie gras mousse (which tasted like butter) and the the duck pate which had incredible texture. I would have walked away happy with just the charcuterie.
Main dish - Linguini, Veal Sweetbreads, Porcini, Prosciutto, Pecorino. It was okay. Nothing really stood out. The sweet breads were nicely cooked, I just didn't really taste any pop in the dish.
Side dish - Brussels & Bacon, Balsamic Vinegar. Very disappointed with this dish. Lacked salt and you couldn't taste any vinegar. The brussels sprouts were soggy too.
Dessert - Chocolate cake with salted caramel with vanilla bean ice cream. We all enjoyed the dessert. Balanced between sweet and salty and hot and cold.
We would definitely come back, but next time we would just order the King charcuterie, more beer, and 2 desserts.
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Waterloo and City
12517 W Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90066
My Hatfield's Report
Not sure if Quinn Hatfield was in the kitchen or not. I hope there isn't a huge flucuation in meals when he is and isn't in the kitchen. A lack of consistency would probably knock the restaurant down another notch in my book!
My Hatfield's Report
I went to Hatfield's last night (Thursday, March 3, 2011) with my wife and another couple. Here's a somewhat "abridged" report of the dining experience.
Decor - Minimalist. White frescoed walls. Personally, I'm still a fan of the minimalist look. I know others have commented on the decor at Hatfield's looking like the inside of a "cafeteria," but i thought it was just fine.
Drinks - I got a sazerac and a glass of syrah. Both very good.
Food - We chose the seasonal pre-fixe menu and ordered two appetizers off the menu.
Appetizers -
1. Foie Gras with sautéed king trumpet mushrooms, red flame grapes, golden lentils - The grapes were a nice addition to the dish since the sweetness went really well with the foie gras. As for the rest of the dish.....well, the foie gras seemed a little overcooked. It lacked the silkiness that I look for in a seared piece of foe gras. The other ingredients were just there. I didn't see how they added to the dish.
2. Croque Madam - Yellowtail sashimi, prosciutto, sunny side up quail egg, grilled brioche - Interesting dish. Really liked the textures but the brioche had so much butter in it that it just overwhelmed everything in the dish.
Amuse - Dungeness crab on quinoa - probably my favorite savory item of the evening, which says a lot.
Pre-Fixe -
1. WARM CREAMY CRAB BUCKWHEAT CREPE (Pickled beets, marinated radish, fine herbs) - Eh, just ok. Nothing really stood out in the dish,
2. CHARRED OCTOPUS (Caramelized fennel, saffron vanilla braised hearts of palm,
red wine olive purée) - Good char on the octopus, the rest of the items just got muddled into the dish.
3. PAN ROASTED DUCK BREAST (Caramelized endive and cherries, pistachio pistou, celery root puree) - Duck was cooked perfectly, but the whole dish just lacked seasoning. One of my fellow diners actuallya sked for salt. I didn't have the guts to do it so she took control!
Desserts - Favorite part of the meal. The chocolate semifreddo and the pineapple macaroon dishes were just awesome.
Summary - Really underwhelmed by the meal here. A lot of the ingredients just didn't make sense to me and felt like things were just thrown together. The lack of flavor and seasoning on many of the dishes was just surprising. In general, the dishes just lacked depth and soul. Although $60 for a pre-fixe isn't that steep, I really expected more.
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Hatfield's
6703 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Yxta Quickie
It's still there (I live a few blocks away in Little Tokyo). Food is decent, but a bit on the bland side. Margaritas are excellent and well worth it during the happy hour prices. Although not a destination spot for me, living a few blocks away makes it a default sit down Mexican restaurant for me and my wife.
Best of Little Tokyo?
I'm not a huge fan of Spitz either. I live a block away from there but I usually only go to Spitz to grab beers since the happy hour prices are incredible.
