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!

Tacos Chava’s – Chava’s Restaurant

Tacos Chava's - Chava's Restaurant
Beef, bell pepper, onion, tomato, and mushroom. Served with rice and refried beans. $8.75
Chava’s Restaurant, San Francisco CA

Ugh, this was the first time I’ve been here and I wasn’t impressed. The beef was super chewy and the whole thing just had a weird flavor. You should never name a dish after your restaurant if it isn’t very good. 😦

Tortilla chips and salsa - Chava's Restaurant
Tortilla chips and salsa. These chips tasted old and were stale, ew.

Corn tortillas - Chava's Restaurant
Extra corn tortillas.

Beef panang curry – Pad Thai Restaurant

Beef panang curry - Pad Thai Restaurant
Beef in chili sauce with ground peanut, bell pepper, kaffir lime leaves and fresh basil with coconut cream. $9.50
Pad Thai Restaurant, San Francisco CA

Beef panang curry - Pad Thai Restaurant
Panang curry is probably my favorite type of Thai curry. I love that Pad Thai will actually add some real heat to their dishes when you request them “spicy”. Mmm!

Pink river lily flowers (Hesperantha coccinea, Iridaceae)

Pink river lily or crimson flag flowers (Hesperantha coccinea, Iridaceae), Roosevelt Way with Twin Peaks in the distance.

House charcuterie – Beast and the Hare

House charcuterie - Beast and the Hare
Coppa, pork shoulder with smoked pimenton and garlic. Bresaola, beef loin cured in juniper, thyme and bordeaux brine. Duck breast, buried in spices 5 days then apple wood smoke. Served with grilled bread, pickled vegetables, and coarse mustard. 3 for $16
Beast and the Hare, San Francisco CA

Now this is what I call a charcuterie plate! SO DELICIOUS!!! All the meats were amazing and the grilled bread, mustard, and pickled veggies really added to the enjoyment of this plate. I’d have to say that the duck breast was my favorite! It was smokey, tender, fatty, and just perfect. NOMS! I definitely have to go back to try some of the other cured meats.

Place setting - Beast and the Hare
Place setting.

Gentain sage 'Blue Angel' (Salvia patens, Lamiaceae)

Gentain sage ‘Blue Angel’ flowers (Salvia patens, Lamiaceae), Dolores Street.

Matt Cain sandwich – Ike’s Place

Matt Cain sandwich - Ike's Place
Roast beef, turkey, salami, godfather sauce, provolone, lettuce, and tomato, dirty on Dutch crunch bread. $9.99
Ike’s Place, San Francisco

I thought that it was appropriate to post this today since the San Francisco Giants are playing the Detroit Tigers this evening in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series! Matt Cain put out a stellar performance in Game 7 of the NLCS to help get the Giants to this point. GO GIANTS!!!

Oh, and the sandwich was delicious!

San Francisco dawn
Dawn comes to San Francisco. Hopefully the day will end with an SF Giants win!!!

Yankee pot roast – Trio Restaurant

Yankee pot roast - Trio Restaurant
Slow roasted with carrots and pearl onions over sour cream mashed potatoes. $19
Trio Restaurant, Palm Springs CA

This was pretty good and the beef was tender. I enjoyed that the roast had a good amount of fat for extra flavor. It was definitely a comforting dish.

Evening falls on Palm Springs
Evening happens pretty quickly in PS because of the mountains on the western side of the city.

Shaking beef – Jiao

Shaking beef - Jiao
Served over lettuce with cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, red onion, cucumber, lime, and fried shallots. $16
Jiao, Palm Springs CA

Shaking beef - Jiao
This was a great light version of shaking beef! I was pleasantly surprised that it came out as more of a large salad than a pile of meat. Surprising for me, I know, but I was in the mood for a lighter meal that day.

Place setting - Jiao
Place setting with spoon and chopsticks.

Joshua Tree National Park
Entering Joshua Tree National Park and seeing our first few Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia, Asparagaceae).

Corned beef with Swiss cheese sandwich – Sherman’s Deli and Bakery

Corned beef with Swiss cheese sandwich - Sherman's Deli and Bakery
It’s piled up high on our deli rye bread and includes lettuce, sliced tomato. Our Swiss cheese has less holes! Served with potato salad. $12.95
Sherman’s Deli and Bakery, Palm Springs CA

Mmm! I can’t say enough about the awesome sandwiches at Sherman’s. The meats are perfect and the rye bread tastes SO good. Definitely bring your appetite!

Pickles and sauerkraut - Sherman's Deli and Bakery
Pickles and sauerkraut. Complimentary. I like that these aren’t overly pickled. They’re delicious!

Iced tea - Sherman's Deli and Bakery

Iced tea. $2.65

"Forever Marilyn" sculpture by Seward Johnson

“Forever Marilyn” sculpture by Seward Johnson. This 26-foot tall statue of Marilyn Monroe (a la The Seven Year Itch) currently stands in downtown Palm Springs on Palm Canyon Drive. It’s previous site was in Pioneer Court on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

Hot pastrami with tongue sandwich – Sherman’s Deli and Bakery

Hot pastrami with tongue sandwich - Sherman's Deli and Bakery
It’s a real mouthful! We serve it on deli rye bread with lettuce and tomato. A great combination. Served with cole slaw. $14.45
Sherman’s Deli and Bakery, Palm Springs CA

Wow, this sandwich was a true MONSTER! It was really two sandwiches stacked up into one. The meats were SO delciious and the rye bread was light and fluffy. I love Sherman’s!

Lemonade - Sherman's Deli and Bakery

Lemonade. $2.65

Classic white Ford Thunderbird
Classic white Ford Thunderbird. I think they switched out the original hood emblem, but I really don’t know anything about cars, lol!