possumspice's Profile
Salumeria - Yummy, but...
So, being Mission dwellers and home on Salumeria's opening day, we spontaneously decided to head down and check it out. We had a mostly solid meal with a few gripes.
We got the barley with peas, sour mackerel, duck confit sandwich, and salad with lemon-anchovy dressing. The barley was definitely the least interesting of the bunch. The salad was well-dressed and texturally interesting, with a perfectly cooked medium-boiled egg and crunchy bits of breadcrumbs mixed into the greens. The mackerel was also quite good...not fishy at all and well-balanced with vinegary onions, plump golden raisins, and pine nuts. The duck sandwich was good...not mind-blowing, but solid. Crispy baguette, some kind of cherry spread that offset the richness of the duck, a handful of arugula.
So, complaints. The portion sizes are ridiculous. In a way, the antipastis kind of make up for it, b/c at $6 apiece, they can fill you up and they're better than any prepared deli food I can think of off the top of my head (for example: Bi-Rite, Pasta Shop, La Boulange). On the other hand, the duck sandwich costs $12 and was smaller, volume-wise, than a typical 6" sub. Most people, upon paying $12 for a sandwich might reasonably expect that to fill them up for lunch, but I can't imagine anyone other than the lightest of eaters to be satisfied with a sandwich of this size. The salad was also petite. It was $9, but sized like a small starter salad. I guess I'm a little dumbfounded, because Flour + Water has always struck me and my husband as one of the best quality/price ratios in the city. Don't get me wrong, the food was all great, but I can't imagine having lunch here on a regular basis, and they seem to be aiming for that sort of "neighborhood lunch spot" vibe.
In search of pizza dough on a Monday in San Francisco. Ideas?
Recognize this comment was from five years ago, but Bi-Rite does now carry pizza dough in the same case where you find the fresh pasta. Have never tried it though. They also carry homemade pie dough, which seems even harder to source.
Restaurant ideas in Hayes Valley
are you counting bar jules as a high end place? because assuming your group isn't huge, that's really nice food and perfectly appropriate for a celebratory dinner. a bit farther than some of the other places you've mentioned, but certainly walking distance.
Non-packaged zha cai in San Francisco? (Ideally Richmond or Sunset)
I shop there about once every 2-3 weeks and I've looked for it the last...oh, six times I went? The first time I noticed it missing, they still had some other bulk preserved vegetables nearby, so I would have believed the out of stock explanation. However, this last time, there were no bulk preserved veggies to be found anywhere. I swear I've never seen these at Sunset Super, but I'll look next time I'm there.
Non-packaged zha cai in San Francisco? (Ideally Richmond or Sunset)
Intriguing. Could be a perfect excuse for me to check that market out. I've never been, but I'm curious.
Non-packaged zha cai in San Francisco? (Ideally Richmond or Sunset)
Well honestly, ideally it would be in the Mission, but I'm mostly trying to avoid going to Chinatown. I used to buy unpackaged zha cai (http://bit.ly/Jlt6Q1) out of a cardboard box at New May Wah. I've also seen it before at the Chinese market on the corner of 23rd and Irving. Neither place has this item any more. You can buy it in sealed plastic, but not loose. The packaged ones just don't taste as good to me.
I've been relying on my mom to shuttle this ingredient over from Oakland Chinatown, but hoping to find it in the city somewhere. Somewhere not in Chinatown. Anyone seen it?
Fresh orecchiette or other hand-formed pasta
I saw fresh (not dried) orechiette in the Rainbow pasta case last night, along with a few other shapes like gemelli and fusilli.
What should i order at mission chinese food? [San Francisco]
I second the reco for Spices mapo tofu, though I usually go to the branch on 8th Ave.
Cafe Yulong in Mountain View is closing
sad. i've heard reports of inconsistency in recent years, but back when i was living in palo alto, that was one of my regular noodle spots.
Such thing as a delicious brunch buffet in SF?
i was under the impression that medjool is no longer around:
http://sanfrancisco.grubstreet.com/2012/02/beretta-team-paganini-medjool-closing.html
Wo Hing General Store — thoughts? [SF]
is there hype about wo hing? it doesn't really score on authenticity, price, or overall deliciousness. what it does is provide something that the mission lacks (upscale asian w/fancy digs). i have no problem bringing the in-laws there, and the food is perfectly tasty, but hype-worthy? no.
Eiji Restaurant - Oboro Tofu - Anyone tried?
i do love the ankake tofu at eiji. it reminds me of a savory chawan mushi. also worth checking out is the fresh-made tofu at izakaya yuzuki. it is smooth and creamy, subtly sweet, and is really something special.
Gajalee - the real deal for Goan food [SF Bay Area board]
Wow, what in particular was spicy? My husband and I have really been enjoying the food there, but it was all mild enough to feed to our 14-month old baby (she is able to eat slightly spicy food). And we asked for it to be prepared spicy.
Report on trip to SF - "The Short Report" - more detailed reviews to follow
for what it's worth, nopalito is not that great, and certainly not better than poc chuc, so i don't think that was a missed opportunity. :)
Burgers and coffee, that's elf food, apparently -- your thoughts solicited
I have eaten there for lunch. My husband and I found it to be below average, despite the promising sounding menu. We had a lackluster salad (not particularly fresh veggies, poorly dressed), bland, soupy mac and cheese, and a baffling bowl of kale stew, which was huge chunks of undercooked kale in a watery broth. Kale is one of our favorite veggies and we gladly eat it raw, baked, sauteed, in soup...Granted, we went a day or two after they opened, so it's possible these issues have been remedied.
In terms of what I would recommend for a snack, Minako is quite good and you may be able to get in if you go on the early side. Their tuna with mint sauce and salmon with pickled plums are both excellent. They also have a nice eggplant dish. It would be more of a light meal than a snack. You could also grab an empanada at Venga or Chile Lindo. Or you could get salads at Gracias Madre. Whatever salad they're serving with fruit (it often changes, grilled pineapple or persimmon have been two of the ones I've tried) is usually excellent.
For Southern food, I love Front Porch, but that's in Bernal and not exactly a place to grab a light snack. If you're just going to be looking for a small bite, you could also get appetizers at Wo Hing to go with your cocktails. It's a little overpriced and not super-authentic, but at least the food there tastes pretty good. Oh, or if you can get spots at the bar at Bar Bambino, they have some good small plates like the truffled egg bruschetta and their eggplant polpettine. If Mission Cheese is still open (they close at 8), that's a good place to get a cheese plate and a glass of wine. Lolo on 22nd does really creative, interesting small plates. Their shrimp tacos on a slice of jicama are really tasty, and the beets and brussels sprouts are other good small things to order. I could go on... :)
Burgers and coffee, that's elf food, apparently -- your thoughts solicited
Local is consistently delicious. I think they just opened a new eatery called Local's Corner very close to the original location. Do you mind my asking why Radish? That place seems totally average compared to the other places in the neighborhood.
Gajalee - the real deal for Goan food [SF Bay Area board]
If that comment is meant to address my comment about the paratha, we actually ordered a separate side of paratha, which we preferred to the bread that came with the thali.
Gajalee - the real deal for Goan food [SF Bay Area board]
My husband and I also had a very enjoyable meal at Gajalee. We both got thali, which was easily up to Udupi Palace quality (if not better). The paratha was excellent, flaky, light, tender and buttery. We will no longer be trekking across town for the paratha at Lime Tree. Really interesting, varied menu with a lot of dishes I haven't seen before. So excited to have a good Indian place closer to our end of the Mission.
Grocery Shopping in San Francisco
As someone who lives pretty much right in between Bi-Rite and Rainbow, I've found that the prices are actually pretty comparable (and sometimes even higher at Rainbow!) I was surprised by this, since Rainbow feels more like a Berkeley Bowl and Bi-Rite feels like an upscale Ferry Plaza experience, but my husband pointed it out to me, and sure enough, once I paid closer attention, I realized the prices at Rainbow are pretty much neck and neck with Bi-Rite. The bulk bins at Rainbow are probably cheaper than those types of items (beans, grains, nuts) at Bi-Rite, but fruits, veggies, cheese and dairy are all very similar in price, if not higher. I shop at both fairly regularly and they're great resources, but neither one is going to win any prizes for cheapness.
I agree that North Beach is not a good place to grocery shop. In addition to the points you make, it's highly inaccessible by public transportation and parking is a nightmare.
Hand pulled noodles and knife cut noodles? Best options in SF (or BART accessible)
I've eaten here multiple times since they opened, just haven't opted for the noodles again. :)
Hand pulled noodles and knife cut noodles? Best options in SF (or BART accessible)
The warm pots (with preserved cabbage) are really good. The dumplings are also quite tasty. Actually, the hand cut noodles were not to my liking...they were a different style than I'm used to, not wide and chewy and irregular like the knife shaved noodles at Shanghainese restaurants. These were very regular in shape, sort of square and hard and thin, like square-shaped spaghetti. Not really sure how you achieve this effect by hand cutting. The last time I had a noodle dish here was shortly after they opened, so things may have changed. I will say that based on the photos on Yelp, the noodles look considerably more appetizing than I remember. May be worth another shot!
Golden Whitefish Roe?
Answered my own question. Just found a jar at Andronicos in inner Sunset.
Golden Whitefish Roe?
I tried some golden whitefish roe from Whole Foods a few weeks ago and enjoyed it quite a bit. Unfortunately, it turns out this is a seasonal item that they only stock for the holidays. Does anyone know if golden whitefish roe is available anywhere else in the Bay Area? I see some online retailers, but obviously shipping is pretty pricey on this item. Pretty curious about where people are buying fish eggs in general when it's not the holidays. I know BevMo often has American caviar and a bunch of places carry tobiko (Andronicos, Faletti, etc.)
Thanks!
Hand pulled noodles close to Mountain View?
FYI, often Jia Jiang Mian is served with a splash of vinegar. You could probably ask the restaurant for a bottle.
Recommendation for date night? Ideally in the Mission.
There's low lighting and a cozy ambience. Plus I guess my husband and I find good food to be romantic. :)
Commis [Oakland]: Make the Trip Over the Bridge!
I want to weigh in as well and say that Commis left me giddy tonight. I am normally underwhelmed by high end dining, but there was something savory, real, and down to earth about Commis that just sold the whole experience for me. For comparison's sake, I've enjoyed meals at Commonwealth and Saison, been disappointed at Coi, and absolutely abhorred WD50 in NYC.
I found tonight's meal to be well-balanced, inventive, and most of all, tasty from start to finish. Often at restaurants that play with foams and unusual ingredients like ash, there will be misses mixed in with the hits. Though my husband and I had our favorites (I will be crushed if we don't find the perfectly poached egg yolk with onion soup, date puree, and steel cut oats on our next foray), I found the meal to be consistently excellent. So worth the trip to the east bay.
Recommendation for date night? Ideally in the Mission.
I second commonwealth and yuzuki (though the atmos at yuzuki isn't super romantic). Also the pasta tasting menu at Flour & Water.
Izakaya Yuzuki -- my favorite new Japanese restauarant in SF
The dishes are quite different from what I've had at Ippuku. Ippuku is primarily yakitori, whereas there are only three yakitori offerings on Yuzuki's menu. I would say, broadly, that Ippuku is satisfying drinking food, very savory and well-prepared, where Yuzuki has some more unusual and nuanced offerings. I haven't really had a meal like this elsewhere in the city.
We ordered quite a few things off their fairly limited menu, including the chicken wings (standard yakitori, maybe slightly less awesome than Ippuku or Nojo), the beef tendon (amazing, tender, flavorful, and really satisfying), chawan mushu (very silky and delicate, fragrant and subtler than Kiss Seafood's version), the cucumber salad (refreshing, tasty), the pickles, the soy panna cotta (unusual), the grilled squid (probably our least favorite dish of the evening, it was flabby, not as grilled as I like, but still above average, with a nice piquant aioli-style dip that helped offset the underflavored squid).
Sadly, the restaurant was completely empty for our entire meal. I hope more people support this restaurant. It's certainly one of the best meals you can walk into (with no wait) anywhere in the neighborhood. Will definitely be coming back!
Gourmet & more - Great new speciality store - Hayes Valley SF.
My husband is a huge cheese snob (he's French). We stopped by today and he was like a kid in a candy store. We got a funky brie fermier that rivals raw milk versions I've had in Paris, we also got Salers, an aged Cantal that Cheese Board only has every so often. He picked up some other odds and ends, a tomme and a little aged goat cheese. Everyone there was very friendly and helpful. Definitely a must-go for any fans of French cheese.
House - Mission Thai Restaurant
Husband and I went last night. It was somewhat disappointing. Decor is hilariously overdesigned (this wasn't a problem, just an observation) and there were tons of waitstaff, one of whom offered to hold our baby while we ate. Not kidding. Now that's service.
Foodwise, this is better than any Thai food we're currently able to get in our neighborhood, but falls short of the THE on Larkin (and even behind the Castro branch). Much smaller menu. We got a bunch of our THE faves. They definitely lacked the spicy and tangy kick that we crave. Not sure if things are being dumbed down to compete with nearby Another Monkey and Osha or if we just need to be more insistent about liking things spicy. Everything is also somewhat spendier than the other two branches, maybe by a few dollars an entree. I don't mind paying a premium (I'm sure rent on Valencia costs more than the heart of the Tenderloin), what I wish is that they weren't afraid to keep things real on the food front. We were there on the second day of business (I quizzed our waiter who said lunch service may follow in a couple of weeks, but he was very vague), so it's possible things will even out.
Also, I want to make it clear that the food was fine. Just a little disappointing given that THE is one of our fave Thai restaurants in SF. We got Thai Beef Jerky with a side of cucumber salad, chicken larb (dressing needed a *lot* more lime and chili, this was confusingly bland whereas in Thailand larb is one of the zingiest, most exciting and nuanced dishes you can order), pork pad kee mow (decent flavor but wetter than the Larkin version), and green curry (also decent but not great, overly creamy and no fresh herbal hit).
Anyway, I very much want to see this restaurant succeed. And I will certainly be eating there regardless. My husband is already planning future takeout orders of the pad kee mow, but my husband regularly orders from Al Hamra now, so take that with a grain of salt.
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Another Monkey
280 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA
