Tag Archives: bread

Smoked “andouille” board – Breizh Cafe

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Smoked andouille board - Breizh Cafe
Assortment of local, artisanal chitterling sausages from Guemene and Cogles regions, cornichons, pickled onions, butter. 8€
Breizh Cafe, Paris FR

The waitress made sure that we understood that this dish wasn’t like American andouille sausages. Andouille in this case refers to chitterling sausages from Brittany which are made from pig intestines. I had already tried a piece of andouille at Ma Bourgogne but I wanted to try what I thought would be a more authentic product from Breizh Cafe since they specialize in food from that region.

I always love trying new and regional food items, so this was a challenge of sorts because I’m not a huge fan of intestine in the first place. I will say that this andouille was much better than the one at Ma Bourgogne. I definitely liked the variety pictured on the top row a little more because it had a more smokey flavor and that helped to mask the intestine taste. I really liked both their textures though, and eating them with buttered bread helped. 🙂

Bread - Breizh Cafe
Bread. Complimentary

Silverware - Breizh Cafe
Silverware.

Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier (Paris Opera House), Place de l’Opera. This is one of the most famous opera houses in the world and is the setting for Gaston Leroux’s novel The Phantom of the Opera.

Croque madame – La Cooperative

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Croque madame - La Cooperative
De pain de campagne, frites et salade. Ham and cheese sandwich topped with fried egg, country bread, French fries and salad. 9,90€
La Cooperative, Paris FR

I thought I’d try a croque madame in France! Hmm, I’m not sure if this is how they’re supposed to be normally, but I wasn’t a fan. The bread was really toasted, as evidenced by the dark broiled cheese and dry edges, so it was hard and difficult to eat. I’m used to croque madames that are softly oozing with melted cheese and perhaps some bechamel thrown in for added moisture. This plate was gigantic though so it was a great value. I could only eat half of it, but the girl at the table next to us had no trouble finishing hers off, omg! The fries were also limp and bland.

Louvre Museum
Louvre Museum. Everything is so huge in Paris! The number of beautiful buildings is astounding so it’s not difficult to constantly be snapping pics. We walked the grounds of the Louvre but never made it inside. We didn’t want to bother with the long line and we were getting too tired to fully appreciate such a large museum once inside.

Sweet and sour chicken – United Airlines

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Sweet and sour chicken - United Airlines
Served with fried rcie, side salad with ranch dressing, dinner roll, butterscotch brownie.
San Francisco (SFO) to Paris (CDG), United Airlines

Ugh! I would say that this was a joke of Chinese food, but I’m pretty sure sweet and sour chicken is an American invention in the first place. I’m just gonna say that this was NOT good, yuck!

Hanging art installation

Hanging art installation, SFO Terminal 2.

Penne pasta with meatballs – United Airlines

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Penne pasta with meatballs - United Airlines
Side salad with ranch dressing, dinner roll, butterscotch brownie.
San Francisco (SFO) to Paris (CDG), United Airlines

Ugh, I’m never liked the meals on United international flights. They’re usually worse than bad cafeteria food, but I guess they succeed in their goal of being heavy and fattening and making you fall asleep so you’re not a disturbance on the plane. This pasta was actually passable as decent microwave food though. The salad and roll were throw-aways, but the brownie was pretty tasty. 🙂

Classic board games exhibit
Classic board games exhibit, SFO Terminal 2.

Bialy and local smoked salmon – Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen

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Bialy and local smoked salmon - Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen
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 - Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen

Condiments.

Narrowleaf self-heal

Narrowleaf self-heal (Prunella vulgaris var. lanceolata, Lamiaceae), Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.

Cream of artichoke soup – Duarte’s Tavern

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Cream of artichoke soup - Duarte's Tavern
Served with freshly baked bread. $8.75
Duarte’s Tavern, Pescadero CA

Cream of artichoke soup - Duarte's Tavern
This place is FAMOUS for their cream of artichoke soup! They’ve received many awards and national recognition including a James Beard Foundation Award. When I found out that we were going to be traveling nearby, I had to include a stop-over to try their food.

There have been mixed reviews online regarding the artichoke soup, so I’m gonna throw my hat into the ring and say that I really liked the soup! It had a great texture and a nice natural artichoke flavor. They use sour cream and corn starch to thicken the soup instead of cream. They use bread from Half Moon Bay Bakery and it was delicious. The bread was reheated before serving so it was nice and warm and fluffy. NOMS!

Duarte's Tavern storefront
Duarte’s Tavern storefront.

Duarte's Tavern parking lot sign
Parking lot signage.

French toast – Solaire Restaurant + Bar

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French toast - Solaire Restaurant + Bar
Fresh berries and maple syrup. $10
Solaire Restaurant + Bar, Santa Cruz CA

These were just your standard French toast. They tasted fine but they weren’t anything special.

Chicken sausage - Solaire Restaurant + Bar
Chicken sausage. $4
These sausages were pretty sad especially when they cost four bucks!

Condiments - Solaire Restaurant + Bar
Ketchup, maple syrup and butter.

Rio style moqueca – Bossa Nova

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Rio style moqueca - Bossa Nova
Local shellfish (mussels, shrimp, fish), coconut milk, soffrito and croutons. $22.50
Bossa Nova, San Francisco CA

This is my favorite dish at Bossa Nova and I order it every time. Unfortunately, this time around they served it without any bread and it took a while to get the waitress’ attention afterward. That was a bit careless, but this seafood stew is so warm and comforting that it quickly eases any frustration. Mmm!

Ocean beach
Ocean beach, Great Highway.

Oeuf a la coque – L’appart Resto

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Oeuf a la coque - L'appart Resto
2 soft-boiled eggs and black truffle mouillettes served with serrano ham, roasted potatoes and green asparagus. $13
L’appart Resto, San Anselmo CA

Mmm, this was really tasty! I love little tastings of food so this was a perfect meal for me. Everything was delicious and I loved dipping the mouillettes into the soft-boiled eggs.

Bon Tempe Lake
Beautiful Bon Tempe Lake, Marin County.

Bone marrow – The Alembic

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Bone marrow - The Alembic
Caper gremolata, garlic confit, levain. $13
The Alembic, San Francisco CA

Ugh, this was probably the worst Big Eat SF item I’ve had so far. And actually it was probably the worst bone marrow I’ve ever had too. I’m not sure they even roasted this thing! It was cold and spread like super thick chunky Crisco with added tissue and random globs. I was horrified at how undercooked this was that I left pretty much the entire thing on the plate. FAIL!

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2012

Sidewalk collage sign

Sidewalk collage sign, The Mission.

Artisan cheese – The Alembic

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Artisan cheese - The Alembic
With marcona almonds and assorted bread. $4
The Alembic, San Francisco CA

The waitress, after confirming with the kitchen, told us that this was a Camilla soft goat cheese. We were VERY skeptical because it had the flavor and texture of a cow’s milk soft cheese like brie. There is no way in my mind that this was a goat cheese. I tried Googling the brand/variety afterward and came up with nothing comparable. I hate
it when you’re given false information at restaurants!

Yellow yarrow flowers
Yellow yarrow flowers (Achillea millefolium, Asteraceae), West Field Road.

Boston clam chowder – Mission Street Oyster Bar

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Boston clam chowder - Mission Street Oyster Bar
With green lip mussels, black mussels, clams, and shrimp. Cup $3.95
Mission Street Oyster Bar, San Francisco CA

This chowder was pretty good, but I still couldn’t get over the fact that they charged for bread and butter especially when the price point of their entrees was $20 and up. And as you can see, they only give you a few slices. I don’t think I’ve experienced this at a San Francisco restaurant – kinda un-classy.

Bread - Mission Street Oyster Bar
Bread and butter. $1.75

Robert Howard sculpture
Creepy heads sculpture by Robert Howard, Phoenix Hotel.