Har gow. A delicous standard! 3 for $1.60
Good Luck Dim Sum, San Francisco CA
Helen Diller Playground, Mission Dolores Park.
Shrimp dumplings – Good Luck Dim Sum
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Black and blue mojito – Eureka Restaurant and Lounge
Smirnoff blueberry vodka, muddled blackberries, mint, lime and soda. $12
Eureka Restaurant & Lounge, San Francisco CA
I like the idea of this cocktail, but it was a bit too sour for me. If they had used sweet, naturally ripe blackberries, I bet this would have kicked ass!
We were walking in the Mission one night on our way to a comedy show and spotted this random car decorated and covered all in Barbie dolls. Everyone was checking it out and I couldn’t help but snap a couple pics with my iPhone.
Noona’s hush puppies – Queen’s Louisiana Po-Boy Cafe
Cornmeal fritters served with even more butter! $2.49
Queen’s Louisiana Po-Boy Cafe, San Francisco CA
I normally LOVE hush puppies, but these were dense and SUPER greasy, argh! Damn you spiteful gods – I wanted to enjoy these fried, artery-clogging pillows smothered in butter! Instead, I could barely finish one.
Fresh cedar and Douglas fir evergreen garland with lights, 24th Street.
Ensalada de remolacha – Poquito
Ecuadorian beet salad with carrots, peas, bell pepper and cilantro. $5
Poquito, San Francisco CA
This was not what we expected when we saw it on the menu, but we really loved this salad! Everything tasted great together, even the peas which I was originally skeptical about.
SF MoMa posters for Cindy Sherman exhibit, 16th Street.
Low gravity mango sunrise – The WestWood
Mango flavored mimosa. Pitcher $28
The WestWood, San Francisco CA
As mimosas in the city go, this is one of the more expensive ones and for no apparent reason. It tasted fine, but it wasn’t worth the extra cost and the carafe is even on the small side.
A San Francisco sunrise projects light onto our home office door.
Steamed bbq pork buns – Good Luck Dim Sum
There’s so many cheap dim sum places along Clement Street in the Richmond neighborhood and Good Luck Dim Sum is one of the most popular ones. This is evident by the long line in front of the counter. The good thing is that you can grab a menu sheet and mark everything you want while you wait your turn. 3 for $1.60
Good Luck Dim Sum, San Francisco CA
Colorful botanically-themed mural, Church Street. I think the plants in this section are probably California soaproot (Chlorogalum pomeridianum, Asparagaceae), rattlesnake grass (Briza sp., Poaceae), and filarees (Erodium sp., Geraniaceae).
Pork belly with fennel – Eureka Restaurant and Lounge
Endive, caramelized grapes, honey-thyme vinaigrette. $10
Eureka Restaurant & Lounge, San Francisco CA
I think they replaced the endive with pickled onions! I really enjoyed this appetizer. I know that this pork belly is super fatty, but it was oh so yummy. The thinly shaved fennel underneath and the acid from the pickled onions helped to cut the fat. I must say that I enjoyed the caramelized grapes the most, lol! Those little suckers were amazing!
The sidewalk parklets in my neighborhood have also been decked out for the holidays!
Authentic seafood gumbo – Queen’s Louisiana Po-Boy Cafe
Served with white rice and saltine crackers. Cup $4.99
Queen’s Louisiana Po-Boy Cafe, San Francisco CA
There’s a reason why this gumbo has been voted the best in 2010 by San Francisco Weekly – it’s really damn good! I was amazed at the rich smokey flavor of this soup and I enjoyed the medium consistency of the broth. I will add that they could have added more things in the gumbo to make it more subtantial. It was so flavorful that I really just wanted more of it! Noms!
Music themed mural at Mission High School, Church Street.
Red sangria – Poquito
Pitcher $18
Poquito, San Francisco CA
Mmm, I love red sangria! Poquito’s version was pretty good and the pitcher is decently priced. I need to make it out to the Dogpatch neighborhood more often!
The Christmas trees now cover the entrance to the Noe Valley Whole Foods, 24th Street. I’m still contemplating whether I should get a small tree this year.
Breakfast platter – The WestWood
Levain bread, prosciutto, chevre, deviled eggs, brown sugar-glazed bacon, pickled vegetables, fresh fruit. $14
The WestWood, San Francisco CA
I am torn about this place. The food was decent, but the wervice was really mixed. I think the two owners(?) were running service that morning and the older white-haired man was really nice, but the younger dark-haired man was rude and unattentive. I liked the variety of this breakfast platter, but I’m still not certain that the cheese was actually goat cheese. I asked for confirmation, but the affirmative still seemed unsure. It’s also really dark in the back so you should request to sit outside or near the front if you want to enjoy the bright sunny weather for a leisurely weekend brunch. Otherwise, it feels like you’re dining in a cave.
Tribal medusa mural/mosaic, 16th Street.
Korean bbq dinner with work peeps – YakiniQ BBQ
There’s usually an occasion to warrant a work dinner for our group, but this time around I think we just wanted to grab some Korean BBQ in Japantown. What?! We don’t have a Korea-town in San Francisco, hehe. I’d never been to this restaurant, but it’s one of those places that’s all-you-can-eat for a set price. Or at least all-you-can-eat when the service feels like refilling your table. I’m not complaining, we had plenty to eat as you will see. Overall, I enjoyed the food and it’s always fun to hang out with my work peeps and their significant others. There were only six of us that night which made it easy to pass along food as they were ready off the central grill (and split the bill, lol)! $23.99 each, beer additional
YakiniQ BBQ, San Francisco CA
The grill is located in the center of the table and it does get dirty throughout the night, but they periodically replace the grill top. At one point, we had too much meat in the center which choked out the flame, so a server had to relight it. Oops! I tried to get a pic of everything we ordered, and I was mostly successful. We kept ordering multiple plates at once so it was a little difficult. You’ll get the general idea of the evening’s dining experience though, hehe!
Prime beef tongue and pork neck meat. I’ve never had pork neck meat before and it was really tender and delicious!
Prime beef tongue on the grill.
Small intestine. You definitely have to use the scissors to cut this and cook it to a crisp!
Honeycomb tripe. Not my favorite, but they taste better with some chili sauce on top.
Marinted short rib (gal-bi) and marinated beef (bul-go-gi) on the grill. Delicious standards.
Spicy chicken.
Beef brisket.
Pork skin. Again, the trick is to grill this to a crisp otherwise there’s no way you can even chew through it!
Garlic butter chicken.
Spicy pork belly.
Steamed egg.
Rice cake wraps.
Dipping sauces.
Banchan. Complimentary
Hite Korean beer. Large bottle $13
Hite beer in a Cass glass beer glass. It was my first time trying this beer and I enjoyed it. It was light and didn’t make me burp as much as other beers, lol!
Pomegranate margarita – Eureka Restaurant and Lounge
Reposado tequila, Pama pomegranate liqueur, triple sec and lime on the rocks. $10
Eureka Restaurant & Lounge, San Francisco CA
I love the soft pink color of this margarita! It’s nicely made and tastes wonderful.
My neighborhood has began decorating its storefronts for the holidays. I like the simple window trims at Mill, 24th Street.
Vittle Monster 