vnchile's Profile
Dinner before Wicked at the Orpheum?
It's only about 1/2 mile and it only took me about 10 minutes from Cav and I wore heels!
Dinner before Wicked at the Orpheum?
I went to Cav Wine Bar before Wicked - it was delicious! And then it's just a short walk down to the theatre.
Cav Wine Bar & Kitchen
I went this past weekend and had a great meal: gazpacho, trotters with quail eggs, pork chop, artic char, pot de creme, and peach tart. All of it was well prepared, perfectly seasoned, and just delicious.
The wine recommendations were great - a German Reisling (great with the Trotters) and our own red wine flight - a selection of 3 half glasses - all of which were awesome, but my favorite was the Tempranillo.
The half-glass and full glass options make it so easy to eat and drink here.
Sketch Ice Cream is Closing
Sketch was always my favorite! I've been going since they opened. I was never a fan of Ici but I do like Tara's.
Eric and Ruthie's sweets and baked goods were always great. I wish them the best - and to their growing family!
Fast/healthy/non dairy breakfast options
Congrats on the weight loss. I like to have those waffles for breakfast sometimes, too. I spread it with peanut butter for the protein and it's a quick way to get out the door in the morning.
Place to grab kimbap (Korean "sushi") in downtown SF?
Thank you so much for this information! I've been searching for Korean in the fidi.
sweet craving in Mission area
How about crepes at Ti Couz? You can't get pie there, but it's stays open until 11 on weekends. The basic sweet crepes are pretty tasty.
Berkeley - Best Burrito/Tacos?
my favorite ones are at Casa Latina on San Pablo (at University). The barbacoa is particularly good. It looks like its just a bakery but their tacos are awesome.
Piperade - streetside table
I last visited back in April and had a wonderful time. The chef was also there and visited all the tables - I don't think I've ever seen that before in any restaurant in the city. I loved the calamari a la plancha.
Chow worthy stop between SF Zoo and Inverness
You could stop off in Larkspur for Pizzeria Picco for excellent pizza and soft serve ice cream with olive oil and salt. Then walk about a block down to Emporio rulli for coffee and baked goods.
business dinner - not too loud?
Some good options:
Coco 500
Kokkari
Orson - the new restaurant from Citizen cake on the same block as coco 500
Hosting a dinner party with humorless guests..
This is so ambiguous. Right now you've only revealed that your guests don't have the same sense of humor as you do. But they don't so they're not worthy of being invited to your home again? What happened? Were they critiical or mean? Did they not like the food? Did they not talk? What's up here?
Your menu sounds lovely, by the way.
Kim-chi on Vietnamese restaurant menus - parallel evolution or inspired culinary borrowing?
There are many possibilities. I'm vietnamese and I grew up eating numerous pickled vegetables, but we call particular napa cabbage pickled vegetables "kim chi." We've already been eating pickled veggies, but this particular spin from Korea has its specific name.
Also, many Koreans own Vietnamese restaurants now. Now you'll see kimchi not only at Korean-owned Vietnamese restaurants but Chinese restaurants and Thai restaurants. There are overlapping spice notes across the cuisines and it doesn't seem out of place - at least not to me. Although as a kimchi fanatic, I cringe at the ones with orange zest in them like the ones at San Tung!
Rockridge Lunch Spots (Oakland)
Garibaldi's might be suitable and open for lunch. Citron might also work - closed on Mondays.
Bahn mi: is it the bread or the filling?
Both the big operations and 1-off shops deal with old bread. I don't think they have an advantage. I've experiened that the banh mi shops often deal with day-old bread by toasting it.
My trick is to always ask for my sandwich to be made with untoasted bread - it always comes with fresh bread that way.
And you're right - there needs to be a balance between bread and filling. Glad you liked your sandwich!
Banh mi vocab lesson
what words do you want to know? a few others that might come in handy - some are probably obvious, but I'll list them anyway:
nuoc mam - fish sauce
thit bo - beef
ga - chicken
ca - fish
chay - vegetarian (meaning it's all vegetables - may or may not have animal ingredients like fish sauce)
tom - shrimp
chao tom - shrimp paste around sugar cane and grilled
anything specific you want to know?
Throwdown with Bobby Flay
Yep - he sure did choke on cooking the rice. Even after his challenger told and showed him how to do it!
In Viet cuisine, what's the deal with broken rice?
Don't know where you live, but it can be hard to find. I've seen it at a Ranch 99 once, but at another one, I couldn't find it.
I've seen in most often at Vietnamese-specific small grocery stores in San Jose, CA. Prices seem higher to me because they're sold in smaller bags, but you might catch a deal here and there.
In Viet cuisine, what's the deal with broken rice?
In Viet Nam, broken rice is a cheaper than whole. It used to be that only poorer people would buy it, but it has gained favor in wider circles as it has a different texture and slightly starchier consistency than the preferred long grain rice.
Do Vietnamese prefer rice texture to be broken? Not necessarily. But traditionally, there are places who specialize in rice plates with broken rice and traditional foods: grilled meats, eggrolls, pickled vegetables, etc. These became popular in Southern Viet Nam, particularly in Saigon. Many of the immigrants in the US are from the South and have brought over these nostaglic dishes.
Broken rice is only eaten with those particular foods - the bbq and eggroll-type dishes I mentioned. It's not eaten on a regular basis with typical every-day food. Not in my family anyway. Growing up, I never had broken rice at home. But once in awhile we'd go to a broken rice restaurant.
Favorite menu item at Zuni Cafe?
Love the burger, polenta, and most pasta offerings, particularly the puttanesca. Oh and don't miss the bloody mary for brunch - it's spicy and fantastic.
New: Leonidas Belgian chocolate shop (Crocker Galleria), SF - anyone been yet?
I find them wayyy too sugary sweet for my taste without the rich taste of chocolate, and I love sweets! The flavors are all just OK. I much prefer Recchiutti.
Where to find sweet potato fries?
Harvey's in the Castro has really great sweet potato fries.
Vietnamese cuisine & sugar?
As a Vietnamese, I find most restaurants and cookbooks call for a lot more sugar than food that I've grown up - cooking at home, we rarely use much except for a tad to dilute fish sauce. South Vietnamese tend to use more sugar than central and northern Vietnamese, and most restaurants tend to be southern style, which explain so much sweetness in many Vietnamese restaurants.
I myself, am confounded by dishes like canh chua, which means sour soup, but most I've tried in restaurants are sugary sweet. It's not traditional to make it so sweet.
A native Thai told me the same about Thai food in the states - it's much, much sweeter than traditional preparations.
Bay Area Korean recap
Choi's Korean Restaurant in Santa Clara is incredible! I went there about 3 weeks ago. It's the best Korean I've had in the Bay area and I've tried all those everyone has listed. I lived in Seoul and have a Korean boyfriend and we both agree that it's great.
Iforgot the Korean names for our dishes, but we had the following: kim chee fritters with seafood, bul go ki with lettuces, rice, etc., and a soft tofu stew. All excellent. It was so good I kept the business card and programmed it into my blackberry - LOL!
-----
Choi's
3530 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95051
Pillsbury Bake Off
Congratulations on being a finalist! I know a couple of people who have been submitting recipes for years and never made it - they've stopped trying now.
Good luck and I'd be interested in reading about your experiences and how well you did.
Best Croissant in SF/Bay Area?
Very much agree with you maria lorraine. Bouchon's plain and almond croissants are the best I've had in the Bay Area. I make a monthly trip just to get one!
Pork shoulder roast
I have a 5 pound shoulder in the oven right now using almost the same technique - it'll be done in time for dinner. However, I just used a spice rub and the oven is at 275. I've done this before and it makes it very tender and delicious.
Extremely Disappointing Service at Bodega Bistro
As a Vietnamese and one who used to work in many places in SJ, and currently patrons a lot of Vietnamese restaurants, I'm going to propose a few tips that you may or may not take into consideration when going to Vietnamese places. Service in many Vietnamese places is initiated by the customer:
- when you walk in, make eye contact, say 'hello' and right away hold up how many fingers are in your party. People see you, but they are unsure if you're waiting for your group, just taking a look around, considering ordering to go, just sizing up the place, etc.
- When you are ready to order, do a little wave. If you don't do anything, they'll let you ruminate over your menus. It's considered rude to interrupt, so many servers will err on letting to talk among yourselves.
- Again if you need water, tea, more utensils during your meal, wave for it.
- And when you want your check, wave for it, or go up to the register. Many places won't deliver it unless you ask.
Sounds like you patron a lot of Vietnamese places and many of these issues vary, as I realize many Vietnamese restaurants are adjusting to the expectations of different customers on what good service should be. But at Bodega, a very casual eatery, you need to be more pro-active and initiate the service you want.
Just my 2 cents.
Napa - Oxbow Public Market is ready and it is stunning
Agree with you Glencora. I definitely got the impression that this was a tourist destination, not geared specifically for the locals. I was finished with the place within 10 minutes. However, I'm looking forward to visiting in the spring to see if there is a difference. I'm optimistic, but my impression so far, is not good.
Liquor Store in East Bay with GREAT Selection?
Ledger's Liquor in Berkeley (On University) has a well-edited and reasonably-priced selection.
