Monthly Archives: September 2013

Italian classic sandwich – Boudin Bakery and Cafe

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Italian classic sandwich - Boudin Bakery and Cafe
Italian salami, mortadella, provolone, lettuce, dijon mustard, mayo, sourdough baguette. Served with chips and a cookie. Boxed meal $10.99
Boudin Bakery and Cafe, San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

Uh, this was NOT the sourdough baguette I was expecting. It was really thick and dense, and totally threw off the bread-to-filling sandwich ratio. I actually had to carve out some of the bread from the top bun! Basic sandwich, little payoff.

Chips and cookie - Boudin Bakery and Cafe
Tim’s Cascade sea salt and vinegar potato chips and a chocolate chip cookie.

Beef dol sot bi bim bap – K-pop

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Beef dol sot bi bim bap - K-pop
Rice bowl mixed with cooked vegetables, fried egg, nori and served on a hot stone pot with soup. $14.95
K-pop, San Francisco CA

Mmm, salty beef with rice and a runny egg. Sounds like heaven to me! This is a sizable bowl which is good for the fifteen-buck price tag. Like I’ve said, the food here tends to be on the salty side but the Korean flavors still shine through.

Chilaquiles – Luna Park

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Chilaquiles - Luna Park
Tortilla chips, eggs, beans, queso fresco, salsa fresca. $13.95
Luna Park, San Francisco CA

There was certainly a lot of food on this plate! I just wish it tasted a little better. The sauce was on the bland side and the eggs were on the verge of being overcooked. It’s a great value, but probably one I wouldn’t order again.

Redwood tree trunks
Redwood tree trunks, Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.

Veal and ricotta meatballs – Alicante

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Veal and ricotta meatballs - Alicante
Spaghetti, tomato, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, basil. Half order $8
Alicante, Palm Springs CA

A half order only got you one meatball which was kinda lame, but the singular meatball was tasty and tender. Still, it’s all pasta and the meatball just looked lonely so I don’t think I’d order this again.

San Jacinto Mountains
San Jacinto Mountains.

Chocolate cremeux – Jardiniere

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Chocolate cremeux - Jardiniere
Cherry, chicory ice cream. Tasting menu $140
Jardiniere, San Francisco CA

The dense, decadent chocolate cremeux was delicious and paired wonderfully with the cherries. The chicory ice cream had a restrained flavor that wasn’t overly herbal. I thought the dessert was well balanced and had a nice variety of textures.

Mini macarons - Jardiniere
Mini macarons. Noms!

California manroot
California manroot fruit (Marah fabaceus, Cucurbitaceae), Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.

Barbecued pork fried rice – Jade Cafe

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Barbecued pork fried rice - Jade Cafe
Peas, onion, egg, carrot, scallions. $5.80
Jade Cafe, San Francisco CA

This rice was SO frickin’ dry! I’ve made fried rice plenty of times so I know that it’s best made with older-made rice that has had time to dry out a bit. But this rice was pretty inedible. The rice was probably many days old because the grains were so tough and chewy. GROSS!

Spicy chicken with ssam – K-pop

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Spicy chicken with ssam - K-pop
Korean style marinated chicken mixed with onion, scallion, and sesame seeds served with vegetable wraps. $14.95
K-pop, San Francisco CA

Even though K-pop isn’t the best Korean food around and the food tends to be on the salty side, I still crave it once in a while because it’s the only Korean restaurant nearby. The flavors are great and the banchan selection is respectable, but they really need to dial the salt level down. They service is also hit or miss, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Banchan - K-pop

Banchan. Complimentary

Western beaked hazelnut
Western beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta var. californica, Betulaceae), Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.

Breakfast cocktails – Luna Park

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Breakfast cocktails - Luna Park

Pimm’s cup and Bloody mary. Each $12.75
Luna Park, San Francisco CA

This restaurant can sure get busy for weekend brunch, but I guess the same holds true for most restaurants in SF. SF’ers are serious about brunch. After waiting in line, it’s always a great idea to order a good cocktail (preferably bottomless, lol). We actually arrived at Luna Park early on to avoid the crowds. It’s a familiar feeling place, but you can’t get served alcohol at their sidewalk tables. Oh well, we had no problem drinking these indoors.

Hiking at Purisima Creek
Hiking at Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.

Pesto chicken pizza – Alicante

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Pesto chicken pizza - Alicante
Free-range chicken, pesto, sundried tomato, feta, mozzarella on a gluten-free crust. $13
Alicante, Palm Springs CA

This pizza was pretty good, but I wasn’t sold on the gluten-free crust. It had a weird, hard texture that didn’t sit well with me. It didn’t have that airy, elastic quality that’s SO fulfilling about normal pizza crusts. I sometimes try to eat healthy, but I’ll probably stick to gluten-full pizza crusts, hehe.

Tasting of goat cheese – Jardiniere

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Tasting of goat cheese - Jardiniere
Sunflower seed, apricot. Tasting menu $140
Jardiniere, San Francisco CA

This tasting had 4 goat cheeses aged for various amounts of time, but they were all delicious! Their textures and flavors were distinct and it was difficult to choose a favorite. At first, I enjoyed the sunflower seed butter but it eventually ended up dominating all the cheeses. It had a thick consistency and a permeating flavor so a little went a long way. The cheeses should have been the stars though.

Winged thistle

Winged thistle (Carduus tenuiflorus, Asteraceae), Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.

Peking spicy beef – Jade Cafe

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Peking spicy beef - Jade Cafe
With mushrooms and onions. $9
Jade Cafe, San Francisco CA

OK, the amount of oil in this dish is just plain disgusting! I can’t believe that a restaurant can think they can serve something like this. I got sick just trying this dish and had to throw the rest of it away. The beef was tough and flavorless and was more peppered than spicy. I will never order food from this restaurant ever again!