Category Archives: Restaurant

Floating island – Alamo Square Seafood Grill

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Floating island - Alamo Square Seafood Grill
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
‘Burgundy Bliss’ oxalis (Oxalidaceae), Noe Valley.

General Tsao chicken – Jasmine Tea House

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General Tsao chicken - Jasmine Tea House
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
de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park.

General Tsao chicken - Jasmine Tea House
October 2013. $9.50
Price has gone up! And it looks like they might have changed the recipe, but it’s still delicious. 🙂

General Tsao chicken - Jasmine Tea House
January 2014. $9.50
They put more broccoli in the dish now which I kind of like.

Bianca pizza – Ragazza

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Bianca pizza - Ragazza
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
Golden Gate Park.

Fried chicken – Town Hall

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Buffalo fried chicken - Town Hall
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 - Town Hall
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.)

Robert Dollar Gallery
The Robert Dollar Gallery, California Palace of the Legion of Honor.

Emirates Team NZ chellenger burger – Waiheke Island Yacht Club

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Emirates Team NZ chellenger burger - Waiheke Island Yacht Club
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
White and yellow Narcissus (Amaryllidaceae), Castro.

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.