Pad makur. Sliced chicken breast, eggplant, red and green bell pepper, onion, garlic, basil and chilies, ordered “hot”. $9.50
Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine, San Francisco CA
Again with the eggplants, yay! It’s a toss up whether I prefer Chinese or Thai eggplant dishes more, but this one was really good and spicy! The vegetables were cut nice and large and the flavors were amazing. Noms!
The Edward E. Hillis Gallery, California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
Ponzu, watermelon ice, sprouting greens, grapes. 10-course chef’s tasting menu $75
Roxy’s Cafe, San Francisco CA
Mmm, I loved this little bright, refreshing dish! The ahi was beautiful and delicious and the other ingredients were fun and unexpected. I’m not sure what the greens were (some kind of creeping succulent), but they had a great texture and added a different dimension to the dish. The Apiaceae flowers were pretty and the ponzu helped join everything together. Noms!
de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park.
Pork with sauerkraut and cream, served with gnocchi. $14.50
Paprika, San Francisco CA
I can’t say I’ve eaten much goulash in my life, but this was delicious and SO comforting! All the food at this restaurant would be great on a cold day to perk up your spirit and soul. The pork was tender and the sauce had so much flavor. The gnocchi were soft and pillowy and great for sopping up more of the tasty sauce. Noms!
Staropramen Lager. The well balanced, full bodied, highly drinkable and pleasantly smooth taste of our Premium Lager offers a rewarding pleasure of the Czech beer. $6
Weihenstephan Hefe. A brewery licensed by the City of Freising in 1040 and has a credible claim to being the oldest working brewery in the world, nothing refreshes you more than this naturally cloudy wheat beer with its wonderful yeasty fragrance and taste. $6.50
I’m really not sure how to review beer. I generally just decide if its drinkable for me or not. These were pretty good and I love the large glasses they were served in. 🙂
San Francisco wakes up.
Sliced tender prime pork marinated in spicy sauce, pan fried with kimchi and tofu. $13.95
K-pop, San Francisco CA
The menu description made it seem like the tofu was incorporated in the pan fried pork and kimchi mixture. I was kind of annoyed when the dish arrived and there were large slices of fresh tofu on the side. Ugh! The tofu was bland of course so that’s why I was hoping it would have already been added to the spicy kimchi mixture so that it could have acquired some flavor. Otherwise, I like the dish enough.
Side of steamed rice.
de Young Museum atrium area.
Xiao long bao. Six pieces $4.95
Dumpling Empire, South San Francisco CA
These were decent. The dumpling wrapper was on the thicker side, but at least the dumplings all stayed intact and they were not steamed in those lame aluminum cups. The flavors of the soup and pork filling were pretty good so I can’t complain too much. And the price was really good!
Pink protea flower (Proteaceae), West Field Road.
Minced white meat chicken, red onion, cilantro, scallions, chilies, lime, ordered “hot”. $7.95
Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine, San Francisco CA
I love larb! The rice powder gives it a great texture and I love the bright citrus flavors of the dish. The dish is also relative healthy compared to the other fried Thai options. I think it’s probably still high in sodium though. Mmm!
Filipino Festival at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
House pickled shallots, red and black tobiko, black pepper. 10-course chef’s tasting menu $75
Roxy’s Cafe, San Francisco CA
What a great way to start a meal with great local ingredients that are beautifully presented and delicious to the taste! I really enjoyed the flavor combinations in this tiny bite and couldn’t wait to see what was next!
House red wine.
View of the California Academy of Sciences from the Hamon Education Tower Observation Deck at the de Young Museum. Beautiful!
Grilled Hungarian sweet sausage and Swiss bockwurst with mashed potatoes and homemade gravy, onions, cornichons, sauerkraut, and condiments. $13.50
Paprika, San Francisco CA
This was a really fun and delicious plate! I enjoyed both of the sausages and I liked how they were scored along their lengths and split on the ends. The added texture allowed for more grill marks on their surfaces which I loved. The mashed potatoes were good and I loved their Eastern European style gravy. It had lots of flavor. The accompaniments made it really fun to eat and to mixed and match all the different flavors. Noms!
Walkway with columns, California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
Breaded Korean style fried chicken thighs in a spicy soy garlic sauce. Served with daikon non-spicy kimchee and a mixed green salad with strawberry dressing. $14.95
K-pop, San Francisco CA
Ugh, I keep thinking that the Korean fried chicken will get better at K-pop, but I’m wrong again. The chicken is way over-fried, has too much breading, and uses tiny sad cuts of chicken with little meat. I like the flavor of the sauces, but that doesn’t make up for the poor quality of the chicken pieces. 😦
Banchan. Complimentary
Pax Jerusalemme, 1999, painted steel, Mark di Suvero. Legion of Honor.
Fried Chinese pancake filled with green chives, glass noodles, and egg. $5.95
Dumpling Empire, South San Francisco CA
I liked the flavor of these pancakes, but the outsides were on the greasy side. I love the sharpness of the Chinese chives though. They also give you two whole pancakes so it’s a good value.
Beautiful thread agave (Agave filifera, Asparagaceae), West Field Road.
Sliced chicken breast, fried tofu, ground peanuts, rice noodle, sprouts, egg, ordered “hot”. $8.50
Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine, San Francisco CA
I love that Sweet Basil Thai actually packs some heat in their dishes. Other Thai restaurant promise heat, but don’t usually deliver. I think they’re afraid they’ll blow out most Americans’ tastebuds. I’ve spent over a month in Thailand and the food is REALLY hot so I can understand their caution. This pad thai was delicious and spicy. It didn’t get me sweating, but it had some welcomed heat after so many bland dishes elsewhere.
Cliff House historic restaurant, Point Lobos Avenue.
October 2013. Still looks pretty similar.
Tortilla chips topped with shredded chicken in mole sauce, black beans, cheese, spicy salsa, guacamole and sour cream. $7.75
La Tortilla, San Francisco
I love the nachos at La Tortilla. Not because they’re particularly amazing or special, but because they’re so saucy and huge and packed with tons of flavor (and a great value). I really can’t ask for more at this price. Great job, La Tortilla!
“Don’t stop believing” sidewalk stencil.
Vittle Monster 