ssfire's Profile
2011 - It's chilly. It's the holidays. It's hot chocolate time.
I also love Ibarra. I was really blown away by the Oaxacan Hot Chocolate at Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates in Sacramento; they use a ginger. So now I steep a few slices of ginger in the milk while it's heating up, and that makes Ibarra taste twice as good.
2011 - Pumpkin please
At the Mountain View Farmer's Market, Edna's baked goods is selling a very good pumpkin whoopie pie. $3.
2011 - Pumpkin please
I recommend the roast pumpkin and cheese tamales at Piazza's in Palo Alto (next to the soup station). great flavor and texture.
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Piazza's Fine Foods
3922 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94303
Cafe Jacqueline
For a souffle experience with kids, I recommend the souffle pancakes for breakfast at Aurea, the restaurant in the Stanford Court Hotel. They are phenomenally good. And expensive. I think they are $17. Located next to a cable car stop.
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Aurea
905 California, San Francisco, CA 94108
Best Coffe Places in San Francisco
I stopped by Fraiche a few months ago for an espresso, and it was far inferior to what I was used to getting at the BB SF locations. I think BB needs to do more quality control inspections. (They may have improved: I haven't been recently).
But the pour-over BB coffee at Fraiche was great.
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Fraiche
644 Emerson St Ste 110, Palo Alto, CA 94301
A Slice of NY - Now Open 2nd location in Sunnyvale
One data point on the meatballs: they use the Tyson Bonici meatballs, pre-made at the factory.
Best ice cream 2011
Scream Sorbet's pistachio hits the uncanny valley of flavor: it tastes so much like pistachio that it's a freakishly odd experience. I've sampled dozens of flavors from Scream Sorbet, and the pistachio is the only one that has this effect.
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Scream Sorbet
5030 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA
St. Louis Style BBQ Ribs at Old Port Lobster Shack, Redwood City
As a normative reference point, how would Armadillo Willy's rank on the 9 point scale?
"Serious" coffee, 2010
Tootsie's Cafe offers a moka pot, which produces a very rich brew with the Dansei coffee they serve - I definitely recommend it.
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Tootsie's at the Stanford Barn
700 Welch Rd Ste 118, Palo Alto, CA
Looking for Best Yogurt in the Bay Area
I recommend Whole Soy & Co yogurt, (cherry and blueberry flavors only: the other flavors are not so great). It's made using soy milk, and contains no saturated fat, which will keep down your cholesterol. In terms of flavor, it's basically a yogurt version of tangy taffy. Trader Joe's has a private-label version that is different and not nearly as good. I get it at Piazza's ($1.19 each), but it's also at Whole Foods. Compared to Greek style yogurt, it's more tangy and less "sour".
Breakfast joints in Silicon Valley
I recommend the chocolate chip waffles at Stacks.
Chef's tasting menu at Mr. Pollo
One additional data point: I arrived Monday at 9 PM, and the wait was 1.5 hours, so I skipped it.
I think you can make reservations: I saw one of those little "reserved" tags at a counter spot.
What's the deal with restaurants in Palo Alto?
One additional data point: The falafel wrap at Kan Zeman is vastly inferior to the falafel wrap at Mediterranean wraps on California Ave, despite the fact that they have the same owner. I haven't been to the Mediterranean wraps on University.
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Kan Zeman Restaurant
274 University Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Mediterranean Wraps
433 N California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Fried Dough alert - Mountain View
Hong Kong Chinese Bakery in Mountain View is selling a curry donut (See photo). The donut itself is OK. The curry filling is great. It's worth trying once, if you happen to be in the area.
-Scott
Lexie's Frozen Custard at Palace Cafe, Sunnyvale - anyone try it?
When Lexie was the pastry chef at The Palace Cafe, they sold her frozen custard. But, she is no longer the pastry chef, so they don't sell it anymore.
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The Palace Cafe & Catering
139 S Murphy Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Seeking unique breakfast in San Francisco (see wish list)
I recommend the lemon souffle pancakes at Aurea, the restaurant in the Stanford Court Hotel. It's less of a souffle-type pancake, and more of a pancake-like souffle. Very pricey. On the other end of the spectrum: Art's Cafe has the added bonus of being an authentically gritty dive.
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Art's Cafe
747 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122
Aurea
905 California, San Francisco, CA 94108
Get ‘Em Before They’re Gone: Sfogliatelle at Cosentino’s in San Jose
Has anyone tried the Sfogliatelle-like pastries at Emporio Rulli? At the Union Square location, I saw a bunch of pastry items with the Sfoglia- prefix: they were all layered, like a Sfogliatelle, but I didn't sample any of them.
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Emporio Rulli Union Square
333 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94108
Coffee tasting at Red Rock in Mountain View
Red Rock Coffee in Mountain View holds a coffee tasting about once a month, and I attended the one yesterday.
It's limited to 8 people, costs $25, and lasts about 2 hours. The tasting includes 4 coffees, and you get to take home a 12 oz bag of any of the coffees from the tasting. At yesterday's event, they added an extra bonus premium coffee as well. The menu included:
- Guatemala Concepcion Pixcaya
- Rwanda Rushashi Duhingekawa
- Ethiopia Welena Suke Quto
- Ethiopia Wollega Leka Wato
- Costa Rica Cafetin 1900 Reserve (the bonus tasting)
They don't use the official bowl-shaped "cupping cups": they use demitasse cups (see photo). They brew the coffee in a french press.
In my opinion, it's worth the price. You get to taste multiple coffees side-by-side, compare your notes with everyone else's, have interesting discussion, and pick up tidbits of coffee knowledge from The people who run the place.
A few things they mentioned that were new to me:
- They claim that a french press produces flavor that has greater body, because the metal screen allows more coffee oils to get through.
- Coffee has the fullest flavor between 3-7 days after roasting
- Unroasted green beans have a shelf life of 3-6 months. But after a few months, the beans start to take on a flavor from the bag in which they are stored. The result is often burlap-flavored coffee.
- This year, El Salvador had a bad harvest: coffee harvested anywhere in the country during the summer is generally inferior.
- For cup-at-a-time brewing at the cafe, they use the Clever Coffee Dripper, and they find it to be superior to any other single-cup brewing method, including the Hario V60 and Aerobie Aeropress.
They get the best results when they add the grounds, then pour in the water, then wait one minute, then stir, then wait 3 minutes more, then drain.
To find out about the tastings, send them an email asking to be put on the coffee tasting email mailing list, which is separate from the main mailing list.
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Red Rock Coffee
201 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041
Fleur de Sel Caramels.
The San Francisco Chronicle had a taste test, and ranked Newman's Own peanut butter cups to be 50% better than Trader Joe's peanut butter cups: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/31/FDNT1G1VKK.DTL
Anyway, to keep this thread from being punted into the "national chains message board," I wonder if anyone has tried the salted caramels at Coco Luxe: they have set up shop for the holidays in the Palo Alto Town and Country, right next to Williams Cutlery. They have a 3-pack sampler of salted caramels, consisting of dark, milk, and white chocolate. They also have salted chocolate covered graham crackers.
Best pad thai in Cupertino/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara?
I also recommend Amarin Thai: it's my favorite for pad thai. However, their style is very distinct; the noodles are very elastic, so it kind of feels like your mouth is full of rubber bands. The sauce they use is not the hot style, but is instead very rich.
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Amarin Thai Cuisine
174 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041
snout-to-tail + michelin ranked burgers: on the peninsula
Speaking of gourmet burgers, has anyone tried the burger at Tootsie's at the Stanford barn? The menu says "Veal, Pork, and Beef mixed with olives and oregano, served with caramelized onions, mozzarella cheese on a toasted rosemary roll with housemade shoestring fries." Normally I don't roll the dice on a burger unless it gets authoritative raves.
Pumpkin cannoli
I tried the pumpkin cannoli at La Biscotteria in Redwood City (See photo). It's only available in November (oddly, not in October). It's very good: not too sweet, nicely spiced, good texture.
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La Biscotteria
2747 El Camino Real, Redwood City, CA 94061
Walking distance restaurants recs? Staying at California and Powell
Well, *at* California and Powell, Aurea in the The Stanford Court Hotel serves lemon souffle pancakes: it's by far the best breakfast I've had in San Francisco. If you are looking for a "light breakfast," the souffle pancakes are about as light as a cloud.
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Aurea
905 California, San Francisco, CA 94108
Grand Century Mall update (SJ)
I was also unimpressed with the Grand Century green waffle.
I think the green waffle at Euro Delight Bakery (on Tully) is vastly superior: rich coconut flavor and bits of coconut, with a stiff chewy texture. On the weekends, there is usually a line, but that means you can get them fresh. The downside: I don't like their ca phe sua da: For that I go down a few storefronts and get it at Van's Bakery.
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Van's Bakery
1824 Tully Rd, San Jose, CA
Scream's Macadamia Nut Sorbet - Macadamia grown in Calif.
Yes, I tried their Macadamia Vanilla sorbet at the Mountain View farmer's market: it's definitely one of their best nut-based flavors.
Palo Alto Moxsie Street Eats Today- Mexican, Macarons, Creme Brulee
Any reports on the macarons?
Caffe del Doge - great deal
There is one drink that I recommend: the Espresso Marco Polo. It's a shot of espresso, served in a martini glass, with a layer of spice-infused cream floated on top. It's brilliant, because when you tip the martini glass to drink it, you wind up drinking exactly 50% cream and 50% espresso at the same time. You can get one of three spices: cinnamon, cardamom, or ginger.
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Caffe del Doge
419 University Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Any place one can buy Kouign Amann in SF?
As of a week ago, Satura Cakes in Los Altos started selling their own macarons. Has anyone sampled?
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Satura Cakes
200 Main St, Los Altos, CA
Breakfast in SF
Indeed, the French toast at Il Fornaio is very good, and it doesn't hurt that they use their in-house Filone bread, and serve it with real maple syrup and Mascarpone cheese (photo #1). However, I find that I have to micro-manage my order: I have to specifically ask for it "lightly soaked in the egg dip", otherwise it comes out over-saturated and soggy. I also have to ask for it "very well browned," otherwise it's flabby. About 50% of the time, I send it back to have them do it over again (always because they just ignored my detailed request the first time, or failed to translate it properly into Spanish). But when they do it right, it's worth it.
However ... If you are in SF, the French toast at Butler & Chef totally blows away Il Fornaio in the French toast department (photo #2). What amazes me is that they manage to completely soak the bread all the way through, yet it comes out not overly saturated in the middle. Does anyone know how they do this? I'm thinking they might soak it, then let it sit overnight to evaporate off the excess. Or maybe they just cook it for a really long time.
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Butler & the Chef Bistro
155 S Park St, San Francisco, CA 94107
