wanderlust21's Profile
Bogata, Colombia, rec's
Susan - Thanks for the tips, particularly the descriptions of specific dishes, I'm looking forward to the food in Bogota.
Bogata, Colombia, rec's
Thanks for posting such great info. I'm a hound coming from SF. I have two nights in Bogota and have made a reservation at Leo Cocina for one dinner.
Can anyone make a recommendation for late night dining in Bogota? My flight gets in late and I'd like to grab a bite at around 11 p.m.
Also, if anyone has recs for lunch or snacks in Zona T or anywhere near the major tourist attractions that would be helpful. Thanks.
Poc Chuc Tamales
In case anyone likes tamales colados, Poc Chuc had them today as a daily special. Lovely soft pudding like tamale with well seasoned pork. Hopefully they'll have them for the next few days, though you might want to call ahead.
Burgers and coffee, that's elf food, apparently -- your thoughts solicited
I like the burger at Wise Sons Deli, it has pastrami ground into it. Everything from pickle to the bun is house made. I particularly like the bun. Their pastrami on its own is too lean for my tastes, but adds a nice smokiness to the burger. (The rest of the menu items I've tried have been average, though the place has a nice neighborhood atmosphere.)
Best palmier in SF?
I like the ones at Knead. Their selection varies, so they might not have them every day.
Tres leches cake in SF?
It's been a while since I've ordered one, but I like the one from DeLessio's.
Dae Jang Geum, Daly City!
Named after my favorite Korean drama of all time! Thanks for reporting. It looks like they're called DJG "Tofu House" -- Anyone have experience with their soon dubu / tofu?
Oliveto Truffle Dinner
I went to the Oliveto for their truffle dinner last night and found it excellent all around. We had a substantial part of menu and there were no misses. Last time we visited we had a good, not great, meal and the secondi stood out more than the pastas. This time was a home run. The pastas where excellent, and well portioned, as were the main courses. It's difficult to pick favorites, but some standouts were the root vegetables, crostino of fonduta Val'Aosta, the poached farm egg, tortelli of hen, raviolo gigande and the halibut. We also opted for some fresh truffle shavings and were very happy.
The traditional egg and creamy flavors used with truffle, was done with a lightness that showed off the finesse of the chef.
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Oliveto Cafe
5655 College Ave., Oakland, CA 94618
Dessert for a BBQ
I like the Classic Cream Puffs with Sugar (not chocolate) from Pacific Puffs on Union. It's on your way to the GG Bridge.
Pizza in The Castro
Starbelly - Decent thin crust style Margherita. I've never had to wait on a weekday.
2011 Oliveto Tomato Dinner(s)
Sue, having been to a number of these tomato dinners, I agree that this one was the least special. We had a decent dinner and liked the food, though weren't impressed as we were in previous years. When I first read over the menu, I suspected that this particular event might not be this chef's forte. That said, when the kitchen is on its game (Oceanic Dinner), Oliveto is excellent.
2011 Oliveto Tomato Dinner(s)
Yes, I went this week. My favorite was the lamb's tongue as described above. We also liked the panna cotta antipasto, though we weren't as taken by the sweet and savory flavors of the tortelli (though the pasta was well-made). Other worthwhile dishes were the lasagnette and the ciopinno, both were straightforward renditions, but showcased full tomato flavor.
Tripe cart in Florence
I ate at both Lupen e Margo and L'Antico Trippaio recently. Both were great for tripe and lampredotto. If you like spicy sauce, definitely try Lupen e Margo.
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Lupen e Margo
via dell'Ariento, Florence, Toscana , IT
Favorite markets and grocery stores in SF -- esp. the Mission
Another vote for Lucca. For specialty cheese close to the Mission - 24th Street Cheese Co. And for lemons and limes (not organic) - Casa Lucas or El Chico.
Need recommendations for 3 dinners in Florence; also, is Sostanza too "touristy" now??
According to their phone line, I Due G is closed until Aug 29. On a similar note, Procacci on Tornabuoni is also closed until the end of the month, as is Trattoria Mario.
As I'm finding so many places closed, I would love any suggestions for a dinner beyond the usual CH suspects mentioned in this thread. So far I've been to Cipolla Rossa and enjoyed it. So something along those lines open in August would be great. I'm also happy to travel to Oltarno for food. (I'm considering Tripperia Il Maggazino). I have two dinners left. Thanks.
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Cipolla Rossa
Via de' Conti,53, Florence, Toscana 50123, IT
S.F.'s Five Happiness...new owner? Changed menu?
Yimster, I recently had a home cooked pork belly version too, love the fattiness. And I need to correct myself, the traditional version is made with the thigh. I don't recall seeing at the other Shanghainese places, but I believe we had something along the same lines at Hakka.
sfogliatelle
Their pastry case has a mix of their own items and on certain days they have stuff from Knead. They were baking the day I was there, but I'm not sure which items were theirs. When I chose the sfogliatelle, the proprietor asked the baker if he was done with the ones he was making and they brought a fresh one out. He also mentioned that they hope to add dinner service in the future.
sfogliatelle
I had sfogliatelle fresh out of the oven at Fiore Cafe (24th and Guerrero) a few weeks ago.
S.F.'s Five Happiness...new owner? Changed menu?
Derek, my Uncle loves that dish too. It's pronounced "Tee Pahng" and it's usually the forearm, hence Lambert's "trotter" translation.
As far as the Peking Duck, it was fine, I just felt there could be more seasoning. I rarely eat Peking duck, my usual duck fix is roast duck wonton noodle soup which is an entirely different prep with more salt in the dish. As far as other places near the city, I'd try Koi Palace. It's been too long for me to comment on the specific dish, but they had a family dinner with duck three ways, steamed fish, and crab. It's a good value, particularly when crab is in season, they give you a pretty big one.
5 hours in the Mission - an eye on variety.
At Knead, I love the Pomme D'amore with a cup of Philz next door. Dynamo Donuts are just o.k., but it's so close to Knead, you might as well stop and give it a try. I also agree that La Taqueria is worth adding to your plan. If you like espresso, I'd stop at Four Barrel.
For ice cream, I prefer Mr. & Mrs. Misc. It's not in the Mission, but if you are headed to the ballpark you could stop there after the game. If you happen to go to that neighborhood on another day, it's worth stopping at Kitchenette to try a sandwich.
S.F.'s Five Happiness...new owner? Changed menu?
After all this talk about duck I headed to Five Happiness for dinner on a Thursday. I wanted to see if it had changed since the triple duck chowdown a few years ago. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/609155
We had a cold appetizer platter of jellyfish, smoked fish and mock chicken. A Peking Duck, smoked duck, lions head meatballs w greens and steamed fish. We all enjoyed the mock chicken in the cold platter as well as the jellyfish, the smoked fish was flavorful but a bit boney.
The Peking Duck was the same as what I had before, good though slightly underseasoned for my tastes. I've attached a photo before they carved it up, to show the color of the skin.
We all loved the tea smoked duck. It had a deep bacon-like smoky flavor which worked well with a bit of the sweetish dipping sauce. The steamed fish was fine, the sauce was a bit over seasoned with soy, so I would choose something else instead of this next time. The other dish that was just o.k. for me, was the lions head meatballs. The texture was light and fluffy as mentioned by others, but it was not as deeply flavored as I would've liked. I prefer the version at Shanghai House.
A few other things, when I pre-ordered the duck, I asked if there were any other items requiring pre-order and they told me that they have Ti Pang. I didn’t get it as I felt that both items would be too much for us. When I discussed the menu with the server, she tried to steer me toward the shanghai ribs instead of the lions head meatball and she also recommended a mustard greens tofu skin with pork dish, both on the small specials menu. That menu had a few Shanghainese dishes that sounded good, so there are a few more things to come back to try.
As Melanie and Pei noted, there are some hits and misses. Our dinner was a bit uneven, so it's worthwhile to rely upon the server's guidance and notes from this board.
Shishito Peppers in SF?
They seem to be showing up now. I bought some Padrones at Stonestown Farmer's Market yesterday. I not sure, but I think they were around $7/lb. At least one other farm had them, a little basket (the type used for strawberries) for $4.
Oliveto Oceanic Dinner 2011
Oliveto is doing their annual seafood focused dinners and this week the menu is focused on our California Coast. We got a taste of a majority of the menu and were impressed with the new chef. Of the starters, the standout was the sea urchin panna cotta. The urchin flavor was not diluted by the creamy preparation, it carried a deep, almost smoky note. The halibut crudo was served like a tartare, well seasoned with pine nuts balancing the smooth halibut.
In the past, the pasta course has been the favorite part of our meal. This time I felt the secondi proved even better than the (still very good) pasta. Sand dabs usually leave me with the feeling of light and nice, but not quite substantial enough. These were stuffed with fregula and were as satisfying as a meat dish, with the savory fregula adding a lot of body and texture. My favorite was the sole with a spumante sauce that was flavorful delicate and matched well with the excellent piece of steamed fish.
The style of the food is a bit less bold than before, no unusual preparations -- more refined, though every bit as delicious. The service was professional, and gracious, making us feel they wanted to take very good care of us - and they succeeded.
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Oliveto Cafe
5655 College Ave., Oakland, CA 94618
sort by latest post?
Was the issue of sorting to the latest reply ever addressed? I would like to click on a thread and then press a button to jump to the latest reply in that thread. It's cumbersome to have to scan through the thread for the latest reply. For long threads, my work around is to do a search for the latest responder's handle (which is identified on the board). I find it very inefficient, is there a better way?
Buttariga (Bottarga) and other Sardinian ingredients in Bay Area?
Another update, I bought a few whole pieces of Sardinian grey mullet bottarga online from Gustiamo a month ago (May 2011). It took just over a week to arrive using standard shipping. The Pasta Shop in Oakland also had one whole piece (as Wolfe said, around $80), but no smaller pieces when I made the request. I did not ask if they had grated product.
Conservative eating in the Mission
Good suggestions above. I'd also consider Blue Plate, Starbelly (possible wait) or Limon Rotisserie (roast chicken). Pi or Schmidt's if they like beer.
Best ham, roast beef, meatloaf, turkey or roast chicken sandwiches in the Bay Area
Just for You Cafe is a good suggestion. Other possibilities: Roxy Food Center, BiRite Market (rb), and the Submarine Center.
Shanghai - Recommendations for a Special Dinner
Yes the meal has already passed, but thanks for replying and for your original report. Jesse/ Ji Shi is a good rec. We ended up going there for a big lunch and everyone enjoyed the food. We saw a lot of whole fish on tables, but we pre-ordered and loved a fish head. It was a large portion steamed and covered with green onion. The other items were also well executed traditional presentations - no misses. The locals thought the Hong Shou was good but preferred the one at Fu 1039. In additional to the fish, I particularly liked the crab dishes (with tofu and with fen).
Shanghai - Recommendations for a Special Dinner
I'm looking for recommendations for a place to take a few relatives to dinner in Shanghai. They are open to all variations of Chinese food, but their palates tend toward the less spicy -- they were born and raised in Shanghai. I'd like a place that is nice enough to make it a treat, but it does not need to be stuffy or flashy. It should be the food that impresses, not the environs. They have not eaten extensively around town, but I know that they liked Fu 1039. Any price is fine, cost is not a consideration.
I have some places on my personal list to try, but I have no idea whether they would fit the occassion: Xindalu, Jade Garden, JiShi, Southern Barbarian, Xiao Bai Hua, Sophia's.
I'm completely open to any suggestions. Thanks.
Saigon Sandwich -- best banh mi in America? (New York Times)
I have been to that one, but it was a long time ago. I don't remember it too well, I'll try again. Thanks.
