This place is really OVERRATED! The food is marginal for what it is and the prices are ridiculous for the quality. Even the bellini’s are overpriced. $13
Norma’s, Palm Springs CA
Fresh fruit smoothie shot. Complimentary
Drugs sign, The Parker lobby. The diners at Norma’s must be on drugs to pay these prices and deal with horribly slow service.
Baby romaine leaves, roasted garlic dressing, cherry tomatoes, croutons, white anchovies, grana padano. $10
Alicante, Palm Springs CA
I enjoyed that this salad wasn’t tossed and that you could mixed the ingredients yourself as you liked. The dressing was on the tart side though, but I really liked the whole white anchovies.
Sliced baguette. Complimentary
Olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Chicken skin, peas, pasta. Tasting menu $140
Jardiniere, San Francisco CA
Omg, this was probably one of my favorite dishes of the night! It was so delicious and the uni was smooth and luscious. The simple pasta lightly coated with a creamy sauce with peas was heavenly and the crispy chicken skin pieces were fun and tasty.
California scorpionweed (Phacelia californica, Boraginaceae), Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.
Chocolate waffle with a peanut buter and toffee crunch filling, whipped cream. $19
Norma’s, Palm Springs CA
Dang it was HOT outside! Norma’s really needs to have more even sun coverage on their patio area. The quickly moving sun through the split canvas is way too bothersome.
As for these waffles – they were LAME! Ugh, I thought the food here was going to be spectacular especially at these prices (I mean twenty bucks for waffles – they better be good)! The waffles were super crispy and tasted like powdered chocolate. They were so hard that you really couldn’t cut into them without squishing all the filling out from between them. This dish was a major sugar-bomb without any waffle satisfaction.
Fancy fire pit, The Parker Palm Springs Hotel.
Fresh muddled blood oranges, mint, lime, Captain Morgan Lime Bite. $10
Alicante, Palm Springs CA
Uh, this drink was super tart and the flavors weren’t sharp and crisp tasting so as a result it wasn’t very refreshing. Not my favorite cocktail…
Rainmaker Fountain, North Palm Canyon Drive.
Cress, prosciutto, toasted baguette. Tasting menu $140
Jardiniere, San Francisco CA
Mmm, silky burrata! I’ve actually never thought of pairing fig with burrata before but it’s a delicious combination. I appreciated the variety of textures and flavors in the dish and everything worked well together.
Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.
With Sierra Nevada cream cheese, tomato, red onions and capers, pickle. Closed-faced $9
Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen, San Francisco CA
I really liked this smoked salmon bialy. The beer cream cheese had great flavor and wasn’t as heavy as normal cream cheese. The salmon also seemed lighter and fresher. Overall, it was a great way to start the day.
Condiments.
Narrowleaf self-heal (Prunella vulgaris var. lanceolata, Lamiaceae), Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.
Mary: Reposado tequila, spicy tomato blend. $10
Balancoire, San Francisco CA
Since our food and service experience at this restaurant was a disaster, we were hoping that they could at least make a decent cocktail. Unfortunately, they couldn’t. The mimosa was super low quality and the bloody mary had a weird aftertaste. Boo!!!
Mimosa. $6
Redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana, Oxalidaceae), Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.
Corn, shelling bean, purslane. Tasting menu $140
Jardiniere, San Francisco CA
Mmm, the shrimp in this dish were delicious and perfectly cooked. I was afraid that the purslane leaves were going to be too slimey, but they actually weren’t bad. There were also sesame seeds and some other hard, crunchy seed(?) which I didn’t really like.
Gougeres. Compimentary
Absolutely scrumptions – I love gougeres, NOMS!
America’s Cup Pavilion, Pier 27.
Chicken noodle soup with a traditional matzo ball. $6
Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen, San Francisco CA
I don’t think I’ve ever had matzo ball soup at a restaurant before! Kinda weird since I really like matzo ball. This version did not disappoint – it was SO good. I actually wasn’t feeling well that day and thought that eating this would perk me up. It tasted wonderful and the huge matzo ball was fun and delicious! Mission accomplished…
7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2013
They were filming something at the restaurant when I was there. The kitchen space is pretty small but you could see the owners walking around and explaining things to the camera.
Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium bellum, Iridaceae), Prisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.
Grilled beef, corn shell, refried beans, lettuce, tomato, avocado and sour cream. $3.50
El Farolito, San Francisco CA
I needed a quick snack before ducking into the 24th Street Bart Station so I grabbed this tostada at El Farolito. I’m not a fan of this place because the service is erratic and the food tends to be super salty, but it’s affordable and “usually” quick. I actually liked this tostada though. The grilled beef wasn’t overly salty and they piled on enough toppings to tide me over until my next actual meal.
Hook-shaped dock in the Marina.
Crabcake, toasted baguette, sauce maltaise, potatoes, mixed greens. $14
Balancoire, San Francisco CA
Ok, this dish looks decent but it tasted like crap. The crabcake was not only cheap and frozen, but it was made with imitation crabmeat! The sauce maltaise was cold as were the potatoes, and the toasted baguette underneath was pointless. Fail!
The Walt Disney Family Museum, Presidio.
Vittle Monster 