Tag Archives: cheese

Gravy fries – Hog & Rocks

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Gravy fries Hog & Rocks

Pork belly gravy and cheddar cheese, sprinkled with chopped chives.  $5 happy hour
Hog & Rocks, San Francisco

This item reads super heavy on the menu, but it somehow tasted pretty light!  Not sure how they did that.  The gravy wasn’t too thick and creamy, and the pork belly was cooked well and cut into small enough pieces to prevent a fatty overload with each bite.  I didn’t catch the cheddar cheese very much.  I actually forgot there was any until I referred back to the menu.  A very good and filling dish!

Italian sausage pizza – Firewood Cafe

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Italian sausage pizza Firewood Cafe

Mild Italian sausage, red and green bell peppers, Bermuda onions and homemade tomato sauce.  $10.75
Firewood Cafe, San Francisco

If you like THIN crust pizza, Firewood Cafe in the Castro is the place to go.  They have one of the thinnest crust around which is great for their mostly carb-conscious patrons, hehe!  I personally love thin crust so I often order pizza from here.  They have 5 different pizzas on their regualr menu and usually one daily special, and they’re all pretty good.  The pizzas aren’t the most creative, but they are tasty, decently sized, and very affordable.  Win, win if you ask me.  This Italian sausage pizza was delicious.  I like how the thin crust stayed crispy, and the vegetables did too.  Their homemade sauce isn’t particularly noteworthy, but it’s yummy enough and doesn’t detract from the toppings.  For $10.75, I’m sold!

Marinated olives Firewood Cafe

These marinated olives are complimentary with your order. The small dishes are lined up at the counter. I always want to take more than one! I can’t help it, I’m a sucker for olives…

Chicharron y queso pupusas – Balompie Cafe

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Chicharron y queso pupusas Balompie Cafe

Thick corn tortillas filled with minced ground pork and cheese filling.  $5 for two.
Balompie Cafe, San Francisco

$5 for two large pupusas – SCORE!  Even less if you order them to go.  I’ve only recently discovered this delicious and addictive, traditional Salvadoran dish.  Where have I been, right!?  These things are so warm and comforting and they can be filled with so many things.  I always seem to order a meat and cheese combination.  These pupusas (shown above) were very good and quite large for the price.  I also tried their fish and shrimp pupusa, but didn’t enjoy it as much.  It had a strong, artificial seafood flavor and aftertaste.  Regardless, I would definitely recommend Balompie Cafe for yummy pupusas!

Curtido Balompie Cafe

The pupusas are served with pickled vegetables and a traditional curtido.  The pickled vegetables were scrumptious!  The curtido consists of a lightly fermented cabbage slaw with chilis and vinegar, and a watery tomato salsa.  I couldn’t help but drown my pupusas with the curtido, lol!  No sense in wasting food!

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

Squash pizza – Beretta

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Squash pizza Beretta

Delicious pizza with squash, provolone, prosciutto, onion and goat cheese.  $15
Beretta, San Francisco

I usually don’t go for vegetable pizzas, but this one was spectacular!  Granted it also had prosciutto (that was my compromise, hehe).  You can see that it had SO much squash on it – I kind of felt healthy eating this pizza.  The thin crust was very good and it was sturdy enough to support all the toppings.  It had a nice bite, good char and a great flavor.  Beretta is up there with Delfina Pizzeria as one of the places where I feel confident on consistently getting a delicious pizza!

Eggplant caponatina – Beretta

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Eggplant caponatina Beretta

Fried Japanese eggplants with cherry tomatoes, celery, basil, capers, Sicilian green olives, toasted pine nuts, white balsamic vinegar, and topped with a generous portion of burrata cheese. $9
Beretta, San Francisco

Wow, Beretta doesn’t skimp on the burrata cheese for this dish!  I personally love buratta.  The cream filled fresh mozzarella cheese acquires such a creamy, luscious texture.  It’s absolutely divine.  I’ve never had eggplant caponata before this, but I really enjoyed it.  The dish was very flavorful and the fresh vegetables, basil and pine nuts helped to brighten the fried eggplants.  There’s a lot going on here, but they all work.  The buratta is additional, but I highly recommend ordering it.  I don’t think I would have enjoyed this dish half as much sans the buratta!

Carne asada burrito – El Farolito

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Carne asada burrito El Farolito

Super burrito with soft flour tortilla filled with grilled steak, rice, beans, fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro, salsa, cheese, sour cream, and avocado. $6.25
El Farolito, San Franciso

Like most Mission burritos, this one from El Farolito is ginormous (and quite delicious if I may add)!  The carne asada was tender and flavorful, and the other ingredients are evenly portioned.  They don’t over-fill the burrito with rice like some other taquerias.  The salsa, however, was SO frickin’ salty!  It pretty much destroyed my taste buds and ruined several bites of the burrito.  I immediately stopped using more once I figured out that it was the salty offender, lol!  If you plan on tackling this huge burrito, save your appetite or stow half for later!

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

Cheese slice – Arinell Pizza

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Cheese slice Arinell Pizza

Thin crust, New York style, neapolitan cheese slice. Simple and delicious! $2.25
Arinell Pizza, San Francisco

I’ve found out that people either LOVE Arinell Pizza or they think that it’s overrated. I’m in the former group. Perhaps it’s because it reminds me of grad school, but I think that it’s just plain tasty! I prefer the classic neapolitan slice over their thick Sicilian slice. The crust is thin, crispy, and has a nice chewy bite. The marinara is quite flavorful and although the cheese can get a bit greasy, I think it just adds to the flavor – lol! The pizzas are parbaked, sliced to order, and reheated with your choice of toppings. Plop down in front of their small window counter and enjoy!

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012

Wild boar sugo – BIN 38

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Wild boar sugo BIN 38

Served with pappardelle, summer greens, tomatoes, cheese, purple basil and a 63 degree egg. $19
BIN 38, San Francisco

Ever had a dish that looked amazing, but was sabotaged by one ingredient? Ding, ding, ding, ding! This dish was absolutely beautiful and tasty (I think), but the summer green (whatever it was, somekind of brassica) was overpoweringly bitter. I couldn’t taste anything else, and the bitter flavor continued to linger and intensify in my mouth as I ate more. The pasta was cooked perfectly, but I couldn’t really taste the wild boar sugo because (1) the aforementioned summer green killed my taste buds and (2) there was so LITTLE of it! For some positives, the 63 degree egg was amazing and flowed beautifully over the plate after it was broken and the colors from the tomatoes and purple basil were striking.

Beet and arugula salad – Andalu

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Beet arugula salad Andalu
Lightly dressed in a champagne vinaigrette, this simple beet and arugula salad has sliced red onions and is topped with ricotta salata.
Andalu, San Francisco

To me, beets and arugula are a perfect match.  The peppery greens are balanced by the sweet flavor and smooth texture of the beets.  The mellow ricotta salata was a great addition.  I’m not a huge salad fan, but you can’t go wrong with a simple, delicious preparation.

Beef carpaccio – Andalu

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Beef carpaccio Andalu

Thinly sliced and pounded beef with lemon aioli.  Salad of mushrooms, parmesan and arugula.  Sprinkled with fried capers.  $8.50
Andalu, San Francisco

I would have never thought growing up that I would like raw beef SO much, but beef carpaccio changed my mind.  It’s simple nature allows you to truly enjoy the tender beef, and restaurants make it their own by topping it with creative ingredients and flavor combinations.  I like Andalu’s version. The lemon aioli keeps it bright as does the slices of raw mushrooms in the arugula salad.  The fried caper berries add some saltiness and a great texture.  I’m a fan!

Sangria Andalu
They also have 1/2 off carafes of sangria on Thursday nights!

Old Story – Bisou

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Bisou burger
Bisou burger served with Choron sauce, butter lettuce, tomato, red onion, apple wood bacon, and Morbier cheese.  Side frisée salad and French fries.

Bisou, San Francisco

This is a large burger made decadent with the addition of Choron sauce, apple wood bacon and Morbier cheese.  You could even add seared foie gras for $5!  The lightly dressed frisée salad helped to balance out the heavy burger.  No point in counting calories here, especially with a large bowl of French fries!