With brown sugar butter and apple cider syrup. $15
Brown Sugar Kitchen, Oakland CA
I’m still annoyed by the ridiculously long wait that we had to endure and the bad service we encountered at this place, when the food wasn’t even amazing enough to make up for it. This bbq shrimp was super sweet and became nauseating after eating it for a while. Needless to say, I didn’t finish. This place also uses Barilla pasta, an blatantly anti-LGBT company. Definitely not returning…
Chicken enchilada and tamale served with Spanish rice, refried beans, and salad. $12.45
Casa Azteca, Milpitas CA
I usually get the enchilada/chile relleno combination option when it comes to Mexican combos, but for some reason I was craving a tamale. Maybe masa seemed a bit healthier than a deep fried chile stuffed with cheese, but I’m pretty sure they’re both pretty unhealthy overall, lol! Regardless, this was yummy and it hit the spot.
Salad. Not the prettiness salad I’ve had, but I do appreciate that they threw in some beets.
Roasted pork, fried whole garlic, kikurage mushroom, fresh green chives, quail egg, and chicken gravy (cooked ground chicken, chopped shiitake mushroom, chopped ginger, sesame oil, shredded red pepper). Ordered with extra pork and regular spicy. $11.25
Ramen Dojo, San Mateo CA
I’ve been on a ramen kick lately and this place has been one of the best I’ve visited! The soup is delicious and the chicken gravy is amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever had ramen where I’ve really noticed the chicken gravy before. It had an awesome chunky consistency and packed a lot of flavor. Maybe the gravy, if ever present before, was just been mixed into the soup at other restaurants. I’m not sure, but I feel like I’ve been missing out until now. Noms!
Grilled hanger steak, two fried eggs, pickled red onion, garlic aioli, wild arugula, chimichurri, toasted pain de mie, crispy skinny fries, and fruit. $13
Stock in Trade, San Francisco CA
This burger had a lot of great flavors, but it was super cold – EW! I think the server must have forgotten it on the counter for a long time before bringing it out. I was surprised that the skinny French fries stayed crispy and delicious though. I can only imagine how much better they would have been served warm. Kind lame, Stock in Trade!
Fort Funston beach.
Country Lawyer: Knob Creek bourbon, Zucca amaro, vermouth and bitters. $13
Park Tavern, San Francisco CA
Mmm, the cocktails at Park Tavern are pretty delicious! I have mixed feelings about my overall experience here though. Although the service was friendly and professional, they made some stupid mistakes that really detracted from the overall experience. Namely, they never brought us a dish even after I specifically asked if it was ever coming out. Our server ensured us it was on its way, but it never did and we were charged for it anyway! FAIL!
Alcatraz: Templeton rye, Averna amaro, and port. $13
Bulleit Manhattan: bourbon, sweet vermouth, and bitters. $10
With brown sugar butter and apple cider syrup. $15
Brown Sugar Kitchen, Oakland CA
The most important question for this BSK review: “Is the food worth the wait?” I’m gonna say No. We arrived at 8:30 on a Sunday morning and didn’t get food until 10:15. Living in SF, I’m used to the long waits for brunch but the food has to deliver. BSK fell short.
Everything here was really slow, especially our server. We were seated right after the 2-top next to us at the counter, but our order was taken 10 minutes after theirs. They actually finished their meal before we even received food (very frustrating)! When they’re busy, you can wait up to 30 minutes for waffles. While the waffles are delicious, an extra 30 minutes is excruciating when you’ve been waiting so long already and feeling jittery from all the coffee. The fried chicken was just ok so the waffles definitely carry this dish. I think there’s plenty of great chicken and waffles elsewhere that don’t come with a 2-hour+ wait (and cheaper). This place doesn’t make my cut for a “destination” brunch joint. And there is absolutely nothing else at this location so you have no other options if you come here.
Mimosa. $7.50
Pretty small and weak for the price.
Two corn tortillas filled with beef, covered with a mild red chile sauce and cheese. Topped with guacamole and sour cream. Served with Spanish rice, refried beans, and tortilla soup. $12.95
Casa Azteca, Milpitas CA
This was a great value for only thirteen bucks and everything was pretty good, but all the textures on the enchilada plate were soft. I didn’t mind too much but I wish they would have thrown in something crunchy to balance things out. I think that’s why other places thrown in a small pile of that cheap iceberg lettuce “salad”. You all know what I’m talking about. The tortilla soup was also on the salty side.
Tortilla soup.
Everyone comes to this place for the ramen soups, but they also have a couple of snacks that are worth ordering. These boiled potstickers were really tasty. I usually like my potstickers pan fried, but I really didn’t miss the crunchy texture. This version had a lot of flavor especially with the delicious broth. $2.75
Ramen Dojo, San Mateo CA
Bun bo hue. Beef shank, pork hock, fancy pork and tendon in spicy lemongrass beef broth with round noodles. Accompanied by sprouts, lemon, jalapeno, basil, onions and cilantro. Medium $8
PPQ Beef Noodle House, San Francisco CA
Wow, this was really good! I loved the spicy broth and the mixture of ingredients. The last hue soup I experienced had blood cubes in it which is probably more authentic (I’m guessing), but I liked this version better. Blood cubes are a bit too rich more my taste. This broth had a deep, rich flavor that was brightened up a bit by the lemongrass. I could eat this for days!
Bon Tempe Lake.
Sauteed barbecued pork, egg, scallions with fried rice. $7.50
Makli Chinese Cuisine, San Francisco CA
Meh, I’ve never been a huge fan of fried rice by itself. Rice, for me, has always been something to dump the rest of your food on and to soak up the yummy sauces. It’s never been a stand alone entree for me; I can’t eat a bowl of fried rice all by itself. This fried rice tasted pretty good though, but they could have thrown in a bit more bbq pork.
Golden Gate Park.
I initially thought that this margarita was lame and weak, but I actually got a good buzz off of it, lol! I was fooled because it tasted kind of bland, but it was a decent value overall. Glass $6.95
Casa Azteca, Milpitas CA
Chips and salsa. Complimentary
Roasted pork, fried whole garlic, kikurage mushroom, fresh green chives, quail egg, and chicken gravy (cooked ground chicken, chopped shiitake mushroom, chopped ginger, sesame oil, shredded red pepper). Ordered with extra pork and regular spicy. $11.25
Ramen Dojo, San Mateo CA
Wow, this was some of the best ramen I’ve had in a while! The broth was delicious and the “regular spicy” level was perfect. I think “extra spicy” would have been too much and the additional heat would have detracted from the flavor of the broth. You’d spend all your time sweating rather than enjoying the ramen. The “regular spicy” level was actually pretty spicy already! The pork was very flavorful and had a good amount of fat on it. Yum!
Vittle Monster 