Scotty100's Profile
Orson closed, makeover in progress
I heard elizabeth faulkner is going to use the space to host pop-up style restaurants before its makeover is complete.
I ate once at Orson. The food was very mediocre and the layout was weird. It had the vibe of a once trendy club sliding into anonymity. Very bare and the empty tables lent a depressing note to the evening. Passing by regularly afterwards, I never once saw it busy so not surprised it's closing.
Not to be too negative on Faulkner, who is probably a talented chef in her own way, but I also recently tried citizen cake's macarons and thought them to be the worst I've ever experienced. I wonder if I'm missing something about Faulkner's cuisine?
Food trucks: which ones are really good and which ones are just fads
Seoul on wheels does a reasonable spin on the whole korean-mexican fusion thing a la the awesome Kogi truck in LA. Their "korrito" is pretty tasty.
Not a fan of chairman bao at all. Not in the same league as a pork bun from david chang in nyc...a poor imitation...
Anyone tried the nam nam truck yet? LA truck that was high profile on the tyler florence food truck show on the Food Network last year. I heard they now have a truck up in SF...
Best burgers in the Bay Area 2011
I consider a medium burger to be warm and pink throughout, cooked to no more than 140-145ish internal temp. which if done correctly does not render good quality meat dry and grey to the point of being inedible. At home when I'm in control, I'll cook med-rare. But really temp control cooking meat is 101 stuff...I'm giving zuni a wide-berth from now on. 3 strikes and they are out for me...
Best burgers in the Bay Area 2011
Yup...I have had many a shoestring in the past so am well acquainted but thought zuni's version wasn't up to scratch. Thanks for the heads-up on tipsy - I will try it next.
A16 or Ristobar for dinner?
I love neapolitan style. How does A16 compare to una pizza napoletana? I was a fan of Mangieri when he was in NYC.
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A16
2355 Chestnut St., San Francisco, CA 94123
A16 or Ristobar for dinner?
What does the board think?
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A16
2355 Chestnut St., San Francisco, CA 94123
Best burgers in the Bay Area 2011
I went to Zuni couple of weeks back with high hopes that the burger would be as good as many say. I was hugely disappointed. Sent back twice till they finally managed to cook one "medium" as requested and not nuked beyond oblivion. Patty was hockey puck-esque, meat not great taste-wise and on the dry side to boot. Focaccia "bun" truly dreadful and disintegrated within 2 minutes. Even worse were the shoestring fries which were massively over-seasoned, crispy to the point of inedible and utterly impossible to eat in a civilized manner. Halfway thru I was longing for a star trek teleporter to beam me back to the spotted pig in nyc for the real deal (not wanting to start a pointless SF-NYC comparison here but impossible not to compare the sad looking grey meat of zuni to what a burger should be...). Heck I would have taken in n' out over the zuni effort at this point.
Left scratching my head about this place. I've now been 3 times and had sub-par over-priced food every time. I won't be back.
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Zuni Cafe
1658 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Coffee
Windy -that's exactly what I thought...trying too hard to be Williamsburg 2005...and slightly off-topic but interestingly, the trend in NYC right now is to go minimal in terms of not letting people actually sit down! A lot of the hardcore artisan coffee bars are remodelling the insides to make it literally more a of a "bar" with no tables or chairs (or wi-fi!)...a bit like the old school italian espresso bars...pop in grab a shot at the bar, down it and leave all in 10 mins type thing...Gimme coffee is a good example...
http://www.gimmecoffee.com/features/community/nolita/
Coffee
I agree PBSF...I just found Four Barrel's contrived "hipster vibe atmosphere" to be cloyingly annoying. Definitely trying too hard imo. The service was awful.
Coffee
I spent some time in Four Barrel this weekend...not through choice I must add...the service was criminally slow and more than a little uppity that it annoyed me significantly. I "get" the hipster vibe they are projecting and all that but I really do think they try waaaaaay too hard at it. Also, the space is kinda sterile the way it's set out....like a bare bones room with tables and chairs flung along the sides...
I arrived with high expecations but left thinking "meh"...oh and the coffee was good but no better than BB or Ritual imo. Out of all discussed above, Philz has the best seattle-esque vibe...
My love/hate relationship with Fairway
For me, the Fairway experience when I lived in the UWS was "amusing" for a whole 5 minutes. They need to get out of 1975 asap.
Cava Wine Bar in New Canaan, CT - Now a Top Pick in Town
Give Scena in Darien a go. It's the sister to Cava. I've been 3 times and each time it was great. Mains are in the 16-25 range if I remember correctly.
Darien CT update/Scena & rumors..
"...Bastianovich..." Who? Lol...is that Joe's Russian cousin?!!
I see that maybe names are not your thing suzy...:)
Macarons - Any new places?
They look good. And he trained under the master Pierre Herme. I need to try them asap - but from his website it looks like they only do online deliveries? No stand-alone store anywhere?
Is Cochon 555 worth it?
I was temtped, when I read the premise, to attend the SF date in the Summer, but it seems to be run by a bunch of catering amateurs. It ain't cheap and I don't want to fight the hordes everytime I'm looking to sit anywhere to eat...I'll pass.
Darien CT update/Scena & rumors..
Bar Rosso is in Stamford not Darien. It's the new venture from the Napa & Co. team.
Southern New England Board
Dear Chowhound team - why won't you at least engage in a debate about returning to a tristate/metroNorth style board instead of incurring even more discontent among your customers by remaining silent on the core issue?
Lunch near Giants stadium
Would disagree. They have a great happy hour and the mezzanine area would be perfect for a group of 16. Lunch everytime i've been there has had a nice buzz.
Lunch near Giants stadium
Ironside is close by and would probably fit your needs:
http://www.ironsidesf.com/
Anchor & Hope for dinner?
I've eaten here three times and liked the space and vibe but found the seafood dishes decidely average and way over-priced. The beer selection is ok but served in skimpy sized glasses making it too, overpriced. The biggest hit for me were the fries. On the low side, my wife declared their chicken pot pie to be woeful. If I go back for one more try I may well stick to the raw bar offerings.
Southern New England Board
Bring back the tri-state board. But you can't say this anymore. This will get deleted for sure just like all the others...
Fairway (Stamford CT) Four Months Later - Thoughts?
I went three times in Fall last year and liked some of the variety with dried / unusual canned goods etc. But did not like the fresh produce (apart from the very first time I went when it was good), meat, fish, cheese or baked goods. Quality just isn't there for me. I have never been back.
My report on EV cheap eats
How about The Smith? One of my favorite burgers in the city and prices probably in-line with veselka etc.
And +1 on Porchetta. Awful. Truly f* awful.
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Porchetta
110 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009
Asuka Ramen, Bush Street, San Francisco
What do you think of Hapa Ramen at the ferry building? I walked past it today...looked decent. But I notice it is not on your list.
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Hapa Ramen
ferry building, San Francisco, CA
Asuka Ramen, Bush Street, San Francisco
Excellent chowhounding Melanie! Thank you very much...I look forward to checking some of these places out.
Ankimo - thanks also for your heads-up.
Asuka Ramen, Bush Street, San Francisco
Melanie - wondering if you have an updated Ramen list for 2011? I'm an NYC ramen fiend and trying to find the best places in SF and surrounding areas. Your list is a fantastic start for me. Just wondering if you plan on updating etc. Thanks!
Stew Leonard's vs. Fairway
Lou, I prefer the higher quality variety of everything you listed at WF. FW has the quantity for sure but not the quality.
Agree Stews is not even in the discussion compared to these 2. I went to that place once and I'll never get those 15 minutes back ever...still annoyed.
Anyone else getting fed-up with the loud comedy act at Ippudo?!!
The ramen is awesome. But the service is abominably loud and the seating policy ridiculous.
Anyone else getting fed-up with the loud comedy act at Ippudo?!!
+1...Amen to that too...long been the worst seating "system" in town...
