Tag Archives: cilantro

Birria seca – San Jalisco

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Birria seca San Jalisco

Barbecued goat served dry and accompanied with onion, cilantro, lemon, and Mexican style rice and refried beans. Served with a side of corn tortillas. $10.95
San Jalisco, San Francisco

I decided to order the goat, which I’ve never had a restaurant (that I can remember). We grew up butchering goats for family parties. I was feeling adventurous and curious so I chose the birria. Tasting it immediately brought me back to my childhood – that’s exactly how goat tastes! I haven’t had it for SO long but the flavor of it was familiar. I liked it! Lemme also add that the refried beans were amazing!

Chips and salsa San Jalisco

Chips and salsa. The salsa started out a little tomato-y which I don’t really like, but it had suck a lingering heat to it that I ended up loving it!

Roasted pork banh mi – Saigon Sandwich

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Project 365: Day 19

I wasn’t feeling well this morning so I stayed in bed for most of the morning, then drove to the Little Saigon area in the Tenderloin to grab some banh mi. They were SO good. I proceeded to catch up of DVR all day and just generally relax so I could start feeling better. The last thing I need is to get sick right now. I need to remain healthy so I can get in great shape for the cruise, lol!

That and T-Head is taking me to Locanda tonight for a late birthday dinner. I’ve been wanting to try that place, but I know that it’s one of those super dark restaurants that you can barely see what your eating. I’ve mentioned this before, but I hate that! Isn’t part of enjoying your food is being able to see it! I ate at Bar Tartine which is near Locanda and that place was almost pitch black, argh! At least the food at Locanda should be very good. That’s what the reviews say anyway. I’ll be the judge of that!

Roasted pork banh me Saigon Sandwich

Vietnamese sandwich with sliced roast pork, pickled carrots and onions, jalapenos, cilantro and mayonnaise on a toasted roll. $3.50
Saigon Sandwich, San Francisco

I can understand why this is on the 7×7 Big Eat SF list. It’s super tasty and ONLY $3.50. I wasn’t too hungry but it’s a decent sized sandwich and I couldn’t finish it. The pork was very tender and flavorful and all the pickled vegetables, jalapenos and cilantro stuffed inside made it a very hearty meal. A winner!

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014

Shaking pepper beef – Mercury Lounge

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Shaking pepper beef Mercury Lounge

Marinated beef ternderloin, wok seared with onions and peppers. Topped with fresh cilantro and served with a side of pickled carrots and radish(?). Part of Chef’s tasting menu. $25 per person
Mercury Lounge, San Francisco

I can live with this version of shaking beef. The beef was cut into large cubes, but it was tender enough for easy chewing. The flavor were good and the side of pickled veggies brightened up the heavier beef.

Romaine Asian salad – Mercury Lounge

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Romaine Asian salad Mercury Lounge

Romaine lettuce, carrots, cilantro with sesame soy vinaigrette. Part of Chef’s tasting menu. $25 per person
Mercury Lounge, San Francisco

Kind of plain and simple, but the sesame soy vinaigrette kept it light and fresh. Perhaps it was a little overdressed, too. There was definitely a lot of it!

Mouth watering chicken – Mission Chinese Food

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Mouth watering chicken Mission Chinese Food

Cold poached chicken breast, seared chicken hearts, szechuan pepper, bean sprouts, and cilantro. $7
Mission Chinese Food, San Francisco

This was a very interesting dish. I’m not sure that it was my favorite, but it was definitely packed with flavor. That’s always a given at Mission Chinese Food. This is a cold dish, but I found that I preferred it warmed up a little bit. Maybe that’s because the cold chicken hearts had an odd texture and flavor that I didn’t like very much. The texture and flavor were less noticeable when warmed. The chicken was super tender and the whole dish made my mouth tingle!

Szechuan pickles – Mission Chinese Food

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Szechuan pickles Mission Chinese Food

Salt pickled napa cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, roasted peanut, fresh coriander, and chili oil. $3.50
Mission Chinese Food, San Francisco

Yum! How can you really go wrong with a dish of pickled vegetables. And Mission Chinese knows how to pickle! The napa cabbage was the star of this dish. I could’ve easily had a couple more bowls of this!

Chilaquiles with scrambled eggs – Cheeky’s

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Project 365: Day 11

Ok, so I’ve failed! I didn’t get this post out yesterday, but you know what? I’m still gonna move forward with my Project 365. We ended up partying a little too hard at Toucan’s last night so I completely forgot to post this, but I’ve noticed that some people post on a weekly basis. At least I’m only a day late.

We had a pretty full day yesterday. Had brunch at Cheeky’s, then went shopping at the Cabazon outlets (bought a couple cute t-shirts), had tacos at Crazy Coyote tacos, then happy hour drinks and food at The Tropicale, then more drinks and played trivia at Toucan’s. The last couple times I’ve been at Toucan’s, I’ve run into old friends. Previously it was old Seattle friends who now live in Los Angeles, and last night I ran into MT from San Francisco. Fun! He seemed very happy!

Palm Springs weekends always fly by way too quickly!  😦

Chilaquiles with scrambled eggs Cheeky's

Fried tortilla chips in a sauce made with homemade chorizo, tomatillo, sliced red onions, queso fresco and cilantro. $10. Scrambled eggs $2 extra.
Cheeky’s, Palm Springs CA

Cheeky’s is currently my favorite brunch spot in Palm Springs. Next time we’re down, we’re gonna try Jake’s next door. I must say that I’m not very impressed with the overall food scene in Palm Springs, but the food at Cheeky’s is consistently good. The service is friendly and there’s always great people watching. And I LOVE their bacon flight (post to come). The chilaquiles were pretty good. I liked the chorizo and the tomatillo was a nice surprise. I’m used to chilaquiles having a red sauce. Overall, the plate was bright and fresh. Just want I needed after the previous day’s debacle at Pinocchio. My only complaint is that some of the tortilla chips were very over-fried.

Water Cheeky's

Water.

Pollo adobo tacos – Taqueria San Jose

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Pollo adobo tacos Taqueria San Jose

Grilled chicken tacos topped with spicy salsa, chopped onions and cilantro, on corn tortillas.
Taqueria San Jose, San Francisco

I’ve walked by this place SO many times and I’ve never given it a second thought. Finally went during a holiday since every other restaurant was closed – I’m glad I did. The food was great and the prices made them all that much better. I assumed these tacos would be super spicy, but they really werent. They had great flavor though and that’s what counts. You can always add spicier salsa from the salsa bar.

Chips and salsa Taqueria San Jose

Chips and salsa. Gotta love these! These were on the thicker end as tortilla chips go, but very good and filling. Yes please!

Banh hoi with grilled prawns and pork – Hometown Noodle 2

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Project 365: Day 6

Went to try this Vietnamese restaurant for lunch because this was the last day of their Grand Opening special. Free soda and 20% off the entire bill. Heck yeah! I guess this is their second location – the original restaurant is down in Redwood City. The food was pretty good and the lady was super nice, but a little slow and forgetful.

Can’t wait to bike to work tomorrow! I love the early morning cardio. My legs are still a little sore from squats at the gym yesterday. Rapunzel, Papa Chang and I are also gonna go for a quick ride during our lunch break. We’re gonna rule the road, lol!

Banh hoi with grilled prawns and pork Hometown Noodle 2

Banh hoi tom heo nuong. “Banh Hoi” is made by packing thin rice noodles together tightly into patties, then cut into squares. Banh hoi is combined with mint leaves, lettuce, cucumber, carrot, radish, cilantro, green onions, and ground peanuts. Served with house special fish sauce. $9.95
Hometown Noodle 2, San Bruno CA

This was very tasty, but you really can’t go wrong with Vietnamese food – the flavors are bright and refreshing. Both the pork and prawns were tender and flavorful. I really like the compressed vermicelli noodles! I don’t think I’ve had them like that before. I made one lettuce roll, but it was too messy so I ended up just dumping the fish sauce (and some chili oil) over the whole plate and using chopsticks to eat everything. I’m a simple man!

Huarache de nopales – El Huarache Loco

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Project 365: Day 3

Today has been a full day so far! I took my Baby-girl out for a walk at Fort Funston with Silverfox. She had a great time running around in the dunes and smelling everything in sight, even other dogs’ butts! We finally made it to the Alemany Farmers’ Market for the first time where we ate the huarache pictured below. That place was a mad house! But it’s so great to see such a diverse crowd gathering at these San Francisco Farmers’ Markets.

Huarache de nopales El Huarache Loco

Huarache is the signature dish of this particular booth at the Alemany Farmers’ Market. Huarache literally translates as sandal. They attribute this to the shape of the organic oval tortilla which is stuffed with homemade pinto beans before grilled. I order it topped with nopales, a cactus salad. It’s served with sour cream, queso fresco cheese, cilantro, onions, and salsa. $6.75
El Huarache Loco, San Francisco

Who knew that dogs aren’t allowed at this open air Farmers’ Market, unless their service dogs? The security girl who confronted me was nice enough to give me a pass by implying that one of her tags was a service dog tag. I played dumb and said I didn’t know because I was only watching her for a friend. Thanks nice lady!

El Huarache Loco is a crazy busy booth! I guess everyone knows that their huaraches are frickin’ delicious! The cactus salad huarache was awesome! I’ve never really had cactus as a main topping (only as a garnish I think), but I was surprised at how good it was. It kinda tasted like pickled jalapenos with a little slimier texture. The tortilla had a great hearty texture and it was topped with everything – nice and messy!

I’m feeling a little better today, but still not 100%. I couldn’t stay in again, though, so that’s why we decided to take Baby-girl to the beach. Also hit the gym afterward because I was starting to feel disgusting. I couldn’t do everything I wanted, but it was still a good workout considering my lingering sickness.

Ok, signing off!

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

Cilantro fish fillet rice noodle rolls – Grand Palace Restaurant

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Cilantro fish fillet rice noodle rolls Grand Palace Restaurant

Fried fish fillet and cilantro wrapped in a sheet of rice noodle and topped with more chopped cilantro and sweet soy sauce. $3.95
Grand Palace Restaurant, South San Francisco

I really liked this dish! I was surprised that you could actually distinguish the fish fillet inside. I assumed they would chop the fish into little pieces, but the fillets were whole and intact! The rice noodles were steamed perfectly and I loved their texture. Put cilantro on anything and it’s usually good! I’ve never understood why some people can’t stand the taste of cilantro – they’re missing out.