Monthly Archives: January 2012

Gulf shrimp criolla & creamy ridgecut grits – Criolla Kitchen

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Gulf shrimp Criolla & creamy ridgecut grits Criolla Kitchen

Perfectly cooked white gulf shrimps over creamed country grits, smothered with RL’s Holy Trinity tomato sauce, with fresh scallions and herbs. $14.90
Criolla Kitchen, San Francisco

Finally made it to Criolla Kitchen! It was weird going into the old Bagdad Cafe space and experiencing a new restaurant. I think the spirit of Bagdad Cafe is still there somehow. Anyway, the food at Criolla was pretty good, but didn’t quite meet my expectations. I wanted to get blown away with flavor, I mean it’s suppose to be “soul food”, right? This particular dish was actually pretty tasty. The shrimp was tender and nicely cooked and the tomato sauce was flavorful. Other dishes like the gumbo could have had more of a kick.

Side salad Criolla Kitchen

Complimentary side salad.

Rum raisin & Coconut macarons – La Boulange de Noe

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Project 365: Day 13

Had a pretty tough time at the gym this morning. I felt really tired and weak. The 4 days off in Palm Springs without exercise really made a difference. I still tried to be productive though. I was STARVING after the gym so I made a quick grocery run at Whole Foods and grabbed a couple macaron flavors I haven’t tried yet from La Boulange.

It’s been super cold in San Francisco since I’ve been back. I was freezing on the way to the gym and had to wear a scarf. Although it was super cold, the light on our balcony was bright and made for these great pics. I’m gonna be taking plenty of morning food pics since I’m back to working nights.

Rum raisin & Coconut macarons La Boulange de Noe

I liked both of these flavors, but the coconut really knocked my socks off! It had great flavor and the texture from the coconut bits was fun. Although I like the rum raisin, I couldn’t have told you the flavor without knowing prior. It was a good, but indistinguishable.  $1.50 each
La Boulange de Noe, San Francisco

Rum raisin La Boulange de Noe

Rum rasisin macaron.

Coconut macaron La Boulange de Noe

Coconut macaron.

Chocolate croissant – Four Barrel Coffee

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Chocolate croissant Four Barrel Coffee

I’m still a little annoyed that I was charged $11 for this lame croissant and a latte. $11!!! What a rip off! The croissant was even dry! Suffice it to say that I have NOT been back.
Four Barrel Coffee, San Francisco

Chocolate croissant Four Barrel Coffee

I had to take a pic of the receipt when I was in the Bart tunnel. OK, I was probably overcharged accidentally but you would think that the cashier should realize that a frickin’ latte and croissant doesn’t cost $11! A refund should be in order!

Barbacoa burrito bowl – Chipotle Mexican Grill

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Project 365: Day 12

Omg! It was SO hard waking up this morning. We were on the road by 4:50 AM and I drove the entire way. It took almost 7 hours! Silverfox was feeling sick so I took on the driving duties. He deserved to sleep during the car ride. The toughest part of the drive was the 210. It was so dark and foggy. It took a lot of concentration not to fall asleep behind the wheel. Once we passed Santa Clarita, it got brighter so it was a breeze from there on. We made one stop at Kettleman City for gas and a Starbucks run. I also grabbed this burrito bowl at Chipotle in Millbrae before Silverfox dropped me off at work.

It’s a holiday, but the workload seemed normal. I guess we have a lot of work that hasn’t been assigned yet (not gonna name names, argh!) so this coming week is gonna be fun! Not. I am excited to hit the gym tomorrow morning!

Barbacoa burrito bowl Chipotle Mexican Grill

Spicy, shredded beef, slowly braised for hours in a blend of chipotle pepper adobo, cumin, cloves, garlic and oregano until tender and moist. With cilantro-lime brown rice, black beans, hot salsa, corn salsa, cheese, sour cream and lettuce. $6.50
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Millbrae CA

Standard Chipotle fare – barbacoa is my favorite here. Didn’t quite hit the spot but the large Diet Coke helped. Oh well, it was quick and on the way to work so I’m not gonna complain.

Chilaquiles with scrambled eggs – Cheeky’s

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Project 365: Day 11

Ok, so I’ve failed! I didn’t get this post out yesterday, but you know what? I’m still gonna move forward with my Project 365. We ended up partying a little too hard at Toucan’s last night so I completely forgot to post this, but I’ve noticed that some people post on a weekly basis. At least I’m only a day late.

We had a pretty full day yesterday. Had brunch at Cheeky’s, then went shopping at the Cabazon outlets (bought a couple cute t-shirts), had tacos at Crazy Coyote tacos, then happy hour drinks and food at The Tropicale, then more drinks and played trivia at Toucan’s. The last couple times I’ve been at Toucan’s, I’ve run into old friends. Previously it was old Seattle friends who now live in Los Angeles, and last night I ran into MT from San Francisco. Fun! He seemed very happy!

Palm Springs weekends always fly by way too quickly!  😦

Chilaquiles with scrambled eggs Cheeky's

Fried tortilla chips in a sauce made with homemade chorizo, tomatillo, sliced red onions, queso fresco and cilantro. $10. Scrambled eggs $2 extra.
Cheeky’s, Palm Springs CA

Cheeky’s is currently my favorite brunch spot in Palm Springs. Next time we’re down, we’re gonna try Jake’s next door. I must say that I’m not very impressed with the overall food scene in Palm Springs, but the food at Cheeky’s is consistently good. The service is friendly and there’s always great people watching. And I LOVE their bacon flight (post to come). The chilaquiles were pretty good. I liked the chorizo and the tomatillo was a nice surprise. I’m used to chilaquiles having a red sauce. Overall, the plate was bright and fresh. Just want I needed after the previous day’s debacle at Pinocchio. My only complaint is that some of the tortilla chips were very over-fried.

Water Cheeky's

Water.

Hawaiian burger – Pinocchio In The Desert

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Project 365: Day 10

I had a hard time sleeping last night, not sure why. I even had a nightmare where a snake tried biting me. Odd, huh?

Silverfox and I had a late brunch at one of our usual Palm Springs breakfast joints, Pinocchio In The Desert. Unfortunately, we were SO disappointed. Maybe it was the overcast weather, but everything at this place seemed off.  I’ve always known that you don’t really go to Pinocchio for the food, but the atmosphere is usually really fun so you don’t notice that the food isn’t all that great.

Today, we both noticed that the food was really crappy. That and the bottomless mimosas gave me a headache and knocked me out for the afternoon.

We did have a great dinner at Johannes though. You can read my diatribe about dark restaurants in my previous entry. I HATE DARK RESTAURANTS! So annoying.

Otherwise, had a lazy day. Did some clothes shopping and ran some errands. A nice vacay day if you ask me. Just wish the food had been better.

Hawaiian burger Pinocchio In The Desert

Half pound burger on a whole wheat bun, pineapple, teriyaki sauce, lettuce, sliced tomato, pickles, caramalized onions, swiss cheese and cole slaw. $10.95
Pinocchio In The Desert, Palm Springs CA

I guess this tasted ok, but how can you really go wrong with a burger drenched in teriyaki sauce with pineapples! Hawaiian burgers have always been a favorite of mine, but the beef patty on this burger was a bit of a throw away. Sad.

Bottomless mimosas

Bottomless champagne $3.95 per glass, orange juice carafe $3.95. This gave me a headache this time around.

Unfortunate Helen Keller dinner – Johannes Restaurant

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Johannes Restaurant, Palm Springs CA

Ok, the title of this blog entry is a little unfair, but I wanted to vent a little bit. I actually had a very good experience at Johannes. The service was excellent as was the food.

But I’m just gonna go out and say it – I hate super dark restaurants!

For me, part of an amazing dining experience is being able to actually see what I’m eating. For instance, my duck appetizer tasted great and I’m sure it looked amazing – BUT I COULDN’T SEE IT! I really wanted to see the amazing roasted duck against the dark lentils and the beautifully drizzled raspberry vinaigrette. BUT everything looked just like a dark lump. I tried positioning the candle to get better shots to no avail. What you see on this blog is WAY better than what I actually saw in person!

How does a dimly lit room improve my dining experience!? I can’t see my food. I can’t see my dining my guest. I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING!!!

This is becoming such a pet peeve for me that I’m tempted to decline my next reservation if I enter a restaurant and see that it’s lit like a Paleozoic cave! Just wait, I’m gonna do it! This is ridiculous!

So in conclusion, I enjoyed my dinner but it was a little overpriced considering that I couldn’t FULLY enjoy my meal.

Lillet blonde Johannes Restaurant

Lillet blonde. Over ice, orange zest. $9

Vodka martini Johannes Restaurant

Grey Goose vodka martini up with olives. $11

Pimm's cup Johannes Restaurant

Pimm’s cup, lemon juice, over ice. $9

Brussels sprouts salad Johannes Restaurant

Brussels sprouts salad (special). Lemon juice, olive oil, pecorino cheese and walnuts. $12
Very bright and refreshing. This was a simple salad that you can easily make at home. I think the hardest part would be leafing the brussels sprouts, probably very labor intensive.

Honey and soy glazed duck breast Johannes Restaurant

Honey and soy glazed duck breast. Sliced roasted duck breast, Beluga lentil salad, tiny greens and raspberry vinaigrette. $11
My favorite dish of the night. It was served cold and tasted amazing. I’m sure it was beautifully composed, but I really couldn’t see much of it. The dark duck on the dark lentils looked like a black blob in the restaurant. The flavor were great and the textures were fun.

Australian grass fed kangaroo loin Johannes Restaurant

Australian grass fed kangaroo loin. Glazed bosc pear, veal bacon, walnuts, orange, cranberries, broccolini, juniper merlot reduction. $29
The kangaroo didn’t taste as crazy as I thought it would. I guess the chef recommends it served medium rare, but this came out pretty rare. I wish I would have ordered it medium instead. It was very tender and the reduction tasted great. The bosc pear came out super hot and delicious, and I loved the mixed topping.

New Zealand grass fed young lamb rack Johannes Restaurant

New Zealand grass fed young lamb rack. White beans, zucchini, tomatoes, grilled green onions, triple Dijon mustard sauce. $36
Wow, you get a LOT of lamb – 6 ribs of it! This was very delicious and super tender. I wish the grilled green onions weren’t on the plate though. They seemed too clunky for an otherwise beautiful plate.

Bread and butter Johannes Restaurant

Baguette and pesto butter.

Combo enchilada platter – Taqueria San Jose

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Combo enchilada platter Taqueria San Jose

One carne asada (grilled beef) and one pollo (grilled chicken) wrapped in corn tortillas and topped with enchilada sauce and white cheese. Served Mexican rice, refried beans, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole.
Taqueria San Jose, San Francisco

Omg, SO good! This plate totally hit the spot and it was pretty big! I also loved their refried beans, nice and rich and flavorful. You can definitely taste the fatty goodness in them. I would order this again in a heartbeat!

Sangria Taqueria San Jose

Sangria. I’ve never had sangria in a paper cup, but the nice girl at the counter told us that you get way more sangria in the paper cups versus their wine glasses and you get charged the same price. Score! And they tasted pretty good, too!

Pollo adobo tacos – Taqueria San Jose

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Pollo adobo tacos Taqueria San Jose

Grilled chicken tacos topped with spicy salsa, chopped onions and cilantro, on corn tortillas.
Taqueria San Jose, San Francisco

I’ve walked by this place SO many times and I’ve never given it a second thought. Finally went during a holiday since every other restaurant was closed – I’m glad I did. The food was great and the prices made them all that much better. I assumed these tacos would be super spicy, but they really werent. They had great flavor though and that’s what counts. You can always add spicier salsa from the salsa bar.

Chips and salsa Taqueria San Jose

Chips and salsa. Gotta love these! These were on the thicker end as tortilla chips go, but very good and filling. Yes please!