Category Archives: Restaurant

Jungle curry – Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine

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Jungle curry - Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine
Kaeng pa. Thai country style curry (no coconut milk) with chicken, bell pepper, eggplant, bamboo shoots, mushroom and basil. $8.99
Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine, San Francisco CA

This was another curry first for me. It was almost like a soup instead of a curry. Is it just the spices that make a curry? Perhaps the term is too broad that it confuses me when I try a variety that is out of the ordinary. Anyway, this “soup” curry was delicious and very flavorful.

Michael A. and Hanna Naify Gallery
Michael A. and Hanna Naify Gallery, Legion of Honor.

Glazed roasted squab – Bodega Bistro

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Glazed roasted squab - Bodega Bistro
Chim quay. With caramelized onions and golden raisins. $16
Bodega Bistro, San Francisco CA

Although there’s not much meat on this squab and you have to really work to get what little meat there is, I still enjoyed this delicious dish. The squab had a beautifully crispy skin and when dipped into the vinegary sauce and eaten with some caramelized onions and sweet raisins, each bite of squab was heaven!

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2013

Bon Tempe Lake
Bon Tempe Lake, Marin County.

Pulled pork eggs benedict – Brenda’s French Soul Food

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Pulled pork eggs benedict - Brenda's French Soul Food
Over cream biscuit, poached egg, hollandaise, with potato hash. $12.75
Brenda’s French Soul Food, San Francisco CA

Wow, this was very tasty but oh so heavy! You really couldn’t eat both of them. Between the cream biscuit, pork, egg and hollandaise sauce it was just a rock in your stomach. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but a little went a long way! 😉

San Francisco home

San Francisco home, Castro.

Hot and sour soup – Makli Chinese Cuisine

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Hot and sour soup - Makli Chinese Cuisine
Thick broth cooked with black fungus, bamboo shoots, tofu, scallion, vinegar, pepper. Cup $2
Makli Chinese Cuisine, San Francisco CA

I was skeptical of this place at first because it was a random Chinese restaurant that took over the closed down Daimaru Japanese restaurant space. We went here for dinner and had a pretty good experience. The service was friendly and the food was pretty good. These two dollar soups are a great value. I could categorize it as more of a bowl than a cup! The soup was nice and spicy and had a nice, deep flavor.

The Castro
The Castro.

Baja style fish taco made Nick’s way – The Taco Shop at Underdogs

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Baja style fish taco made Nick's way - The Taco Shop at Underdogs
Beer batter fish in soft corn tortillas with cilantro, cabbage, red onions, roasted tomato and lime salsa. Nick’s way made with a grilled crispy corn tortilla wrapped in a soft tortilla with Monterey jack cheese, pinto beans, pico de gallo and guacamole. $5.50
The Taco Shop at Underdogs, San Francisco CA

Mmm, this really is a great taco! The fish is delicious and perfectly fried, not greasy at all, and really flavorful. And if you order the taco “Nick’s way”, you get at lot more flavors and textures to an already killer taco. Noms!

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - The Taco Shop at Underdogs

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. $5

Germander sage
Germander sage (Salvia chamaedryoides, Lamiaceae), Castro.

Burmese style beef curry – Burma Superstar

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Burmese style beef curry - Burma Superstar
Burma Superstar’s special curry. Beef braised until tender with potatoes and topped with cilantro. $13.75
Burma Superstar, San Francisco CA

I’m not actually sure what makes this curry Burmese. I really need to find out these distinctions. I’ve noticed that most of the time, Burmese food is pretty similar to Thai food. But this curry was more like a beef stew that a typical Southeast Asian curry that you might think of. Regardless, it was very tasty and super hearty. There was plenty of beef in there so we definitely got full. 🙂

Brown rice - Burma Superstar
Brown rice. $2

Picnic at the Presidio
Mini farmers market at Picnic at the Presidio.

Crawfish beignets – Brenda’s French Soul Food

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Crawfish beignets - Brenda's French Soul Food
Spiced with cayenne, scallions and cheddar. $8
Brenda’s French Soul Food, San Francisco CA

Crawfish beignets - Brenda's French Soul Food
OMG, these were frickin’ amazing! These crawfish beignets are definitely heaven sent pouches of flavorful goodness. The filling is a cheesy gooey mess with chunks of delicious crawfish, and the beignet dough is wonderfully light and fluffy and covered in slap-yo-face spices. The addition of the scallions in the filling puts it over the top. These puppies are super rich, but you really can’t have just one! 🙂

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2012

Creole Bloody Mary - Brenda's French Soul Food

Creole Bloody Mary: garnished with creole spices and pickled okra. $7
Ugh, this bloody mary was a major let-down. IT was all tomato juice with no hint of alcohol and it wasn’t spicy AT ALL! It didn’t have any creole flavor and was actually bland. We had to add lots of hot sauce to make it somewhat decent. Lame!

Chips and salsa with Hass avocado guacamole – The Taco Shop at Underdogs

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Chips and salsa with Hass avocado guacamole - The Taco Shop at Underdogs
Holy guacamole, that’s quite a pile of the stuff on this appetizer! I also liked that they didn’t over-smash the avocados. They were still mostly intact and ready to be dipped into, noms! $6.50
The Taco Shop at Underdogs, San Francisco CA

Emerging mushrooms
Emerging mushrooms, West Field Road.

Vegetarian samusa soup – Burma Superstar

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Vegetarian samusa soup - Burma Superstar
“Even though it’s vegetarian, this remains our most popular soup for both meat eaters and vegetarians alike. Made with samusas, broken up falafels, lentils, cabbage, and onion.” Medium $11.75
Burma Superstar, San Francisco CA

Vegetarian samusa soup - Burma Superstar
This soup was delicious and I loved all the different textures in it! The samusas were good, but I really liked the crunchy bits of falafel in the soup. The broth was super flavorful so I could eat this all day!

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010

Ginger lemonade - Burma Superstar

Fresh squeezed ginger lemonade. $3.50

Mongolian beef – Jasmine Tea House

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Mongolian beef
This dish was really good. There was a lot of tender slices of beef in there and they also packed in a lot of onions, scallions, garlic, and chilies. Definitely worth a re-order. $8.75
Jasmine Tea House, San Francisco CA

Poison oak
Young poison oak leaves (Toxicodendron diversilobum, Anacardiaceae), Bon Tempe Lake.

Gateau Basque – Piperade

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Gateau Basque - Piperade
Cherry preserves. $9
Piperade, San Francisco CA

This almond flour based cake was good and had a good texture, but I wasn’t amazed. I think part of my disinterest comes from the fact that I’ve been to this restaurant about three times now and it’s a frickin’ snoozefest in there! The servers, bussers, and expediters were all cold and mechanical and could care less if you were enjoying your experience or the food. For instance, I had the rack of lamb for my entree this past visit. It came out cold and way underdone so I had a few bites and left the rest on my plate because it was unappetizing. The plate was eventually removed from the table as if everybody orders a $32 plate just to eat two bites. Nobody asked me how it was or if I was enjoying it. They don’t care if you like the food and apparently they don’t care if the food is properly prepared in the first place. Once our dinner order was placed in the beginning, we no longer existed and the staff was just going through the motions. They just want to get you in and get you out! I’m actually really surprised that this restaurant is as popular as it is given my recent experiences here.

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2013

Colorful aeoniums
Colorful aeoniums, Kentfield.

Coconut cake – Luce

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Coconut cake - Luce
Figs, honey ricotta sherbet. Tasting menu $95
Luce, San Francisco CA

Coconut cake - Luce
This dessert was REALLY pretty, but I don’t know if everything came together seamlessly. I liked all the individual components but the flavors didn’t really gel for me. But then again I’m not a huge dessert person in the first place.

Mini macarons - Luce
Mini macarons. Oh, how I love macarons!