Topped with buttercrunch. $10
Town Hall, San Francisco CA
I don’t like sickeningly sweet desserts and this was on the verge of being one. The sweet butterscotch flavor was overwhelming so this dessert was not a favorite of mine. The buttercrunch shards on top were great though – almost like thin Heath bars.
Giant rhubarb leaves (Gunnera manicata, Gunneraceae) in front of the de Young Museum.
Stone Sour: Knob Creek bourbon, fresh lemon and blood orange juice, shaken with barrel-aged syrup and served tall on the rocks with brandied cherries. $12
Luce, San Francisco CA
The cocktails at Luce were really fun and delicious. Each one had several ingredients and they all generally worked well together. The Stone Sour was probably my favorite because it had bourbon, but the Moscone Pear was tasty in its own way.
Moscone Pear: Dimmi herbal grappa liqueur, shaken with fresh pear puree, fresh squeezed lime and lemon, served up. $12
Noe Valley.
String beans, mac & cheese, hush puppy, cornbread muffin. 2 item combo $16
Sandra Dee’s Barbeque & Seafood, Sacramento CA
I liked most of the items on this plate. The bbq pork ribs were delicious, tender, and the bbq sauce had a nice heat to it. The mac and cheese was oozy-gooey and just the way I like it! The catfish strips were tiny and not properly cleaned (there was a lot of that gross silver crap that gives it a metallic flavor), and the muffin was a dense, dry hockey puck. The beans were fine, and the hush puppy was slightly greasy. I don’t know if I’d go running back when in the Sacramento area because there are other bbq places to try first.
Shrimp, beef, scallop, squid, chicken, jalapeno, vegetable, garlic. $12.95
Jasmine Tea House, San Francisco CA
Mmm, for a delivery clay pot dish, this rocked! The ingredients were of surprisingly good quality and they tasted great! There were so many proteins packed in there. Most Chinese places fill the dish with bok choy and only give you a few slices of meat. I was even surprised that the squid and scallops were tender and fresh tasting. Now that’s impressive for Chinese delivery! I would definitely order this dish again.
Joan of Arc statue, California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
Tiramisu has got to be one of my favorite desserts ever! Ragazza makes a pretty killer one, and it’s a great way to finish off an amazing dinner with great friends. NOMS! Banquet-style dinner
Ragazza, San Francisco CA
I want this chandelier in my future home, hehe! California Palace of the Legion on Honor.
Butter beans, chorizo, farm egg, Italian parsley, grilled bread. $25
Town Hall, San Francisco CA
Oops, I guess you really can’t see the duck, but I swear it’s in there under the farm egg. This dish had good flavors, but it was salty. I think the presence of duck confit and chorizo really upped the saltiness from the start, but I swear they must have added even MORE salt because there was too much! At twenty five bucks for this bowl, I think the execution could have been better.
View of downtown from the Castro.
Two eggs, whole wheat toast, apple wood smoked bacon, fresh fruit. $13
Grange Restaurant, Sacramento CA
Omg, the guy running the host desk was HORRIBLE! I walked in to a barely seated restaurant during breakfast service and he was way too busy on the phone. He made eye contact with me and kept talking, and even switching from the phone at the bar to the phone at the host desk. I’m literally just standing there watching him for almost 10 minutes. Some sweet busser finally had to come over and offer to seat me! And my waiter even apologized that I had to wait forever to get seated. How can an entire restaurant know that someone is waiting WAY too long to get seated and the clueless, idiot host doesn’t?!? This boggles my mind. I don’t make it so Sacramento very often, but if this is their idea of fine service I’ll stick to San Francisco thank you very much. Btw, my power poach was boring and bland.
Orange juice. Small $4
Meringue, creme anglaise (vanilla custard), toasted almonds, caramel sauce, strawberry and mint garnish. Daily 3-course prix fixe $14.50
Alamo Square Seafood Grill, San Francisco CA
This was a very simple, light and elegant dish and it tasted really good! I don’t think I’ve ever had this before but I can see that it’s a great cost effective way to put out a delicious dessert. You really need the toasted almonds and caramel sauce to elevate it though. Noms!
‘Burgundy Bliss’ oxalis (Oxalidaceae), Noe Valley.
Many of you know that I’m a huge fan of General Tso’s chicken even though it’s not even a real Chinese dish, hehe. Jasmine Tea House’s version is super tasty and they use large chunks of white meat chicken. They’re also only lightly battered and cooked perfectly so you’re not eating balls of grease, ew! This was a definite delivery win! $8.75
Jasmine Tea House, San Francisco CA
de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park.
October 2013. $9.50
Price has gone up! And it looks like they might have changed the recipe, but it’s still delicious. 🙂
January 2014. $9.50
They put more broccoli in the dish now which I kind of like.
Onion crema, shaved garlic, preserved lemon, aged provolone, wild arugula. Banquet-style dinner
Ragazza, San Francisco CA
Sorry for the dirty plate, but I had a lot of food before grabbing a piece of this pizza, hehe. And it was a delicious piece of pizza at that! I think it was the combination of the onion crema, garlic and preserved lemon that really made this pizza sing. The wild arugula was a great peppery topping. Noms!
Golden Gate Park.
Buffalo fried chicken (Sunday BBQ special), jambalaya(?). $23
Town Hall, San Francisco CA
Um, this wasn’t a successful dish. It had a weird flavor (and not very Buffalo-y tasting either), and the crust was soggy. Maybe they fried the chicken pieces first then tossed them in a Buffalo sauce, but by the time they made it to our table the sauce had soaked through the batter. The sides were also forgettable because I don’t even remember what they were and I can’t tell from the pic. I think one of them was a jambalaya though.
Mary’s buttermilk fried chicken, smashed potatoes, corn maque choux, bacon gravy. $25 (comped)
So this dish was comped because the kitchen had overcooked the first batch and didn’t want to serve it. I can respect a kitchen (or management) that refuses to serve mis-cooked food, bravo. But I felt REALLY bad for my roommate who had to wait while everyone else ate their entrees because fried chicken takes a long time (he was birthday boy). When it came out, this batch also seemed overcooked so I’m not sure it was worth the wait. The batter was bland but it was at least crispy. I was not a fan of this dish overall. (The fried chicken at Wayfare Tavern is WAY better.)
The Robert Dollar Gallery, California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
100% NZ beef and lamb, smoked tomato chutney, beets, lettuce, kikorangi blue cheese and egg. $15
Waiheke Island Yacht Club, San Francisco CA
Omg, this burger was killer! If this is what all New Zealand burgers are like, I need to visit NZ soon! The patty was juicy and flavorful, and all the toppings were delicious. The burger was huge so I just rolled up my sleeves and got down and dirty with it. I don’t care what anybody say, but I’m a fan of eggs on burgers and this sunny side up egg was a thing of beauty. I was also delighted by the kikorangi blue cheese which I’d never had before. It was spread on the top bun and I initially thought that it was some kind of decadent pate spread because it was so rich and delicious, NOMS!
White and yellow Narcissus (Amaryllidaceae), Castro.
Vittle Monster 