Steamed bbq pork buns – Good Luck Dim Sum

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

Steamed bbq pork buns - Good Luck Dim Sum

Colorful botanically-themed mural
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).

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

Intestine bulgogi tripe - YakiniQ BBQ
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 - YakiniQ BBQ
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 - YakiniQ BBQ
Prime beef tongue on the grill.

Small intestine - YakiniQ BBQ
Small intestine. You definitely have to use the scissors to cut this and cook it to a crisp!

Honeycomb tripe - YakiniQ BBQ
Honeycomb tripe. Not my favorite, but they taste better with some chili sauce on top.

Marinated short rib gal-bi - YakiniQ BBQ
Marinted short rib (gal-bi) and marinated beef (bul-go-gi) on the grill. Delicious standards.

Spicy chicken - YakiniQ BBQ
Spicy chicken.

Beef brisket - YakiniQ BBQ
Beef brisket.

Pork skin - YakiniQ BBQ
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 - YakiniQ BBQ
Garlic butter chicken.

Spicy pork belly - YakiniQ BBQ
Spicy pork belly.

Steamed egg - YakiniQ BBQ

Steamed egg.

Rice cake wraps - YakiniQ BBQ
Rice cake wraps.

Dipping sauces - YakiniQ BBQ
Dipping sauces.

Banchan - YakiniQ BBQ
Banchan. Complimentary

Hite Korean beer - YakiniQ BBQ

Hite Korean beer. Large bottle $13

Hite Korean beer - YakiniQ BBQ

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!

Bbq pork – Tai Wu Mr. Fong’s Restaurant

Bbq pork - Tai Wu Mr. Fong's Restaurant
This was different. I guess I’ve never had a large plate of cold, sticky (slimey?) bbq pork for dim sum before. Usually it’s at least warm, but it was the sticky texture that put me off.
Tai Wu Mr. Fong’s Restaurant, Daly City CA

San Bruno Mountain from Sweeney Ridge Trail
View of San Bruno Mountain from Sweeney Ridge Trail. Not sure if that’s the SF County Jail #5 on the right. 🙂

BBQ mix plate – L&L Hawaiian Barbecue

BBQ mix plate - L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
BBQ beef, short ribs, and chicken with 2 scoops of rice and macaroni salad. $8.75
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, Millbrae CA

BBQ mix plate - L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
I always crave this once in a while, and I’m always inevitably disappointed. My mouth starts to tingle from all the salt and fat and I’m left feeling bloated. So why do I torture myself? Who knows, but I keep going back. I do love their macaroni salad – it’s delicious!

BBQ mix plate - L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
March 18, 2015. $9.50
Alameda, CA.

Smokehouse baby back ribs – Brookwood Farms BBQ

Smokehouse baby back ribs - Brookwood Farms BBQ
With macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, cornbread, and a fried pickle. $11.99
Brookwood Farms BBQ, Charlotte/Douglas International Airport (CLT)

Again, wow! The restaurants at CLT sure know how to pack your plate at really good values. Twelve bucks wouldn’t get you much at most airports, but this was a whole lotta food! I loved the mac ‘n cheese, and the ribs tasted decent but they had an odd texture. Everything together was maybe a little too salty for my taste.

NC style BBQ platter – Speedway Grill & Cafe

NC style BBQ platter - Speedway Grill & Cafe
Pulled pork with bbq sauce, macaroni and cheese, fried okra, and a roll. $8.79
Speedway Grill & Cafe, Charlotte/Douglas International Airport (CLT)

This was a lot of food considering the price and that it was at an airport. The pork was ok and the bbq sauce didn’t have enough punch for me. I did love the mac ‘n cheese. It had a consistency that reminded me of elementary school cafeteria days, and that’s a good thing! The fried okra were a little dry and over done.

Spicy bbq pork bowl – Sorabol

Spicy bbq pork bowl - Sorabol
Thinly sliced pork (dwegi gui) smothered in spicy chili pepper paste. Served with steamed rice, chap chae (Korean style glass noodles) and vegetables. $6.95
Sorabol, San Bruno CA

This probably wasn’t the best thing to eat after getting a teeth cleaning at the dentist, but I was starving and craving this yummy pork. Sorabol definitely isn’t authentic Korean by any means, but it somehow hits the spot nonetheless.

Stained glass window, San Bruno Bart Station
Stained glass window, San Bruno Bart Station. As you descend onto the station platform on the escalator, look up and witness this colorful stained glass.

St. Louis pork spare ribs – The Dancing Pig

St. Louis pork spare ribs - The Dancing Pig
Pork spare ribs smoked in-house, dry rub served with a light barbecue sauce, and two sides. Half slab $14.95
The Dancing Pig, San Francisco CA

You definitely get A LOT of food! So if you’re looking for a great value, perhaps The Dancing Pig is for you. I’m a lover of bbq pork ribs and I’ll enjoy most preparations, but I wasn’t a fan of these. They had a weird grainy texture that did scream bbq to me! I was disappointed!

Collard greens and mac 'n' cheese - The Dancing Pig
Sides of collard greens and mac ‘n’ cheese. Noms, I loved the mac and cheese! They’re of that creamy, loose variety that always reminds me of those I had growing up. And as you can see the sides are huge!

Decorative urn and succulent, 17th Street

Decorative urn and succulent, 17th Street. I don’t like the fake greenery around the urn, but I love the wall mounted succulent – super cool!

Sliders menage a trois – The Dancing Pig

Sliders menage a trois - The Dancing Pig
Three little sandwiches: barbeque pulled pork and cole slaw, beef brisket with chimichurri sauce and caramelized onions, and smoked chicken with lettuce tomato and aioli. $7.95
The Dancing Pig, San Francisco CA

The overal theme of these sliders was that the proteins were dry. The flavor combinations should work beautifully but the execution needs to improve. I will say that the price point is very good at The Dancing Pig! The food just needs a little refinement.

Pink and orange Lantana camara (Verbenaceae)
Pink and orange Lantana camara (Verbenaceae), 17th Street. I love that the lantana is still covered in morning dew. Simply beautiful!

Classic barbecue baby-back ribs – Ruby Tuesday

Classic barbecue baby-back ribs - Ruby Tuesday
Half-rack slow-cooked for hours then covered with tangy barbecue sauce. With fresh grilled green beans and roasted spaghetti squash. $13.99
Ruby Tuesday, North Charleston SC

Bbq ribs are my weakness! These were good, but definitely on the salty side. I tried ordering “healthier” side options, but they arrived totally drenched in butter anyway so that was pointless.

Garlic cheese biscuits - Ruby Tuesday
Made-from-scratch garlic cheese biscuits. Mmm, these were actually very tasty! They were small but I’m sure they were loaded with calories.

Baby back ribs combo – Smokey Bones

Baby back ribs combo - Smokey Bones
Their award-winning baby backs are hand-rubbed in a three-staged seasoning process, then marinated before being hickory smoked for nearly four hours. Fire-grilled to order. Sliced smoked turkey breast. Premium turkey breast tossed in a savory blend of spices, then slow smoked for three hours, sliced thin. Served with mashed potatoes and brown gravy, fire roasted corn, and toast. $16.49
Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill, North Charleston SC

This was ok. There was plenty of food, but the quality was just mediocre. I still enjoyed it but there wasn’t much finesse to the bbq – very middle of the road and safe. The service (at the bar) was great though! My bartender was super friendly and attentive. He wasn’t bad looking either, hehe!

Assorted bbq sauces - Smokey Bones

Assorted BBQ sauce bottles. I love it when there are multiple bbq sauces to try. I’m always partial to the spicier ones, but these kinds of restaurants don’t ever go too spicy on the bbq.

Bones bin - Smokey Bones

Bones bin. Never seen this before. The bartender brings out this brown paper bag, folds the top and places it in front of me for my bones. Kinda cool!

Historic downton Charleston

View of historic downtown Charleston from The Rooftop Bar at the Vendue Inn.