Author Archives: vicentesf

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About vicentesf

Exploring life one meal at a time. Cause I'm not a foodie, I just like to eat!

Blackened trout – Alamo Square Seafood Grill

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Blackened trout - Alamo Square Seafood Grill
With green peppercorn sauce (red wine reduction and green peppercorns), roasted brussels sprouts, vegetables, and rice. Daily 3-course prix fixe $14.50
Alamo Square Seafood Grill, San Francisco CA

I enjoyed the trout. It was a small, thin piece with not a lot of meat but it tasted good and was prepared well. I wasn’t a fan of the green peppercorn sauce though. The color was off-putting and I didn’t think that the sour taste did anything to elevate the trout.

Esperance bordeaux - Alamo Square Seafood Grill

Chateau Moulin de l’Esperance, bordeaux, 2009. Half off bottle $18.50

Esperance bordeaux - Alamo Square Seafood Grill

Quesadilla de pibil – El Techo de Lolinda

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Quesadilla de pibil - El Techo de Lolinda
Braised pork shoulder, oaxaca cheese, cilantro, salsa. $9
El Techo de Lolinda, San Francisco CA

Finally, a dish from El Techo that was actually good and priced approriately! Actually this was pretty large so I wouldn’t have minded if it had cost a few more bucks. The pork was tender and really flavorful, and I like their smokey salsa. I thought the oaxaca cheese was going to be the white, crumbly kind but I was happy to see that it was thick and melty!

San Francisco Bay at dawn
San Francisco Bay at dawn, Upper Market.

Lacinato kale and little gem lettuces – Ragazza

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Lacinato kale and little gem lettuces - Ragazza
Salad with avocado, radish, farro and green goddess dressing. Banquet-style dinner
Ragazza, San Francisco CA

I haven’t really gotten into the whole kale salad revolution, but this was delicious! I guess almost anything can taste amazing when tossed in green goddess dressing though, hehe. The addition of farro and avocado was a smart moved!

Aeonium haworthii
Aeonium haworthii ‘Kiwi’ succulent (Crassulaceae), West Field Road.

BBQ Gulf shrimp – Town Hall

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BBQ Gulf shrimp - Town Hall
Worcestershire sauce, scallions, sprouts, garlic herb toast. $15
Town Hall, San Francisco CA

This tasted good, perhaps way too salty, but it still had great flavors. You would think that a nicer place like Town Hall would know better than to over-season their food, but maybe they were having an off night. Nicely cooked shrimp has to be one of my favorite things especially with the heads attached. I’ve always been surprised at how many people won’t try sucking out the heads because they’re afraid or disgusted. But that’s where all the favorite is! Mmm, shrimp heads are SO amazing, NOMS!

Game still life
Game still life, de Young Museum.

Yeah Nah cocktail – Waiheke Island Yacht Club

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Yeah Nah cocktail - Waiheke Island Yacht Club
Monkey Shoulder whiskey, Creme Yvette, PX sherry, smoked plum, sliced lemon garnish. $12
Waiheke Island Yacht Club, San Francisco CA

This pop-up restaurant was really cool, partially because everyone who worked there was Kiwi and their accents rock, lol! Actually the cocktails and food were awesome so they were definitely doing things right. Add to that a relaxed setting on a SF Bay pier and you have a winner!

Legion of Honor fountain
Fountain in front of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor.

Baby field green and fine herb salad – Alamo Square Seafood Grill

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Baby field green and fine herb salad - Alamo Square Seafood Grill
With sliced radishes and croutons. Daily 3-course prix fixe $14.50
Alamo Square Seafood Grill, San Francisco CA

This salad doesn’t look very interesting, but it was actually pretty good. It was lightly(!) tossed in a basic vinaigrette which I kinda liked. Overly dressed salads are the worst! And for a very affordable pre fixe, this salad was better than expected.

Pesto and olive oil with bread - Alamo Square Seafood Grill
Pesto and olive oil with bread. Complimentary

Hunters Point
Open Studios at Hunters Point. I love this event because you get to see artwork from a lot of local artists, and you can usually find some good deals. I can’t afford super expensive art so this is a great alternative.

Guacamole – El Techo de Lolinda

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Guacamole - El Techo de Lolinda
Cotija cheese, tortilla chips. $7
El Techo de Lolinda, San Francisco CA

This guacamole was good, but just because you add a little cheese on top of a small bowl of it doesn’t mean it’s worth seven bucks! I think most of the food items on their menu are overpriced, and all their tortilla chips were greasy. Not running back here to eat again any time soon.

Chips and salsa - El Techo de Lolinda
Chips and salsa. $3
Kinda lame that they also charge you for chips and salsa when most restaurants provide it complimentary. It’s not even listed on their menu so most people assume that it’s free.

Castro houses

SF houses on a hill, The Castro. I like the obvious delineation of where the former neighboring house used to be.

Butter lettuce and Fuji apple salad – Town Hall

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Butter lettuce and Fuji apple salad - Town Hall
Candied walnut, radish, Pt. Reyes blue cheese dressing. $12.50
Town Hall, San Francisco CA

Mmm, this salad was pretty tasty with all the classic flavor combinations. I’m a huge fan of Point Reyes blue because this local cheese company produces great products. And the dressing that Town Hall created with the blue cheese was delicious!

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse
Spreckels Temple of Music “Bandshell”, Golden Gate Park Music Concourse.

What I ate for Thanksgiving 2013!

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Turkey

I went back to the Puget Sound to spend time with my family over Thanksgiving. It was great to see everyone, even my dad who usually doesn’t leave the house very often in his old age. My oldest sister and her family were having their own Thanksgiving in Tacoma so I wasn’t able to see them, but there were so many others I was glad and fortunate to spend time with this holiday. Everyone else (which included 5 of my siblings and too many nieces and nephews) met up at the second oldest siblings house in our hometown. We and an amazing time catching up, telling stories, playing games, and generally teasing each other and having a good laugh. There was TOO much food, but here are some of the pics I was able to snap before I literally drank myself to sleep, LOL!

Pancit
Pancit.

Acorn squash with stuffing
Acorn squash with stuffing.

Mashed sweet potatoes
Mashed sweet potatoes topped with maple-glazed nuts.

Lumpia
Fresh fried lumpia.

Roasted duck and lechon
Roasted duck and lechon (roasted pork).

Crab foo yung
Crab foo yung.

Turon
Turon (dessert lumpia with banana and jackfruit).

And WAY too much wine!!!

Roasted cauliflower soup – Alamo Square Seafood Grill

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Roasted cauliflower soup - Alamo Square Seafood Grill
With croutons and freshly ground black pepper. Daily 3-course prix fixe $14.50
Alamo Square Seafood Grill, San Francisco CA

This restaurant has a great daily prix fixe for under fifteen bucks! The service was a little unfocused, but the food was great especially for the price. This cauliflower soup was tasty and had lots of flavor. It had a fairly light texture which was probably healthier, but with the current cold weather a thicker, creamier based would have been amazing. Ugh, this is why I will never be super skinny! LOL

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

Shrimp ceviche – El Techo de Lolinda

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Shrimp ceviche - El Techo de Lolinda

Ceviche de camaron. Shrimp, lime, roasted tomato, red onion, cucumber, avocado, cilantro, served with tortilla chips. $13
El Techo de Lolinda, San Francisco CA

Eh, this was a standard ceviche; nothing special and maybe a little on the too sour side. I wasn’t very impressed with this ceviche knowing how popular this place is for drinks and bar food. I think they’re banking on their rooftop location more than providing delicious drinks and food. We’ll see how long before people catch on.

El Cid statue
El Cid statue, Anna Hyatt Huntington, California Palace of the Legion of Honor.

Warm hand pulled mozzarella – Ragazza

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Warm hand pulled mozzarella - Ragazza
With heirloom tomatoes, brown butter and sage. Banquet-style dinner
Ragazza, San Francisco CA

Simple dishes with quality products are the absolute best! This was SO yummy! I love mozzarella and heirloom tomtatoes so it’s not a surprise that I would like this dish, but they added even more flavor with the brown butter and fried sage so I was a total fan.

California lilac
California lilac (Ceanothus sp., Rhamnaceae), Land’s End.