Part of Spencer’s Hot Appetizer Sampler $25
Spencer’s Restaurant, Palm Springs CA
This entire appetizer sampler was a disaster. Even these calamari were over-fried, rock hard, and ready to cut the roof of your mouth. Everything was also SO salty! #fail
Red wine.
Cilantro soy sauce, chili aioli, and sriracha. Part of Spencer’s Hot Appetizer Sampler $25
Spencer’s Restaurant, Palm Springs CA
These potstickers were rock hard and gross. You could chip a tooth trying to bite these things! And the “cilantro” soy was so salty as a dipping sauce. I’d say this appetizer was a failure.
Sparkling wine.
Hawaiian sugarloaf pineapple and sweet pineapple glaze. Part of Spencer’s Hot Appetizer Sampler $25
Spencer’s Restaurant, Palm Springs CA
These shrimp were over-fried and the crust was really hard and dry. Thank goodness for the pineapple glaze to add some moisture and soften them up a bit.
Assorted bread with butter.
Strawberry peppercorn jam, bacon. $9
Shelter Lounge, Seattle WA
These poppers were disgusting! I was intrigued by the concept, but they came out hard, dense, and tasted horrible. They were greasy on the outside and the filling was muddled and unpleasant. And I don’t appreciate out-dated menus that don’t reflect the current item pricing. Either that or our server was over-charging.
Sope assortment with beans, chicken, shredded pork and sauteed vegetables with crumbled queso fresco, onion and sour cream. $12
Colibri Mexican Bistro, San Francisco CA
These sopes were clunky and looked unappetizing, but they were actually pretty good! They each tasted very different so it was a nice plate of flavors to begin the meal.
Margarita de la casa. House margarita with Montealban Blanco tequila and house lime juice mix. $11
Fresh burrata cheese served with crostini with ‘Nduja sausage, calabrese olives, salami. $16
Poesia, San Francisco CA
I liked this and thought that it had wonderful flavors, but I was kind of annoyed that the burrata wasn’t center stage. I thought from the menu item that it was going to be a burrata dish, but it was really a big crostini with several ingredients. I liked it, but it wasn’t what I expected.
Baguette with oil and vinegar.
Salmon, mascarpone and capers / romesco and roasted zucchini / sauteed mushrooms and pecorino.
Fiore Caffe, San Francisco CA
These weren’t my favorite. The bread was really hard and dry and the toppings were as refined and flavorful as they could have been.
Crispy potato, salmon roe, bacon vinaigrette. Four course menu $59
Aster, San Francisco CA
This was one of the more well-rounded and developed dishes from our Aster visit. The egg was beautifully cooked and presented, and everything tasted delicious together. I actually felt comforted by this dish unlike some of the others during the evening.
Raw thin sliced beef eye round with capers, shaved parmigiano, extra virgin olive oil, topped with fresh parsley and lemon. $11
Fiore Caffe, San Francisco CA
This was good. It was simple and rustically presented. It could have benefited from a bit more salt, but otherwise was tasty.
Maitake mushrooms, brussels sprouts, comte cheese, rye. Four course menu $59
Aster, San Francisco CA
I liked this enough, but it really wasn’t memorable when thinking about dinner afterward. I remember that it tasted fine and the dumplings were nice and firm (not gross and mushy), but besides that I couldn’t remember much more. Hmm…
Grana padano. $15
Cotogna, San Francisco CA
Omg, this sformato, which seemed to me a cross between a custard and souffle, was absolutely delicious! It had a soft and silky texture and was rich on flavor. The sauteed wild mushrooms were earthy and decadent against the creamy sformato. Noms!
7×7 Magazine’s Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die
Blood orange, fennel, sourdough. Four course menu $59
Aster, San Francisco CA
I really liked the presentation of this, but I felt that this dish came our unfulfilling and hollow. The smoked albacore was good as was the other ingredients, but the dish felt disjointed and unsatisfying.
Vittle Monster 